Brigid ©, by Wendy-Andrew
Blessed Woman, come to me
Woman of the Fires, Woman of Poetry
Blessed Woman, come to me
Woman of healing, Woman of skillful means.
from the Alexander Carmichael Carmina Gadelica: Song to Brighid, as arranged by Lisa Thiel
Today we celebrate the beautiful gifts of the saint and Divine One, Brighid. For many, many years, I have been dedicated to Her as my most intimate, beloved Goddess; it is She who cloaks me in Her inspiration, Her love, and Her protection.
It is She who saved my life last year at this very time, and continues to restore me with Her healing.
To learn more about the history and gifts of this powerful Celtic Goddess, click here.
But I feel called to share my post from several years ago, updated here and there for our current times. It is a sort of State of the Union assessment, as this is the time when we make our dedications and vows for the coming year. I hope you will forgive the less than feel-good tone here.
Because I can’t help but continue to sense the escalating global pain in this time of tremendous stress and change. And I know you feel it, too.
Getting Real
Since my earlier post in 2015, the economic disparity in countries around the world has continued to accelerate at alarming levels unprecedented in our lifetimes. Unless it is mediated towards more fairness, this is almost certain to exacerbate the troubles we are already seeing.
Meantime, the wars in the Middle East continue to drag on and on. The American involvement appears to be background noise to many of our people, until IS attacks someone we care about, or another American vet suicide grabs local headlines, or a PTSD sufferer goes on a rampage.
But in areas like here in North Carolina, where there are huge concentrated populations of veterans and active duty soldiers, the toll of these wars is in plain sight every day.
And “Thank you for your service,” just really doesn’t cut it, as the VA is being dismantled and outsourced, fewer and fewer support systems are available to soldiers and families, and deployments are repeated again and again and again.
While the leader of the world’s biggest superpower tweets, lies, and bullies throughout his day, and our deeply corrupt leaders go about their business as usual, the multifaceted march of environmental ruin continues to threaten life as we know it.
And don’t even get me started on the shocking way that bald-faced racism is somehow okay these days, and is gaining the upper hand in places and policies where it should have been dead and buried long, long ago.
So what does this “Debbie Downer” litany of problems have to do with the Goddess Brighid?
Heal All Wounds, Heal All Ills
On this, Her own day of celebration, when we reach out and embrace the Goddess’ gifts of renewal, healing, poetry, and fiery power, it is time to walk the talk and act in Her name.
Whatever faith you belong to, the acknowledgement of the Feminine Divine is essential to the balance of our lives on this planet.
A few monotheistic denominations now give perfunctory lip service to a more gender-neutral God, but few ever change the “He,” “His,” “Father,” and “Son” in their liturgy.
It’s long past time for a widespread realization of Goddess (yes, I capitalize Her, and so should you). This is not to prolong the pains of the artificial premise that we dwell in a dualistic Universe. It is to give full weight and devotion to “She” — the Feminine face of creation.
Speaking of which, in his beloved musical, Rent, the late Jonathon Larson delcared, “The opposite of war is not peace, it’s creation.”
This culture’s ongoing obsession and glorification of war as “normal,” or as any sort of satisfactory means to redress wrongdoing is long obsolete. Whether it’s suicide bombers, or nuclear missiles, as Isaac Asimov pointed out, “Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.”
The men and women who serve in the military may be heroic in their personal sacrifice, but the policies and decisions that put them in harm’s way are not.
It is increasingly obvious that in the 21st century, we are intertwined together by technology, economics, and the environment. This increasing interdependence cannot help but destroy the archaic geopolitical definitions of “us” and “them.” While we should honor and celebrate our diversity, for us to war over our differences is, given the expense and the devastating weaponry, unacceptable.
Let us call upon the great, universally welcoming Goddess, Brighid to help us awaken and live fully as Her powerful stewards of our Mother Earth, and as Her champions of creativity, wisdom, and healing.
Peace Making
Once again this year, Brighid reminded me that I have, for years, declared this as my mission:
My passion is to work for compassionate social change
by tending and spreading the flame of Creativity.
I am charged to renew this vow, and make tending these Fires my priority. I believe the flames of Brighid are the antidote for war and so many of the other woes of humanity.
So I will warm myself at the Forge of Brighid, the Source of Creation itself. I vow to continue to receive and celebrate the divine creativity of Brighid, so that I, in my own ways, can spread Her flames.
Will you join me?
Let us promise to deeply absorb and be blessed by the intense, magnificent beauty of our world, so that we can more truly reflect it and share it in our art, our actions, and the core of how we show up in our lives.
With Her blessings, let us join together as Her creators, healers, and peace-makers.
In the name of She, the Bright Arrow, Brighid, blessed be.