Brigid, goddess and saint

Brigid--spelled many ways including Brighid, Bridget and Brigit--is one of the clearest links between Pagan and Christian traditions. This saint almost seamlessly transformed from a Celtic goddess to a patron of Ireland.

Brigid, the goddess

Her name comes from the Irish, Breo-saighit, which means "fiery arrow." She's the goddess of fire, and she's the daughter of the Dagda and Boann (for whom the river Boyne was named).

Or she may be the Dagda's sister, and daughter of Danu and Bel. In some lore, she is the Dagda's wife.

Actually, Brigid is a triple goddess, though history usually says that the Dagda and Boann had three daughters, all named Brigid.

Brigid (all three sisters, combined as one Triple Goddess) is also the goddess of the hearth, poetry, divination, prophecy, healing, the smith's craft, and traditional learning.

As a triple goddess, she's sometimes linked with Danu, the mother goddess in many pantheons. In this context Brigid is the White Maiden aspect. Her festival is Imbolc.

Brigid was one of the leading goddesses in Ireland when Christianity came to the country, so she was transformed into "St. Brigid." However, there is evidence that an actual woman named Brigid formed part of the Christian lore and identity we now honor.

Brigid, the saint

Brigid, the saint, was born around the year 451 in County Louth, Ireland, in the townland of Faughart, near Dundalk. Most records support the idea that her mother was a slave or servant, and her father was one of the rulers of the area.

Faughart is famous for its connections to the Irish queen/goddess, Medhbh, and we see some of her tales woven through Brigid's legends as well.

After becoming a nun, Brigid established the Cill Dara, or "Convent of the Oak," the basis of the later name of the county: Kildare.

Her convent was famous for healing, metalwork, and the arts; again, this reflects on the earlier goddess Brigid tales.

Perhaps because the convent did metalwork, Brigid kept a fire alight 24 hours a day. The fire was tended by seven or nine virgin nuns, according to legend. This was an unceasing tradition for centuries after the foundation of the convent.

Saint Brigid died on the first of February in the year 525, and shortly after that, scholars began recording her biography for later generations to understand. Today, many pilgrims visit her tomb at Downpatrick Cathedral.

St. Brigid's convent fire burned unceasingly for over a thousand years until Henry VIII ordered it put out.

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