Meditation on Brigit, Ancient Irish Goddess
Late on the eve after setting up the altar and shrine to Brigit, Triple Goddess of Ancient Ireland, and to her descendent, St. Brigit, inheritor of many of her divine traits, I sat on the earth covered floor in a womb-like cavern with Her altar before me. The cave was bathed in a rich and welcoming darkness, with the only light being that which shone forth from the flames of 19 tiny candles, each one symbolising the 19 Priestesses who tended Brigit’s sacred fire through the millenia. Taking a necklet of 19 milky-white stones into my hands I closed my eyes and invoked the presence of the Goddess through the repetition of a very old prayer, fingering a bead with each repetition:‘Brigit, Mary of the Gaels, be with us.
Brigit, Mary of the Gaels, surround us with your mantle.’
After reciting this mantra for some time, I felt myself being enclosed in a warm wrap. Finding myself unable to open my eyes and suddenly feeling an overwhelming desire to sleep, I lay down on the ground and let myself slip away through the mists of time and space, until I found myself in an enchanted glade in the middle of a circle of oak trees. In the centre of this glade there was a well, and sitting on the edge of the stone wall that surrounded the well was a beautiful Lady wearing a long blue mantle. A white serpent meandered slowly in and around her feet She smiled a welcoming smile at me, and beckoned at me to come join her. When I reached her side she lowered a silver cup into the well, and filling it with the clearest, most sparkling water I have ever seen, she pulled it back up and handed it to me indicating that I should drink it. Never have I tasted such water. This was nectar for the gods indeed. Then she spoke in a soft and gentle voice, ‘My name is Brigit, the Exalted One. I have many names and many gifts to bestow. Today I offer you the gift of the eternal waters of the Sacred Feminine. Taste and be healed, whole and free.’
Then She disappeared from whence She came, which was a place beyond my ken, for now at least. Perhaps the day would come when I might be able to follow Her holy steps. I remained at the well until twilight fell and it was time to return to my own world.
A note about wells: Since ancient times wells have been associated with the presence of a goddess, and were seen as the entrance to the womb of mother earth, the source of life. Wells are generous gifts of life from the Cosmic Matrix, and symbols of the source of life. Drinking Brigit’s holy water heals us by clearing our hearts, minds and souls of all our fears and anxieties. So return here often and drink deeply from Brigit’s well.
Note: The mantle, water, serpent and necklet are all healing symbols long associated with the Goddess Brigit.
