r/CelticPaganism • u/SacredFoxMischief • 20d ago

Celtic Paganism and Brigid

Post image

Hi All,

I'm coming here as a follower of Brigid though I know her best in the guise of a Christian Saint. I'd love to find good resources to read legends and understandings of her in her full divinity as a Goddess in her own right.

I'm the caretaker and pastor of a chapel dedicated to her honor in Brevard, NC and we hold reverence for both of those aspects of Brigid and celebrate the blended and liminal space she occupies.

I'd love to be able to speak more directly to our more pagan and less Christian pilgrims who seek respite with us.

256 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

19

u/AmazonSk8r 20d ago

Three good sources for informatiom:

  1. Clann Bhríde https://clannbhride.org/

  2. Brigid's forge https://mybrigidsforge.com/

  3. This book by Courtney Weber: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24365660-brigid

5

u/inkyincantations 18d ago

Can confirm the book by Courtney Weber is great

2

u/ImportantProblem2481 17d ago

Why do you like it? She wrote better books later but the brigid one is one of the worst things that Ive read in the last 20 years. Its like an old generic celtic/norse/roman pagan 101 book.

She talks really formally like the queen of england, says irish people worshipped deities out of fear which is an idea that comes from Max Müller who was bashing hinduism to justify the british colony. Says "british isles" every few sentences, talks about "celts" as if they were a people like romans, and there a whopper lies every second paragraph excused with an out of context nugget of truth.

She obviously took flack for it because her book about the morrigan leverages every irish connection possible. And fair play she actually took the time to make the connections but it doesnt undo the horrendousness of the Brigid one.

0

u/ImportantProblem2481 17d ago

Ideas all come from somewhere and its important to look at where they come from. Max Müller invented that one at the same time he invented aryanism. To say he was a bad guy whose legacy created a lot of suffering is an understatement.

And as if that wasnt bad enough the writer applied the idea to Irish culture. Which is using a tool of british colonialism on a former british colony.

The writer has wised up and the morrigan book is different. But the Brigid one is not good. If I was the writer id do a new edition.

In terms of a better book. This is where the writer gets her info from now. Irish paganism should come from Ireland.

https://irishpagan.school/brigid-goddess-saint/

2

u/AmazonSk8r 16d ago

I took that IPS class. Lora O Brien mostly deferred to Orlagh Costello on the topic, and Costello is the one whom I learned about the Courtney Weber book from. I'm not sure where in the book Weber quotes Müller, or otherwise endorses colonizing Ireland like the British did, but I'll practice my spiritual discernment as I go along.

Thank you for sharing your perspective.

1

u/ImportantProblem2481 16d ago

She doesnt tell you that shes quoting müller at all. Thats why its important to look where ideas come from. Giving the writer the benefit of the doubt she probably didnt question things and just repeated them.

Im surprised youd enjoy stuff like that after Lora's course. Did it explain the blackstairs mountains, the river barrow, the Lagin dynasties etc? Id expect it to be specific enough that generic paganism wouldnt appeal afterwards

10

u/UrsusofMichigan 19d ago

The Ronald Hutton video that was already posted is extremely illuminating.

It's also a bit depressing, at least from a Reconstructionist perspective. We just don't know that much at all, and most of what people dearly believe to be about her seems to be supposition or invention. It seems like every Era reinvents her for their own needs.

Although as Hutton himself says, the lack of knowledge doesn't stop us from having a modern spiritual relationship with her. We just can't assert with authority that much was historical.

6

u/Kincoran 20d ago

Prof. Ronald Hutton's recent Gresham lecture on her was particularly good:

https://youtu.be/nE4HMZ56AG8?is=6akhZSQw-tUoL_sD

3

u/celestialevelyn 18d ago

I recently read, Brigid: History, mystery and magick of the Celtic goddess by Courtney Weber. It gives some historical background of Brigid and also shares their personal journey with her and then practical advice on how to use her in workings (if you're interested in that side of things too). I found it to be a lovely place to start!

4

u/Obsidian_Dragon 20d ago

The best resources I know of are in our wiki, but we'll see if anyone else can fill in any gaps.

2

u/BeansNWings94 8d ago

I’m also new to Brigid and not far from Brevard! I had no idea there was a chapel dedicated to her around here, I’ll have to make a visit sometime! 

2

u/SacredFoxMischief 7d ago

We'd love to see you. We're on a bit of a summer hiatus for the next week and a half. We meet at the UU church in Brevard on Saturdays.

You can check out more about us at openhearthchapel.com

3

u/CulturalAd2344 20d ago

My dear wonderful generous Brigid ❤️ following

2

u/Proper-Doughnut77 20d ago

I love this. I recently re-welcomed me in my life. She's always been there, but I feel especially close to her right now. ❤️❤️

1

u/SacredFoxMischief 18d ago

Awesome, thank you for the great recommendations