Infinite Flame Home Page
Magickal Gel Candles
Infinite Flame Incense
Infinite Flame Magickal Jewelry
Unique Pendulums
Metaphysical Properties of  Stones & Crystals
The Truth About Gel Candles
Past editions of Magickal Musings Newsletter
Ordering Info, Policies, Contact Us
Classes

Shopping Cart is
linked with
Naked-Soaps.com. Orders from both
sites combine to
save shipping costs!

 

 

 

Magickal Musings From Infinite Flame

Imbolc 2010
Define "wicked".......


Feast of Flames

I love Imbolc. Candles, fire, the days getting longer, knowing that the cold will give way to the warmth of the sun. And Brigit, Celtic goddess of smithcraft, healing, and poetry. When She visits us during our ritual, its like greeting an old friend. Her presence has always felt, oh, how do I say this, I guess informal is a good word. When I feel Hecate or other goddesses near, it seems like I should bow and be very formal. But with Brigit a hug seems more right. Maybe it is because She has appeared to me many times, and maybe its because She is the one we work with in our candle business. Whatever the reason, I am looking forward to Her visit on this night.

Speaking of old friends coming to call, in the last section of this newsletter is an Imbolc Soup recipe and a quick note from Storm. She is a good friend of mine and the one who made me an official high priestess. She has moved to Canada but we still keep in touch. She told me about this soup and I thought it would be nice to have a recipe included in the newsletter.

Brigit, the Goddess

I have already dedicated a newsletter to the Goddess who claimed me, Hecate, and now I would like to write this all about another Goddess whom I have worked with often, Brigit. Brigit is the one we honor when we create, and ask to bless, our magical gel candles. She appeared to me the Imbolc before my high priestess ceremony to tell me that She would be present during the ceremony and I had Her blessing. She appeared to me last Imbolc and said that She wanted me to work with Her more and that She would help me with my hobby businesses (the crafts I do, not my main job). She has given me great inspiration in the past year but I have not acted on all of it. So I will dedicate this newsletter to Her and promise to bring those ideas to light.

There is the goddess Brigit and the saint Brigid , I will talk about the goddess altho the stories about them are similar. Some say the goddess became a saint when the Christian church was trying to convert everyone. Some say the saint was an actual women who after her death and many years of oral translations, became one and the same with the goddess. What is known is that the goddess was around for centuries and in many cultures, however nothing was in written form until years after the saint’s death.

It seems uncertain exactly how ancient Brigit is or where she originated from, but she is most connected with Ireland and Britain. There are hundreds of places that bear her name like Brideswell and Remplebride. Images of Brigit often have her holding a spear and an orb or globe, the symbol of sovereignty. Some references have her wearing a green mantle, which some say is a symbol of the connection to the fairy folk and some say a connection to healing. Most times described with blonde hair and being fair and slender. She is a triple goddess and is sometimes pictured as three women each holding an item related to her triple nature: a book for poetry, a sword or knife for smithcraft, and herbs for healing.(Note: She is a triple goddess but not maiden, mother, crone necessarily, her three aspects are usually the same goddess holding different symbols. She has been strongly associated with maiden, as bride, and crone, as goddess of life and death or battles.)

Brigit is fire and water goddess of sovereignty, the hearth, all feminine arts and crafts, fertility, childbirth, martial arts, healing, physicians, agriculture, inspiration, poetry, learning, smithcraft, animal husbandry, and prosperity. She is strongly connected to the realm of faery. Her sacred number is 19 (the Celtic Great year -- the number of years it takes for the new moon to coincide with the Sun's winter solstice).

Animal associations for Brigit are the boar (the king of boars came from the forest to join her herd), cow ( a magical cow of white with red ears), fish (small spotted fish were said to appear in her sacred springs as harbinger of healing), sheep (Imbolc connection), snakes (healing goddess connection as no snakes in Ireland), wolf, bear, and badger. The main birds were swans (when mentioned by the Celts the swans had gold or silver chains around their necks to show association with goddess) and vultures (goddess of battlefields).

Plants associated with Brigit include blackberry, grain and hops (the goddess loves her beer and ale), all early spring flowers, hazel, oak, rowan, willow, healing herbs like rosemary, dill, chamamile and red clover.

She has some traits in common with other goddess and has been compared to Juno, The Queen of Heaven; Minerva, patron of wisdom and handicrafts; Vesta, a virgin fire goddess; and even Hecate in that both stand at the boundary of different worlds. Hecate is worshipped at a crossroads where three roads meet and Brigit is worshipped where three streams meet, flowers and milk were left there for offerings. As Brigit is also a water goddess, some believe that Sulis is another face of Brigit.

There are many stories about her and more information than I could possibly fit in this newsletter. I have tried to cover the basics and give you correspondences to use when you call upon her and/or honor her. Today we celebrate this much loved goddess but she is always with us, ready to help us heal and give us inspiration for our crafts. Call upon her often and you will find her to be a good friend to you also.

Have a great Feast of Flames
~~~ Rhiannon Rose

Hi All

So much going on...For those that know me, I am doing well. "Bought The Farm" so to speak. It is a small 14.5 acre farm in rural Canada and I am loving it. It is so peaceful here. I look out into the back 40 and can see the goddess's handiwork everywhere. I wish you all the best as Mother Earth awakens and the Sun God takes over the darkness to give us warmth and light.

Happy Imbolc, Happy Spring and may you be blessed with the gifts from Brigit's Well.
...Storm

Imbolc Soup

1 large ham..I prefer cottage roll
OR
if you are a vegetarian use 1 large can of seasoned canned tomatoes and equal amounts of water
1/2 head of cabbage
a handful of small new potatoes unpeeled OR 4 large potatoes cut into small chunks...bite sized
a handful of asparagus cut into thirds
1 bag of spinach
2 onions chopped

Put all ingredients into a pot with enough water to cover and boil until cooked. Remove from stove and add 1 teaspoon rosemary, a touch of sea salt- the meat is pretty salty, so taste first - pepper to taste, a pinch of cayenne pepper. Stir and cool- remove meat, cut into small pieces and place back into the soup. Place in fridge overnight.. the next day take from fridge, scrape of fat from top of soup... heat and eat.

NOTE; add bit of chicken stock about a 1/2 cup and omit the salt for a more meaty flavour-


Sign up to receive Magickal Musings from Infinite Flame
Enter your name and e-mail address below:
Name:
E-mail:
Subscribe  Unsubscribe 

This mailing list is for Infinite Flame's use only. The names and e-mails will never be shared or sold to any other individual or business.

This is a two-step sign up process. After signing-up, you will receive a confirmation e-mail. You must respond to the e-mail to be added to the list. This is called Double Opt-In and insures against fraudulent sign-ups.


The Many Names of Brigit:

  • Bhrghnti (Indo-European)
  • Briganti (Old Celtic)
  • Brigit (Irish, Goddess)
  • Brigid (Irish, saint)
  • Brighid (Gaelic)
  • Breo-Saighit
  • Brede
  • Bride (Scottish)
  • Bridget (Swedish)
  • Brigandu (French)
  • Brigantia (N. English)
  • Ffraid (Welsh)
  • Bhrati or Brihati (Sanskrit, means “exalted one” and may have been a title instead of a name)


Symbols of Imbolc:

  • Red
  • White
  • Ewes & lambs
  • Candles
  • Light
  • Brigit
  • Brigit's Cross
  • Corn Dolly

Imbolc Energies:

  • Purification
  • Cleansing
  • Strength
  • Initiation
  • Personal Transformation
  • Hope

 

Credit and
Butt-Kissing

Candlemas, Feast of Flames Amber K and Azrael Arynn K

Moon Magick by D.J. Conway

Thank you Storm for the wonderful recipe: )

My thanks to Brigit for all the inspiration She has given me and blessings She has bestowed on me.

 

© 2006-2022 Infinite Flame              magickalshoppe@infiniteflame.com

Home      The Truth About Gel Candles      Using Gel Candles for Magick       Stone & Crystal Information

 Wicked Rose Jewelry     Jewelry Archive      Pendulums      Incense            Alchemy of England Products

Candles:   Home      Elemental Quarters Set      

    Newsletter Archive           Links       About      Customer Service

Naked-Soaps.com

Website Designed and Maintained by me

Solution Graphics