Imbolc

Brigid and Her Sheep

Photo Source: Sacred Source

In a glass

Of scryer’s black

Visions of life

Bring full impact

— Lady Gueneva

Too bad I couldn’t post this when I wrote it, but that would have given away the surprise. This is what I wrote on the day I ordered the statue:

I found a way to buy this lovely statue of Brigid and her sheep for Suna for Imbolc. Well, once I learned that my contract was extended, I decided to buy it in spite of finances. I even upgraded the shipping to make sure it gets here on time. I am sure it will cheer Suna up.

I even know where I want to put it. We have a lovely mirror stand at one end of the upstairs hall. It currently contains a small wooden water pitcher and a couple of wooden eggs. A small oval mirror adorns the back. I think Brigid and her sheep would be very comfortable there. We’ll see how it looks and what Suna thinks once the statue arrives.

With the Catholicization of Ireland, many of the locals who embraced Christianity could not turn their backs on their old goddess. The Church canonized the goddess, or at least a nun named for her. St. Brigid retains most of the attributes—healing, smithcraft, and animal husbandry—and holy places of the goddess. An eternal flame that was once tended by 12 priestesses is now watched over by nuns. Suna has even been to St. Brigid’s well.

I was right. Suna loved the statue. She immediately gave it a place of honor in the media room where we can see it all the time. It even participated in our Imbolc ritual.

Ritual

Suna had a great idea for a simple ritual. After welcoming the Guardians and consecrating the new wand Beccano got for Yule, we each lit a candle to symbolize some spark we wanted to ignite in our lives. Then we drew three Tarot cards: the spark, what we need to do to nurture it, and the final outcome (more of this in the Tarot blog). It was a simple thing, but we all felt better afterward.