Come in, Brigit, you are a hundred times welcome! - Irish invocation

Once again, it is time to welcome in the early Spring and the festival of Bride, the Goddess who brings Light and Life to the land. The ancient Celts called it Imbolc, the time when the new lambs were born and the Earth is beginning to thaw, and new, impossibly fragile-looking green shoots start to emerge through the bare soil. This miraculous emergence into light is one of the major themes of the holiday, which later came to be known as Candlemas, the Feast of Candles. An old Scottish rhyme tells us that this is the time when Bride emerges from the Earth, just as in the Greek myth, enacted at this time of year as part of the Eleusinian mysteries, the goddess Persephone came out of the underworld and Spring returned once more.

These myths are not only about the return of Spring to the land, but also the return of the Soul – traditionally depicted as feminine – from its dwelling in the obscurity of the subconscious mind. In the western world, we tend to get so caught up in material pursuits that the soul is forgotten most of the time – even though we never feel truly at home to ourselves without that connection. At the dawn of the modern age, a poet wrote that “affairs are now soul size.” His words are even more true today: with the escalating crises in the world from wars to global warming, now is the time to fully awaken into what each of us has been called to do during our time on Earth, to emerge into a life that catches fire from the soul-flame within each of us.

When humanity listens to the voice of the soul, rather than being seduced by the astral glamour of consumer-driven culture, then the Soul of the World, the Anima Mundi, will also emerge, like Bride or Persephone, from deep within the Earth where it has been hidden, and its long estrangement from the human race will be over. This is the true meaning behind the Quest for the Holy Grail, a symbol of the Divine Feminine that was withdrawn from the world when our insatiable desire for dominance turned it into the Wasteland. For the Grail to be found, for the Wasteland to be restored to the Courts of Joy, we must learn to become co-creators in partnership with all the Living Intelligences of our planet: human, animal, faery or Devic.

Candlemas is marked by the lighting of candles to brighten the long February nights. This also gives us an opportunity to rekindle our own inner flame upon the shrine of the soul. So light your own candle this season, and as you do so, see this tiny flame as a spark of the One Light that shines through all the worlds. Then sense your own inner flame within your heart and know that you, too, are a spark of the Divine. Breathe in the peace of this knowledge, and listen to your soul telling you how to fully awaken into Light in the emerging year.

An Inner Journey Meditation to invoke Brigit:
The Forge in the Forest

Light your candle. Gaze into the flame for a few moments, then close your eyes. You will still see the image of the flame against your eyelids. Now imagine it is growing brighter and brighter, and go one step further and imagine you are standing in a place filled with the warmth and red gold light of leaping flames… Imagine, in fact, that you are standing in the entrance to a forge in a forest, where a blazing fire is roaring, and in front of it stands a woman. Thick, auburn hair is tied back, but a few rippling curls have escaped around her face. She is dressed in dark green with sleeves rolled up to the elbows, revealing strong white arms. Brigit, for of course it is she, stands over a large anvil where all her concentration is focused on beating a sheet of soft gleaming bronze with a great hammer… At last, she looks up and smiles at you warmly. She has finished her creation and holds it up to the light of the fire for you to see. As you look at it, it appears to continually change shape: first it seems to be a leaf, then a globe, … and now it has become a star. Brigit laughs deeply, musically, and tosses the star into the air, where it sails into the night sky and takes its place among the glittering constellations…

 And now Brigit turns towards you and asks: What have you come here to create? … You tell her of your vision, whether great or small, personal or for the wider community… and she beckons you over to the fire. As you look into the flames, pictures start to move and you see yourself at work, filled with enthusiasm and passion as you make your vision a reality… …  You and your creation are surrounded and shot through with the golden light of inspiration. Brigit is there too, watching over you with love as you work, encouraging you and filling you with confidence and creativity… If any self-doubt or fears start to arise, see Brigit surrounding you with her mantle of protection: a warm soft cloak of green that makes you feel safe and inviolable… Now see yourself with your vision turned into reality, feeling a sense of accomplishment and pride… Thank Brigit for showing you this vision, and ask her to tell you what your first step should be towards bringing it into reality….  Listen carefully, and ask her questions if you need more clarity…  When you have finished the conversation with her, see the forge suddenly glow even more brightly, so that all forms and shapes, including that of Brigit herself, melt into a suffusion of golden light… and now see that the light is just the candle flame reflected on your eyelids…Slowly come back to the room. Open your eyes and write down what she has suggested. In the coming weeks, call upon Brigit to help keep your inspiration alight.

This meditation is set to music on Mara Freeman's CD: Celtic Spirit Meditations. Buy it here.

Read more about Brigit, her wisdom, lore and customs, here.