Brigid's Eve & Sacred Hearth ritual

A little on the origins of the concept of Brigid's Eve and on weaving in some magic of fire and hearth to connect with Brigid's Seer wisdom.

In this post I share a little bit about the traditions of Brigid’s Eve and also Brigid’s connection to sacred fire, illumination and regeneration. Further on down the post, for paid subscribers, I share a Brigid’s Eve ritual (including a meditation on MP3) that includes a divinatory or Seer connected practice.

A previous Imbolc fire I created in honour of Brigid’s Sacred Flame.

I note here that I will not be sharing all there is to share about Brigid and her traditions, but rather an overview of such and my aim is really about offering the hearth based ritual that I have used for many years (adapted, shortened I have to say!). For me the Antlered Path way of life is about the experiential, the practices and wild edged wisdom, so I am always looking for ways to share the experiential parts of traditions as much as I can.

Snowdrops awakening in late January. My own photo.

Brigid and her sacred fire

Brigid (pronounced - Breej in Irish) -

‘is of concern to the three functions respectively; first function as a poet, the second as a smith of weapons, and the third function as a healer and cunning woman, a Bean Feasa. In each of these roles, she is the fire. Among poets, she’s the fire in the head, among healers, she’s the compassion fire in the heart, and among smiths, she’s the fire in the hand. As the exalted one, she’s the fire, the briga power in the fire, which raises itself up. As the daughter of Dagda, whose many names include Aed(Fire), she is the Irish Agni which brings forth other gods, or at least skilled feats of magic in each of these three professions as Fire Tender.

Dagda is Lord of Knowledge, and she gives access to it. Brighid’s popularity is due to her being a tri-functional goddess. She has a number of mystical animals and is particularly fond of animals and cattle. ¹

Brigid’s connections to Imbolc are found in old Celtic stories. In a Scottish story, Brigid is taken captive by Beira, the Queen of Winter. (I like to note here the similarity to one of the names for the Sami Sun Goddess Beiwe). Beira is the Cailleach Bheur, personification of winter and the mother of all the gods and goddesses in ancient Celtic Gaelic mythology, (she is found in many Irish, Scottish and Manx stories). Before the fire of the sun can warm the earth again Brigid has to be freed. So a spell is cast, borrowing three days from the heat of August. As Brigid walks free, light fills the earth and the land turns green again.

Below I share a little of the Oystercatcher story, because I love it and love oystercatchers. So much so that I seek them out whenever we venture to the coast, I call on them and thank them for their wisdom. They convey the ancient Celtic music and memories of far Western shores through the air, through to my heart. I hear the inspiration of Brigid in their calls.

Oystercatcher, Brigid’s bird. The red hot eye and flaming orange beak - pure magic! Photo from Unsplash.

‘Saint Bride (Bridget) was running away from a band of evil men who were trying to kill her and, after being chased to a beach where there was no place to hide, she prayed to God to thank him for her life and lay on the sand to accept her death. However, before the men reached the beach, oystercatchers, who were patrolling the shoreline, saw her, recognised that she was in danger and covered her with seaweed, hiding her and saving her life. She blessed the species and since that day the oystercatcher has been the brìdean (Brìd-eun ‘Bride’s bird) or gille-brìde ‘servant of Bride’.²

There are other versions to this story, as with all oral traditions, which you can find online. I personally love the way that old stories grow and change through the decades and evolve into new or adapted ones.

Oh and if you would like to read more on the cunning Oystercatcher, check out this post I created on Substack back in September 2024 called Harvest Healing Tracks - on the trail of Brigid’s pied bird.

Brat Bhride - the power of a healing cloth

There is a belief that Brigid lends her healing powers to any piece of cloth that is left outside at Brigid’s eve (January 31st). This piece of cloth is known as Brighid’s Mantle or Brat Bhride in Irish Gaelic. It is said that Brigid blesses the cloth as her essence passes by the house. With each passing year and accumulation of these blessings, the mantle gains healing strength. The Brat Bhride was at one time part of the Irish midwife’s tools and would be placed over expectant mothers and birthing animals to ensure a safe birth. It would also be wrapped around any part of the body that ailed to aid healing. For example I put mine over my head at times to help soothe a migraine (it conveys a sense of coolness and comfort to me).

I love the ritual of placing my Brat Bhride out on it’s hook by the back door on Brigid’s Eve, watching it blow in the wind, feeling Her uprising of Spring greening flowing through. I leave offerings to the spirits too, including milk. Sometimes I will leave the cloth out for an extra day or two if it feels right to do so. It is good to be intuitive about these practices and own a certain part of the tradition with your heart, it is your tradition too.

A three armed Brigid’s cross I made a few years ago, sat on my Brat Bhride/Brigid’s Mantle cloth. My own photo.

Brigid's Eve is a whole day of celebration and is also known as Oíche Fhéile Bhríde, which translates to "Night of the Feast of Brigid”. In Celtic traditions, the eve or more specifically the night before a Sacred date is seen as the beginning of the celebration as the day begins in the darkness. So the night of Brigid’s Eve can be seen as the consolidation of the preparatory activities that have occurred during the daylight.

The key focus of Brigid’s Eve is that of healing and protection for family and community.

On St Brigid’s Eve, a festive meal of potatoes and butter was eaten and all of the family made special crosses in honour of the saint. They sought St. Brigid’s protection for the fertility of the household, farm and land and to safeguard them from illness and disease.³

One such activity is the gathering of rushes from marshy ground to create the iconic Brigid’s Crosses for the protection of home and kin and for the Spring ahead. (See images below). These tended to be placed over the front door as a protective charm or talisman - warding off illness, harm and destructive forces.

A selection of Brigid’s Crosses. Photo courtesy of Scoil Bhríde, Portlaoise.

I have often used the Big Green Art video above to aid my making of Brigid’s Crosses! He also has a video on making the three armed crosses (which I love).

This year I will not be going out to the local bog across the lane to gather rushes. I have gathered them over the past several years and each time I would bring a few back for Muffin, our beloved cat to play with. There is something about the energy and feel of the rushes (their spirits!) that she loved and it had the ‘cat nip’ effect with her. She passed away suddenly last February not long after Imbolc and I just don’t feel ready to connect with the rushes yet. So this Brigid’s Eve and Imbolc will be very different.

I have a sense that it will become clearer as to what I need to create and weave into being nearer the time. Do let me know if you make any crosses.

Another ‘weaving of a cross’ activity can be done with Rowan twigs or twigs of any tree (perhaps with the Celtic tree ogham of Rowan carved into the twigs instead) and red thread. Similar to a God’s Eye, this cross has a diamond shape once woven. I love this and attribute the name Goddess Eye to it and weave in my intentions of protection and life force energy, (hence the red thread or wool used). For me the cross connects me to the four elements and directions.

A Rowan Cross I made on a previous Imbolc. My own photo.

Onwards with a suggested ritual for Brigid’s Eve including Seer or divinatory connections. Even if you do not have the time on the 31st, you can create this sacred space on another day, your intentions and focus will convey your offerings through the beautiful web of wyrd.