Finn’s Lorica of Brighid-Part II

I prefer the day to the night. Once the sun goes down, I tend to shut down as well. I’ve become more attached to the daylight and the sun, and it seems to energize me more than ever, since I began my worship of Brighid. Morning especially is my favourite time of day. I am one of those rare college-students who doesn’t sleep till noon.

It is important to start off my morning with the correct mindset: with a sense of calm and readiness for the day. It is important to be mindful of my energy and my emotions, and it is important for me to greet the morning.

But it is just as important to me to end my day equally calm and relaxed, ready to rest, and greet another day coming. It is just as important to love the night, for if there is no darkness, the light will eventually blind you and destroy you.

I begin every morning with the prayer I posted here. I end every day with this prayer here. 

 

I rest today

Through moon on sea,

Through wind in the meadow,

Through echoing of valleys.

 

I rest today

With silence on my tongue,

With calm in my mind,

With peace in my soul.

 

I rest today a poet under the mantle of Brighid;

I sleep today by her side.

 

May she always keep me close, and I never afraid.

 

Finn’s Lorica of Brighid

For me, prayer is an important and powerful connection to deity. Perhaps it is a remnant of my Christian upbringing, but I have never had any doubt that when I close my eyes and speak with my heart the gods are listening. Prayer is communication with deity; most often, we pray in appeal to the gods, but often, I find myself just speaking to Brighid, saying hello, good night, asking her what she thinks of a particular idea. And sometimes I hear her, especially when I find myself on the other side of irony. Her laugh is a sparkling chime in the morning.

These days, I certainly appeal to her more often than anything else–I always turn to Brighid to bring me back to myself when I find myself sinking into personal darkness. Brighid is the light that guides me back.

But mostly, I pray to her, I speak to Brighid, as a protective, energizing and strengthening act of devotion. By the act of daily invoking her, and her relationship to me, and my part in her plans, I ground myself in a true spiritual reality and purpose.

Every morning, as I place my Brighid pendant around my neck, I say this prayer, based in large part on the famous “Deer’s Cry,” or Lorica of St. Patrick. 

 

I rise today

Through sun on spring,

Through wind in the forest,

Through song of the mountain.

 

I rise today

With poetry on my lips,

With healing in my hands,

With strength in my heart.

 

I rise today a poet of Brighid;

I walk today on her path.

 

May she always guide me further, and I never wander.

 

Long Time No See

Life often gets in the way of a lot of things–including updating the blog. I’ve been thinking about about a number of subjects, including gender roles and sexuality, the nature of time and, of course, storytelling, but unfortunately my thoughts have been too scattered to really focus and write about one thing at length.

However, I do have some small thoughts concerning a recent conversation with a friend online on the symbol of the lantern; specifically as a symbol of Brighid, Her followers, and Her work.

 

 

Flamekeeping in the Park

 

I haven’t posted for a while; in penance, I give you poems, and reflections on Brighid.

It seems that nearly every Flamekeeping shift finds me outside, at one point or another. Today’s shift is no exception: it’s beautiful and after I shower, I will probably meander to a park and read or crochet.

Last shift, I wrote some poetry for the first time in a long time–a welcome pastime, particularly as my emotional and mental state has not been too conducive to creativity lately. It felt wonderful to be sitting there in the cool of the morning, watching people stroll and loll on the grass, the sunshine on my face, the shade of the tree on my back, the presence and companionship of Brighid, and her Flame, in my heart, and these poems coming from my pen.

 

 

Mysteries of Fire and Water

The mystery of fire and water, as I have mentioned before, is a prime mystery of Brighid, and one which I work with often and find a great deal of resonance with, particularly when it comes to dealing with my own depression, for very often, my depression manifests itself with both “fiery” and “watery” associations (and stories), and both of them are mixed together.

The fires of emotions very often first rise up through me as anger, as fear, as anxiety and as an “active” despair. It is often said that depression is really a numb anger. I agree there is a significant element of repressed or unmotivated anger in depression, just as there is anxiety and what I call active despair, but I don’t agree that anger is the root and soul of depression.

For the waters of numbness, lethargy, profound melancholy and passive despair flow through me and rob me of any emotions at all, including anger. This is the point of the darkest depression, the one that is very often internalized, hidden from the rest of the world. It is more difficult to hide, but I hide it with more fervor than I try to hide my anger or my anxiety because I fear what happens to me.

I fear this water more than I fear the fire, for the fires can be put out. But the water waits there always, and I know that it sits down, down inside me, deep, dark and silent, and I know that no matter how happy I will ever be, the water will always be there inside me.

If depression is caused by a mixture of biological and environmental events, perhaps the fiery emotions I feel are a transformed response to those external events beyond me, while the watery despair I inevitably succumb to are rooted deep in my own biology. Taken separately, these two manifestations of my mind and body provide no real answers, or relief, from the disease. Acting upon anger or anxiety, or working only to release those emotions and externalizing them instead of internalizing them, may provide temporary relief, but do nothing to address the heart of the problem. And working to address the heart of the problem, the psychology and biology of the depression without working to address the very real pain of depression and not working to relieve it is a dangerous catalyst into even worse depression. You may discover the “root of the problem” but you have nothing in place to help you deal with the actual problem itself.

 

 

Midsummer Ritual

This Midsummer, I was moved to do a ritual, very small, which is something I am not usually inclined to do.

What this ritual basically came down to is the mystery of fire and water (a primary mystery of Brighid, and one with which I’ve always had particular resonance), or “sunlight on water”, as it applies to the various parts of my life. Without too much detail, I’m focusing on being a channel–the flow of emotional and physical energy (water) and spark of creative energy (fire) merging to allow me to continue working in the forge, writing on the page, without (heh) burning myself out or draining myself. (Excuse the double puns).

The end metaphorical vision is basically for me to be as a river, flowing, with sunlight sparkling all over me, and it was this vision I focused on.

I do not think the “fire on water” motif is amiss at Midsummer, being both the time of the greatest sunlight and the greatest heat, the time when all of nature is abundant, and we are all working hard to produce work (especially me, as a college student, when I finally have time to focus on non-school work), and the time when we all seek water, whether to cool ourselves (in the pool!) or, as we are down here in south Texas in a heavy drought, to survive. The image of sunlight on a river is one that connects me not only to my physical surroundings and the emotional connotations of this holiday, but it connects me most importantly to Brighid, who is at the center of everything I do.

I’ve learned how to crochet in the past week, and decided to incorporate it into my ritual, in which I made a chain of all the things I wanted to accomplish, to have support for, to have energy for, etc. I unraveled it and placed it outside to blow away, and then I came back and wrote this poem:

 

Imbolc

Imbolc is the first of the four fire-festivals in Celtic tradition, and is generally known as Brigid’s Day, Bride’s Day or Candlemas. The goddess Brighid presided over this day of purification, the home, and the coming spring, and later, St. Brigid presided over the festival of candles that symbolize the soon end of night.

The goddess Brighid, for the uninitiated (har har), is an Irish goddess of poetry, healing and smithcraft, and has several associations with the land, sovereignty, justice and the “outsider”–those that bring challenges and renewal to the tribe. She is one of the Tuatha De Danaan, and was later adopted as a saint in the Catholic Church, even becoming Ireland’s most beloved, after St. Patrick. Her symbols include the everlasting fire, which dedicants keep around the world and in the church St. Brigid founded at Kildare in 19-person groups called cills. Every member of the Cill keeps the flame for a night’s vigil, and on the 20th night, Brighid herself is said to tend the flame. Other symbols include the well, the cauldron, and in a potent mystery, the fire rises from the water, invoking Brighid’s association with inspiration and creativity.

Because I follow the goddess Brighid, Imbolc has always been a special time for me, and several traditions are very special to me. I dedicated myself to Brighid at this time, on her day, as well as joined two Cills, and I also began the tradition of leaving a brat–a small strip of cloth for Brighid’s “mantle”–at the window for her to bless. Every year it grows in strength and I use it as a charm for protection. Other traditions include making Brighid’s crosses from rushes and hanging them over the threshold to protect the home. Rites of purification, blessing and housekeeping are common at Imbolc, as they are at the other festivals, but unlike the other four festivals, Imbolc is a rather small and private household affair, for in the depth of winter, it was difficult to travel and gather in large groups.

This Imbolc, my project was to review and reform the calendar I had devised for my path. I haven’t gotten too far, but I am beginning to think differently about things: about the rituals I actually performed, how they went, and how pertinent they were. Imbolc is a wonderful time for focus, divination and setting up for the future, and the work I have done today will no doubt lead me to beneficial results in time.

Brighid is a beloved and powerful protectress for all storytellers and for all Poets, and to share Her day with her, doing her work, and trying to deepen my understanding of her is a wonderful honor.