I recently traveled to Ireland for a nature-based spiritual retreat. Woven into the retreat were visits to sacred sites including faerie glens, the poet Yeats’ tomb, holy wells and megaliths. There was a leaning into the pre-Christian Celtic spirituality at these sites even as many were overlaid with Christianity.
As I have been leaning into my Celtic ancestry, it was important to me to experience all of this. At the core of Celtic spirituality is finding the light of God in all things, including other people and the natural world. Part of my leaning in over the past few years has been following the Celtic Wheel of the Year, which orients around the solar rhythms - solstices, equinoxes, and periods of transition in the in-between times as well. This is how I first met Brigid of Kildare, whose name means “brightness” and is honored during the celebration of Imbolc. She is revered as a fire goddess and also a Christian saint. She holds a particular space in Imbolc as the earth’s inner fire is reignited (in the northern hemisphere) and we transition to new spring life emerging. Imbolc is celebrated on February 2, which is more commonly known as Groundhog Day. That overlayer I mentioned before? It happens in a lot of ways.
When I was in Ireland, I was reading about Brigid. She is a liminal being. As I mentioned, she spans pre-Christian and Christian spirituality. She comes to us in the in-between of the season. And she offers her steady light. Here are a few lines from JP Newell’s book, Sacred Earth. Sacred Soul. about her that demonstrate this:
Legend has it that Brigid was born just before sunrise, in the twilight of the early morning, in that time governed neither by the sun’s light nor the moon’s light, but by the two lights, twi-light. It is also said that her mother gave birth to her neither within the house nor outside, but at the threshold of the dwelling.
She combines the Druidic love of the earth with Christianity’s awareness of heaven.
Source: https://espressocomsaudade.wordpress.com/2014/07/26/honest-mythceltic-brigid/
Further reading referenced her as “The Woman at the Crossroads” and she is known as a symbol of the sacred feminine. I realized she’s been with me from before I could name her. My seminary capstone project, submitted over six years ago, was titled “Sophia at the Crossroads” and I attempted to follow the sacred feminine presence throughout the biblical text. These realizations make me weep, as they show that the things we think we are pursuing are the things that are pursuing us in some grand conversation that our minds can’t cage.
I was ruminating on all of this when two incredible things happened that week. The first was when a few of the retreat participants decided to take a four hour trip to Sliabh Liag (pronounced: Sleve League) to visit some amazing cliffs along the Wild Atlantic Way. We entered the visitor center with our taxi driver to use the restrooms and pay the entrance fee. While the others were shopping for souvenirs, I stood waiting with our driver Andy. I gazed at the wall past the manager’s desk and saw a handmade Brigid’s cross. I went over to him and asked if it was for sale. “This!?” he asked surprised that I wanted to purchase it. He had made it himself out of rushes. I said, “Yes! Can I possibly buy that from you?” He took it and handed it to me as a gift. For many reasons, it wasn’t for sale and couldn’t be bought. And that made receiving it much more incredible.
In keeping with the liminal legacy of Brigid, her symbol “carries within it features of pre-Christian symbolism, The Irish cross form is a symbol that we find in many ancient cultures, including those in India. With its four equal arms, depicted almost in rotating motion, it can represent the sun emerging from the winter darkness of the earth, rotating through the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, before being reborn into a fresh coming of light in the spring.” (Newell) And it’s also a cross.
St. Brigid’s Cross
I treasure this handmade symbol, made from the beautiful land of Ireland and gifted freely.
The next day at a faerie glen, which was shown to our leader by a member of the Druid community, one of our leaders whose gift is seeing energy many cannot physically see guided us a thinning energetic veil hanging from a tree branch. We were invited to walk through it and notice. I went barefoot in the cool, wet autumn weather, but the ground beneath me felt warm. I felt suspended and light. It was very peaceful. When I walked out, the leader came to me and asked me if I knew the medicine woman who walks with me. “Well, she’s not quite a medicine woman…”, she led. “Yes, a wise woman?” I replied. “Yes!” she affirmed. I nodded. She’s been with me for years. I sometimes tap into her presence and other seers have mentioned her as well. The leader hadn’t only seen her, but she had received a blessing from the wise woman. The wise woman was showing up for a reason. It struck me that this was a manifestation of the sacred feminine - Sophia, Brigid, Woman Wisdom. They are here walking among us, blessing us.
I don’t think any of these experiences make me unique. I assume all of us walk with presence and guidance that takes many forms simply because we are beloved.
But can we be present back? Can we ask what guidance is here for us in this present moment? What wisdom does Brigid offer when Christianity in my context is finding itself in chaos? What liminal spaces do I occupy and how can I show up with my fire and light in them? How does walking with Wisdom inform how I journey?
Where is the veil thin for you and what are you noticing there?