As you all know, my form of Wicca takes a Celtic bent. Today we’ll cover the basics of the Goddess Brighid: who she is, how to invoke, and when to celebrate.
Who is Brighid, Hearth Goddess?
Brighid is an ancient Celtic Goddess. She is commonly associated with poetry, arts in general, and the arrival of spring.
As such, the most common time to perform Brighid invocations or offerings is during Imbolc (February 1, 2020), the festival for the beginning of Spring. Imbolc is even known as St. Brigid’s Day in some parts of the world.
Brighid is a perfect goddess for Wicca because she has a triple aspect. She had two sisters, also named Brighid and she also represents three fundamental skills: poetry, healing, and crafting.
Brighid has taken on many names over the years. She is sometimes called Brighid, Hearth Goddess of Ireland or even Brigid, Bright Goddess of the Gael.
Brigid/Brighid Pronunciation and Spelling
Like most Irish Gaelic, there are multiple spellings of Brighid. This is because Irish went through many transformations like English (Old English looks like German).
You may see Brighid spelled as Brigit, Brigid, or even Bríd/ Bríg. I’ll probably switch over to Brigit sometimes in this article depending on how it is usually spelled in a given context.
No matter how it is spelled, the pronunciation is roughly the same:
- B as in bread.
- R as in roll.
- The “i” is more like “ee” as in bee.
- The “gh” is pronounced “y” like yellow.
- The second “i” is short as in “fit.”
- The t/d is “d” as in dog.
So, phonetically Brighid is closer to “Breeyid.” There are some subtleties I glossed over having to do with Irish having sounds that are not in standard English.
Do not pronounce this like the more common English names Brigitte or Bridget.
Goddess Brighid Invocation
Goddess invocation can be used at a variety of times. Brigid is most often associated with creativity, so invoking Brigid helps with creative tasks and enhances magic about creativity. The invocation can also be used to start Imbolc festivities and rituals.
Get creative!
I encourage you to come up with your own all-purpose invocation that can be used for any occasion. In this section, I’ll give you mine and explain each of the pieces.
I use three symbolic representations to place on my Wiccan altar to focus the invocation: mind, body, and spirit.
Making a St. Brigid’s Cross
The first symbol is Brigid’s cross as seen above. Traditionally it is made from rushes, but this isn’t strictly necessary. You can use any tall grass or even straw or hay if you have it.
It would be cumbersome to describe the whole process here in words, but you can watch the simple process here:
The purpose of this is the symbol, so you could also purchase a more permanent one, like a brass pendant. I will say that if you make this in preparation for the invocation, it can put you in a nice meditative state for better results.
In other words, some people incorporate the construction of the cross into the ceremony. This is the symbolic representation of the mind.
Goddess Brigid Statues
Since Brigid is a major part of my practice and craft, I got a nice statue to use for the invocation.
This is also unnecessary. You can use whatever symbol you’d like to represent the physical Brigid. This is the symbolic representation of the body.
The nice thing about these types of statues is that they can be used for any Triple Goddess invocation.
The Invocation
For the spirit, I burn a white candle. This completes the three symbolic representations.
The invocation itself is a short poem. It should be something you connect with and should reference any of the information in this article.
Here is the one I wrote:
Springtime flowers
Soon to bloom
Brigid magic
From the womb
Hear our voices
Calling out
Creativity
To bring about
I place this statue
Hearth foregone
Goddess come
And act upon
Poet, Goddess
All within
Shine with love
Upon my skin.
Goddess Brighid Offering
It is also common for many Brigid rituals and festivities to involve an offering. This is especially true when invoking the specific aspect: Brigid of the Hearth.
The most ancient offering is simply to leave grain and milk. This is not as common in modern Wicca, though.
The most basic offering is to make a St. Brigid’s Cross. This demonstrates your own dedication to crafting, which the Goddess of crafting will be pleased with.
A more complicated offering is to make a Brighid’s doll. This is left overnight on the hearth during Imbolc and then hung in your house for protection.
Then on the following year, the doll is burned as an offering of thanks before the new one is made.
Here is a great tutorial on how to make a Brigid doll (again, crafting it yourself is key to Brighid invocations):
