#Celtic#FolkloreSunday: Brighid was a favorite saint on whom to call for aid by midwives throughout Ireland. In Scotland, when a woman is in the throws of labor, it is a standard custom for the midwife to stand at the doorway, grasping the door jams, and softly invoking the presence of the saint to attend the birth with these words:
Bride! Bride! come in,
Thy welcome is truly made,
Give thou relief to the woman,
And give the conception to the Trinity.
Source: Wade MacMorrighan „Rekindling the Rites of #Imbolg“ https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/learning/features/safe-delivery-a-history-of-scottish-midwives
#Celtic#FolkloreSunday: On Brighid’s Eve, the elder women of the home—clearly intimating the role of midwives—fashioned the leaba Bríde (“Brighid’s bed”) in the shape of an oblong basket after the form of a cradle and adorned it with early-blooming flowers such as snowdrops, daisies or primroses. Brighid was called in. The customary brídeóg and a white wand, made from sacred wood like birch, broom, blackberry or white willow that had been carefully stripped of its bark were placed in the bed. Carefully the ashes of the hearth were raked evenly before bed, and the next morning, the ashes were checked for signs of Brighid’s presence. A sign of Brighid’s wand or her footprint (lorge Bríde) signified blessings for the year. If no sign was found, it was believed Brighid may have been offended, leading to offerings and prayers.
Source: Wade MacMorrighan „Rekindling the Rites of #Imbolg“ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/446911963008644623
#Celtic#TempleThursday: Beira, the queen of winter, had Bride imprisoned at Ben Nevis. When Angus Og, the God of Summer, found her, winter had to give way to #spring. The painting ´The Coming of Bride` by John Duncan is full of spring flowers: primroses, azaleas, laburnum, lilac, tulips and grape hyacinth. #Imbolc
Source: Angus and Bride - Folklore Scotland
#Celtic#MythologyMonday: During the bleak period of winter #Brighid is held a captive prisoner at Ben Nevis as she awaits her hero, the youthful god Aengus mac Óg who would appear to represent the winter solstice sun returned from the Underworld. It is after he beholds Brighid in a vision that he sets out on his milk white steed from his #Otherworld Island drenched in perpetual summer to rescue the imprisoned goddess. The #Cailleach attempts to stop him at each step of his journey, however, it is in vain as Aengus secures Brighid’s freedom at #Imbolc. As the Cailleach storms away in a fury she flings her wand with one last gasp of resentment towards the roots of a holly bush as a final curse when #spring once again returns.
Source: Wade MacMorrighan „Rekindling the Rites of #Imbolg“
#TempleThursday: The #Celtic feast of #Imbolc is a liminal time. Winter is still here, but spring is already making an appearance. The seeds are still resting in Mother Earth's womb, but the first harbingers of spring are already tentatively appearing in our latitudes. And yet the seeds have been sown to allow nature to blossom in the warm season and provide all living creatures with an abundance of food.
#Celtic#TempleThursday: „On Brighid’s Eve, the elder women of the home—clearly intimating the role of midwives—fashioned the leaba Bríde (“Brighid’s bed”) in the shape of an oblong basket after the form of a cradle and adorned it with early-blooming flowers such as snowdrops, daisies or primroses. Brighid was called in. The customary brídeóg and a white wand, made from sacred wood like birch, broom, blackberry or white willow that had been carefully stripped of its bark were placed in the bed. Carefully the ashes of the hearth were raked evenly before bed, and the next morning, the ashes were checked for signs of Brighid’s presence. A sign of Brighid’s wand or her footprint (lorge Bríde) signified blessings for the year. If no sign was found, it was believed Brighid may have been offended, leading to offerings and prayers.“ #Imbolc
Source: Wade MacMorrighan „Rekindling the Rites of #Imbolg“