IMBOLC in Kildare 2003 PART 1

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ny1r2zgM2k
As per Copyright laws, this video fulfills the fair use rules, in that it is strictly for educational purposes and not commercial. All music used in this are the sole property of their owners and is used here through the UAS's Fair Use rule.
This celebration of Brighid's Feast or Festival in Kildare, Ireland took place in 2003 just days before the war in Iraq started. There are references to praying for peace in the video and cranes and swans are set in a lake with prayers. I went there as a pilgrim to honor the Goddess and found a myriad of people from around the world gathered to rekindle the flame of the Goddess just feet from where the 5th(?) century priestess started her church of the Oak. Also known as Candlemass or Imbolc, this festival has been celebrated for thousands of years and is a pre Christian festival of Celtic origin that honors Brighid, a Goddess of many aspects; a guardian of warriors, poets and musicians, lady of the wells, of the hearth and childbirth and often lovingly nicknamed Birdy. Her sacred animals are the cow, the swan and the dog. She is related to the Hindu Goddess, Sarasvati who also is patroness of poets and musicians and rides a swan. She is also related to Athena who is the guardian of warriors, patroness of wisdom and knowledge, and who also bears a spear, presumably carried symbolically to pierce through lies and deception. Brighid is also a guardian of the land and is therefore considered to be patroness of the environment, something we can all get behind these days. Hopefully.
My journey in discovering this aspect of the Goddess began when I was 19 with a dream. In this dream Brighid commanded me to "Remember February 2nd". I had no clue as to the meaning and I searched for many years with no luck. When my first child was due to be born on February 2nd I thought the dream was a premonition but he came two days earlier. Several years later I came across a book in a bookstore that described the woman in my dream and her festival as being on February 2nd. I had the answer to this dream and then the real journey began. What you see in this film is the culmination of this journey that began when I was just 19 back in 1982. I discovered later that her priestesses were all called when they were 19 years old to portray the aspect of the Goddess Brighid and to keep her holy fire lit.
The origins of the sacred fire probably go back to a time when certain tribe members were tasked to keep a fire lit so that the tribe did not die, thus transmuting this basic act of survival to gradually becoming a sacred one.
As humans are prone to do, ritual was created around a basic act of survival and mythology developed out of our need to explain the unexplainable patterns in the universe. Nevertheless, it is a lovely ritual and transcends time and space and serves today to bring people together in peace and hope for a better future for all children. Who can explain the timeless dreams of hope and wonder that tie our souls together? I dare not try to, anymore than I try to explain the beauty of the song of the Wood Thrush. It simply is, let it be so.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• celtic
• pagan
• Brigit
• Sacred Flame
• fire
• worship
• triple goddess
• 19 priestesses
• Darludaugh
• Druid

[paulineprojectlove]

Happy St Brighid's day, and Imbolc everyone.

[michelle1688]

Bless 4 Imbolic everyone, one love.:-)