Celtic Wisdom Remembers the Sacredness of the Feminine OR… Hot Messes Please Apply.
Life is a series of thresholds. Celtic Saint Brigid of Kildare reminds us to trust our divinity within. We’re good! Trust the process of soul-making.
“Probably the most beloved of Cetic saints is the golden-haired Brigid of Kildare (ca 451-523). She is the saint who loves the earth, who reveals the sacredness of the feminine, who models female leadership, inspires poets, and musicians, midwives at new beginnings, and extravagantly embodies compassion toward the poor and those who seek refuge.” ”
St Brigid of Kildare offers us many invitations at this time of year, through her steadfast leadership holding both heaven and earth and allowing that which is sacred to blossom. It’s almost New Year, after all.
“She does things without asking for permission.”
St Brigid was known for giving away her family’s milk, butter, and cheese to passersby. She was also known for giving away her family’s liturgical garments in order to feed the poor. She reminds us that there are certain things we simply don’t need permission to do: giving sanctuary to refugee families; feeding the poor, etc. Author John Philip Newell calls this our ‘divine imperative.’ St Brigid invites us into this place in the soul that we know is true and doesn’t require a permission slip.
And in all things Celtic and united, we take this heavenly wisdom down to planet earth. Long story short: YOU DON’T NEED PERMISSION TO BE YOURSELF.” From the wild, feral parts of you that are kept locked away, to the aspirational slices we see (one of my favorite parts of social media is watching these inner truths be shown). Individuation is what St Brigid invites us into. A clear portrait of ourselves, that likely p**ses a lot of people. How lovely and fresh to be one’s self, after all.
St Brigid is also associated with many threshold rites of passage: doorways from one area of life to another. At this time of year, we mark time from one calendar year to another. As you plan your goals both personal, transpersonal (beyond the self), please consider St. Brigid’s leadership to be authentic and wild, and just to both others and yourself. That wildness within you --a wildness that seeks to buck a trend, quit a career; sell a house; drop out of college; upset your bestie; move to another country; switch ideals; kick over the game board; drop a personal philosophy; quit hockey; start hockey; leave your religion; start a religion; or just do more yoga.
What the soul is trying to express, should be ushered in. As you plan out our upcoming year please stay feral, wild, and free of the hot messes that are emerging, trusting in St Brigid’s divine feminine leadership that we need more of your saucy goodness to make the world a bit brighter.
Happy New Year, and happy transitions through to 2023!