Exploring Celtic Spirituality - Brigid & Imbolc, 2012                                         

A Series of Classes and Ceremonies Celebrating the Celtic Wheel of the Year
with Edie Stone, MAWe can all receive the flame of Brigid in our hearts. Art by Susanne Iles, Irish artist.
2027 Broadway, Suite H, Boulder, Colorado 80302     
303-415-3755


Imbolc in the Labyrinth 2012
Return to main Exploring Celtic Spirituality page and current events.
Edie's main page, www.ediestone.com
Read article from the Daily Camera
Read article from The Celtic Connection

By Susanne Iles, Irish Symbolist Artist and Writer ©2008    
Explore her art and writing at susanneiles.com    
 We can all receive the Flame of Brigid in our hearts.    

Feb 5, Flamekeepers of Brigid, 2 pm, with Edie, Aspen, and volunteers

Invitation:

If you are interested in deepening your exploration of Celtic spirituality, or if you attended an Imbolc ceremony and a warm place has opened in your heart for the lovely goddess and/or saint Brigid, or if you missed our ceremony on Jan. 29 but you still want to learn about Brigid, I invite you to
join us this Sunday, February 5, at 2:00 pm, for a Flamekeepers gathering.
 
Bring a fresh white candle - a fresh white taper or pillar, or buy a tall glass votive pillar if you can find one (look in the Mexican food-and-candle section of King Soopers or Walmart). ((Buy several
tall glass candles if you find a good source, so that we will have plenty.))

Feel free to bring poetry, music, or any aspect of Brigid's inspiration that you wish to share.

Who are the Flamekeepers?

The original fire of Brigid was probably a druidic fire dedicated to the goddess. At Kildare, the legend is that St. Brigid lit a fire, which was tended by 19 sisters and on the 20th night by Herself. After her death, the 19 sisters kept a perpetual fire at the abbey, still leaving the 20th night to be tended by Brigid in spirit. The fire was tended by the nuns for centuries, but was eventually extinguished by the English during the Reformation.
 
Invitation: On Sunday, February 5, you can join this ancient and modern tradition of keeping Brigid's flame, if you choose. It works like this:

Each rotation is 20 days long, each keeper takes one of 19 shifts. The twentieth night is Brigid's. A keeper's shift begins at sunset and continues until sunset the next day. Keepers can begin their shifts by lighting a candle or lamp while saying a prayer, invocation, or chant to Brigid. During a shift, the keeper tends Brigid's flame physically, symbolically, or both.
(Flamekeeper info quoted in part from cauldroncill.ecauldron.net )


Perpetual Flambe of Brigid at Kildare, Ireland

The Perpetual Flame of Brigid which was lit in Kildare, Ireland.
Source: See kildare.ie for history of the Flame.  





January 29, 2012 - Imbolc: The Festival Of Brigid, Celtic Goddess and Saint

Come join us in celebration of the beauty, inspiration, and healing energy of Brigid -- Brigid who is an ancient and timeless triune goddess of the Celtic spirit, and Brigid, who is the beloved saint of Ireland and Scotland.

In our ceremony, we will have an opportunity to walk the lovely 11-circuit labyrinth in quiet contemplation. We will also share stories, music, and poetry inspired by Brigid. All participants will have an opportunity to receive a small candle infused with the Flame of Brigid, and a blessing from her healing well.

The qualities and symbolism of goddess and saint overlap and merge in a lovely way, making it difficult to tell where the myth of one ends and the legends of the other begins.

Check out the article that appeared in the Boulder Daily Camera, Saturday, January 23, 2010, about our Imbolc celebration! http://www.dailycamera.com/archivesearch/ci_14248469
Text of the article is copied below.
See my new article, Discovering Brigid, here. (soon)


  Brigid's Well at Kildare, IrelandWell of St. Brigid in Kildare, Ireland

NOTE: Be sure to bring warm socks, or enjoy going barefoot on the Labyrinth. They will have some booties to cover shoes, if you need shoes. (The floor can be slippery in socks.) We must do everything we can to preserve the labyrinth, which is in delicate condition.

The church has an elevator to the basement, and is handicapped accessible.

The parking lot behind the church is available for Sunday (not for weekdays, however).

EVENT DETAILS

EVENT: Imbolc: The Festival Of Brigid, Celtic Goddess and Saint

TIME: January 29, 2012 -- 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm

LOCATION: Labyrinth Room in the First United Methodist Church, downstairs, 1421 Spruce Street, Boulder, CO 80302. Church is handicapped accessible.

DIRECTIONS: NE corner of 14th and Spruce. Spruce is one-way going west in the downtown loop. Park on the street or in the city garage on 15th Street between Pearl and Spruce. Free parking on Sunday. Or park in the lot behind the church, at 15th and Pine, also free on Sunday.

COST: Open to all. Donation of $10 to $25 appreciated, if you have the ability to give. No one turned away for lack of funds.

RESERVATIONS: Please RSVP if possible.
Edie Stone, 303-415-3755,  rsvp@ediestone.com

Return to main Exploring Celtic Spirituality page and current events.
Edie's main page, www.ediestone.com


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Links:

  http://www.dailycamera.com/archivesearch/ci_14248469

Celtic celebration honors spiritual woman of mystery, history

Megan Quinn, For the Camera
Posted: 01/23/2010 12:04:44 AM MST

Celtic goddess and Catholic saint Brigid carries a sense of mysticism in two seemingly different but intimately connected traditions.

Edie Stone, who has been organizing Celtic festivals in Boulder since the early 90's, hopes to shed light on Brigid and Imbolc, her upcoming Celtic celebration. The holiday honors Brigid, a woman with dual identities as a Catholic saint and a pagan goddess of healing and poetry. The Imbolc celebration takes place 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31 (Note: that was 2010! Current even is 2:00 to 3:30 pm, Jan. 29, 2012) at the First United Methodist Church, 1421 Spruce Street.

Brigid is a dynamic symbol because of her multiple identities, Stone said.

"The qualities and symbolism of goddess and saint overlap and merge in a lovely way, making it difficult to tell where the myth of one ends and the legends of the other begins," she said.

The celebration, which is open to the public, will feature stories, music, and poetry inspired by Brigid, and participants will pass around candles that symbolize the fire that continuously burns in Kildare, Ireland, where Saint Brigid established an abbey around the year 470. In the Pagan tradition, Brigid's flame symbolizes Spring's growing warmth.

"There's a lot of crossover when it comes to Brigid in the historical sense and the mythical sense," she said.

Stone became interested in Celtic rituals as a graduate student at Naropa in the early 90's. At first, she studied Native American traditions and their connections to the earth. After meeting another student who described his spiritual experiences with Celtic traditions, Stone threw herself into learning everything about Celtic ceremonies and their similar ties to nature. A group of students got together and organized celebrations for each of the four major Celtic celebrations.

"We started really getting into it and taught each other. It was a joyful process, and we were always discussing how we could do it so it was interesting and exciting for people," she said.

There are four "cross-quarter" holy days that fall in between solstice days and equinox days. They also include Samhain or Halloween, Beltane or May Day and Lughnasa or Lammas. Stone often holds workshops that delve into the other three celebrations.

Stone said the First United Methodist Church was a good place to hold the event because of the church's large indoor labyrinth. Another part of the ceremony will include a contemplative walk through the labyrinth.

Labyrinths have also appeared in both early pagan and Christian traditions, Stone said. The winding, circular path is meant to help generate a meditative state where people can reflect on their life and spirituality.

Julie Heins of First United Methodist Church said the church has rented out the labyrinth room to many organizations since it is one of the few indoor labyrinths in Boulder.

"It's a pretty popular spiritual practice around here," she said.

The church's large basement labyrinth was the brainchild of former pastor Trevor Potter, and a committee helped maintain it and integrate it into spiritual events. In the past few years, however, the most active users have moved away, gone back to school or joined other churches, Heins said.

The labyrinth, open to the public 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, it is available to people of all faith traditions, she said.

Those interested can also walk a few other labyrinths around Boulder. St. John's Episcopal Church, 1419 Pine Street, has a stone labyrinth just outside the building. Those who are looking for a nature-centered maze can walk the gravel labyrinth behind the Boulder Public Library. The labyrinth sits right next to Boulder Creek.

Megan Quinn writes a weekly faith column for the Camera and can be reached at bubblegumandbibles@gmail.com.

Return to main Exploring Celtic Spirituality page and current events.
Edie's main page, www.ediestone.com



~~~*~~~ ~~~*~~~  ~~~*~~~ ~~~*~~~  ~~~*~~~ ~~~*~~~


ARTICLE

Thanks to Pat McCullough for publishing this article in The Celtic Connection, January 2012 edition!
You can subscribe to The Celtic Conection: 303-777-0502, celticevents@rmi.net, or www.CelticEvents.com

The Sacred Faces of Brigid, Goddess and Saint

by Edie Stone

Just as you can hardly travel a week in Ireland without discovering that two or three of your B&B hostesses are named Brigid, so you cannot journey very far along the paths of Celtic spirituality without discovering Brigid, either in her historic form of St. Brigid of Kildare, or in her mythic form as the triple goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann who presides over bardic poetry and visioning, smithcraft, and the healing arts.

The qualities and symbolism of goddess and saint overlap and merge in a lovely way, making it difficult to tell where the myths of the one end and the legends of the other begin. Both are healers, for example. The goddess presides over a cauldron of rebirth, and the healing well of St. Brigid still flows at Kildare (and many other healing wells in Ireland and Britain).

There are differences between goddess and saint, of course. While it was Patrick who converted Ireland, it was Brigid who brought the love of Christ into the homes and hearts of the women. St. Brigid was known as the Midwife of Mary, and it was to her that the women prayed in childbirth.

Both goddess and saint are associated with the transformative power of fire – the fire of the forge, the hearth, and the sun. Brigid was the goddess of metalworking, at a time when that art was imbued with power and mystery. And the fire of her inspiration has burned in the minds of bards and poets for centuries. When Brigid of Kildare was consecrated (as a bishop!), a column of fire ascended from her head.

There was an ever-burning fire at Kildare, which was tended by the nuns for a thousand years. This fire was relit in 1993, and in the form of embers and candle wicks, it has spread around the world. Circles of Flamekeepers now honor either goddess or saint or both. Each participant tends a Flame of Brigid in a cycle of 20 days. And on April 13, 2011, the Dalai Lama received a Flame of Brigid in Kildare.

Note from Edie: Participants at our Imbolc celebration on January 29, 2012, will each receive the Flame of Brigid embodied in the wick of a small candle.

There will also be a meeting in February for anyone interested in becoming a Flamekeeper of Brigid.
Time TBA.

Return to main Exploring Celtic Spirituality page and current events.
Edie's main page, www.ediestone.com