Around the hearth-fire and out among the trees, we will bring our sleeping
winter senses to the radiance of this Goddess of Light and waken to the
luminous world of Celtic magic by entering into her Mysteries. We will
listen to the old stories and poems and sing the songs and invocations
of this special time. Ritual, music, and circle dance will also open the
gates to her temple of wisdom, and we will encounter the many aspects of
Brigid through inner journeying. We will practice the ancient art of weaving
Brigid's crosses, symbols of the sun and ancient talismans of protection.
As our Scottish and Irish ancestors did every year, we will once again
perform the lovely ancient ceremonies that welcome back this goddess of
the early spring who brings the promise of renewal. We will return to the
world with gifts for the soul and the power to call upon these ancient
teachings to fire the glow of spirit and beauty in our own lives.
Mara Freeman, British author, lecturer, and storyteller, has been involved with Celtic sacred traditions for more than 35 years. A keeper of the ancient Celtic spirit, she is on the faculty of Matthew Fox's University of Creation Spirituality and is the regular writer on Celtic mythology for the award-winning journal of myth and tradition, Parabola. Her work is included in the world's best tellers of tales in the compendium. She wrote the best-selling Kindling the Celtic Spirit: Ancient Traditions to Illumine your Life through the Seasons. A modern Druid, Mara is an Archdruidess in the Irish Druid Clan of Dana and was recently named Honorable Chief Bard of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids, the largest international modern druid order. Mara also works in private practice, carrying on the Celtic tradition of Anamcara, or soul-guidance work, using her training as a transpersonal psychotherapist, astrologer, and clairvoyant.