The pages contained here, within Brigid's Well, consist of words and images that were gathered from various sources in and around the town of Kildare, located in Co. Kildare, Ireland. I was blessed with the opportunity to journey to Kildare this past Imbolc in order to attend and participate in La Féile Bríde (The Feast of Brigid). I can't even begin to describe the thoughts and feelings I experienced whilst among the kind people of Kildare and all the other Festival and Conference participants. People came from all over the globe to celebrate the Spirit of St. Brigid and affirm her presence in the world today. And while this was certainly a spiritual gathering, no one person was turned away because of a differing belief. The Brigidine Sisters, who are the primary organizers of Féile Bríde, are, indeed, Catholic Sisters, but as I sat in a circle with some 20 other women (and one man) and introduced myself as a Pagan Priestess of Brighid, all I received from Sister Mary was a beaming smile.

I learned a great deal about the Spirit of Brighid in joining hearts with those who were honoring the Spirit of St. Brigid. They are, after all, one and the same. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for Brighid was a pre-Christian Goddess of the Celtic peoples whilst St. Brigid was and Abbess, born in 450AD. I cannot venture to theorize as to whether Brighid ever took physical form for a full lifespan in any one human body, but her Spirit has ever prevailed thoughout the land and is still in full evidence today.

Brighid was a threshold Goddess and I believe it was her Spirit that was present in Brigid of Kildare during Brigid's life, a time when the people of Ireland were crossing a very profound threshold, the bridge from a pre-Christian to a Christian society. Most of the Pagan research I've done states that Brighid was so beloved by Her people that she could not be banished by St. Patrick, that, because the people would not evict their blessed Brighid from their lives, the Church had no choice but to cannonize her. I had always viewed this in literal terms before, but my journey to Ireland has directed a new light into the corners of my mind, creating a new perspective from which I view the concepts of my beloved Brighid.

Brighid (the Goddess) knew She could not fight the coming changes, and as loved as She was by Her people, She loved them even more. She knew that a New Spring was dawning on the land, but She was determined to not leave Her people behind. So Brighid gave Her Spirit to the woman we know as Brigid of Kildare, knowing that Brigid (the Saint) would be the one who could lead the people across the threshold without foresaking their past and dening what was at the core of their beliefs. Indeed, any serious study of contemporary Celtic Spirituality shows that what existed in the pre-Christian mind has not been forgotten; it has merely been transformed, integrated with a new structure of belief. This is what makes Celtic Spirituality so very different from most other facets of Christianity. While the others have sought to shun and forget the past, Celtic Spirituality embraces it and seeks to find new ways in which what was and what is can intertwine to be what is to come.

In the Spirit of Brighid, then, and the Spirit of Brigid, I offer these pages that are devoted to St. Brigid of Kildare, knowing that what is offered to one is offered to the other, for they cannot be seperated; their Spirit is one and the same. I hope you enjoy your journey and find at least as much inspiration as I did whilst immersed in La Féile Bríde.

Céid Mile Fáilte!

May Blessings Abound!
Lady Brighid

P.S. The three cards shown at the top of the page are the blessing, angel, and faery cards I drew as I began my journey to Kildare. They proved to be most accurate. :o)