Brigid: The Dawn Goddess & Imbolg

The origin and meaning of Imbolg and the goddess Brigid.
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[@vercingetorix2923]

In my region of Germany it is customary to make small swastika like crosses Ouer of wax and stick them on doors and near the hearth as protection, mainly to prevent fire.

[@vercingetorix2923]

On febuary 2nd even.

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

It’s also the part that of Germany that regularly talks about secession, if memory serves.

[@vercingetorix2923]

@Noah The Celt no, i am from the Eifel region. Here on the Mosel river a romance language survived well into the high middle ages. What means that the frankish newcomers were actually few in numbers.

[@IainMcGirr]

Its not that I dont believe you but I was lead to believe any swastika or Nazi salute is banned and in Germany and YEAH I know that the swastika was appropiated by them ie the Nazis but as a consequence you are not able to display such symbols ... so which region of Germany are you referring to ..

[@vercingetorix2923]

@@IainMcGirr they are not swastikas in the strict sense. They are crosses with the 4 arms of equal length. The ends are curled all in one direction. The region is Eifel/Hundsrück/Luxembourg.

[@GkPhotographic]

tis the one on Eireann we wont it to rain . she was the worlds first true rock star , her popularity could not be hidden by Rome. Beannachti from Dublin

[@mercianthane2503]

I have always defended the theory that Brigid is the dawn goddess, a cogante goddess to Eos/Aphrodite/Helen of Troy and Freyja.

[@emilydixon3886]

Brigit and Frejya are both definitely dawn goddesses. I think what makes it hard to convince others of this is that Greek/Roman culture is so different from Celtic & Norse Culture. We really need more exposure at a young age (when we have more free time to study) to Celtic and Germanic cultures, not because they're superior, but because they are truly unsung philosophies.

[@mercianthane2503]

@@emilydixon3886 Indeed

[@mercianthane2503]

@@emilydixon3886 Also, since Brigid is daughter of Dagda, who is Father Sky, this means that Áengus should be equated with Freyr, the Divine Horse Twin.

[@daisypeters3216]

Fortress of Lugh, many Brighd 's blessings to you! Thank you so much always for share your marvelous and interesting videos. Hugs 😙💖🤗

[@mandarinlearner]

In early Irish, the sun is feminine and the moon is masculine

[@emilydixon3886]

As evidenced by "Grian" for the Sun, and "Luan" for the moon. I think the reason the names are less straightforward is because the knowledge of celtic mythology is heavily poetic and symbolic. "Grian" for the warmth and heat of the sun, "Suil" meaning eye but as poetically "the (sun is) the eye of the sky (Deiwos)", and "Luan" as "bright" or something to that effect.

[@daviddoch4872]

It's the new Moon Festival 40 days after Winter Soltice

[@nietzschean3138]

No it isn't.

[@ajrwilde14]

I've always kind of considered Imbolc to be Celtic Christmas!

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

Here’s tae hoping everyone has a happy Imbolg!

[@pureone26]

Wonderful that Ireland has now declared Feb 1st (starting 2023) as Brigid's Day/ Imbolc public holiday, finally celebrating the divine feminine in balance with Patrick I guess. Shame that the catholics took over Brigid's story and changed it to fit their narrative and control...

[@emilydixon3886]

If it helps, Brigid the Saint retained a lot of pagan qualities so in a way, she helped preserve the pagan goddess Brigid better than what Christian scribes wrote down in stories like The Taking of Ireland. This is mainly because Saint Brigid is based on Irish Folklore which is less watered down because Christian scribes would often times change stories subtly in order to fit with biblical ideology, for example, women are more subdued and pushed to the background or as tragic heroines and objects of only carnal beauty. But none the less, the stories such as the Tain Bo and the Taking of Ireland are invaluable as "coded" books of celtic pagan mythology and philosophy.

[@raymondbarkoski300]

You folks make this to complicated, Local folk could see the changes in the world daily. A crone,elder,shaman etc. would set the day. needing a specific calendar day is not pagan. i usually feel Imbolg when the first moondrops push through the snow.

[@emilydixon3886]

I wish we could listen to the wisdom of these elders!

[@FergusMacRoich-qs9nq]

The word shaman gets thrown around a lot unfortunately as the pre-Christian European peoples did have shamans. Shamanism is Siberian, not European. We do not any word that means shaman in any European language as Shaman comes from a Turkic language. A completely different branch. So please, Shaman isn't "pagan" (European pagan) at all.

[@ShawneenBear]

Just what I needed during this Imbolg/Water Tiger New Year/Ceremonial Life Change Tattoo Recovery period. Thanks for making the lore accessible to us common Pagans!

[@gracethi5663]

Ah the skyrim background music is perfect. Lovely video, thanks mate

[@pariahthistledowne3934]

Imbolg is also my Late Father's Birthday...i will be Celebrating...after my Custom.

[@Myzelfa]

I'm curious, it seems that ancient people, at least of PIE roots, recognized the dawn as a fundamentally different phenomenon than day and night. I wonder if there's a stated reason for that. It might just be that the color of the sky at dawn is distinct from any other time of day, but I don't want to jump to that as a conclusive answer.

[@FortressofLugh]

Basically every different state of being was a seperate divinity. The night sky is likewise distinct from the day sky. The dawn is an intermediary between day and night, a rupture point or awakening.

[@Myzelfa]

@@FortressofLugh Then is it recognized simply as a liminal state, or is it considered a wholly independent entity?

[@emilydixon3886]

​@Myzelfa it really helps to think of Dawn symbolically and philosophically: she represents rising energy, the way that life comes back into the earth in the spring: ancients didn't know that the sun was a ball of fire in space that heated the earth during spring time so they deified Dawn as a Divine Impeller of Life Energy. You can put Dawn as symbolizing Spring (the sun expanding in energy), Midday as Summer (the sun at its strongest), Autumn as Dusk (the sun declining in energy), and Winter as Midnight (the sun as it's weakness); then you have different types of human societies with different activities based on the time of day and season: hunter-gatherers, agriculturalists, pastoral: and then depending on the climate of the landscape, their mythology varied: India peoples didn't have an Oak god but Europe peoples did; so even though Brigid and Freyja don't align exactly with themselves and other Dawn deities, doesn't mean they aren't representatives of their pantheons cultural depiction of Dawn/Spring.

[@morganeoghmanann9792]

@@Myzelfa You are correct, it is a liminal state, as is dusk, as is the beach where water meets land, as is a doorway. They are very much in between states where magic and the divine can be accessed more easily.

[@daisypeters3216]

Comes a blessed Imbolc to us!

[@JeffreyMiller786]

Question: in your introduction you say Ishmi shay kevin. Is that my name is Kevin in gaelic?

[@lughlongarm76]

Dia duit agus go raibh maith agat. Will you ever do a video on Cernunnos? I find him such a fascinating figure, but as far as I know he doesn’t have anything approaching a direct counterpart in the Gaelic branch of the Celtic world. I’d love to hear your thoughts on him-his symbolism and whether there’s any trace of him in Ireland.

[@FortressofLugh]

Its a good question but one I don't have much to say on at this point. There are not many who know much about the real identity of Cernunnos. Even Ceisiwr Serith, who probably has done one of the most detailed studies of the deity, don't I think reach a solid conclusion that isn't based mostly on intuition, but he does have some good things to say about him. You are going to want to watch his very lengthy video on the god to get a better idea though. I tend to agree with at least the majority of his points. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXLTZH97mMuJn8k The audio is very bad though, but it is worth listening to with a deceptive ear. Remember though that this is simply his opinion which really isn't able to be supported by anything other than the rather inconclusive evidence he presents. There is nothing textual and all there is to go on is guesses based on iconography.

[@Catubrannos]

There are at least two mentions of characters with features in common with him. One is Conall Cernach who in the story the Cattle Raid of Fraech helps the hero Fraech rescue his wife and cattle that are being held in a castle guarded by two snakes. For some reason the snakes wrap themselves around Conall's waist like belts and the two are free to enter the castle. There are seated statues of Cernunnos like figures from France with snakes wrapped around their waists. Another is in the story of Finn and the Man in the Tree which is very short story about Derg Corra who is forced to flee the fianna after being falsely accused. He is said to have run on the hind legs of a deer for his swiftness and is later portrayed standing on top of a tree with a blackbird on one shoulder and holding a water filled bowl with a trout in it and a stag at the foot of the tree and he was feeding all.

[@lughlongarm76]

Catubrannos I actually remembered Conall Cernach not long after posting. The Fenian Cycle scene, however, I was not aware of! Thanks!

[@FortressofLugh]

@@Catubrannos exactly right, but unfortunately it doesn't really help us understand him other than he is closely associated with Lug/Cuchulain in some way and we see the two in close proximity in Gaul as well.

[@thedragon5289]

@@FortressofLugh isn't there a translation where my Lord Dagda is almost coyish in the giving of his many names; wherein he refers to himself as "the Horned One, several other names after he says "the Green Man"? I was hoping that this wasn't just creative license by the orator, however I do make the connection between the aspects as the Green Man and the Horned One that I first heard from Philip carr-gomm as a liminal deity ultimately symbolizes our connection to the natural world in all its forms. Our divinity. The inclusion of Lord Dagda would make for an intriguing triple aspect, given his rotund appearance and other seemingly "oafish" depictions, yet he is also the god who is Good at all things. More of the liminality motif. And please excuse any spelling errors.

[@Ayurvedicashakti]

Wow! Happy to have found your channel!:) Like your very calming voice too.

[@ericcloud1023]

For the algorithm!!! Lol I really appreciate your dedication to this channel bro, much love from california

[@flowerpower3011]

Can you direct me to your video of Eos/Ushas? Thank you!

[@mariobroselli3642]

Thanks. You said Lucias is in the rig veda? I did not understand.

[@pariahthistledowne3934]

Ushas...he said Ushas

[@brigidroche1006]

I Love The Way You Say My Name.

[@mishmashmixofstuff]

aren't many traditional Chinese festivals calculated by the moon?

[@ajrwilde14]

Han Chinese maybe

[@tomzadvydas1758]

Very informative video. Thanks for preparing 😊

[@CourtneyB444]

What music is in this video? I keep feeling like I've heard this particular song before and it keeps distracting me.

[@IosuamacaMhadaidh]

dùn Lugh slàinte dhuit!

[@brigidroche1006]

♥️♥️♥️

[@elgranlugus7267]

Would love to know your views regarding the Second Battle of Maighe Tuireadh. Would be cool, of course if you want.

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

Know ye weren’t asking me, but here’s my random thought on the matter; Kinda seems like an end of the world story. Does have some parallels with Ragnarok and Armageddon, such as the world being reshaped after a ferocious battle.

[@elgranlugus7267]

@@lowlandnobleman6746 Aye, i have the same thoughts, and i'm so glad you shared your opinion about this. Which, means, that there was some sort of End of World story among the first indo-europeans?

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

It does appear tae be a fixation for many peoples. The Welsh have a similar tale, which is basically the same story as the Irish one.

[@elgranlugus7267]

@@lowlandnobleman6746 Really? Do you know the name of the welsh story? Give me the link, DEW IT - Palpatine

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

Unfortunately, I can’t recall the Welsh spelling of it, only the verbal pronunciation. I’ll look intae it and see if I can find the name for ye.

[@ThorsonWald]

Awesome post

[@eileencregg6754]

This is lovely ❤

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

So what day do ye reckon I should celebrate Imbolg this year? I wanna have me a big ol’ pipe in honor of the coming light of spring.

[@FortressofLugh]

I think any day around the period is likely fine but i'm not an expert on practice

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

Alright lad. I’ll just observe it on 01 February this time. What better way tae spend a Saturday then honoring the Gods?

[@Catubrannos]

As the new moon was back on the 24th of January then that was possibly when the original festival took place. Out of interest I aligned the calendar year to the coligny calendar using Diwali and Samhain as key pairs and making the assumption that Samhain and the first day of Samonnios are the same. So the month Anagantio (February) began on January 25 and we're currently half way through the first fortnight - Welsh pethefnos (15 nights). The full moon on the 9th is the beginning of the second fortnight and the waning phase of the month. Traditionally medicinal herbs were harvested in the first half of the month when the moon was waxing and therefore gaining strength making the herbs more potent. The classic example mentioned by Pliny is the Druids harvesting mistletoe on the 6th of the month when sufficient power was deemed to have been stored - no idea why six nights rather than the end of the fortnight though.

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

Thanks for the info. I need tae look at the Coligny calendar.

[@ajrwilde14]

@@Catubrannos the sixth night of the moon is the First Quarter using the old counting system, they probably considered it proof that the new moon had come (as a thin crescent is hard to detect through the cloudy skies of Western Europe), but there is no mistaking the first quarter

[@PrincessWitcher3388]

I believe she represents the return of divine feminine, with this it would be the fall of the ego driven patriarchy, with it the fall of abuse of children and women and the Dawn of equality for masculine and feminine…she was a warrior stronger than most men…👍

[@seamrog3593]

Iontach A lamb in the belly. Imbolg

[@FortressofLugh]

Yes but it is disputed

[@seamrog3593]

aye Beir bua!

[@emilydixon3886]

If I may dispute, Imbolg seems to mean "in the bolg "bag"". If I had to guess, since Brigid is associated with fertility and domesticated animals, I would say this means either pregnancy of Cows and Ewes or the milk produced from their "bolg" or udders. But honestly, I believe it's open to interpretation. I just like sharing my speculations.