Up: [[Imbolc]] Created: 2022-02-08 Updated: 2024-09-06 Imbolc is associated with the early Christian Saint Brigid ( Bride in Scotland and therefore to me) There’s a lot reported in Saint Brigid’s life that came from pagan roots rather than Christian ones, so it’s likely that Imbolc was connected to a pre-Christian Bride. We will never know for sure because it was the Christian monks who had scribes and did all of the recording of any pre-Christian traditions. There’s no archaeological evidence of a pre-Christian Bride. We don’t actually know if there even was a goddess. Brig is an old Celtic word which means ‘high one’ or ‘exalted one’. So Brigid could have been a title for several goddesses, not a name. It could also have been reference to Briganties, a tribe, so Brigid could have been protector of the tribe, which would have made her a tutelary goddess. There are three tiny references to [[Bride]], the pre-Christian goddess. 1. Three sisters called Brigid — one who is a healer, one a smithcraft, and one a poet. 2. Book of Invasions — daughter of the head of gods. Associated with animals (boars and oxen) and with whistling, weeping and lamenting. 3. Had children called the three gods of skill. Brigid invented keening when she mourned her son after he was slain during a fight.