Brigid: Rebirth of the Mother
Season 3 of KnotWork Storytelling begins with Laura Murphy's Imbolc story
In this issue of Myth is Medicine, I’ll take you deeper into our first episode of this fresh season of KnotWork Storytelling. At the end, you’ll find a list of my favorite resources related to Brigid and her festival of Imbolc.
Generally, the toughest part of recording any KnotWork Storytelling episode is the transition between the story and the conversation that follows. I always prepare my guests for this possibility and assure them that my fabulous editor will make it all sound natural.
It’s always a little awkward to have someone receive your story. When you’re in front of a crowd, applause fills the space so well. If I’m the one telling the story, the guest may feel like they’re being put on the spot to respond.
When I have a storyteller like Laura Murphy on the show, I find I’m speechless at the power, beauty, and artistry and can’t fathom finding words to match the resonance of what she’s just woven with language.
Laura first joined me on KnotWork Storytelling late last summer with her tale Bóinn Re:membered. Her story left us both weeping, and it felt impossible to wrap everyday words around such poetic inspiration.
When Laura returned for this first episode of season 3, Brigid: Rebirth of the Mother, it was more of the same speechless awe. But, as I said in our conversation, Laura and I signed up for this work of speaking into the ineffable, and we found a way to fill the conversation with wonder and insight.
You can hear the episode on your favorite podcast platform now.
In many ways, this episode is the sequel to Laura’s first story.
In Bóinn Re:membered, we meet the Irish goddess who lent her name to the Boyne River. Bóinn walks away from a loveless marriage and dares to approach the sacred well of knowledge. She is swept up in a relentless wave of imbas forosnai, the inspiration that illuminates, and is disfigured in the process. But then, she flows to Newgrange, to that great solar monument where the sun enters the passageway each Winter Solstice. There, Bóinn meets her true love, Dagda, “the good god.” There, she finds true healing. Together they create their son, Aengus Óg, the God of Love.
Bóinn, Dagda, and Aengus are only together for a handful of moments before Bóinn must move on, swept to the sea. But is this the whole story of this divine couple’s infinite creative love?
The mythology tells us that Brigid, that essential being who is both mother goddess and matron saint to Ireland, is the daughter of the Dagda. But Brigid’s mother’s identity is always obscure.
In this story, Laura places Brigid in Bóinn’s womb and tells a powerful, compelling story of another holy family: Bóinn, Dagda, and Brigid.
Here’s what comes through in the conversation that follows the story:
In 2023, thanks to Laura Murphy and a group of committed activists, Brigid is being recognized with a national holiday in Ireland for the first time (to be celebrated on Monday, February 6). On February 1, 2023, a green comet will cross the skies - it is visiting earth for the first time in 50,000 years.
Artists who are with us in the conversation, Caitlin Matthews and Dee Mulrooney. More on this remarkable synchronicity below!
The power of the sacred numbers twelve and thirteen, and yet Brigid’s sacred number is 19 (the sisters who held the sacred flame in Kildare).
The Omen Days practice: December 26 - January 6, each day corresponds to a month in the new year (see Laura’s IG for more).
The significance of the Cygnus constellation in this story and swans in Laura and Marisa’s recent experience.
Dagda: sacred masculine as midwife. Echoes of a forthcoming KnotWork episode with
, who describes Joseph as midwife to Mary. And, synchronicity abounds: Laura’s invocation of the mother, the father, and the holy child echoes the re-imagining of the Glory Be in the Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary.The relationship between Brigid and Mary in Celtic Christianity, which was close to the Essene tradition. In Season 1, Episode 1 Kate Chadbourne tells the story of Brigid as best friend to Mary, creating a diversion with the flaming harrow on the day that Mary was nervous about being “churched” after childbirth.
Imbas forosnai, the energy of creation, as well as “the inspiration that illuminates” and the power of prophecy and speaking things into creation.
What if Imbolc, its root “in the belly,” is about Brigid in the belly, being birthed?
About those images of The Star we discussed
A few minutes into our conversation, I interrupted Laura to ask about an image I saw over her shoulder. I was utterly convinced it was the same tarot card that I had on my desk. I was wrong. Or was I?
The top image is by the phenomenal Irish artist and performer Dee Mulrooney. She gave me permission to use to use it in this week’s episode art. With deepest gratitude, I will be able to share more images by Dee surrounding this episode. She picked up the pencil and began sketching Brigid and Bóinn the very morning that Laura wrote the story! Imbas flowing across the globe… (Find the image on Dee’s Instagram and below.)
The second is the card 17 of the major arcana, the Star, from Caitlin Matthew’s Celtic Wisdom Tarot, illustrated by Olivia Rayner. This deck is now out-of-print, unfortunately. It has been my companion since Samhain 1999 when I bought it at the now shut Hawkins House Books in Galway. Remember what I said about synchronicities? It was Caitlin Matthews who inspired Laura’s powerful Omen Days project, which we discuss at length in the episode.
These two images are everything and nothing alike, but clearly they wanted to be in conversation together. The way the yoni shaped aperture sits beneath the starburst. They both speak to the celestial power of Laura’s telling of Brigid’s story, including the constellation Cygnus, the green comet that will pass by the earth for the first time in 50,000 years, and the alignment of Venus at Newgrange every eight years.
My vision of mythology is that it always seeks to tell more than the human story. It’s about our relationship with the earth, the rivers, the seasons, and the stars.
With deepest gratitude, I dare to believe that this first story of our season managed to weave in those big tides of creative magic
My Current List of Brigid Resources
This list is ever growing and evolving! I’ve been diving deeper than ever this year as I am leading a number of Brigid events, including St. Brigid’s Day at the Irish American Heritage Museum in Albany, NY at 6:30 PM tonight (February 1).
Finding Brigid, the RTÉ documentary that aired last night featuring Siobhan McSweeney and our own Laura Murphy is brilliant.
I recommend everything that Herstory is putting out there right now, but most especially Laura’s poem “Is Mise Bríd” (which you hear at the conclusion of the episode).
Books & Articles
The Serpent and the Goddess: Women, Religion, and Power in Celtic Ireland by Mary Condren
More articles by Irish feminist theologian, Mary Condren: here and here,
Brigid: History, Mystery, and Magick of the Celtic Goddess by Courtney Weber
Brigid: Meeting The Celtic Goddess Of Poetry, Forge, And Healing Well by Morgan Daimler
Brigid's Mantle: A Celtic Dialogue Between Pagan and Christian by Kenneth McIntosh and Lilly Weichberger
Brigid: Goddess, Druidess, and Saint by Brian Wright
The Book of St. Brigid by Colm Keane and Una O’Hagan
The hagiography, the saints’ stories, collected on celt.ucc.ie
Brigid: Rebirth of the Mother
This was such a powerful episode! I found myself in tears at times. Thank you for unpacking Laura Murphy’s tale in depth, and further here. Your written words helped me to understand the parts of the conversation that I had stumbled over. Many thanks for the resources as well!!