POD (Poem Of the Day)
~Let the crystals fall
To add form to the light
Thru the white I will see
The single star that calls to me
The gibbous moon falls away so that I may live
Free to stumble
Free to fly with my snow angel
Listening, waiting, willing
The sap to rise
~hag
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On this Eve of Imbolc – the Cross-Quarter between Winter Solstice & the Vernal Equinox: A Glimpse into Brigid, the Alchemical Triple Goddess of the 4 fires & the purifying waters which gives birth to healing.
A long time ago, nigh at the beginning, near the waters of a sacred well, at the first slice of pink in the young morning of the Cross-Quarter between Winter & Spring, at the very threshold – the goddess Brigid slipped into the world, & the waters of the world rippled with joy.
Up rose a column of fire – out of the head of the new goddess – that burned to the very sky. Brigid reached up & broke away a flaming plume from her crown & dropped it on the ground before her. There it leapt & shone, creating a new hearth.
Then from the fire of her hearth, Brigid used both hands to draw out a leaping tongue of heat – swallowed it, & felt the fire burn straight to her heart.
There stood the goddess, fire crowning her head, fire leaping inside her heart, glowing & shooting from her hands, & dancing on the hearth before her.
The waters of the sacred well quickened as Brigid built a chimney of brick about her hearth. Then she formed a roof of thatch & walls of stone. And so it was that by the waters of the sacred well the goddess built the forge in which she keeps the 4 fires which have served the world evermore.
Out of the fire in Brigid’s hands baked the craft of bending iron. Out of the fire on Brigid’s hearth & the waters of her sacred well came the healing potions, teas, & tinctures. Out of the fire on Brigid’s head flared out writing & poetry. Out of the fire in Brigid’s heart spread the warmth of compassion.
Word of the gifts of Brigid’s fire traveled deep & wide. People flocked to learn from Brigid the secret of using fire to soften iron & bend it to the shape of their will. The people called it smith-craft, & made wheels, pots, & tools that did not break.
All the medicine plants of the earth were gathered & brought to the house of the goddess. With their leaves, flowers, bark, & roots, they offered themselves to the waters of her sacred well. Brigid made healing brews. She gave a boy with weakness an infusion of the dandelion root. She gave a young woman the decoction of raspberry leaf to help her womb carry a child. An old bent man took from Brigid wintergreen bark for his ache, & black cherry juice for the gout. She gave comfrey to a girl with a broken leg & blue cohosh to another to bring her moon-blood without pain. Brigid infused motherwort, licorice root, & dried parsley for a woman who was becoming a crone. “Cup a day,” said Brigid, “that you stay supple & strong.”
The people were healed & wanted Brigid’s recipes. “But we can’t remember which plants for which healings, where to gather them or how long to steep them,” they told Brigid. The fire on Bridget’s head blazed bright. She took up a blackened stick & made marks with it on a flat piece of bark. “These are the talking marks,” She said. “They are the way to remember what you don’t want to forget.” The talking marks also let the people write down the stories of her wisdom. Here is one that fits for us today:
Once 2 men, came to Brigid, both had a terrible case of leprosy. “Bathe yourself in my well.” said Brigid to the 1st man. And so it was that at every place the healing waters touched, the man’s skin turned whole again.
“Now bathe your friend,” said Brigid. Repulsed, the man backed away from his friend. “I won’t touch him,” he said. “Then you are not truly healed,” said the goddess. With that truth revealed, the 1st man’s leprosy returned & the goddess herself bathed & healed the 2nd man. “Return to me with compassion,” she said to the 1st man. “There find your healing.”
The folk hold the wisdom of the goddess close; & every year on Imbolc they thank Brigid for her well of wisdom & her fires of hand, hearth, head & heart.
Brigid is a Triple goddess holding the archetype of the Maiden, Mother & Crone. In her maiden aspect, she is said to charm new life into the cold heart of Winter, with her white birch wand, to help him open his eyes to the promise of Spring.
Imbolc literally means ‘in the belly’ it is the lambing season after all, when the milk begins to flow. Traditionally a time of purification — so clean your house! Brigid will thank you for it. If you have any Christmas greenery lingering, burn it now. And bathe with warm milk for health & beauty. Leave a silk ribbon on your doorstep for Brigid to bless: It can then be used for healing purposes.
Give an offering: cake, buttered bread & milk will do — outside your door: Brigid & her cow are said to walk through the neighborhood tonight. In the city it is proper to give food to the homeless.
Make your own Brigid Cross, a fiery sun-wheel & hang it up, especially in the kitchen where her influence can bless your food.
Meditate upon what you would like to see grow in health & strength this year: for yourself, your family, your community, the Earth, & ask for Bride’s blessing upon your prayers.
When my daughter was young, we would gather with other Waldorf families during this magical time to honor & explore the power of the Triple Goddess within us, through storytelling, crafting fiery Sun-Wheel’s around the fire, sharing a potluck meal, & making a scavenger hunt in the woods.
Now is the time of the stirring, when the sap begins to rise & the waters to flow. While frost still bites & winds still blow, the light is growing stronger, & life begins to wake. It is the time of year when the belly of the great mother quickens with the growing light, for this is the feast of Brigid – the midwife of the New Year who births the sun. Through the union of fire & water, we can work the magic to call in the spring.
“Thank you, Brigid, for the smith-craft of your forge, the soothing healing teas, the talking marks, & for the warmth of compassion”. May we use it wisely to prepare for growth & renewal, performing the ancient rituals of spring cleaning, purifying & anointing the body electric, awakening the spirit within…A time of spiritual re-dedication, of self-blessing & initiation, of affirming & energizing creative work…A time of blessing the seeds & consecrating the garden tools…
A time to purify & get fertile, so let’s charm the plow, & kiss the candle, to re-kindle, a need-fire, as a welcoming beacon, to call back, our dormant power, to heat up, our potential, & re-seed our creativity. As we add fuel to the fire of our community, one spark warms us all, a purifying fire, that burns clean & opens the way to the true power of love & light from deep within us all…
~hag
Click HERE to see a video from a program called: ‘Mysteries of the Celtic Goddess Brigid’ that I did at the Theosophical Society
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Anthroposophy Atlanta welcomes Hazel Archer Ginsberg for a weekend of Spiritual Science, Art, Community, and Sharing, March 8th – 10th, 2019
Spinning Destiny with the Fates – Friday, March 8, 2019
6:30 pm refreshments, 7:00 pm talk, Decatur, GA
Through an exploration into the evolution of human consciousness, we will explore the legends of the Greek Moirae and the Nordic Norns, the Orphic Hymn and the Prose Poem Edda. Hazel will share some of her original art & song, and group discussion will be encouraged.
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From Necessity to Freedom – The Evolution of Human Consciousness, Social Sculpture & Experiential Discourse Saturday, March 9, 2019 10am – 3pm,* Decatur, GA
How can I co-create with Destiny, to spin the thread of my life with integrity, to heal and clear the collective karma, & achieve my True Becoming? We will we stand before the “Daughters of Necessity” that we will transform into “Freedom Fighters” to meet our true calling; asking: “What is my Highest Purpose?” From the vaporous cleft of Mount Parnassus, and the birthplace of Greek Philosophy, to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, and the Holy Grail – From Prophecy to Warning, from Fate to Karma, From Destiny to Free Will!
❖ 10 am –11 am –
The ever-evolving Human Consciousness – Scrying with the Sibyls – The Hebrew Prophets and the Sistine
Chapel
❖ 11:30 – Socratic Questioning –
You have to ask the right question to get the right answer
❖ 12:30 pm – Lunch (light lunch provided)
❖ 1:30 pm – Once Upon A Time NOW –
The new story
❖ 2:00 pm – Weaving Past, Present and Future
❖ 2:30 – 3pm –
Open Discussion – Rudolf Steiner’s
poem: “Destiny”
*Come as you can–all are welcome to attend any part, or all of the workshop!
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The Golden Legend and The Rose Cross Meditation – Leading Thoughts & Discourse Sunday 10 March 2019, 3 pm – 5 pm with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Social Art with Angela Foster
Using our head, hands & heart we will enact this powerful Rosicrucian tool given to us by Rudolf Steiner, as a soul path of initiation, using imaginative cognition to build spiritual etheric forces; a Metamorphoses of Self & of World evolution.
Location: Decatur GA (details TBA). Suggested donation $0-100. Please RSVP to Angela Foster so we can plan the space & refreshments: ARC@thirdbody.net
https://anthroposophyatlanta.org/…
Hazel Archer-Ginsberg is the founder of the website and blog Reverse Ritual – Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year (www.reverseritual.com). She is an Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Trans-denominational Minister, and “Anthroposopher.” She works as the Festivals Coordinator & Council Member of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch as well as with the Traveling Speakers Program, and she serves on the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society.
