Hello everyone!

Welcome to the “Brighid-Along” aka the “Nine Days of Brighid.” Below are some resources to help you connect with today’s aspect of Brighid, Smithcraft.

The three aspects of Brighid most commonly named, smith, poet, and healer, come from Cormac’s Glossary, a 10th Century encyclopedia of Irish tradition. Portrayed here as three sisters, the entry captures the tradition of Brighid as a triple goddess.

Brigit, i.e. a poetess, daughter of the Dagda. This is Brigit the female sage, or woman of wisdom, i.e. Brigit the goddess whom poets adored, because very great and very famous was her protecting care. It is therefore they call her goddess of poets by this name. Whose sisters were Brigit the female physician [woman of leechcraft,] Brigit the female smith [woman of smithwork]; from whose names with all Irishmen a goddess was called Brigit.

Stokes, Whitley, ed. Cormac’s Glossary. Trans. John O’Donovan. Calcutta: O.T. Cutter for the Irish Archeological and Celtic Society, 1868. PDF (Google Books).

As a goddess of fire and inspiration, it seems natural that Brighid presides over the seemingly magical art and craft of forging beautiful and functional objects from raw metals. She bestows her blessing on smiths and craftspeople of all kinds. In a metaphorical sense, when you open yourself up to Brighid’s touch, she can forge and shape you in ways you may never have imagined. See how working with Brighid the Smith will temper and transform you.

Bright Blessings of Brighid,

Diane “Emerald” Bronowicz Egelhoff, on behalf of Sassafras Grove, ADF

Brighid Along Day 4—Blacksmith

Strong arm shapes

Fire forges and tempers

Amorphous metal into treasure (Rowynn CleerDawn)

The Nine Virtues of Brighid: Blacksmith/Integrity

Just as metal not forged in the proper manner will turn out brittle and break, relationships built on lies, insecurities, and broken promises will not withstand the stresses of life. For a craftperson’s work to stand, it must display integrity. As we shape our own lives, we too must build them with integrity. (Diane “Emerald” Bronowicz)

How do I build strong foundations today? Can I deliver on the promises I make? What are the state of my relationships?

Smithcraft Invocation to Brighid: Sassafras Traditional

Siul Linn, a Bhríd* (Walk with us, Brighid)

Hail Bhríd, Goddess of Smithcraft

Lady of the Forge

Patroness of the Smith

Your fires blaze hotly, heating the forge

Your fires alter and transform metals of earth and sky

Your fires guide the hands of the smith as he shapes his wares

Patroness of Smiths, guide our hands as we shape our lives

Lady of the Forge, may your fires alter our Selves

Brighid, Goddess of Smithcraft, Siul Linn, a Bhríd. (Diana Paar et al.)

*”Shoe lean ah Breejah”

Gemstone – Hematite

Hematite is used to assist in grounding and calming and in manifesting Divine Light in your life. It deflects and dissolves negative energies. Hematite is a stone for the mind. It helps one to sort out things in one’s mind and can be used for mental attunement, memory enhancement, original thinking and technical knowledge. It is said to act as a stabilizing force, bringing peace, self-control and inner happiness. (Michelle Handa and Deana S.)

Smithcraft Meditation

Take three, deep, cleansing breaths.

Exhale fully…let go of the tensions and distractions of your day.

Take three more deep breaths. Breathe into any part of your body that may be uncomfortable.

Allow your breath to fill you, cleanse and ease you.

Turn your attention to yourself, to your center.

Take three more deep, cleansing breaths.

In your mind’s eye, see yourself in your sacred space, at your shrine, in a cave, sheltered beneath a tree, the place where your magic runs deep.

Focus for a moment on your center, and breathe into your core.

Allow your attention to flow downward from your center, through your legs and feet, and down, down into the earth, through the soil until you touch the water below.

Feel the cool waters swirling below you, slow and dark. These are the waters flowing through all things, the waters that connect you to the rivers and the sea, the waters that flow through all creation. This is the well of purification, the well of transformation, the well of temperance.

With your next three breaths, draw these dark, quiet waters of into yourself….up through your feet, through your legs, through your body. Draw the waters into your center, a pool of glowing, transformative, light. Swirling slowly, the waters rest at your center.

Remember your connection to the waters below.

With your next three breaths allow your attention to flow upwards toward the heavens, through your chest and neck, and out through the top of your head.

Piercing the midnight blue of the night sky the stars shine their light, guiding you upward. Find your star, the one that shines for you alone. Turn your attention to your star. This is the secret fire of creation, the fire that burns away what is not needed, the fire that clears the way, allowing something new and different to be made. It is a fire of transformation, a fire of creativity, the light that changes everything it touches.

With your next three breaths draw that illuminating fire down from the sky, through your head, through your chest, down to your center. The waters pooled at your center receive the fire of creativity, tempering its heat, balancing its passion. The union of fire and water creates a balance. Neither is greater or lesser than the other, each element flows in unity with the other, joining together to create a new and different whole. Connected below and above, you are upheld by the embrace of the oneness.

Allow that oneness of fire and water to flow through you, around you, and over you. Join your heartbeat to the heartbeat of creation, feel that heartbeat connecting you to the mysteries above and below. Rest for a moment in the mystery.

Now slowly, bring that pulsing energy back into your center, flowing back through you to your center. Let the heartbeats separate, and allow the waters to flow downward from your center, through your legs and feet and down, down into the earth, keeping only what you need to maintain your own balance. Allow the fire of the stars to return through your chest, through your head, and upward into the heavens keeping only what you need to inspire your new creativity.

Turn your attention to your center and take three deep breaths. When you are ready, open your eyes. (Maria Stoy)

Day Four: Smithcraft Meditation (audio)

Brighid Smithcraft Prayer

Brighid, you have power over the art and magic of smithcraft

Guiding the smith’s hands

Shaping our creations with your fires

Treasures emerge from the forge

Creativity, skill, and precision are blessings bestowed upon us

Brighid, Goddess of Smithcraft, we honor you (Diane Dahm)

Brighid Smith Affirmation

Brighid

With the fire in my soul

I heat the steel that is my body

Forge it to shape with my will

to be the hard sharpened tool of my mind

Bíodh sé amhlaidh (Maria Stoy)

Brighid Smithcraft Virtual Shrine (Michelle Handa)