It’s a dreary, miserable, filthy day out today. When I think about how many of our winter festivals are associated with light – it’s really easy to see why this morning. And I know, Brigid’s main festival is associated with the start of spring in Ireland, but Brigid and light are interlinked in our minds.
And I think this has a very direct link to our mental health. There are stories on the internet that the Norwegian government pays for winter holidays for retirees to help with mental health issues. It would make sense! Tromsø in the north of Norway, has about 3.5hrs of sunlight a day right now… For comparison (and from the same website!) Ireland has approx. 8.5hrs. Technically speaking.
All in all, it makes sense that we think about Brigid and light at this time of the year.
Brigid’s links to light
Whether the saint or the deity, Brigid has strong associations with light.
Plenty of saints have a link to a crown of candles, aside from Brigid. St Lucia is the one most often quoted, in my experience. Brigid herself is mentioned a few times to be distracting people from the Holy Family by this means.
But we also have the links to her birth. The house light up with a pillar of fire as she was born. There are a few legends with her playing about with light and fire throughout her life. She hung her cloak on a sunbeam once, and the sunbeam didn’t have the temerity to tell her it wasn’t a branch!
So we have many, many connections to Brigid and light.
Brigid and mental health
Brigid as healer is fairly well known. I can, and have, spoken for hours on this! And one important element of health is mental health.
Those who have heard me speak about health know that I consider health to be personal. As in – it is up to you to define what health means to you. And especially so with mental health.
But since Brigid is a healer and cares about holistic health. And there are distinct links between light and depression/mental health. Yes, that is Google Scholar. It’s much better for academic articles.
So, it makes sense that there would be a link between light and Brigid and mental health. In my head anyway!
Bringing more light into our lives
It’s no surprise that many of our winter festivals in northern Europe revolve around creating light. How many traditional celebrations across many of the cultures in the region involve fire and light?
Usually, I’m a firm believer in Christmas decorations going up as late as possible. But there’s one area I relinquish this abhorrence. I have fairy lights up all year round. I have candles lighting all year round. But more so in this dark part of the year. I love a stove or an open fire at this time of year. Somehow, a real flame just works better at beating back the damp than a radiator…
I’ve been looking into sunlight lamps for years, but haven’t yet taken the plunge. If anyone has any experience with this, please let me know how you got on?
I make sure to get outside on the days when the sun does appear. It’s usually a day per week and there’s something about being outside in the fresh air that helps my mood anyway. Now, I’m not talking severe mental illnesses here. I mean, with my husband, a daily dose of fresh air helps, but doesn’t replace his medical regime. And I’m the same.
But the point is – it helps. So, if you want to add more light to your Brigid practice right now, go right ahead. Our spiritual practice should support our lives not make them harder!!
Hi Orlagh! I know just what you mean about the light holding back the darkness in the dead of the dreary winter months. My daughter has suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder her whole life (she’s in her 30’s now) and those winter months have been brutal on her. She goes to therapy regularly, which helps immensely, but back about 11 years ago I bought her a light box off of Amazon. It was $85 then so gods know what it costs now, but it was the best money I ever spent. It’s small (6″ by 6.5″) and fits on her desk, and to this day she uses it for about 15 minutes every morning throughout the darker months. It’s not the ‘fix’ for all that ails her (she also has OCD, anxiety, and clinical depression), but it is one of the many tools and coping mechanisms that she uses and it really does make all the difference. She turns it on while she checks her email and the news in the morning so she starts her day out with this light. I recommend them to anyone and everyone who suffers any mental health issues because of the lack of sun, especially in the winter months.
Also, I read your new blog and it’s lovely. I also think all that what you wrote about can pertain to many other work spaces. Some years ago I was the office/inventory manager at an auto parts store. I also occasionally delivered auto parts to garages and waited on customers at the counter. These are all male dominated spaces that few women are a part of, although I’ve seen an uptick in women there over the years. It was still a difficult work space and I can’t even begin to tell you how many men came into the store and would not allow me to help them, even though as inventory manager I knew exactly where everything was.
Anyway, all of that is to say your blogs are definitely helpful on many fronts and I appreciate you writing them. Also, thx for reading my novel of a reply lol.
The flaming headdress is a bit terrifying. I would love a podcast! I think you would be brilliant! As for serious mental health issues, we are neck deep right now. But I can say a good dose of movement in some sunshine has made us both feel a little better! I also organized my closet and purged like I never have before! I even folded my underwear. During these dark months we have to take whatever light we can and make it last. I have been doing hot showers with candles to chase the chill away. I will share your new endeavor with the young ladies in my world. The mayor may not be engineers, but they are all trying to find their way in new fields.