I’ve written about a Brigid practice mixing Catholicism and Paganism before. (Check out those posts here) But it has been coming up again recently and I thought I’d write about it again. So here we go. Brigid Catholicism Paganism might seem controversial as a title, but trust me…
I’m going to put a warning in here that while what I’m writing about here is based on my study and experience, the whole damn post needs to be considered UPG. OK?
It has to be admitted, there are some clear conflicts between the Roman Catholic teachings and paganism. The first and main one is the first commandment: I am the Lord, your God, you shall have no other gods before me”. (I will be referring to the Roman Catholic Church as RCC for the rest of the post to save myself typing it out!)
The engineer in me says this doesn’t preclude the existence of other gods, just that the RCC God wants to be first in our devotions. That’s not the mainstream view of things however. So, let’s dive into this.
One God
See, I do actually believe that there is one divine power in this world. This makes me definitely not a hard polytheist. But equally, I don’t fully align with soft polytheism either. And, while this belief appears to be very convenient, I have come to this after many years of thought, study, engagement, etc. I’m hesitant to even type it out, to be honest, because this will not work for everyone. But, I work with Brigid, Catholicism and Paganism, and that colours my beliefs in ways that I do sometimes struggle to explain.
For me, there is one Divine force in the universe. Similar to gravity. I don’t believe that any deity is pulling from a wholly unique power to activate their godhood. Or deification. I firmly believe that any being regarded as a deity in this world is pulling from this Divine Power. There is only one of them. This is where I agree with the RCC.
Where I disagree? Is that their depiction of deity is One True Way. The only right depiction of deity. From working with Brigid, as a Catholic and as a pagan, I know this not to be true. In my experience.
My own path
I have been working on developing the framework I’m calling “Brigid’s Path” for several years. In fact, the first introductory course is available now, but we won’t be starting classes until August. (It’s six months, so leads us nicely into Imbolc!) And I have arrived at a mix of Brigid, Catholicism and paganism that works for me. Right now, anyway!
But I started off firmly in the RCC camp. As a teenager and young adult, I didn’t even consider being pagan, it just wasn’t part of my worldview. Being Catholic was an inherent part of my identity. When I moved to England, I considered the differences between my practice and the English Catholics to be because I was Irish.
Then I started learning about synchronicity. And I started looking into just how Christianity had spread to Ireland. And about how many of our folk practices most likely hark back to pagan practices.
Then I started engaging with my own experiences with Brigid in particular, but also with Mary, St. Therese of Lisieux, the rest of the Tuatha de Danann… Things just aren’t clear cut. And I questioned some of the RCC teachings even more. I did a lot of reading around how the church managed it’s affairs throughout the centuries. Honestly, power appeared to be more important a lot of the time than spirituality.
Liminal saint
Brigid straddles the line between Catholicism and paganism. I’ve worked with her as saint and deity. She’s forced me to look at things different and less as black and white. And it’s forced me to look at the fundamental teachings of the church. As in, what Jesus actually said, as opposed to the centuries of arguing that have followed.
I also looked at other holy books, from other religions. And honestly, most of them preach similar fundamentals. Be decent. Treat others properly. Work to your conscience and ethics. Do the thinking and work required to develop that conscience and the ethics.
So, when I see the basic truths there, I don’t see a major problem with engaging with Brigid in Catholicism and Paganism. She is as she is and I am as I am. Neither of us really go towards clear cut delineation.
This isn’t an easy path. And honestly, it’s a lot easier to write about at this stage in my life than it would have been 5, 10, 15 years ago.
Before you jump in
There are a few things to consider before you jump into a path similar to mine.
People will and do judge. People have referred to my path as “pick and mix”, “new agey”, “diddering”, etc, etc, etc. These are not meant as compliments. And they ignore the work done to get to where I am.
But neither am I really concerned with these people. The people who think my path is less valid or less thoughtful, are not the people who are meant to engage with me. At least, not right now. I have said before that anyone engaging with Brigid will struggle to deal with purely the saint or purely the deity. Brigid takes Catholicism and paganism and works in both spheres.
So, be aware of this. Be aware of the backlash you may experience. You may not, or the backlash you experience may be from people you don’t really care about (I mean, there are loads of people talking about me a lot of the time. Mostly, they don’t bother me!) Be prepared for people to question these things and that the questions they ask may send you down a route of investigation that lands you somewhere new.
The point is to be open and receptive, but also use your critical thinking skills. Not everyone has a valid point to make. And the point they make, you may even have considered and reconciled for yourself already. So, trust yourself – do the work, complete what you need to complete, listen to who you need to listen to and make up your own mind.
Brigid’s Path
I’ve designed Brigid’s Path for those of us who don’t sit fully in one bucket or the other. Or perhaps, like Brigid herself, feel a calling towards both Christianity and Paganism. Or think you might be in one place but want to be more certain…
The steps are, on the face of it, fairly simple.
Core beliefs and self-knowledge: Brigid asks you to explore the places you are limiting yourself. And to know yourself, deeply and thoroughly.
Reconciling the past: Here, Brigid asks you to face and deal with the elements of past spiritual practice that has not been beneficial to you.
Joy: Brigid is not opposed to joy. It’s important to take a look at what makes your soul sing, whether it be human, divine or Brigid herself!
Three marks of a poet: Brigid doesn’t call everyone to be a poet, but there are elements of the poet to be felt on this path. This means delving deep into the knowledge that illuminates, words when needed and true knowing of things.
The path forward: Brigid isn’t just pulling you to her path, she’s pulling you to the path you need to walk. It’s important to explore more deeply the path of learning, the path of knowing and the path of exploring so that you know which path is best for you right now.
Your cauldron: There is no One True Way to follow Brigid, and here, she is calling you to create, nurture and grow your own cauldron. It’s important to set regular time aside to explore what has changed for you over this time, what you still want to change and confirm for you your path forward with Brigid. Or indeed, without Brigid!
But if you do this work, it’s hard. It’s worthwhile. Also, it’s never ending… It’s massively helpful in defining your beliefs, whether you’re interested in Brigid, Catholicism and Paganism or some other path entirely. But my expertise, such as it is, is with Brigid, Catholicism and Paganism. So I’m teaching and coaching from that perspective.
Hope this helps!
