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The notion of Brigid bringing power to art is one that doesn’t hit me often. I have, of course, written about Brigid the Poet before. But I don’t think I’ve covered the aspect of power and art. At least, if I have, I can’t remember it, so here we go.

(I mean, let’s face it, I’ve been writing this blog for five years now, so, remembering everything is going to be difficult. Also, five years????)

Illuminating Social Issues through Theatre

Art has always been a powerful medium for reflecting and challenging societal norms. The current production of Grania by Augusta Gregory at the Abbey Theatre is a testament to this power. Directed by Caitríona McLaughlin, this play brings to life the legendary Irish figures Gráinne, Diarmuid, and Fionn Mac Cumhaill. The play is said to explore themes of love, lust, power, and desire. This production not only entertains but also provokes thought and discussion about contemporary social issues, embodying the essence of “Brigid, Art, and Power.”

The Role of Brigid, Goddess of Poets

Brigid, symbolizes the transformative power of art. As the goddess of poets, Brigid inspires creativity and expression, encouraging artists to use their talents to address and reflect on societal issues. In the context of the Abbey Theatre’s production of Grania, Brigid’s influence is evident in the way the play uses storytelling to delve into complex human emotions and social dynamics. The play’s narrative challenges the audience to reconsider their perspectives on love, loyalty, and societal expectations. Now, I have to say that while love, loyalty, and societal expectations is repeated ad nauseum when talking about this play in general, I have other thoughts.

Because of course I do!

Grania: A Reflection of Contemporary Issues

In case you don’t know the story, the basics are this:

Gráinne (Gregory uses the Latin spelling, but honestly, I just can’t!) is promised to marry Fionn. (Again, she spells it “Finn” but really…) The night before the wedding, she persuades Diarmuid to run away with her. To save her from marriage to the old man. (Finn is meant to be in his 60’s at this point!) They spend 7 years on the run. Eventually Finn catches up to them, and through treachery, Diarmuid dies.

Now, this is the high level overview. Some aspects of this production differ from the versions I have read and learned as a kid in school. This is the nature of story telling though.

Where the contemporary issues come in? Well. There are two actors/ vocalists in the play. (Laura Sheeran and Seán Boylan). This choice adds such power to the piece. The two vocalists portray modern homeless people, in clothing, way of moving and tents. Well, possibly one tent. I honestly wasn’t paying too much attention to the tent(s). This is the essence of Brigid, Art, and Power—using art to mirror and critique the society we live in.

The idea of Diarmuid and Gráinne living on the run, homeless for seven years is an important element of the story. Homelessness is such a huge topic in this country. And the play showed this in a really subtle way.

The Power of Art in Social Commentary

Art has the unique ability to influence public opinion and inspire change. The Abbey Theatre’s production of Grania exemplifies this by bringing historical and mythical narratives into the modern era. It makes them relevant to today’s social issues. The play’s exploration of power dynamics and personal agency encourages the audience to think critically about their own lives and the world around them. This is a powerful demonstration of Brigid, Art, and Power, showing how art can be a catalyst for social awareness and transformation.

What power dynamics? Well, Finn is an old, white, rich, powerful man. Diarmuid is like a son to him, but bound by honour. Gráinne is a young girl, who has no understanding of love. No understanding of life, really. Honestly, how could such a young woman face into a marriage with an unknown old man? (And how often does this still happen in the world today?)

The power differentials – and how art can display them

Equally, Fionn, in the play, originally reckons this to be a marriage of convenience. Then he sees Gráinne, hears her talking, sees her innocence and apparently falls in love with her. The old lecher.

Diarmuid on the other hand makes a promise to Fionn that he will not marry (i.e.shag) Gráinne but keep her safe til she gets her mind straight. He lasts seven years. Which, to be fair, was a fair accounting.

Gráinne exercises her autonomy by (in some cases, but not this exploration) bewitching the entire company to allow her to escape with Diarmuid. Diarmuid is seen as helpless to refuse her because of his honour. (Bloody honour, always being used for excuses for men’s actions to women.)

As modern audiences, we may see this as perfectly normal and right of Gráinne, to be expressing some want or need of her own. But for most of Irish history (yes, including the Brehon laws!) this was not the case. A daughter was a father’s property, to be disposed of as he wished. And yes, of course. There were fathers who took their daughters’ wishes into account. But there equally many who didn’t. As artists, as Brigid followers, it is as important to highlight where the power lay as when this power was circumvented or adjusted.

Different Productions, Different Perspectives

Each production of a play like Grania can bring forward different aspects of the story, depending on the social issues prevalent at the time. A fantastic example of Brigid the Poet, Art and Power. For instance, a production during a time of political upheaval might emphasize themes of rebellion and resistance, while a production in a more stable period might focus on personal relationships and moral dilemmas. This flexibility is a testament to the enduring power of art and its ability to adapt and remain relevant. The current production at the Abbey Theatre highlights the timeless nature of the story while also making it pertinent to contemporary audiences³.

It certainly prompted some conversations in my family over the weekend. Now, I haven’t seen Grania before. Although, surprising no one, I’ve read it. But this production brought out to me just how strong Gráinne has to be in this story. She comes from a wealthy background. She’s promised to a life of relative ease and comfort. She is unlikely to know much hardship or hunger in life. (Other than when famine strikes).

And yet, she went willingly into exile with a man of her choice, rather than look at continuing that easy life but marrying Fionn.

Conclusion – Brigid, Art and Power

Versions differ as to Gráinne’s subsequent actions. In some Aengus takes Diarmuid’s body to his home at Brú na Bóinne. In some Gráinne swears her children to avenge their father’s death upon Fionn, while in others she grieves until she dies herself. In some she is reconciled with Fionn, and negotiates peace between him and her sons; or goes so far as to marry Fionn at last.

The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne – Wikipedia

The ending in this version is that Finn sends Diarmuid off to die by fighting the “King of Foreign”. (I mean, for most of us in Ireland, depending on the time period, the “King of Foreign” would be Vikings, Normans or English. Time period dependent. ) And then, with his last breath, Diarmuid is more concerned with making things right with Finn than by taking any care of Gráinne.

So she essentially says, “screw him so” and goes and puts on her fancy clothes again and goes back to her life of luxury.

Gregory plays into the “marry Fionn at last” version of the story.

With so much going on around the world today, with so many areas where women either don’t have rights or are having those rights curtailed, rolled back or otherwise impaired, this examination of one woman’s expression of freedom is important. Gráinne always exercises autonomy in this story, no matter the version of it you hear. But, in this version, she is prepared to take account of what she thought was love from Diarmuid. She is prepared to make the hard choices. Most of all, she is prepared to leave behind a life she thought was full and happy, in the light of new information.

The Abbey Theatre’s production of Grania is a powerful example of how art can be used to reflect and challenge societal norms. By reimagining a classic tale through the lens of contemporary issues, the play demonstrates the enduring relevance of Brigid, Art, and Power. As the goddess of poets, Brigid inspires artists to use their creativity to address and reflect on the world around them, making art a powerful tool for social commentary and change. This production of Grania not only entertains but also provokes thought and discussion, embodying the true power of art in society.

I’ve written before about the importance of music in my spiritual practice, but what about Brigid and music? Is music important to herself?

I mean, I could just as easily have made this post about Brigid the poet, but I specifically wanted to talk about music today. Because, there is legitimate, proper, peer-reviewed research out there on how music can change moods. A quote from the abstract of the paper:

The iso principle comprises listening to music that matches the current mood of patients at first, and then to gradually shift to music that represents a desired mood

So, music is important for us as humans, but is music important to Brigid?

What is a poet?

Well, we know that poets in Gaelic Ireland were a lot more than musicians, although in later years, there was a lot more specialisation, as far as I can see. But music forms huge parts of the poet’s repertoire. If you want to see how the power of music was held in Gaelic Ireland, pop over to Jon O’Sullivan’s blog, DagdaBard.com, and check out this story. (I mean, check out all his stories, but this one resonates with the power of music for me right now)

Music was an important part of the poet’s arsenal. And yes, I do mean, arsenal. Did you pay attention to that story above? Or indeed to the satire laid by Coirpre son of Étain on Bres in Caith Maighe Tuireadh?

‘Bres’s prosperity no longer exists,’ he said, and that was true. There was only blight on him from that hour; and that is the first satire that was made in Ireland.

– Cath Maige Tuired: The Second Battle of Mag Tuired (ucc.ie)

Now, technically speaking, there is no mention of Coirpre singing for his satire, in fact, the text specifically uses the word “says”. But I believe that Brigid sees music in words as well…

At the same time, there is a music to his words:

Without food quickly on a dish,
Without cow’s milk on which a calf grows,
Without a man’s habitation after darkness remains,
Without paying a company of storytellers—let that be Bres’s condition.

– Cath Maige Tuired: The Second Battle of Mag Tuired (ucc.ie)

Brigid as goddess of poets

Brigid is specifically called out in Cormac’s Glossary as “goddess of poets” and not just “goddess of poetry”. It’s a bit of a difference, when you think about it. But in my experience, as a deity of poets, she welcomes a bit of praise poetry and song. And Brigid definitely includes music in her poetry in my experience!

I mean, I’ve yet to come across a deity that doesn’t like a bit of praise. Or indeed, a lot of praise. Seriously. Think of all the “official” prayers in most of the religions world-wide. There’s a lot of praise in there. And gratitude, thanks etc.

Brigid is no different. So if you fancy dedicating your version of Shania Twain’s Feel Like a Woman at top volume to Brigid, fire ahead. Although, I will say, she may not count it if it’s 2am and you’re plastered. #justsayin.

And there is value in training your voice as well – I haven’t done this, but it is something I’m considering to help me when I’m speaking in public. If there’s one thing voice training will help with, it’s breath control!

What is music?

Now, I did say above that Coirpre’s words have a musical quality to them. It’s not something I chase in my words usually, although people have said I can sound lyrical when talking. That’s probably due to the accent though. An Irish accent is a great asset in life! Something Brigid would appreciate.

“espression of emotion”, or something along those lines, is listed against any of the definitions of music I can find in the various dictionaries I have. I’ve spoken about self-care and emotional self-care before. (And you can join the self-care community over on teachable if you wish!) Music might not always be the means, but Brigid is big on expression of emotion as well!

Music can help us feel emotions, process emotion and deal with emotions. It’s sound and noise to some people, but those same sounds and noises can sound like pure heaven to others! Anyone listening to Heart Shaped Box and not getting a tug at the auld heartstrings… well I don’t know what to say to ye! (Yes, I’m biased, yes I’m showing my age, yes, I was a teenage grunger…)

Brigid, music and spiritual practice

Now, Brigid takes a firm interest in our emotional health as well as our physical health. We all know this. And, from the second section above, we know that music can play a role in helping us manage out emotions. So the idea that Brigid and music are linked is kinda a fall out for that. But it’s also tied in to her role in poetry. Not to mention the role of music in healing.

And if you want to push the point to the furthest extent, there is music in a smith’s forge as well. Any profession will sing to its practitioners.

Bringing music into your spiritual practice can deepen and enrich that practice. Seriously. I record most of my meditations without background music, because it’s easy enough to add some in, if you want it, but it’s harder to remove it if it’s already there. This is an area to suit yourself.

And of course, you may choose to include music intended to be spiritual in nature in your Brigid practice. Rather than my own choices of more mundane songs. You do you!

I know we’re hitting some heavy topics right now, but really freedom is so important in spirituality. And when you’re coming from a strict religious background, re-learning how to be free can be difficult, messy, painful… less than pleasant basically.

And honestly, if you know anything about the Irish pantheon, and Brigid in particular – you know they value people making free choices. I mean, they don’t always agree with the choices, but free will is important.

As I said in the caption – Braveheart is a film about Scottish attempts at independence from England. It’s not historically accurate, at all from what I can see, other than William Wallace existed. But it was at least partly filmed in Trim Castle, so feck it.

Freedom

But freedom is an important concept to consider in spirituality. And fundamentally, if your spiritual choices aren’t free, then are they real choices? So let’s have a chat about freedom. And how we can learn to be free.

Because freedom isn’t always a choice. When we talk about spiritual freedom, if you have never had spiritual freedom, you need to learn how to be free. Let’s explore.

There’s a basic one in that a state of freedom means you are not imprisone. Or have your movements restricted in any way. Or indeed, that you are not enslaved. Now, while you might think that this is pretty straightforward, have a think about it.

Do you have to power to change your life? To make fundamental decisions about the food you eat, the way you spend any money you have, where you live, who you socialise with, your education? Do you have the freedom to explore new experiences?

Many people will be reading this and objecting. What about the cost of these things? What about family? Friends? Social pressure?

All fair. And all affect freedom. But if it’s cost causing you not to explore alternative spiritual routes, then it’s not spiritual freedom that you lack. It’s money. And yes, there are people, even in developed nations, that don’t have internet access. Other than air, there’s very little in this world that doesn’t cost.

Types of freedom

So let’s look at the types of freedom. And how you can learn to be free.

You know the way they say “money doesn’t buy happiness”? I mean, it’s true. But only to a point! Money can buy freedom. Money can buy a lot in this world. This is why I talk about abundance sometimes. And not having money restricts more than you’d think. It affects the way you talk, plan, engage and live your life.

If you’re worrying about where your next meal is coming from, you’re not worrying about freedom of expression. Or indeed your spiritual life.

So, be wary of people who say money doesn’t buy happiness. It’s sort of true, but only after a certain point.

But spiritual freedom is something different. I mean, just cos you’re poor, doesn’t mean someone’s controlling your thoughts, right? Well…

Here’s where a type of freedom inherent in critical thinking comes in. Propaganda is all around us. Hell, there are people who will claim that this post is propaganda of a sort. I haven’t been hiding that I’m a Brigid follower and my politics and my spirituality are inextricably interlinked. So, consider this propaganda if you wish. And explore critical thinking skills to learn to be free from propaganda and how to deal with it!

Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfuly conceptualizing, applying, analysing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.

What is Critical Thinking? — University of Louisville Ideas To Action

I’m not describing anyone as sheeple though. Anyone who has sat down with me over a pint or a cuppa will tell you I love a good debate. If someone is preaching, or claiming to be a spiritual leader yet doesn’t allow questioning… well, that’s not promoting spiritual freedom. In fact, that’s one of the hallmarks of a cult.

Spiritual freedom

For me, spiritual freedom is the ability to explore and express your spirituality in safety. That means you are not in danger of losing your job, your income, your social life, your family, your children, your life as a result of exploring said spiritual freedom.

I read fairly often of pagans in the US that are extremely private about their spirituality because they don’t feel safe to express it. Now, of course, it’s not just the US. There are plenty of places where all sorts of religions are not safe to express. Judaism, Christianity, Islam… all the majors have been, and still are, oppressed in certain areas of the world. I will say in most of Western Europe and North America, Christianity is most certainly not oppressed. So don’t start, ok?

If you have access to a library for the first time in your life but are afraid to look at alternative spiritualities – that’s not freedom.

Maybe you’ve just escaped from a rigid spiritual upbringing but find yourself still adhering to certain elements of the framework out of habit.

Or, like me, you might find that things you thought were perfectly normal ways of living, are actually restrictions imposed by religion and you don’t want to do that any more.

These are all examples of lack of freedom. These are all examples of ways we can learn to be free again.

What does spiritual freedom look like?

For me, spiritual freedom means a number of things:

1. I am free to explore spiritualities that I was not brought up in.
2. I have the means to explore these spiritualities.
3. I am responsible for my own actions.
4. My conscience is my guide to right relationship, ethical behaviour and general living.
5. I can take in knowledge, information and guidance from other sources, but the final decision on anything rests with me.
6. There is no one else who can force or instruct me on how to behave. The choice is mine.

Now, I get it, this sounds wonderful. But it took a lot of work to get here. For example, one of the steps in AA is “Let go and let God”. If I’m responsible for all of my decisions and behaviours, how could I incorporate divine actions into this? This was all part of my 2learn to be free” plan.

That bits easy for me: there are things that I can control (my responses, actions, behaviours etc). there are things I can’t control:

1. The weather.
2. Other people. (I mean, I could, but it’s not ethical to do so…)
3. Major corporations.
4. The sea.
5. Religious rules.

Do you get the idea?

How to differentiate and what can you do?

One of the first steps I took was to figure out what was important to me and what I could control. There are those that would say I don’t always control my behaviour very well… well that’s their opinion. But, figuring out that there are things in this world that I can’t be held responsible for, was BIG for me.

I couldn’t be held responsible for other people’s behaviour.

I am not responsible for how major corporations, news outlets, newpapers, etc, etc, etc handle information.

In reality, I am a very small fish in this world and my arena of control is – relatively speaking – very small.

Learn to be free

This is all hugely liberating, but also hugely terrifying.

How do you be a good person, if there is no list of rules to adhere to? (Think 10 Commandments or something like that)

Well, you have to figure out a) what standards you’ll hold yourself to and b) how you will hold yourself to them.

Like I said, not easy. But worthwhile work. Now, if you want some support and guidance on this path, then, possible my new course, First Steps on Brigid’s Path is for you. And I do want people to engage with that, obviously.

But you can do this alone. There is nothing stopping you.

There are all sorts of resources on the internet to help with defining what’s important to you. How to develop critical thinking skills. Ways to divine for yourself the standards you will hold yourself to.

For me, there is a fundamental requirement in “freedom” that we take responsibility for ourselves. And it might be, that in the end, you find the standards you hold yourself to are in close alignment to one of the major religions. Maybe even the religious structure you grew up in and wanted to break free from.

Excellent.

Because religious structure and spiritual practices that you have come to after self exploration and study and contemplation will always be more valuable that just slavishly following someone else’s standards, rules and limitations.

It’s something many artists have attacked in their art: what would Brigid look like? Last week, we explored what language she might have spoken. This week, let’s explore what our darling deity might look like.

Modern inclinations – hair

There is a tendency in the modern world to assume that Brigid was red haired. She is described as fiery headed, and this ties into the stereotype of the green-eyed, red-haired Irish woman. Even 23andme explicitly links the red-hair mutation with Ireland and our distinct issues with Vitamin D.

But even in Ireland, the real percentage of people with red hair is comparatively small. I mean, ok, outside of Ireland, we’re looking at 1-2% of the population having red hair. In Ireland, it’s something like 10%. So, between 5 and 10 times the rate of the global population?

It’s possible Brigid had red hair. But she’s not known as Brig Rua. Brigid Rua, which would be common if she had red hair. None of the hagiographies or our tales mention any red hair.

But it’s there in the zeitgeist now. So this is one version of what Brigid looks like.

Clothing

With clothing, we’re on more solid ground. Kinda.

We have a fair idea of what St. Brigid would have worn. OK, again, we have the idea of the green mantle. Now, there is the text where she gains the land for her monastery in Kildare by spreading her cloack over the land and having 4 nuns each take 1 corner and start walking. No mention of colour though.

I don’t really have an issue with the idea of the green. I mean, green is so heavily associated with Ireland, it seems reasonable that it be linked to how Brigid looks.

Poet, Smith, Healer

We might all have ideas of how a poet, a smith or a healer might look like.

We also need to take into account that possibly, maybe, our tales might have exaggerated how tall the heroes were. Or indeed, their manes of hair (although fair and dark are the most commonly mentioned. Rare is red mentioned)

I mean, I find it unlikely that there were so many 7foot+ tall people wandering around the island as some of our tales might suggest…

There’s no mention of height with Brigid. But we might need to put aside modern images of what a poet, smith or healer might look like. For a start, poets had to survive travelling from place to place. In wilderness. With dangers and trials and perils aplenty. So, they might have been a bit better built than we imagine. And Brigid is a poet. So, Brigid the Poet, she might look a bit more sturdy than the scholarly build we might imagine.

Similarly, with Brigid the Smith. We imagine a smith as big, burly, muscular. But that doesn’t mean that Brigid looks like the Dagda… I mean, for a start, she’s female and has certain attributes the Dagda, as far as I’m aware, lacks…

And honestly, any good healer I’ve ever known has never lived up to the stereotype of gentle and mild. They can be fierce, strong, vicious when their patients are threatened. Even if said patients are threatened by themselves… Can you imagine Brigid appearing to confront a patient who wasn’t taking care of themselves?

Even the saint un-cured the leper who didn’t follow through on her instructions….

Essentially

Brigid is a saint and a deity. What she looks like, is entirely up to her. She can appear as young or old, short or tall, square or round. She has appeared to me in all sorts of guises. Including as a flame. As in not appearing in human shape at all.

We all have ideas of how Brigid should appear. But we can’t let ourselves be limited by this. Be realistic. Our modern romantic notions don’t always match up to the reality.

Just because she chooses to appear in a way you don’t expect, don’t be disappointed, or doubt whether it’s Brigid you’re dealing with. There’s few enough beings willing to impersonate her. Trust me on this one.

We can’t bind a deity into our notions of what they should look like. We have to accept them as they appear to us. No matter how strange it might appear to us!

Today I want to talk a little bit about the Barbie film that was released last year. Well, I really want to talk about its effect on me, because it’s coming up in my mind. Some of you will have seen a picture from me a few weeks ago. I was wearing pink sparkling tights. I’m wearing them again today. Not everybody has the same relationship with pink that I do, but I am going to talk about Barbie, pink and me today.

My history with pink and femininity

I rejected anything pink related when I was a reasonably young child. I could see that the boys in my life had more freedom. The way they were able to do the things that I wasn’t. Most notably, and this has nothing to do with pink, but they got to play sports for the last hour on a Friday. Whereas I had to stay in and knit. I’m so not still bitter, not after 35 years. No, not at all.

However, it is important for me to remember. My relationship with pink and with Barbie was coloured by the environment and the society in which I grew up. Why do I care about this? Why would I be worried about a modern single colour that really is the combination of red and twice 2 colours? I have nothing against either. Well, technically I have an issue with white. But that’s only because I manage to dirty it so easily.  And it’s not that pink is such an amazing colour that it suits me brilliantly. It’s more that I became aware that I was allowing people outside of myself to control how I engaged with colour.

I know this is not a radical thought. Yes, from the time I could choose what I wore. I was in trousers of some description with a top most of the time. In my teenage years, when I discovered grunge, that top was a black T-shirt. Usually a band t-shirt, blue jeans and black docs or black converse for the summer.  Yeah, that was it, that was what I wore pretty much full time.

What I lost in my rejection of pink

Now there’s nothing wrong with black. I still wear quite a lot of black, but I didn’t realise the effect the colours I wore had on me. Pink was too girly. Far too girly and I didn’t want to be seen as girly. Black was safe, black kept me hidden, black let me fade into the background. I have shared before that I maintained I could outdrink, outshag and out-anything-else the boys (and men) around me. Which is fine, but it wasn’t me. It wasn’t who I really wanted to be. (I’ve also written before about the liminal space alcohol takes up in Ireland)

In my rejection of pink, in particular Barbie pink, I also rejected a major part of me.  In the years since then, I have of course reclaimed some of those parts of myself. I have embraced my feminine side. Well, I kind of had to when we were going through all those fertility treatments. I started to look into what it meant to me to be a woman. I still don’t have a full answer. But I’m getting closer and I thought I was pretty happy. I’m comfortable in myself, at least.

I didn’t have too many Barbies growing up. In saying that, there weren’t too many Barbies readily available, never mind affordable, when I was growing up. I definitely had one at least. I had a Sindy as well (cheaper version of Barbie). And if you had asked me a year ago, I would have only mentioned Barbie in the context of the unrealistic body representations the doll imposed on young girls. I didn’t think of Barbie as anything other than that.

Barbie pink: the film

(Yes I know that’s not the title!)

When I heard there was a Barbie film coming out, I really couldn’t understand the excitement. Seriously. As far as I was concerned, Barbie hadn’t changed since I was child and my experience was all there was.

But then I started reading the reviews. The feminist critiques, both pro and con the film. And I started realising that maybe there was more to this that just an unrealistically shaped dolls. I mean, I didn’t realise the depth of the film at all – I thought it was a marketing campaign to start with, to be honest.

But I was wrong. Boy was I wrong.

I saw this film twice in the cinema. Both times, I ended up in tears, because it was such a powerful and moving experience. The first time I dragged my husband along with me and afterwards, we were both shocked at how much we enjoyed the film.  I believe my husband might have enjoyed the multi-generational family behind us, more than the film itself. How excited they all were, from the toddler to what we were assuming was a grandmother. Possibly great-grandmother, for that matter.  It was really nice to see and if nothing else, Barbie allowed families like that to come together.

Prior to Barbie, I had a few pink t-shirts in my wardrobe. And I would pull them out when I wasn’t leaving the house, or we were due to do the washing. You know, the days there are no other clean clothes around, that sort of thing. After the first time I saw the film though, I bought a pair of Barbie pink-coloured tights, specifically brought out for the film, as far as I can tell. Although, unfortunately not on sale anymore!

I wore them to the second time I went to see the film. And that was the start of the reclamation of pink for me.

But back to me, Barbie and pink

For me, this ties into my work with Brigid, in that she can and will insist I challenge my own biases and preconceptions. I mean, look, if you haven’t seen the film, go see it. But even if you don’t want to see it, you can read the multitude of articles about it. It’s well worth it.

I struggled to push myself to see this film. Even when I read all the coverage, by people I respect and admire. Getting my husband to come along was a feat I think I will never replicate. We were both shocked at how much we enjoyed the film, just as a film. Never mind the by-play in the seats behind us.

I had never explored just what Barbie meant to those who grew up with her. Throughout this article I’m sprinkling pics of just some of the Barbies I found that were named “engineer”. (There are two others I couldn’t find viewable pics of)

Barbie helped, and continues to help, girls see themselves as something other than wives and mothers. There’s nothing wrong with wives and mothers, mind. But there is something wrong when that’s all we allow a subset of the population to be.

The positive side

Barbie gave girls options to play as engineers, scientists, doctors.

And yes, pink does dominate still, as far as I can see. But why is pink so bad? Most of the reason I had such problems with pink, and especially that particular Barbie pink, was because of my own inbuilt sexism.

Pink = girly and girly = bad. Pink didn’t mean serious. It wasn’t professional, competent, modern. Pink meant someone who didn’t care very much and never want to grow up.

Obviously my view on pink has changed. I now wear pink sparkly tights to work!!

But there’s more than that. Barbie has been working hard on its representation in all areas (Google terms like “wheelchair + Barbie”. “crutches for Barbie”, “differently abled Barbie” and please forgive me if those terms are not correct. But these dolls exist.)

Reclaiming pink fitted another part of myself back to me. Pink is a great colour! And ok, with red hair, it’s not always the best colour to wear, but who says I have to adhere to that standard?

I can wear whatever colours I want!

All the time I was pushing Barbie pink, in particular, away, I was pushing part of myself away. Because, yes, there is a part of me that likes being silly. There is a part of me that likes to wear bright colours.

Finishing up now

I enjoy wearing things to work that make me feel happy. And sometimes – that’s pink.

Fertility attempts are mentioned above. This wasn’t my favourite time in my life. But it started me on the journey to reclaim the feminine part of me. Barbie pushed me that bit more. I tend to work in very serious and high pressure roles in work, so introducing that bit of silliness into my life is important.

I’m not going to say Barbie healed me or that Barbie pink is a regular colour I choose. I’m not in the habit of lying to ye! But I will say that employing things like colour gives me the chance to smile a bit during the day. It gives other people around me the chance to smile as well.

So, I’m going to thank Barbie, for giving me back another piece of myself that I had suppressed and rejected for so long.

For generations, we have been told spiritual can’t be in with the mundane. Well, I disagree. If you have ever taken one of my classes, especially the ones on ritual, you will know I take a very practical approach to these things.

What do I mean by these terms? What is the spiritual in the mundane?

I have a whole blog post on “What is Spirituality?” but here we go.

What is spirituality?

There are four key elements that come up whenever spirituality is mentioned:

• sense of interconnectedness with the cosmos, nature
• reverence for life
• transcendence
• meaning in life

Now, I’m not going to go into detail with all of them because it’s already there in that last post I’ve linked above, but ye get the idea yes?

Mundane

mundane

/ˌmʌnˈdeɪn/

adjective

1. lacking interest or excitement; dull.”his mundane, humdrum existence”
2. of this earthly world rather than a heavenly or spiritual one. “according to the Shinto doctrine, spirits of the dead can act upon the mundane world

Good old Dictionary.com!

So, usually, when I use “mundane” in this contect, I mean non-spiritual.

Yeah, it’s that easy. It’s the day-to-day. Life. The stuff we spend our time on.

Now there is that secondary definition which essentially links to “not very interesting”. But here’s the thing: we’re fascinated by the Roman Empire. (Well, a distinct subset of the population is, anyway). How many people in the Roman Empire though their bathroom habits were anything but mundane?

And yet, try google “Roman bathroom habits”. Go on. I’ll wait.

Exactly. People are fascinated.

So while the mundane might seem uninteresting and energy-dragging to us, we can train ourselves to include the spiritual in the mundane.

Spiritual in the mundane

So, how do we practice this spiritual in the mundane business?

Awareness.

We pay attention. We are mindful. The nature around us – and I don’t care where you are, urban or rural, trust me, there is nature around you – is a great way to practice this.

What is the wind doing? What’s the weather like? Are there birds around you?

What can you notice in the world around you? How can you incorporate the spiritual in your mundane life?

Most of us don’t have the wherewithal to dedicate hours a day to the spiritual side of life. We have jobs, families, chores, etc, etc, etc

Even the sheer mundanity of feeding ourselves…

So, we incorporate.

Fine, but bloody, hell, HOW?

When you make your cup of coffee in the morning – make two, give one to Brigid.

Pause before leaving the house in the morning or before getting into your car, take a breath and say “Hi, Brigid”.

Light a candle (or light an electric candle)

Take a deep breath and think of Brigid as you do.

there’s just a few practical, solid, authentic ideas. Sure, you can spruce them up a bit. Use a bit of Irish. Try 5mins meditation. But I’m kinda assuming time is a scarce resource here, to be honest.

Why do I care about this?

Cos I’ve been there. Brigid has taught me how to mix spiritual and mundane in a way that makes sense to me and support my life. And I want to help others do the same.

Listen, the 5mins a day method was a great way for me to get started, but as you can see from my email the other day, things are very very different now. These days, I do a LOT more than 5mins a day and Brigid has been so helpful in creating that life so that I can do this.

Oh, and there’s so much I can do to help you along the same way. I don’t care how busy you are, there are ways to do this. To see the spiritual in the mundane. To incorporate the spiritual into daily life. Let’s allow ourselves to ease into that flow of right relationship with deity so that it’s not an added extra chore to do.

What’s next?

Maybe, making a spiritual practice an extra chore is heading back towards religion by rote. A lot of us grew up with that, and we moved on for a reason. I want something different for you. I want something more for you, something better. The idea of anyone heading back into a rigid, rule bound spirituality, similar to the one they’ve worked so hard to leave, is abhorrent.

And maybe, that means we have to deconstruct some of the beliefs and thoughts that are still hanging on from that time. Maybe it means we look at what you liked about the community you left. Because it wasn’t necessarily all bad. There might be golden nuggets in the dross. That doesn’t mean you go back and restrict and limit yourself. But it might help inform you as to how you build your new practice.

So, you can head back through my many blog posts and figure things out from there. You reach out to me for help. Check out my Brigid’s Path Collective coaching group (yes, I finally named the damn thing!)

Most of all: trust yourself. Take a look at the brief things I mentioned above. Pick one. Move forward!

Brigid is closely linked to abundance – certainly prosperity (although how you distinguish is mainly personal!) I’m writing this in the form of a letter, kind of, because that’s how she’s been talking to me. I have her voice in my ear on this, so let’s go.

Where you are

You’re struggling with abundance in your life, I can see that. And you probably don’t realise just how helpful Brigid is in this regard. Brigid is so closely related to abundance. Many of the traditional practices around Imbolc are closely tied to fertility and abundance for the coming year.

I feel you. It can feel so difficult in a capitalist society to feel like you can never get ahead. Especially if you’re working in the creative or spiritual sphere. But it’s really not true. There is so much we can do to determine our own abundance. It’s not always taking on a second job or pushing to get a pay rise. Sometimes it’s about determining for ourselves: what does abundance mean to us?

Sometimes it’s about working through what supports us, helps up, moves us to a place where we feel abundant, and we can see abundance coming towards us. Sometimes it’s about expanding out concept of abundance and examine what is it exactly that makes us feel abundant – it’s not always clearly money.

Maybe it’s time to spend with family, deity, alone, doing something we love. It could be planning the vacation of a lifetime and being able to see a path towards saving enough for it. It could be buying whatever book you want to buy whenever you want to buy it (Not personal that one at all)

Back to money though

Now I understand, paying out to attract more abundance into your life doesn’t appear to be overly sensible on the face of it. But here’s the thing: obviously what you’ve been doing up to now, isn’t working. You’re still feeling stuck, still feeling unable to attract and manifest that abundance you know you deserve.

Or maybe that’s it, maybe you feel like you don’t really deserve abundance. Maybe those old early thoughts and beliefs of you being no better than anyone else are still hanging around your mind. They’re not true. Yes, we should all be equal in the eyes of the law, but that’s no reason for you to limit your abundance.

In this coaching program, we will challenge those beliefs. We will dive deep into what’s holding you back from getting what you want and need from this life. We will figure out how to create this life that you want and definitely deserve for you.

Last week I wrote about my self worth journey

I’ve been there. I have limited myself in so many different ways and I had so many self-limiting beliefs to tackle. Hell, I still have some to tackle. This is work that is never done, in my opinion. Seriously. So, when I say I know what I’m doing here, I really, really know. I have all sorts of tools and techniques to help you with this, but probably more importantly – I can help you find those blind spots. I can help you search out the bits that you might not even be aware of – like why you’re holding on to these beliefs; why they might have helped you keep safe earlier in your life; why and how part of you is holding on to these beliefs so tightly. Because, again – I’ve been there.

I don’t say I was Brigid’s most stubborn follower for nothing! It took her years to get me working on this stuff. Really and truly years. Don’t let yourself be held back by yourself. Step forward. Sign up. Let me help you.

A few days ago I posted in the Forge, talking about making breakfast as an act of Brigid-influenced self-care. I was also speaking about how this is something that Bridget has had to support me in quite a lot, which is a bit embarrassing to have to say.  Because it’s very easy for most people to feed themselves. This is not something that’s people struggle with most of the time.

Now, in line with Brigid self care, I will be mentioning disordered eating, overexercising, and other forms of self harm in this post.

But I am one of the people that does struggle with this. It comes from a long history of disordered eating, of struggles with my body, with my self worth, with my image, with all sorts of different things.  And while it’s not necessarily a major part of my life anymore, for the last few years, looking after myself has not been on the day to day schedule the way I would like it to be. Don’t get me wrong. Brigid has been pushing self care all that time with me. This is not something she wants me to cancel or to stop or anything. What do I mean by self care and where does Brigid come in?

The joys of an 80’s (rural) Irish childhood

Alright, so taking this back up. I need to go into little bit of history about myself. When I was growing up, I was always bigger, but I was a kid. That was a really positive thing to be. You know, the Irish have a dislike of seeing a skinny child. It’s a thing culturally that I expect is something to do with An Górta Mór or the Great Famine. There are strong tendencies in our culture to prefer rounder kids. (Or there were in the 80’s anyway!!) I’m part of that. (Can an entire nation do shadow work, I wonder?)

Added to that – and this was the case in many Irish families – my family was a firm member of the “clean plate club”. Whatever was on your plate, you finished it. Now, look. My darling parents did the absolute best they could For me. Every night, we had a home cooked dinner. Every single day, we had homemade lunches. We had breakfast every day. And the idea of going out or getting a take away wasn’t even a once a year treat. It was far less often than that!

Brigid, self-care and… McDonald’s?

So here’s a funny story about that, just as an insert. When I went to school, I had heard people talking about McDonald’s. So, I asked could I go to McDonald’s for my birthday? And ma and dad were like, you know something let’s give it a go. As a treat. What’s the worst that could happen? We were standing in O’Connell Street in Dublin, mid-eighties. At the time, I’m almost certain there were as many as 3 McDonald’s on the street. Definitely 2 anyway. The way Dad tells the story, we were standing across the road from one of them, when they eventually stopped a guard to ask where they could find this McDonald’s place! (The guard was too polite to laugh apparently…) Our cultural experience was so limited that we didn’t even recognise the gold arches.

Now Dad wasn’t overly impressed by the whole thing (to this day, he definitely prefers Supermacs, although that could be because that’s owned by a Galway man!) But he tells that story fairly often.   (And yes, I’ve confirmed with Brigid, an act of self-care could be either a visit to McDonald’s or Supermacs. While she’s leaning more towards Supermacs cos it’s Irish, she has no real beef with McDonalds in Ireland…)

Personal backstory and a few sensitive topics

All the time I was growing up, being a “big, healthy girl” was a compliment. My darling Dad once referred to me as a fine lump of an Irish heifer and couldn’t understand why I didn’t take it as such! But it seemed like overnight, the conversation changed. From “Aren’t you a fine big girl” , the commentary switched to “big was bad”.

It wasn’t good that I was the same size or bigger than most of the boys in my class. I was meant to be small and petite and delicate. Honestly. I have no idea what happened or where that came from, but overnight, everything changed. 

Then I went to boarding school. Now on the one hand, boarding school was a great exercise in self care for both my mother and myself. I see Brigid’s hand strongly here. But at the same time, boarding schools not a great place if you are bordering into disordered eating. There were a lot of girls there who, I recognise now, had eating disorders. I learned all sorts of ways to hide my relationship with food. This wasn’t something that was taught to us, you understand, but picked up through observation.

Now you wouldn’t expect loneliness to be an issue in boarding schools, but it very much can be. And comforts aren’t necessarily plentiful. We weren’t abused or anything where I was. We had some privacy etc. But just having a jammies day, wasn’t an option. Staying home from school was a bit of an issue. Having the special food your Mammy made for you when you were sick. That sort of thing. I loved my time there, but it wasn’t perfect. Brigid, self care – weren’t words that were heard too often.

Depression

I’m fairly certain I had depression in my teens and during my college years. Looking back it’s a lot easier to see the signs than it was at the time. During college I started dieting and exercising – to get healthy. I started developing disordered eating and a very unhealthy relationship with alcohol. At the weekends, I was surviving mostly on chocolate, cheesecake and alcohol. Now, there’s nothing wrong with chocolate or cheesecake. Absolutely nothing. When that’s all I was eating for three days a week, then there is a problem there.

I was using food to punish myself. I wasn’t worthy of food. Most certainly,I didn’t deserve self care. (Yeah, you can imagine Brigid popping over my shoulder right now with that stern look she gets!) I was on a mission to make myself less. Tried all sorts of low calorie diets. I thought I was getting healthy. Not the case.

I was not looking after myself. I mean, I looked really, really fit and healthy. And I had a really low heart beat. Like “elite athlete” low. But I wasn’t an elite athlete. I had an eating disorder.

I started getting into the anti-diet movement and dealing with my depression. Medication. Meditation. Looking at religion and spirituality. Examining why I felt the need to punish myself, using food, exercise, alcohol. Why did I think I deserved all this?

Brigid, self care and clothes

Brigid’s form of self care can be a slap across the back of the head, but it can also be gentle. And she has been gentle with me in times like this. Caring for my body by eating food, moving, getting enough sleep, washing… (I’ve had some bad depressive episodes)

I still struggle sometimes to recognise if a trousers feels too tight. Seriously. I have to tune into my body and really focus to recognise things like this sometimes. I’m not talking, struggling to get the zip done up tight. More like, leaving red marks everywhere tight. It was only a few years ago I found out that comfortable bras exist. I mean, ok I still have those bras that are meant to be worn for 5mins max, so someone can get a nice look, before ripping them off. But have you any idea the difference it makes when your clothes actually feel good against your skin? Not tight, not scratchy, but… pleasant?

More generally then

This is probably going to be a life long journey for me. It is not always going to be an easy ride. It’s not been an easy ride, this far anyway.

I’m going to offer two different situations here. Consider allowing yourself to not have chocolate. People don’t understand this. But allow yourself not to have chocolate.  It’s an act of self-care as much as allowing yourself to have chocolate. Different locations, different circumstances. Different bodily needs. There are times when having chocolate is self care. There are times when it serves as punishment. Only you know which is which though!

Allowing myself to eat breakfast in work was an act of self care. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the best I could do at that time. For the last 5 years, I’ve been getting up approx 5am and leaving the house before 6am. Breakfast was just one more load to add into that time and it didn’t work.

But it didn’t work really well. It eased one stress, but caused others. So, taking a job closer to home was an act of Brigid-ordered self care. I have time to have breakfast at home now, meaning I feel better coming into work in the morning.

I suppose what I’m saying here is that, self care can be big things or small things. Maybe sitting down and paying your bills (or as many of them as you can) is an act of self care. Maybe deliberately choosing which bill not to pay is an act of self care. Brigid self-care isn’t limited to bubble baths and prosecco. Ye know how practical she is!

I’m going to finish now!

Cos I’ve rabbited on for 1600 words…

Today, I’ve already completed an act of self care. I ordered a skipping rope on Amazon. It arrives on Monday. I was inspired by this video on Facebook. (As an aside, if you are interested in science based health tips, Ben Carpenter is really good, I find!)

I like the idea of committing to 1min a day on myself. And I know many of you are out there thinking of the luxury of a full minute to yourself! So I’m debating how I will track this, but I’m thinking of a video whenever I do it (cos it’s going to be almost daily)

Do ye want to join me? Maybe we make it a Brigid self care challenge?

I wrote about Brigid and nuance a few months ago. Now that post received mixed responses, leading to the edits and subsequent emails I sent hoping to clarify my position. Let me be clear – I can want Gaza free from oppression and violence, to allow those poor people to recover from the rape and torture they have suffered (possibly allow them to rebuild their lives and prosper as opposed to survive?) want the Israeli hostages sent home where they might have a chance to recover from the rape and torture they have suffered.

But honestly, that’s not what I want to talk about today.

OK, let’s leave that particular conflict to one side for a bit.

I decided to write this because of an email I received when I started this series on spirituality and religion. Chelsea asked the following:

1) Was there anything in Irish Spirituality, particularly while working with the goddess Brigid that helped you move away from an oppressive view of good and evil that we see in Christianity? Feel free to elaborate on how this relates to challenging the pro-life pro-choice dichotomy. I understand this may be an ethnocentric problem the rest of the world doesn’t seem so bothered with.

2) Were there any resources that you used to help contextualize or deconstruct from said view of good and evil?

Quote from an email I received from Chelsea

Now, I explored this a bit in the video over in patreon (if you’re not over there, why not join!) but I want to explore a bit further now.

I have said before that Brigid links with nuance, with liminality, with the grey in life.

And this feeds deeply into how I separated myself from hard and fast rules about good vs evil. Binaries just don’t work in most situations. There is nearly always nuance, nearly always grey area.

I’ve spoken about this before, but it bears repeating:

As humans, we live in the grey, the liminal, the uncertain.

There are probably things we can all agree on with regard to human life and human rights. We generally agree with the notion that people should not be imprisoned. Except, that pretty much every country in the world has laws which allow for people to be imprisoned, under certain circumstances. Grey. Liminality. Brigid Nuance.

This is the area in which Brigid operates a lot. She is strong in the nuance game, in the extraction of specific situations and applying general principles to a specific circumstance.

She is the goddess of poets after all, and in Gaelic Ireland, the poets were the lawgivers. And, WOW were they masters of nuance. When I say they thought of a lot of circumstances where the law would apply and the different nuances that would apply. There are entire books on things like cats, beekeeping, stray cattle… No wonder they chose Brigid as their deity!

Dichotomies are man made

And yes, I’m deliberately using the term “man made” there. Binaries don’t really exist in nature. Dichotomies don’t really exist in nature. Brigid’s nuance does. We don’t have clear boundaries between seasons, between stages of life, between survival and growth versus death. Sometimes it can be as little as a blade of grass, other times there’s no obvious reasons for one species to survive and another to fade.

And yes, I don’t believe there is a dichotomy between pro-life and pro-choice, again it’s man made. I maintain that a world where abortion is readily, freely and legally available but never needed is the best solution. (Brigid and nuance have links here as well, given her connections to fertility, women, women’s rights, etc)

But this means that politicians can’t stand up and explain their situation in simple soundbites. Nuance doesn’t help win elections. (If it’s different in your country, please let me know!)

Brigid doesn’t really give a damn about artificial dichotomies like this. Brigid is comfortable in the grey, as I’ve said. The problem is that a world where abortions are never needed is a world with a lot of education. When we provide proper, accurate, effective education about sex, gender, reproduction and all the rest… we see a massive improvement in all sorts of areas. Mental health, sexual health, expressions of sexuality, teenage pregnancies… all these metrics move in the right direct (in the direction of greater health) when we provide proper education.

So why don’t we?

Good vs Evil

As Christians, we often hear that sex is inherently wrong. That people don’t need to know about sex. At least not until they are in a good, God-fearing, Church-defined marriage anyway. And even then… only under certain circumstances. Technically, the Catholic Church teaches that sex should only be happening in the interest of producing children. I’m not joking.

Now, one way people get around this, especially for post-menopausal women, is to quote the story of Mary’s cousin Elizabeth (John the Baptist’s mother) Elizabeth gave birth long after the age it was considered possible. So, having sex after menopause is just providing God with the opportunity for another miracle…

Binary thinking can lead to a lot of cognitive dissonance.

And we see this continually. Black and white thinking forces people into cognitive dissonance. Brigid and grey areas, help. I mean, sex is a relatively normal human activity, right? It happens in the animal community as well. Without sex, our survival as a species? A bit under pressure, to say the least!

How to manage the grey areas then?

How do we deal with these grey areas? It’s unfortunately up to individual choice.

We must conduct our own personal work here. Using abortion as an example, I read up on some of the many studies done on the effects of appropriate sex ed, sexual health resources and abortion resources. I educated myself. Ultimately this lead me to a sexual health diploma last year. I made sure, to the best of my ability, that I was as informed as I could be.

Do I believe abortion is the correct choice in all cases? Absolutely not. But I do believe that a pregnant person’s right to choose what happens to their body is paramount. I don’t have the right to make that choice for anyone else – whether by supporting a so-called “pro-life” politician or by agreeing to cut funding to essential education and health services.

Having strict rules and black and white areas makes life easier. I get that. But Brigid isn’t here to make our life easy as such. She can and will provide guidance. She is excellent at outlining what she wants from us!

But essentially, it is up to us to educate ourselves on the decisions we make. We live in the grey.

This time of year can be difficult for us Brigid devotees. The season of Imbolc is drawing to a close and it can feel like a real energy drop. I get many, many questions and queries this time of year about how to continue the Brigid journey after Imbolc. Ongoing Brigid coaching may provide part of the answer, but it can be difficult to find the right program or the right coach.

Well, this year, I may have a solution for a very small number of people. I’m presenting a 6 month, in depth coaching program, specifically designed for people wanting to take their relationship with Brigid deeper.

This is no ordinary course from me. There will be very few slides, although there will be teaching and discussion. Essentially, this will be a transformative journey, deep into the lore and academic research regarding Brigid, her associations, the archaeological sites associated with her and the stories told about her.

Are you ready to embark on a transformative odyssey that will deepen your relationship with Brigid and illuminate the path to your inner wisdom? Welcome to our exclusive 6-month Brigid coaching program, where the flames of knowledge merge with the soothing waters of introspection.

Unveiling the Program

This coaching program is not just a journey; it’s an immersion. Over six months, you’ll partake in a carefully crafted itinerary designed to nourish your mind, body, and spirit. Here’s what you can expect:

Group Calls and Individual Sessions: Thrive in the collective energy of like-minded seekers with three group calls each month. Additionally, experience the undivided attention of personalized guidance with one individual call per month. This ensures your unique journey with Brigid is nurtured and honored.

Guided Meditations: Delve into the depths of meditation with a minimum of two guided sessions per month. These immersive experiences will allow you to forge a profound connection with Brigid. And it will lead you to tap into her divine wisdom and nurture your inner flame.

Academic Exploration: Immerse yourself in the scholarly realms of Brigid’s lore with engagements in academic research. Explore the archaeology of Brigid-related sites and unravel the enigmatic threads of hagiographies and manuscripts. This then allows you to enrich your understanding of Brigid’s multifaceted presence.

In-depth Discussions: Engage in weekly discussions where no topic is off-limits. Dive deep into the mysteries surrounding Brigid, guided by both structured themes and spontaneous insights from the group. The aim is to foster a dynamic exchange of knowledge and wisdom.

Exclusive Access: With a limited capacity of only five participants, this program offers an intimate and personalized experience. Receive the individualized attention and coaching needed to navigate your unique journey with Brigid, ensuring that every step you take is illuminated by her divine guidance.

Embrace the Flame

Are you ready to ignite the spark of transformation within? Do you want to explore where your personal Brigid journey can take you? Are you willing to face the challenges of the Anvil, the heat of the Forge and the Healing of her Wells? Can you confront your own desires and wishes, and possibly check how they align with her plans for you?

This is all a bit poetic, I know, but there is hard work involved. We’re not looking to delve deep into some “dark night of the soul”! I firmly believe in a practical approach to spirituality, as ye know. But there will be joy as well. There will be pleasure. There will be an exploration of your own personal journey up to now and where you want to go from here.  

What now?

Has your time has come to heed the call of the flame and embrace the transformative power of Brigid’s wisdom? Enroll now in our exclusive 6-month coaching program and embark on a journey that will forever deepen your relationship with Brigid. Or indeed, show you your path lies in a different direction. Embrace the flame within and let Brigid’s light guide you towards your true purpose.