Irish Mythology: Brigid

irish mythology: brigid

brigid is the goddess associated with wisdom, poetry, healing, protection, smithing, and domesticated animals.

𝕿𝖍𝖚𝖗𝖘𝖉𝖆𝖞

Happy Thursday!

Taking its name from the Norse god Thor, this is a great day to work magic regarding growth, expansion, prosperity, business, abundance, and success.

Color: Royal blue, green, purple

Planet: Jupiter

Deities: Thor, Zeus, Jupiter, Juno

Crystals: Turquoise, amethyst, lapis lazuli

Herbs: Honeysuckle, oak, cinquefoil

Associations: Honor, loyalty, harvest, prosperity, abundance, wealth, healing

Grounding and Centering

If you haven't already, visit my visualisation lessons for the background info needed for this lesson.

Being able to ground and centre your energy is very useful in meditation and spell work. Using basic visualisation techniques, you can change and manipulate the energy you are putting out, raise your vibration, or bring yourself back to reality after spellwork. Let's go over the specifics and how to do them, but the TLDR is that grounding is connecting to the energy of the universe around you, and centering is aligning this energy with your intention.

Grounding

Grounding can be done before or after spellwork, and it depends on what feels right for you. The idea is to draw neutral energy from the earth and the universe, as the energy within ourselves can often be unstable because of our emotions or other external influences. It can also be used to send excess energy back into the earth, preventing feeling wired or unable to sleep after spellwork. Here are some easy ways to practice grounding.

Visualise tree roots spreading down from your legs, connecting you to the earth, and branches spreading up from your arms into the sky connecting you to the universe. Consider the energy of the universe being drawn into you through these roots and branches.

Consider your energy as running water, perhaps from a tap or a river. To prevent excess energy, visualise this tap being turned off, or the flow of the river being stopped.

When I practice divination or dreamwork, I sometimes visualise my third eye opening before and then closing again after to prevent using this energy constantly.

Eat something or take a shower after spellwork to quickly ground yourself.

You can try standing barefoot in the dirt or even rain as a quick and more literal way to ground.

Centering

Centering involves drawing energy inward before spellwork, allowing us to align this energy with our intention and the mentality needed to carry out magick. It prevents passing thoughts, feelings and distractions from making our energy and spellwork less effective. Where you feel your energy centering is different for everyone - it might be behind your third eye, in your heart, your stomach, or in the palms of your hands. Wherever it may be, the point is to draw this scattered energy inward. Here are some methods.

Visualise your energy fragmented around you, as shattered glass, water droplets, or whatever feels right. Consider drawing this energy towards your centre, as though you are a magnet pulling these fragmented pieces back into a whole.

As you are drawing your energy in, meditate on your intention and the end goal of your spellwork. Or why you are centering your energy - is it to have better control over the existing energy in your body, or to set an intention for the neutral energy drawn in through grounding? The aim is to have a concentration of energy with a specific intention.

Centering can be used for changing your vibration specifically for different kinds of spellwork - where a protection spell would require a different type of energy to that of cursing.

Note: Some people will use these terms interchangeably or to mean one overarching thing, and others will specify whether they mean centering or grounding as I have done here. The two practices are very similar and can overlap, so don't worry about getting them confused. The important thing is to do what feels right for your practice and whatever helps you.

As always, thanks for reading! If you have any questions or suggestions for future lessons, feel free to message or send an ask. Visit my tags for previous lessons!

Thoughts on Offerings

The thing about an offering is that it has to come from you for the being you're offering it to. It is specifically FROM YOU meaning it has to be something within your power to give.

This could be something more easy or more difficult, but gods, spirits, ancestors, etc. aren't stupid--they know what you can and can't do.

They know if you're a minimum wage worker, or a broke college student. They know if you're well off financially but maybe you've burnt out and can offer expensive gifts but not much time or energy.

An offering shouldn't be the easiest thing in the world to give, but it never is, because if it was then you could do it without thinking about it. Even offering a prayer or words of veneration is an offering. If you can do more then do it!

The point behind an offering is intention and the means to give the offering. However that manifests for you is almost always gunna be good enough!!

For example: Hunting may be one way you could give offerings to the god Lugh--who I follow. Or taking part in competitive games, but I am asthmatic and trans and organized sports don't tend to like people like me very much.

And he has never asked this of me cuz he knows that's not my vibe!! Nor would it be much of an offering since it's not much within my wheelhouse, lmao. But did I spend 2+ hours painting my nails as perfectly as I could and offer that creative energy and time to him? YES!

TL;DR - Sometimes offerings are like:

"I'd like a coke." "We don't have coke, is pepsi ok?"

Brigid