Morgan Daimler - Pagan Portals--Brigid: Meeting The Celtic Goddess Of Poetry, Forge, And Healing Well

This book is a confident piece of work that is both erudite and lucid no easy task at any time, but when handling such a complex and sensitive subject it is extremely difficult. Not only does this book succeed, it seems to me to be a model to which other writers should aspire. Its clarity and the authors obvious enthusiasm for the subject make it a compelling read. An excellent compendium of the subject worth its place on anyones shelf.

Graeme K Talboys, author of The Way of the Druid

Pagan Portals Brigid: Meeting the Celtic Goddess of Poetry, Forge, and Healing Well is one of the best introductions to Brigid that I have read. The book is well researched and grounded in mythology and folklore, offering the reader a thorough overview of the Goddess as well as dealing with popular misconceptions. I particularly appreciated the inclusion of the lesser known Irish Brigids, the authors own experiences and her suggestions for further exploration. Daimlers style of writing, with her blend of the scholarly and the personal, ensures that the book is accessible and of interest to beginners and more experienced pagans. I would highly recommend this book to those seeking to connect with Brigid.

Jane Brideson, artist and blogger at The Ever-Living Ones Irish Goddesses & Gods in landscape, myth & custom

Brigid is a complex figure whose worship has transcended place, making her one of the few truly pan-Celtic deities; transcended traditions, as she is believed to have survived into the Christian period as the beloved St. Brigid; and transcended time, as she continues to inspire Pagans and Christians alike into the present day. It is no wonder that there is a complex body of lore that has woven itself around Brigid, and many books have been written to explore the different strands of tradition that surround her both as Goddess and as saint. In this work, Morgen Daimler deftly distills various streams of information into a short, well-researched book that presents the lore as it is found in primary source materials, discusses traditional folk practices from various Celtic lands, and shares her personal experiences as a devotee of Brigid. An excellent resource, Pagan Portals Brigid: Meeting the Celtic Goddess of Poetry, Forge, and Healing Well provides a grounded foundation for anyone who feels called to work with Brigid, and is an excellent, fact-based starting point for further research.

Jhenah Telyndru (MA, Celtic Studies), author of Avalon Within: A Sacred Journey of Myth, Mystery and Inner Wisdom

Morgan Daimler has written another accessible and scholarly book in the Moon Books Pagan Portals series, this time on the Goddess Brigid. It allows the reader with little previous exposure to Celtic Polytheism to begin worshiping Brigid in ways that are traditional, practical, and relevant. To devotees of Brigid, the book is a practical little gem, a summary of much they know, and probably quite a bit they dont. To devotees of other deities, the book serves as an introduction to one of the most popular of Goddesses. In short, I cant recommend it highly enough.

Segomros Widugeni, formerly Aedh Rua, author of Celtic Flame

In Pagan Portals Brigid, Morgan Daimler brings us an exciting and superbly researched introduction to the pan-Celtic Goddess Brigid. Combining history and lore from all major Celtic mythologies with personal experiences and observations, the author brings us before the Goddess feeling as though we have already been introduced and welcomed into Her realm. The many names, stories, animals, plants, holidays and lore of the Goddess are all given to us enlivened by the authors encounters with Brigid. She rounds off the book with a brief look at the Goddess in todays world and gives us some prayers, chants, charms and rituals to consider for our own workings with this inspirational Goddess of Poetry, Healing and the Forge. You couldnt ask for a finer introduction to this most enchanting of Goddesses.

Gary and Ruth Colcombe, the Celtic Myth Podshow

Morgan Daimlers work on Brigid is fresh yet thoroughly rooted in the legends and lore. The readable style captures the complexity that is this once-and-future Goddess. Morgan gets Brigid not as a shadow or an archetype but as a fully-fledged Being. Highly recommended.

H. Byron Ballard, author of Asfidity and Mad-Stones

I always look forward to a new book from Morgan Daimler. Her research is solid, her writing is clear, and her concise work gets to the heart of the matter quickly. I couldnt ask for a better introduction to Brigid as a Goddess. Even after my two decades of Brigidine flamekeeping, I learned new things from this brief book. Highly recommended!

Erynn Rowan Laurie, author of Ogam: Weaving Word Wisdom

First published by Moon Books, 2016

Moon Books is an imprint of John Hunt Publishing Ltd., Laurel House, Station Approach, Alresford, Hants, SO24 9JH, UK

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Text copyright: Morgan Daimler 2015

ISBN: 978 1 78535 320 8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015953280

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publishers.

The rights of Morgan Daimler as author have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Design: Lee Nash

Cover Art Brigid of the Forge copyright Ashley Bryner.

Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY, UK

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This book is dedicated to my daughter Amara, who has had a special love for Brighid since she was old enough to say the Goddesss name. You asked me when I wrote the Morrigan book to write you one about Brighid here it is Mari, I hope you like it.

Acknowledgements

Id like to thank Patty Taylor for responding on my Facebook author page and suggesting the idea of more Pagan Portals focused on different Goddesses, and my editor with Moon Books, Trevor Greenfield, for asking if Id be interested in this project. Without both of those things happening and coming together this book wouldnt be here today.

Also a huge thank you to Segomros Widugeni for help with the Gaulish pronunciations. You are truly an invaluable resource to the Reconstructionist community.

And most of all, with thanks to Brighid, Lady of the Smiths Forge, Lady of the Healing Well, Lady of the Poets Harp. I didnt know when I chose to step into that ritual circle and face you what would come of it, but I am profoundly grateful that I did it. May this book be my offering to you, in gratitude for your gifts to me. Trebrech faelte, a Brig, i mu bethu. Do beannacht form, mo les dait. Indossa ocus co d mbrtha.

Authors Note

Brigid is one of the most popular Celtic Goddesses today and there are a variety of resources available to learn about her. Many of them discuss both the pagan Goddess Brigid and the Irish saint, understandable since the division between the two beings is fluid at best. Others focus largely or entirely on Brigid in a modern context and incorporate a lot of the authors personal views and experiences.