Witches and Pagans sing, chant, dance, drum and get wild in our rituals. All are forms of prayer, forms of communication with the Mysterious Ones, the great energies of birth, growth, death and regeneration that go beyond our limited understanding.

Prayer is what mediates between our human minds and that which we cannot envision or even imagine. When we talk about a specific Goddess, such as Brigid, we are talking about a particular constellation of energies, imagery, myth and history. When we focus our minds on Brigid, when we pray to her, we awaken those same energies within us and around us: fire and water, passion and compassion, healing and inspiration.

In my community, we gathered Friday night, (Brigid’s festival spans Feb. 1 and 2) to light candles, offer sacred water, and make a pledge to Brigid for the year. Hearing and witnessing each others’ pledges, we support our intentions to grow, to change, to act in the world with more love and more beneficent power. Our prayers are to the Goddess—but also to our community, for the Goddess is immanent in us and in the relationships between us.

When Ireland became Catholic, Brigid became a Saint. The Feast of Candlemas honors her fire, and today, nuns have relit her sacred fiame at Kildare. To all who celebrate her festival, to all whose hearts grow lighter as the sun grows stronger and the days get visibly longer, bright blessings!