February 1st is known as St. Brigid's Day. I had no idea who she was, but I was excited to learn!
Turn outs, St. Brigid is a total baller.
She outsmarted a king into giving her a huge portion of land, now known in present day as Kildare.
She was known for being extraordinarily kind and beautiful, but she vowed to remain chaste much to the chagrin of her suitors.
In fact, when a man insisted to her that she would get married, willingly or unwillingly, Brigid responded by PULLING OUT HER EYE, reasoning that no man would want to marry a blind girl.
Oh, and the eye grew back eventually too. #bosslady
We started the day bright and early with sunshine brimming over the plains. When you enter St. Brigid's shrine, the tranquility of the forest greets you. The air is crisp. The flora emits a fresh fragrance. Creatures buzz and chirp a special symphony of white noise all around you.
We went to see these special rocks meant to cure ailments. I stuck my head in a convex rock to help cure my migraines. I'll report back in a year on how effective this was. There was also a gate covered in ribbons. People will tie their ribbons and imbue it with a request for Brigid. Since Brigid is associated with fertility, you'll even see an unused diaper or two stuck to the fence.
Then we went to the Hill of Slane to explore the ruins and collect reeds for our woven crosses. After, we went to Rock Farm for the weaving workshop and an incomphrehesibly delicious lunch straight from the farm itself.
With our bellies full of tomato soup, sandwiches, and tea, we made our final stop in Kildare to meet Gemma, the Priestess of Brigid. She conducted a beautiful ceremony involving a harp performance and then lead us to a well for a blessing. Apparently the water in this well was so pure we could drink straight from the pool and she filled two massive jugs which we passed around and sampled. We ended the day at a second well and monument to Brigid where we admired the setting sun, casting soft orange beams over our group as we did a final reflection and prayer.
Kirsten Mossberg
<p>I am a nerdy artist who loves to try anything and eat everything! I want my life to be filled with as many experiences as possible. I'm a writer, actor, video editor, visual artist, composer, scientist, and bonafide knitter. I'm happiest when I'm creating something, and one day I want to write and produce an animated series -- at least until the Food Network offers me a sweet gig as a judge on MasterChef.</p>
