Saturday, January 31, 2015

A Brat Bride Tarot spread

On the evening of January 31, the day before the Feast of Brigid, women in Ireland put a piece of cloth  on a shrub or hedge and left it  outside all night. This is the Brat Bride. The piece of cloth symbolized the mantle of Brigid, a Celtic goddess who brings healing and protection.
The dew and perhaps the snow that falls on the night of January 31, is Brigid’s and has healing properties  for body and soul. The cloth was kept throughout the year in a special place and came out when someone was sick as a tangible prayer for healing.

Brigid, Brat Bride, cloak .Imbolc Altar,  Gaian Tarot, The Empress, The Teacher. Seven of Earth

I’ve made my own version of the Brat Bride of a white handkerchief which I decorated with a little clover charm to give it a Celtic touch
I’ve done the following  three card tarot reading  with the Gaian tarot to put my intent into it before putting it outside this evening

1: What is my wish to imbed in my cloth?

The Gardener. What an apt card for this reading  since Brigid is the Goddess of creativity.  The wish I imprint in this cloth is to express my creativity freely and abundantly.

2: In what reoccurring situation, is it beneficial for me to call Brigid for help?

Whenever I feel insecure if I am on the right path, I can call on her for guidance and wisdom

3: How is Brigid’s healing dew offering me help and guidance during the year?

She will teach me to be patient and to see nature as a metaphor of the Divine. Nature is our most precious healer so it will be very beneficial to my health to go outside and find God(dess)

Dedicate the cloth with these words 

(they will transform your reading in a kind of tarot spell/intention):
I dedicate my Brat Bride to Creative Freedom. (name the wish, card 1).
I call on Brigid for help when I feel lost (the situation, card 2).
The healing dew Brigid offers me will help me by developing  patience and reconnecting with nature...... (card 3).
Tonight I will lay down my cloth on a shrub in our garden and be patient……

13 comments:

  1. I've never heard of the ritual of putting out the cloth as the "Brat Bride" on the eve of St. Brigid's festival day - thanks for sharing that! I'm assuming "brat" doesn't mean the same as it does here in the States (an unruly child)? :D

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    1. hahaha No, it is Old English for cloak. I haven't heard of it either but I l already like it a lot!

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    2. Thank you for clearing that up! :D I also wanted to add that your altar is LOVELY!

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  2. How inspiring! I was not familiar with this - thank you for sharing. I love your wee owl on the left. Your altar is beautiful, and making me think of spring - and as it is blustery and snowing out here, it is a 'most' welcome thought ; )

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    1. Hi Carol Thank you so much. I've found my little owl at a thrift store; just like most of my altar items. I even think it is Hedwig form Harry Potter :D
      I wish we had some more snow here. We have just had a little snowfall but in the evening it is gone already. How lovely it would be if my "Brat" was covered with snow tomrorrow morning...

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  3. Oh that's so special Ellen and really looks lovely. Such a wonderful ancient lovely festival and gives much hope and positive Spring thoughts. I especially need this right now as here it is quite cold and going down to extreme temperatures with a big storm due tomorrow night. We have a fair amount of snow here in Eastern Canada. Makes the snowmobile nuts nuttier! ;)
    I so love Brigit!

    A beautiful post Ellen <3

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    1. Thank you Catherine, it felt very special to do this. You know I envy you a little bit for the snow, but I can imagine to much of it can be troublesome.
      This is the first year I've really connected with Brigid and she really does inspire me. I've even wrote some haiku's for the first time in my life :D

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  4. Your altar is absolutely beautiful. I love the cards you've chosen, too, so healing and affirming, and rich! I hope your Imbolc was wonderful!

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    1. Thank you so much Olivia!. Working with the brat Bride was a lovely experience
      I hope your day was special too
      Hugs

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  5. I apologize if this is doubled up, I have difficulty posting on Blogger platforms for some reason that I think I just fixed! This is quite lovely, I also love the wooden implement you have your three cards in, is this something made for this purpose?

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    1. It has arrived just fine Kelly.. It is a wooden card stand, mostly for children to play card games with because their hands are too smallo r to display postcards in or in our case: tarot cards :D

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