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.

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……

Source: Berthevan Soest

Shadow work and preparing for Imbolc

The last week of the Solitary Tarot and Oracle challenge is all about shadow work. And to be honest at first I wasn't excited about that at all. As soon as I heard Reacine mentioning the theme of this last week my I burst out  a whole repertoire of excuses: it is not the season to do this kind of exercises, my deck is far to sunny, I know my shadow part already, I don’t want/need to know my shadow parts, first I have to watch YouTube video or read blogs about shadow work etc. All these excuses were born out of fear and anxiety for the unknown.

And then I pulled the Four of Stones which summarized  how I felt perfectly: in the doorway to my path which will lead me to self-awareness is standing a huge heavy chest filled with blocking attitudes and false assumptions of safety. So reluctantly I've started with the last week of my challenge: I am dipping my toes in to shadow work. Since this is all rather too personal to blog about, I thought I’d show you my altar for Imbolc. 

The goddess statue is a thrift store find from last week. When I saw her I immediately knew I had to take her home. I love that she is not overly detailed so I can see in her many aspects of the Goddess. For now she is Bridget to me. Lately I feel very drawn to the creative part of The Divine; to seek inspiration. A few days ago I was trying to write some poetry when I remembered that Brigid is the goddess of fire and inspiration and yes even of poetry. I thought it was fitting she would be my focal point for Imbolc.

Slowly the earth is waking up for Springtime and I feel it is time for me to open myself up to her energy too and allow myself  to be playful and creative. 

My Thrift Store Haul

For today no daily draw. Yesterday I've been with M to  her new dentist and unlike previous experiences this time everything went so smoothly. She was very happy and she suggested to celebrate  this with a visit to a very  large thrift store in the same neighborhood. We both enjoy to snoop there.

We had a great time and got some amazing finds. Somehow a lot of my purchases are mainly spiritual items from different spiritual traditions: 

I have found a dark wooden standing crucifix and a wooden painted Madonna and Child. Together they are for me a representation of my most earliest belief system which I still hold dear to my heart.

Also I've found a little terracotta statue of Ganesha and a small elephant to go with it. He is for me the Kind Remover of my blockages. Then a dark wooden statue of a female mermaid (in my opinion Yemaya) with big breasts and a bowl filled with seafood in her hands, caught my attention and I couldn't leave her behind.  After that I thought I saw a small statue of an otter which reminded me of the Page of Cups from the Wildwood Tarot. Only when I came home S mentioned it was a seal (oops) but M suggested it could also be a selkie friend for my mermaid sea goddess.  The  Brigid’s Cross (made in Ireland) appealed to me very much. We already have a Brigid’s cross, I've made of wheat hanging, in our hallway and now I can have this one for in my bedroom

Also I've found a gnome with a mushroom head and some acorns in his hands to put up when autumn comes, and two little wooden boxes. One has the shape of an apple which reminded me of our apple tree and last but not least a lovely wooden tray and a tawny altar cloth (also for the Fall)

Immediately after we came home I've grabbed the beeswax and started polishing my wooden finds. Now they shine and smell great! What a perfect afternoon it was!