by Mara Freeman, M.A.
Early spring is the season of Brigid, the Celtic goddess of the Growing Light who walks the land thawing the ice and warming the cold Earth into life with every step she takes. She was also a goddess of inspiration and creativity who breathes her warmth and energy into the hearts and minds of all those who wish to give birth to something new and wonderful in their lives. In later times she became Saint Brigid, the most beloved of Irish saints.
This was the time of year when the Celtic peoples of Scotland and Ireland looked eagerly for hibernating animals to emerge from their winter dens – a sign that winter was almost over. In Scotland this might be a badger, a hedgehog or even a bear. In an old Scottish tradition, Bridget herself emerges from the Earth in early spring, just as in the Greek myth, the goddess Persephone came out of the underworld and spring returned once more. In ancient Greece this drama was enacted in the Eleusinian mysteries at this time of year.
