Brigid’s Cross
Brigid’s Cross
.png)
Brigid’s Cross is also known as Brigit’s Cross, (or Cros Bríde, and Crosóg Bríde in Irish).
Essentially, it was a small cross of four arms made from woven straw, reeds or rushes, with a square at the centre.
Considered older than Christianity, the ancient Celtic life-giving Goddess, Brigid, was celebrated on her feast day, Imbolc; a pagan festival marking the beginning of Spring, where such symbols were woven. Goddess Bridig was a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, also called the Tuath Dé, which means ‘tribe of the gods’. They were seen to be a supernatural race in Celtic mythology who represented the main deities of pre-Christian Ireland, and who were known to interact with humans at an earthly level.
This pagan symbol was said to protect a house from fire and harm and these crosses would be placed over doorways and windows during the Imbolc festival. While being placed, an Irish prayer would be said:
I bhfad uainn gach olc is gach urchóid
I gcarn is I gclocha,
Is I mbeanna fuara fairrge.
Translation:
May we be safe from every evil and harm on land and sea.
It would also be placed in the thatch of the dwellings of newlyweds, to bless them and their new life together. The cross was replaced each year, the old one being put in the rafters of the building. The number of years a couple had been wed could be counted by the number of crosses in the rafters. Alternatively, the old ones would be buried in fields, so that the goddess would bless the crops and encourage a good harvest. Old crosses that were coming apart would be crumbled into dust and sprinkled over the fields, or burned, and the ashes used in healing people and livestock.
Another origin of this symbol comes from the story of St. Brigid of Kildare, a patron saint of Ireland. Born into slavery in 451 AD, in Faughart, County Louth, Ireland, Brigid, known for her charitable nature, was a pioneer of Christianity.
In 480 AD, she founded a monastery on the grounds of a pagan shrine to the Goddess Brigid, in Kildare, where she and a group of faithful women maintained an eternal flame.
During her time here, she was called to the house of a delirious local Chieftain on his death bed. As she tried to calm him, she picked up rushes from the floor and bound them into a cross. Upon her actions, the Chieftain asked what she was doing and she explained to him the meaning of the cross. By this, he calmed and was converted to Christianity and baptised just before he died.
The Brigid’s Cross is still commonly made in Ireland today. It is said that it should not be made using any kind of iron. Instead a wooden knife is used to cut the reeds. Using iron will cause the Goddess Bridig to stay away and then the house will not be blessed or protected when it is hung. The cross can also be sprinkled with water from a holy well for purification.
Variations:
Less commonly made is the three armed (or triple armed) Brigid’s Cross.
.png)
.png){kind=small}
Comments
Post a Comment