By Susan Mangan
“He wanted to sack the organist.
Not because she’d burst into
her own rendition of
‘Under the Boardwalk.’
The main problem he had with her
was saying that February
was the start of spring,
and she said it non-stop
on Saint Brigid’s Day.”
(“Coming Out of Winter” by Rita Ann Higgins)
Milk and fire, both act as metaphor for nourishment and warmth, hearth and home, birth and creation. Before Christianity flooded the ancient bogs and fields, mountains and strands of ancient Celtic lands, Brigid was revered as a triple deity, a powerful Celtic goddess.
Brigid was the pagan goddess of poetry, crafts, and prophecy. Filid, an ancient class of Celtic poets, worshipped her power over fertility and art.
Imbolc
During pre-Christian times, the half-way point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox was celebrated as Imbolc. Today, Wiccan and pagan cultures still revere Imbolc as the start of spring.
Christians celebrate the first of February as St. Brigid’s Day. She is the patron saint of newborns, nuns, dairy maids, and cattle. Interestingly, pagan lore has it that Brigid was born with fire in her head and drank milk from a mystical cow.
Historically, Imbolc and the Feast of St. Brigid coincides with the natural mating cycle of sheep. The deep connection between human creation and the gifts of land and animal are present today.
Milk and fire. Earth and creation. The hope of Spring. Poetry and heart.
The Gift of Presence
Presence is a great gift. Oftentimes we are so distracted by the noise of life that we forget to look to the inspiration, the hope that we are given at each turn of season.
During my December holiday to the west of Ireland, I walked daily, completely present to the gift of a new moment. I noticed how great branches of holly, more tree than bush, stood regal where autumnal boughs of blackberries once tangled every hedge. I noted that gorse bloomed yellow against the varying shades of midwinter brown and green where spring bluebells once littered the fields.
In winter lanes populated only by donkeys, sheep, and the occasional mare, I breathed deeply of the pure air and opened my heart to the gift of our earth. Whether on land or sea, city or town, seekers often encounter other seekers during chance meetings. At the Newport Christmas Market, I had the pleasure of meeting two women, both writers and healers, seekers on a journey of wellness and words, poetry and love.
Sharing the World Through Love's Eyes
Nicole Rank is a poet who found her heart and the presence of universal Love in Ireland. A poet, author, mindfulness coach, and writing teacher, Nicole is inspired by the green of Ireland’s fields and the purity of nature. She has collected her poems in her publication Limitless-Sharing the Wor(l)d Through Love’s Eyes.Nicole’s journey as a writer begins with love; love of self, the earth, words both written and those that lie in “every stone, every leaf, and every drop of rain.” She believes in the human potential for kindness, mindfulness, and love. Love is such a simple answer to the pain of the world, but at times is seemingly impossible to reach.
Finn McCool
Nicole writes under the pen name of Sadhbh Adamea (pron. Sihve). The myth of Sadhbh, love of Fionn mac Cumhaill and mother of Oisin, speaks of transformation, bravery, motherhood, and the power of the female heart.
As punishment for her refusal to marry a Dark druid, the beautiful Sadhbh is changed into a doe and left seemingly helpless in the forest. Rather than be killed by feral hounds, the dogs recognized her grace, protecting her from harm.
Upon Nicole’s first journey to Ireland, she had a chance encounter with a beautiful fawn at Ross Castle in Killarney. The deer, Sadhbh, has become Nicole’s spirit guide and metaphor for the grace of love and presence in her creative journey.
Nicole believes that we all “carry magic inside” and that “poetry is a portal to presence,” a true “spiritual practice.” In this world of division, we can all benefit from the “beauty and magic of a poem,” and the hope that we are all part of “a shared essence.”
Helping others to see how love promotes personal productivity and spiritual fulfillment, Nicole is developing future co-creative writing retreats that involve conversation and the art of channeling poetry. Perhaps this is the key to community, the key to human connection.
Perhaps the answer lies in “the magic we all carry inside,” in the “mystery between the spaces” that connect strangers during chance encounters. Perhaps the answer to love lies in the gentle power of Nicole’s poetry, in the wisdom of her words, and the fire of Ireland’s ever-shifting light.
Words have the power to inspire and heal. Doreen Dempsey began her journey as a writer when she started a long-distance pen pal friendship with a Finnish girl named Tiia. Their thirty-five-year friendship has brought them through the trials of youth, the independence of adulthood, and the pain of chronic illness and loss.Doreen knows the healing power of human connection and how to face truth with courage. In her book, The Magic of Insight, Doreen discusses her personal health struggles. With further candor and authenticity, she writes of the sudden death of her older brother by suicide.
Rather than distance herself from the pain of life, Doreen has channeled her gifts to bring hope, consideration, and relief to others who seek healing. Celebrating her twenty-seventh year as a chartered physiotherapist, Doreen has “sought a deeper view of health and well-being” that has led her to the practice of Emotion and Body Code to ensure her patients are cared for holistically. Doreen also practices the healing art of energy tapping to help her patients achieve mind, body, and spirit wellness.
Some of Doreen’s most rewarding work has occurred while practicing physiotherapy in an “acute hospital setting with women who experienced traumatic birth injuries.” Doreen has always felt connected to the plight of the woman, the mother.
The Magic of insight
Milk, fire, creation, and loss. Doreen has sought comfort and inspiration in the beauty of nature. She has conducted a holistic self-care retreat on Achill Island. In the future, Doreen plans to combine her passion for the healing power of nature and her life-long study of physiotherapy to inspire and counsel other seekers to “feel less alone” through continued holistic retreats
A wise nurturer who realizes that “acceptance is so sweet when the shame is gone. When safety and peace have been invited in,” Doreen possesses the maternal heart of Brigid and Sadhbh.
In truth, the milk of life lies in the hearts of all who enter the unpredictable joys and trials of life with grace and a brave willingness to follow a most uncertain path. For on this journey, we are drawn to others who radiate kindness, patience, and love. As Bono sings, we are all part of “one love, one blood, one life.”
Doreen Dempsey is the author of The Magic of Insight www.buythebook.ie
Nicole Rank, under the pen name of Sadhbh, is the author of Limitless: Sharing the Wor(l)d Through Love’s Eyes. Amazon.co.uk: Adamea, Sadhbh:9781068779206:Books.
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Susan Mangan
*Susan holds a Master’s Degree in English from John Carroll University and a Master’s Degree in Education from Baldwin-Wallace University. She may be contacted at [email protected].
