Brighid has remained one of the most enduring of the Celtic goddesses. History notes that she was originally worshpped as a Sun Goddess, and fire is still considered sacred to her. In the passage of time, Brighid has evolved. She was, and is, the Goddess of Healers, Poets, Smiths, Childbirth and Inspiration. Interestingly, she is also considered a matron of warfare, and is called upon to protect warriors in righteous causes. Daughter of the Dagda of the Tuatha De Danaan - legend says one of three daughters all called Brighid - she became the wife of Bres of the Fomors. When their son, Ruadan, was slain in the second battle of Mag Tuireadh, her lamenting was heard throughout Ireland. Keening was brought to the land.

Fire has long been considered sacred to her. In her three-fold role, Brighid embodies the Flame of Healing sought by Physicians and Healers of all kinds; the Flame of Poetry and Inspiration, and the Flame of the Hearth and the Smithy. Anciently, a shrine to Brighid was kept at Cille Dara (Cell of the Oak), now Kildare, Ireland, where 19 women cared for Her sacred flame, each tending it a full day from sundown to sundown. On the 20th day, it was said that the Goddess herself tended the flame. Water, too, is considered sacred to the Goddess. Numerous springs, rivers and wells, especially in Ireland, are dedicated to Brighid; many purported to have healing power. Hot springs are especially sacred, for they blend the energies of fire and water.

The Goddess Brighid is revered as the Catholic Saint Brigid of Kildare. Unable to banish her from the "heathen" mind, the church sought to integrate her into the fold by canonizing her as a saint. Saint Brighid has been called the "Foster-Mother of Christ" (Muime Chriosd). Legend has it that Saint Brigid was the midwife to the Virgin Mary, and is still invoked by women in labor. Although various bishops and popes sought to extinguish Her Sacred Flame as a pagan custom, it was tended by the nuns until the reign of Henry VIII (ca 1509-1541). Even so, individuals continued to maintain a Brighid's Flame until the present day. Despite decanonization by Vatican II, the Order of Saint Brigid remains, and the Sisters of Kildare rekindled Brighid's Flame on Saint Brigid's Day (Imbolq - February 1) in 1993. Plans are in progress for the lighting of a perpetual flame at Cille Dara on Imbolq 2000.

Simultaneously, the all-woman Daughters of the Flame lit a fire in honor of the Goddess Brighid, which is still maintained in the ancient twenty day rotation. Currently, Brighid's Flame is also being tended worldwide by members of the co-ed Ord Brighideach, of which this writer is a member.