Ailim / Silver Fir The Silver Fir Tree grows in the mountainous regions and tend to the upper slopes. Its cones close in response to the falling rain, but comes the Sun's return, they again open. Thus, the Fir Tree stands watchfully over the lands, seeing far and gazing wide. In Divination, the Silver Fir represents clear vision of that which is beyond, and what is yet to be.

May the Flame of the Hearth Warm and Cheer You May the Flame of the Healer Turn Away Dis-Ease and Ills May the Flame of Inspiration Teach and Enlighten Your Mind May Brighid's Sacred Flame Lead You Toward Her Light

Arion the Blue - 1st Watch FlameTender My Craft name is Arion the Blue, which is the color magick I practice. I have been a devout neopagan for over a decade, now, starting with Wicca at Dragonmoon Coven, and later studying Druidism with a variety of teachers. I consider myself a Druid today. I live in Durham, North Carolina, with my beautiful wife Laurin and my new son, Owen Leslie Thomas Mancour (shown here with Daddy-in front of his first Solstice Tree. Born Dec. 9th, 1999-his revered Grandfather´s birthday). I live and work in Durham, North Carolina in the heart of the Lesbian and Pagan district. I became involved with Ord Brighideach in December of 1999, but I have been personally devoted to Our Lady for most of my adult life. As a science fiction writer, She has supplied the inspiration I need to sit down and write, and She gives me strength when my baking turns out badly. I am proud to be a member of the first completely on-line monastic movement in history, and elated that there are others who share my devotion. I also want to express my gratitude to the members of the Order who prayed for my son when he was in intensive care. She watches over newborns, but I felt comforted by the fact that so many of Her children were also watching. Thank you, all of my Siblings in Brighid. Arion the Blue(Terry Mancour)

WillowRaven - 3rd Watch FlameTender Merry Meet. My craft and community name is Willowraven, Willow for flexibility in life and Raven for magick and my astral guide. I am a 27 yr. old female Pagan and Witch of 9 yrs. I became interested in our Lady Brighid about 6 years ago and have become more serious about my relationship with her over the past year, as I am pulled further into Irish traditions. I am very proud to be a part of such a large and wonderful group of Flame Keepers that I see as a large family. We have come from all over the world; single individuals, diversity; united within the love of our Divine Lady. I am a mother of a cute but mischievous son, Sky, and wife to my loving and supportive husband. I spend spare time writing, sketching, sewing, woodwork, leatherwork, kitchen witchery, and all forms of arts and craft, and the Craft. I also attend as many Pagan events that time and family allow, within Colorado. I have three wonderful cats, Star, and her two daughters, Onyx and Morrigain. I also spend as much time as I can with my Ball Python, Draco (my little wingless Dragon). I also spend time tending to my many house plants that seem to flourish when I flourish. In Love and Light, Blessed Be, Merry Part. WillowRaven

Greylaurel - 4th Watch FlameTender I am called Greylaurel, and also Laura. I am the elder of a small family, which includes my companion Marina, our little sister Antonia, and our (now) two cats, Kylee..the fiesty Scottish Fold, and Bernie...the Holstein cow-patterned kitten. (Alas, Penifer the amply-furred matriarch passed on to the Summerlands, March 1, 2000). Prior to becoming disabled with a combination of Lyme Disease and deteriorating spine, I was a Web Designer by trade. Before that, I was Production Editor for a large financial magazine publisher. Journalism and printing...and now web publishing... have long been my vocation. I am a Gallae Priestess and dedicated myself to Brighid, my perception of the "Eternal Cozmic Muffin", after recieving a trio of visions during a serious illness. Ancestors from recent and long passing appeared to me while I hovered near death for nearly three weeks... and spoke to me of my spiritual heritage. For me, that meant looking back into my Celtic and Timaquan (pre-Seminole) background for guidance. I have found little concerning Timaquan spirituality save for hints of shamanic traditions, but Brighid (Brigit, Brigantia, Bride) seemed to call strongly to me. Laura Potter-deGrey Laura's Cove

Robert Fish - 5th Watch FlameTender Let me introduce myself. My name is Robert Fish, and I suppose that I am a solitary Pagan practitioner. My partner and I often do rituals together, and we also attend rituals that take place in our local community. But I believe that the greatest rewards come to those who devote themselves whole heartedly to any undertaking. So I also have a personal solitary practice which is the heart of my relationship to the Goddess and the God. My personal practice is sometimes a meditation, sometimes a visualization, and sometimes a full ritual framework. To me, my solitary practice is a work of art, and a work in progress. God and Goddess are real. Both parts of myself, and greater deities beyond myself. The Goddess who is most dear to me is Brighid, Celtic Fire Goddess of Healing, Inspiration and Smithcraft. The God that I attune to is Cernunnos, also known as the Lord of the Hunt, Lord of the Animals, and Earth Father. Robert Fish The Sacred Circle

Alix MacIntyre Hall - 14th Watch FlameTender My name is Alix MacIntyre Hall. I am 53 years old and live in relationship with a wonderful life partner, three lovely daughters, 2 step-children, 2 sons who were not of my body but are mine by love, two other daughters who are not mine by body but mine by love and 2 grandchildren, a dog, a cockateil, 2 pot belly pigs, one baby wild rescue pig, 7 rabbits, 2 gerbils, an iguana, 8 lovebirds, 10 finches, two tanks of fish, and a partridge in a pear tree. (I am only kidding about both the partridge and the pear tree, but we have a lot of vegetation here that I AM friends with.....). I am a disabled and retired Psychiatric Nurse and live in Central Florida. Other than being the best spouse I know how to be and the best parent I know how to be to my loved ones, I spend my time writing, singing, working in my garden and with my orchids, baking, growing and preserving some of my own herbs, and volunteering some time with the elderly in our community whose care-givers need an hour or two respite to take care of their own needs. Some of these hobbies are things I have discovered in my retirement. Some of you know my work. There is a reason that Bride is my matron. She sets a fire in my brain that seems to come out in words and the Old Bard has come to have a life beyond that with which I created him!! I am a Roman Catholic who reveres the Old Ones of the Celts. Oh, and by the way, I am a Scot. Alix MacIntyre Hall - healer and word smith Website

Blessed Brighid Goddess of Metalsmiths Healers and Poets - 20th Watch FlameTender Brighid, Goddess, Lady of the Forge, Medicine Woman, and the Inspiration of Poets, takes the final watch of each cycle. Nineteen flametenders care for Brighid's Sacred Flame, one each day from sundown to sundown next. On the twentieth day, Our Lady Brighid Herself takes the watch, tending to the Sacred Flame. Brighid

Sanctuary of Brighid

2001 Flame Tending Calendar

Ord Brighideach

A Sacred Circle

Brighid's Fir Grove

Portions © 2000, 2001, Laura S. deGrey or Ord Brighideach. All rights, responsibilities and benefits retained.