An alternative way of using prayer beads.
(Image description: A photo of a woman in partial armor and a long red and brown skirt standing in a field. She holds a spear in her right hand and a shield with a floral cross shape in her left one. A large body of water and land are seen behind her, with a few clouds being hit by the sun.) Credit: Photo by Anna Saveleva on Unsplash
I have gotten the feeling that Brighid has wanted me to bring transformation into my practice, and I admit my practice has been feeling somewhat repetitive lately.
I find that maintaining a routine of prayers is vital to my practice, but it can occasionally feel a bit stale. Having that routine keeps the bond with Brighid in place, allowing for the ebb and flow in my connection with Her.
I don’t feel that deities are on call whenever we feel like, and there are times where devotees might need to try something new to get out of the monotony. This is definitely one of those times for me.
I had the idea of using lectio divina to see if I could get a better understanding of Brigantia’s nature through some prayer beads I received a little while ago. I based this off of the Pagan lectio divina essay by Julie Bond in Polytheistic Monasticism: Voices from Pagan Cloisters. However, instead of using something like a stone or twig, the prayer beads are the focus for the tactile exploration.
I started out by putting the bracelet on a table next to me to merely take it in and sit with it. I gradually ran my fingers over the beads, triskele, and spear charms and let various feelings soak into my mind.
I took in the color of the beads. They are silver and a deep royal blue, which have a hint of purple to them. I was reminded of one of Brigantia’s epithets Caelestis (heavenly, celestial). The shades of dark blue and purple remind me of the spaces between stars and galaxies. The color had a sense of majesty to it. The smaller silver beads among the blue ones reminded me of the stars themselves.
The dark blue can obviously be connected to water as well. One of Brigantia’s other epithets is Nymph, and this made me wonder what kind of nymph She could be considered. Water is the apparent one, while given the high, exalted meaning of the Brig prefix, it could also relate to mountains and hills.
Additionally, the deepness of the blue reminded me of a primordial darkness, that feeling night has before the dawn comes. It might even be considered as the prep time before daytime activities occur.
The triskele charm connects to the three realms of Land, Sky, and Sea. They connect to the starter bead and the spear charm. Whether it was the craftsperson’s intent or not, it conveys Brigantia’s protection over the three realms from forces that could cause harm.
While triskeles represent triplicities in general, I was also reminded of snakes. There is a snake carving on one of Brigantia’s inscription stones, as well as the snake-haired gorgon pendant She wears in the main image we have of Her.
I saw the idea of serpents as having a few different meanings. The first two are rebirth and healing. Snakes shed their skins, and they feature in symbols like the caduceus. Next, the gorgon’s head has been seen and used as protection.
However, I also thought of the Scottish Gaelic verse, “The serpent will come from the hole on the brown Day of Bride”, and any actual connection between Brigantia’s ties to snakes and the verse are speculation only. Regardless, the rest of lines generally indicate protection during the precarious time of La Féill Bríd as the focus of the saying.
Overall, most of the 15 minute long lectio divina session was spent gaining this understanding into some facets of who Brigantia is. Toward the end, I thanked Her for Her insights and let my mind return to sharing the space with the bracelet.
I really enjoyed doing this and was surprised how much I got out of it in such a short time. I wanted to use Brigantia’s prayer beads as it’s the newest set I had, and I felt like I received knowledge that might not be obvious at the surface from reading about Her.
It didn’t specifically answer the question of how connected or separate Brighid and Brigantia are with each other, but it did lead me in some interesting directions.
I would like to do the practice with prayer beads I use for Brighid and Nodens in the future, and I plan to keep this up to see what else I might learn or need to hear from my deities.
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