Incorporating some traditional material. Eg "The Queen will come from the mound, The serpent shall come from the hole On the day of Bride." is Scottish Traditional. It gives me shivers! I believe it refers to the fairy mounds, the gates to the Otherworld of the tuatha de Danaan.

Note that 'Bride' is said 'Breed'. The word 'Bride' in weddings is however in namesake of Bride - the woman becomes honoured as representative of this Goddess for the day of her wedding.

Lady of the flame - Brigid is associated strongly with the hearth fire, smithy fire, and sacred fires, also other fires. Queen of the Land is particularly relevant where I live as the Brigantes tribe ( named after the Romanised Brigid - Brigantia) lived in the North West ( including Cumbria).

As well as being a three fold Goddess ( Maiden, Mother and Crone - she was variously said to be the wife, daughter or Mother of the Good God Dagda) Brigid was associated with the three worlds of Celtic lore, the Light, the Waters, and the Underworld. The Christians being unable to supplant the effection of the people for the Goddess, created 'St Brigit' in which form she continued to star in many tales where she was a woman of extraordinary kindness, compassion, perceptiveness, wisdom and purity of heart, with amazing magical powers to give help to those in need. ( tales first written around 600Ad ) Which show she continued to have much of the love and veneration of the people. She was said to protect all who call on her like a foster mother her children.

'Imbolc' has 2 main meanings/deribations : ewes milk, (Oimelc) ( which comes at this time for their new born lambs) and 'in the belly' (I Bolg)

'You come decked in' comes from a description of a St Brigids day Spring parade where the image of the Goddess/Saint was decorated in this way with signs of the renewal and purification of the Earth (the Goddess) in her return to Spring Maidenhood.

Brigid is associated with the sun, moon, sheep, cows, vultures, baths, serpents, milk, and sacred fires.

© Ceri Turner, 2004