Goddesses and Gods.wps - Welcome to Our Temple

The Irish priests said, however, that Brigid wasn't really a saint at all: she was the
Queen of Heaven, the mother of Jesus herself. The Church ruled that since Bridget
couldn't be the mother of Jesus (Mary already had that job all sewed up), she could be
the step-mother of Jesus -- which meant, of course, that Jesus had to have been raised
in Ireland, a story frequently told in the old days.
The goddess Brigid had a consort named Dagda, meaning "father." The Latin word for
father was Patricius, so the Church made him a saint as well, "St. Patrick." The myths
say Patrick was the person who Christianized Ireland in the year 461, but we know
Ireland actually was converted in the seventh century by Augustine of Canterbury,
who was responsible for getting Patrick canonized.
Patrick, the sun-god, has his day on March 17, the beginning of spring in Ireland.
Interestingly, the churches in Ireland dedicated to "St. Bridget" were also dedicated to
the O'Kelly clans. All the baptismal fees in those churches belonged to the O'Kellies.
If you know any Irishman named Kelly you can tell him or her something about the
history of their name. The word means they are descended from the kelles, or sacred
harlots (to use the Church name) of the goddess Brigid.
The goddess' priestesses were not allowed to marry, so they were free to choose any
man they wished. Children born to such unions were called O'Kelly, because they
were born of a kelle.
Every woman today who gets married is given the goddess name, of course, for the
word "bride" is simply an alternate spelling of Brigid.
The feast day of Brigid is February 1, which was also considered the first day of spring
to pagans. It is the day of quickening, when vegetation comes alive (quickens) in the
bowels of the earth. For this reason, it is often called Imbolc, a Celtic word meaning
"in the belly." It's also called Oimelc ("ewe's milk") for this was also the lambing
season in ancient Ireland.
In ancient Rome, the first two weeks of February were called the Lupercalia, in honor
of Lupercus (or Faunus), god of agriculture, and Venus, goddess of fertility. It was also
a festival of quickening, and also honored the goddess as maiden. It involved parades
and the lighting of fires.
Lupercalia ended, of course, on February 14, a day we now call St. Valentine's Day,
after yet another spurious "saint." The name was most likely originally "Gallantine's