In Celtic Pagan stories, Brighid's mantle carries with it blessings and powers of healing. Many people believe that if you place a piece of cloth out upon your hearth at Imbolc, Brighid will bless it in the night. Use the same cloth as your mantle each year, and it will gain strength and power each time Brighid passes by. The mantle can be used to comfort and heal a sick person, and to provide protection for women in labor.
A newborn baby can be wrapped in the mantle to help them sleep through the night without fussing.
To make a Brighid's mantle of your own, find a piece of green cloth long enough to comfortably wrap around your shoulders. Leave it on your doorstep on the night of Imbolc, and Brighid will bless it for you. In the morning, wrap yourself in her healing energy.
An old Gaelic name for Brigid was "Brighid of the Tribe of the Green Mantles." The green of Brigid comes to us in the promise of the return of spring, the promise of renewed life on earth, through the birthing of the new calves of the season which takes place during the time of the Festival of Brigid. Green shoots begin to appear in dark, cold earth as the sun begins to melt away remaining drifts of snow.
Art By Barrie Maguire
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