ORIGIN Celtic (Continental European and Irish). Fertility goddess.
KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP prehistoric times until Christianization (circa AD 1100) and after.
SYNONYMS Brigid; Bride; Banfile (poetess).
CENTER(S) OF CULT various sanctuaries throughout area of Celtic influence.
ART REFERENCES stone carvings.
LITERARY SOURCES Books of Invasions; Cycles of Kings; various inscriptions.
A major Celtic pastoral deity, described as a “wise woman, the daughter of the DAGDA,” Brigit became “Christianized” as St. Brigit of Kildare,
who lived from AD 450-523 and founded the first female Christian community in Ireland. She was originally celebrated on February 1 in the festival of Imbolc, which coincided with the beginning of lactation in ewes and was regarded in Scotland as the date on which Brigit deposed the blue-faced hag of winter (see CAILLEACH BHEUR). The Christian calendar adopted the same date for the Feast of St. Brigit. There is no record that a Christian saint ever actually existed, but in Irish mythology she became the midwife to the Virgin Mary. The name can be traced into many Irish and European place names. It is also akin to Brhati which means “exalted one” in Sanskrit.
Witch's Well 
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