I'm dedicated to helping women in particular develop their spiritual path in life. I'm focused heavily on Brigid in Ireland, although not all my followers are! I teach, speak, coach and mentor people to help them along their own individual path, based on what lore we have, but also allowing for each individual path to develop as it needs to.
The longer, harder, more stubborn way
|
I want to be honest with you about something. The path I walked was not the most efficient one. It was not guided, not structured, and not supported in any meaningful sense. It was just me, stubbornly putting one foot in front of the other, refusing to give up on finding something that actually fit. That stubbornness is core to who I am. It makes me very good at some things and very difficult at others. It also meant that when there was no clear way forward, I made one anyway — slowly, imperfectly, and without the benefit of anyone who had done it before me in a way I could follow. I spent years doing research that could have been streamlined. I had experiences I didn't know how to interpret because I had no framework for them. I circled back over the same ground repeatedly because I didn't know I'd already covered it. It worked. But it cost more time and more energy than it needed to. This week's post is about that path — the self-guided one. Who it's for, what it produces, and what I wish I'd had when I was walking it. [Read it here ] If the solo path is what you need — the flexibility, the autonomy, the ability to go at your own pace with no calls or group commitments — the self-paced version of First Steps on Brigid's Path is built for you. Bríd libh Órlagh Check out the links below: Website |
Hi, I'm Orlagh, of Brigid's Forge
I'm dedicated to helping women in particular develop their spiritual path in life. I'm focused heavily on Brigid in Ireland, although not all my followers are! I teach, speak, coach and mentor people to help them along their own individual path, based on what lore we have, but also allowing for each individual path to develop as it needs to.
People sometimes ask me what my spiritual practice actually looks like, day to day. They expect something elaborate. They're usually surprised. Sacred showers. That's where I start. There's nothing mystical about the act itself — it's hot water, soap, and about eight minutes before the day gets going. But I've learned to use that time deliberately. To arrive in the day rather than collapse into it. To set something like an intention before everything else starts demanding my attention. I...
There's one thing I've carried from my Catholic upbringing into everything I do now. I've never been able to leave it behind — and honestly, I've stopped trying. Candles. In the Catholic tradition, lighting a candle is an act of prayer. You light it for someone. You light it as petition or thanksgiving or remembrance. There are rules about when and where and why. I know all of them. I grew up with all of them. These days, I light candles for Brigid. For the Dagda. At the turning of the...
For a long time, I thought being a pagan Catholic meant I existed in a category of one. I worked with Brigid. I lit candles for Mary. I had a complicated, deeply personal relationship with Saint Thérèse. And I also worked with the old Irish gods, followed the wheel of the year, and did things that would have raised eyebrows in the parish and in the coven alike. I thought that meant I had to hide. That there was no community for someone like me - someone who hadn't made a clean break, who...