Hey Mate, got tips for Brigid Worship that doesn't involve American/English/Wiccan stuff? I'm an Irish ex-Catholic who's trying to worship the Tuatha Dé Danann (I'm mainly focusing on Brigid because I loved her Saint equivalent growing up), but a lot of my research keeps showing me English/American Neogpagan and Wiccan Shite. Any advice?
hey mate! i’ll link some resources for you to peruse, hopefully they help. mix up of gaelic-centric and celtic-centric pagan resources
Gaol Naofa (a website discussing Gaelic polytheism)
Tairis (another website discussing Gaelic polytheism)
An Introduction to the Tuatha Dé Danann (video)
Na hÉireanneach
A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland
Pagan Portals - Gods and Goddesses of Ireland: A Guide to Irish Deities
Gods and Fighting Men: The Story of the Tuatha De Danann and of the Fianna of Ireland (not sure where to link, this was lent to me! fer sure you can find it though)
The Cailleach in Irish Megalithic Traditions
Druids, Deer, and Words of Power: Coming to Terms with Evil in Medieval Ireland
The Book of Celtic Magic: Transformative Teachings from the Cauldron of Awen by Kristoffer Hughes
The Religion of Ancient Celts
Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts
Brigid of the Celts
An Introduction to Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism
The Tain (amazon bleugh)
Irish Imbolc Customs
Scottish Deities: Brighde
Brighid, Goddess and Saint
Tending Brighid’s Flame (amazon bleugh)
How to Make a Brighid Cross from Rushes
to keep in mind while reading: Cailleach is not a member of the Tuatha Dé, and her lore supersedes theirs by a long shot. The Cailleach - Brighid dichotomy is specifically a Scottish folkloric tradition and does not appear in Irish folkloric tradition.
as far as personal experience, i don’t know much about brighid. never formed a bond with her, honestly, and she’s never shown interest in me in return. but i still celebrate her feast and do a lot of basic worship of her that day.
my main tip for you would be that, well... it’ll seem harsh, but coming from a fellow irish person, the tuatha de danann are nothing like the catholic god. they don’t love you unconditionally, and they aren’t omnipresent or all knowing. wise and powerful, fer sure, but your relationship with them will be completely different and unfamiliar at first.
the irish deities were originally venerated ancestors. they became divine as the legends of them spread. the tuatha de danann are more like if an EXTREMELY powerful and respected war general was your landlord. offerings are less about connection and more about payin’ your rent!
at the bare bones basics: there was an agreement between humans and them that they’d retreat from the war that was resulting in the near-extinction of both their peoples, IF the human invaders would leave part of their harvest goods for them on the mounds and edges of forests and windowsills on certain fests and holidays. with that deal struck, the tuatha de danann retreated underground beneath the faery mounds and very soil we stand on.
so keep in mind: the gods do not love you until you build that relationship. they’re not your parent, they’re not a friend. they are wiser, stronger, and more powerful than you in every way. holy fear should be part of it at first when it comes to irish deities. obviously you can still form a close bond, even worship them or become a close communicator! but you have to earn that first.
