saint 0wen

• he/they • i love god • folk catholic witch • irish-american • shamelessly syncretic •

[saint-0wen]

Why do some novenas feel like shadow work 😭

[saint-0wen]

"You're Christian and Pagan because you're a sinful heretic with demons"

"You're Christian and Pagan because you can't let go of how you were raised"

Have you considered I just wanted double the holidays?? Damn, have some fun. 🙃

Have a happy and Holy Easter everyone. Death is inevitable but so is the resurrection. Take heart, have hope- He is risen!

[saint-0wen]

Me seeing the trad cath alpha males on Twitter say they're doing the... carnivore diet... for lent...

[gayleviticus]

the book of job can be a very queer book actually. it's all about how you can't actually just hold to theological propositions totally divorced from reality and personal experience bc you think the world doesn't make sense otherwise. it's about clinging to your own righteousness even as your 'friends' try to drag your name into the dirt bc it threatens their elaborate theological diorama of the world where everything is nice and neat. it's about how pain and suffering is not a punishment for something wrong with you. and it's about struggling with God, and understanding that in the end we know nothing and can say nothing, and yet if we resolve to speak our truth perhaps in the end we can be judged to have spoken rightly of God like his servant Job.

[sorceryundone]

honestly, out of all deities and guides, the one i have the most intimate relationship with is mother mary. i let her see all of me in a way others, corporeal and spiritual, don't. i cry to her and i laugh with her and i feel her hands run through my hair when i lay my head to sleep. she is the god-bearer, the star of the sea, the queen of heaven, the empress of hell; and she is also my mother. there is an attachment as real and unbreakable as that created by an umbilical cord. no matter how many times i scrape my knees she will be there to bandage it, with every small accomplishment she smiles proudly, and for every unspeakable day she waits at the end of it with open arms. i am hers and she is mine and i am indebted in a way that she will never ask me to repay.

[saint-0wen]

Brigid of Kildare- Saint and Ordained Woman Bishop

In iconography, a shepherd's staff or crozier is used to indicate the status of a bishop. As it stands in the Catholic church, the ordination is only given to men by men. However, St. Brigid has a contrary story. I couldn't explain it better than this article.

[saint-0wen]

My first divination method 🔮✨️

I love you miracle fish 🫶

[sapphosremains-deactivated20251]

christian iconography and haloes are so funny

"how are we gonna show that guy is important?

"uhh... circle him?"

[saint-0wen]

Hey, you! The Novena to St. Brigid Starts Tomorrow! (1/23)

Mural of Brigid in Co. Kildare

St. Brigid is an incredibly important and inspirational saint for the Irish people, the Irish diaspora, women, poets, children with abusive fathers or an unstable home, healers, blacksmiths, firefighters, midwives, people giving birth, dairy workers, chicken farmers, sailors, scholars, nuns, pro-choice acitivists, women's ordination activists, travellers, AND MORE! 📚

You may already know that there are heavy connections between the Irish goddess Brigid and St. Brigid. The pagan Brigid is a triple goddess, and not in the "maiden, mother, crone" way. She is Brigid the healer, the smith, and the poet. She is a goddess of fire- the inner fire, the lifeforce, the hearth, the fire of the forge, and the fire of inspiration. In fact, her name means "vitality" or "strength." Imbolg is her holy day. 🔥

St. Brigid is a canonized Catholic saint who's said to be the "Mary of the Gael," showing just how relevant she is to the Irish people. She's started her own monastery and was a travelling missionary. She's especially known for her generosity. She's often depicted as holding a shepherd's staff, something only bishops are portayed with in iconography. As it happens, Brigid may have been (and I believe that she was) one of the first ordained female bishops within the Catholic church. 😇

Now, many Catholics will insist that St. Brigid is a serpate human person from the Brigid of mythology, and many pagans will insist the same. There's debate surrounding the literal historical existance of a human saint named Brigid. My personal belief system is syncretic. It's obvious that St. Brigid's life stories have taken heavy inspiration from pagan tradition. There are some obvious differences as well. It's my personal belief that Brigid can and will express herself in whichever way her people, and any people, will recieve her. Back then it was pagan spirituality and a goddess culture. As time marched forward the Catholic church became Ireland's favorite inlet to the Divine. Brigid is a goddess of multiple persons and infinite possibilities. I don't think it's too much of a jump to veiw the two women as emanations of the same personality. It's also been shown time and time again that Irish folklore has transformed and survived through Catholicism. The love for Brigid is no exception. 💚

Here's a wonderful podcast episode telling some stories from the saint's life, as well as diving into the syncretic nature of Brigid.🎙

Here are some prayers you could use for your novena leading up to her feast day, Feb 1st. To pray a novena, you simply select a prayer or prayers to St. Brigid that speak to you, and pray them for nine days at the same time each day. A candle lit in her honor during your prayers (or even a perpetual flame, if you know your fire safety and wanna get fancy) is a nice touch but not required.🕯

Prayers listed by a Catholic community in support of inclusivity and women's ordination.

Prayers and traditions surrounding St. Brigid

More prayers, including a litany to St. Brigid

Hopefully during this Imbolg season I'll be able to post more about the goddess and saint Brigid. St. Brigid, pray for us! 🕯

Beannachtaí agus go raibh Naobh Bríd leat 💚🙏🔥

[guiltywisdom]

There is a story of Saint Maria of Paris that when, in occupied France, a Nazi solider approached her and asked her if she knew of any Jewish people she replied "Yes" and went and directed the solider to an icon of the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus.

So I think, if a govement officer approches you and asks you if you know of any illegal immigrants you too can do as the saint did then and direct them to an icon of the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus.

[saint-0wen]

🪞 Mirrors 🪞

A witchy tip for your cleaning routine 🧹

If you're feeling self-critical, down about your looks, or confused about your appearance (with no obvious cause),🫧 CLEAN YOUR MIRRORS FOR GOD'S SAKE! 🫧

Our dusty, crusty, slimey mirrors. Bust out that windex. Mirrors are the number one symbol of perception and reflection this world has to offer. They're used in magical workings all the time, and you likely have more than one in your home. Physically wipe them down. Get that smudge out of here. You don't need a super strong spiritual intention, it's all built into the physical action: "I want to see things clearly." 📸

If you wanna get fancy with your incantations:

I see my beauty reflected obviously and abundantly. I am proud of how I present 💁

This mirror is happy to greet me, reflect me, and honor my image whenever I use it. 🤴

I understand myself a little more everytime I use this mirror. I see myself and I see into myself. 🔍

For my folk Catholic readers, consider putting a Bible verse or icon on or behind your mirror, for whatever your intention is:

Genesis 1:26-27 👑

Psalm 139 💖

Icons of the Immaculata. I personally use sticky tack to put a miraculous medal at the top of my mirror 🌹

Icons of the transfiguration 🌟

Icons of your favorite saints 😇

Write the words "Imago Dei" with a dry erase marker on your mirror. 🪞

Hang a rosary on your mirror 📿

Another good catholic practice is anointing your mirrors with holy water and/or holy oil. Many traditions believe mirrors can be portals to other worlds or hold negative spirits- these methods safe guard against such misfortune. 🚫😈

Cleaning your mirror is a great way to get out of a rut and back into the groove of things. For an extra kick to your shadow work, if you practice, do your journaling in front of a mirror. 🤔✍️

And finally, some Irish folklore surrounding mirrors found on duchas.ie, the lord and savior of this Tumblr page.

"Long ago it was believed that if a girl went into a room with only a mirror in it, on November Night [Samhain] and stood before a mirror peeling an apple and throwing the skin of it over her shoulder at midnight, that the face of her future husband would appear in the mirror." There's are a few other similar entries about using mirrors for divination and prophecy. 🔮

Mirrors are covered during funerals with a black or white cloth ⚰️

Mirrors are covered on Good Friday and All Soul's Day ⛪️

A saying goes, if your mirror is damp, there will be rain. Similarly, if mirrors or linoleum weep, it's a sign of rain. 🌧

Another saying goes, you shouldn't look into a mirror at night. Or, similarly, it's unlucky to look into a mirror at midnight. 🌙

It was said that the mirrors in a bride's home should be covered on her wedding day, as she shouldn't see herself on that day. 👰‍♀

And entry titled "Precaution against Lightening:" "Cover the mirrors and all bright things; (put out the fire if you have time before you under the bed or into the wardrobe). Darken the house and finally you may close the windows if you have nerve enough! Idea being that light attracts whereas gloom repells." ⚡️

And of course, breaking a mirror will give you 7 years bad luck. ⚠️

Thank you for reading! Had a little too much fun with the emojis. Maybe that'll be my new thing.

Beannachtía to you and your mirrors✨️🪞✨️

[guildenstern]

they removed icons???????????????????????

[aromanticduck]

Catholics looking around a protestant church

[saint-0wen]

Me praying to the patron saint of boats

[saint-0wen]

everywhere has evil eye dipshit, it came free with your fucking culture 🧿

[saint-0wen]

Shaking in my boots as I chill in the graveyard, watching groups of teens come in just to be annoying. I fear for them. Godspeed.

[saint-0wen]

When it's storming out during Lúnasa:

By the way! The Candlelit Tales podcast has some seriously amazing episodes that are perfect for Lúnasa and your "I wanna learn more Irish mythology but why the fuck are the resources so boring" problem. Awesome podcast, highly reccomend. They have an episode on Lugh, but I would start on earlier episodes than that one to get more context for the full Lúnasa story. They also have an episode on Lugh's foster mother, Tailtú. I'm not linking them because the formatting looked uggo <3

For my folk Catholics out there, I promise you can find a lot of parallels between these tales and our usual cast of characters :)

Happy listening, and beannachtaí na Féile Lúnasa oraibh! God bless you and your harvest, whatever that looks like in your life! 🌾☀️🎪

[saint-0wen]

Waiting for my favorite podcasters to talk in their mics and post it online again