Brigid's Hearth

The Seasonal Hearth

This section is devoted to ways of honoring and celebrating not only the changing seasons of our Earth Mother but also the Fire of Life itself.

The hearth is the center of the home. In days past the hearth, with its warm and cheerful fire, was the center of the home. It was where meals were cooked and where the family gathered for warmth, light and companionship, especially during the season of darkness and cold. Sustained and nurtured by the powers of the hearth, members of the family were enabled to go forth again into the world and to their daily tasks.

Of course these days, not every home has a fireplace. But we all have a place in our home where the family seems to gather. Sometimes this is the kitchen, where we cook and eat our daily fare. Sometimes it is a living room or family room where the family seems to like to congregate. Wherever it may be in your home, I invite you to consider it to be your hearthplace, and to mark the spot as sacred by creating a small shrine or altar, complete with a "Hearthfire candle."

    Decorate this area seasonally. Even if it is only a tiny spot there will be room to place a budding branch or colored egg for Spring, a colorful flower and stalk of grain for Summer, a bright leaf and tiny pumpkin for Autumn, and an evergreen branch or pine cone for Winter. Let this be your Hearth - a place which changes with the seasons, a place where you honor the turning of the Wheel of the Year in a very personal way.

    Honor your Hearth everyday by "tending" the Hearthfire. Light the candle, pray to Brigid, or to the HearthFire Goddess of your ancestors, and meditate for a few minutes about how what it is that you do in your daily life serves the Greater Fire of Life. Really think about this, if not everyday, then perhaps every week or even once a month. What is it you are doing that serves Life?

    Such thinking allows us to assess our thoughts and actions and see where they are going. It allows us to use this self-reflection to evaluate the need for "course corrections" -- something every life needs from time to time!

    Use this time at your Hearth to center yourself, to think about those you love. Since all fire is really The One Fire, use your small hearthfire to link into the Greater Fire, which burns within each of us, and within all Life. Recognizing your oneness with it, align yourself with it. And then go forth into your life.....

	Samhain
	Yule
	Imbolc
	Spring Equinox
	Beltane
	Midsummer
	Lughnasadh
	Harvest Home