BROWSE Columns
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Cast a circle, burn the sweetgrass, and raise a cup of wine.
This is prayer of invocation; a call into the darkness
for the long lost gods of yore. What became of Brigid?
the old wives would say to one another, before spinning
tales of whimsy and artifice for their children.
Recalling the acquisition of pagan gods into a newly
minted Judeo-Christian world. A goddesses, syncretized
into Sainthood. Tonight, we speak her true name.
Children, make your beds, circle the home, and knock
the door three times. Oh daughter of the Dagda
and wife of Bres—Oh Mother of poetry,
healing, fertility, and girlhood. We welcome thee.
Your perpetual flame burns eternal in our hearth.
We exalt your season and your name.
Our wells overflow with spirit and blessings.
Keep safe our daughters and cast down the men
who would wish them harm.
EN: Imbolc is the traditional Gaelic festival to celebrate St. Brigid
S.J. de Matteo (she/her) is a transexual wit from New York City. Her writing explores the intersections of the literary and performing arts, critical theory, and cultural poetics. A former Fulbright Scholar to Ireland, she holds degrees from Yale University, Trinity College Dublin, and Sarah Lawrence College. In 2022, she was named an EU-US Young Leader by the German Marshall Fund. Her work has been supported by NYFA and the IIE. She is haunted by the specter of a deceased 20th century Irish woman named Tessa.
