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 On the night of the Full Moon on Tara at 8pm rising in the east we can see Cú and Crom following the Full Moon as it rises to its zenith. You could say the Full Moon is chasing Jupiter because both are shining bright like they want to be seen...but if you look a bit further to the South you'll see Betelgeuse as the bright star on the shoulder of Dagda and underneath Dagda - the three stars of his belt point us towards Sirius, the Dog star. Lets hope for a night with no clouds. Blessing to everybody on this Full Moon night.
Brigid's Day / Night is fast approaching. As daughter to Dagda she strengthens the triplicities of her father's belt of three stars. Brigid is the patroness of poetry with her Fires of Inspiration, she is the patroness of healing and fertility with her Fires of the Hearth and she is patroness of smithcraft and martial arts with her Fires of the Forge. She is the Lady of Aquarius long before she was hidden and then replaced by the Aquarian man, but Brigid lives on in Ireland and in the hearts of many who know and respect her magical healer skills. Brigid Abú  Brigid was born at the start of day to night as she travels into the Otherworld with her red eared cow and her bees seeking the sacred nectar of life. Brigid’s story is written in the other world of the stars for all to see and connect with. As a child Brigid was said to have been sustained by the milk of a white cow with red ears and this sacred cow also gave milk to all the poor people she encountered on her travels. This red eared cow is accompanied by bees and they all live in the apple orchard in the Otherworld beneath the horizon. It was Dagda, her father who made Brigid a guardian of this orchard and all that live in it. This apple orchard is today known as the Milky Way and in Gaeilge as ‘Bealach na Bó Finne’ meaning the Way of the White Cow.
It was in this apple orchard that Dagda, Brigid’s father kept his two pigs or boars, ‘one always growing and one always roasting’. Dagda was gifted these two Boars by Manannan. As daughter to Dagda she strengthens the triplicities of her father's belt of three white stars. She is the patroness of poetry with her Fires of Inspiration, she is the patroness of healing and fertility with her Fires of the Hearth and she is patroness of smithcraft and martial arts with her Fires of the Forge. She is the Lady of Aquarius long before she was hidden and then replaced by the Aquarian man, but Brigid lives on in Ireland and in the hearts of many who know her. Her name means ‘the Exalted One’, she is wife to Bres and their son was Ruadan, who was killed by Goibniu. Brigid holds respect as a goddess of healing, fertility, water, motherhood, childbirth and agriculture and fire, creativity, poetry, smithcraft and invention. When Brigid’s son Rúadán died she was in such grief that her cries could be heard for miles and this was the start of the ‘keening’ tradition in Ireland. In Irish - caoineadh means crying and is the source of the term ‘keening’, a woman’s ritual art form or ceromony sung at the wake or graveside when mourning the dead. Brigid invented a wooden whistle for women to use for night travel to call to each other preventing them from getting lost during the night. Brigid is revered as a goddess of the sun and fire and as the protectress of animals, mainly cattle and sheep. Irish people would leave offerings for Brigid at Imbolg asking her to protect their homes, animals and to help with good harvests. In the old books, such as ‘Lebor Gabála Érenn’ and ‘Cormac’s Glossary’, she is described as the ‘goddess of poets’ and as ‘a wise woman’ and ‘sage’. Brigid, Daughter of Dagda, lives in the Stars Imbolg 2026 is on the 18th of January, a Sunday. The Dark Moon is at -7* under the horizon at 16:56 on the 18th of January 2026 with the Sun, Venus, Mars and Mercury with Vespa following close by. The star Fomalhaut the we call Banríon Beacha (queen bee) is at +3* above the horizon. This creates conditions for the star to be visible in daylight conditions a very magical moment. This is the liminal time called dusk or twilight with the Sun below the horizon and the skies are still bright - look to 237*WSW. Happy Imbolg to everyone.   This is a craft afternoon celebrating Imbolg through making three legged Brigid's crosses with field rush. There are 6 places available but you must book in advance here. This is free of charge and held indoors in the warmth of the Hemp Hall at Celtic Druid Temple in North West Roscommon. Niamh will harvest the rush so you can wear normal house shoes - no wellies needed. It is not as complicated as you might think to make this spinning three legged cross but there are steps or stages in making this type of cross - the rush tie off will keep the entire Brigid's cross firm for a lot more than a year. A great tradition to re learn and to pass on in your own circles.
 We see this meteor shower as off the back of the great fire dragon - Draco. They can reach a rate of up to 110-120 meteors per hour. This year's peak dates are the 3rd and 4th of January but there is a Full Moon too so maybe the moonlight will hide many of the sparks. But clear skies are expected on Saturday night.
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