The following prayers are from our Book of Hours.

Children of Brighid perform three sets of prayers on a daily basis: rising prayers, prayers of thanksgiving and prayers before sleep. The elements of the practice can be varied to accommodate individual needs. For instance, offerings can be made at any of the three hours, practitioners can change the order of the prayers depending on their schedules and practitioners without sufficient time to recite all of the prayers may recite a selection of them.

 

First Hour: Rising Prayers

Optional: Gabhaim Molta Bride, Sloinntireachd Bride

1- Three Sisters Prayer

Brighid of poetry, bless my heart with poetry, and allow me to see Your poetry in all the things of this world.

Brighid of healing, bless my heart with healing, and allow me to extend Your healing to all the beings of this world.

Brighid of smithcraft, forge my heart with Your hammer, and allow me to create on this day as You Yourself do each day.

 

2- Flame-Lighting Prayer

I will light my candle as Brighid lights it; Her candle is the sun and Her altar the earth. And as this little candle lights my room, may Her great candle light the universe.

Hail to you, oh foster-mother! Your love is a flame. Give me the strength to bear Your tenderness; give me the power to bear Your light. Let my heart become like a perpetual fire tended by the priestesses of all my thoughts.

Hail to you, oh woman-comrade! Hail to you, oh trusted friend! I will share my confidences with You today for I know You will comfort me; I will kindle my heart with Your light until I glow like gold.

 

3- Rising Prayer

Sun of the morning and queen of the daytime, maiden of flowers and hope of the dawn! May you bless me with sunlight and all fruitful blessings; may you bless me with love like the warmth of Your fire.

Oh sun of the morning, Your smile is beautiful and the glances from Your eyes are the beams of sunlight; when You step out from the bed of the ocean all the earth smiles in gratitude; when You walk out upon the fields of the heavens, all the earth sighs with joy.

You brought me out from the night, oh Brighid, and delivered me safely to the morning. May You shepherd me now through the daytime hours and deliver me again into the night.

Oh Brighid of the sunrise, Your face is beautiful, Your eyes are like the fire of heaven and Your kiss is like mead; on this day and on every day may you bless us with poetry; on this day and on every day may You bless us with love.

I am bending my head in prayer beneath the eye of Brighid, the rising sun among the white of the clouds, the smiling glory of the day. Pour the honey-sweet milk of Your poetry into the chalice of the morning; allow me to taste Your milk in each passing moment.

 

 

Second Hour- Prayers of Thanksgiving

1- Grace

Oh Brighid beloved, for my food I thank You. Oh Brighid beloved, for my drink I thank You. Oh Brighid beloved, for my breath I thank You, and for all that the day shall bring my way.

 

2- Offerings Prayer

The offerings vary depending on the season. They are based on a list of foods traditionally eaten at the four fire festivals, as found in Goddesses in Celtic Religion by Noemie Beck:

From Imbolc to Beltane- ritual washing of hands, head and feet with offering of any food

From Beltane to Lunasa- offering of ale or cottage cheese

From Lunasa to Samhain- offering of any fruits or herbs

From Samhain to Imbolc- offering of any nuts, meat, ale, buttermilk or butter

Practitioners who are not in a position to make a food offering may light a flame or pour clear water as a substitute, or visualize the appropriate offering.

Each thought in my mind for You, each word from my mouth for You, each deed of my hand for You, oh Brighid of the blessings.

May I speak each word with the justice of Brighid; may I speak each word with the wisdom of Brighid; may I speak each word with the kindness of Brighid, from this day until the end of my days.

In every plant of the flowering earth, in every beast of the forest, in every fish of the blue-green ocean, may I sense Your presence. In every ray of the life-giving sun, in every breath of the wind, in every stirring of my own inner mind, may I sense Your presence.

Queen-maiden of the fire and the water, queenmaiden of gentleness, queen-maiden of the boar and the oxen, queen-maiden of tears. Bright goddess of the well of wisdom, bright goddess of healing, bright goddess of the cow of blessings, and of the harp of the bards.

You are a grove of apple trees and a branch of peace; You are a cup of kindness and a drink of mirth; You are a beam of the power of Imbas upon the waters of the Boyne.

 

3- Daytime Prayer

Oh gentle Brighid of the golden hair, be like a shining flame before the path I walk on. Preserve me from stumbling and infuse me with love, so that I shine with Your light to aid others.

I am bending my head in prayer beneath the eye of the sun, beneath the grace of Brighid, in love and gratitude. Bring us to love where we are wrathful; bring us to beauty though we walk through ugliness. Through every shadow and every light, through every day and every night.

Oh Brighid, may Your light descend on me, may Your light shine out through me, from my crown to my soles. Oh Brighid, may Your light ascend through me, may Your light be new in me, from my soles to my crown.

 

 

Third Hour- Prayers Before Sleep

Optional: Gabhaim Molta Bride, Sloinntireachd Bride

 

1- The Seven Elements Prayer

Brighid of the Earth, bless me with prosperity, bless those I love with prosperity, bless all the world.

Brighid of the Waters, bless me with health, bless those I love with health, bless all the world.

Brighid of the Sun, bless me with beauty, bless those I love with beauty, bless all the world.

Brighid of the Clouds, bless me with wisdom, bless those I love with wisdom, bless all the world.

Brighid of the Winds, bless me with vitality, bless those I love with vitality, bless all the world.

Brighid of the Stones, bless me with strength, bless those I love with strength, bless all the world.

Brighid of the Spirit, bless me with illumination, bless those I love with illumination, bless all the world.

 

2- Flame-Lighting Prayer

Tending Brighid’s flame is a popular way of honoring Brighid and of dedicating time to focus on developing a relationship with Her. Some flamekeepers belong to cills, groups of 19 people who take turns tending the flame over a 20-day cycle so that it burns continuously. Each flamekeeper is responsible for the flame from sunset to sunset. The 20th day is said to be Brighid’s Day, and She is believed to tend Her own flame on that day. However, it is not necessary to belong to a cill, and many flamekeepers maintain this practice alone. Since it is often unsafe in our modern lifestyle to leave a flame burning for a full 24 hours, many flamekeepers have adopted ways of tending Brighid’s flame metaphorically, using LED candles, special jewelry, cell phone apps, etc., to represent the flame when a live flame is unsafe or impractical and to help the flamekeeper remain mindful of their commitments to Brighid.

I will light my candle as Brighid lights it; Her candle is the sun and Her altar the earth. And as this little candle lights my room, may Her great candle light the universe.

Hail to you, oh foster-mother! Your love is a flame. Give me the strength to bear Your tenderness; give me the power to bear Your light. Let my heart become like a perpetual fire tended by the priestesses of all my thoughts.

Hail to you, oh woman-comrade! Hail to you, oh trusted friend! I will share my confidences with You today for I know You will comfort me; I will kindle my heart with Your light until I glow like gold.

 

3- Nighttime Prayer

Hail to You, oh shining mother, radiant mother of stars and worlds. Hail to You, oh shining starsmith, radiant forger of worlds and suns. Hail to You, oh shining ocean, oh river of milk and light, oh queen of time.

Oh Brighid of the setting sun, You sleep in the ocean like a bed of flowers; the river of the heavens is the milk of Your cow and the roots of the Tree of Life are like a pillow for Your head.

Sun of the evening, Your steps are proud; the clouds of the heavens are the fields of Your wandering. The stars of the heavens are Your sisters and children; the ocean is Your bed and the world is Your garden.

Oh Brighid of the starlight, may my prayers rise up to You, may they rise like smoke to You, from the offering of my heart. Oh Brighid of the starlight, be ever near to me, so close that I cannot see where You end and I begin.

Guide me, oh Brighid, across the ocean of night, like a star above the deep roaring waters. As you once forged my body in the core of Your star, may the same star now guide me through the darkness.