The Illuminating Spark: Prayer to the Shepherdess

Musings from my Bealtaine celebration.

(Image description: A photo of a lit lantern hanging on a tree branch. The sky is a dark blue with much of the environment in silhouette.) Credit: Photo by Dhilip Antony on Unsplash

Happy Bealtaine! The beginning of May has brought with it mild to comfortably warm weather. This gradual change in weather is welcome because of how often it has switched from one extreme to another in previous years.

This holiday felt like more of a refocusing of my path since the passing of my father. I admit I’ve probably been using escapism as a coping mechanism. That’s fine to a degree, but at a certain point, it can turn into a wild goose chase with no real reason.

As usual, I held a flamekeeping shift and offered Brighid some water, incense, and a poem, which is shown below.

Prayer to the Shepherdess

Guide me, Shepherdess,

as I travel on this unknown path.

Let Your lantern bear the

hearthfire of joy, so that

I may kindle my heart with its flame.

May that flame be as Your guiding star

to light my way and to see

obstacles and distractions.

Aid me in my focus and devotion,

Brighid, this day and each day,

this night and each night.

As it was,

as it is,

as it shall ever be.

Toward the end, I pulled three staves for contemplation for the next three months. I received Beith, Nion, and Idad. I thought I remembered receiving at least one of those fids during the last time I did this kind of reading. In fact, two of them reappeared, albeit in a different order (Imbolc’s reading was Ngétal, Idad, and Beith). Perhaps I wasn’t paying enough attention during the period, but with these letters showing up again, it seems Brighid is adamant about my focus on the related subjects.

As far as I can tell, the pattern again feels like an amplification of preparation, purification, ancestor, and identity work, in some way. With Nion’s presence, She seems to be suggesting building up a support network of ancestors. With this letter’s connection to weaving, it could also be a sign of getting back to that hobby. As time goes by, I imagine the exact nature of my reflections will hopefully become clearer.

Until next time, have a blessed beginning of summer or winter!