Because the 17th is St. Patrick's day...

Art and text by Thalia Took:
used with her gracious permisson

"Feed your fires!"

Bride (or Brigid) is a beloved goddess of the Celts known by many names, Bride being the Scots Gaelic variant. Her names mean "the Exalted One". She tends the triple fires of smithcraft (physical fire), healing (the fire of life within), and poetry (the fire of the spirit). In balance to this She also presides over many healing springs. Cattle are sacred to Her, green is Her color, and, perhaps one of the reasons She is so beloved (especially in Ireland)--She is said to have invented beer! Her feast day of February 1st is called Imbolc (the Christian Candlemas), when the predictions for the coming spring's weather were made, a remnant of which is seen in the modern Groundhog Day. She is daughter to the Dagda, and invented the first keening when her son Rúadán was killed.

As some of you know, I have been in the process of moving since last July. That s when I put my house in Maine on the market and began to pack. I spent 6 months worrying about whether the house would ever sell, spending money I didn t have to make the house more appealing to prospective buyers, and sorting through all of my stuff, deciding what to keep and what to let go of (literally and metaphorically).

Then one day in early January, I was elated to receive and accept an offer on my house. The joy lasted about 24 hours. Then panic set in. I realized for all the work I had done, I still had so much to do. And more worries. What would the home inspection show? What if the buyer s couldn t get financing? What if something goes wrong at the last minute at closing?

Art and text by Thalia Took:
used with her gracious permisson

"I will guide and protect you on your difficult journeys."

Maman Brijit is a Vodou lwa or spirit who is the protectress of cemeteries. She is one of the family of the Gede or Guede, the Vodou death spirits whose numbers include Bawon Samdi, Bawon Gede, and Gede Nimbo or Nibo, guardian of children. The Gede, especially Bawon Samdi, Her husband, are tricksters who are known for mocking authority and making fun of society. They have terribly bad manners and very dirty minds.

A woman I know was recently diagnosed with an STD, Human Papilloma Virus to be exact. Not that unusual I know. But here's the thing. She's in her late 70s and hasn't been sexually active in over 35 years. It seems that her abusive ex-husband gave her the disease sometime prior to the early 1970s. It lay dormant in her system for all that time, until last year, when she received radiation treatment for breast cancer. The radiation apparently compromised her immune system, and the long dormant HPV took advantage. Her ex-husband died about 6 years ago. But he's managed to reach out from the grave to abuse her yet again.

Art and text by Thalia Took:
used with her gracious permisson

"I reside in each warm heart."

"Cailleach" derives from the old Irish caillech, or "the veiled one". The modern word cailleach means "old woman" or "hag" in Gaelic. The Cailleach is a widespread form of Celtic hag-goddess tied to the land and the weather who has many variants in the British Isles.

The Caillagh ny Groamagh ("Gloomy Old Woman", also called the Caillagh ny Gueshag, "Old Woman of the Spells") of the Isle of Man is a winter and storm spirit whose actions on the 1st of February are said to foretell the year's weather--if it is a nice day, She will come out into the sun, which brings bad luck for the year. The Cailleach Uragaig, of the Isle of Colonsay in Scotland, is also a winter spirit who holds a young woman captive, away from her lover.

I am beginning a new chapter in my life. It's been a long time in coming and yet it seems to be coming so fast that I can't keep up. I am excited, nervous, frightened, overwhelmed and sad all at the same time. I am moving.

I am leaving behind the snow and sleet and freezing rain of Maine, for the heat of southwest. I am leaving the ocean for the sand. I've thought about this move for many years. The harsh New England winters wreak havoc with my fibromyalgia. But there has always been a reason to stay: a friend or relative in need, a job worth keeping, a sense of community I was reluctant to leave behind. But sometime last year, about two years after the death of a beloved family member who died suddenly and too young, I realized there is always a reason to not make a change. There is always a friend or relative in need, or something worth keeping, or something that is hard to leave behind.