Brigid, my heart. Keeper of the flame and bringer of the new Dawn. Prophesied one... bright one... shining one. Magdalene woman of Ireland, Mary of the Gaels. You called me to open my heart. You called me to shatter the glass encasement around it, shards of light piercing through. You taught me to listen and to remember who I am. Daughter of the Cup. Lantern bearer. Crafter, poet, alchemist. You called me to your holy well, to your flowing river. You called me there again and again, rainbows showing the way. You pierced my heart over and over. Until I surrendered fully to call myself your priestess, your sister. You called me to your land, this Emerald Isle. You called me home. And here I am. I am here. I am here. I am here. In sacred service, devotion to this land. In holy Love, with codes of Light and Life. O blessed be. Gabhaim molta Brighide. Grá mo chroi.

Rose of Ireland, your love is our refuge. Daughter of Shalom, Dove of Peace, you receive the ocean of tears and give hope in return. Transfiguring pain to joy, you give beauty for ashes. Crossroad guardian, holy well shimmering, chapel candles flaming, prayers flung up to heaven, tower of fire, breath of Shekhinah. Who but you can contain the heart of Ireland in your robes? Who but you can soothe the furrowed brows of your children? Who but you can shine the miraculous light of Life through the darkness, O Star of the Sea. Moon Woman, Dragon Foot, Gentle Mother, Fierce Joy. O She of 10,000 Names, you carry each of us in your heart. You call us by our own names. And we carry your name: Mary Kate, Mary Winifred, Mary Gage. And with your breath of life, we are made new once more, rebirthed in grace from your holy womb. Shlomlech Maryam, B'shem Maryam, Ahava.

Thanks be to Bóinne, river of mystery, keeper of wisdom, goddess of kairos. The flowing curves of your life-blood hug the mounds and stones of the valley you call home. What secrets lie beneath these sacred hills, these stones carved, these trees, these birds, these fish? The answer lies in one tiny being: a hazelnut. A fish passed beneath a tree and received a nut into the portal of his mouth, wisdom infusing his flesh. A boy caught the fish and received the sacred flesh into the portal of his mouth. The nut in his belly grew into a sacred tree and rooted into the land, gifting its wisdom into the underground rivers. The tree's ancient wood-flesh melted into the portal of the earth. Wise ones came, and built a sacred mound there, and Sun codes flowed into the portal of its mouth. And so in each perfect moment does the wheel of life ever flow.

O holy trees of Ireland, keepers of ancient wisdom, watching over this land, we honor you. Sacred Triad of Oak, Ash, Thorn, guardians ever anchoring strength and courage, magic and mystery, love and beauty. The Holly King of winter, berry-bright. Seven Birch Sisters, rising up from ashes, heralds of new life. Lady Beech and Willow swaying in the winds of change. Alder, Elder, Hazel; Wise Ones all. And Dark Mother Yew, ever guarding the portal to the Otherworld. O Faerie Apple Queen, O Druid Rowan Lord, we enter the forest in reverence, with silent footfalls, greeting your beings and joining our heartbeats in the dance of the sunlight shafts shining through the leaves; soft moss and secret crevices, where we leave gifts for you. Peace be with you, peace we bring, peace we ask, O Standing Ones. Peace. Peace. Peace, we sing with you. Peace everlasting, peace evermore. Shalom.

Sing your heart to Old Dark Mother, o little silver seeker... glittering starlight, quartz sparkling in mountain boulders. You made these lands, Ancient One. The stones we use to mark time, solidify moments, came tumbling down from your great hands, like sand crystals in an hourglass. Boulders are as pebbles to you; hawthorn trees as flower buds. You stride across the land, stars in your hair, feet creating lakes as you dance, pounding waves against cliff faces, wind whipping as you whirl, O WIld Woman! Circle and circle and circle, the stones half buried yet pulsing still with power, time immemorial on these sacred hills. You create, You destroy, You laugh as Kali's diamond cuts the kite string; we fly free and the crows dance with us, calling us home. Remember... the place of the Ancient Palace... remember, for we have been here before...and we shall gather here once more. Séa! It is so.

Hail Áine! Beautiful Bright One, our shining Star. Sun Queen, you grace this land with bounty in Summer, those long days which balance the endless dark dreaming time of Winter. Hail to you, who infuses this Earth with light and life. Who sparkles in a million million fractals, turning water into the elixir of life just by infusing the droplets with your love-codes; transfiguring the fluid in our crystals, and in our wombs. Who allows us glimpses of the magic of the unseen, the truth of light merged with clouds (the truth of us reflected in your sky-eyes), as your love rains down as holy tears, fire and water alchemizing into the Rainbow. Arcing down to kiss your land, to kiss my eyes, where gold meets blue... diamond light flashing on water's glowing face. In this moment, your magic sings in my heart, my blood sparking... your sacred waters in this sacred vessel. {Blessed Be}

Maebh the Powerful, my ancestor, raven queen. You, like all other Bright Fire Queens, also have a dark sister. And She is Tlachtga. I see you both now, dancing in the flames of the need-fire. Holding the threshold veils open at the turning of the year. Bealtaine and Samhain, Summer and Winter, Light and Dark... they are one and the same, are they not? As you travel back and forth in ceremonial glory across your land, leading the troops and guiding the way, receiving tribute and celebrating far into the night, you also hold a deeper truth. The flame of the bonfire IS the portal. And to pass through, we must meet you, and honor you, and truly submit to you. Because the changing of the season brings changes within, a stripping down, a purifying and a cleansing. So we can be ready to face the new, when it's time. Rose-hip Queen, you nourish us in bursting fullness. And we bow before you, and you bow in return.

Macha, the one who would not be left out, I honor you now. Breaker of chains, loosener of bindings, riding, running, faster than the wind, the breath of Wisdom flowing from your mouth as you teach and curse those who do not see you, those who would constrain you. Queen of Ulster, Queen of the Northern lands, Queen of the hills. Mother of the twins, Ireland North and Ireland Republic... separated at birth, shall they ever be reunited, as they were within your sacred womb? O wise Macha, teach us blessed freedom. Teach us to speak truth, with compassion and kindness. Teach us mercy, that we may not fall from grace. Teach us humility, that we may not boast beyond our own gifts. Teach us patience, that we may wait for the perfect time of reunion. Teach us to ride the winds, at one with the birds who fly free. Teach us to remember that we, too, have wings.

Far beneath the surface, deep in crystalline caves, another world exists. Ssshhh... listen. Can you hear? Tinkling laughter, otherworldly music, whispers of beauty emanating upwards and outwards on the breath of the Earth. Stories... legends... secrets, all held in the Book of Time, kept in the sacred library, held by the Shining Ones. Mother Dánu's children, ancient caretakers of the Celtic lands, sweeping East to West along the River of Life, they came; and at last rested in Tír na nÓg, Land of Youth, the Western waters. Like the setting Sun sinking into the sea each night, so too the Shining Ones shone over the land for a time, and then surrendered with holy grace into the underworld. And there they live, even now. How shall we honor You, our Tuatha, our tribe? By stepping lightly on the roof of your land. By dancing, singing, offering our love and our joy to the animals and the plants. By believing.

A message from Éiru: For you who feel the voice of My land reverberating in your heart, know I am calling you here. The work of My daughters and My sons is awakening this land to sovereignty once more. You feel this, I know. You are being called to uphold the sacredness of this land. Will you embrace this calling? Remember, you have said yes before... Do not be afraid. Say yes again and again. And know that I am Here. The ground beneath your feet, the air that you breathe, the water that flows within and without you, the light which illuminates the truth. I attune you. I AM YOU. Clasp Me to your breast, feel Me in your center. Dance with Me, offer yourself to Me. You are awakening, My children. And I awaken with you. Sovereignty lives on, in the land and in your hearts. This sacred land receives you. Root into Me. For we are all roots of the One Tree. One in the One Heart. In Divine Union. Sovereign. Home.

Barbara Jones

Barbara Jones

Zoe Love

Jacelyn and Kate Reed