Look, look, look! Isn’t it gorgeous? We are totally in love! When Laura and I established the Sanctuary of Brigid in 2019, we knew right away our organization needed a beautiful and symbolic logo that is representative of the various layers of what Brigid means to us, and how we want the Sanctuary to be presented and perceived by those who come across it.
Manifesting Our Vision
After considering our core values and our vision for the community we are creating, choosing the person to create our logo was super easy. Priestess and artist Devanna Wolf of The Wild Empress is an amazing intuitive and we were confident she would manifest our vision to perfection. Her participation is very meaningful because she is a devotee of Brigid, her input and advice on the design process was invaluable, her talent indisputable. From start to finish, it took several weeks but was well worth the wait!
While it is intricate and beautiful, our logo is not just a hodge-podge of swirls and leaves with a Swan in the middle. Each piece has special significance to our Sanctuary, and was added with specific intent. Here is a little bit about each aspect and, while not complete, gives some insight.
What does it all mean?
Double Line Circle: The encircling double lines represent the outer and inner, the above and below, the physical and the spiritual. The circle is also infinite, with no beginning and no end.
Oak Leaves: “Cill Dara” – Church of the Oak – is the name source of the Irish village “Kildare.” Legend says the ancient Priestesses of Brigid tended Her Flame there for hundreds of years. Notice on one side there are six leaves and four dots, on the other side, four leaves and six dots. These add up to 10, which in numerology equals 1. In spiritual symbolism, that is the number of creation and the birth of all things – the divine origin of the universe.
Acorns: Among other things, acorns symbolize strength, potential, luck, prosperity, fertility, and immortality. It has long been believed the consumption of acorns can help one to see the future, and of course the acorn is the fruit of the oak tree. There are eight acorns in our logo to represent each turn of the Wheel.
Star: Our Star has eight points to represent the directions of North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South, Southwest, West, Northwest, and North. There are eight dots around the Star to represent the number 8 in numerology, which signifies balance between the spiritual and material world. Notice our Star is slightly tilted to the Northeast, which is a directional nod from our location in the USA toward Brigid’s indigenous roots over the pond. It also serves as a crown of sorts for our Swan.
Swan: Known to many (but not all) as sacred to Brigid, our lovely lady is rife with much symbolism for us – too much to write, really – so for our top three list, she is creativity, healing, and strength which corresponds to Brigid the Poet, Brigid the Healer, Brigid of the Forge. Swans are serene, graceful, beautiful, and they’re also fierce and protective. The Swan also represents the shapeshifter, and we see this energy in the way Brigid is ever-shifting to meet the needs of the people with whom She becomes known. The Swan is facing East toward the rising sun.
Sun: Brigid is a Fire Goddess known by many titles: Lady of the Dawn, Mistress of the Forge, Keeper of the Flame are a few that come to mind. The Sun sits behind our Swan to represent Her fiery aspects.
Cauldron: Often regarded as a container of learning and knowledge, our Cauldron holds all the magic and mystery of Brigid, in all her aspects. It represents the four elements: the iron of the cauldron is Earth, the contents represent Water heated by Fire and released as steam into the Air. The cauldron also symbolizes the womb, which many women regard as the source of their power.
Triskele: This symbol is quite diverse with a long history. In our Sanctuary, the Triskele represents the forward motion of spiritual growth and a variety of sacred triplicities including life-death-rebirth, past-present-future, and creation-preservation-destruction.
Flame with Water Drop: This represents Brigid’s aspects of Fire and Water, the flame a nod again to her fiery nature, a drop of water alludes also to the tradition of keening, said to have begun with Brigid.
Three Dots: These represent Brigid’s triplicity as three sisters.
Transforming Symbols into Action
And, there you have it: our logo and a brief overview of its layers of meaning! As we grow, we look forward to using all of these symbols as a springboard of inspiration to manifest the larger vision we hold for the Sanctuary of Brigid and our wider community. Thank you so much for reading.
Bright Blessings!
