What do you think?
Rate this book
The Torch of Brighid: Flametending for Transformation
What is flametending, and how can a simple devotional practice be engaged with as a transformational spiritual path? The devotional practice of flametending for Irish Goddess and Christian St. Brighid, traditionally kept once every twenty days, can become a daily spiritual practice for transformation when combined with twenty spiritual inquiries as an inner journey of reflection. Brighid is a goddess of the fires that transform ore into tools, plants into medicine, and inspiration into poetry. Through guided meditations, energy work, contemplation, and journaling, you will learn how to open yourself to Brighid so her torch of illumination can guide you in transforming your fear and pain into power and joy! You will also discover how Brighid can walk with you through the seasonal cycle of the year and bless your personal endeavors. Let Brighid become your daily companion so her light can lead you to wisdom and wholeness.
- GenresPaganism
144 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2023
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 6, 2023
The Torch of Brighid is a book by Erin Aurelia who has tended the sacred flame of the Celtic Goddess Brighid for over twenty years. The book provides historical information about Brighid based on existing sources and introduces a transformational flametending practice that is rooted in tradition and inspired by mythic connections and by Brighid herself. The author makes it clear at the beginning that she is not reconstructing a past Pagan practice.
Working with traditional material Erin has produced a series of meditations forming a transformational journey based upon Brighid’s roles as smith, healer and poet (and dreamer*), the ogam, the three cauldrons and the celebration of Imbolc.
She begins by providing Brighid’s historical background followed by guidance for setting up an altar to Brighid and beginning a flame tending practice through making a Brighid-flame candle ‘to light and tend Brighid’s fire’.
As further preparatory work there are meditations in the form of visits to the Inner Temple, the Well of Wisdom and opening to Brighid’s energy through the Mantle of Brighid. These felt like a firm foundation for a flametending practice.
Erin bases the twenty day flametending journey on the ogam and the life cycle of a tree (relating to St Brighid’s sanctuary Cill Dara ‘The Church of the Oak). The first five days focus on growth, the next five on fruiting, the next five on ripening, the last five on seeding. Meditations are given for each of the days guiding the devotee through the transformational processes.
The ritual year is based around the four Celtic festivals Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain which are identified with four ogam characters and mapped onto the Celtic cross with the fifth in the middle.
A new rite Erin introduces that particularly resonated with me was holding an ‘advent’ for Brighid’s return to the land at Imbolc based upon Her four faces.
Although I am not a Brighid devotee or a flametender myself so haven’t been called to participate in the practices outlined in the book I can see that they would provide an excellent grounding for both newcomers and practicing Polytheists to meet Brighid and begin flametending as a devotional practice.
I admired the way Erin has reimagined this series of rites from traditional material. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Brighid and flametending and to all Polytheists seeking inspiration on how to create new rituals from existing sources with the guidance of their Gods and Goddesses.
*This is based on gnosis surrounding Brighid as the serpent who sleeps in winter and comes out of the mound in Scottish folklore.
Working with traditional material Erin has produced a series of meditations forming a transformational journey based upon Brighid’s roles as smith, healer and poet (and dreamer*), the ogam, the three cauldrons and the celebration of Imbolc.
She begins by providing Brighid’s historical background followed by guidance for setting up an altar to Brighid and beginning a flame tending practice through making a Brighid-flame candle ‘to light and tend Brighid’s fire’.
As further preparatory work there are meditations in the form of visits to the Inner Temple, the Well of Wisdom and opening to Brighid’s energy through the Mantle of Brighid. These felt like a firm foundation for a flametending practice.
Erin bases the twenty day flametending journey on the ogam and the life cycle of a tree (relating to St Brighid’s sanctuary Cill Dara ‘The Church of the Oak). The first five days focus on growth, the next five on fruiting, the next five on ripening, the last five on seeding. Meditations are given for each of the days guiding the devotee through the transformational processes.
The ritual year is based around the four Celtic festivals Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain which are identified with four ogam characters and mapped onto the Celtic cross with the fifth in the middle.
A new rite Erin introduces that particularly resonated with me was holding an ‘advent’ for Brighid’s return to the land at Imbolc based upon Her four faces.
Although I am not a Brighid devotee or a flametender myself so haven’t been called to participate in the practices outlined in the book I can see that they would provide an excellent grounding for both newcomers and practicing Polytheists to meet Brighid and begin flametending as a devotional practice.
I admired the way Erin has reimagined this series of rites from traditional material. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Brighid and flametending and to all Polytheists seeking inspiration on how to create new rituals from existing sources with the guidance of their Gods and Goddesses.
*This is based on gnosis surrounding Brighid as the serpent who sleeps in winter and comes out of the mound in Scottish folklore.
January 3, 2026
This book lays out a beautiful set of practices to illuminate a devotee’s relationship to the goddess Brighid. If you are not already familiar with Her, this book probably won’t be for you, as it starts on the assumption that you already have a relationship with Her in some capacity, be that devotional or purely intellectual. To a lesser extent it also assumes you have a knowledge of the Irish Celtic Cosmology and worldview as a whole, but it does go further to explain this.
As I already am familiar with Brigid and have had a devotional relationship with Her in the past that I’ve largely fallen away from, I was looking for something to help me rebuild a practice for Her, especially as we look to Imbolc. The book uses the Irish Ogham script and tree lore to lay out a 20 day devotional practice, and also contains practices for the January leading up to Imbolc, and how to work with Brigid seasonally.
The only reason this is not five stars is because I think some of the practices could’ve been explained more clearly, but other than that, it’s a very cool little book that will certainly assist Brigid devotees in deepening their relationship to Her.
As I already am familiar with Brigid and have had a devotional relationship with Her in the past that I’ve largely fallen away from, I was looking for something to help me rebuild a practice for Her, especially as we look to Imbolc. The book uses the Irish Ogham script and tree lore to lay out a 20 day devotional practice, and also contains practices for the January leading up to Imbolc, and how to work with Brigid seasonally.
The only reason this is not five stars is because I think some of the practices could’ve been explained more clearly, but other than that, it’s a very cool little book that will certainly assist Brigid devotees in deepening their relationship to Her.
May 30, 2023
wonderfully written
I raced through this book to give me an understanding of the 20 day vigil ahead of me, and I must say, I am so impressed.
There is a lot of neopagan literature available today that isn’t firmly rooted in the Celtic lore of Brigid and doesn’t clarify what is contextual historical information and what is personal gnosis. Erin walks this line so beautifully, taking an early stance on what her book is and isn’t, she honors the goddess we know from the folklore and brings her into modern practice that we can follow and grow from.
The book outlines a guided vigil for followers of Brigid. There’s a 20-day vigil, additional fire festival meditations, and a wealth of folklore and historical content on the goddess and saint to help you really dive in.
I look forward to updating after having followed the vigil outlined in the book!
I raced through this book to give me an understanding of the 20 day vigil ahead of me, and I must say, I am so impressed.
There is a lot of neopagan literature available today that isn’t firmly rooted in the Celtic lore of Brigid and doesn’t clarify what is contextual historical information and what is personal gnosis. Erin walks this line so beautifully, taking an early stance on what her book is and isn’t, she honors the goddess we know from the folklore and brings her into modern practice that we can follow and grow from.
The book outlines a guided vigil for followers of Brigid. There’s a 20-day vigil, additional fire festival meditations, and a wealth of folklore and historical content on the goddess and saint to help you really dive in.
I look forward to updating after having followed the vigil outlined in the book!
August 4, 2023
A great book for connecting with Brigid, learning about flame tending, strengthening your connection to Brigid and creating a flame tending practice. I enjoyed that the author states right away what this book is and what it is not. This book is an excellent read if you are looking to learn about and create a practice flame trending in honour of the goddess Brigid.
April 22, 2026
The Torch of Brighid – Flametending for Transformation by Erin Aurelia (2024) Moon Books
Nonfiction, Popular (Neo-Pagan) (Paperback, e-book)
The Torch of Brighid is a fascinating book, or rather, more than a book, a system, an elaborate blueprint of mythical references and mystical practices aimed at supporting and containing a deliberate and tightly focussed program of personal transformation. Aurelia gathers material together from historical sources, mostly Irish but some Scottish, mostly from texts but also from folklore, and builds her very modern practice on these foundations.
The sources she draws on range from the ogham to the The Oak of Mugna, which I confess I had never heard of before, “a joyous treasure” mentioned in the Metrical Dindshenchas. She draws on Brigidine flametending, visionary ritual and meditation, and offers a liberal salting of poetry, using all of these together to build a framework for deep transformation. Using the various symbols she finds meaningful, Aurelia matches the traditional twenty-day flame-tending cycle to the twenty féda (letters) of the ogham, focussing especially on the trees associated with these letters.
Erin’s system is not for the faint of heart, or for folk like me who are dictated to overwhelmingly by chronic fatigue. It is intense, it is complex, and it demands a persistent commitment of time, concentration, and energy that are well beyond what I can do. I had to concentrate hard just to grasp what she was pulling together, because it is detailed and complex and I am not that well. But for someone with the ability and the desire, I can see the potential for this being a fruitful practice. If I was well, I would try it out; as it is, all I could do was read the book.
If you’ve read any of my previous reviews, you will know that I am often frustrated by authors’ failure to differentiate between their own UPG or interpretations of lore, and the traditions and texts they are drawing on. So you can imagine my delight at Aurelia’s wonderfully explicit disclaimer, with lists of what this book is not (reconstructing a past pagan practice, etc.) and what it is (presenting an inspired practice, etc.). I appreciate her willingness to find new truths in old materials without claiming that her work is an old practice newly revealed, and that she is in the main clear about where she has used traditional material and where she has followed her intuition. I found some of her insights and the practices she offers quite inspiring, such as the Mantle of Brighid exercise, which builds on grounding and energy work and is powerful and beautifully realised, as a brief excerpt will reveal:
“The Mantle of Brighid is an energy exercise designed to help you open your energy to and commune with Brighid. It works with three internal energy centers the Irish tradition calls cauldrons, and which I correlate with Brighid the Smith, Brighid the Healer, and Brighid the Poet. These energy centers are detailed in the writing called The Cauldron of Poesy, designed to promote poetic inspiration. The energy you move will not only fill you, but surround you, as Brighid’s protective and healing mantle is said to do. Use this exercise to prepare yourself for each meditation in your transformational flametending work…
“Now seat yourself comfortably, close your eyes and ground yourself with three deep breaths. In your mind’s eye, picture your internal bone structure, and the three containers within you formed by your pelvic bones, ribcage, and skull. In the first cauldron of the pelvic region, the Cauldron of Warming, envision a forge. Feel a connection in this region to the energy of the inner Earth, that roiling cauldron of liquid fire, and with your inhaling breath, draw that up into your Cauldron of Warming to light the fire of its forge. As you then exhale through pursed lips, feel and envision this forge fire igniting and intensifying. Take eight more rounds of these breaths to make nine in all, feeling this earth-fire energy grow within you as you inhale, and expand within you as you exhale…”
pg. 34 and 35
The difficulties for me: I find the language a little challenging – a bit more cerebral than I am used to and sometimes kind of hard work, as a result. There are some moments where she makes mistakes, such as mixing up details about Saint Brigit’s birth from the different Saint’s Lives (the Lives are contradictory and confusing). But these are nitpicks, and in general I am heartened by the extent of her research and the creative use to which she puts the material. I also appreciate that she relies on Erynn Rowan Laurie’s excellent book, Ogam: Weaving Word Wisdom, for her understanding of the ogham, as that is a solid piece of research and inspiration, itself.
In general, I would say that The Torch of Brighid would appeal to those who resonate with complex metaphor and ritual, more than those who prefer a less structured, impulse-driven style of contemplation. If you have the energy and discipline that this structure requires, the vessel Aurelia has created is a good one to hold and support your inner, transformational aspirations.
Nonfiction, Popular (Neo-Pagan) (Paperback, e-book)
The Torch of Brighid is a fascinating book, or rather, more than a book, a system, an elaborate blueprint of mythical references and mystical practices aimed at supporting and containing a deliberate and tightly focussed program of personal transformation. Aurelia gathers material together from historical sources, mostly Irish but some Scottish, mostly from texts but also from folklore, and builds her very modern practice on these foundations.
The sources she draws on range from the ogham to the The Oak of Mugna, which I confess I had never heard of before, “a joyous treasure” mentioned in the Metrical Dindshenchas. She draws on Brigidine flametending, visionary ritual and meditation, and offers a liberal salting of poetry, using all of these together to build a framework for deep transformation. Using the various symbols she finds meaningful, Aurelia matches the traditional twenty-day flame-tending cycle to the twenty féda (letters) of the ogham, focussing especially on the trees associated with these letters.
Erin’s system is not for the faint of heart, or for folk like me who are dictated to overwhelmingly by chronic fatigue. It is intense, it is complex, and it demands a persistent commitment of time, concentration, and energy that are well beyond what I can do. I had to concentrate hard just to grasp what she was pulling together, because it is detailed and complex and I am not that well. But for someone with the ability and the desire, I can see the potential for this being a fruitful practice. If I was well, I would try it out; as it is, all I could do was read the book.
If you’ve read any of my previous reviews, you will know that I am often frustrated by authors’ failure to differentiate between their own UPG or interpretations of lore, and the traditions and texts they are drawing on. So you can imagine my delight at Aurelia’s wonderfully explicit disclaimer, with lists of what this book is not (reconstructing a past pagan practice, etc.) and what it is (presenting an inspired practice, etc.). I appreciate her willingness to find new truths in old materials without claiming that her work is an old practice newly revealed, and that she is in the main clear about where she has used traditional material and where she has followed her intuition. I found some of her insights and the practices she offers quite inspiring, such as the Mantle of Brighid exercise, which builds on grounding and energy work and is powerful and beautifully realised, as a brief excerpt will reveal:
“The Mantle of Brighid is an energy exercise designed to help you open your energy to and commune with Brighid. It works with three internal energy centers the Irish tradition calls cauldrons, and which I correlate with Brighid the Smith, Brighid the Healer, and Brighid the Poet. These energy centers are detailed in the writing called The Cauldron of Poesy, designed to promote poetic inspiration. The energy you move will not only fill you, but surround you, as Brighid’s protective and healing mantle is said to do. Use this exercise to prepare yourself for each meditation in your transformational flametending work…
“Now seat yourself comfortably, close your eyes and ground yourself with three deep breaths. In your mind’s eye, picture your internal bone structure, and the three containers within you formed by your pelvic bones, ribcage, and skull. In the first cauldron of the pelvic region, the Cauldron of Warming, envision a forge. Feel a connection in this region to the energy of the inner Earth, that roiling cauldron of liquid fire, and with your inhaling breath, draw that up into your Cauldron of Warming to light the fire of its forge. As you then exhale through pursed lips, feel and envision this forge fire igniting and intensifying. Take eight more rounds of these breaths to make nine in all, feeling this earth-fire energy grow within you as you inhale, and expand within you as you exhale…”
pg. 34 and 35
The difficulties for me: I find the language a little challenging – a bit more cerebral than I am used to and sometimes kind of hard work, as a result. There are some moments where she makes mistakes, such as mixing up details about Saint Brigit’s birth from the different Saint’s Lives (the Lives are contradictory and confusing). But these are nitpicks, and in general I am heartened by the extent of her research and the creative use to which she puts the material. I also appreciate that she relies on Erynn Rowan Laurie’s excellent book, Ogam: Weaving Word Wisdom, for her understanding of the ogham, as that is a solid piece of research and inspiration, itself.
In general, I would say that The Torch of Brighid would appeal to those who resonate with complex metaphor and ritual, more than those who prefer a less structured, impulse-driven style of contemplation. If you have the energy and discipline that this structure requires, the vessel Aurelia has created is a good one to hold and support your inner, transformational aspirations.
August 8, 2025
I have known the author for a number of years now, though I have never met her in real life. We met in Facebook discussion groups about religion. Erin has an avid interest in paganism and I have an avid interest in 2nd temple Judaism, including Christianity. I myself don’t have any particular interest in paganism as a religion, except as it may intersect with pantheism, which is a subject I may explore some day.
I like the fact that in our online discussion of Christianity Erin emphasizes the mythical over the literal, and I get the sense from reading her book that this is true in her own spiritual practice as well. That is, for example, the question of whether or not there was a historical St. Brigit of Kildare is not as important as the myths about her.
After an introductory chapter about the historical background of Brighid/Brigit, the author outlines two sets of practices, one corresponding to the seasons of the year and the other corresponding to the letters of the Ogham alphabet, which consists of twenty letters. The Ogham vigils are to be practiced daily, which is more of a religious commitment than I would ever want to make.
I enjoyed reading about the seasonal festivals, which encompass the four seasons of the years, more than I did reading about the Ogham vigils. These included what looked to me like guided imagery, where one is to imagine, for example, encountering Brighid. I did a couple of guided imagery sessions with a counselor many years ago, but then I figured if I wanted to do guided imagery, there were tons of videos on YouTube for free. I think it would be cool to put videos of the imagery in this book on YouTube. Perhaps similar videos for flametenders already exist.
On thing I did find frustrating about the book is that frequent reference was made to Celtic mythology without explanation. Fortunately we have the internet so these things can be looked up easily. The author makes occasional reference to the otherworld, which refers to the mythical realm in Celtic mythology. Early on there was a reference to the Well of Memory, perhaps a mythical well from that realm? I was never able to track that down. This lack of detail about Celtic mythology is not really a defect in the book, as the point of the book is to outline a system of practice for flametenders, not to be a guide to Celtic mythology. For those interested in learning about Celtic mythology, the author has provided a short list of resources in the back of the book.
I am very glad to have this book in my library, even though I don’t intend to follow this practice. I have followed the author for years on Facebook and I feel I know her a lot better by having read this book. For those who intend to follow the path of Brighid, this would be a very helpful addition to their libraries. It is available both as a Kindle book and a print book. I like my print version that has a beautiful cover, but I think if I were a practitioner I would prefer the Kindle edition so I could highlight and make notes.
I will close this review by noting that the author has also published a book of poetry called Bone & Stars: A Constellation of Poems of Healing and Recovery from Narcissistic Abuse. This book has nothing to do with flametending, as far as I know. I see it in my future, though.
I like the fact that in our online discussion of Christianity Erin emphasizes the mythical over the literal, and I get the sense from reading her book that this is true in her own spiritual practice as well. That is, for example, the question of whether or not there was a historical St. Brigit of Kildare is not as important as the myths about her.
After an introductory chapter about the historical background of Brighid/Brigit, the author outlines two sets of practices, one corresponding to the seasons of the year and the other corresponding to the letters of the Ogham alphabet, which consists of twenty letters. The Ogham vigils are to be practiced daily, which is more of a religious commitment than I would ever want to make.
I enjoyed reading about the seasonal festivals, which encompass the four seasons of the years, more than I did reading about the Ogham vigils. These included what looked to me like guided imagery, where one is to imagine, for example, encountering Brighid. I did a couple of guided imagery sessions with a counselor many years ago, but then I figured if I wanted to do guided imagery, there were tons of videos on YouTube for free. I think it would be cool to put videos of the imagery in this book on YouTube. Perhaps similar videos for flametenders already exist.
On thing I did find frustrating about the book is that frequent reference was made to Celtic mythology without explanation. Fortunately we have the internet so these things can be looked up easily. The author makes occasional reference to the otherworld, which refers to the mythical realm in Celtic mythology. Early on there was a reference to the Well of Memory, perhaps a mythical well from that realm? I was never able to track that down. This lack of detail about Celtic mythology is not really a defect in the book, as the point of the book is to outline a system of practice for flametenders, not to be a guide to Celtic mythology. For those interested in learning about Celtic mythology, the author has provided a short list of resources in the back of the book.
I am very glad to have this book in my library, even though I don’t intend to follow this practice. I have followed the author for years on Facebook and I feel I know her a lot better by having read this book. For those who intend to follow the path of Brighid, this would be a very helpful addition to their libraries. It is available both as a Kindle book and a print book. I like my print version that has a beautiful cover, but I think if I were a practitioner I would prefer the Kindle edition so I could highlight and make notes.
I will close this review by noting that the author has also published a book of poetry called Bone & Stars: A Constellation of Poems of Healing and Recovery from Narcissistic Abuse. This book has nothing to do with flametending, as far as I know. I see it in my future, though.
July 29, 2023
Tending fire as a religious act is a very ancient tradition, just think about the Vestals. This book is an informative read and also a guide to keep a fire vigil if you are a follower of Brigid.
I appreciated the style of writing and the clarity of the explanations. It's a a good way to enrich your spirituality
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I appreciated the style of writing and the clarity of the explanations. It's a a good way to enrich your spirituality
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews