February's full moon altar honours Brigid, the Celtic triple goddess of healing, poetry and skilled metalwork. Her sacred day of Imbolc occurs at the beginning of February as well. Brigid, her lore and her symbols were later incorporated into Christianity as the popular "Saint Brigid."
I bought this wonderful statue of Brigid about 15 years ago at a spirituality store here in Edmonton, a reproduction of a work by Paul Borda of Dryad Design. The blue altar cloth with its golden sacred spirals is meant to honour Brigid's dual role as a Goddess of Sacred Wells and as a Goddess of the Fire of Life and Creativity. These themes are also reflected in the two white lotus bowls containing (on the left) water and (on the right) a votive candle.
The water used for this month's altar actually did come from a sacred well -- the Lion's Head Well in Chalice Garden at the base of England's Glastonbury Tor -- water which I brought home with me a dozen years ago. If you're interested, you can read about that by clicking here. I still have half a bottle left!
At the front of the altar lies a Brigid's Star (or as it's known by Christians, a Brigid's Cross), traditionally crafted from rushes, its woven centre meant to represent the interconnectedness of all life. I bought this one many years ago at an absolutely exorbitant price from a British import store in West Edmonton Mall.
[First photo © Debra She Who Seeks, February 2021.
Second, unfortunately blurry, photo ©
Debra She Who Seeks, November 2009.
Pixels are so much better now!]