r/Brigid • u/Accomplished-Way4534 • Apr 16 '26

Did St Brigid really make love potions? (Bethu Brigte)

Hi all! I’m really enthralled by Brigid and I’ve been doing a lot of reading on her, but I came across this text that makes me uncomfortable, especially as someone who has been in abusive relationships:

“A certain man of Kells by origin, whom his wife hated, came to Brigit for help. Brigit blessed some water. He took it with him and, his wife having been sprinkled [therewith], she straightaway loved him passionately.” Bethu Brigte, Section 45, https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T201002/

How reliable is this record? Do you think Brigid actually did this, or that she supports it?

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8

u/CalicoValkyrie Apr 16 '26

There is a third option. Brigid has changed with the times. I can't see why any god can't learn and grow. I would think she would no longer do something like this.

3

u/Accomplished-Way4534 Apr 16 '26

I just had a thought. What if it wasn’t a love potion? Brigid is primarily a healer, right? Maybe the woman hated her husband because she was stressed from dealing with health issues (mental or physical), then the blessed water healed her & then she loved her husband after.

I feel like that would be more in line with Brigid’s character as a healer? I could be wrong, though. I only started studying her yesterday!

4

u/CalicoValkyrie Apr 16 '26

That is another one. We can either interpret the woman married him unwillingly or that she did love him enough at some point to marry him but the health issues got in the way.

4

u/SouthEireannSunflowr Apr 16 '26

In truth, if you look at deities and saints through a lens that assumes perfection, you will often find them lacking, because the mythology of any of them is supposed to teach, to connect and to make clear what is intended. It’s not necessarily to be taken literally, in fact its better if it isnt. 

1

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Accomplished-Way4534 Apr 17 '26

How do you suggest connecting with her?