Altars and Symbols for Brigid
Brigid’s primary color is the red of flame, so any altar cloth should be red. Secondarily you can have green, the color of Ireland and well water. In the center should be a candle, red or white or green. It is sometimes impractical to have an ever-burning candle on an altar, especially if there are pets or small children around, so you may only be able to light it when you are in the room to watch it. However, some worshipers have dedicated the pilot light in their furnace or gas stove to Brigid, as this is the modern equivalent of the hearth-fire.
Next to the candle should be a vessel of water for her Holy Well. Mine is a pottery bowl, in which I drop a coin periodically as an offering. I also have two bottles of water, one from Brigid’s Well in Kildare and one the red water from Chalice Well in Glastonbury. Both have been available for sale online at various times, for those who cannot travel to the British Isles.
Next in importance is the four-pointed interwoven Brigid’s Cross, a form of the sunwheel sending down its morning rays. This is easy to make out of paper, stiff cord, or straw. Instructions can be found online.
Traditionally Brigid was symbolized in public parades by a female doll of straw or grain – a “corn dollie” hung with ribbons, and with a crystal hanging around its neck.
Cows are sacred to Brigid, so the figure of a cow is a good addition. As such, milk or cheese is an excellent offering to her. You could also add the figures of two oxen, a boar, and a sheep. One of the names for her holiday is Oimelc, which means “ewe’s milk”, so cheese made from sheep milk is also a good offering. The figure of a rooster symbolizes morning.
Other good altar items include a piece of unhemmed cloth for her mantle, a small hammer and anvil, poems and artwork, bottles of herbal medicine, serpents (symbolizing medicine and healing) and actual or miniature tools of one’s craft.