"Water remembers what we are ready to release. Sometimes healing begins not with answers, but with the courage to kneel beside a spring and ask for help."
Long before I ever stood beside Brigid's eternal flame in Kildare, I found her beside water.
At the time, I didn't know it was her.
I wasn't searching for the Celtic goddess of healing or the beloved saint of Ireland. In truth, I was simply searching for peace.
Life had become heavy. The years following the loss of my mum had left deep questions in my heart, and as our family prepared to come together again after several years apart, I realised I needed to begin healing in a different way.
Around that same time, I had made the deeply personal decision to leave alcohol behind. It wasn't simply about giving something up; it was about making space for a different way of living.
That decision eventually led my family and me to Glastonbury.
At the time, I believed I was following the path of Mary Magdalene.
I'd spent years reading about her, reflecting on her story and feeling drawn to her message of love, compassion and transformation. My journey had even taken me to Jersey, where I chose to have a tattoo of Mary Magdalene as a reminder of that connection.
Looking back now, I sometimes wonder whether she was gently leading me somewhere else entirely.
Because waiting for me in Glastonbury was another woman whose presence I had not yet recognised.
Brigid.
The White Spring
Anyone who has visited the White Spring knows that it is unlike almost anywhere else.
Hidden beneath Glastonbury Tor, it is dark, cool and wonderfully quiet. Water rises naturally from deep beneath the earth before flowing gently through the ancient stone chambers.
The atmosphere invites stillness.
There, I received a simple blessing.
There were no dramatic revelations.
No voices.
No miracles.
Only a quiet sense that I had finally stopped long enough to ask for help.
It felt as though something inside me softened.
As though I had placed a burden into the hands of something far older and wiser than myself.
Only much later did I discover that the White Spring has long been associated with Brigid by many modern pilgrims and spiritual communities. Whether through history, symbolism or living tradition, her presence is deeply woven into Glastonbury's sacred landscape.
For me, that discovery explained something my heart had already known.
The Gift of Living Water
During our stay we drank from the spring.
Not because we expected a miracle.
But because sharing water from a living spring felt like participating in something ancient.
Natural springs have always held a special place within Celtic tradition. Long before churches were built, people gathered around wells to offer prayers, seek blessing and give thanks. When Christianity spread through Ireland and Britain, many of these sacred places continued to be honoured, becoming holy wells dedicated to saints, including St Brigid.
For centuries pilgrims have travelled to Brigid's wells carrying hopes for healing, comfort and renewal.
As I drank from the spring, I found something difficult to describe.
Not simply physical refreshment.
But a feeling of being restored.
The decision to leave alcohol behind suddenly felt lighter.
The struggle I had expected never truly arrived.
Instead, it was as though I had stepped across an invisible threshold into a different chapter of my life.
I cannot explain exactly why.
I simply know that everything began to change.
Following the Water to Ireland
Gratitude has a way of becoming pilgrimage.
The more I learned about Brigid, the more deeply I felt called to travel to Kildare, where her sacred flame still burns and where many of Ireland's most treasured holy wells continue to flow.
Almost as soon as we arrived, something extraordinary happened.
On our very first day we stumbled across one of Brigid's lesser-known wells.
It wasn't even listed among the places most visitors are encouraged to see.
Later, we discovered that some local people knew and loved it, while others—including those deeply knowledgeable about Brigid's story—were surprised to hear of it.
It felt like a quiet gift.
The well included a drinking tap fed by the spring itself.
After carefully testing the water to ensure it was safe, we returned throughout our stay to fill our bottles.
Every journey back became part of our pilgrimage.
Not because the water itself was magical.
But because each visit reminded us to slow down...
to give thanks...
and to remain present.
Standing beside that little well each morning became one of my favourite memories of our time in Kildare.
The water sustained us throughout our pilgrimage.
More than that, it reminded me that the greatest gifts are often the ones we never planned to find.
Wells of Memory
Water has always occupied a unique place in Celtic spirituality.
Fire transforms.
Water restores.
Brigid is one of the rare figures who holds both.
She is remembered as guardian of the sacred flame, yet she is also closely associated with holy wells across Ireland, where generations of pilgrims have tied ribbons, offered prayers and sought comfort during times of illness, uncertainty and thanksgiving.
These traditions remind us that healing is rarely instantaneous.
Like water slowly wearing smooth the edges of stone...
it often happens quietly.
Patiently.
One day at a time.
Perhaps that is why sacred wells continue to call to people today.
Not because they promise miracles.
But because they invite us to stop.
To listen.
To be still long enough to hear what our own hearts have been trying to tell us.
For me, every well has become a place of remembrance.
A place where gratitude seems easier to find.
A place where the noise of everyday life gently fades into the background.
Returning Home
Every pilgrimage changes us in some way.
When we returned home to Guernsey, I wanted to carry a small part of those sacred places with me.
Today, whenever I visit Brigid's wells in Ireland or the sacred springs of Glastonbury, I respectfully collect a small amount of water using clean glass bottles and only from sources we have confirmed are safe.
The water is stored with care.
A few drops are added to some of my handcrafted botanical creations alongside rose water and other carefully chosen ingredients. Where appropriate, natural preservatives are used to ensure every product remains safe and stable.
For me, those few drops are not about making extraordinary claims.
They are simply a reminder.
A reminder of gratitude.
Of pilgrimage.
Of healing.
Of faith.
Of the places that quietly changed my life.
Every product carries, in its own gentle way, the memory of those sacred landscapes.
A reminder that sometimes the smallest things—a drop of water, a quiet prayer, a moment of stillness—can become the beginning of a much greater journey.
The Journey Continues
As I write these words, another pilgrimage is already calling.
Soon we will return to Glastonbury and continue into Wales in search of more of Brigid's sacred wells.
I know there will be more stories.
More quiet discoveries.
More unexpected moments of grace.
Each journey teaches me something new.
Sometimes it is found in an ancient spring.
Sometimes in a conversation with a stranger.
Sometimes simply in the silence that surrounds a sacred place.
Pilgrimage, I've learned, is never really about reaching a destination.
It is about allowing yourself to be changed along the way.
The wells continue to flow.
The invitation remains open.
All we have to do is pause long enough to drink.
Perhaps that is why these places have been treasured for centuries.
They remind us that healing isn't something we find once.
It is something we return to...
again and again.
A Blessing of the Waters
May the waters remind you that healing is seldom hurried.
May they soften what has become hardened by grief.
May they refresh what has grown weary.
May they carry away what no longer serves you.
May every spring you encounter remind you that hope still rises from the deepest places.
May your own journey be guided with gentleness.
May every pilgrimage bring you closer to yourself.
And may Brigid's blessing travel with you...
wherever your own pilgrimage begins.
Further Reading & Sources
For those wishing to explore Brigid's sacred wells and the traditions of pilgrimage more deeply, these are some of the resources that have inspired my own journey:
- Solas Bhríde Centre & Hermitages, Kildare – Brigid's Holy Wells and the living traditions of pilgrimage.
- The White Spring, Glastonbury – The ancient spring beneath Glastonbury Tor.
- Chalice Well, Glastonbury – The history of the Red Spring and its long association with pilgrimage and sacred waters.
- Lunaea Weatherstone – Tending Brigid's Flame.
- Rita Minehan CSB – Rekindling the Flame: A Pilgrimage in the Footsteps of Brigid of Kildare.
A Closing Blessing
Thank you for walking this part of the pilgrimage with me.
May Brigid's flame warm your hearth.
May her waters bring you peace.
May Brigantia give you the strength to stand firmly in your own truth.
And may the ancient paths always lead you home.
With love,
House of Bridie
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