Overview: Pagan Portals - Maman Brigitte: Dark Goddess of Africa and Ireland is a brand new book where we take a close look at the unique persona of Brigitte, who is a blend of the goddesses Brigid of Ireland and Oya of Western Africa.

Verdict: For those unaware, and as we are dutifully informed as we make our way through the three plentifully stuffed chapters, for practitioners of Haitian Vodoun and the New Orleans Voodoo religion, Maman Brigitte is one of the most important loa. Associated with death and cemeteries, she is also a spirit of fertility and motherhood and strangely enough, is also the only loa who is portrayed as being white.

She is often depicted in bright, overtly sexual costumes; she is feminine, sensual, and dangerous at the same time and much like her Celtic counterpart, Maman Brigitte is a powerful healer. If she can’t heal or cure them, she helps her followers travel towards the afterlife.

Maman Brigitte is also a protectress and will watch over women who ask for her assistance, particularly in cases of domestic violence, unfaithful lovers, or childbirth. The consort of Baron Samedi, Brigitte is associated with death and cemeteries.

OK, so that is the overview of an entity that has been in and around my own life for several decades now. This brand new book from author Pauline Breenon engages with Vodou as a religion and outlines the circumstances surrounding Brigitte’s emergence in Haiti during the slave trade, tracing her development into a prominent figure for both Haitian and Irish immigrants who experienced similar social and economic circumstances in the US state of Louisiana.

Through research, fieldwork, and personal experience, the author uncovers the story of Brigitte in Haiti, Brigitte in Louisiana, and Brigitte today, a dark goddess in the contemporary world.

So, can Brigid of Ireland be considered a dark goddess? Find out the answer to this, along with a whole host of other enthralling facts about the woman known to be one tough cookie, and who has no qualms about unleashing a profanity-laced tirade against those who displease her, here in this fascinating new book.

About the Author - For Pauline, Brigid is an expression of the Great Mother Goddess. Pauline is passionate about showing the various faces of Brigid that are often overlooked. Pauline is the author of three books on Brigid.

In her first book This is Brigid - Goddess & Saint of Ireland Pauline introduces Brigid in her original, pagan form as mother goddess and then as Christian saint. She considers both versions and shows the interplay between both cults. She suggests many ways to connect to Brigid through her symbols, numbers, animals and practices on her feast day of February the 1st associated with the goddess and the Saint.

In her second book Maman Brigitte - Dark Goddess of Africa and Ireland Pauline shows another lesser known face of Brigid, a vodou deity that came forth into being during the hardship of slavery. Maman Brigitte is also a blended deity from indigenous African deities and Brigid of Ireland.

In her third book Brigantia - Warrior Goddess, Pauline questions whether the migrating Brigantes tribes of northern England brought Brigid into Ireland, as we know her today. Pauline hopes that showcasing all sides of Brigid that includes her side as dark goddess and warrior goddess, from historical, archaeological and linguistic sources will enable even more people to connect to Brigid.

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