Airmid is a Celtic Goddess of Healing and one that I have felt an affinity with for a while. However, I've always been unsure how to work with her; I don't tend to get sick often, nor do the people around me. I don't really have the space of the resource to create potions, teas and oils 'just for the sake of it'. So how could I bring the energies of a healing deity into my life when I don't need healing?
Airmid was a deity of the Tuatha De Danaan, daughter of Dian Cecht, The Tuatha De Danaans God of Medicine and Chief Physician and Magician. She had one sister, Etan, who was married to Ogham, as well as four brothers - Cian, Cethe, Cu and Miach. Whilst her sister was known for poetry, Airmid and her four brothers followed in their fathers footsteps and became healers themselves.
Celtic legend tells us that The Tuatha De Danaan fought a fierce war with the Fir Bolgs, the natives of Ireland who refused to give any land up for the Tuatha De Danaan to make their home, in which King Nuada De Danaan had his arm severed from his body. As one of the requirements for Kingship was to be whole in body, losing his arm also meant losing the throne.
Dian Cecht was immediately called to tend to Nuada, and he bought with him his son Miach, and Airmid. However, as they worked on the King, Dian Cecht came to a realization that disturbed him deeply; both his son and his daughter's skill in healing was superior to his own. Dian Cecht had fashioned an arm out of silver which he planned to attach to the King's body. However, Airmid managed to use her skill to regenerate the Kings own arm, which Miach then re-attached to the King.
Airmid was a deity of the Tuatha De Danaan, daughter of Dian Cecht, The Tuatha De Danaans God of Medicine and Chief Physician and Magician. She had one sister, Etan, who was married to Ogham, as well as four brothers - Cian, Cethe, Cu and Miach. Whilst her sister was known for poetry, Airmid and her four brothers followed in their fathers footsteps and became healers themselves.
Celtic legend tells us that The Tuatha De Danaan fought a fierce war with the Fir Bolgs, the natives of Ireland who refused to give any land up for the Tuatha De Danaan to make their home, in which King Nuada De Danaan had his arm severed from his body. As one of the requirements for Kingship was to be whole in body, losing his arm also meant losing the throne.
Dian Cecht was immediately called to tend to Nuada, and he bought with him his son Miach, and Airmid. However, as they worked on the King, Dian Cecht came to a realization that disturbed him deeply; both his son and his daughter's skill in healing was superior to his own. Dian Cecht had fashioned an arm out of silver which he planned to attach to the King's body. However, Airmid managed to use her skill to regenerate the Kings own arm, which Miach then re-attached to the King.
Jealousy towards his son and his talents ate away at Dian Cecht; jealousy soon gave way to rage so great that he drew his sword and severed Miach's brain from his skull, killing his son.
Airmid buried her brother and was deep in mourning. One day she visited his grave and was amazed to find herbs growing over the mound, 365 herbs to be exact, one for every joint and organ of his body. She picked the herbs and as she did so the herbs began to speak to her, telling her of their healing properties. Methodically she arranged them upon her cloak according to their particular use or properties, and then used them to heal those in need.
Jealousy still raged in Dian Cecht and in a fit of spite he overturned Airmids cloak, scattering the herbs to the winds, ensuring that no-one but Airmid would ever know the secrets of those healing herbs, or the immortality they could bring if used in the correct manner.
So how to start working with Airmid?
A symbol often attributed to Airmid is the pestle and mortar. As such I carved one on a green candle (green being the colour I associate with healing), as well as three sprigs of generic herb, and began by meditating on her.
It was during this meditation that she made me realize that there is a lot more to healing than just physical healing. Yes, we can heal ourselves and others physically; but we can also work to heal the mental state of ourselves and others, as well as the spiritual state. We can help to heal communities after a tragedy, friends after a bad day, we can help heal the environment. Sometimes the smallest acts of kindness could be healing ones. So I split it down into these sections and meditated on what I could do towards each one - how could I bring healing into my everyday world and honour Airmid through these actions? Not all of us have money to spend on fancy things, or the time to be able to dedicate to a full day volunteering for example, so I've included things that can also be done easily and cheaply.
Physically:
Heal your skin by using rose oil or rose water - find out how to make your own here.
Take care of your internal organs by taking the time to eat healthily, doing some exercise and cutting back on activities such as drinking too much or smoking.
Heal others, especially in this winter weather, by carrying around little 'care packages' - painkillers, tissues, strepsils and ginger and lemon teabags.
Learn basic First Aid - a very important skill to have!
Research and make different teas for different uses; something to help with a cold, something to help you sleep, something to perk you up, something to aid digestion for example.
Mentally:
Wash your worries away after a stressful day at work by bathing with some sage and lavender soap.
Take a day out to yourself and do what makes you happy - write some poetry, enjoy some extra sleep, put on a facemask and some soothing music.
Help others by volunteering with a charity that aims to help those overcome mentally harmful situations such as abuse, addiction or neglect. If you don't have the time to volunteer, even signing a petition or sharing information online about services people could use could reach someone who needs it.
Learn to listen; after a hard day or during upsetting times, sometimes just being a good listener and a shoulder to cry on can help others.
Spiritually:
Learn meditations and exercises to help you rid yourself of negativity.
Research and learn things such as Reiki, healing using sound, or try yoga.
Learn to balance and cleanse your chakras.
Environmentally:
Pick up litter from your local park or street.
Volunteer with a community gardening project.
Plant flowers and build habitats in your garden designed to encourage and protect wildlife
Airmid buried her brother and was deep in mourning. One day she visited his grave and was amazed to find herbs growing over the mound, 365 herbs to be exact, one for every joint and organ of his body. She picked the herbs and as she did so the herbs began to speak to her, telling her of their healing properties. Methodically she arranged them upon her cloak according to their particular use or properties, and then used them to heal those in need.
Jealousy still raged in Dian Cecht and in a fit of spite he overturned Airmids cloak, scattering the herbs to the winds, ensuring that no-one but Airmid would ever know the secrets of those healing herbs, or the immortality they could bring if used in the correct manner.
So how to start working with Airmid?
A symbol often attributed to Airmid is the pestle and mortar. As such I carved one on a green candle (green being the colour I associate with healing), as well as three sprigs of generic herb, and began by meditating on her.
It was during this meditation that she made me realize that there is a lot more to healing than just physical healing. Yes, we can heal ourselves and others physically; but we can also work to heal the mental state of ourselves and others, as well as the spiritual state. We can help to heal communities after a tragedy, friends after a bad day, we can help heal the environment. Sometimes the smallest acts of kindness could be healing ones. So I split it down into these sections and meditated on what I could do towards each one - how could I bring healing into my everyday world and honour Airmid through these actions? Not all of us have money to spend on fancy things, or the time to be able to dedicate to a full day volunteering for example, so I've included things that can also be done easily and cheaply.
Physically:
Heal your skin by using rose oil or rose water - find out how to make your own here.
Take care of your internal organs by taking the time to eat healthily, doing some exercise and cutting back on activities such as drinking too much or smoking.
Heal others, especially in this winter weather, by carrying around little 'care packages' - painkillers, tissues, strepsils and ginger and lemon teabags.
Learn basic First Aid - a very important skill to have!
Research and make different teas for different uses; something to help with a cold, something to help you sleep, something to perk you up, something to aid digestion for example.
Mentally:
Wash your worries away after a stressful day at work by bathing with some sage and lavender soap.
Take a day out to yourself and do what makes you happy - write some poetry, enjoy some extra sleep, put on a facemask and some soothing music.
Help others by volunteering with a charity that aims to help those overcome mentally harmful situations such as abuse, addiction or neglect. If you don't have the time to volunteer, even signing a petition or sharing information online about services people could use could reach someone who needs it.
Learn to listen; after a hard day or during upsetting times, sometimes just being a good listener and a shoulder to cry on can help others.
Spiritually:
Learn meditations and exercises to help you rid yourself of negativity.
Research and learn things such as Reiki, healing using sound, or try yoga.
Learn to balance and cleanse your chakras.
Environmentally:
Pick up litter from your local park or street.
Volunteer with a community gardening project.
Plant flowers and build habitats in your garden designed to encourage and protect wildlife
