Inside the Fire Temple: A Mystery School with Brigid, Irish Goddess and Saint

Begins September 2026

Through the mists of time, Brigid and her priestesses, and later, nuns, tended to a sacred fire in Kildare Ireland, ensconced by a nemed, a sacred grove of oak trees.  They lived in community, tending to the Earth, growing herbs, midwifing life and death. They were guardians of holy springs, alchemists and bridges between worlds.  They were sacred warrioresses who defended the sanctity of life and justice for all, believed in body sovereignty and knew the value of rest, laughter and honey.  

Brigid has always stayed relevant and alive in the Irish imagination: in our homes and at our hearths.  When Christianity came to Ireland she was so important to the people that she manifested in human form, alongside the goddess, carrying forth many of the same aspects, staying strong and powerful and wise as patriarchy grew.  Together we will remember her ways by walking side by side with her, listening to her stories, coming back to the rhythms of the earth and the moon, celebrating the old festivals.  We will tend to the sacred fires of hearth, home, justice and community.  

You are invited. Come to the fire temple with Brigid.

Remember the ways of being in an intimate and reciprocal relationship with the Earth.   Ignite your desire to tend to the flame, within and without.  Invoke the sacred feminine and find harmony through the grief and the challenge of modernity.

We will walk with Brighid through each season of the Irish Wheel of the Year, invoking the wisdom she carries for us, mirrored by the movements of the cosmos.  We will priestess the hearth, tend to waters, practice ritual and find nourishment co-creating with the herbs.  

As priestesses and nuns have done at the fire temple for millenia, we, too, will each keep vigil of the flame for a day and a night through a cycle held by our community.   You will receive Brigid’s flame, from the fire burning, to this day, in Kildare at Solas Bhride.  You will bring this fire to your own home, hearth and community.

What we will ignite together:

Inside the Fire Temple, we will journey with Brigid, honoring her aspects and igniting them within ourselves.

Inside the Fire Temple, we will gather in community, and, through that power, intention and commitment, we shall participate in restoring the balance of the sacred feminine.

Inside the Fire Temple,we will live with the seasons, celebrate the eight sacred festivals, hold vigil at new moons and, in that, discover our place of belonging in the cosmic rhythm.  

Inside the Fire Temple, we will work with herbs of the native Irish and European tradition and receive ancestral nourishment from them. 

Inside the Fire Temple, we will remember the sacredness of pause, of rest, of tending to ourselves and to the Earth.  

Inside the Fire Temple, we will participate with the more-than-human realms including the land herself, the ancestors, the fairies, the Elements and the plants.

Inside the Fire Temple, we will step fully into our role of dismantling colonialism, white supremacy, patriarchy and capitalism, remembering that in coming back to our own roots and traditions we are part of the mythic resistance.  We will imagine into the future we believe, with the wisdom of Brigid ever guiding our way on.

Inside the Fire Temple, you will:

• Walk with the Brigid, Irish goddess and matron saint, as guide

• Be part of a Sacred Three cohort, to deepen into the journey with

• Discuss and practice the relevance of Brigid’s life and work and discovering purpose from this, in your  life today, through the challenges of patriarchy and modernity

• Use guided journeywork to connect with Brigid and her aspects

• Celebrate rituals aligned with each of the eight sacred turnings of the year

• Ally with Irish herbs

• Tend to Brigid’s flame at your own hearth

• Keep vigil in alignment with the new moon each month

• Pilgrimage on the sacred land of Ireland or at your own hearth for Brigid’s Day

You are very welcome to meet at the Fire Temple if you are:

• Curious and open

• Willing to journey to the wild edges, willing to sacrifice fear for growth

• Discerning

• Deep listening

• Comfortable with nonlinear thinking

• Disciplined and devotional

• Playful

• Embodied

• Committed to the financial exchange/ reciprocation

Inside the Fire Temple, we will gather for a year

• Two hours, once per month, to learn and grow together including weaving in story for remembering, herbs for nourishment, potions for ritual and words for spellwork and invocation

• One 30-minute vigil at our Brigid flame to bring collective prayers to the fire, to invoke her and sit in stillness with her, near the new moon each month

• One and half hour ritual to celebrate each of the eight sacred turnings of the Irish Wheel of the Year 

• One or two 24-hour sessions of individual flame-tending at your own hearth each month.  Each participant will receive a ritual kit including hand-blended incense, Brigid’s sacred flame from Kildare, holy water from Brigid’s well in Kildare and an oak leaf from the trees at the fire temple in Kildare.

• A Sacred Three cohort to deepen into the work together.

• An opportunity for pilgrimage (six spots available) to Ireland to celebrate Brigid’s Day and Imbolc.  We will visit sites dedicated to Brighid, attend an event in Kildare as part of Feile la Bhride and celebrate with local communities.  Alternatively you will have your own pilgrimage at your hearth and home.

**All gatherings will happen via Zoom except for in-person pilgrimage in Ireland.

GATHERINGS

All gatherings are on Saturdays  Regular monthly gatherings are 2 hours and begin at 9 AM PT/ 10 AM MT/ Noon ET/ 5 PM GMT.  Rituals for each of the sacred turnings are 1.5 hours and begin at 9 AM PT/ 10 AM MT/ Noon ET/ 5 PM GMT.   

5 September

19 September: Autumn Equinox Ritual

10 October

7 November: Samhain Ritual

14 November

12 December

19 December: Winter Solstice Ritual

19 January

Imbolc Pilgrimage in Ireland (optional): Thursday 28 January- Thursday 4 February

30 January: Imbolc Ritual

13 February

13 March

20 March: Spring Equinox Ritual

17 April

1 May: Bealtaine Ritual

15 May

12 June

19 June: Summer Solstice Ritual

July: Idir ait: No gatherings

1 August: Lughnasa Ritual

14 August

NEW MOON DATES:

We will also meet for a 30 minute vigil for each of the new moons, on the new moon date.  We will meet at 6 AM PT/ 7 AM/ 9 AM ET/ 2 PM GMT:

11 September, 10 October, 9 November, 9 December, 7 January, 6 February, 8 March, 6 April, 6 May, 4 June, 3 July, 2 August, 31 August

Reciprocation/ Energetic Exchange

$125 per month/ $235 per month, including pilgrimage in Ireland

$200 deposit

To Enroll, please send a $200 deposit to Tonja via Venmo (@Tonja-Reichley) or www.paypal.me/tonjareichley. Please email Tonja at tonjareichley@gmail.com with a statement of intention as to why you would like to participate in the mystery school. Touch in with any questions: tonjareichley@gmail.com

To the Sacred Three, To Save, To Shield, To Surround, This Hearth, This Home, This Household, This Day, This Sacred Day and Each Sacred Day

-Old Irish Blessing invoking Brigid, Keeper of the Flame

Your Guide: In addition to Brigid, Tonja Reichley will be facilitating this mystery school. Tonja has been journeying side by side with Brigid for over 25 years, beginning with her training with beloved teacher Gina McGarry in Kildare in 2001. Since then Tonja has lived in Ireland, both part and full time, and has served as Brigid’s aide woman, priestessing the herbs, the land, the hearth and leading rituals inspired by the Irish Wisdom Tradition and guided by the Wheel of the Year and the lunar cycles. She has lead year-long mystery schools since 2018 and has guided pilgrims to the sacred land of Ireland for over 20 years.