Brighid, also called Brigantia, Briginda, Brigidu, and Bridget, was the supreme Goddess of the Gaelic Brigantes (1). Her name means "High One", "Fire Arrow", and "Exalted One", and she is linked to the Dagda and the Tuatha dé Danaan. On Dagda's arrival to Ireland, it is said that he was a son of the Triple Goddess Brighid, however the myth was later edited. In later myths he is said to have married Brighid as the Triple Goddess, then he is said to have married only one wife with three names, Breg, Meng, and Meabel (literally 'Lie, Guile and Disgrace'), who gave birth to three daughters, all named Bridget. (2)

Some say that Brighid was born exactly at sunrise, and that a great tower of flame reached from the top of her head all the way into the heavens, signaling the birth of a holy babe. This flame was tended by the Daughters of the Flame, the nine who are Ingheau Anndagha. They lived within the fence of Brighid's shrine and could be looked upon by no man to insure that the purity and sanctity of the fire would be protected. It was through these sacred women that the wisdom of Brighid was spread through to the people. The women of the village brought the Daughters food, and in return they would learn how to heal with herbs and learn of Brighid's healing springs. It is said that the water of these springs could cure a leper or to help an impotent man join his wife in bringing children into their family. (1)

As a Goddess of the Flame, it was Brighid who taught the blacksmith how to mold metal with the flames of the forge and how to best tend their fires. It is also said that she brought the written word to the Gaelic peoples, and in Her wisdom sounds were turned into written marks. Poets called upon her to speak sweetly inside their heads so they might be inspired. (1)

There is a tale of the man dying of leprosy, asked Brighid if he might die owning a crow, a richness he hadn't known since birth. But Brighid offered a greater gift, and healed the man's long ill body with a touch of well water from Her own fingertips. The man kneeled down to Her in promises of everlasting gratitude at this great gift. Two more men with leprosy heard rumors of the leper healed by Brighid's sacred water. They traveled far to Her sacred well to ask of Brighid's help. By the well of the healing waters, she asked one man to bathe the other until his skin was healed right before his eyes, and the man doing the washing would still have the disease. Turning to the man who had just been healed, She asked him to bathe his companion so he may be healed too. The cured man, now repulsed by the disease, refused to bathe the man who cured him. Upon his refusal, he was at once stricken with leprosy and his friend was healed. Thus Brighid taught compassion. (1)

Brighid's sacred day, Imbolc, is the mid-point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Imbolc means "in the belly", and is also known as the Festival of the Waxing Light, Bride Day, Brighid's Day, Oilmelc (meaning "ewe's milk"), Groundhog Day, Badger's Day, and Candlemas. Imbolc is usually celebrated in early February, and coincides with the birthing time of spring lambs. Signs of upcoming spring become more and more visible, trees begin to bud and flowers begin to bloom. In ancient Ireland, this day marked the first day of spring, and the first stirrings in the womb of the Earth Mother were celebrated as farmers started their preparations for spring sowing. Seed from the previous year's crop was mingled wit h the new. Water from wells dedicated to Brighid or Bride was sprinkled on the house and its occupants, farm buildings, livestock, and fields to invoke the blessings of the Great Mother. Many customs associated with Brighid continue to this day, such as picking rushes and weaving them into sun wheels (also called Brighid's Crosses). It is at this time in the mythic cycle of the Goddess that She transforms from the hag who transformed herself into spirit at Yule, conceives Herself anew, and mysteriously changes into Brighid in the form of a young girl dressed in white. (5)

When the Christians came to Ireland, instead of banning the worship of pagan deities, they incorporated them into their belief system. Brighid became St. Brigid, patron saint of Ireland, babies, blacksmiths, farmers, children born out of wedlock, midwives, nuns, poets, travelers, and scholars. In Christian paintings she is represented by the abess or head-mother usually holding a lamp or candle, often with a cow nearby. (4)



With Christianity, her flame was then cared for by Catholic nuns instead of priestesses. In 1220 CE, a bishop became angered at the "no-males" policy of the Abbey of St. Brigid. He insisted that nuns were subordinate to priests and that they must open their abbey for inspection by a priest. When the Brigidine nuns refused and asked that another Abbess or female official perform the inspections, the bishop was furious. He then decreed that the keeping of the Eternal Flame was pagan, and ordered it to be extinguished. (3) The fire pit where the original fire was is still present in the yard of St Brigit's Cathedral in Kildare. Imbolc is still celebrated in Ireland as St. Brigid's day on Feb 1st. Traditionally, a young girl dressed in white and wearing a crown of rushes was escorted from house to house by a group of other girls. She would give a blessing for a penny, an egg, or sugar cakes. (5) As of Feb 1st 2006, Brighid's flame has been relit in the town square of Kildare atop a sculpture of oak leaves. The oak leaves hearken to the towns name in old Irish Cill Dara meaning "Church of the Oak", and Brighid's connection to old Druidic practices of Ireland.

LE ZODIAQUE DE RENNES

"“Douze palais étaient enfermés dans une seule en-ceinte”, avec l’allusion (en se rapportant à Pline) que ces monuments étaient dédiés au Soleil, telle est la désigna-tion du zodiaque faite à la page 84. La page 246 determine le centre de ce zodiaque et la page 241 donne les dimensions pour tracer sur la carte ces deux circonfé-rences: 15 et 16 centimètres de rayon. Le genial auteur ne manque pas d’ajouter que “cette meule devait moudre le blé (I’or) d’une manière parfaite”.

Le signe du Belier est désigné par Abel, gardien des troupeaux donneurs de lame, c’est-à-dire de l’N, symbole du Nord pour tous et que l’on retrouve deux fois dans le mot RENNES du titre de la carte. Page 43, l’auteur insiste sur la distinction de Ia chaîne avec la trame (trame de lame, trame de l’N) car Ia chaîne correspond aux lignes verticales ↑↓, tracées à partir des lettres N de Ia carte alors que la trame signifie la ligne inverse.

Une information très subtilement dispensée aux pages 227 et 231 permet de situer le signe du Bélier (Abel) vers le confluent de Ia Sals et du Rialsès, exactement au Roc-Nègre, l’Ariès de Nègre ou Bélier Noir, selon l’inscription gravée sur une pierre tombale!

Avant d’aller plus avant, résumons ce qui précède et dissipons les malentendus qui peuvent s’être glissés dans l’esprit du lecteur:

1) Par codage astronomique, l’abbé Boudet indique douze dépôts et leur position correspond pour chacun à un palais du Zodiaque, celui-ci débutant vers Blanchefort, à 0º du Bélier sur Roc-Nègre.
2) Par codage cartographique, une erreur determine au confluent Blanque-Sals la mine de Jais du Serbaïrou.
3) Par codage du tarot, l’éclair par du Cap de l’Homme pour se terminer au Cardou.

Ce codage est parfait. Rennes-les-Bains, avec une circonférence (p. 225) de 16 à 18 km, fait figure d’une banque ayant douze coffres qui s’ouvrent chacun avec un numéro particulier. Ceci n’implique d’ailleurs pas que certains coffres détiennent encore un dépôt.

Le croquis qui accompagne mon texte indique le codage des pierres tombales qui existaient au cimetière de Rennes-le-Chàteau avant Ia publication du livre Boudet et qui donnaient des indications similaires. La pierre horizontale mentionnait les douze caches par l’inter-médiaire des 14 lettres de notre devise latine transcrite en lettres grecques: ET IN ARCADIA EGO. La pierre verticale marquait le lieu exact où l’UNE des douze caches se trouve. Le code était: M.D.SEPT = 1507. L’unité de mesure utilsée était le M, Ie mille, d’une valeur de 1852 mètres. L’abbé Boudet declare page 84: 1500 appartements dans le labyrinthe aux multiples détours, construit par Mesraïm, dédiés au Soleil. Le lecteur désormais habitué aux jeux de mots de l’abbé Boudet a sans doute déjà déduit: M... puis:1500... et 7 (chiffre du soleil), soit le code: 1507. Curieusement, on peut lire sur cette dalle: D’ARLES DAME... “Dame d’Arles” fait penser alors à Ia denomination donnée par Maurice Magre pour designer les arènes de cette ville: Qui parle d’arènes sous-entend Ie jeu du Taureau, dérivé de l’ancien culte du boeuf Apis. Or Apis,c’est aussi l’abeille dont le bourdonnement serait détesté, comme l’afflrme l’abbé Boudet page 122 à propos du lever et du coucher du SOLEIL.

L’abbé Boudet a pu donner dans l’astronomie, la mythologie, la Bible et d’autres méthodes plus ou moins admises, exactement comme il traitait du "Cromleck de Rennes-les-Bains" qui demeure conjectural. Il a pu nous induire en erreur. Mais le lecteur éclairé comprend maintenant qu’une certaine imagerie ne doit être retenue que comme élément dans Ia construction de son oeuvre."