An Interview With Brigantia Blackbird

Art by Wikimedia Commons user Sjanhvi2003 - June 2017

I came across Brigantia on Rumble [Where I enjoy watching The Darkhorse podcast and Dave Rubin.] The platform is new and Pagans are scarce there. But there she was, and I loved what she had to say. Brigantia graciously agreed to an interview, and I’ll be appearing on her show at some point in the future. This was recorded on 7/19/2024

How long have you been Pagan?

I began my studies in 2013 and I performed my first ritual the following Imbolc

Tell me a little bit more about your personal practice and your teaching.

My personal practice isn’t anything astonishing, I observe the wheel of the year, I do moon rituals, I’m a great believer in every day witchcraft; small magics, household, magics, blessings, or starting the day with pulling a card. I consider interacting with other Pagans part of my practice. It’s outreach. I meditate and try and find ways to apply what I’ve learned. I do a lot of cleansing work! We have so much energy coming at us, and of course it comes right through our screens, and we’re all connected to our screens more than we want to. So lots of cleansing and swishing things out of the household.

I also do a lot of chakra work, especially since things have gotten more difficult in the last few years. The more you cleanse your energy the better off you’ll be. That sets you up for success. The rest of it is a lot of research and figuring out how I can get the information [on Paganism] out there in the plainest and most straightforward way possible first for my own benefit and for the benefit of others.

I got into the communication - vlogging and X - piece because I saw people in our community who had been there for 20 or 30 years, and while they had a lot of information and knowledge they weren’t the best at communicating

But there’s something else. Some of these folks may have been into this knowledge for 30 years, but I couldn’t see what benefit it gave them. I’ve tried to have conversations about very fundamental things, such as the differences between projective and receptive energy, and I wasn’t impressed with what they had to say.

Maybe because when people were starting to come up in Paganism things were so shrouded in mystery that people weren’t as intellectually curious. They certainly didn’t have the resources that we have today. They didn’t have the internet, whereas we can now go and get an opinion, then go look for a counter-opinion and analyze them together. Because of the Internet, I think we’ve been able to artificially speed up spiritual development. If we use it properly, of course.

If these people who have been here for a long time can’t get the information out there, then I decided do it, warts, and all. Because I don’t delete videos on my channel, that allows people to see the natural evolution of my process.

How long have you been doing teaching?

In video form, and on a consistent basis, about three years. I had a friend who wanted to steer her son toward Wicca, and while I wasn’t sure I was the right person to do it, I was willing to give it a go. So, I put together a very basic course, sort of a Wicca 101, and we did that for a year and then I put together a second year, and we’re wrapping up our third year in August.

I’m not asking for paid subscribers, but if you like this would you…

On your channel, you have a variety of different things you’re doing, including commenting on the Havamal, Greek myths, and doing a reading daily. How do you tie that all together?

It’s really happened organically. I see Wicca as the inheritor of the Western magical tradition. Wicca takes records from when we first had magical anything and blends it together. I feel like that’s a very good vehicle through which to draw people in. I added the Havamal because I got very tired of people, saying the Pagans have no sense of morality. I wanted to prove to non-Pagans that that was not the case. I want to show people that there is a basis to what we are doing.

What do you think Pagan religion and practice have to offer the world?

I think it’s more than that what we have to offer, I think we are the world. All Pagan religion begins with a relationship with the land. Once you get magical practitioners into it, you start to ask the question how does nature function? How does that relate to the spirit realm? Once you start answering those questions you start relating it to how does the universe function? How does our world function within the universe? I see it as a framework.

With the wisdom from the ancient writings, we can see that certain behaviors work better than others. So, if you have wisdom, you can move better through your life, and not bang your head against the wall. Not because you’re perfect, but because you’re at least moving in the right direction. Traditional knowledge lets people recognize the difference between healthy and unhealthy paths. This is for the sake of the stability of the individual and the stability of the tribe.

There’s an order and design to the universe. since I am coming from a Wiccan framework, I believe that the God represents order and structure. When I am in ritual, I often address him as the architect. I see the Goddess as the oracle, that creative, generative spirit, that infuses life into the orderly structure. I see them working together, hand in hand, when things go too far in one direction, the other side corrects. That counts for the ebb and flow. Everything is a tide. In nature we’re students of reality.

Or have a look at the books I write under pen name Sabrina Rosen.

In my own practice, I feel like the land spirits are always the place to start.

Touching the spirit of the land is a way to show us that we’re more than just matter. The material and nonmaterial are linked together. They walk together as one. The more you understand about one the more you’re able to piece together what’s going on on the other side.

But we have to account for the differences in the land when we think about the different gods. How the Greeks interacted with the gods, isn’t going to be exactly the same as how the Romans interacted with them even though technically, they were the same pantheon.

Also, I think it would be great if we just had a few grains of humility, and acknowledge that these are things that we are still figuring out. For all we know we’re gonna step off this mortal coil and you’re gonna have some kind of southern grandma meet you and say ‘well bless your heart you tried.’ E for effort matters

I like what you said about humility because that’s been coming up for me a lot lately. We just don’t know what we don’t know.

Absolutely, I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts about history and archaeology, and they keep pushing back the clock on what we know about human civilization. Then there are the natural disasters that can wipe out human information and knowledge. I’m buying into the argument that we’ve lost a lot just because of disasters. So how can we be so sure we know the origin of anything? It’s an uncomfortable thought, but it’s sensible and plausible.

What do you see as the problems in Paganism? And what do you think we might do about it?

The first problem, I see is how leftist politics infused itself into the the very beginning of the Pagan revival in America, and that distorted everything. However, I think the solution is already underway. There are a lot of Pagans besides myself who are looking at the basic ideas that we’ve inherited from our ancestors, and comparing that to political beliefs, and finding them to be completely incompatible.

The left says that it wants to save the planet, but I don’t believe that. What they’re saying is a solution defies logic, I would love to see a renaissance of the Greek and Roman philosophers so that we can all go back to learning how to think again.

Political thought offers nothing but pain and misery and people are really worn out with that. What matters is character and behavior. I’m so tired of narratives that drag people down it is the truth is is that people have to believe that change and healing as possible before they can make progress.

Pagans have a lot of practical ideas. Whether or not you end up having a relationship with the gods, there is good solid ‘how to live on earth’ advice on how to live your life, and how to piece your piece it back together when it falls apart.

The second problem I see is something that’s more particular to American Paganism. When European Pagans go out and walk around, they are surrounded by history. I’d like to see us doing more to connect with the spirits that are here in America. It’s a bit of a mishmash. There’s a lot going into the cauldron and we need to find more common ground.

I’d like to see friendlier relations between Pagans and have some festivals that we can just agree on… say… celebrating the harvest. I don’t care what you call the holiday and I don’t care what gods you call into the circle. I want to see layers and textures added into our shared celebrations so we can get together and recognize each other as friends.

Even values that we have in common need to be talked about. For example, hospitality, and reverence for the ancestors and the gods is pretty universal no matter what set of pantheons I’m looking at or what tradition. Can we come together on the common ground that actually exists and form friendships on that basis?

The last thing is recognizing that it’s human nature to both bond and have conflict, and if we can come to terms with that will be a lot better off, both as Pagans, and in our greater American culture. American Pagans can be a distinct form of Paganism. We don’t need to look exactly like our cousins.

Thank you so much for talking to me!

Brigantia Blackbird is an American Pagan Witch whose practice is rooted in Wiccan traditions, influenced by the Western Magical Tradition and pan-European polytheism.  Her Pagan journey began in 2013, and began teaching via video platforms in the early 2020s with a focus of living spirituality on a practical day-to-day basis. She is the founder of the Oak & Elder Witchery dedicated to being an oasis for Pagans and Witches for the purposes of good company and sharing educational resources for the betterment of the community.  Brigantia Blackbird resides in Missouri with her husband (lovingly referred to as Husband Unit on her videos) and their four cats (who are obviously in charge of the household).

You can find her on:

Twitter/Twix/X:  @BlackbirdsBrew

YouTube:  The Blackbird Grimoire - YouTube

Rumble:  Brigantia_Blackbird (rumble.com)

Guilded:  Oak & Elder Witchery (opening August 1, 2024) 

If you’re curious about Paganism/Heathenism/Wicca, please feel free to message me and I’ll be happy to answer questions.

Selina Rifkin, M.S. [Nutrition], LMT, has been Pagan since she was 14 [which was a long time ago] and been to Hades in a handbasket. More than once. This has given her some opinions. She has direct communication with her gods and they’ve always given her answers when she asks. [One does have to ask.] Like most of her generation [X] she’s okay with snark. Most days she tries for good writing. But the snark, and side comments creep in. Be warned.