It was traditionally believed that a Brigid's Cross
protects the house from fire and evil. It is hung in many Irish and Irish-American
kitchens for this purpose.
To make your Brighid's Cross, you'll need straw,
reeds, pipe cleaners or construction paper -- if you're using plant material
like straw or reeds, you'll want to soak it overnight so it's pliable when you
go to make your Cross. Your end result will be about the length of one piece of
your material -- in other words, a bundle of 12" reeds will yield a Brighid's
Cross just slightly longer than 12".
To begin, you'll form a base for your Cross by
bending two pieces of straw in their middles to create a pair of loops -- in
fact, you'll do this with each piece as you make your Cross. Link the two pieces
together at their centers.
Next, turn these two pieces so they lie flat, and at
a right angle to one another. This basic two-piece unit is the base for the
rest of the Cross, and it's the only time you'll have two pieces hooked
together in the middles like this.
Next, bend a third piece of straw in half, and loop
it over one of your two base pieces. Both legs of the loop in the new piece
will pass over both legs of the base piece. Pull this third piece tight to hold
it in place.
Take a fourth piece, and bend it in half as you've
done with the others. Loop this one over the legs of the piece you added. You
should now have four pieces, each pointing in a different direction.
Finally, you'll continue looping pieces over one
another as you did in the last step, until your cross reaches the size you
want. Each piece loops over the previous one. When you're all done, use a piece
of string, ribbon, or even another bit of straw to secure the four ends. Trim
off excess pieces.
Blessed Be!
No comments:
Post a Comment