Phoxxe Den

This category is a repository for my thoughts and explorations, generally concerning history, culture and religion. It is also the category that holds the material I have chosen to carry over from my first site, Phoxxe Den. Unless I have stated that "such-and-such" is "in my opinion" it should not be assumed that the contents of this section reflect my personal opinions - some do, some don't, many are simply writing exorcises based on certain research materials that I may, or may not, agree with or references. If you wish to discuss my opinion you may feel free to contact me at any time.

The writings within are mine (unless otherwise stated - note: where otherwise noted the material is used with permission) and may not (as with the rest of the site) be reproduced, in part or in full, without express, written permission from the author.

Chaplain's Handbook

Since 1985 Witchcraft has been a legally recognized religion within the United States. Below is the text included in the U. S. Army's Chaplain's Handbook concerning Witchcraft.

From the U.S. Army's Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains (pgs 231-236). Available from:

USAF Chaplain's Service Institute
Resource Division
525 Chenault Circle
Maxwell AFB
Montgomery, AL 36112-6429

Begin Transcribed Text

WICCA

ADDRESS: No central address. Wiccan worship groups, called covens, are essentially autonomous. Many, but far from all, have affiliated with:

Covenant of the Goddess
P.O. Box 1226
Berkeley, CA 94704

OTHER NAMES BY WHICH KNOWN: Witchcraft; Goddess worshippers; Neo-Paganism, Paganism, Norse (or any other ethnic designation) Paganism, Earth Religion, Old Religion, Druidism, Shamanism. Note: All of these groups have some basic similarities and many surface differences of expression with Wicca.

LEADERSHIP: No central leadership. The Covenant of the Goddess annually elects a First Officer and there is a constitutional limit of two consecutive terms, but in practice officers have almost always served for one year only. In 1991, there are two co-First Officers, Phoenix Whitebirch and Brandy Williams.

MEMBERSHIP: Because of the complete autonomy of covens, this cannot be determined. There are an estimated of 50,000 Wiccans in the United States.

HISTORICAL ORIGIN: Wicca is a reconstruction of the Nature worship of tribal Europe, strongly influenced by the living Nature worship traditions of tribal peoples in other parts of the world. The works of such early twentieth century writers as Margaret Murray, Robert Graves and Gerald B. Gardner began the renewal of interest in the Old Religion. After the repeal of the anti-Witchcraft laws in Britain in 1951, Gardner publicly declared himself a Witch and began to gather a group of students and worshipers. In 1962, two of his students, Raymond and Rosemary Buckland (religious names: Lady Rowen and Robat), emigrated to the United States and began teaching Gardnerian Witchcraft here. At the same time, other groups of people became interested through reading books by Gardner and others. Many covens were spontaneously formed, using rituals created from a combination of research and individual inspiration. These self-created covens are today regarded as just as valid as those who can trace a "lineage" of teaching back to England. In 1975, a very diverse group of covens who wanted to secure the legal protections and benefits of church status formed Covenant of the Goddess (CoG), which is incorporated in the State of California and recognized by the Internal Revenue Service. CoG does not represent all, or even a majority of Wiccans. A coven or an individual need not be affiliated with CoG in order to validly practice the religion. But CoG is the largest single public Wiccan organization, and it is cross-Traditional (i.e. non-denominational).

BASIC BELIEFS: Wiccans worship the sacred as immanent in Nature, often personified as Mother Earth and Father Sky. As polytheists, they may use many other names for Deity. Individuals will often choose Goddesses or Gods from any of the world's pantheons whose stories are particularly inspiring and use those Deities as a focus for personal devotions. Similarly, covens will use particular Deity names as a group focus, and these are often held secret by the groups. It is very important to be aware that Wiccans do not in any way worship or believe in "Satan," "the Devil," or any similar entities. They point out that "Satan" is a symbol of rebellion against and inversion of the Christian and Jewish traditions. Wiccans do not revile the Bible. They simply regard it as one among many of the world's mythic systems, less applicable than some to their core values, but still deserving just as much respect as any of the others. Most Wiccan groups also practice magic, by which they mean the direction and use of "psychic energy," those natural but invisible forces which surround all living things. Some members spell the word "magick," to distinguish it from sleight of hand entertainments. Wiccans employ such means as dance, chant, creative visualization and hypnosis to focus and direct psychic energy for the purpose of healing, protecting and aiding members in various endeavors. Such assistance is also extended to non-members upon request. Many, but not all, Wiccans believe in reincarnation. Some take this as a literal description of what happens to people when they die. For others, it is a symbolic model that helps them deal with the cycles and changes within this life. Neither Reincarnation nor any other literal belief can be used as a test of an individual's validity as a member of the Old Religion. Most groups have a handwritten collection of rituals and lore, known as a Book of Shadows. Part of the religious education of a new member will be to hand copy this book for him or herself. Over they years, as inspiration provides, new material will be added. Normally, access to these books is limited to initiated members of the religion.

PRACTICES AND BEHAVIORAL STANDARDS: The core ethical statement of Wicca, called the "Wiccan Rede" states "an it harm none, do what you will." The rede fulfills the same function as does the "Golden Rule" for Jews and Christians; all other ethical teachings are considered to be elaborations and applications of the Rede. It is a statement of situational ethics, emphasizing at once the individual's responsibility to avoid harm to others and the widest range of personal autonomy in "victimless" activities. Wicca has been described as having a "high-choice" ethic. Because of the basic Nature orientation of the religion, many Wiccans will regard all living things as Sacred, and show a special concern for ecological issues. For this reason, individual conscience will lead some to take a pacifist position. Some are vegetarians. Others will feel that, as Nature's Way includes self-defense, they should participate in wars that they conscientiously consider to be just. The religion does not dictate either position, but requires each member to thoughtfully and meditatively examine her or his own conscience and to live by it. Social forces generally do not yet allow Witches to publicly declare their religious faith without fear of reprisals such as loss of job, child custody challenges, ridicule, etc. Prejudice against Wiccans is the result of public confusion between Witchcraft and Satanism. Wiccans in the military, especially those who may be posted in countries perceived to be particularly intolerant, will often have their dogtags read "No Religious Preference." Concealment is a traditional Wiccan defense against persecution, so non-denominational dogtags should not contravene a member's request for religious services. Wiccans celebrate eight festivals, called "Sabbats," as a means of attunement to the seasonal rhythms of Nature. These are January 31 (Called Oimelc, Brigit, or February Eve), March 21 (Ostara or Spring Equinox), April 30 (Beltane or May Eve), June 22 (Midsummer, Litha or Summer Solstice), July 31 (Lunasa or Lammas), September 21 (Harvest, Mabon or Autumn Equinox), October 31 (Samhain, Sowyn or Hallows), and December 21 (Yule or Winter Solstice.) Some groups find meetings within a few days of those dates to be acceptable, others require the precise date. In addition, most groups will meet for worship at each Full Moon, and many will also meet on the New Moon. Meetings for religious study will often be scheduled at any time convenient to the members, and rituals can be scheduled whenever there is a need (i.e. for a healing). Ritual jewelry is particularly important to many Wiccans. In addition to being a symbol of religious dedication, these talismans are often blessed by the coven back home and felt to carry the coven's protective and healing energy.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE: Most Wiccans meet with a coven, a small group of people. Each coven is autonomous. Most are headed by a High Priestess, often with the assistance of a High Priest. Some are headed by a High Priestess or High Priest without a partner, and some regard themselves as a gathering of equals. Covens can be of mixed gender, or all female or male, depending on the preferences of the members. Every initiate is considered to be a priestess or priest. Most covens are small. Thirteen is the traditional maximum number of members, although not an absolute limit. At that size covens form a close bond, so Wiccans in the military are likely to maintain a strong affiliation with their covens back home. There are many distinct "Traditions" of Wicca, just as there are many denominations within Christianity. The spectrum of Wiccan practice can be described as ranging from "traditional" to "eclectic," with Traditions, covens and individuals fitting anywhere within that range. A typical difference would be that more traditional groups would tend to follow a set liturgy, whereas eclectic groups would emphasize immediate inspiration in worship. These distinctions are not particularly important to the military chaplain, since it is unlikely that enough members of any one Tradition would be at the same base. Worship circles at military facilities are likely to be ad-hoc cross-Traditional groups, working out compromise styles of worship for themselves and constantly adapting them to a changing membership. Therefore, the lack of strict adherence to the patterns of any one Tradition is not an indicator of invalidity. While many Wiccans meet in a coven, there are also a number of solitairies. These are individuals who choose to practice their faith alone. The may have been initiated in a coven or self initiated. They will join with other Wiccans to celebrate the festivals or to attend the various regional events organized by the larger community.

ROLE OF MINISTERS: Within a traditional coven, the High Priestess, usually assisted by her High Priest, serves both as leader in the rituals and as teacher and counselor for coven members and unaffiliated Pagans. Eclectic covens tend to share leadership more equally.

WORSHIP: Wiccans usually worship in groups. Individuals who are currently not affiliated with a coven, or are away from their home coven, may choose to worship privately or may form ad-hoc groups to mark religious occasions. Non-participating observers are not generally welcome at Wiccan rituals. Some, but not all, Wiccan covens worship in the nude ("skyclad") as a sign of attunement with Nature. Most, but not all, Wiccan covens bless and share a cup of wine as part of the ritual. Almost all Wiccans use an individual ritual knife (an "athame") to focus and direct personal energy. Covens often also have ritual swords to direct the energy of the group. These tools, like all other ritual tools, are highly personal and should never leave the possession of the owner. Other commonly used ritual tools include a bowl of water, a bowl of salt, a censer with incense, a disk with symbols engraved on it (a "pentacle"), statues or artwork representing the Goddess and God, and candles. Most groups will bless and share bread or cookies along with the wine. All of these items are used in individual, private worship as well as in congregate rituals.

DIETARY LAWS OR RESTRICTIONS: None.

FUNERAL AND BURIAL REQUIREMENTS: None. Recognition of the death of a member takes place within the coven, apart from the body of the deceased. Ritual tools, materials, or writings found among the effects of the deceased should be returned to their home coven (typically a member will designate a person to whom ritual materials should be sent). It is desirable for a Wiccan priest or priestess to be present at the time of death, but not strictly necessary. If not possible, the best assistance would be to make the member as comfortable as possible, listen to whatever they have to say, honor any possible requests, and otherwise leave them as quiet and private as possible.

MEDICAL TREATMENT: No medical restrictions. Wiccans generally believe in the efficacy of spiritual or psychic healing when done in tandem with standard medical treatment. Therefore, at the request of the patient, other Wiccan personnel should be allowed visiting privileges as though they were immediate family, including access to Intensive Care Units. Most Wiccans believe that healing energy can be sent from great distances, so, if possible, in the case of any serious medical condition, the member's home coven should be notified.

OTHER: With respect to attitude toward military service, Wiccans range from career military personnel to conscientious objectors. Wiccans do not proselytize and generally resent those who do. They believe that no one Path to the Sacred is right for all people, and see their own religious pattern as only one among many that are equally worthy. Wiccans respect all religions that foster honor and compassion in their adherents, and expect the same respect. Members are encouraged to learn about all faiths, and are permitted to attend the services of other religions, should they desire to do so.

GENERAL SOURCE BOOKS:

The best general survey of the Wiccan and neo-Pagan movement is: Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986. 595pp

For more specific information about eclectic Wicca, see: Starhawk. The Spiral Dance. New York: Harper & Row, 1979.

For more specific information about traditional Wicca, see: Farrar, Janet, and Stewart Farrar. Eight Sabbats for Witches. London: Robert Hale, 1981. 192pp. ______________. The Witches' Way. London: Robert Hale, 1984. 394pp.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Pagan Military Newsletter c/o Terri Morgan, Editor, 829 Lynnhaven Parkway 114-198 Virginia Beach, VA 23452

Because of the autonomy of each coven and the wide variance of specific ritual practices, the best contact person would be the High Priestess or other leader of the member's home coven.

Posted by Phoxxe at May 31, 2000 05:44 PM | 0 | 0

Listed in: Phoxxe Den → Paganism, Phoxxe Den → Research

Mother Of The Gods And The Father Of The Gael

Written by Sarah NiGhillielai/dir - prepared by Sarah NiGhillielai/dir
© Copyright 2000, Clannada na Gadelica, All Rights Reserved, Used By Permission, Further use Also requires Permission of the Clannada na Gadelica.

There is no surviving, or as yet translated, Creation story within Irish mythology. We learn from the Lebor Gabala Erenn, a text from the Christian Middle Ages, of the Tuatha De Danann, or "People of the Goddess Danu", who came to Ireland either from the sky or from islands to the north of the world. The Tuatha De Danann are presented as wizards who learned their skills in four cities, bringing with them four magickal treasures: the Stone of Fal, from Falias; the Spear of Lugh, from Gorias; the Sword of Nuada, from Findias; and the Cauldron of the Dagda, from Murias.(1) It is fairly well accepted amongst scholars of Irish mythology that the Tuatha De Danann are, in fact, Gods and Goddesses of the old religion of the Gaels. The monks who transcribed the myths that have come down to us undoubtedly took liberties with certain aspects of those myths; it is our challenge to determine what is a Christianization, and what is a marker to the pathway of the older religion. Perhaps the most mysterious "pathway" of all is in the name of the Gods' tribe: the People of the Goddess Danu. Who is the Goddess Danu?

To begin answering this question let us refer to the well known and respected writer, Peter Berresford Ellis. Ellis says these things about Danu and Bile in his book The Druids (2): p. 121 "...Bile/ cognate with Bel and Belinus (is) the Dispater. His feastday was on 1 May (Beltaine), which month in modern Irish still bears his name...he also appears as a 'god of the dead' and has sometimes been referred to as 'Father of Gods and Men.'... There are many places named after Bile/ throughout Europe. In London, Belenus' Gate has come down as Billingsgate (Bile/s Gate). Presumably the heads of the dead of the original Celtic settlement...were taken through this gate to the river Thames...Hundreds of skulls from the Celtic period have been discovered in the Thames, around London, with other votive offerings. One has to remember that the ancient Celts believed that the soul(*see note) reposed in the head, not in the region of the heart as Westernized Christians now have it. This is why the head was so venerated and prized in ancient Celtic society." (*actually the spirit is the component seen by the Celts to be in the head, this part of the triune nature of things.)

p. 122 "...the most famous...was the king of Britain who ruled just before the Roman invasion of AD 43 - Cunobelinus. The name means 'hound of Belinus.'...The Dagda is Danu's son by Bile/. Therefore Danu still takes precedence as the primary source of life. As the sacred 'waters from heaven', Danu watered the oak, which was Bile/, the male fertility symbol, and gave birth to The Dagda, 'the good god' who fathered the rest of the gods...Bile/ is the Old Irish word for a sacred tree which was also used to denote a 'noble warrior'. We find Biliomagus is Gaul as a place name meaning 'the clearing of the sacred tree...When the sacred tree of Medb of cannacht is mentioned in the Ta/in it is as Bile/Medb.
Bile/s role in transporting the souls of the dead Celts to the Otherworld takes on another significance. Transportation is usually via waters, rivers like the Thames, or out to sea. He is, in fact, transporting them to the 'divine waters' - his consort Danu, 'the mother goddess'. It is not accident that his main centre of veneration in early times was the Hill of Uisneach whose very name...is composed of the root word for water, uisce."

The Goddess Danu was very probably once widely known across those lands that Celts had inhabited; Her name is the source of the place name of the Danube River, as well as the Don River in Russia, the Dnieper, and multiple English rivers named "Don". Don, Dana, and Anu are all recognized as cognates of "Danu"; in the Rig Veda of Hindu mythology, there is also a Goddess Danu, whose name means "Waters of Heaven" or "Stream".(3) She is also associated with the land of Ireland itself. An early text calls Ireland "iath nAnann", the "land of Anu". In addition, the geographical features of Ireland called the "Paps of Anu" are well-known.(4) She is deemed to be the Mother of the Gods.(5) Occasionally, in some traditions She is further mentioned in passing as the mother of Brian, Iuchar, and Iucharba: the Sons of Tuireann, who are also known as the Fir Tri/ nDea or Men of Three Gods or the Three Gods of Danann. Other times, though, it is Lugh, the Dagda, and Ogma; or Luchta, Goibnu and Credne who are known as the Three Gods of Danann, and most traditions maintain that the Goddess Brigit is the mother of the Sons of Tuireann.(6) It is likelier that Danu was mentioned as the Mother of the "Three Gods" of skill (Lugh, the Dagda, and Ogma) or craft (Luchta, Goibnu, and Credne), to show Her as the ultimate source of all skill and craft. The most that we can learn, from history and myth, of Danu is evidently that she is a Goddess of Rivers and the Land, and the mother of the Gods, widely venerated throughout the Indo-European lands, especially if we include her Indo-European equivalent from the Rig Vedas into our considerations. If we follow the Indo-European ideologies still in Hinduism, as a result of the Aryan invaders of the Indus Valley, then we see the "Sacred Stream" associated with awareness (which should not be confused with consciousness), flowing from the Void.(7)

In the Irish mythology, we learn nothing directly of the father of the Gods; however, if we accept that Danu and the Brythonic Don are both names for the same Goddess, then we learn that Don had a husband, the God Beli; and Beli is the cognate of Bile/, the "ancestor" of the Sons of Mil who wrested Ireland from the Tuatha De Danann.(8) Although the Sons of Mil are said by the monks to have come from "Spain", it is again fairly widely accepted by Celtic scholars that "Spain" is a euphemism for the Underworld. The Sons of Mil in Irish myth are known to actually represent the Gaels themselves, which would imply that the Gaels ancestor was the God of the Underworld. This would tend to coincide with the beliefs of the Celtic Gauls, reported by Caesar, that they "claim to be descended from Dis Pater, and say that this is the teaching of the druids. For this reason they measure the passage of time not by days but by nights." Dis Pater was the Roman god of the Underworld, of the Dead.

The conquering Romans often called the Gods of foreigners by the names of their own Gods; in this case, a very strong association was implied with their own Dis Pater, who was a relatively minor God in their own pantheon.(9) Pursuing this clue of a God of the Underworld, or cthonic* deity, we arrive at the ubiquitous representation of the antlered God that is often called "Cernunnos*, based on an inscription on only one of many icons found throughout the Celtic world, which again is so widespread as to hint at a pre-Celtic, or Indo-European, origin for this figure. This figure is consistently portrayed in a seated or squatting position, accompanied by a stag and/or a ram-headed serpent, and often surrounded by bags of coins or by coins themselves. (Please keep in mind that such iconography was largely created during the Roman era, and represents the adaptation of Celtic thought to Roman customs.) He is thought to represent a Lord of the Animals. Serpents and coins are widely used cthonic* symbols, as well as symbols of fertility and prosperity. It should be pointed out that He also holds a torque, s symbol of nobility. The Lord of the Animals is by association both the God of the hunter as well as the God of the hunted; in other words, a God of Life as well as Death. Additionally, there is iconography portraying a bull or ram-horned God in Gaul and North Britain, which the Romans associated with their own God Mercury, the protector of flocks and herds and of economic prosperity. This horned God is unusually represented with a spear, and is naked and phallic.(10) So we have evidence of a God called Beli by the Britons; hinted at in Irish mythology as Bile, the ancestor of the Sons of Mil; and probably cognate linguistically with Belonos of the Gauls. He is evidently the God that is venerated at Beltaine* or Bel Tinne, "Fire of Bel", one of the sacred cross-quarter feast days of the Gaels, celebrated around May 1st. He is evidently a God of Life and Death, of the Underworld, of fertility and prosperity and kingship, and the Father of Men; a fitting mate for the Goddess of the Rivers and the Land, and the Mother of the Gods.

Have we arrived at the Lord and Lady of the Wiccans? In the modern sense, perhaps we have; but in the way that our ancestors would have viewed such a concept as "the Lord" and "the Lady", we most certainly have not. Modern Wicca tends to reduce all Gods to One God, and all Goddesses to One Goddess. Such a primal pair as Danu and Bile can be made to fit into the Wiccan world-view quite nicely, but the Wiccan world-view cannot be made to fit into the world-view of the Celts. Danu and Bile are possibly among the most ancient of the Gods of the Indo-Europeans, but there are other Gods as well, as well as that which is indefinable beyond them (Alldai). The pre-Christian Celts were polytheistic*, animistic* and zoomorphic in their spirituality, believing that virtually every material thing had its corresponding spiritual dimension, which means that the spiritual world was infinitely more complex to them than the dualism* that modern Wicca adheres to. To anthropomorphize* the Gods is a modern, not an ancient Celtic, custom. As stated above, the widespread representation of the Celtic Gods in human form did not start until after the Romans invaded Celtic areas and introduced their own culture to the Celts. Indeed, there is evidence that the draoi prohibited the representation of the Gods in human form, for possibly two reasons: to keep the knowledge of the Gods as "hidden" and within their own caste (the intellectual caste), and because the Gods were superior to men and did not share human features.(11) Rather, Danu was most probably visualized as the Source of all Rivers or the primal spring or well. Wells, or springs, bring water deep from the depths of the Earth to the surface, and our ancestors associated this with hidden knowledge, or wisdom, that is brought into manifestation. There are many stories within Irish mythology of Goddesses associated with rivers or springs, and the Well of Segais was the forbidden well into which the Nuts of Knowledge fell from the sacred Hazel grove.

When trying to re-assemble the puzzle, some certain pieces typically get left out of the mess of pieces. One such piece comes from the art or skill of dowsing. While science has yet to explain adequately the principles by which dowsing works, there really is no doubt that it does so. One need only talk to the very many people who have used such methods to find water and other things where none was known to exist, to see the reality of this skill.
At the turn of the century Alfred Watkins took an interest in the perfect lines which existed in the layout of pre-historic sites across Britain (including Scotland, and the same phenomena is found in Ireland and the Isles). His work of plotting out these sites with a ruler and compass inspired many to take to the countryside to discover the phenomena for themselves. This phenomena Watkins called "Ley's"(12).
A few years later the well known researcher and writer, T.C. Lethbridge added a twist to the chasing down of the leys. This new twist was the application of the dowsers art. In his work he showed that the straight lines that Watkins had earlier noted followed energetic lines that followed the same courses between sites, that Watkins had established with his ruler and compass. Lethbride actually composed a great amount of written work on the subject.(13)
Interest in the subject followed cycles, yet, there became involved a dedicate group of people who wished to understand the topic further. These included the likes of the professional dowsers such as, Guy Underwood(14); and the retired agricultural researcher J. Havelock Fidler (15). The work of these last two gentleman are particularly interesting because of what they add to the materials established by Watkins and Lethbridge. Underwood established the different types of energetic lines and what their associations are, while Fidler was able to quantify the phenomena mathematically, and in repeatable ways.
What concerns this paper in particular, is the association of megalithic and other pre-historic sites with lines associated with the underground flow of water. While there are various types of lines, the type of energetic lines associated with the underground flow of water was termed by Underwood as simply "water lines". This as opposed to "track lines", &"petrostats" etc.
What has been established is that the significant sites are found where several of these water lines converge. These points of convergence have been termed "blind springs". The types of sites seem to depend, by some accounts, on the number of water lines converging upon a single point.
The places with greatest number of points seem to have the larger archeological significance. These would include such as Stone Henge in Britain, or Emain Macha in Ireland. One article from the Journal of the British Society of Dowsers (16) pegs the number of lines converging at Emain Macha as nine (yet other accounts say seven is the number found at significant sites). At other, lesser numbers, there are the likes of burial mounds, standing stones and cairns. Many times, if not oft times, there is also found at these points votive pits. Almost like the offerings deposited in them were being given directly to the most original well or spring, that of the Spirit, Danu.

The name, "Bile", literally means "a sacred tree", and each tribe in the Gaelic lands had its own "bile", usually near the center of its territory.(17) The Sacred Tree connected to all three realms of Celtic cosmology: branches reaching into the Sky of the Gods, roots reaching into the Water of the Ancestors, and the trunk connecting the Land -where mortals and nature spirits dwelt - to all. The concept of a "World Tree" is central to Norse mythology, and the Norse were very close culturally and geographically to the Celts.(18) It is not therefore inappropriate to visualize Danu as the Well of Knowledge, and Bile as the World Tree, much as Erynn Rowan Laurie has done in A Circle of Stones: Journeys and Meditations for Modern Celts: "Danu is the Mother of the Gods. She represents the land from which the de Danann came. This land is not a physical place, but is instead the sacred geography of the Otherworld. Danu is the principle of birth and beginnings, of generation and of fertility. She is the hidden source of the "Well of Segais, which is the abode of the Salmon of Wisdom."(19)
And:
"Beside the well is the world tree, the embodiment of the ancient ancestral deity known as Bile. His name means 'a sacred tree.' " (20)

Celtic myth and history is full of references to the especially sacred nature of certain individual trees, and the general sacred attributes of entire species of trees. This is further backed up by the Indo-European "cousins" of the Celts -- the Germanic or Norse peoples.

Oak trees were widely reported by the classical historians (Romans and Greeks) to have been especially venerated by the draoi; some authorities even believe that the word, "druid" (and it's variations), is based on root words meaning knowledge of the oak", but this is debatable.

Oak was used in funerary rites, and structures, in the La Tene culture and Hallstatt Celtic cultures. Yew, ash, hazel, and apple were also especially significant. Groves of these trees were known to be meeting places, and it was against the law to harm these groves in any manner. The words "Bile/" (a sacred tree) and "Nemeton" (a sacred grove) are root words in many European place-names, such as Bilum in Denmark, and Bilem in France, Drunemeton in Asia Minor/Galatia, Vernemeton in Britain, etc.(21) Each tribe had a sacred tree, near the center of their territory, often associated with an equally sacred spring or well . A story is told of the sacred tree of Munster, a tree growing from the bottom of Lough Gur; the lake would magickally disappear every seven years, and the tree would be revealed (22). Additionally, many Celtic family names indicate presumptive descent from an arboreal ancestor: Mac Cuill = "Son of Hazel", Mac Cuilinn = "Son of Holly", Mac Iber = "Son of Yew", the Welsh Guerngen = "Son of Alder" and Dergen = "Son of Oak".

Within Brythonic mythology we find the God, Lleu, pierced by a spear and wasting away in a symbolically-significant, huge oak tree. This immediately calls to mind the Norse God, Odin, sacrificing himself to himself on the World Tree, Yggdrasil.(23) The Gauls were said to have associated the oak with their equivalent of the Roman God Zeus(24); it is difficult to determine who this might have been within the Gaulish pantheon, as Roman writers usually just called the Gods of the people whose lands they were invading by the names of the Roman Gods that were their most obvious equivalents.

From the reports of classical writers, and some surviving iconography, it can also be speculated that wood carvings were used in ritualistic fashion. It is presumed that the variety of wood had some sacred significance. It is also speculated that certain species of tree were especially significant to the worship of particular Gods.(25) There is also the peculiar Fenian cycle story of Dercc Corra mac hUi Daighre, a man "sitting in the top of a tree, a blackbird on his right shoulder and in his left hand a white vessel of bronze, filled with water in which was a skittish trout and a stag at the foot of the tree." The association of the tree and the stag calls to mind the Bile/ or "Cernunnos" figure, and the story is thought to be based on a much older myth.(26)

The World Tree of Nordic myth, Yggdrasil, connected the depths of the underworld Nifl-heim, to Midgard (our world), and to Asgard (the Gods realm)(27).
We can view the sacred tribal, and Otherworldly, Trees in much the same manner without fear of going too far astray from the world-view of our ancestors.
The concept of the World Tree gives us an anchor for our own meditative practices; we can visualize the Sacred Tree, the Bile/, the Oak in the sacred grove of nine Hazels, next to Danu, the "Great River"; or the Well of Segeis. Those among us who find themselves drawn in a more active manner into the Otherworld or UnderWorld can find their bearings by locating the World Tree, and moving up or down along it to the Gods, or the Ancestors, or back to our own realm. The World Tree symbolizes that which is rooted in the ancient Past (roots), but reaching for the distant Future (branches), always available and immediately within the Present (trunk).

Our ancestors world-view was one in which a God of the Tribe was mated to a Goddess of the Land. The God of the Tribe was a many-skilled, protector, and warrior, God. The Goddess of the Land was a fertility Goddess, often associated with magick, and sometimes using Her magickal powers to assist with the battles of the Tribe, a more mysterious being. Under these Gods were the Gods of Skill and Craft. The relationship of the tribal God and Goddess was carried over to the relationship of the King to the land; the King was deemed a failure if the land did not prosper, and was often symbolically mated to the land in coronation rites, and stories abound of the mysterious "Sovereignty" who could appear as either a hag or a beautiful and desirable woman. Under the King, or Chieftain, were lesser leaders of more specific function and class. (28)

As far as the kingship went, there are many hints regarding this subject in the heraldic records. Having shown the Bile as an Oak Tree, we can therefore view the following as quite telling. In Ireland, we see the Oak associated with kingship. In Clans And Families Of Ireland, John Grenham states, " As in Ulster and Munster, so in Connacht the arms of the ruling family, the O'Conners, and a whole host of others connected with them - Flanagan, O'Breirne and many more - all display a common symbol, in this case the oak tree. Again, the reason lies in pre-Christian belief, in the old Celtic reverence for the oak, and it's resulting association with kingship; the medieval sources record the ruling families having at least one sacred tree outside the families ring fort."(29)

In the typically Celtic three-fold world-view, we have a mortal leader mated to the geographical lands that he oversees, a tribal God mated to the spiritual "land" that the tribe inhabits, and the Father of the Gaels and ruler of the Underworld "land" mated to the Mother of the Gods and spirit of the Otherworld, with the Tuatha De Danann as the Gods of Skill and Craft, the overlords of the specific concerns and functions of the material and spiritual realms.

Bibliography:

(repeated references listed under title of book and page number only)

1. Lebor Gabala Erenn, Irish Texts Society, Dublin.

2. The Druids, Peter Berresford Ellis, Eerdmans, 1994, Pages 121-124.

3. Celtic Heritage, Alwyn and Brinley Rees, Thames and Hudson 1961/1994. Page 52.

4. Myth, Legend and Romance: An Encyclopedia of the Irish Folk Tradition, Dr. Da/ithi/ O/hO/gain, Prentice Hall Press, 1991. Page 151, 152.

5. The Pagan Celts, Anne Ross, R.J.Acfur/Chinchester, Sussex; 1986. Page 124.

6. Celtic Heritage, page 52.

7. Hinduism, edited by Louis Renou, Braziller. 1962
Consciousness The Missing Link, His Divine Grace Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

8. Celtic Myths and Legends, Charles Squire, Random House 1994, Page 252.

9. The Celtic Gauls: Gods, Rites, and Sanctuaries, Jean Louis Brunaux, B.A. Seaby, Ltd. 1988, Page 70.

10. The Pagan Celts, page 126.

11. The Celtic Gauls: Gods, Rites, and Sanctuaries, page 74.

12. The Old Straight Track, Alfred Watkins, Sphere Books

13. A Step In The Dark, T.C. Lethbridge, RPK, 1967.
The Legend of the Sons of God, T.C. Lethbridge, RPK, 1972.

14. The Pattern Of The Past, Guy Underwood, Museum Press, 1969.

15. Ley Lines - Their Nature and Properties - A Dowsers Investigation, J. Havelock Fidler, turnstone Press, 1983.

16. Journal of the British Society of Dowsers, issue unknown

17. A Dictionary of Irish Mythology, Peter Berresford Ellis, Oxford University Press, 1987, Page 223.

18. The Norsemen, H.A.Guerber, Studio Editions Ltd./London, 1994, Page 12.

19. A Circle of Stones: Journeys and Meditations for Modern Celts, Erynn Rowan Laurie, Eschaton, 1995. Page 5.

20. A Circle of Stones: Journeys and Meditations for Modern Celts, page 4.

21. Pagan Celtic Britain, Anne Ross, Academy Chicago Publishers, 1996; pages 59 - 64.

22. Mythic Ireland, Michael Dames, Thames and Hudson, Ltd., 1992; pages 76 - 79.

23. Pagan Celtic Britain, page 60.

24. Pagan Celtic Britain, pages 59 + 60.

25. Pagan Celtic Britain, pages 60 - 62.

26. Pagan Celtic Britain, page 421.

27. The Norsemen, H.A. Guerber, Studio Editions, Ltd., 1994; pages 12 - 13.

28. The Pagan Celts, page 125.

29. Clans And Families Of Ireland, John Grenham, Wellfleet Press, 1993; page 74.

Glossary:

animistic: the belief that all material manifestations (human, animal, vegetable, mineral and combinations thereof) have corresponding spiritual manifestations, or that the material world is permeated by a corresponding spiritual world.

anthropomorphism: the representation of non-human beings as having human form, emotions, and motivations, the use of human iconography to represent the divine.

Beltaine: A sacred Gaelic feast day, one of the four cross-quarter feast days that celebrate the yearly cycle, second only to Samhain or Oiche Samhna in importance. It is a celebration of life and fertility, the lengthening of the daylight. Around May 1st.

cthonic pertaining to a Land of the Dead, or "Hades" - like realm. Symbolically associated with death and the Underworld; often also associated with rebirth.

dualism: belief in the ability to reduce existence to either two expressions of substance, such as male and female, or two forces, such as good and evil.

polytheism: belief in many Gods and Goddess, usually, at least amongst Indo-Europeans and the cultures that descended from them, as belonging to the same family or tribe.

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The Legend of Stonehenge

Written by Greg Tczap (Demon Lord) Copyright 1997, All Rights Reserved.
Bibliography
Philip Carr-Gomm, The Druid Way, Rockport MA - Element Books, Inc. © 1993 (Referred to within internal notation as TDW)
Christopher Chippindale, Stonehenge Complete, New York - Cornell University Press, © 1983 (Referred to within internal notation as SC)
John Fowles, The Enigma Of Stonehenge, New York - Philpot Museum, © 1980 (Referred to within internal notation as EOS)

Stonehenge has fascinated thousands of people throughout the ages, even today people are still wondering about the origins of the mysterious Stonehenge. Today's scientists and historians are still unable to come to a solid theory of when, why, by whom, and how the intriguing rock structure was built. Throughout history as we know it, there have been a countless number of propositions pertaining to these commonly unanswered questions. One interesting but debatable point is that throughout history, idea's about the origin of Stonehenge have followed the fashions of the age. In medieval times it found a place in patriotic schemes of early British history. The 17th century age of learning marks the first attempts to analyze it. In the 18th century its history was submerged under religious dogma. (SC 1983, 6) Today it seems that it is undergoing a more scientific analysis using radiocarbon dating and other techniques. Many of today's scientists and historians reject many of the earlier stories about Stonehenge. Whatever the origin and reason, Stonehenge is one of the most fascinating structures ever built, and it's legacy will continue to live on even ages after we are gone.

Many people have some vague knowledge of Stonehenge, enough at least to know it exists. But there are many things that make Stonehenge a very special structure. The name 'Stonehenge is believed to be of Saxon origin, although the building is much older. It comes from the roots 'stone and 'henge' or 'hang', meaning 'the place of hanging stones'. (SC 1983, 10) It is located in central southern England, in the country of Wiltshire. It resides about 30 miles north of the English channel, and about 80 miles west of London. It is located on a fairly flat stretch of land, known as Salisbury Plain. (SC 1983, 10) But what makes Stonehenge so special? For one, it is different from many other stone circles in western Britain due to the fact that many of the stones are trimmed into rectilinear forms. (SC 1983, 11) Another thing that makes it so remarkable is the sheer size of the stones that it is composed of. Some of its stones are among the largest ancient structures still standing in the British Isles. To really understand what Stonehenge looks like, in it's entire enormity, we must take a detailed look at it's structure. The circle of stones lying on the outer circle of Stonehenge is called 'The Outer Sarsen Circle'. It is composed of 30 square-ish upright stones made of a type of sandstone called Sarsen. It forms a 100 ft diameter. Each standing stone reaches about 13 1/2ft above the ground, and is about 7ft wide and 3 3/4ft thick. The stones sitting atop the uprights are called lintels, and are about 10 1/2ft long, 3 1/2ft wide, and 2 3/4ft thick. They are attached to the tops of the stones by a method similar to that of the mortise & tenon, a common woodworkers joint. No mortar was used whatsoever in Stonehenge. The outer Sarsen circle forms a remarkable continuous circle within about an inch of perfection. However not all of the outer circle is still standing. (SC 1983, 12>) The Outer Bluestone Circle lies right within the outer Sarsen circle and is composed of a type of igneous rock called Bluestone (due to its blue-ish coloring). It contains about 60 Bluestones which are all about 6 1/2ft high, 3-4ft wide, and 2 1/2ft thick. The circle is about 75ft in diameter. They are upright, and contain no lintels. Many are missing or fallen. (SC 1983, 13) The Inner Sarsen Trilithons are arranged in a horseshoe shape, 45 feet diameter, and are composed of 5 independent Trilithons. (Trilithon means '3 stones' in Greek) Each Trilithon contains 2 uprights, with a lintel connected in the Mortise & Tenon manner. They reach an average of about 22ft high. Only 3 are still standing, but all the pieces are there. (SC 1983, 14) The Inner Bluestone Circle is another horseshoe shape, composed of about 19 Bluestones with no lintels. It stands just within the inner Sarsen Trilithons. They range from 6-8ft in height, and only 6 are still in place. (SC 1983, 15) The Alter Stone is a big rectangular piece of gray-ish sandstone, different from all the other types of rock. It is about 16ft long, and probably stood upright but is now snapped in two. The name 'Alter Stone' refers to the theory that the Druids used the Stonehenge as a temple, and the large stone lying in the center was their alter. (SC 1983, 15) All in all, about half of the entire structure is missing, and some of the remaining half is fallen and/or broken. However there is still enough standing to be able to tell the original form. Now with the image of Stonehenge in mind, we may have a better understanding of what makes it so special, and why so many different theories were devised pertaining to it's origin.

Stanenges, where stones of wonderful size have been erected after the manner of doorways, so that doorway appears to have been raised upon doorway; and no one can conceive how such great stones have been so raised aloft, or of why they were built there. (SC 1983, 20)

This quote, written in 1130 by a man named Henry Huntington, was one of the first things ever recorded in writing about Stonehenge. He was referring to the point that if you look from a certain angle, the two Sarsen Circles do seem to form doorways on top of each other. (More on doorways later, as associated with the Druids) The way Huntington refers to Stonehenge as 'Stanenges' is significant because it shows that a name was established for Stonehenge that early, and before the Norman scholars ever wrote of it. During the Medieval era, 1136, a man named Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote a book that set the stage for many of the associations we draw today between the Druids (Merlyn in particular), Stonehenge, and the Legend of King Arthur. This book on the origin of Stonehenge was entitled The History of The Kings of Britain. (SC 1983, 22>) The story begins in Britain, where the new British king Vortigern has seized the throne through treason. He sets up a peace meeting at Amesbury (Salisbury Plain) with the Saxon king Hengist because the Saxon armies are a threat to his kingdom. The Saxons pull hidden daggers at the meeting, and murder 460 British Lords. Vortiger, after being captured and released, flees to Wales where he builds a great tower on Mount Snowdon with the help of Merlyn the Druid. Then the rightful British king, Aurelius Ambrosius, comes back and burns Vortigern in his tower. There then ensues a battle between Aurelius and the Saxons. The British win, and Hengist is executed. Aurelius decides to set up a great and everlasting memorial to the Mt. Amesbury Massacre. Merlyn is called forth do devise a building, and he tells Aurelius of a great stone structure located in Ireland.

Send for the Giants Round, which is on Mount Killaraus in Ireland. In that place there is a stone construction which no man of this period could ever erect, unless he combined great skill and artistry. The stones are enormous, and there is no one alive strong enough to move them. If they are placed in position round this site, in the way they are put up over there, they will stand for ever.... (SC 1983, 22)

The structure he was referring to of course, was Stonehenge. So as the story goes, The kings brother, Uther Pendragon, took 15,000 men to Ireland to bring back the stones. They were unsuccessful however, and had to recruit Merlyn to move them. He takes down the stones himself, and sets them up at the massacre site in the exact same formation. Aurelius is supposedly buried there when he dies, as well as Uther Pendragon who succeeds him. Uther's son, the legendary King Arthur succeeds him, and is supposedly tutored in the ways of the Druids by Merlyn. That is the beginning of the Druids and Arthur's association with Stonehenge. That view/legend was prominent throughout much of the medieval era. (SC 1983, 22>) Geoffrey's idea's about Stonehenge and Arthur are said to be made up today. Everything after Vortigern was supposedly made up. However the tale still lives on, although it has acquired many variations. Some of the people who scorned Geoffrey's work included William of Newburgh, John Leland, and William Lambarde. (SC 1983, 24 + 29 + 37)

Towards the Elizabethan Age, the questions about Stonehenge seemed to shift away from Geoffrey type stories, and more towards where the actual stones came from and how they got there. There were many paintings of Stonehenge that we still know of today. (SC 1983, 36 + 38 + 41) During the Renaissance, there emerged many tales pertaining to the actual stones. Some of these tales included ideas that 'you can never count the stones twice and arrive at the same number', 'whoever counts the stones of Stonehenge will die' or 'to count the stones was to tempt the power of the devil'. There were also myths saying that the stones contained magickal powers. (SC 1983, 44) Many famous kings visited Stonehenge, among them were the Stuart Kings, including James I and Charles II. James one had his great royal architect, Inigo Jones, write a book on Stonehenge. Stonehenge Restored was the first book dedicated entirely to a single monument. (SC 1983, 47) Many theories also popped up about who built it, and of how old it was. One man's theory, Dr. Glisson, was close to what radiocarbon dating shows us today.

Dr. Stukeley first devised the theory that Stonehenge was used by the Druids as a temple. Basically, the Druids were thought to be the Priests of the ancient Britons (TDW 1993, 10) and Stonehenge was an ancient British temple. (SC 1983, 85) Thus the association was made between the two. Although there was not too much support for this idea, and many today still hold it untrue, it was generally accepted, more so today then it was back then. Stukeley published a 4 volume book containing his idea's. However at the time it was published, Christianity was on the rise and was trying to wipe out all the other religions. This did not support a very friendly environment for his works. (SC 1983, 88) Many idea's about the Druids use came up, most of them were images of the 'savage' Druids performing 'Sacrifices' to their 'Gods'. (SC 1983, 83>)

The Druids understood gateways and all that they mean. They built gateways at Stonehenge. Each stone circle has its gateway, It's entrance place between two stones. Irish folklore is full of tales of people who disappear into the land of Sidhe, the fairies, by accidentally, or deliberately, walking between one of a Trilithon which acts as a gateway into that other world. (TDW 1993, 12)

This quote supports the fact that the Druids were the architects of Stonehenge. They had a belief in these types of 'Gateways'. Henry Huntington also referred to Stonehenge as containing 'Gateways' earlier. The Druids were however, heavily associated with trees. The name 'Druid', actually means 'Men of Oak'. And the Druids held many trees to be sacred, among the most sacred tree of course, was the oak. (TDW 1993, 13) So why then, would they have a heavy association with Stonehenge? The land around Stonehenge was practically 'treeless', and the Druids always tended to meet at 'Groves', a circular clearing in the middle of trees. (TDW 1993, 14) This might support the fact that the Druids indeed did not have a heavy association with Stonehenge, and if they did, they only used it, not built it. 'Where the Druids reared their rocky circles to make permanent remembrance of sin, & the tree of Good and Evil sprang from the rock circle & snake of the Druid...' (EOS 1980, 124)

Today, views of Stonehenge are not so different. There have been many attempted breakthroughs, but none successful. Some feel that although the actual scientific view of Stonehenge is more important, so are the myths and stories that come with it, even though they may be untrue. Most people, however, do not stop to think about why Stonehenge has attracted so many people and ideas. (Today, it receives close to a million visitors per year)

The attraction of Stonehenge here is very simple: there are not yet enough facts about it to bury it in certainty, in a scientific final solution to all its questions. Its great present virtue is precisely that something so concrete, so sui generis, so individualized, should still evoke so much impressions of feeling and thought. (EOS 1980, 125) The other Stonehenge, this vast labyrinth of words, pictures, speculations, feelings, impressions, may never be quite so important as the scientists Stonehenge, but it is no less real in any deep or sane sense of human history. Almost everyone who visits the monuments feels this. Never can a building have had its actual scale and height vis-Ă -vis man so persistently exaggerated or its surroundings so romanticized, both before and after the Romantic Movement proper. It is not that artists, or ordinary visitors, want Stonehenge to be larger than it is. It is large than it is. (EOS 1980, 126)

I can agree with this to a very large degree, even though I have never seen the monument myself. Stonehenge has, and always will continue to intrigue people. Maybe it is not so much the truth about it, but the stories that emerge from it. For some of the myths concerning Stonehenge (Arthurian Legend, for example) are just so unforgettable that they will never die. Who knows what the purpose of Stonehenge is, but whatever the purpose, it has served itself well.

What is Stonehenge? It is the roofless past; Man's ruinous myth; his uniterred adoring Of the unknown in sunrise cold and red; His quest of stars that arch his doomed exploring.

And what is Time but shadows that were cast By these storm-sculptured stones while centuries fled? The stones remain; their stillness can outlast The skies of history hurrying overhead.

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St. Patrick

The arrival in Antrim of a young Caledonian slave named Succat would hardly seem worthy of historical note, but that slave became St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland and the person responsible for opening the land to Christianity. Patrick began by converting fellow slaves (who later aided his escape) and is said to have had an angelic vision of the people of Ireland crying out to him to be their spiritual guide.

Christian missionaries did exist in Ireland prior to Patrick's coming, but had little success. Patrick, understanding the religious politics of the land, started by attempting to convert the high king, Lagohaire. Though he was unsuccessful, he did amass an army large enough to gain access to Tara on Easter Sunday, 453 c.e.

Many of the legends regarding Patrick are unauthenticated, but they do show the systematic attempt to purge the faith in the Goddess form the Irish culture. It is said that during a famine, he made a herd of pigs appear - pigs were sacred and only consumed as on ritual occasions. The legend tell of Patrick "driving the snakes out of Ireland" is felt to be symbolic of the destruction of the influence of the Druids, who used small black snakes as familiars. Patrick is also given credit for making the shamrock the symbol of Ireland by linking it to the Holy Trinity, however the shamrock was already sacred to the people due to it's association with the Triple Goddess.

Patrick worked zealously building monasteries over Wittan sacred sites, enclosing sacred wells and standing stones in churchyards, and dismantling or christianizing Irish shrines. The office of "Bishop" was instituted at his behest and each clan received one, willing or not.

It is interesting to note, however that in many ways Patrick did a great service to the Wittan religion in preserving some of the earliest know pagan legends. In his effort to preserve the native culture of Ireland, he had many of the oral traditions committed to text. His reasoning, however, remains unclear as he latter had many of the original Celtic works of religion and literature burned.

Patrick and those who followed him were aware of the druidic veneration for trees and were undisturbed by it, the notion that that the people worshiped stones, however, had them roiling. The probably gained this impression from the stone megaliths and dolmens erected throughout the islands. Neither the Wittans, nor the Druids worshiped stones, and yet the papacy continuously denounced the practice.

Patrick's ploy to undermine the power of the Druids began by convincing his converts that Druidic power was a gift directly for Satan, a conjecture based on the small black snakes Druids used for familiars, and the connection between the serpent and the Christian Devil. The same rational would later be used against Latin Americans who worshiped a serpentine deity.

Christian influence in Ireland was temporarily crushed when Scandinavians, sympathetic to the Irish pagan cause, invaded. The Church turned a blind eye to the invaders and the Vikings were not routed until 1014 when King Brian Boru won the battle of Clontarf. The Church's inability to protect Ireland lost them many followers who, in keeping with Celtic custom, could not trust a leader that was not a proven warrior.

The Church's final assault began when they refused to tolerate Irish women's worship of a separate Goddess any longer and, in 1115, King Henry II obtained a papal bull authorizing his possession of Ireland. The Church then began to dismantle the Old Religion by force.

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Irish Deities

The first deity we feel the presence of is the Goddess, the Great Mother, known as Dana or Brigid. It was she who gave birth to the Universe and for many centuries she is the only present deity. She was the triple goddess representative of the maid, the mother and the crone - she was the giver of life and the bringer of death and she is still the most powerful force in the Wittan hierarchy.

The early Celts were herders and as such not as prone to seeing a male figure in their deities as were many agricultural peoples. Over time, with the influx of new cultures and the development of agriculture a male deity did emerge: Lugh. Lugh now stands as God with the Goddess throughout most of the year and the Sabbat of Lughnasadh is named for him.

Deities on this path are seen as part of a polarity rather then a duality, meaning that each deity is possessed of all aspects of good, evil and indifference. It is up to the individual as to which aspects we will draw upon. In this sense the goddess and God are not two separate beings, but rather two aspects of one being that manifest in different ways and with different traits. There are many manifestations, representing different aspects of of the great life force called by many different names and worshiped in many different ways.

If you wanted to you could draw a generalized comparison to a popular monotheistic faith. For instance, in Catholicism you have a triple deity in the Holy Trinity, you have many saints which represent individualized aspects and traits of God (i.e. St. Mary as the patron saint of Women and St. Francis as the patron saint of children and small animals) and evil is represented in Satan. I do not make this analogy to anger anyone, merely to help us understand one another.

The primary Goddess (or female aspect of the Great Life Force) of Witta is the Triple Goddess known most often as Brigid. She is the creator of all things and has been revered as the Great mother since ancient Ireland. Brigid has even been popularized in Christianity since it's arrival in Ireland as St. Brigid.

The male aspect of the deity is primarily represented today in the Great Horned God often referred to by his Greek name Cernunnos (his Irish name unfortunately having been lost in yester-year). His image has sadly been demonized over the years to equate with a devil image but to Wittans he is still the Lord of the Greenwood, the father and protector.

Throughout Irish history you will see the appearance of many names for the female and male aspects of the Great Life Force each with their own history and place in Irish mythology.

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Lia Fail

If you've read through the site you may have noticed that in Myth Cycles there is a mention of Lia Fail - the Stone of Destiny. The following information was sent to me by a friend, Connemarah, thank you Conne! You can see some the wonderful things Conne has in the works at her site: Connemarah's Collective

Note from Connemarah-
The Irish Lia Fail stands at the Hill of Tara, in County Meath, Ireland. There is no admission to this wondrous site, and most certainly is a place of power. Michael Slavin, the author of "The Book of Tara", owns the Old Tara Book Shop, which stands at the bottom of the Hill. He has lived nearby all his life, and the novel this excerpt has been taken from took him five years to complete. Inquirers may be able to purchase this book from Amazon.com.

Note: Clicking the link above will take you to Amazon.com's listing for The Book of Tara, it is, unfortunately, out-of-print - although they do offer a search to see if they can find you a copy. If anyone knows where a copy can easily be obtained, please let me know.

From The Book of Tara

Copyright Michael Slavin

Being a godly race, the De Dannan had brought four divine gifts with them to Tara, including the Lia Fail or Stone of Destiny: 'From Falias was brought the Lia Fail which was in Tara and it would not utter a cry but under every king that should take Ireland. From Goirias was brought the spear which Lugh had: battle would never go against who had it in hand. From Findias was brought the sword of Nuadu: no man would escape from it; when it was drawn from its battle-scabbard, there was no resisting it. From Muirias was brought the cauldron of the Dagda; no company would go from it unsatisfied.'

A stone called Lia Fail still stands at Tara today; though no one knows whether it is the same Stone of Destiny described in the legends. It would certainly appear to be the stone that was at Tara when the legends were written down in the Lebor Gabala and the topographical guide known as the Dindshenchas. It is commonly accepted that the author of the latter visited Tara during its composition in the late tenth or early eleventh century. At that time a stone called the Lia Fail was in place near the Mound of Hostages. The present Lia Fail was moved from there to the top of the Forradh or King's Seat after the 1798 Rebellion. Claims have been made that the Stone of Scone in Westminster Abbey in London is the original Lia Fail, but there is no proof to support this.

The usual translation of Lia Fail is Stone of Destiny. Lia means 'stone" and fail or fo ail means 'the under stone', or the stone that was under the king. It was believed to roar when the true king touched it or drove his chariot next to it. And its obvious phallic symbolism may support this theory - as the true king underwent a ritual marriage with the Goddess of Sovereignty before he could rule.

(The Hill of Tara) It is called Tara na Ri - Tara of the Kings. On the crest of its hill stands the Lia Fail, the Stone of Destiny, the coronation stone. To touch this ancient symbol is to touch perhaps two thousand years of Irish prehistory and a regal pagan past that will forever be embedded in Celtic memory.

Only about half the full length of the Lia Fail protrudes above ground. In total it is about 10 feet long, and has also been called the 'Penis Stone'. Composed of granular limestone, it certainly did not originate in Tara. Perhaps a receding glacier left it in its wake; perhaps it did come from a far-off land - it is a mystery just like Tara itself. There is also a strong tradition that a flat stone from Tara was taken to Scotland and used for coronation ceremonies there until Edward I confiscated it at the end of the thirteenth century.

Connemarah also sent along some wonderful pictures from her trip!

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Myth Cycles

The myths and legends of a people are central to it's religion. It is from these stories that we derive our attitudes towards people and nature, and understand our deities. The famous and infamous deeds of a people's past, human and divine, provide a sense of continuity and oneness within a culture, and teach us that which we need to learn.

Irish mythology contains five major myth cycles. Within each major cycle are more cycles, and each of the four ancient provinces of Ireland has some indigenous mythology. This opulent lore provides the main source for the goddesses, gods, and celebrations integral to the Wittan religion. The ordinary human invaders of Ireland also impacted the lives of the Irish people. The Celts, the Norse, the early Roman Church, and refugees from the Spanish Inquisition each contributed their beliefs and practices to the native religion.

Most Irish myths were recorded between 500 and 800 c.e., though they were many centuries older. Surprisingly, many were recorded by Christian monks seeking to preserve Irish history. Others were written down by native pagans. Many of the stories have been by the patriarchy who recorded the them, and it is apparent in the style and content of the lore. Other legends survived through oral tradition and were not recorded until centuries later. In modern Ireland, the role of the minstrel is still a part of rural life. Many of the native myths and legends, like society itself, been changed by the dominant cultures who had much to gain by the alterations. Wherever a god is dominant over a goddess, or a hero has power independent of a heroine, it is generally indicative of a later tale or an alteration in the original story. Wittans saw a balance between the male female aspects, and the stories that do not reflect this are suspect.

The Book of Armagh, the Book of the Dun Cow, the Yellow Book of Lechan, the Book of Leinster are the primary writings in which the Irish myths were recorded. These can be found in translation in some college libraries or through Irish booksellers. Books on Irish mythology are abundant and condensed forms of the myths can be purchased almost anywhere there are books for sale. Even easier to find are collections of stories based on these books.

The Irish invasion myth cycles have five components and involve a several invader races of faery-like folks and deities who conquered the land. They were the Partholans, the Nemed, the Firbologs, the Tutha De Danann (who had the most profound effect on the Wittan religion), and the Milesians, a relative of the Celts.

The Celts believed themselves to be descendants of the Goddess and God of the underworld, Dealgnaid and her consort Parthalon. They came to Ireland from the west, the recognized home of the dead. The Partholans were believed to have carved the face of Ireland out of the bareness and created the lakes, rivers, and green groves, and brought with them the animals and fish.

First came Formorians who brought a plague to Partholan and his legions. The Formorians, who were in essence sea creatures, soon left Ireland empty for further occupation; partially due to their conflict with Finn MacCool, a giant who inhabited and protected Ireland. Today the Formorians are sea monsters or faeries who rove the Irish coast.

The second invader race was the Nemed, named for their leader, a cousin of Partholan. The Nemed were a dark people who came to Ireland from the south (many scholars believe they may have been would-be invaders from the Iberian Peninsula in what is now Spain). Sadly for the Nemed, they were unsuccessful and the Formorians killed all but thirty men. The Nemed's greatest contribution to Irish paganism was belief in the Morrigu, a fierce triple goddess which consisted only of crone aspects. The names of the Morrigu are Babd, Nemain, and Macha.

The Firbologs came next. Another faery invader race they play a very small role in the mythological history of the Ireland, and are often considered inferior. The Firbologs were inept warriors, and apparently failed so miserably in their endeavor that even the few remaining Formorians did not bother with them.

Then came the Tutha De Danann, the last faery race of Ireland, with them came most of the goddesses and gods of the Irish pantheon. Arriving at Bealtaine, they had defeated the remaining Formorians and the inept Firbolgian fighters by the Summer Solstice. Their goddess, Dana, became the first Great Mother goddess of Ireland. Dana, later renamed Brigid, was the goddess of childbirth, poetry, music, creative endeavors, smithing, crafting, metallurgy, animal husbandry, and agriculture.

Unlike the Partholand, Nemed, and Firbologs, the Tutha De Danann came from the heavens, the direction of the elusive fifth element, spirit. In the form of a circle, the Tutha created four great cities, each presiding over a separate race of fey: Falias, Finias, Gorias, and Murias. Eventually, they too were defeated and went underground where they remain today as the faery folk of Ireland.

It was the Tutha who gave the right of ruler ship to the high kings. The Lia Fail, or Stone of Destiny, was stood upon by the kings at coronation. This stone did exist, and was used in Scotland as late as the tenth century to crown Scottish royalty; it can still be seen if one travels to Perth. This myth implies the much earlier concept that it was Dana who was the true giver of royal authority. The idea that a king must have a queen to rule comes from the ancient belief that all things, living or inanimate, were born of the Great Mother deity.

The last of the invaders were the Milesians, a cousin of the Celts. From them were born the first human legends of Ireland culminating in heroic tales of the warrior Queen Madb of Connacht and the most revered high king of Ireland, Brian Boru.

Posted by Phoxxe at May 31, 2000 04:08 PM | 0 | 0

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Who were the Celts

Written by Greg Tczap (Demon Lord) Copyright 1997, All Rights Reserved.

The Celts were a group of peoples that occupied lands stretching from the British Isles to Galatia. The Celts had many dealings with other cultures that bordered the lands occupied by these peoples, and even though there is no written record of the Celts stemming from their own documents, we can piece together a fair picture of them from archaeological evidence as well as historical accounts from other cultures.

The first historical recorded encounter of a people displaying the cultural traits associated with the Celts comes from northern Italy around 400 BC, when a previously unknown group of barbarians came down from the Alps and displaced the Etruscans from the fertile Po valley, a displacement that helped to push the Etruscans from history's limelight. The next encounter with the Celts came with the still young Roman Empire, directly to the south of the Po. The Romans in fact had sent three envoys to the beige Etruscans to study this new force. We know from Livy's The Early History of Rome that this first encounter with Rome was quite civilized:

[The Celts told the Roman envoys that] this was indeed the first time they had heard of them, but they assumed the Romans must be a courageous people because it was to them that the [Etruscans] had turned to in their hour of need. And since the Romans had tried to help with an embassy and not with arms, they themselves would not reject the offer of peace, provided the [Etruscans] ceded part of their superfluous agricultural land; that was what they, the Celts, wanted.... If it were not given, they would launch an attack before the Romans eyes, so that the Romans could report back how superior the Gauls were in battle to all others....The Romans then asked whether it was right to demand land from its owners on pain of war, indeed what were the Celts going in Etruria in the first place? The latter defiantly retorted that their right lay in their arms: To the brave belong all things.

The Roman envoys then preceded to break their good faith and helped the Etruscans in their fight; in fact, one of the envoys, Quintas Fabius killed one of the Celtic tribal leaders. The Celts then sent their own envoys to Rome in protest and demand the Romans hand over all members of the Fabian family, to which all three of the original Roman envoys belonged, be given over to the Celts, a move completely in line with current Roman protocol. This of course presented problems for the Roman senate, since the Fabian family was quite powerful in Rome. Indeed, Livy says that:

The party structure would allow no resolution to be made against such nobleman as justice would have required. The Senate...therefore passed examination of the Celts request to the popular assembly, in which power and influence naturally counted for more. So it happened that those who ought to have been punished were instead appointed for the coming year military tribunes with consular powers (the highest that could be granted).

The Celts saw this as a mortal insult and a host marched south to Rome. The Celts tore through the countryside and several battalions of Roman soldiers to lay siege to the Capitol of the Roman Empire. Seven months of siege led to negotiations whereby the Celts promised to leave their siege for a tribute of one thousand pounds of gold, which the historian Pliny tells was very difficult for the entire city to muster. When the gold was being weighed, the Romans claimed the Celts were cheating with faulty weights. It was then that the Celts leader, Brennus, threw his sword into the balance and uttered the words vae victis "woe to the Defeated". Rome never withstood another more humiliating defeat and the Celts made an initial step of magnificent proportions into history.

Other Roman historians tell us more of the Celts. Diodorus notes that:

Their aspect is terrifying...They are very tall in stature, with rippling muscles under clear white skin. Their hair is blond, but not naturally so: they bleach it, to this day, artificially, washing it in lime and combing it back from their foreheads. They look like wood-demons, their hair thick and shaggy like a horse's mane. Some of them are clean shaven, but others - especially those of high rank, shave their cheeks but leave a moustache that covers the whole mouth and, when they eat and drink, acts like a sieve, trapping particles of food...The way they dress is astonishing: they wear brightly coloured and embroidered shirts, with trousers called bracae and cloaks fastened at the shoulder with a brooch, heavy in winter, light in summer. These cloaks are striped or checkered in design, with the separate checks close together and in various colours.

[The Celts] wear bronze helmets with figures picked out on them, even horns, which made them look even taller than they already are...while others cover themselves with breast-armour made out of chains. But most content themselves with the weapons nature gave them: they go naked into battle...Weird, discordant horns were sounded, [they shouted in chorus with their] deep and harsh voices, they beat their swords rhythmically against their shields.

Diodorus also describes how the Celts cut off their enemies heads and nailed them over the doors of their huts, as Diodorus states:

In exactly the same way as hunters do with their skulls of the animals they have slain...they preserved the heads of their most high-ranking victims in cedar oil, keeping them carefully in wooden boxes.

Diodorus Siculus, History.

What is a Celt and who are the Glasgow Celtics?

The people who made up the various tribes of concern were called Galli by the Romans and Galatai or Keltoi by the Greeks, terms meaning barbarian. It is from the Greek Keltoi that Celt is derived. Since no soft c exists in Greek, Celt and Celtic and all permutations should be pronounced with a hard k sound.

It is interesting to note that when the British Empire was distinguishing itself as better and separate from the rest of humanity, it was decided that British Latin should have different pronunciation from other spoken Latin. Therefore, one of these distinguishing pronunciational differences was to make many of the previously hard k sounds move to a soft s sound, hence the Glasgow and Boston Celtics. It is the view of many today that this soft c pronunciation should be reserved for sports teams since there is obviously nothing to link them with the original noble savagery and furor associated with the Celts.

The Six Celtic Languages

There was a unifying language spoken by the Celts, called not surprisingly, old Celtic. Philogists have shown the descendents of Celtic from the original Ur-language and from the Indo-European language tradition. In fact, the form of old Celtic was the closest cousin to Italic, the precursor of Latin.

The original wave of Celtic immigrants to the British Isles are called the q-Celts and spoke Goidelic. It is not known exactly when this immigration occurred but it may be placed some time in the window of 2000 to 1200 BC. The label q-Celtic stems from the differences between this early Celtic tongue and Italic. Some of the differences between Italic and Celtic included that lack of a p in Celtic and an a in place of an the Italic o.

At a later date, a second wave of immigrants took to the British Isles, a wave of Celts referred to as the p-Celts speaking Brythonic. Goidelic led to the formation of the three Gaelic languages spoken in Ireland, Man and later Scotland. Brythonic gave rise to two British Isles languages, Welsh and Cornish, as well as surviving on the Continent in the form of Breton, spoken in Brittany.

The label q-Celtic stems from the differences between this early Celtic tongue and the latter formed p-Celtic. The differences between the two Celtic branches are simple in theoretical form. Take for example the word ekvos in Indo-European, meaning horse. In q-Celtic this was rendered as equos while in p-Celtic it became epos, the q sound being replaced with a p sound. Another example is the Latin qui who. In q-Celtic this rendered as cia while in p-Celtic it rendered as pwy. It should also be noted that there are still words common to the two Celtic subgroups.

As an aside, take note that when the Irish expansion into Pictish Britain occurred (see below), several colonies were established in present day Wales. The local inhabitants called the Irish arrivals gwyddel savages from which comes geĂ­dil and goidel and thus the Goidelic tongue.

The Irish and the Scots Are From the Same Tribe

Ireland used to be divided up into five parts, the five fifths. There was a northern fifth, Ulster, a western fifth, Connaught, a southern fifth, Munster, an eastern fifth, Leinster and a middle fifth, Mide. Click here to see a map of the five fifths.

The Ulster Cycle is a set of stories which are grounded in the five fifths. Indeed, they are primarily concerned with Cú Chulainn, the Ulster hero and his king, Conor Mac Nessa in their wars against the king and queen of Connaught, Ailill and Maeve. These figures play a prominent role in the what may be the greatest story of the Ulster Cycle, the Táin Bó Cúailnge, The Cattle Raid of Cooley.

Sometime after 300 AD, Ulster became steadily less important in status among the five farthings and the ruling family of Mide, the UĂ­ NĂ©ill Sons of Niall started to take over large parts of Connaught and most of Ulster. A similar move was made in Muster by the ruling family of Munster, the Eoganachta family. Thus was Ireland divided almost entirely into two halves.

The people of Ulster were pushed to a small coastal strip bordering the Irish Sea. The kingdom changed it's name to Dál Riata. Yet eventually Dál Riata fell under the rule and influence of the Uí Néill. This family, not content with the boundry presented by the sea, launched colonies across the Irish Sea into then Pictish Britain. Thus was Scotland founded, for it was these Uí Néill that the Romans called Scotti, not the original Picts.

Indeed, it was this Irish Expansion which led to Christianity in Scotland in 563 AD. St. Columba, the patron saint of Scotland, was a member of a powerful family in Dál Riata and in order to keep his ties in Ireland he settled on an island that was close to both Scotland and Ireland, Iona. Of course, even more bizarre is the fact that St. Patrick, the man responsible for bringing Christianity to Ireland in the first place, was from Wales.

Posted by Phoxxe at May 31, 2000 04:04 PM | 0 | 0

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Celtic - The Celts and The Goddess

Celtic

Some background on the Celts - their myths and lore are still a vital part of many cultures today.

The Celts and The Goddess

If there is a single element that defines the belief system of the Celts (pronounced with a hard K as in "Kelts", not with a soft S as in "Selts") it is the worship of the Goddess. From the earliest times of Celtic ancestry - 35,000 years ago - up until the advent of Christianity, the central spiritual theme throughout the world was reverence for the Goddess, the Giver of Life, the Earth Mother. No male deity has equaled her power or benevolence, and none is likely to for She is our Mother who nurtures and comforts us, and who opens the door for our entry into this life.

She is most powerful in Her Triple Form - as maiden, mother and crone - as She addresses our needs in every phase of our life. The Celts called her Brigit or Bride and the Christians call her St. Bride. She is also known as Arianrhod and Hecate and we see the manifestation of the Triple Goddess in every Moon cycle. The New Moon is the Maiden Moon, and she follows her consort the Sun very closely, rising during the daylight hours. As she matures, she becomes the Mother Moon or Full Moon, pregnant with possibilities. And in her old age she is the Crone Moon, wise and independent, powerful in her own right, she leaves the daylight to the Sun and sends her energy to us only during the night. At the time of the Christian Diaspora, the Goddess was found to be inconsistent with Christian beliefs, although She remains a major part of Catholicism in the form of Mary. We don't know exactly what the early Christians were thinking when they killed the Goddess, but we do know that they have succeeded in demonizing Her in various ways.

The Triple Goddess has been replaced by the modern patriarchal triumvirate of Father (in place of Mother), Son (in place of Maiden) and Holy Ghost (in place of the magical, mystical Crone). The Crone was so powerful and mysterious that only an intangible concept like the Holy Ghost could replace Her. But Her symbol need to perish according to the philosophy of the time, and we don't have to search far to find examples of the denigration of the Crone. Once considered wise, powerful, beneficent and even beautiful in her age, she is now the Hag, the Witch, the frightening figure of danger in our Fairy Tales. The classic death blow to the Goddess, however, comes in the Book of Genesis. Here She is given the burden of the Downfall by tempting Adam and causing their ultimate expulsion from Eden.

Most of the earliest permanent art is symbolic of the Goddess, from the 30,000+ year old Venus of Willendorf and the Goddess of Lespugue to the cave paintings of Cro-Magnon and Neanderthals, we see the Goddess everywhere. In fact, the caves themselves are symbolic of the Womb of Earth Mother. When the ancestors of the Celts moved out of the caves and began farming, they continued to build cairns and megaliths, which are representative of our Mother's womb. Many of these cairns are designed with a long central hallway that is positioned in such a way that the Sun's rays at dawn on the Winter Equinox shine all the way to the end of the hall. This symbolizes the penetration and impregnation of Earth Mother by the Sun and guarantees fertility for humans and all other living things on the Earth. We may never know all the myriad ways the Celts and their ancestors honored the Goddess, but we are absolutely sure they did. Some scholars are now saying that Stonehenge was built by the Celts as a birthday present to Earth Mother; an idea that seems to be infused with the kind of magic indicative of early Celtic life. Whether we ever decipher the symbology of those who came before us or not, the fact remains that the Goddess was never really killed by the Christians. She has merely been in hiding and She is now returning.

Posted by Phoxxe at May 31, 2000 03:36 PM | 0 | 0

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