#Celtic rites

[sy666th]

Goodbye to this year. A Sacred Fire for our beloved ones. Tomorrow will be a new start, a new moon, maybe a new life. Let's drink and light a candle for the ones left behind.

[cesarescabinet]

Alternate Gawain ending: He becomes a saint!?

[orthopunkfox]

If you haven't seen the film Secret of Kells, you're missing out! It's a wonderful little animated film which gives the (somewhat fictionalized) accounting of the completion of the illuminated manuscript The Book of Kells. The story is told using absolutely beautiful illuminated art style and combines Celtic folklore with Celtic Christianity. It's a story of faith, magic, and one of the greatest books ever produced by the Orthodox West. Also my kids love it. They demand to watch it again and again.

[mistresslrigtar]

Here's the final one-shot written for my follower challenge. This song prompt as given to me by one of my readers on AO3.

The Mystic's Dream by Loreena McKennitt

Excerpt:

The crowd around them blurred, fading into nothingness, until it was only him and her bathed in the glow of the raging fire. Holding her hand up, his gentle touch when he placed his palm against hers belied the strength that could cleave a foe in two with one blow of his sword. Forearms touching, he joined in her circling dance. Link’s eyes softened when he gazed at her and the depth of love Zelda saw there left her feeling breathless.

Her voice caught in her throat when she opened her mouth to sing, but the encouraging half smile he gave her melted her nervousness in an instant. He was the only one who had the power to unnerve her with a look one moment and lift her up with another in the next.

[blackmalmhaus]

ALBUMS THAT SHAPED BLACK METAL

Celtic Frost:

Morbid Tales

To Megatherion

Into the pandemonium

Hellhammer:

Satanic rites

[inspectorspacetimerevisited]

The Inspector unwittingly participated in a Celtic rite

when he burnt the Melanophilus in ‘The Kidnapped Groom’.

[child-of-frigg]

Modern Druidry: The Ushering of Spring.

Throughout the Druidic revival there have existed many variations of different Springtime rituals, the Ushering of Spring following the equinox is one such that is rooted in the understanding of the old ways, following closely to what few records exist of the Druidic rituals and culture.

This ritual is largely centered around the Lady of Spring, however it invokes many old and powerful energies that were recognized by the ancient Druids as essential to their practice, such as the Great Bear and Great Whale. This ritual, like many in the Druidic faith, also utilizes the existence of Nemetons, which are spiritual center points found in Groves. Groves are another essential part of the Druidic faith, acting as a place with which for us to connect with the spirits of the rocks and the trees, and immerse ourselves in the energies of the universe, as well as being places of convening for practitioners of the old ways.

From the variations of this ritual that exist, I've constructed this outline from the most consistent information.

The Guardians: Invoking the Spirits of the Grove.

Each Grove homes a number of natural Spirits such as those of the trees and the rocks, as well as those of the soil itself which life is birthed from. These Spirits, known as Dryads and Devas, are the first to be invoked during the ushering of spring. When invoking them, it is important to first clearly state your intent to celebrate the Spring Equinox, asking that they permit you to do so and protect you as you do. After this initial invocation a call for peace is to be made by each person present in your party, representing each quarter, North, South, East, or West, and calling for peace in the land. Only then may your group take their places surrounding the Nemeton.

Circle Casting and Consecration.

After your group has formed a circle, you must once more invoke the Spirits of the Grove and ask that they join you, hailing the roots and leaves that encompass you as well as the Gods of the wind. A moment of silence is given for the Spirits to take their place before a gift of energy is given to the Grove, allowing the energies of the rituals participants to mingle with that of the forest itself during the ceremony. (Side note: in some instances the giving of energy does seem to refer to the consecration.)

The Consecration is performed with the use of a bowl and natural incense or a candle. Water is poured into your vessel by the ritual leader and the Goddesses and Gods of the waters are hailed, giving thanks for the Waters of the Well. The incense/candle is lit and declared a symbol of Magic and Inspiration, to welcome the Old Gods into the Grove. Once the ritual leader rejoins the circle the Consecration is complete.

Calling the Quarters: Earths Spirits and the Ancestors.

This part of the ritual serves to invoke several Spirits and natural energies, the first of which are referred to as as the Quarters. These consist of:

The Spirit of the North, the Earth Mother, the Great Bear.

The Spirit of the East, the Sky Father, the Great Eagle.

The Spirit of the South, the Fire brother, the Great Dragon.

And the Spirit of the West, the Rain sister, the Great Whale.

These for Spirits are the first to be invoked, followed by the Spirits of the Three Worlds, Land, Sea, and Sky. Finally the Spirits of the Ancestors are invoked, and the declaration which begins the ritual may commence.

The Declaration: Beginning the Ritual.

The main ritual begins with a Declaration, this clearly states intent to the energies present and hails the Spirit of Nature, as well as the duality of life and death. The Declaration is spoken by the ritual leader, and directly following this each participant is to contribute a dual aspect of nature, for example if the declaration ends with "of Life and Death." The participants contributions may follow along the lines of "of Earth and Sky." or "of Summer and Winter." These dual aspects following the declaration are meant to invoke the many different facets of nature, allowing for a harmonious ritual.

The Ritual Act: Our gifts to The Lady of Spring.

The ritual commences as one participant is chosen by the ritual leader to represent the Lady of Spring in receiving the gifts given. Each participant is to present the Lady of Spring with a gift, and may also present an item they wish to have blessed afterwards. Common gifts include flowers, fruits and berries, as well as small handmade biodegradable items. Common items to be blessed by the Lady of Spring may include garden tools, seeds, or a handful of soil from ones garden.

After each participant has presented their gift and returned to their place in the circle the person chosen to represent the Lady of Spring leads the group in the Ushering of Spring.

"The Spirits of Winter’s Darkness are now behind us. The dark fertile earth of our sacred land is honoured, the start of a new cycle. We now honour the Spirits of Summer’s Light, shining ahead of us. Blessings of Spring!" -The Druid Network, Spring Equinox Ceremony.

After this the Awen chant is recited.

"I shall sing of the awen, which, I shall obtain from the abyss. Through the awen, though it were mute, I know of its great impulses. I know when it minishes; I know when it wells up; I know when it flows; I know when it overflows." -The Druids Garden, Cultivating the Flow of Awen in our Lives.

And with this the Feast may begin.

The Feast: Closing the Ritual.

The feast begins with a blessing led by the participant representative of the Lady of Spring, hailing the Goddesses and Gods of the land once more. Beverages such as ale, mead, and wine are blessed in the name of the Earth Mother, grains (breads) are blessed in the name of the Sky Father, and a measure of each is laid upon the ground as thanks; after this the feasting may commence.

Once the feast is over, and before the ritual is closed, things such as poetry, artwork, and music are shared amongst the group, including handmade instruments and garments, as a testament of inspiration. Respect is once again paid to the Spirits, deities, and energies you have invoked during your ritual, and the energy which each participant lent to the circle is called back. A final blessing is made by the ritual leader for the Spirits of the Grove, and the ritual is declared closed.

With this the ushering of Spring is complete, and the Lady of Spring may begin her work in returning nature to the frozen land.

[vintagegeekculture]

The Evil Little Hairy Cave People of Europe in Pulp Fiction

From the 1900s to the 1940s, there was a trendy theme in occult and horror stories that the explanation for widespread European legends of fairies, brownies, pixies, leprechauns and other malicious little people, was that they were a hereditary racial memory of the extremely small non-human, hairy stone age original inhabitants of Europe, who still survive well into modern times in caves and barrows below the earth. Envious of being displaced on the surface, these weird creatures, adapted to the darkness of living underground and unable to withstand the sun, still mean mischief and occasionally go out at night to capture someone.... usually an attractive woman....to take to their dark caves for human sacrifice.

Displaced by the arrival of Indo-European language speakers at the dawn of the Bronze Age, these original, not quite human stone age people of Europe were driven deep underground into caves and barrows below the earth, where they went mad, adapted to the darkness and acquired a fear of daylight, became extremely inbred, in some cases acquired widespread albinism. It is these strange little people who gave the descendants of Europeans a haunting racial dread of places below the earth like mines and caves, and it also is these strange, hairy troglodytes who originally built the uncanny and mysterious menhir, fairy rings, and stone age structures of England, Scotland, and Ireland that predate the coming of the Celts and Romans.

In some cases, these evil troglodytes are usually identified with the mysterious Picts, the pre-Celtic stone age inhabitants of the British Isles. In some cases, they are identified with the Basque people of Spain, best known as the inventors of Jai Alai, and the oldest people in Europe who speak a unique language unrelated to any in the world.

The original codifier of this trend was Arthur Machen, a horror writer who is less remembered than his contemporary, Henry James, but who may be the best horror writer in the generations between Poe on the one end and Lovecraft/CL Moore/Clark Ashton Smith on the other. His story, "the White People" from 1904 (a reference to their strange cave albinism) was a twisted Alice in Wonderland with a girl who is irresistibly attracted to dark pre-Roman stone age ruins and who is eventually pulled underground.

In addition to being a great horror writer, Arthur Machen was a member of the Hermetic Society of the Golden Dawn, an occult organization, and was often seen at the Isis-Urania Temple in London. Many of his works have secretive occult knowledge.

H.P. Lovecraft in particular always pointed out Arthur Machen as his single biggest inspiration, though he combined Machen's dread and occultism with Abraham Merritt's sense of fear of the cosmic unknown, seen in "Dwellers in the Mirage" and "People of the Pit."

Another and scarier example of this trend would be "No Man's Land," a story by John Buchan, a Scotsman fascinated by paganism and horror, who often wrote stories of horrific discoveries and evil rites on the Scottish moors. He is often reduced to being described as a "Scottish Ghost Story" writer, a painfully reductivist description as in his career, Buchan wrote a lot of thrillers, detective, and adventure stories as well. In later life, he was appointed Governor General of Canada, meaning he may be the first head of state to be a horror writer.

It was Buchan who first identified the cave creatures with the Picts, something that another Weird Tales writer decades later, Robert E. Howard, would roll with in the 1920s.

Howard is a very identifiable kind of modern person you often see on the internet: a guy who talks tough, but who was terrified to leave his small town. He created manly man, tough guy heroes like Conan the Barbarian, Kull, and El Borak, but he himself never left his mother's house. It's no wonder he got along well with his fellow Weird Tales writer and weird shut in, HP Lovecraft. With 1920s Weird Tales writers, despite your admiration for their incredible talent, you also can't help but laugh at them a little, a feeling you also apply to a lot of Victorians, who achieved incredible things, but who are often closet cases and cranks who died virgins ("Chinese" Gordon comes to mind, as does Immelmann).

With Howard, his obsession with the Picts and the stone age cave dwelling people of Europe started with an unpublished manuscript where at a dinner party, a man gets knocked out and regresses to his past life in the Bronze Age, where he remembers the earliest contact between modern humans and the original inhabitants of the British Isles, the evil darkskinned Picts. This is a mix of both the "little cave people" story and another cliche at the time, "the stone age past life regression novel," another turn of the century cliche.

Still with the Picts on his mind, Howard would later create Bran Mak Morn, a Pict chieftain, who predated Kull and Conan as his Celtic caveman muscle hero. Howard was of Irish descent and proudly anti-Colonial and anti-British, with his Roman Empire and Civilized Kingdoms as a stand in for the British and other Empires, which he viewed as rapacious and humbug, a view shared by his greatest inspiration, Talbot Mundy. His "Worms of the Earth" gets to the heart of why these little cave people scare us so much: they remind us that we live on land that is impossibly ancient and we don't fully understand at all.

It was another Weird Tales Writer a decade later who wrote one of the last stories about the little hairy cave people of Europe, though, Manly Wade Wellman in 1942. Wellman was mainly known for creating the blond beefcake caveman hero Hok the Mighty set in stone age times, and for his supernatural ghost stories of Silver John the Balladeer set in modern, ghostly Appalachia (like many ex-Weird Tales writers, he made a turn to being a regional author in his later career, in the same way Hugh B. Cave became a Caribbean writer), but Wellman also had a regular character known as John Thunstone, a muscular and wealthy playboy known for his moustache who used his great wealth to investigate the supernatural and the occult. Thunstone had a silver sword made by St. Dunstan, patron of Silversmiths, well known for his confrontations with the Devil.

Most John Thunstone stories featured familiar stories, like a demon possessed seance and so on, but one in particular featured a unique enemy, the Shonokins.

The Shonokins were the original rulers of North America, descendants of Neanderthal man displaced by American Indians. This fear that the land we live is ancient and unknowable and we just arrived on it and don't know any of its secrets is common to settler societies, who often hold the landscape with dread, as in Patricia Wrightson's fantasies of the Australian Outback. It was easy enough to transport the hairy cave people from the Scottish Moors to North America. I suspect that's what they are, a personification of a fear shared in the middle class, that in the back of their minds, that everything they have supposedly earned is merely an accident of history, built by rapacity and the crimes of history, and that someday a bill will come due.

A text page in the May 1942 issue of Weird Tales gives strange additional information on the Shonokins not found elsewhere:

Since then, there have been too many examples of evil cave people who predate Europeans. Philip Jose Farmer's "The All White Elf" features the last survivor of a pre-European people who live in caves. A lot of other fiction of course has featured the Picts, but according to our modern scientific understanding, which describes them as much, much less exotically, as a blue tattooed people not too different and practically indistinguishable from the Celtic tribes that surrounded them, and which they eventually blended into.

[littleblackqrow]

Despite the fact that Qrow had been free of the Branwens for twenty years and despite the fact that he had no intention of ever returning there, Qrow couldn't help the pang in his chest from hearing that. Those bandits had been family at one point. A family of killers and thieves, but still. They had left their mark on Qrow, literally as well as figuratively.

"All those years you tried to get me to give up fighting the War, and you can't stand those morons anymore than I can."

"Hardly. He was born into the tribe, unlike us. He's inbred, grew up malnourished, and never had anything resembling an education. He's the very literal bottom percentile. That's the reality of the tribe now, Qrow."

"Are you starting to see the bigger picture yet?"

[the-mortuary-witch]

WAYS TO CELEBRATE THE SABBATS

IMBOLC (CANDLEMAS)

Clean your home and space to welcome the coming of spring.

Bake a traditional Imbolc loaf of bread or other seasonal foods.

Use the colours white and yellow in your decorations and outfits.

Light a bonfire or light candles to represent the returning light.

Plant seeds or bulbs to symbolize the rebirth of nature.

Perform a ritual to honour the coming of spring and ask for protection and blessings.

Make a Brigid's cross or other handcrafted decorations with herbs and other natural materials.

Perform a blessing of your home and surroundings with holy water or smoke cleansing.

Set up an altar or sacred space to honour the Celtic goddess Brigid, associated with Imbolc.

Make Brigid's bed, a traditional ritual of placing straw under your bed to bring fertility and growth into your life.

Connect with nature and spend time outside to honour the changing season.

OSTARA (SPRING EQUINOX)

Participate in fertility rites and rituals to celebrate the coming of spring and the planting season.

Decorate your altar or sacred space with symbols of Ostara, such as eggs, bunnies, daffodils, and pastel colours.

Perform a spring cleaning of your home and life, releasing old habits and welcoming new beginnings.

Light a fire or light candles to honour the return of lighter, longer days.

Bake a traditional honey cake or other seasonal sweets to celebrate the sweetness of spring. 

Plant seeds or herbs for new growth and prosperity.

Go for a nature walk or hike to connect with the natural world.

Participate in an egg hunt or egg rolling, traditional Ostara games 

Perform a protection spell or ritual to honour the increasing light and longer days.

Practice self-care rituals to nourish and rejuvenate your mind and body.

BELTANE (MAY EVE)

Celebrate the fertility of the earth with bonfires and rituals honouring the fire god, Belenos.

Make a maypole and decorate it with colourful ribbons.

Participate in a maypole dance, a traditional celebration of fertility and joy.

Make a wish list and tie it to a tree on Beltane eve.

Collect flowers, especially May blossom or hawthorne flowers, and make a garland or crown to wear.

Create a flower crown or wear one made of wildflowers to honour the faery folk and fertility spirits.

Perform a ritual to bless your home and land for prosperity and protection.

Jump over the Beltane bonfires, symbolizing jumping over obstacles and embracing new beginnings.

Have a picnic or gathering with friends and family to celebrate the abundance and growth of the season.

Create a sacred space or altar for Beltane, decorat with flowers, herbs, and other nature-related objects.

Perform a cleansing ritual to rid yourself of negative energy and welcome the energy of new beginnings.

Make a bouquet of wildflowers or herbs, and hang it on your front door to welcome the spirits of Beltane.

Go for a walk in the woods or a natural setting and connect with the beauty and energy of the season.

LITHA (SUMMER SOLSTICE/MIDSUMMER)

Participate in a bonfires or lighting a sacred fire, celebrating the arrival of the longest day of the year.

Collect herbs and flowers, especially ones associated with the sun, such as calendula, yarrow, and St. John's wort, and make a solstice garland.

Perform a ritual to honour the sun and ask for protection and blessings.

Dance around the bonfire or engage in other traditions associated with the Summer Solstice, such as singing and drumming.

Have a solstice feast, filled with summer bounty, seasonal foods, and family.

Celebrate in the natural world, go for a walk, or have a picnic during the longest day.

Honour the Celtic goddess Litha, associated with the Summer Solstice. 

Start summer resolutions. 

Get your hands dirty and embrace the earth. Consider planting a vegetable garden for fall harvest or add to your flower garden to mark the occasion. 

LAMMAS (LUGHNASADH)

Baking bread. 

Crafting corn dolls. 

Pick wild flowers. 

Honour the earth and the cycles of nature. 

Perform Sun magick. 

Give thanks to the spirits and/or deities for the beginning of the harvest season. 

Collect and honour the first fruits of the harvest, such as grains, corn, and apples.

Perform a ritual to honour Lugh and thank the gods and goddesses for the harvest.

Hold a harvest festival or feast, sharing the bounty of the land with family and friends.

Make a Lughnasadh altar or shrine with symbols of the harvest, such as corn, grains, and apples.

Participate in a traditional Lughnasadh celebration, such as a harvest dance or ritual.

Collect herbs and plants for healing and protection, as Lughnasadh is traditionally a time for preparing for the winter months.

MABON (AUTUMN EQUINOX/FALL HARVEST)

Celebrate the balance between light and dark, and the onset of the harvest season.

Honour the Celtic god Mabon, associated with the Autumn Equinox.

Participate in a harvest celebration, collecting and honouring the fruits of the land.

Make a corn dolly or a straw figure as a reminder of the abundance of the harvest.

Perform a ritual to honour the balance of the seasons and thank the gods and goddesses for their blessings.

Spend time writing in your journal. You could reminisce about your summer experiences, reflect on the shifts you feel with the changing season, contemplate what you're ready to release, or express gratitude for the blessings in your life.

Participate in a nature walk or ceremony, taking time to connect with the natural world and the turning of the seasons.

Enjoy your favourite fall beverages. 

Make a gratitude list or write a gratitude letter, expressing your appreciation for the abundance and beauty of the harvest season.

Connect with nature. 

Bring the beauty of fall indoors by decorating your home with seasonal touches. 

Performing a gratitude or release ritual. 

SAMHAIN (ALL HALLOWS/FINAL HARVEST)

Carving pumpkins with friends. 

Relax and watch some horror movies. 

Treat yourself to sweets. 

Participate in a haunted house, hayride, or corn maze event.

Declutter/organize your home. 

Focus on letting go to make space for the new year. 

Collecting leaves. 

Bake treats that contain pumpkin. 

Creating a spooky, atmospheric decor for your home or workspace, such as cobwebs, faux spiders, and other creepy décor items.

Gathering friends and loved ones for a Samhain feast, feasting on symbolic foods like apples, pumpkin, or corn.

Visit a local pumpkin patch. 

Making personalized altar items and decorative pieces for your sacred space, such as witch jars, mandalas, sigils, symbols of the harvest, items associated with death, etc. 

Participating in a divination practice like tarot reading, scrying, or rune casting to gain insight and connect with the energy of the night.

Go to a harvest festival or carnival.

Hold a Samhain seance or mediumship session to contact the spirits of loved ones who have passed on.

Participate in a potluck dinner with witches and pagans, dressing in traditional Samhain garb.

RESPECTFULLY visit a graveyard. 

YULE (WINTER SOLSTICE/MIDWINTER)

Burn a Yule log. 

Make an evergreen Yule wreath.

Decorate a Yule tree. 

Make a Yule wish list or a Yule resolution, as Yule is a time of reflection and intention setting.

Practice Yule carol singing, participating in a community sing-along or carolling event.

Celebrate in candle light. 

Give back to nature. 

Exchange nature-based gifts. 

Host a feast for those you love with foods associated with Yule, such as: roast goose, Yule ham, nuts, berries, spices, squash, and potatoes. 

Eat or make/bake Yule ham, gingerbread, mulled wine, roast goose, spiced cakes, shortbread, snowball, caraway, ginger snaps, honey cakes or pastries, and biscuits. 

Eat or give sweets flavoured with nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, or peppermint. 

Participate in the longest night of the year and prepare for the return of the light.

Honour deities associated with Yule, such as Odin, Baldur, Hel, Loki, Sol, Freyr, Njörðr with lights, candles, and bonfires.

Participate in a Yule spell or ritual, asking for blessings and protection for the coming year.

Decorate your home with evergreen boughs and wreaths, representing the evergreen nature of the sun and eternal life.

Host a Yule log ceremony. 

Participate in an outdoor activity, like sledding or ice skating, to honour the winter season.

[thevirginwitch]

DON'T CALL ME MABON

WHY MABON IS AN INAPPROPRIATE NAME FOR THE AUTUMN EQUINOX

by Anna Franklin

The name ‘Mabon’ as a term for the neopagan festival of the autumn equinox (along with the Saxon term ‘Litha’ for the summer solstice) was introduced in 1973 by the American witch and writer Aiden Kelly (b. 1940). His blog for 21st September 2012 explains:

“Back in 1973, I was putting together a “Pagan-Craft” calendar—the first of its kind, as far as I know—listing the holidays, astrological aspects, and other stuff of interest to Pagans. It offended my aesthetic sensibilities that there seemed to be no Pagan names for the summer solstice or the fall equinox equivalent to Ostara or Beltane—so I decided to supply them… I began wondering if there had been a myth similar to that of Kore in a Celtic culture. There was nothing very similar in the Gaelic literature, but there was in the Welsh, in the Mabinogion collection, the story of Mabon ap Modron (which translates as “Son of the Mother,” just as Kore simply meant “girl”), whom Gwydion rescues from the underworld, much as Theseus rescued Helen. That’s why I picked “Mabon” as a name for the holiday…” bd

Curiously, his own tradition, the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn, did not follow him in this and instead called the autumn equinox ‘Rites of Eleusis’.  However, the term took off and was used in many American books, and by extension, the readers of those books in the UK and elsewhere.

The association of the god Mabon with the festival is certainly not an ancient or traditional despite the claims in various books and websites where you might read ‘the Celts celebrated the god Mabon on this date’.

In order to see why the name of Mabon for the autumn equinox is an inappropriate one we need to examine the tales of Mabon.

The Celtic God Maponius

There is certainly a Celtic god whose title was Latinized as Maponus, which is not an actual name but means something like ‘divine son’. He is known from a number of inscriptions in northern Britain and Gaul in which he is addressed as ‘Apollo Maponus’ identifying him with the Graeco-Roman sun-god Apollo. Like Apollo, all the evidence suggests that he was a god of the sun, music and hunting – significantly, he was not a god of the harvest or of the corn.

It is not known whether he was widely worshipped before the coming of the Romans, but with them his cult spread along Hadrian’s Wall amongst the Roman soldiers stationed there. Several stone heads found at the Wall are identified as representing Maponus.

He was also known in Gaul where he was invoked with a Latin inscription at Bourbonne-les-Bains, and on a lead cursing tablet  discovered at Chamalières, Puy-de-Dôme where he is invoked along with Lugus (Lugh) to quicken underworld spirits to right a wrong. 

It is possible that there are some place names associated with him, such as Ruabon in Denbighshire, which may or may not be a corruption of Rhiw Fabon, meaning ‘Hillside of Mabon’. be During the seventh century an unknown monk at the Monastery at Ravenna in Italy compiled what came to be called The Ravenna Cosmography, which was a list of all the towns and road-stations throughout the Roman Empire. It lists a Locus Maponi (‘place of Maponus’) which has been tentatively identified with the Lochmaben stone site.

It is possible that Mabon’s Irish equivalent is the god Aengus, also known as the Mac Óg (‘young son’).

 Literary Sources

A character called Mabon is found as a minor character in the Mabinogion, a collection of eleven – sometimes twelve – Welsh prose tales from the Middle Ages. He is called Mabon ap Modron, meaning ‘son of the mother’, which has led to speculation that his mother Modron (‘mother’) may be cognate with the Gaulish mother goddess Matrona. There are no inscriptions dedicated to her from ancient times, so this cannot be verified. Whether or not the Mabinogion tale of the hero Mabon stems from a thousand year old story of the god Maponus is uncertain, but since the stories contain the names of other known Celtic gods (transliterated into heroes) it is certainly possible.

The Mabinogion is a collection of medieval Welsh stories which would have been recorded by Christian monks. They don’t seem to have been very widely known until they were translated into English in 1849 by Lady Charlotte Guest, who invented the title Mabinogion since each of the four branches ends with the words “so ends this Branch of the Mabinogi”. In Welsh, mab means ‘son’ or ‘boy’ or ‘youth’, so she concluded that mabinogi meant ‘a story for children’ and (erroneously) that mabinogion was its plural.  Another possibility is that it comes from the proposed Welsh mabinog meaning something like ‘bardic student’.   

The stories now included in the Mabinogion are found in two manuscripts, the older White Book of Rhydderch (c.1300–1325) and the later Red Book of Hergest (c.1375–1425) and Lady Charlotte Guest used only the latter as her source, though later translations have drawn on both books.

The first four tales, called The Four Branches of the Mabinogi, are divided into Pwyll, Branwen, Manawydan and Math and each of these includes the character Pryderi. The Mabinogion scholar W.G.Gruffydd suggested that the four branches of the collection represent the birth, exploits, imprisonment and death of Pryderi.

Mabon is mentioned in the Mabinogion story of The Dream of Rhonabwy in which he is described as one of the King’s chief advisors and fights alongside him at the Battle of Badon. His biggest role comes in the story of Culhwch and Olwen (originally from White Book of Rhydderch). In it is the only known reference to Olwen, and Mabon is still a very minor character in the story. One task of the heroes is to search for Mabon ap Modron, who was imprisoned in a watery Gloucester dungeon. Arthur’s cousin Mabon had been taken from his mother Modron when he was only three nights old, and no one knew whether he was alive or dead. After asking the oldest animals,  they were finally directed to the oldest creature of all: the great Salmon of Llyn Llyw. The salmon recalled hearing of Mabon, and told them that as he swam daily by the wall of Caer Loyw, he heard a constant lamentation. The salmon took Cei and Gwrhyr upon his back to the castle, and they heard Mabon’s cries bewailing his fate. Mabon could not be ransomed, so seeing that force was the only answer, the knights fetched Arthur and his war band to attack the castle. Riding on the salmon’s back, Cai broke through the wall and collected Mabon, both fleeing on the back of the salmon.

Let us suppose for a moment that the god Maponus and the literary hero Mabon are one and the same. We must remember that all the evidence points to Maponus being the young sun god, his youth meaning that he would represent the morning sun or the sun newly reborn after the winter solstice. His theft from his mother after three days would make sense in this light – the three days being the three days the sun stands still at the winter solstice. The imprisonment of the young god underground equates to the sun in the underworld before he is ‘released’ to begin his reign as the new sun. In Culhwch and Olwen, Mabon is said to be imprisoned inside a tower in Gloucester, from which he is freed by Cei and Bedwyr. The ‘missing sun’ or ‘imprisoned sun’ is a premise found in the solar myths of many cultures to explain the night or the shorter days of winter, especially those around the three days of the winter solstice. Such tales often include themes of captivity or the theft of the sun (i.e. the god or object that represents it) and its rescue by a band of heroes, such as Jason and the Argonauts rescuing the Golden Fleece (the sun) from the dragon or the Lithuanian sun goddess Saule, was held in a tower by powerful king, rescued by the zodiac using a giant sledgehammer, or the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu hiding in a cave.

An earlier source that mentions Mabon is the tenth century poem Pa Gur, in which Arthur recounts the great deeds of his knights in order to gain entrance to a fortress guarded by Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr. In this, Arthur describes Mabon fab Madron as one of his men and says that Mabon is a servant of Uther Pendragon. A second Mabon is mentioned, Mabon fab Mellt (‘Mabon Son of Lightning’) and this is interesting, since the sky/storm god is often the father of the sun god in myth, as Zeus is the father of Apollo.

Mabon defeats the monstrous boar, and in myth the boar is often a symbol of winter and the underworld, just as the sun after the winter solstice defeats winter. Mabon then is the divine sun-child born at the winter solstice and this is his festival – he is not the aged god of the harvest or the seed in the ground as Kore is in Greek myth. As Sorita d’Este says:

“Honour Mabon as a Wizard, a Merlin type figure, as the oldest of men and beasts, honour him as the Son of the Mother, and a hero – don’t take that away from him by ignorantly using his name as if it is a different word for Autumn Equinox.  If you really believe that the Old Gods of these lands still live, that they should be honoured and respected, then do that.  Don’t join the generations who tried to belittle the Gods in an effort to diminish their power.”[1]

© Anna Franklin, The Autumn Equinox, History, Lore and Celebration, Lear Books, 2012

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Reference: 5 Symbols

for your next poem/story (pt. 3)

CAULDRON

In understanding symbols, sometimes it is useful to simply look at the shape and see what it resembles.

The traditional cauldron represents nothing so much as the belly of a pregnant woman and, unsurprisingly, it is an important female symbol all over the world.

The circular shape of the cauldron gives another clue; the circle is a symbol of never-ending life and regeneration, and these themes recur repeatedly in stories containing cauldron symbolism.

The way the cauldron is used also gives a hint about its symbolic meaning.

Things are put into the cauldron, heated, and something different is taken out; the basic ingredients are transformed.

Therefore, the cauldron also symbolizes germination and transformation.

Traditionally, cauldrons have three legs:

The number 3 in this instance represents the triple aspect of the Great Goddess, or the three fates.

Shakespeare alludes to this when the three Weird Sisters—arguably the most famous witches in literature—cook up trouble at the beginning of Macbeth.

In pre-Christian literature, countless legends feature magical cauldrons, and it may be because of this that the cauldron has its witchy associations.

Celtic tales tell of cauldrons that contain an unending supply of food or of knowledge.

The dead are frequently thrown into a magical Cauldron of Rebirth and climb out the next day, alive once more.

Mythical warriors and heroes who died in battle are restored to life in this way.

Ceridwen (one of the most powerful witches in all of Celtic mythology and is typically depicted as simultaneously a mother and a wise woman) had a cauldron full of inspiration and magical powers.

In India, a magic life-giving food, called Soma, was brewed in three huge bottomless cauldrons.

In Greece, there are tales in which an ordeal of initiation involves the person boiling in a cauldron, but after the rite, the initiate emerges with magical powers, including the gift of immortality.

CHNOUBIS

The Chnoubis is a hybrid creature, with the head of a lion and the tail of a serpent.

It was carved onto stones for use as an amulet, providing protection against poisons in particular.

Amulets featuring the Chnoubis date back to the first century and it is supposed that this odd-looking creature may be related to Abraxas, whose image was used in a similar way.

CLADDAGH

The Claddagh is a popular symbol, often incorporated into the design of rings.

Traditionally used as a wedding ring, it is so-called because it was originally made in a Galway fishing village of the same name in 17th century Ireland.

However, the elements of the design are much older, stretching back into pre-Christian Celtic history.

The Romans had a popular ring design, the Fede, which featured clasped hands.

“Fede” means “fidelity.”

The Claddagh symbol features a heart held by a pair of hands.

A crown usually surmounts the heart.

These features represent love, friendship, and loyalty.

CORNUCOPIA

Also called the Horn of Plenty, the cornucopia is often depicted in paintings and on friezes where it symbolizes the notion of boundless abundance, as flowers, fruits, sheaves of wheat, and other produce spill out of a hollow horn or a twisting basket woven in the shape of the horn.

The origin of the cornucopia is found in the Greek myth of Amalthea.

Amalthea fed the infant Zeus a drink of goat’s milk and was given the brimming goat’s horn as a reward.

Sometimes the infant Zeus is depicted being fed the milk from the horn itself.

The Cornucopia, as a symbol of a bounteous harvest, is also associated with Ceres, the Goddess of corn, and also with Fortuna, Goddess of good fortune.

CROSSROADS

In fairy stories and myths, it is often at the crossroads where mischief awaits, usually in the form of other-worldly spirits.

Effectively, the crossroads symbolizes the intersection of two paths, making four potential routes, and a place where a decision must be made, not only practically, but metaphorically too.

The X of the crossroads marks a spot where two worlds meet.

The origins of this story go back to African folklore, where a deity called Esu was the guardian of the crossroads.

When Christianity took over, these old Gods were, quite literally, demonized, and Esu was transformed into the Devil.

Hecate, too, personified as the Queen of the Witches, was called the Goddess of the Crossroads.

In Celtic mythology, corpses belonging to those considered “unholy” were buried at crossroads in order to prevent them coming back to life and because the crossroads was a Gate to the Otherworld. Gibbets were placed at crossroads for the same reason.

Source ⚜ More: On Symbols ⚜ Writing Notes & References

[raffaellopalandri]

Celebrating Spring's Arrival: Traditions of the Spring Equinox

Today, in the Northern Hemisphere, we celebrate the spring equinox, a time when day and night are roughly equal, marking a turning point in the Earth’s cycle. It’s no surprise that many cultures have developed rich traditions around this astronomical phenomenon. Today, we delve into the Pagan and Celtic celebrations associated with the spring equinox, exploring the vibrant tapestry of the Wheel…

[breelandwalker]

Flower Moon - May 22-23, 2024

Ready your gathering baskets and your best shoes for traipsing, witches - it’s time to greet the Flower Moon!

Flower Moon

The Flower Moon gives us the fulfillment of the first flush of the Pink Moon, with fragrant blossoms greeting us at every turn and heralding the merry month of May. The floral name for this particular cycle is shared by a number of indigenous nations, include the Algonquin, Anishnaabe, and Dakota. Other names include Budding Moon and Frog Moon (Cree), Planting Moon (Dakota and Lakota), and the Moon of Mulberry (Choctaw).

European names for this moon include Milk Moon (Anglo-Saxon) and Hare Moon (Celtic, allegedly). Some modern pagan circles also call it the Grass Moon as well, since the flourishing of grasslands is more common in some areas than the appearance of flowers.

This full moon peaks during daylight hours in the Western Hemisphere (around 9:53am EDT), so the moon may appear to be full on both the nights of the 22nd and 23rd.

What Does It Mean For Witches?

As we pass the spring rites and move toward the summer season, it’s the perfect time to celebrate your growth and the ways in which you want to flourish. This is the season for romance and love, and not just that which comes when we put on flower crowns and go a-Maying. This is a time to love ourselves as much as each other, to celebrate our bonds, and to be reminded of our own beauty and strength. Remember the things you love about yourself and consciously take a moment to remind your loved ones how much you care for them.

It is also a time to celebrate fertility, be it animal, vegetable, mineral, or spiritual. Put new plans into action, start that project you’ve been meaning to do, embark on that new hobby or activity you wanted to try. If you have a long-term goal or a big project, now is the time to outline your path to completion and plan how to direct your energy so you don’t burn out halfway through. Don’t hold back - break through the walls of imposter syndrome and anxiety, indulge in your creative urges, and let your inspiration soar. What you choose to plant and nurture now determines what you will harvest later in the year. And above all, remember to have FUN!

What Witchy Things Can We Do?

If you’ve been feeling the urge to do some flower-related magic, now is the perfect time! Familiarize yourself with the wildflowers in your area and if possible, maybe grab your basket and scissors and go on a foraging trip. Remember to properly identify flowers before picking them, don’t overharvest, and don’t take anything from private property without permission or from national parks full stop. You can press the flowers with a notebook and something flat and heavy, or you can dry them in hanging bunches, in a cardboard tray, or in a low-temp oven for later use.

This is also a good opportunity to get your hands in the dirt and connect with the land where you live. If there are plants in your care, take a little time to do some pruning and watering. Check them for spring pests and treat where needed. Give them some love - talk to them, sing to them, encourage them to grow tall and strong and abundant. Bless them as you tend their plots and reaffirm your commitment to be a good caretaker.

As an exercise, try making flower crowns, garlands, bouquets, wreaths, or centerpieces using plant correspondences, flower language, or color magic for a desired effect. This can be done with real flowers or silk ones, depending on how long you want to keep them around. Try your hand at making flower water with roses or other blooms - it makes a wonderful base for moon water!

Experiment with recipes for dishes and drinks that use edible flowers too! Whether it’s color-changing butterfly peaflower tea, sweet and peppery nasturtium, adorable pressed pansy shortbread cookies, or the tried-and-true comforts of chamomile, flowers have many tasty secrets to offer. Don’t be afraid to add botanicals to your health and beauty routine as well! (Just make sure nothing’s going to negatively interact with your meds or irritate a pre-existing condition. Safety first!)

Whether you do so with your near-and-dear, your witchy circle, or by yourself, celebrate everything that blooms - including you!

Happy Flower Moon, witches! 🌕🌼

Further Reading:

Additional Lunar Calendar posts by Bree NicGarran

Flower Moon: Full Moon in May 2024, The Old Farmer’s Almanac

Moonrise and Moonset Calculator, The Old Farmer’s Almanac

Flower Meanings: Symbolism of Flowers, Herbs, and More Plants, The Old Farmer’s Almanac

Floriography, the Language of Flowers, AllFlorists.co.uk

Flower Power: Flower Moon Spiritual Meaning and Stunning Magic, The Peculiar Brunette

How to Dry Flowers 5 Ways, MasterClass, June 7, 2021

DIY Floral Water or Hydrosol, Patti Estep, Hearth and Vine, July 4, 2021

17 Edible Flower Recipes, Better Homes and Gardens, March 8, 2022

Everyday Moon Magic: Spells & Rituals for Abundant Living, Dorothy Morrison

(If you’re enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the��tip jar or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊)

[traegorn]

The BS-Free Witchcraft Podcast: 71. I Hate This Book.

When the publicist for Weiser Books reached out to the show asking if I wanted a review copy of Annwyn Avalon’s new book “Celtic Goddess Grimoire,” I don’t really think they knew what they were getting into.

Because I said yes.

And this is my review.

And this is not a good book.

Reminder! The annual Q&A episode is coming up soon, and I need your questions! Submit your questions by July 11th by going to the contact form!

Check out my Novels:

Purchase ‘The Witch and the Rose’ in eBook or Paperback (Amazon)

Pre-Order ‘Bloody Damn Rite’ in eBook (Amazon)

(And, of course, don’t forget this show is part of the Nerd & Tie Podcast Network, and funded by listeners like you via Patreon. Consider joining our Discord or our forums!)

Music: “So I Said It,” “The Man With One Eye,” “Untitled Nonsense” (Trae Dorn) / Random Loops (Apple Music Library)

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