#celtic reconstructionism

[blackcrowing]

Important Facts about Samhain from an Irish Celtic Reconstructionist

Pronunciation

SOW-in or SOW-een ~NOT~ Sam-han, Sam-win etc.

Dates

Most reconstructionists celebrate Samhain on Oct 31-Nov 1, however some may choose to celebrate on Gregorian Nov 13-14 as this would match the Julian dates of Oct 31-Nov 1. Some also believe that it was a three day festival spanning Oct 31- Nov 2 on which Nov 2 is specifically devoted to ancestral veneration, but there is no specific evidence of this, only possible extrapolation from more modern practices.

Following the Celtic method of days beginning at sunset, regardless of the specific dates you choose to celebrate on your festivities should begin at sunset and end at sunset.

Importance in the Mythos

Ná Morrighan has a strong connection to this time of year thanks to the story of Cath Dédenach Maige Tuired (The Last Battle of Mag Tuired) in which she is found depicted as the ‘Washing Woman’ (sometimes washing herself in the river and other times washing the bloodied armor of the soldiers that would die that day), on the eve of the battle which is also Samhain. The Dagda approaches her and couples with her (creating the ‘Bed of the Couples’ along the bank of river and granting Dagda her blessing in the battle to come). This encounter seems to over emphasize the liminality of the encounter by taking place during the changing of the year and with the couple each standing with ‘one foot on either bank’ of the river.

She and her sisters (Badb and Macha) then use various forms of magic to rain destruction on their enemies (in the form of fire and blood). After the day is won Morrighan speaks a prophecy that describes what is taken by some to be the end of days and others to be the events which will later lead to the Ulster Cycle.

Beneath the peaceful heavens lies the land. It rests beneath the bowl of the bright sky. The land lies, itself a dish, a cup of honeyed strength, there, for the taking, offering strength to each There it lies, the splendour of the land. The land is like a mead worth the brewing, worth the drinking. It stores for us the gifts of summer even in winter. It protects and armours us, a spear upon a shield Here we can make for ourselves strong places, the fist holding the shield Here we can build safe places, our spear-bristling enclosures. This is where we will turn the earth. This is where we will stay. And here will our children live to the third of three generations Here there will be a forest point of field fences The horn counting of many cows And the encircling of many fields There will be sheltering trees So fodderful of beech mast that the trees themselves will be weary with the weight. In this land will come abundance bringing: Wealth for our children Every boy a warrior, Every watch dog, warrior-fierce The wood of every tree, spear-worthy The fire from every stone a molten spear-stream Every stone a firm foundation Every field full of cows Every cow calf-fertile Our land shall be rich with banks in birdsong Grey deer before Spring And fruitful Autumns The plain shall be thronged from the hills to the shore. Full and fertile. And as time runs its sharp and shadowy journey, this shall be true. This shall be the story of the land and its people We shall have peace beneath the heavens. Forever

(based on the translation by Isolde Carmody)

It is also mentioned in Echtra Cormaic that on this festival every seven years the high king would host a feast, it was at this time new laws could be enacted. (but it seems that individual Tuathas or possibly kings of the individual providence may have done this for their territories at Lughnasadh).

It seems to be a time considered especially susceptible to (or of) great change as it is the time which the Tuatha de Danann win victory over the Formorians and take control of Ireland, the invasion of Ulster takes place at this time in Táin bo Cúailnge, in Aislinge Óengusa Óengus and his bride-to-be are changed from bird to human and eventually he claims kingship of Brú na Bóinne at this time of year.

Celebration Traditions

Samhain is the beginning of the “dark half” of the year and is widely regarded as the Insular Celtic equivalent of the New Year. The “dark half” of the year was a time for story telling, in fact in this half of the year after dark is considered the only acceptable time to tell stories from the mythological and Ulster cycle (the Fenian cycle being assumed to be no older than the 12th century based on linguistic dating). Traditionally anything that had not been harvested or gathered by the time of this festival was to be left, as it now belonged to the Fae (in some areas specifically the Púca).

This was also an important time for warding off ill luck in the coming year. Large bonfires would be built and as the cattle were driven back into the community from the pastures they would be walked between these bonfires as a method of purification (the reverse custom of Bealtaine where the livestock were walked between the fires on their way out to the summer pastures). Assumed ritualistic slaughter of some of the herd would follow (though this perhaps had the more practical purpose of thinning the herd before the winter and creating enough food for the feasting). In some areas the ashes from these fires would be worn, thrown or spread as a further way to ward off evil.

Homes would be ritualistically protected from the Aos Sí (Fae or ‘Spirits’) through methods such as offerings of food (generally leaving some of the feasting outside for them), carving turnips with scary faces to warn them off (we now tend to do this with gourds), and smoke cleansing the home (in Scottish saining) traditionally with juniper, but perhaps rowan or birch might be an acceptable alternative. It is likely these would be part of the components used in Samhain bonfires as well, for the same reason.

Lastly based on later traditions as well as links in the mythology this is a time where divination practices or those with the ‘second sight’ were regarded to be especially potent.

Art Credit @morpheus-ravenna

My Kofi

[wolverinesorcery]

UNBLENDING CELTIC POLYTHEISTIC PRACTICES

Celtic Umbrella

This lesson is largely focusing on the insular Celtic nations & Brittany (Ireland/Eire, Scotland/Alba, Wales/Cymru, Cornwall/Kernow, Isle of Man/Mannin, & Brittany/Breizh) - traditionally regarded as 6 out of the 7 Celtic nations. Galicia/Galizia is the 7th, but because of a mix of the below + my own lack of knowledge, I won't be covering them.

The vast swath of Continental Celtic cultures are a different but equally complex topic thanks to extinction, revival, varying archaeological artefacts and the work of modern practioners to piece unknown parts back together.

This will serve as a quick 'n' dirty guide to the insular Celtic nations, Celtic as a label, blood percentages and ancestry, the whats and whys of "Celtic soup", and how to unblend practice.

The insular Celtic groups are split into two language groups: Brythonic languages and Gaelic languages.

Brythonic languages are Cymraeg/Welsh, Kernewek/Cornish, & Breton

Gaelic languages are Gàidhlig/Scottish, Gaeilge/Irish, & Gaelg/Manx.

The language split leads to certain folkloric and religious figures & elements being more common within the language group than without. All of these nations had historic cultural exchange and trade routes via the Celtic sea (and beyond). Despite this, it is still important to respect each as a home to distinct mythologies.

Pros/Cons of a broad Celtic umbrella

Pros

- Used within celtic nations to build solidarity - Relates to a set of cultures that have historic cultural exchange & broad shared experiences - A historic group category - Celtic nations’ culture is often protected under broad legislation that explicitly highlights its ‘Celtic-ness’.

Cons

- Can be used reductively (in academia & layman uses) - Often gives in to the dual threat of romanticisation/fetishisation & erasure - Conflates a lot of disparate practices under one banner - Can lead to centring ‘celtic american’ experiences. - Celtic as a broad ancestral category (along with associated symbols) has also been co-opted by white supremacist organisations.

In this I’m using ‘Celtic’ as a broad umbrella for the multiple pantheons! This isn’t ideal for specifics, but it is the fastest way to refer to the various pantheons of deities that’ll be referenced within this Q&A (& something that I use as a self identifier alongside Cornish).

What about blood % or ancestry?

A blood percentage or claimed Celtic ancestry is NOT a requirement to be a follower of any of the Celtic pantheons. The assumption that it does or is needed to disclose can feed easily into white supremacist narratives and rhetoric, along side the insidious implications that a white person in the USA with (perceived or real) Celtic ancestry is 'more celtic' than a person of colour living in a Celtic region (along with other romanticised notions of homogenously white cultures).

Along side this, a blood percentage or distant ancestry does not impart the culture and values of the Celtic region or it's recorded pagan practices by itself. Folk traditions are often passed down within families, but blood percentage is not a primary factor within this.

Connecting with ancestry is fine, good, and can be a fulfilling experience. It stops being beneficial when it leads to speaking over people with lived experiences & centres the USA-based published and authors - which can lead to blending/souping for reasons further on.

What is 'soup'?

Celtic soup is a semi-playful term coined by several polytheists (primarily aigeannagusacair on wordpress) to describe the phenomenon of conflating & combining all the separate pantheons and practices from the (mainly) insular Celtic nations into one singular practice - removing a lot of the regionalised folklore, associated mythos, & varying nuances of the nations that make up the soup.

Why does it happen?

The quick version of this is book trends and publishing meeting romanticisation and exotification of Celtic cultures (especially when mixed with pre-lapsarian views of the Nations). It's miles easier to sell a very generally titled book with a lot of Ireland and a little of everywhere else than it is to write, source and publish a separate book on each.

This is where centering American publishers and authors becomes an issue - the popular trend of USA-based pagan publications to conflate all celtic nations makes it hard to find information on, for example, Mannin practices because of the USA’s tendency to dominate media. Think of Llewellyn’s “Celtic Wisdom” series of books.

It has also been furthered by 'quick research guides'/TL;DR style posts based on the above (which have gained particular momentum on tumblr).

The things that have hindered the process in unblending/"de souping" is the difficulty in preserving independently published pamphlets/books from various nations (often more regionalised and immediately local than large, sweeping books generalising multiple practices) along with the difficulty of accessing historic resources via academic gatekeeping.

All of this has lead to a lack of awareness of the fact there is no, one, singular Celtic religion, practice or pantheon.

Why should I de-soup or unblend my practice?

Respecting the deities

It is, by and large, considered the bare minimum to understand and research a deity's origin and roots. The conflation of all insular Celtic deities under one singular unified pantheon can divorce them from their original cultures and contexts - the direct opposite to understanding and researching.

Folklore and myth surrounding various Celtic deities can be highly regionalised both in grounded reality and geomythically - these aren't interchangeable locations and are often highly symbolic within each nation.

Brú na Bóinne, an ancient burial mound in Ireland, as an entrance to the otherworld of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

Carn Kenidjack & the Gump as a central site of Cornish folk entities feasts and parties, including Christianised elements of Bucca’s mythology.

The Mabinogion includes specific locations in Wales as well as broad Kingdoms - it’s implied that Annwn is somewhere within the historic kingdom of Dyfed, & two otherworldly feasts take place in Harlech & Ynys Gwales.

Conflating all celtic pantheons under one banner often leads to the prioritisation of the Irish pantheon, meaning all of the less ‘popular’ or recorded deities are sidelined and often left unresearched (which can lead to sources & resources falling into obscurity and becoming difficult to access).

Respecting the deities

Deities, spirits, entities, myth & folklore are often culturally significant both historically and to modern day people (just average folks along with practitoners/pagans/polytheists and organisations) located in the various Nations

A primary example is the initiatory Bardic orders of Wales and Cornwall.

Desouping/Unblending makes folklorist's lives easier as well as casual research less difficult to parse. The general books are a helpful jumping off point but when they constitute the bulk of writing on various Celtic polytheisms, they become a hinderance and a harm in the research process.

A lot of mythology outside of deities & polytheisms is also a victim of ‘souping' and is equally as culturally significant - Arthurian mythology is a feature of both Welsh and Cornish culture but is often applied liberally as an English mythology & and English figure.

Celtic nations being blended into one homogenous group is an easy way to erase cultural differences and remove agency from the people living in celtic nations. Cornwall is already considered by a large majority of people to be just an English county, and many areas of Wales are being renamed in English for the ease of English tourists.

How can I de-soup?

Chase down your sources' sources, and look for even more sources

Check your sources critically. Do they conflate all pantheons as one? Do they apply a collective label (the celts/celts/celt/celtic people) to modern day Celtic nations? How far back in history do they claim to reach?

Research the author, are they dubious in more ways than one? Have they written blog articles you can access to understand more of their viewpoints? Where are they located?

Find the people the author cites within their work - it can be time consuming but incredibly rewarding and can also give a good hint at the author's biases and research depth. You may even find useful further reading!

Find primary sources (or as close too), or translations of the originating folklore, e.g The Mabinogion. Going to the source of a pantheon’s mythos and folklore can be helpful in discerning where soup begins in more recent books as well as gaining insight into deities' actions and relationships.

Ask lots of questions

Question every source! Question every person telling you things that don't define what pantheon or region they’re talking about! Write all your questions down and search for answers! Talk to other polytheists that follow specific Celtic pantheons, find where your practices naturally overlap and where they have been forced into one practice by authors!

Be honest with yourself

There’s no foul in spreading your worship over several pantheons that fall under the celtic umbrella! A lot of polytheists worship multiple pantheons! But be aware of the potential for soup, and make sure you’re not exclusively reading and working from/with sources that conflate all practices as one.

If you approach any Celtic polytheistic path with the attitude of blood percentage or 'ancestral right', stop and think critically about why you want to follow a Celtic polytheistic path. Is it because it's the most obviously 'open' path to follow? Is it a desire to experience what other folks experience? Being critical, turning inward, and really looking at yourself is important. Originally posted in the Raven's Keep discord server

[dec0ra-grl]

Beating the weird kid allegations? Nah bro, I used to pretend to be a witch as a kid, now I’m a Celtic Reconstructionist.

Never beating that shit, in fact, I’m in last place.

[caraecethrae]

[dairedara]

The Morrígan

“Thou hast no power against me," said Cúchulainn. "I have power indeed," said the woman; "it is at the guarding of thy death that I am; and I shall be," said she. The Cattle-Raid of Regamna, from the Yellow Book of Lecan

The Morrígan is depicted in the Irish cycles as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the wife* of the Dagda, and a goddess ruling over the spheres of fate, death, war, and land. She is often associated with ravens, crows, and heifers, whose forms she takes.

Name & Epithets: Morrígan, Morrígu, Mórrígan (Middle Irish— “Great Queen”), Mór-Ríoghain (Modern Irish)

Role as a Goddess of War

The Morrígan is seen in the Cycles as bringing victory in war, or foretelling death in battle. In the Cath Mage Tuired, which describes how the Tuatha Dé Danann overthrew the tyrannical Fomorians, she proclaims the victory of the gods over their enemy and foretells the end of the world. In the Ulster Cycle, she is the sometimes-patron, sometimes-enemy of the hero Cúchulainn, whose death she prophesies after he offends her, and then reminded of his fate by taking the form of an old woman washing his bloodied clothes in a creek.

Role as a Sovereignty Goddess

Sovereignty goddesses in Irish tradition represent the land itself, and thus marriage to one creates a legitimate rule or guardianship over that land. In Early Medieval Ireland (and perhaps before), a king’s coronation would include a symbolic marriage to the land, thereby granting himself power and legitimacy. The Morrígan is one such sovereignty goddess, or at least perceived as one by the 12th Century, as the Book of Invasions names her the sister of Ériu, Banba, and Fódla, personifications of Ireland married to each of her three kings.

Role as a Triplicate Goddess

The Morrígan is inconsistently referred to as one of three or a combination of three figures. In the Mythological cycle, she is named as the sister of Badb (’crow’), a war goddess, and Macha, a land goddess. Together, they are called the three Morrígna. Macha is also the name of several other figures, and Badb appears barely distinguishable from the Morrígan. Whatever the case, the names appear less like the archetypal ‘Maiden, Mother, Crone’, and more like simply different aspects of the goddess given different titles, as is common in Irish religion.

*Marriage with the Dagda

The fact of her “marriage” with the Dagda is contentious but well-supported by the texts we have access to. One of her best-known stories from the Cath Mage Tuired is the Dagda’s pact with her before the battle against the Formorians. This part of the text is often mistranslated as the Dagda meeting her [for the first time] at a certain point in the year, when really a perhaps more accurate translation would be “On this day [near Samhain] the Dagda met her yearly.” Additionally, the “union” described between her and the Dagda does not appear to be purely sexual. The word used, ‘oentaith’ is difficult to translate but probably also refers to a general agreement/pact [dil.ie/33541], not unlike a modern marriage. Additionally, as a king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a ceremonial marriage to a sovereignty and agricultural goddess such as the Morrígan would be appropriate for the Dagda and make sense to an early Irish audience.

My UPG with the Morrígan

Recommended reading + Sources

Cath Mage Tuired [Translation] [Original]

Book of Invasions

The Cattle-Raid of Regamna

[princepsfianna]

Samhain is soon!

"My father loved his country

And sleeps within its breast

While I that would have died for her

Must never so be blessed"

Samhain will dawn, from the sunset or the 31st till the sunset on the 1st of November! How honourable a day it, when Celtic men are proud and glad of their hearth and kindred. But as we celebrate and invite spirits of all walks while warding off mischievous fairies we cannot forget in our mourning of them and the deeds they have done. For though Samhain blankets us with the year’s first frost, we must celebrate more than the end of the harvest or the spirits of our ancestors. For there are those who fought and died that we might live on more.

Our history is full of those who stood against colonial powers, and tonight, I light a candle for the brave souls who fought in battles and uprisings. There is no greater honour than to give ones life for their Celtic race. Brave men like William Wallace! Of course, not the Hollywood version played by Kiwi anti Semite but the real man who rallied a nation with grit and resilience. Or the fierce and venerable Gaelic women of Cumann na mBan who resisted in the fight for Irish independence and never surrendered. And how can I remove honour from who fought silently? Those that continued to speak our languages, customs, and beliefs when both state and society tried to erase them? The faithful elect who lived away for centuries in shame and dishonour? All for that hopeful promise that their country would survive and our fathers legacy would not be stained by the filth and the impure stain of collaboration?

Our race is going to survive. Despite everyone and everything her tongue and blood have endured. Despite England we are still here, Despite the Danes we are still here and despite the Romans we are still here and we will outlive them. What remains now of Rome? That great Empire which conquered the Brythonics but were taught rightly in the misty hills of Alba? It's now simply ruins while our people still live, while our race still beats high with hope. The Danes? What remains of the Viking hordes who were beaten by the Gaels of Eirinn and Alba? Or of the proud Saxon? Who was resisted, with varying fortunes, by all Celts bar our Vretoned brothers?

We are just one race, all of us. The seed of the Gael and Brythonics must join hands for Celtdom and Celtdom alone. No more foreign imposition and diktat which brings only misery nor internal petty squabbles but instead a single host. A single flag, a single race which will surely be glorious. Once the Celts unite you can be sure that the vile Saxon will abandon his post and lose his fighting spirit. Once the Celts unite we will again be prosperous, trade and wealth will flow freely between the nations. The Celtic Man is naturally industrious and an intellectual with great venerable attributes. Alas, sadly, who is pulled down by foreign impositions of vice like alcoholism, drugs and the like which has made our race weak. We have fallen asleep, a deep sleep of domestication, of being conquered, of sufferance and shame with great dishonour. Which infest every carpet or our society, but if the promised day comes and all the Celts awaken then the dogs shall become wild again! And the wild dogs will chase out the foreigner and the traitor and the Celtic spirit will never again be wrong to us. I guarantee a united Celtic nation would become a prospoerus Republic within ten years of unity. It would surpas the living standards within five and he comparable only to the Nordic lands within ten and would surely outgrow them. We are an industrious race of hard workers, of intelligent men and woman and a race deeply stubborn and proud and those are good things! If we work hard the Celts can achieve anything under the sun and we will obtain our dream of a prosperous, peaceful, stable and loving pan Celtic state from Scotland till Kernow till Vreton.

I have total confidence that this will happen, it's a divine promise. I've done some early divination for the year and I am certain it's due to happen. I can give no date but all the signs suggest that the lot awaited day is coming. I'm unsure if I should ever had the great joy of seeing it but probably not.

[nemetonian-brainworm]

hallo pagan tumblr, i'm new here!

currently researching:

DEITIES

Nemetona

the Morrígan

Rhiannon

possibly also interested in:

Artemis

Loki

Sirona

PRACTICES

Reconstructionist polytheistic paganism

naturalism-focused Appalachian folk magic

Herbal medicine

Celtic druidry

Irish, Gaulish, and Appalachian spirituality in general

[mischiefgrove]

Did the witch community leave tumblr too?

Where’s everybody at?

[nemetonofearthandgods]

Question: Do you commemorate festivals/holidays on the standard calendar date or on the halfway point between solstices/equinoxes?

[burninglunar]

My 2023 Goals:

Continue studying Gàidhlig

Rebuild my altar

Attend at least 3 Scottish events locally to immerse myself back in the community (sadly hard to come by)

Return to daily meditation and practice

Explore my heritage

Read at least 100 fiction novels

Study Scottish History, Scottish Tradition, and find community with other Celtic Reconstructionists

Fully unmask and find comfort in being authentically myself

Get one of my tattoos removed and potentially replaced with the proper translation (ick)

Bliadhna Mhath Ùr agus a h-uile nì nas fheàrr na chèile!

[blackcrowing]

I would also like the add (not AS myth focused but culture focused)

-Caitlín Matthews, Celtic Visions: Omens, Dreams and Spririts of the Otherworld

-Nerys Patterson, Cattle Lords and Clansmen: The Social Structure of Early Ireland

-Bart Jaski, Early Irish Kingship and Secession

-anything Fergus Kelly (for Law Tracts and culture)

-anything Damian McManus (for linguistics)

- J.P. Mallory, The Origins of the Irish

-Berry Cunliffe, The Ancient Celts

- Sharon Paice MacLeod, Celtic Cosmology and the Otherworld: Mythic Orgins, Sovereignty and Liminality

So, You Wanna Study Irish Mythology?

One of the questions I get hit with a lot is “If I’m getting into Irish Mythology, what sources do you recommend?” It’s a sad, sad truth about the field that a lot of really valuable info is kept locked away in books and journals that the lay person wouldn’t know about (and then we wonder why information about the field is so bad.) So, I decided to compile a list of sources that I’ve personally used and found helpful in my time. It’s not a complete bibliography because, frankly, that would take up a TREMENDOUS amount of space and you’d be scrolling forever to find what you wanted, and I don’t AGREE with every single thing they say, and it’s by no means exhaustive (keep in mind: scholars from all over the field use mythological texts to study things as diverse as law, geography, tribal names, material culture, etc. and here I’m mainly focusing on sources that are JUST mythological-focused) but they’re a good starting point to forming your own opinions. The journal articles are, tragically, generally kept confined to academia, but….perhaps….if you were to ask around, someone might be able to provide you with a copy. As a whole, Celticists tend to be quite generous when it comes to sharing articles. 

List subject to change, check back as time goes on to see if I’ve added anything. Also, as always, feel free to either drop me an ask or a pm if you’re curious about digging further into a given text/figure. I can’t act as a consultant on a religious question; I’m a very firm atheist with all the spirituality of a dull spoon, except with the existence of ghosts. My interest in the Tuatha Dé is purely scholarly; all that I can say is what I know about these topics from the perspective of the medieval sources, but I can definitely do my best on that one front, and I won’t reject anyone who has a different interest in the Tuatha Dé from contacting me. 

This list only deals with the Mythological Cycle, not the other strands of the literary tradition that is generally if not uncontroversially referred to as “Irish Mythology”. For Fenian Cycle traditions, a similar bibliography has been compiled by Dr. Natasha Sumner of Harvard, here. 

Editions/Translations of Texts (many of these are available at UCC’s CELT archive or on Irish Sagas Online): 

Tochmarc Étaíne, Osborn Bergin and Richard Best 

Cath Maige Tuired, Elizabeth Gray (If you can and you’re serious about the field, I highly recommend getting the actual Irish Text Society Edition, which includes a wonderful index of every time a given figure shows up in other sources. An absolute must for a mythographer.) 

Lebor Gabála Érenn, J.R.S Macalister, 5 vols. (The entirety of this is available on archive.org. Personally…while the rest of it is obviously important and worthy of study, if you’re interested in just the mythological stuff, I recommend Volume IV, which includes both the Fir Bolg and the Tuatha Dé. Unless you really, really want to read five volumes of medieval Irish pseudohistory, the last volume of which was finished posthumously.) i ii iii iv v

The Metrical Dinshenchas, Edward Gwynn. (5 vols.) (These are difficult, with many scholars outright ignoring them except when absolutely necessary. These are in a later form of Irish, which means that, while some of the contents in them could very well be Pre-Christian in nature, they very much do reflect a later medieval world. Some of them are just as much about contemporary politics as they are about mythology, and many of them also bring in content from the Ulster Cycle and the Fenian Cycle. My personal favorites to look up are Tailtiu, Carn Hui Néit, Duirgen, and Carmun, though there are MANY others.) i ii iii iv v

“The First Battle of Moytura”, John Fraser (Note: It’s a VERY late text, with the question of the Fir Bolg/Tuatha Dé battle and how far the tradition really goes back being one that’s very important to keep in mind. It’s a personal favorite of mine. But it’s very late.)

Baile in Scáil, Kevin Murray (Thurneyson also did an older edition that’s more readily accessible, hence why I linked it here, but Murray is the most recent and up to date.) 

“How the Dagda got his magic staff”, Osborn Bergin 

Oidheadh Chloinne Tuireann, Richard Duffy (This is an Early Modern Irish text, so it was written down comparatively late. That doesn’t mean that there’s NO mythological content here, it’s a personal favorite of mine, but it means that it very much reflects the cultural context of around….the 15th-17th century or thereabouts. It’s very chaotic, very violent, and the heroic figures are….not….heroic.) 

Scél Tuáin Meic Chairill, John Carey

Echtra Nerai, it’s available in a fairly recent translation by John Carey in Celtic Heroic Age (pub. 2003) , listed below, though Kuno Meyer also did an edition/translation for it that I’ve linked to here. 

Books: 

Proinsias Mac Cana, Celtic Mythology (Personally, I’d recommend this one first - It’s designed for someone who isn’t a specialist and, while a lot of what he’s saying has been disputed back and forth, it’s still a handy primer and will get you into the myths.)

John Koch and John Carey, The Celtic Heroic Age (Once you have an idea of what you’re looking at, I recommend this one, since it’s a sourcebook. A TON of material from across the Celtic world, featuring classical sources, medieval Irish sources, and Welsh, all of it in one place.) 

Mark Williams, Ireland’s Immortals (I personally recommend you read this one after you read CHA, giving you a bit of context for what Williams is saying here.)

O’Rahilly, Early Irish History and Mythology (note: A lot of what he says here is no longer considered recent in the field, but his knowledge of his own sources is, frankly, without any other peer. Use with a grain of salt)

John Carey, The Mythological Cycle of Medieval Irish Literature

Kim McCone, Pagan Past, Christian Present

Koch, Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia

Articles: 

John Carey, “Myth and Mythography in ‘Cath Magh Tuired’”

John Carey, “Donn, Amairgen, Ith and the Prehistory of Irish Pseudohistory”

Proinsias Mac Cana, “Aspects of the theme of King and Goddess in Irish Literature” 

Máire Herbert, “Goddess and king: the sacred marriage in early Ireland.”

Gregory Toner, “Macha and the invention of myth” 

Elizabeth A. Gray, “Cath Maige Tuired: myth and structure“

Thomas Charles-Edwards, “Tochmarc Étaíne: a literal interpretation”

Tómas O’Cathasaigh, “Cath Maige Tuired as Exemplary Myth” 

Joseph Nagy, “Close encounters of the traditional kind in medieval Irish literature” 

Mark Scowcroft, “Leabhar Gabhála. Part I: the growth of the text” 

Mark Scowcroft, “Leabhar Gabhála. Part II: the growth of the tradition”  

Joseph Nagy, “‘Talking myth’ in medieval Irish literature.”

John Carey, “The Location of the Otherworld in Irish Tradition” 

Máire Bhreathnach, “The sovereignty goddess as goddess of death?“

John Carey, “Notes on the Irish war-goddess.” 

Veronica Philipps, “Exile and authority in Lebor gabála Érenn” 

Kevin Murray, “Sources of Irish mythology. The significance of the dinnṡenchas” 

[blackcrowing]

Blackcrowing's Irish Pagan Festivals Master Post

Samhain Festival

Samhain Authentic Foods

Imbolg Festival

Imbolg Authentic Foods

Bealtine Festival

Bealtine Authentic Foods

Lughnasadh Festival

Lughnasadh Authentic Foods

When is the 'New Year'?

My kofi

Art Credit - Familiar_flower

[caraecethrae]

[star-temeraire]

does anyone have any recommendations for celtic reconstructionist books? the more grounded in known facts the better

[princepsfianna]

Some thoughts on the faith. (CR)

all images come from the 1910s public domain (mfw religion is so dead no non christian art of it is made, its joever, so fucking joever for us.....)

Our faith is dead, we must admit that. Her honour is gone, her valour is and God knows what else. She has been driven from the towns, tuathas, from glen and city into the annals of history. Worse yet for those of the Scottish herald for all we have are the Irish annals to go off. Or, if we are lucky, Roman sources from the first century AD. Alas virtually all Scottish national deities have since vanished from our records. I wonder every night if there was national deities. We know there was some like Clota, Goddess of the Clyde. Yet she was a regional deity not a deity in the same way as Brighid. Sadly for Clota, for instance, we have scarce any records about them or how to worship, revere and indulge in them. “Almost all the rivers of Scotland were abodes of goddesses, but about many of them there are no surviving stories. The character of a goddess was suggested by that of a river. The goddess of the river Forth, for instance, was ‘the deaf or soundless one’, because the Forth is a comparatively silent river; the goddess of the Clyde, on the other hand, was ‘the purifying one’, because the old people knew it as a river which scoured the country it passed through, and carried much mud and clay seaward when in flood.” Donald MacKenzie, 1917. Scottish Myth and Legend.

And all we have to go off are books written in a disparate time from who knows when to the great war till now. There is no serious academic study because- what is there to study? We must admit that the Christians have effectively erased our faith and they did a good job of it. Our only vestiges remaining in what we preserved in their faith and the scattered sources we can piece together. At the second battle of Moytura we see Morrígan deliver a speech to the men of Connaught as they prepare for battle. “I shall see a world that will yet be dear to me. Summer without flowers, Kine shall be without milk, Women without modesty, Men without valour, Captives without a King…(six word gap) Woods without mast, sea without produce… (40 word gap) the false judgement of old(wise) men, the false precedents of brehons(judges), every man ab etrayer, every boy a reaver. Son will enter his father’s bad, father will enter his son’s bead, everyone will be his brother’s brother ni law! (gap, eight words.) An evil time! Son shall deceive father, Daughter shall deceive mother!” What can this describe but today? She is lamenting this world in decay, fortelling a cycle of death and renewal in the cyles of civilisation. We are clearly in these events, woods are going without mast and seas without produce at our own hands. Summer will literally be without flowers and the leaders and judges of this world have gone awry for power and money. Let’s look at Fionn MacCumhaill, a Scottish hero from the boyheed deeds. Finn saw that he and many of his heroes would fall in battle and that he himself should do so and be reborn. We see a similar theme with Cú Chulainn in Táin Bó Cúailnge! He declares that he will rise again in times of great need when Ireland calls her champions to rise.  Now- first things first Ireland already had her time of great needs.. You are late… But more seriously he’s clearly telling us bluntly that when the Irish (Celts) are in desperate need he will arise. We can interpret this as him telling us that when we are in need, heroes will arise to save the Celtic nation and bring it back. Let’s look at the book of invasions or Lebor Gabála Érenn. Now this was compiled a few centuries after the conquests but it incorporates native faith which was around at the time. It was compiled with this in mind, quoting it and Lugh. “And it was foretold that his coming would bring the end to the Fomorian oppression, that the sun would shine again upon the land of the Gael!” The Fomori are a race of supernatural beings with great strength who come from the sea.. They are also defeated by the Tuatha Dé Danann. The Fomori are clearly the prophesied Saxon and Germanic incursions and Lugh is clearly to represent when the Gaels liberate themselves. Lugh is a warrior and was also a God of war and justice. Therefore it makes sense that Lugh would be the one, or one of the Gods to announce that as, Rosc Catha na Mumhan put it so eloquently. “I know well by the chilly weather, By the fury of Thetis on the shore. By the tuneful singing of the birds, That my Caesar would return free from gloom! That sound is joyus for Munster! And for the downtrodden descendents of warriors! The sounds of waves clashing on the side of ships, Thunderously advancing to our aid! 

…. 

The top of the tall trees are announcing That the Gaels shall not be fettered for long! … Gather all the men of blood of the Mil, Those whoms veins have but a drop of pure blood Whoms rights are trampled, tormented by evil! And may he strike a blow to the keeper of chains! And that sound will be the rarest joy for Munster

ANd for the sad descendants of the mighty Who await the sound of waves on the ships Drawing boldly on the seas to support us!” 

Lugh is foretelling us that the sun will shine again upon our land. That the Gaels, the celts will be restored to order. That the oppression will be ended, in this case I would make bold as to equate the Fomori with Rome and England. This will therefore require the return of our religion. Our religion will be restored after this event transpires. I don’t exactly know how but my guess is that a prophet will arise, presumably a form like Cú Chulainn. Who arises when we need our champions. A warrior will arise who is also a scholar and like Cú Chulainn will emulate his life and while doing so end the oppression of the Celts forevermore. Now.. If I was younger I would equate Liam Lynch to this figure but Lynch never restored our faith so I won’t. But I do think, in a time not so far that this figure will emerge. I think already the great and masterful plan is in motion and though I can’t see it I think it will be a great plan. The Celtic cultures are undergoing a great revival at the moment. I can feel it, I can hear it, the trees are not declaring but something is and I will find it. Things are tough for our races in the last few centuries but after centuries things are looking up. This generation, which I would not rather have been born but this one may- Brighid willing. Be the first one to take up the mantle of our ancient race and redeem it from its humiliation and shame. With this sort of rant over I will end it with a quote from a nation once again.  When Boyhood’s fire was in my blood, I read of ancient freemen, For Greece and Rome Who bravely stood, Three hundred men and three men. And then I prayed, I yet might see. Our fetters rent in twain! And Ireland, long a province, be  A nation once again! A nation once again!  A nation once again!  And Ireland, long a province, be A nation once again! 

Now- I do find it (mildly) bemusing the Irishmen reads about foreign culture not his own to be free. Because of English suppression of our shared heritage and heroes. But I digress, boyhoods fire is in my blood and I pray that I might yet see the Celts as one nation yet again. But it’ll probably not happen, oh well. We pray, we pray. 

[bunger-royale]

Oh you're a "Celtic Pagan"? Please provide your thoughts on our collective performances in the Euro qualifiers so far. You know, because you were obviously watching the games, right?