I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: Reconstructionism is a very misunderstood thing. There are many reasons for why that is and why some of those misunderstandings keep being perpetuated, but mostly it comes down to assumptions and stereotypes. So today let’s take a look at what reconstruction is and what it isn’t.

Disclaimer (because I don’t enjoy the sensation of being flayed): This article is meant as a general commentary on the methodology of reconstruction when applied to polytheist religion. As with anything there will be exceptions to any statement or cases where specific styles of Recon differ. I am writing it from the base of my own experience, which is primarily in Celtic Reconstructionism* and Heathenry, however I wouldn’t presume to speak for all recons everywhere.

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Today I wanted to tackle my own translation of an excerpt of an Fáed Fíada (the Deer’s Cry), which is itself a portion of the Lorica of Saint Patrick. The Fáed Fíada portion is said to be much older and reflect a pagan prayer, and quite frankly I’ve always liked and have based one of my own daily prayers on the style of it.

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This falls into the category of “frequently asked questions”, because I regularly see people wondering what the ancient Irish or Celtic view of homosexuality was. The short answer seems to be that prior to Christianity it was not remarkable. Let’s take a look at the long answer:

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Today’s translation installment is a look at an incitement by the Morrigan towards the end of the Tain Bo Cuiligne. She appears to incite what will be the final confrontation between the two armies of Ulster and Connacht.

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Beauty is such a wonderfully subjective thing. In our modern times what is considered beautiful has changed from one decade to another, as fashions shift and with it our ideas of what is attractive. In January there was a fascinating video that became popular called “Women’s Ideal Body Types Throughout History” which looked at different perceptions of female beauty in a variety of cultures over the last 3,000 years. It included the ideal body type from ancient Egypt to Renaissance Italy to modern America, and noted the increased rate at which our perception of beauty has begun shifting with modern technology and communication. As I watched it I began to wonder about the ancient Celtic and Irish standards of beauty, and so I decided to explore those a bit here.

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Some of my regular readers have undoubtedly noticed that in the last several months I’ve begun posting more blog entries featuring translations of pieces of the old mythic texts. Some of you may be wondering why – or I may just be boring you to tears. A friend suggested this morning that I may want to explain why I’ve been doing the translations and how they relate to my spirituality and I thought it was a smashing idea so hear you go. It’s a convoluted story, but maybe you’ll understand a bit better how my head works and why I feel its so important to share this particular hobby.

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“The woman to whom thou speakest,” said the man, “is Faebor-begbeoil-cuimdiuir-folt-scenbgairit-sceo-uath.”
“Do ye make a fool of me?” cried Cuchulain…”
– Tain Bo Regamna

This scene occurs in the Tain Bo Regamna after Cu Chulain confronts a woman whom he believes is stealing a cow from Ulster – she isn’t, as it happens, but he doesn’t know that, nor does he realize she is the Morrigan until much later in their conversation. He comes upon her, a fierce looking woman dressed in red with red hair riding in a chariot pulled by a one legged horse hitched by a pole that passes through it’s body. She is leading a cow and accompanied by a man who speaks for her initially as she speaks for him, much to Cu Chulain’s consternation. In the versions I have seen the names of the man and woman are not translated but are given in the Irish, however I was recently asked to translate them and found the experience quite enlightening so I decided to share what I found here.

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I attended my first Pantheacon this year, so here is the obligatory re-cap of my experience:
Day one – travel. Who’d have thought I actually enjoy airplanes? Airports however are a form of elaborate torture. I arrived in California and was hit with immediate culture shock – you can get alcohol everywhere and it feels like early summer, and this is so not Connecticut. It was great to travel with a good friend and reconnect with other friends I had made at the Morrigan Retreat last June. I also had fun setting up a communal altar in the hotel room I was sharing with these three friends.

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I read a blog the other day about the Morrigan and not proselytizing which I agree with, and there’s really no need to re-hash here. But I mention it because a line in that blog stuck out to me: “spirituality is not a one size fits all concept.”

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Every cultural type of paganism has its own unique little issues, things that go around within that particular community. Usually these are not things based in facts, but are a kind of urban legend, a statement made at a some point that was then repeated and taken as fact and slowly takes on a life of its own until it gains a kind of truth of its own, no matter how disconnected it may be from the actual root culture, historic fact, or myth. In Heathenry you see this with the idea people constantly repeat that only those who die in battle go to Valhalla* or that Valhalla is a universal goal, a kind of heaven, while Hel is a terrible place to be avoided. In Celtic paganism, or I should say Irish paganism specifically, what I see going around fairly often is the assertion that the Irish Gods were not, in fact, Gods at all.

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