One thing that both the Irish and Norse culture share is a fairly similar view of Otherworldly spirits, often in modern times called fairies. Since honoring, connecting, and working with these spirits is, and always has been, the main aspect of my practice(…)
Category Archives: Random pagan and recon. ramblings
Examples of a yarrow blessing charm from the Carmina Gadelica
Possibly one of the best resources for modern Celtic practioners is Carmichael’s Carmina Gadelica, a collection of prayers and charms that was gathered in Scotland during the 19th century. Much of the material is Christian but with strong native Celtic themes; this lends itself(…)
Faerie lore – Daoine Sidhe
This month we will look at the highest rank of faeries, often simply called the Sidhe <pronounced “shee”>, also called the Shining Ones, Fair folk, the Gentry, Tylwyth Teg <pronounced “terlooth tay>, Aos Sidhe, Daoine Sidhe, the Good Neighbors, Alfs,(…)
Uruz – the second Rune
This month’s rune is the second rune of the first aett, called Uruz, Urur or Ur. Uruz symbolizes the aurochs, a now extinct species of wild cattle, and the shape of the rune – a squared off upside down U – is a clue to its meaning, resembling(…)
Druids and the Soul
The question was asked over on Tumblr: what do we know about the Celts’ and Druids’ beliefs about the afterlife. This seems like a good topic to blog about, especially on a sunny Monday morning so here we go…
Let’s begin by looking(…)
Shamrock Charms
Most people are aware that shamrocks, espcially those with more than three leaves, are considered good luck. In the Carmina Gadelica volume 2 we find two charms that can be recited if a person happens to find such a shamrock in order to ensure good luck and(…)
St. Patrick’s Day, snakes, and Irish-American pride
Next week is Saint Patrick’s feast day in the Catholic church, which is probably an odd thing for me to blog about, but the past couple years there has been quite the controversy among some pagans about this day. This year there are anti-Saint Pat’s day events and such(…)
Hospitality in a modern world
Hospitality is an important quality in both Celtic and Norse tradition. In both cultures, as in many other ancient cultures, hospitality to guests was seen as an important social expectation. In the Norse Havamal we see a selection of advice given in how(…)
Lorica Prayers
So back in July of 2011 I had talked about the Deer’s Cry, an Irish prayer that is part of St. Patrick’s Lorica.(…)
March Happiness Blog Challenge – day 3
My(…)