I’ve been pagan for a couple decades now and I’ve observed a couple trends over that time. One of the most perplexing to me is the way that popular fiction – by which I mean novels, television, and movies – shapes and influences paganism. The reason it perplexes me is because the things that get picked up and absorbed into the pagan paradigm are often based in plot points and rarely fit
Tara A Pagan Sanctuary of Ancient Ireland
Author: R. A. S. Macalister
Publisher: Charles Scribner’s Sons
Published: 1931
Pages: 208 including notes, index and bibliography.
Review: Continue reading…
Modern Prayers in Old Irish
This is something I’ve been working on to submit for a anthology* which is looking for modern Celtic Reconstructionist prayers. I thought it would be interesting to offer basic prayers in Old Irish to different Gods.
It is still a work in progress, but this is what I have so far:
Guide Nuada
Nuada Argetlam
Nuada fo dí Ríg
Nuada narsheng
Guidim do a bhennach
Guidim do a eolas
Guidim do
A Call for Submissions
I have two calls of submission for you today.
The first one is for a book called An Leabhar Urnaí. Submission doors close January 31, 2016. Target publication date March 2016.
This second one is for the next issue of Air n-Aithesc. Submission doors close December 31, 2015. Publication date February 2016.
My hope is that you guys will be interested in submitting for both!
Samhain isn’t pronounced Sam-hane and other truths
I should probably have titled this post "Grumpy Old Polytheist Ramblings". But there’s a lot of so-called educational memes floating around the community right now that are a lot more opinion than fact and I finally decided that it was time to address some specific points. With facts.
Samhain is pronounced "Sow-win" or "Sow-wen" in Irish and Samhuinn is pronounced "Sah-vihn" in Scottish
Crom Cruach
One of the more interesting non-Tuatha De Danann deities that some people choose to honor today is Crom Cruach, synonymous according to scholars with Cenn Cruiach, and likely also the same as Crom Dubh (Smyth, 1988; O hOgain, 2006; MacNeill, 1962). Crom means bent, stooped or crooked; cruach has a wider array of meanings including stack of corn; rick; heap, conical pile, gory, bloody;
Thinning of the Veil
Samhain is approaching. Halloween has always been a favorite time of year for me. The days are cooler, the nights are longer, and the very earth seems to be settling down for a long rest. I’m more of an introvert, and a quieter time that allows for and encourages introspection appeals to me. Well, usually. […]
Ancient Journeys
Full Title: Ancient Journeys – The Peopling of Europe from the First Venturers to the Vikings
Synopsis:
Who are the Europeans and where did they come from? In recent years scientific advances have released a mass of data, turning cherished ideas upside down. The idea of migration in prehistory, so long out of favour, is back on the agenda. New advances allow us to track human movement and the spread of crops, animals, and disease, and we can see the evidence of population crashes and rises, both continent-wide and locally. Visions of continuity have been replaced with a more dynamic view of Europe’s past, with one wave of migration followed by another, from the first human arrivals in Europe to the Vikings.
Review:
Pagan Politics, Part Whatever
John Beckett asks an interesting question: Must Paganism be Transgressive? Do we lose something when a radical spiritual movement starts to be accepted by the mainstream? Or is it more complicated than that? Beckett looks at a few other discussions going on in the Pagan blogosphere in examining this question. I saw a few themes […]
Them Ancestors
Blessings Darlings!
As many of y’all know, I don’t use ‘calendar dates’ for the Celtic holy days. I use nature’s signals. And given the recent unusual cold weather in the Northeastern US – we had our killing frost last night. So by my reckoning, Samhain is …