You know, it’s not always easy living in an area known to only have one course of thinking when it comes to faith. That it isn’t exactly a “one size fits all” never occurs to others, but that is the spiel that goes around. I’m done with that. I’m now just doing my thing, and … Continue reading No longer Hiding
Tech Duinn
For many people Donn is seen as the first ancestor and ultimately the God of the dead in Irish paganism. There is a lot of folk belief behind this and I’ve previously written about Donn elsewhere but today I thought it might be interesting to take a look at two passages in Old Irish which mention Donn and the story of how Tech Duinn got it’s name.
Read All the Things!
Those of you who enjoy my translation efforts, don’t worry I have some interesting bits about Tech Duinn and Donn coming out tomorrow, but today I wanted to shift back a bit into a more discussion style blog. I’ve noticed a trend lately of people asking for opinions about books and getting some strangely territorial responses. What I mean by that is responses which seem to assume there is one – and only one – book worth getting on a particular subject. It can get very Highlander-esque (“There can be only one!”) with people advocating for one book and putting down others like there was some sort of epic prize to be won.
You’re not REALLY going to eat that.
Blessings Darlings!
Back in May I posted about eating weeds, and how bitter some of them are. And WAY back, when I reviewed the Hunger Games books, I posted about how the author had clearly never eaten the dandelions she had her characters eat and enjoy. And folks in Pagan groups online seem to post ALL THE TIME about edible wild plants – “And the seeds of plantain and etc can be ground into flour and cooked and eaten!”
Well, yeah, they can be. But the odds are …
How the Dagda Got his Magic Staff
‘Aed Abaid Essa Ruaid misi .i. dagdia druidechta Tuath De Danann ocus in Ruad Rofhessa Eochaid Ollathair mo tri hanmanna.’
“I am Aed Abaid Essa Ruaid that is the good god of sorcery of the Tuath De Danann and Ruad Rofhessa, Eochaid Ollathair are my three names*.”
The Four Jewels of the Tuatha De Danann
Tuath De Danand na Set soim
Ceithri cathracha i r-robadar Tuatha De Danand ic foglaim fheasa ocus druidechta…
The Four Treasures of the Tuatha De Danann
The Tuatha De Danann were in four cities learning wisdom and Druidism…
Tea Time
Blessings Darlings!
I’m at my desk with a hot cup of tea, preparing to do a bit of divination by reading tea leaves. This is NOT something I’m good at, instead, it’s a skill I’m still learning.
And I bumped up against a limitation of this as a form of divination.
Egregores
Blessings Darlings!
Every group that lasts long enough has it’s own egregore. To be clear, I’m not talking about Facebook groups here (tho some certainly do have one), I’m talking about groups out in the real, not digital, world. They are sentient psychic entities. They are created by the group mind, and then once created have a strong influence on the group mind.
The Dindshenchas of Emain Macha
An Dindshenchas de Emain Macha
Cid diatá Eomuin Machae? Ni hanse. …
The Story of the Name of Emain Macha
Why the name of Emhain Macha? Not difficult. …
Continental Connections
Long Title: Continental Connections – Exploring Cross-Channel Relationships from the Mesolithic to the Iron Age
Editors: Hugo Anderson-Whymark, Duncan Garrow and Fraser Strut
Publisher: Oxbow Books Limited
Published: January 31st, 2015
ISBN: 9781782978091
Pages: 172 with some maps, charts, pictures, and illustrations.
Synopsis:
The prehistories of Britain and Ireland are inescapably entwined with continental European narratives. The central aim here is to explore cross-channel relationships throughout later prehistory, investigating the archaeological links (material, social, cultural) between the areas we now call Britain and Ireland, and continental Europe, from the Mesolithic through to the end of the Iron Age. Since the separation from the European mainland of Ireland (c. 16,000 BC) and Britain (c. 6000 BC), their island nature has been seen as central to many aspects of life within them, helping to define their senses of identity, and forming a crucial part of their neighbourly relationship with continental Europe and with each other. However, it is important to remember that the surrounding seaways have often served to connect as well as to separate these islands from the continent. In approaching the subject of continental connections in the long-term, and by bringing a variety of different archaeological perspectives (associated with different periods) to bear on it, this volume provides a new a new synthesis of the ebbs and flows of the cross-channel relationship over the course of 15,000 years of later prehistory, enabling fresh understandings and new insights to emerge about the intimately linked trajectories of change in both regions.
Review: Continue reading…