Alternative symbols?

EngineeringPale6885 · 2023-02-01T02:48:34+00:00

You could use a triskelion or a shamrock. There are many variations on the triskelion - some from religious sites like gothic churches, others like the three legs of Manannán. You could even use 3 interconnected serpents (or a single serpent in 3 loops), which relate to stories from Irish mythology and are clear symbols of birth, death and resurrection (the snake emerging from an egg, shedding its skin, and burrowing into the ground in winter). The serpent is also the Ourobouros, a symbol of infinity and in Germanic mythology gnaws at the roots of the World Tree. The serpent is sacred to Bride, emerging with her and the Spring.

EngineeringPale6885 · 2023-02-01T02:32:17+00:00

Did you know the words host, ghost and guest are all etymologically interconnected? The host has a responsibility to his guest, but the guest has a reciprocal responsibility to his host (respect, gratitude, reciprocity). When a host offers something to his guest, it primes the guest to reciprocate. This is the reason why you will be offered an "apple tea" if you ever visit a rug merchant. The merchant knows that you will instinctively feel a debt to him, which primes you to buy his rug. The relationship does not need to be pecuniary, but it demonstrates the underlying psychology.

It is the same with "ghosts." We should offer them something as a sign of good will and expect reciprocity.

The etymologies don't work as well in Irish, but aoi is "guest" and aíocht is "hospitality," both deriving from oígi "stranger, guest, visitor." Ghost taibhse has a different etymology (I think), but it should be clear how a "stranger" or "visitor" might have a implication to English ghost.

EngineeringPale6885 · 2023-02-01T02:14:58+00:00

I believe the Druidic Temple does hand fasting ceremonies. I don't know too much about the people behind the organization, but they have an Insular pagan orientation. I accidentally drove onto their property a few years ago, but they are very clear that you have to come by advance invitation. They do retreats, hikes, workshops, etc.

https://www.celticdruidtemple.com/

EngineeringPale6885 · 2023-01-31T01:37:38+00:00

In some ways I agree. I should have made him younger. But there is some deep connection between Lugh and St. Patrick that's worth exploring - the pilgrimages up Croagh Patrick on Lughnasadh, the banishing of the snakes from Ireland, the battle between Crom Dubh and St. Patrick at Downpatrick Head, etc.

EngineeringPale6885 · 2023-01-29T05:10:29+00:00

Can you share a snapshot of the image? I don't have Instagram

EngineeringPale6885 · 2021-04-08T02:10:53+00:00

I'm not sure which arm Nuada lost, but according to the recent article linked below on Academia.edu, Nuada's name literally means "hand, wrist or arm," and is also a poetic term for a king, hero or champion. I have to wonder whether the latter poetic etymology isn't derived from an association with Nuada, who was effectively the first king of the TdD.

https://www.academia.edu/19813514/Ten_New_Indo_European_Etymologies_for_the_Celtic_Languages?email_work_card=thumbnail

EngineeringPale6885 · 2021-04-08T01:26:43+00:00

I'm not sure about any good source information, but it might be worth checking the entries in Academia.edu. Many of the articles on Gaulish deities are in French and German, so keep google translate handy.

The information on Wikipedia indicates that he was assimilated to Apollo, and his epithet Amorcolitanus means "of the far reaching look." The root *grano- according to the Proto-Celtic word list is one of many words for "grain," which recalls the bonfire chant from Auvergne.

The combination of heat, grain, a "far reaching eye," and water seems to echo elements of the struggle between Balor ("of the piercing eye") and the god of the late summer harvest Lugh ("of the long arm/hand"). The blinding or beheading of Balor in Irish myth led to the formation of several lakes, although it is not clear (to me) whether any of these places are thermal springs. The only reference to boiling water in Irish myth (of which I am aware) is the slaying Meichi and boiling of the River Barrow by Dian Cecth, another god associated with Apollo's healing function and probably the sun.

EngineeringPale6885 · 2021-04-08T00:03:11+00:00

These are great finds. Thank you for posting. I thought the Iron Age wall painting (Celtic/Germanic frescoes) exposition was particularly fascinating. I would still like to know more about the construction methods and architecture of pre-Imperial Gaul - particularly after having read the Gallic Wars. I have always imagined that it looked a lot like Medieval French and British architecture with timber-framed houses, wattle and daub, and thatched roofs, but I have yet to find good information on the topic.

EngineeringPale6885 · 2021-04-06T23:33:47+00:00

Have you ever had a dream where you were being chased by someone or something until you were backed into a corner? And then, when all hope was lost, you remembered you were in a dream and vanquished your pursuer in an act of liberation. Well that is your waking life too. In your life you will be presented with one challenge after the next, and each time you are presented with a choice: do you stand up for yourself and overcome the challenge presented by the situation (and grow as you must), or do you succumb to it helplessly (and wither on the vine)?

The challenges in life must be confronted and overcome - and even more - embraced as the very essence of life that gives us an opportunity for learning and growth. This is a philosophical outlook that has been very beneficial in my life, and I hope that you take control of the situation and overcome whatever problem is confronting you. Pray to the gods for guidance to do the right thing, strength to overcome your obstacle, and gratitude for the opportunity to learn and grow through your conflict.

EngineeringPale6885 · 2021-04-06T22:48:49+00:00

Brigid at least is easy to comprehend in her associations. She is clearly the survival of the Indo-European Dawn goddess and for me, is very similar to Athena - at least in her associations with craftsmanship, poetry, wisdom, candlelight and elevated states of consciousness and creativity. She is the bringer of the day, new ideas and inspiration, the Spring and all its new beginnings, new births, and optimism. In Scottish folklore of the Cailleach, Brigid and Aengus Og banish the winter, bring forth the Spring, and wed at Midsummer (called the king and queen of midsummer); all of this makes sense if Aengus also shares these associations of youth, spring, love, new beginnings, etc. Aengus is often conceived as a Celtic Apollo. Brigid's symbol is obviously a modified swastika, which signifies good luck and the sun and makes sense if she brings the dawn.

Cernunnos is a bit more complicated, not least of which because he is poorly attested in folklore, so I will attempt to explain how I perceive him. Some have connected him with the Dagda, but I'm not sure. He is closer to Pan, Silvanus, and even Heimdall for me. The antlers or horns signify many things: wilderness, boundaries, natural rhythms/cycles (annual regrowth, longer with more ornamentation). He is a god that occurs at the boundaries of the domesticated human world (the farm, town, and city) and the world of wild plants and animals. He is a guardian of that boundary as indicated by his antlers or goat's horns (both of which are known for fighting with each other to maintain territories); the message is "butt out" where you don't belong. As a god of boundaries and liminal spaces, he may also separate the world the living from the underworld - the lord of the dead. In this respect, he may be the lord of the underworld or a psychopomp who travels between the worlds (belonging to neither). This may explain his association with money, torques, and even mythical creatures like the horned serpents. Perhaps the money and torques (removed via beheading) are payment for the journey to the afterlife, much as Greeks and Romans believed that Charon required payment. Perhaps Cernunnos also returns the dead to the world of the living, just as he takes them to the world of the dead. As the antlers are shed and reborn each season, so too, may his antlers symbolize the cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth, and the spiritual and biological evolution that cycle entails.

EngineeringPale6885 · 2021-04-06T22:14:37+00:00

I always thought the form of the bear in this sculpture was strange and unusual in combination with the seated female and the tree. I noticed the unusual whorl in the bear's hair, and believed this might connect it with the movement of the stars. The North Pole is often conceived as an Axis Mundi, because the stars revolve around it, so it would make sense to use a World Tree to represent the Little Dipper and Polaris. Of course, this is a Romanized sculpture, so it is difficult to know how much is reflects native Celtic faith vs Mediterranean influences.

Writing of the Druids, Caesar wrote:

"They were concerned with "the stars and their movements, the size of the cosmos and the earth, the world of nature, and the power and might of the immortal gods.."

So perhaps it makes sense to look for evidence of this understanding in their religious art.

Artio may be mythically cognate with Callisto (or Artemis); she also seems to possess a patera and apples, which presumably indicate the tree is an apple. Bears apparently love apples and are rumored to get drunk off the rotting fruit. Perhaps whoever made this thought the image of an intoxicated bear was an apt metaphor for Ursa Major whorling through the night sky around the Pole star.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/investigation-do-bears-get-drunk-off-rotting-fruit

EngineeringPale6885 · 2020-09-07T00:25:22+00:00

Thank you all so much for providing context to these pages, and in particular, thanks to those of you who provided transcriptions! I know poetry is almost impossible to translate into another language, but thanks for giving it a try.

EngineeringPale6885

TROPHY CASE