Author Archives: Conchobhar ui Niall

I hate writing, but my wife is a master…

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As much as I love to talk, I don’t like writing so much.  My writing is pretty much how I speak, long winded and full of information that may or may not be needed to get my point across.  So after my editor went over the Fénidecht article with me for a 3rd  time (we dropped 1000 words) and we jointly declared it ready for submission, I sent it in.  Then as I fell asleep last night I was fretting everything that I removed to make it more concise and specific to the audience. ARG!!

That really is the beauty of the modern technological age though isn’t it?  ADF will publish the article in the Spring edition after which I can publish another version on this blog putting that information I had to remove for length back in and making it more informative for the general audience.   This flexibility should remove any anxiety I have about not providing enough information in the print edition, but it really doesn’t.  Maybe I should focus on getting a larger following by the time it comes out??

My next published project was going to be on Finn as a god, but I think I will focus on gentlidecht and how I came to choose gentlidecht as the word to describe my faith.  Both drafts are over 2500 words so I suspect my editor and I will be going over them a lot before they hit the blog.  I hope to learn how to better write my drafts so that she doesn’t have to go over them as much in the future.

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For full disclosure the editor I work with happens to be my wife.  I call her my editor because being an editor and writer is her career, from Simon and Schuster to her successful freelance business.  From query letters to developmental editing to ghostwriting she does it all, and I have to plug her latest ghostwriting project is now available on Amazon called “Way of the SEAL”  by Mark Divine with Allyson Edlehertz Machate and it is something those interested in the warrior path should read.  I will be doing a review of it in the next couple weeks and posting it here.
  

Personality Types – Of Warriors and Jerks

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The following is an excerpt from the forth coming article on various personality types I have identified among the neopagan warrior and Celtic Recon community.  It was pulled from another article entitled Fénidecht to be published in “Oak Leaves” Spring 2014 and on this blog June 2014.

In this excerpt I am discussing two types of ‘warriors’ we find online.  The problem we have is that we can’t usually tell them apart until it is too late unless we know what to look for, and by giving information on these two I hope to increase awareness and decrease the killing of good discussions while not feeding trolls.

 One of the most common féinnidi personality types I have come across is the “Challenger of the Norm.” They enjoy discussions with others and tend to ask questions of the community that force people to consider something that is counter to an existing belief or understanding thus disrupting how society thinks of itself. This has often resulted in the assumption that the féinnid is somehow trying to change things or be intentionally disruptive, while the truth may be as simple as that they want to understand another’s perspective and simply don’t know how to couch the question in a way that doesn’t seem as though they are pointing out errors in others’ understanding. Of course, sometimes an individual is in fact being intentionally disruptive, which is simply poor behavior. However, intentional or not, the community response is too often hostile, and instead of nurturing discussion and debate, the féinnid is flagged as a troll. Given an opportunity, the well-intentioned “Challengers of the Norm” will distinguish themselves by staying involved in a discussion; a troll, on the other hand, will post inflammatory statements with obvious intent to create trouble. While disruptive at times, “Challengers of the Norm” should be seen as the people who help us really know and understand ourselves by forcing us to periodically re-evaluate what we believe.

Then there is the‘Warrior Antagonist’, which is not a personality type limited to féinnidi but is a general type often found among those who identify themselves as warriors. They often appear to be “Challengers of the Norm” but as the discussion continues they tend to get more heated until finally a moderator steps in or the entire discussion shuts down. When challenged as to why they get so heated and fight the response is something akin to “I am a warrior and we enjoy conflict and fighting.” This is a behavior that no one, especially féinnidi, should accept. As modern warriors part of our martial training is de-escalation, team-work and in many organizations,including the armed forces and police forces, conflict resolution. The only time a warrior should escalate a conflict is to bring it to a quick end, and this only applies to actual combat situations. Escalating discussion and debates to the point of open hostility is also counter-productive and in the end only places the warrior in a poor light. With féinnidi already being misunderstood by the Neopagan community it is important to not be a ‘Warrior Antagonist’ and for non-warrior Neopagans to recognize the differences between the personalities to avoid killing discussions that could introduce new ideas and opinions.

EDITED – Updated the first paragraph after my editor pulled this section from the original article.

Pagan adaptations of original source material.

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I love the work of Morgan Daimler and Mike Nichols who both published poetry from the Carmina Gadelica converted to a Neopagan version.  This makes sense to me.

What I don’t understand is why we have to change things that are already good.  The example I ran into just this morning is from the “Acallam na Senórach” when Patrick asks  Caílte what kept Fionn Mac Cumhaill’s warrior band going all those years.  His response  is “Fírinde inár croidhedhaibh & nertt inár lámhaibh, & comall inár tengthaibh.” which has been translated in variants: “truth in our hearts, strength of our arms, and constancy of our tongues” or  “truth in our hearts, strength of our arms, and fulfillment of our tongues”.

If you look for this phrase on the internet though you find it written as  “Strength in our arms, truth on our tongue, clarity in our heart” and yet there is no use of this version that I have been able to find in any translation of the AnS yet people cite that it is from the Fennian Cycle.  It’s not but I did find its source.  Turns out it was written by Seán ó Tuathail in 1993 as part of his Foclóir Draíochta – Dictionary of Druidism.   In it he reorganizes the phrase and puts it into Modern Irish as “Neart inár lámha, fírinne ar ár dteanga, glaine inár gcroí”.  Honestly, it is easier to understand than the various translations of the original but why not just clarify the original?

Three points to take away from this brief rant:  1) Why not use original phrases when they don’t contain obvious non-Pagan overtones 2) Be sure you know the source of something before citing it.  3) If you adapt something, cite it properly so we all know its origin.

As Abraham Lincoln said at his 1865 Inauguration Speech – “Just because it is on the internet!!  Does not make it true.”

Sharing other Outsider blogs…

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Here is a quick and short list of blogs for folks that I know who self-identify as outsiders and are in some way connected to the CR movement or Gaelic Polytheism.

Searching for Imbas – Erynn Laurie
 Flying with the Hooded Crow – Kym Lambert
A Wolfman, not a Wolf in Mans Clothing – Faoladh

Daily Declaration of a Féinnid #1

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An affirmation is a positive self-empowering statement that should be said daily .  They have probably always been around for a long while but became a ‘thing’ in the New Age movement.  As part of our spiritual lives many make affirmations and I support this, and we should make affirmations part of our daily ritual.
As  féinnidi we should do more.  We should declare ourselves to the gods daily our role and remind ourselves who we are and why we do what we do.  This first declaration focuses on the Otherworldly aspect of fénidecht and is a prayer that can be done anytime or anyplace.

Warrior, hunter, poet, seer, outsider, I am what
is feared by the ‘things that go bump in the night.’ With truth in my heart,
strength of my arms, and constancy of my tongue, I walk the boundary between
worlds and stand at the borders guarding against the unknown. Armed against
those who wish to harm; I am the wolf, I am the prey, I am the wild hunt.
 I am a guardian between the realms, a wild beast in the wood, a féinnid
in the service of my people.

*Writing requirement for OOTW course *koyros1 

Mound of Hostages today, the actual day of Samain.

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Post by Heritage Tours Ireland.

A brief entry on my training.

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Féinnidi should make attempts to be physically fit and prepared to defend themselves and others.  For me this meant joining a local Krav Maga studio, running at least 20 miles per week and a heavy bag.

I used to belong to a gym and I went nearly every day, but only because it was next to my house.  I hated it.  When I moved I stopped all training and continued to expand the waistline.  Sometime in April 2012 I decided to take control and manage my diet.  This kind of worked in that I stopped gaining weight and even began to lose a little.  It wasn’t enough though, I need to either lose 40 pounds are convert it to muscle and make it worth having..

Since then I have taken up running with a goal of 20 miles per week (have not met this goal).  This will grow as my stamina and speed improves…about 30 minutes of running to increase my heart rate is my goal for now.  My real change is Krav Maga.  For those who do not know this is the hand-to-hand combat system used by the Israeli Defense Forces.  My studio is part of the Krav Maga Worldwide and is the version taught by Darren Levine.    These classes are simply fun, and each class is 1 full hour full of cardio,  strength building, toning, fighting and if its a rough day…puking.   I have yet to the last but I have come close.    I call this having fun, since for the first time I have enjoyed training.

As a member of ADF I am also a member of the Warriors Guild and working on the training program they offer.  It requires keeping a journal, so I thought to share the to-date journal here:

May 2013

April 2012 I woke up and started to change my diet to 1700 calories a day with minimal exercise, starting at 250 pounds I dropped to 219 by the time I got married in October.   By April I was back up to 240 due to not sticking to the calorie counting.  So in May 2013 I started eating about 1900 – 2100  calories a day and using my elliptical to hit 3 miles about 3 times a week.

June 2013

Monthly weigh in brings me to 231.8 pounds.  I have introduced actually running outside using an application called “Zombie Run.”  I don’t have much stamina to actually run the entire distance but I am hitting 2 miles walking/jogging 4-5 days a week.

July 2013

Monthly weigh in brings me to 228.6 pounds. For both self-defense and the training I am now part of a Krav Maga studio.  The classes I take focus on teaching the offensive and defensive techniques of Krav Maga along with some core and strength training. Coupled with the cardio I am now hitting the triad of physical improvement.  By the end of the month I felt compelled to do something every day.  The last week of July was spent resting from an injury and preparing to go to a weeklong festival in Canada.  NOT doing some sort of exercise made me feel lazy and kinda depressed.  So I would say by this point physical activity has become a habit and a necessity to well being.  During the month of July I trained at the Krav studio for 8 hours (thats an average of twice a week) and ran/walked a little over 32 miles.

August 2013

Monthly weigh in is 226.6 pounds.  The month started out poorly with a trip to Canada followed by three weeks with poison ivy that prevented me from being able to train at the studio.  That was followed by a week long trip to Atlanta.

September 2013

Monthly weigh in is 229 pounds.  Expected some weight gain with the lack of exercise, not as bad as I expected.  Got started on my program again by walking/jogging 3.81 miles on the 8th followed by Krava Maga on the 9th.

October 2013

Fail month.  I did not weigh in and I attended the studio just once.  However, I did get a heavy bag and started training on that to practice various assault techniques.   I also ran my longest distance of 4.23 miles in a single go using Zombie Run.

November 2013

Monthly weigh in is 232 pounds

Processional Prayer of Introduction

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Féinnidi protected the community from invaders, from this world and the Otherworld.  When standing outside a ritual space modern Féinnid should do the same.  Here is a poem I wrote years ago for Pagan Spirit Gathering.  I would say it as the participants would process into the circle for the larger rituals.

Finn, Chieftain of the Fiana hear our call.
For we stand at the boundary between Order and Chaos, the civilized and the wild.
As the tribe gathers we come to observe and protect. 
We shall fear no man, nor beast, and nor spirit. 
We shall challenge any who come to do the people ill.
Gods and ungods of the people, know that we are here and we are allies.
With spear and shield we will protect the people, aid the people and sacrifice ourselves for the people.
We stand at the boundary between Order and Chaos, the civilized and the wild.

*Writing requirement for OOTW course *koyros1

Plans for writing…

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The plan for all my articles is to publish them in  print media followed by digital media.  The space between the two publications will be based on the publication agreements with the print media.  So far I have 4 articles in process with 2 more that I would like to write:

Fénidecht – The outlaw warrior in modern times.
Why Gentlidecht – An argument for calling myself  a practitioner of Gentlidecht. or a gent.
Gentlidecht– A detailed explanation of what Gentlidecht is…
Finn the Wolf/Stag/Hunting god – a re-write of an older article entitled ” Fionn mac Cumhal: The Stag/Hunting God of Ireland”

Two other topics are:

Weapons in the Sanctuary – a presentation of historical rules for weapons in holy sanctuaries in IE cultures.
Outsiders – a presentation of the outsider in the 21st century via interviews with self-identified Outsiders.

Fénidecht will be the first article completed, its publication will be in the Spring edition of  “Oak Leaves” the members magazine from Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF).  Once it comes out in print I will publish it here in my blog and up on a more permanent website yet to be designed. 

Initial Post

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I am not much of a blogger and I write articles in spurts that have lasted years…but this will be an attempt to post more articles on subjects of my faith.   My blogging name is obviously not my real name but that is more to avoid Google searches of my real name turning up my blog.  Just to help keep my secular and religious lives separate on the internet.   My employer and anyone with any search skills can connect the dots of my identity if they wished.

Anyway, I hope to have interesting articles in the future.

Oh, and happy Samain.