Tag Archives: Gaelic Heathenry

Bealtaine Blessings

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Bless those minding cattle,
And those minding sheep,
And those fishing the sea
May the rains sweep gentle across the fields,
May the sun warm the land,
May every good seed planted bear fruit,
And late summer find us among fields of plenty.

* A combination of two traditional Irish poems.

Building Community Part 2 – A Gentlidecht group in ADF

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This is the second part of a series on building an Irish Polytheist community.  I realized after writing the first part, that it did not include any real methodology but was simply a structure of the community not necessarily how to build it.  In this essay I will not only cover how typical ADF groves are structured, but how I can envision an ADF grove founded and run by people who practice gentlidecht may change the structure and what actual methods are used to bring in individuals and families to build a community of genti, around the ADF grove.

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A few local folks who identify as Irish Polytheists have joined me in starting what is called a protogrove of  Ár nDraíocht Féin in the Baltimore area.  ADF at its core is a Neopagan church but due to its orthopraxic nature allows for many traditions to function within it at the local group and individual level.  What is most attractive to us was the longevity of the organization, an established ritual structure created using reconstructionist methodology, and a built in community at the national and international level.  Being a protogrove or grove of ADF also has the advantage of being an immediately recognizable body within the community, most Neopagans know that ADF is a druid organization, making the process of building a community a little simpler…name recognition goes a long way.

Organizationally, ADF requires that each Provisional and Chartered Grove have a Senior Druid, a treasurer (Pursewarden) and a secretary (Scribe), a Protogrove is only required to have a Grove Organizer.   The required duties are also defined by ADF, but outside of these requirements a grove can operate according to its own bylaws.  As we plan to remain focused on gentlidecht we expect to have some roles defined that are not found in other groves.

While not explicitly stated in any official document the Senior Druid is the expected leader of the grove as can be seen by the existence and function of the Council of Senior Druids. However, as Irish Polytheists we are considering having another role that is more of a secular leadership position that functions along side the Senior Druid.  The religious duties and those ADF expects would be handled by the Senior Druid, with as yet undefined responsibilities falling to the secular leader. 

It may even be possible to establish an ADF grove or protogrove and function in nearly the same way as the dearbhfine as described in Part 1. With the Conn Fine being the secular leader mentioned above and the Senior Druid as the spiritual leader and adviser to the Conn Fine.  Another poissble adjustment would be to only allow ordained ADF Priests to function as Senior Druid, as they are trained to lead ritual and be the spiritual leader of the group.  Mind you this is just an example as we have not yet even started to consider organizational structure of our future Provisional Grove, just want to give you an idea of how, as an Irish Polytheist, you can adapt to the ADF system and remain true to your identity. 

So now that you have decided that  ADF is the way to go, it only takes is one ADF member with at least 6 months membership to form a Protogrove…that means it only has to be you.  Even if you are the only CR person you know in your area forming a Protogrove is a good start to building community. It demonstrates that you are serious in your intent and again provides you with instant name recognition, and places your ‘group’ into the searchable ADF grove database. 

Now you have a “Protogrove, ADF” and it is time to start building that community.   To get started use social media to get word out that you are going to hold some sort of  meet and greet for folks interested in Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism or be even more specific, it is up to you.  In our case, we established a Facebook page for our protogrove and MeetUp site to advertise events.  Once the event is created use every means you have to get the word out – e-mail lists, social media, and online forums.  Hold the event – even if no one has RSVPed you should ALWAYS hold the event.  You do not know who will drop by unannounced.

Establish a schedule of events and be as consistent as possible.  As mentioned in Part 1, monthly meetings help foster community and ADF does require its groves to hold monthly business meetings and quarterly public service activities, so you may as well get into the habit.  You can change up the purpose of the meeting, the location even the time to give others an opportunity and reason to attend.  My protogrove is planning to hold monthly events that range from the simple “Meet and Greet” to classes on topics of interest to Irish Polytheism.  As an ADF grove we will also have classes specific to ADF, such as for those going through the Dedicant Path and general introduction classes on ADF topics.

The trick to building any form of community is commonality and communication.  Community members have something in common, in our case Irish Polytheism, and they have to be consistently informed of what is happening, the Facebook page and MeetUp.   Throw in consistency and you will find that the same people tend to show up time and time again.  When this happens you get to know them better and eventually, you invite them to be an active member of your small group.  Rinse and repeat and you will not only end up with a Chartered Grove, you will have an extended community outside the grove to whom you provide services.

End Part the Second.

Building Community Part 1 – The Aurrad Gentlidecht Structure

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The topic of community is hot today so like any good blogger who doesn’t have a topic I will go with the topic of the day.  This will be a multi-part post though, because I have written two methods of building community; the first being a custom method for the gentlidecht tradition I once called Aurrad, and the second being the formation of a grove in ADF and how it may turn out a little differant than other ADF groves with less specific cultural foci.
This being part one is an excerpt from an unnamed manuscript on Aurrad.  It focuses on how I envisioned groups would come together and gives names to those groups.  The concepts come from the early 2000’s and I have not done much since then and may not use some of them today.  I share it here to offer it as one possible suggestion for building community, despite it not being the method I chose.
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From an historical perspective, the Irish had a much defined
social structure, or caste system, based on land and cattle ownership. How a
person could move from one tier in the system to another was governed by the
laws of ownership and inheritance and thus a person could move both up and down
depending on their fortunes. For our purposes we are going to focus on the
familial organization, there were many other ways the Irish organized
themselves but the family is our focus.
The law texts describe family groups as kin through the male
line with a different term for each group depending on how many generations are
being traced. The indfine, íarfine, gelfhine,
derbfhine, are all kin groups through various generations of grandfathers,
with indfine being the male
descendents through the same great-great-great-grandfather through gelfhine being the male descendents
through the same grandfather. The fine
is less well defined, the family relationship is not as well defined due to
distances in between cousins, there could be as many as five or six generations
between them. Some researchers define the fine
as the basic family unit with the derbfhine
being the social unit that related finte
comprise while others say it is gelfhine.
The teaghlach is a household, a group
of people living under the same roof and is not discussed in the source used
for the other legal family terms but is useful for our discussion.
The law texts begin to get fuzzy on the higher levels of
organization. The differences between a cennel,
clan, and a túath, tribe or nation,
are not made clear and in some instances they are interchangeable. The common
understanding is that a cennel is a
group of related families that may also be a túath. A túath is most often defined as a politi
comprised of many derbfhinte living
in the same region and united for common defense and economy and answering to
the same nobles.
Jumping to the 21st century, unless people form
intentional communities the above system does not fit our society. Tribes don’t
exist outside of the First Nations in the America’s
or the various tribal peoples of Third World
countries. Clans have become romanticized in the American and European
consciousness to be people with a common last name, coat-of-arms and some idea
they are related. Family groups no longer live near one another and often don’t
even have the same political, social or religious values. So what are the
Aurrad to do?
Many folk in CR have debated how groups should organize or
even if groups should organize. Experience with the Asatru community has taught
us that there is indeed a requirement for organizing groups, getting the group
together and having a sound leadership within the group to help keep it moving.
The following few paragraphs describe a couple ways to organize Aurrad groups
to become a community that is happy and healthy. We want to avoid
cults-of-personality or the impression we don’t want to live in the modern
world, and most importantly to not appear to wish to adhere to an archaic
social structure that enforces the idea of one person being better or lordly
over another.
The individual is the most basic unit of any organization,
without the individual then nothing else can be built. From the individual we
have the family unit, household which we call teaghlach. The teaghlach
is comprised of family members living in the same home, though in the 21st
century roommates can make up a teaghlach
as well, the point is they all live together and are Aurrad or at least participate
in the Aurrad rituals of the household. The distinction is important, not all
members of the household need to be Aurrad to participate, we are family
focused so inclusion of others of our family in our practices is important. A teaghlach is lead by a head of household, traditionally this is the role of the
adult male but this is not a gender issue so each teaghlach can determine for itself who is the head of the house,
rituals can be changed to accommodate such determinations.
The next level of organization for the Aurrad is the dearbhfine. We won’t be tracing lineage to determine our dearbhfine, for us it is
simply the chosen extended family that gets together each month for communion
and feasting. Some groups call this level of organization the túath, kindred or grove when in fact
this should not be something as large as that. A dearbhfine should never really be
more than two or three dteaghlaigh
(plural of teaghlach) or about ten to fifteen adults. The member dteaghlaigh
of the dearbhfine should be carefully chosen as this will be the group
you interact with on a regular basis, at a minimum monthly. In other Neopagan
and Heathen faiths this equates to a coven, circle or kindred.
Leadership in the dearbhfine is simple enough; it is simply the
person who is seen as the leader and is called the Conn Fine. Every small group like this regardless of why they get together
usually has one or two personalities that are strongest and actually capable of
leading. It will usually be the head of the teaghlach that started to get everyone together in the first
place, but this does not have to be the case. Historically the Conn Fine was elected and this may be a
good way to deal with the situation but the fact is each group should choose its
leadership in any method they see fit so long as it keeps the group happy,
healthy and together. 
The largest organized unit of Aurrad will use the historical
word for the largest political and social body of pre-Christian Ireland, a túath. A túath is a temporary or permanent alliance of various dearbhfhint, dteaghlaigh and aurrad and even other non Aurrad based folk who are interested in
belonging to a larger community for a common cause. The alliance can come
together to build community at a festival or it might be a smaller group within
the confines of a festival. It could also be a legal organization put together
to represent its members to the general population, provide networking or even
education.
Many examples of the first can be found at Neopagan
festivals and gatherings, where groups from all over come together to build a
community for a week or so such as Pagan Spirit Gathering by Circle Sanctuary
or Beltaine Festival held by the Binghamton Pagan Community. The second is less
obvious as no one would call such groups a tribe or clan, the English
equivalent for a túath, but would
usually call themselves and alliance, assembly or even just a manufactured name
to represent the organization such as the group Imbas.
Leadership in a túath
is a simple affair. If the túath is a
collection of dearbhfhint, dteaghlaigh and aurrad and is a permanent alliance then leadership is chosen by the
members through an elective process. If it is a legal entity then the process
is defined in the by-laws and the state statutes. If the túath is the result of a gathering, such as Pagan Spirit Gathering,
then the leadership is the person or organization that is hosting and attending
Aurrad follow the rules set down for the event.
How membership and leadership is chosen in any Aurrad group
above the teaghlach inevitably
falls to the group. There is no set method as many different methods have
worked for many different groups, from peer groups, to appointed leadership to
one person holding open rituals and allowing anyone interested to attend.  What you need to avoid is a system that
formants hostility among members, distrust and drama. Just remember that the
health of the community is the most important thing a true leader will be
concerned with.

End Part the First 😉

Thoughts on the Otherworld – Where we go when we die.

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Not everything about gentlidecht
comes from doing research and applying it to the practice.  Some of it has
to come from being thoughtful.  One such situation is the Otherworld, its
existence, and what happens after death.

There is no need to really go into the literary existence of the
Otherworld.  You can read the stories for yourself or get a copy of “The
Otherworld in Early Irish Literature” by David Spaan which goes into great
detail on the subject.  In fact, according
to Spaan there are 116 names for the Otherworld in the literature, most of
which are island or even other countries such as Spain or Egypt (Spaan 428-29). The question one
has to ask is: does the Otherworld exist outside of literature?  Anecdotally the answer is yes.  There is some sort of ‘other world’ that is inhabited
by other beings, simply by virtue of the existence of the gods and ungods. If
one believes that these other worldly being exist, then it stands that they
would have to live someplace.  Since we
do not see them in the physical realm then there must be another place in which
they live.  If we look to the literature and
folklore, this place is beneath the waves and under the hills.

Experientially the answer is also yes. 
There is an entire practice of ‘journeying’ to the Otherworld to meet
with the beings that live there for guidance. 
The experiences of those who have done this work increases the anecdotal
evidence of another realm outside of our own in which other beings exist.

So assuming the Otherworld exists, and that there are beings that live there
and that is where the gods reside.  Is
that also where we go when we die? 
Looking to the stories and strictly speaking from the stories the answer
is no and yes.  In Spaans research there
is no indication that the dead go to any of the 116 named locations that are
the Otherworld.   However, there is a place not named in Spaans
research that is given as a dwelling place of the dead, Tech nDuinn, the House of Donn.  Arguably this is also an Otherworld but what
is important to note is that it is not the same Otherworld location where the
gods and other spirits reside.  There is
some argument as to whether or not the dead move from the House of Donn to
another location but that is not the focus of this article.  From my perspective, according to the
literature when we die, we pass to Tech
nDuinn.

Is that it though?  Is
that the answer?  This is where reconstruction
based Neopagan religions start to fail, including gentlidecht, but not because they do not provide the answers because
they do.  The failure is that most of us
don’t really believe the literature 100%. 
We don’t take it to heart. Despite our use of the literature to inform our practices and beliefs, we are more pragmatic about death and what happens
after.  

For me the answers are a mix of ideas.  When we die, we pass over to some other place;
I will call it Tech nDuinn. Where we
enjoy the company of others and maybe meet the gods and other spirits.  Then, at some point we are born again as
mortals…someplace…sometime.   In the end
(heh, see what I did there) it is a personal thing.  What we believe happens after death is what
WE believe based on our own experiences, ideas and values. 




The truth is waiting.  

Spaan, David Bruce. The Otherworld in Early Irish
Literature. Ann Arbor: Univeristy of Michigan, 1969. PDF.

Why I do not worship the Morrígna

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Original Post

I must be one of the few people in the Irish polytheism community that does not worship the Morrígna is some way.  In fact, not giving her offerings is so important to me that we made it a rule within my group, that we would not allow anyone to make offering to any of the Morrígna in our group rituals.  Being one who has been involved in warriorship for most of my adult life, it confuses my peers when I tell them of
my total opposition to the worship of the battle goddesses known as Nemain, Badb and Morrigu  (I am leaving Anand and Macha out of this for now.) I was spurred to write this entry after reading about a
Temple of the Morrigan at Pantheacon run by a group known as Coru Cathubodua, the idea of a temple to these goddesses being established at a Neopagan gathering of hundreds of people actually scares me a little.
There are plenty of blogs out there written by people who I respect a great deal that go into all the reasons they worship the Morrígna, you can read one of them, Shadow of the Hooded Crow.  I am
going to focus on the reasons why I do not worship her and won’t be part of any ritual that does, except under a very specific circumstance.
The very first thing that must be understood is that I have seen war, rather I have seen the effects war has on people’s lives, psyche and most importantly their body.  During my time as a medic in the United States Air Force I was often pulled to a unit know as am aeromedical squadron.  These teams were the ones that transported patients from around the world back to the United States for treatment.  On a few
occasions this included Somali’s who were injured during their clashes.  All of the wounds we were  treating were either from gunshots or explosives, inflicted on men, women and children.  There is nothing more heartbreaking than helping a kid who has an arm blown off to eat.
Then there was the American helicopter pilot that had a phosphorous round explode in the cockpit.  Out of everyone on the crew, he survived…in a way.  I say that because when he came back to the United States he was still alive, but with +90% 2nd and 3rd degree burns.  We kept him in a coma so that he would not have to be in pain.  I saw his dressing change.  You simply cannot imagine what that looked like, or how it would make you feel if you saw it up close.
Finally, there is my friend.  He carried a ‘saw’ while deployed in Iraq.  The fact that his gun is called a ‘saw’ should give you a pretty good visual of what this gun can do.  During one patrol his squad came upon a kid no older than 14 with an AK-47 in his hands and walking towards the squad.  While the entire squad screamed and yelled for the kid to drop the weapon, he raised it to his shoulder.  My friend has a recurring dream of this incident, each bullet hitting that kid in slow motion.  It’s not a dream.  It’s a fucking nightmare.
That is war. War at a distance at that because I saw them all cleaned up or in the case of my friend learned of it second hand.  Imagine seeing those wounds fresh, or witnessing the events as they occured.  This is what the Morrígna want, they want death and blood and slaughter.  Even when making prophecy it is death and war that they prophesize.  No, they are to be respected and feared but I give them no offerings and I won’t be part of any ritual that does.A few years ago, I would be trying to convince people to think as I do on this topic and I tended to avoid having close relationships with people who did worship them (I no longer do this, nor think it is appropriate).  Even Alexi Kondratiev would on occasion try to explain why it is a bad idea to “invite them into your home”, his term was “psychopath”.  As it is, I know some very nice people who worship one or more of the Morrígna and none of them have died a horrible death…yet.  So now my position is simple – Not in my house.  Easy to enforce and doesn’t step on anyone’s beliefs.
Addendum March 25, 2014.Dear reader, based on responses in other forums I feel it necessary to make this statement.  This blog post is about my experiences.  I understand that in the lore and your practices there is more to the Morrígna than just being a blood thirsty goddess of war but this is not a blog about her it is a blog about my experiences. Want to know all about her there are plenty of places to go, I suggest starting with http://caithream.blogspot.com/
Addendum August 17, 2014.
The discussion with Alexi Kondratiev in which he used the term ‘psychopath’ to describe the Morrigan occurred at the Chesapeake Pagan Community Gathering in 2008.  I no longer try to convince people it’s a bad idea to worship any of the Morrígna (it is rude and inappropriate). And the comment about people not being killed by her “yet” is meant as a joke.  Lighten up.

Splitter or Lumper – the Nature of the gods.

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Unlike monists or duotheists who see all gods/goddesses somehow being One, we polytheists view and experience them as individuals.  As a result of this view topics on the nature of the gods comes up pretty frequently.  One topic that comes up more frequently than others is what gods ARE the same and which ones are actually different people.  This does not only apply to different gods in differing cultures, like comparing Lugh and Odin….but within the same or related cultures like the Irish Lugh and Gaulish Lugos or Danu and Anu in Ireland or the three/five Brigids of Ireland.

Everyone in these conversations has valid reasons for what they do and believe but there appear to be two camps.  Splitters, who believe more in the individuality of the gods, and Lumpers who recognize that some gods are the same with minor linguistic differences due to the distance of time and geography.  To confuse things more, some of us are both Lumpers and Splitters, depending on the deity and the information available.

I am a Splitter. Mostly.  That means that in most instances each name is a different deity, unless there is a strong compelling reason linguistically and functionally to show they are the same.  And sometimes, I have to go with the experiences I have, and my gut/heart call it aisling or imbas.

Examples of Splitting:

Brigid – I split the Brigid’s into as many as five.  The three daughters of the Dagda (Poetess, Leach and Smith)  and the two judges (Brethra and Ambue).  The tales clearly separate them but from a functional and linguistic perspective they are the same.  I split them due to my experiences. 

An Morrígna – There are three, no six goddesses  associated with this name.  The Morrígna are a group of goddesses all with similar purpose.  The names found in the tales are: Morrígan, Badb, Macha, Anann, Nemain and Fea. 

Danu/Danann and Anu/Anann – NOT THE SAME.  Not the same.  We are not even sure of Danu is a goddess as she is not named in the mythology but derived from Danann while  Anu/Anann is one of the Morrígna.  I split them because in my work in the military one of the goddesses of war is not also a water goddess. 

Examples of Lumping:

Manannan mac Lir and  Manawydan fab Llŷ – Despite differences in mythology these two names apply to the same person.  The linguistics are clear and the changes in mythology make sense given the differences in the cultures of Ireland (island) and Wales (mountainous).  Note that Manannan mac Lir (Manxman of the Sea) is not his name but a title of sorts.  His name in Ireland is give an Oribsen and there is working theory that he is Fintan mac Bóchra (wiseman of the ocean).

Finn mac Cumail and Gwynn ap Nud – This is harder to explain in a single paragraph, so an article is forthcoming.  However, the first names are cognate as are the names of their ancestor Nud/Nuada.  Both are associated with hounds and hunting and have free reign in passing between the worlds.

Lugh/Lew/Lugos – Linguistics show these names are cognate but time and geography separate them.  However, functionally the cult of Lugos remained fairly intact thus making these gods one and the same.

So there ya go.  Examples of splitting and lumping.  Some polytheists lump more, some split more but we can all pretty much agree that in the end it is the worship that counts and the gods don’t seem to be as concerned with their nature as we are.

Imbolc Business – A summary on what I did.

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So been quiet here for the past couple weeks as I worked on my ritual for Imbolc.  In the past I have never really done a ritual per se.  My Imbolc has always consisted of burning a candle for the Brigids, burning incense, for the past 6 or 7 years smudging the house with juniper and cleaning the house.

In short, for me Imbolc is about cleansing and purification.  I can’t really say where I got this idea from it just sort of evolved over time (probably came about with discussions with other CR folk) until it stopped being a thing and just became the way it is done.  It is so ‘not-a-ritual’ my housemates/wife would only know I was cleaning the house and making it smell nice.

This year, as part of my 12 months of ADF ritual for genti I wrote and conducted an Imbolc ritual.  the Brigid’s were the focus of the worship and the work is purification.  I did my ritual cleansing of the house with juniper as part of the ritual but completed and closed it before I started the vacuum and mopping.

In a previous article I talked about using apples as the medium to receive the blessings but for Imbolc I switched to butter.  This year it was regular unsalted butter but I am already planning on using my grandmothers churn to make fresh butter.  We can’t get raw milk in my state but some friends in PA may be able to help me out so I can make butter  as our ancestors did.

Why butter?  Because no matter what Old Irish term you use for the day, it has something to do with dairy.  Oimelc is understood to mean “ewes, milk” and Kim McCone translates Imbolc as “butter wolf”, more about that in the Hidden Imbolc article.  In any case…it’s about butter.  So, the making of and consumption of butter seems appropriate to the day.

Since the ritual was indoors it was quiet and smooth.  Other than cats wanting to eat my blessed butter (which I used in making cookies) nothing unusual occurred.  I did not do any of the other usual Imbolc activities this year, but seeing as I have just helped found and am the Grove Organizer for Five Rivers Protogrove, ADF I expect some of the traditional activities to became part of our Imbolc celebrations.

I hope you had a nice Imbolc.  Use the comments to tell me what you did.

Synopsis of Kim McCone’s and J. de Vries’ Theory on the Gundestrup Cauldron

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The short of it is that Prof. McCone theorizes that the Gundestrop Cauldron is associated with fiana like warriors of Gaul.  All based on the images on three of the inner panels of the cauldron.  I will paraphrase his work from his article “The Celtic and Indo-European origins of the fian” found in The Gaelic Finn Tradition published by Four Courts Press.

Panel 1 – This is the well known ‘Cernunos’ panel, the main figure with Gaulish parallels (see “Keltische Religion (1961 Pp106-7))  with horns on his head and the “hatching” of the clothing worn is indicative of fur.  A deer stands on the left and a wolf on the right, with the horns associating him with the deer and the fur possibly associating him with the wolf.  The implication being that he has attributes of both animals.  Above and below the figure are a goat and lion, which would have the same cultural attributes as the deer and wolf near Eastern or Balkan context.  Keep in mind that the cauldron most likely comes from Thrace, which was a mix of Eastern and Gaulish peoples.

Prof. McCone believes that the figure depicted is a patron of the *koryos the outcast warrior bands of Indo-European cultures such as the Fiana in Ireland.

Panel 2 – The second panel has hunters accompanied by hounds or wolves attacking large oxen.  Above each stands a spotted cat like figure that could be a leopard. The prey our doubtless to be aurochs with the leopard being another Balkan addition.  If the dog figures are hounds then they would be helping with the hunt, if wolves they could represent the ‘mascot’ of the hunters, who garments resemble that which is worn by the “Cernunos’ figure on the first panel.  The two outer men are wearing only britches and cap with the more seasoned leader wearing a garment covering his upper body.  With the stylized leaves, also found on the first panel, this could be a *koyros hunting party in the woods.



Panel 3 –  The third panel depicts a ritual, where a group of foot soldiers move towards a cauldron are dunked into the cauldron and come out as horseback warriors.  An initiation or cleansing from one status to another.  The bottom six soldiers are armed with spear and shield and are again wearing clothing as depicted on the ‘Cernunos’ panel.  At the front of the line of soldiers is a wolf facing the oncoming soldiers, with musicians at the end of the line.  The wolf is presumably the mascot and the young men are the ‘young wolves’ preparing for initiation back with the musicians also being ‘young wolves’ not yet ready for the transition but acting as assistants to the ritual.

I will quote McCone’s summary:

Whatever about some of the details, the crucial point here is that the three scenes from the Gundestrup Cauldron, just discussed, present clear evidence for a sequentially regulated Gallo-Thracian opposition between, on the one hand, spear and shield, and, on the other, a class of mounted warriors, progress from the former to the latter set being marked by a baptismal rite of passage. 

For my own part.  I have to wonder if the cauldron was actually used for such rituals.  Now that would be an amazing thing.

Further reading:

de Vries, J. Keltische Religion (1961), pp 104-07

McCone,
Kim. “The Celtic and Indo-European Origins of the Fian.” The Gaelic Finn Tradition. Ed. Sharon J.
Arbuthnot and Geraldine Parsons. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2012. 14-73.

Offerings, Blessings and Omens – Why I do things as I do.

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In the previous post I have brief explanation of each part of the ritual.  There are four sections of particular interest that I wanted to expand upon and explain how I, being a practitioner of gentlidecht, would handle them in group rituals.

Offerings during invitations – When inviting the gods and ungods we make physical offerings of various items.  These offerings should be consistent with the nature of the beings and over the years I have taken great care to consider what is provided to them.

  • Irish Gods – This can vary, some give mead, some give physical items.  It depends on what part of the ritual.  During the invitation I tend to use some form of alcohol or a meal that the group will share.
  • Local land goddesses and nature spirits – These are the two groups of beings I am most particular of when making offerings.  Being native to North America they have been receiving offerings from the local tribes for centuries before we arrived and while they may accept what we give them the BEST gifts are those they expect.  Untreated tobacco, maize, corn flour are three items I use.  One thing for sure, I NEVER give them alcohol.
  • House spirits – These beings are only included in my private rituals indoors. They are more likely to have come with us from other places, even followed families for generations. I like to make them small offerings of sweets.
  • Ancestors – I offer them items from a meal that I am eating or that will be shared with the group.  Barring that, I give them good bread and something to drink.

 Praise and Offerings –  I differentiate between the offerings of a physical nature given to the gods and ungods during invitations and those offerings given as praise to them.  Praise offerings can been verbal, silent, physical objects, dance, poems…I have seen many types of praise offerings.

However, during public rituals allowing people to make offerings in whatever fashion they choose can prolong the ritual beyond a reasonable time and can become a bit of showmanship which I do not think is appropriate – after all the offering is not about the giver and having witnessed what I thought was one-up-man-ship when it comes to offerings I think it appropriate to define or even limit how offerings will be given.

For this reason I prefer the rituals of the Asatru known as the blot.  As praise offerings a horn is passed around to the congregation, the holder of the horn makes a silent or verbal offering to whomever they choose and then passes the horn to the next person (drinking is optional.)  This continues until all have give up a praise offering (some kindreds pass the horn three times.)  This allows for every attendee to give praise in a manner that is consistent with everyone else and prevents showmanship.

A gift for a gift – This is the point at which the congregants ask the gods for a blessing in return for the offerings.  This blessing is not placed on the congregation but on a consumable product that is then taken in by the congregation.  In Greeks rituals I have attended they have used bread but in most ADF rituals I have attended they use water or some other form of liquid.

In my rituals I have started using apples as the medium in which we receive the blessings.  Apples are mentioned in the lore as fruit associated with the Otherworld.  They are also fairly abundant year round due to modern agriculture but what I feel is just as important as its connection to the Otherworld, is that no one is allergic to it and it can be broken apart so that it can be shared without concern for communicable disease without a logistical solution.

The Omen – In ADF the most common thing seems to be a set of questions to learn the direction the group should go.  In some instances I have seen them include a question regarding the offerings.  In CR group I have only ever seen them ask if the offerings were acceptable and other types of divination were done OUTSIDE of the public ritual, see Imbas Forasnai.  

Maybe is it my being a gent that influences me but I agree with the reconstructionists, that the omen in these public rituals should be about determining if the offerings have been accepted, and if not, making more offerings or determining why the offerings were not enough and moving forward.

So there you have it.  Brief explanation of how I would run each section and why.  If there is anything readers would like me to write about, feel free to comment or contact me.

A ritual structure explanation

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I have adapted the Core Order of Ritual for ADF for my use and want to share and explain each section of the ritual itself.

Gathering – The call to come together for worship is made by some sort of musical signal, a horn, a gong or bells, are perfect.  Once the signal is given participants should process to the ritual fire/well either in silence or with some sort of group unity song, poem, statement or chant or chant. 

Centering Meditation – A ritual meditation to help the group get into the mindset of meeting the gods and ungods and to aid in creating a group mind set to the purpose of worship.

Honoring the Local Land Goddesses – ADF requires that each ritual begin with honoring the ‘Earth Mother’.  As reconstructionists we do not deify the planet but we do deify the land and rivers.  The spirit of this section is to honor the life giver and we meet this requirement by honoring the local rivers as the goddesses of the land; the givers of life to our region.

Establishing the Grove – Even when using a space that is well worn with sacrifices we re-sanctify the area by building a sacred grove.  A hearth fire, a well and a bile are established and blessed.

Parting the Mists – While the gods are imminent and the spirits are local, the ancestors are in the Otherworld, so the mists that separate our world from the world of our ancestors must be parted to allow them to come through.  

Inviting the Gods and Ungods – We do not invoke, or summon our gods, the spirits or the ancestors to witness or accept a sacrifice.  We invite them as guests to our grove, attendance is up to them.

Praise and Offerings – We offer praise and make offerings to the three groups of beings that are important to our religion.  The gods, the nature spirits and the ancestors.  This section may change each ritual to offer praises to specific beings as well, such as to our grove Patron at Midsummer or the Land Goddesses at Fall Equinox.  You will notice that our form of praise is to give toasts to the gods and ungods, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are available.

The Omen – When giving offerings it is wise to ask if they are acceptable.  The omen is the time to ask and if not accepted an opportunity to make further offerings or ask what else can be done.

Receiving the Blessings of the Gods and Ungods – We have given gifts to the gods and ungods, and now we ask for a gift in return.  We ask for good set aside for the occasion to be blessed so that the people may receive the blessings by eating the food.

Thanks the gods and ungods and closing the mists – One should always thank guests for stopping by and close the door once they are gone.

Taking down the Sacred Grove – While the sacredness is never dispelled by our words, the physical representations should be removed or snuffed.