Even though I started on the 29th, I mark today as two months. This month has been cold but a good month. My brother has returned to his father and we all miss him. Next month the weather, hopefully, will change and it will start getting warmer. I have spring cleaning plans that I will not wait for the warm weather to come back to get them done.
Here's to another month of learning and growing.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Monday, February 27, 2017
Irish Gods: Bres
I got this from Wikipedia.
In Irish mythology, Bres (or Bress) was a king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is often referred to by the name Eochaid / Eochu Bres. His parents were Prince Elatha of the Fomorians and Eri, daughter of Delbaith. He was an unpopular king, and favoured his Fomorian kin. He grew so quickly that by the age of seven he was the size of a 14-year-old.
In the First Battle of Magh Tuiredh, King Nuada of the Tuatha Dé Danann lost his hand; because he was imperfect, he could not be king. Hoping to reconcile relations between the Fomorians and the Tuatha Dé Danann, Bres was named king and Brigid of the Tuatha de Danann married him, giving him a son, Ruadan, who would later be killed trying to assassinate Goibniu.
Bres made the Tuatha Dé Danann pay tribute to the Fomorians and work as slaves: Ogma was forced to carry firewood, and the Dagda had to dig trenches around forts. He neglected his duties of hospitality: the Tuatha Dé complained that after visiting his house their knives were never greased and their breaths did not smell of ale. Cairbre, poet of the Tuatha Dé, composed a scathing poem against him, which was the first satire in Ireland, and everything went wrong for Bres after that.
After Bres had ruled for seven years, Nuada had his hand, which had formerly been replaced with a silver one by Dian Cecht and Creidhne, replaced with one of flesh and blood by Dian Cecht's son Miach, with the help of his sister Airmed; following the successful replacement, Nuada was restored to kingship and Bres was exiled. He went to his father for help to recover his throne, but Elatha would not help him gain by foul means what he had been unable to keep: "You have no right to get it by injustice when you could not keep it by justice".[1] Bres was guided by his father to Balor, another leader of the Fomorians, for the help he sought.
He led the Fomorians in the Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh but lost. He was found unprotected on the battlefield by Lugh and pleaded for his life. Lugh spared him because he promised to teach the Tuatha Dé agriculture.
In the Lebor Gabála and Cath Maige Tuired, Bres is portrayed as beautiful to behold, yet harsh and inhospitable. However, a poem of the dindsenchas praises Bres' "kindly" and "noble" character and calls him the "flower" of the Tuatha Dé Danann. It also tells of his death at the hands of Lugh. Lugh made 300 wooden cows, and filled them with a bitter, poisonous red liquid which was then "milked" into pails and offered to Bres to drink. Bres, who was under an obligation not to refuse hospitality, drank it down without flinching, and it killed him.[2] The Lebor Gabála mentions this incident briefly, however the deadly liquid is identified as sewage. The scribes who wrote down the text of the Cath Maige Tuired record his name as having meant 'beautiful'.
In Irish mythology, Bres (or Bress) was a king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is often referred to by the name Eochaid / Eochu Bres. His parents were Prince Elatha of the Fomorians and Eri, daughter of Delbaith. He was an unpopular king, and favoured his Fomorian kin. He grew so quickly that by the age of seven he was the size of a 14-year-old.
In the First Battle of Magh Tuiredh, King Nuada of the Tuatha Dé Danann lost his hand; because he was imperfect, he could not be king. Hoping to reconcile relations between the Fomorians and the Tuatha Dé Danann, Bres was named king and Brigid of the Tuatha de Danann married him, giving him a son, Ruadan, who would later be killed trying to assassinate Goibniu.
Bres made the Tuatha Dé Danann pay tribute to the Fomorians and work as slaves: Ogma was forced to carry firewood, and the Dagda had to dig trenches around forts. He neglected his duties of hospitality: the Tuatha Dé complained that after visiting his house their knives were never greased and their breaths did not smell of ale. Cairbre, poet of the Tuatha Dé, composed a scathing poem against him, which was the first satire in Ireland, and everything went wrong for Bres after that.
After Bres had ruled for seven years, Nuada had his hand, which had formerly been replaced with a silver one by Dian Cecht and Creidhne, replaced with one of flesh and blood by Dian Cecht's son Miach, with the help of his sister Airmed; following the successful replacement, Nuada was restored to kingship and Bres was exiled. He went to his father for help to recover his throne, but Elatha would not help him gain by foul means what he had been unable to keep: "You have no right to get it by injustice when you could not keep it by justice".[1] Bres was guided by his father to Balor, another leader of the Fomorians, for the help he sought.
He led the Fomorians in the Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh but lost. He was found unprotected on the battlefield by Lugh and pleaded for his life. Lugh spared him because he promised to teach the Tuatha Dé agriculture.
In the Lebor Gabála and Cath Maige Tuired, Bres is portrayed as beautiful to behold, yet harsh and inhospitable. However, a poem of the dindsenchas praises Bres' "kindly" and "noble" character and calls him the "flower" of the Tuatha Dé Danann. It also tells of his death at the hands of Lugh. Lugh made 300 wooden cows, and filled them with a bitter, poisonous red liquid which was then "milked" into pails and offered to Bres to drink. Bres, who was under an obligation not to refuse hospitality, drank it down without flinching, and it killed him.[2] The Lebor Gabála mentions this incident briefly, however the deadly liquid is identified as sewage. The scribes who wrote down the text of the Cath Maige Tuired record his name as having meant 'beautiful'.
Monday, February 20, 2017
Irish Gods: Beira
I got this from Wikipedia.
Beira is the name given by 20th-century folklorist Donald Alexander Mackenzie to the Cailleach Bheur, the personification of winter and the mother of all the gods and goddesses in Scottish mythology.[1] She is associated with one of the Celtic creation myths (which usually pertain to local land features) and bears a similar role to Gaea in Greek mythology and Jord in Norse mythology.
According to Mackenzie, Beira was a one-eyed giantess with white hair, dark blue skin, and rust-colored teeth. She built the mountains of Scotland using a magic hammer, and Loch Ness was created when Beira transformed her negligent maid Nessa into a river, which broke loose and made the loch. Ben Nevis was her "mountain throne". The longest night of the year marked the end of her reign as Queen of Winter, at which time she visited the Well of Youth and, after drinking its magic water, grew younger day by day.
Beira is the name given by 20th-century folklorist Donald Alexander Mackenzie to the Cailleach Bheur, the personification of winter and the mother of all the gods and goddesses in Scottish mythology.[1] She is associated with one of the Celtic creation myths (which usually pertain to local land features) and bears a similar role to Gaea in Greek mythology and Jord in Norse mythology.
According to Mackenzie, Beira was a one-eyed giantess with white hair, dark blue skin, and rust-colored teeth. She built the mountains of Scotland using a magic hammer, and Loch Ness was created when Beira transformed her negligent maid Nessa into a river, which broke loose and made the loch. Ben Nevis was her "mountain throne". The longest night of the year marked the end of her reign as Queen of Winter, at which time she visited the Well of Youth and, after drinking its magic water, grew younger day by day.
Monday, February 13, 2017
Irish Gods: Corb
Got this from Wikipedia.
Another name for the Fomorians, who might represent the destructive powers of nature. However, the site needs to be improved and so I won't be listing things there on here.
Another name for the Fomorians, who might represent the destructive powers of nature. However, the site needs to be improved and so I won't be listing things there on here.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Only Covering the Four Sabbaths
Next month all the neopagans will be coming together to celebrate the Spring Equinox. However, this sabbath isn't part of the Celtic calendar. So I won't be covering it at all. I might burn some incense but I won't be doing a ritual. The Spring Equinox is more connected to the German Pantheon than the Celtic one. However, I don't disapprove of others celebrating it.
I just wanted to get on here and let everyone know what kind of Sabbaths that I will be celebrating and not celebrating.
I just wanted to get on here and let everyone know what kind of Sabbaths that I will be celebrating and not celebrating.
Monday, February 6, 2017
Irish Gods: Danu
I got this from Wikipedia.
In Irish mythology, Danu ([ˈdanu]; modern Irish Dana [ˈd̪ˠanˠə]) is a hypothetical mother goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann (Old Irish: "The peoples of the goddess Danu"). Though primarily seen as an ancestral figure, some Victorian sources also associate her with the land.
Name
The hypothetical nominative form of the name, *Danu, is not found in any medieval Irish text, but is rather a reconstruction by modern scholars based on the genitive Danann (also spelled Donand or Danand), which is the only form attested in the primary sources (e.g. in the collective name of the Irish gods, Tuatha De Danann "Tribe of the Gods of Danu").
The etymology of the name has been a matter of much debate since the 19th century, with some earlier scholars favoring a link with the Vedic water goddess Danu, whose name is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *dhenh2- "to run, to flow", which may also lie behind the ancient name for the river Danube, Danuuius (perhaps of Celtic origin, though it is also possible that it is an early Scythian loanword in Celtic).[2]
In one of the more recent examinations of the name Danu, renowned linguist Eric Hamp rejects the traditional etymologies as fantasy, proposing instead that *Danu is rather derived from the same root as Latin bonus (Old Latin duenos), from Proto-Indo-European *dueno- "good", via a Proto-Celtic nominative singular n-stem *Duonū meaning "Aristocrat".
In Mythology
Danu has no myths or legends associated with her in any surviving medieval Irish texts, but she has possible parallels with the Welsh literary figure (or goddess) Dôn, who is the mother figure of the medieval tales in the Mabinogion.
In Irish mythology, Danu ([ˈdanu]; modern Irish Dana [ˈd̪ˠanˠə]) is a hypothetical mother goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann (Old Irish: "The peoples of the goddess Danu"). Though primarily seen as an ancestral figure, some Victorian sources also associate her with the land.
Name
The hypothetical nominative form of the name, *Danu, is not found in any medieval Irish text, but is rather a reconstruction by modern scholars based on the genitive Danann (also spelled Donand or Danand), which is the only form attested in the primary sources (e.g. in the collective name of the Irish gods, Tuatha De Danann "Tribe of the Gods of Danu").
The etymology of the name has been a matter of much debate since the 19th century, with some earlier scholars favoring a link with the Vedic water goddess Danu, whose name is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *dhenh2- "to run, to flow", which may also lie behind the ancient name for the river Danube, Danuuius (perhaps of Celtic origin, though it is also possible that it is an early Scythian loanword in Celtic).[2]
In one of the more recent examinations of the name Danu, renowned linguist Eric Hamp rejects the traditional etymologies as fantasy, proposing instead that *Danu is rather derived from the same root as Latin bonus (Old Latin duenos), from Proto-Indo-European *dueno- "good", via a Proto-Celtic nominative singular n-stem *Duonū meaning "Aristocrat".
In Mythology
Danu has no myths or legends associated with her in any surviving medieval Irish texts, but she has possible parallels with the Welsh literary figure (or goddess) Dôn, who is the mother figure of the medieval tales in the Mabinogion.
Saturday, February 4, 2017
The Celtic Wanderer Up for One Month
Today marks one month that this blog has been up. I want to thank everyone that has come on here and read my blog posts. I've enjoyed doing all these wonderful posts and I look forward to another month of blogging.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Imbolc (2017)
Today is Imbolc, and the day that the groundhog comes out forcefully. So far my day has been good. I went out yesterday and bought some food to celebrate Imbolc and to give Bridget some food offerings. I'm so happy that my brother is back, even if it's for a short time, and we're enjoying his company. A very good Imbolc and one that I'm happy to record.
I gave Bridget some cheese and poured some juice. I don't really like drinking booze and I think that we don't have to offer everything that she was given. This month I will not be writing as much because I don't believe in doing double posts. So no Full or New Moon posts unless something amazing happens. Next month will be spring and everyone is getting ready to start getting their seeds sprouting. Next month our kitten becomes a cat and things get closer to the move.
Have a blessed Imbolc.
I gave Bridget some cheese and poured some juice. I don't really like drinking booze and I think that we don't have to offer everything that she was given. This month I will not be writing as much because I don't believe in doing double posts. So no Full or New Moon posts unless something amazing happens. Next month will be spring and everyone is getting ready to start getting their seeds sprouting. Next month our kitten becomes a cat and things get closer to the move.
Have a blessed Imbolc.
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