Samhain is one of its four main Festival dates of the Celtic calendar. Samhain is the last of the harvest; thus, the end of the year in many ways for the ancient Celts as they prepared for the winter darkness. The end of the cycle of life was acknowledged at this time, too. Like the Mexican Day of the Dead, this holiday is a time to celebrate those who have passed on and to welcome the spirits of loved ones to visit on this day “when the veil is thinnest”.
Read MoreWe all have read of such things in classic children’s fiction: Alice going down the rabbit hole, the Narnia wardrobe. More recent fiction has Harry Potter and friends finding a portal within the train station at Platform 9 ¾ and Claire dropping into an earlier century Scotland in the Outlander.
Read MoreI'm writing this in the shadows of Arizona's Red Rocks, far from the geography and the geology of my favorite Celtic landmarks. But this place holds almost as much magic for me as the beloved "thin places" of Scotland and Ireland.
Read MoreWinifred was venerated through stories of her ability to heal. Legend has it she was a 7th century princess who refused a powerful prince who then beheaded her. Her uncle restored her to life, and she became a virgin martyr and a 12th century saint.
Royalty and peasants alike visited through the centuries, for healing and thanksgiving. Fertility was also promised by the cleansing waters of its spring.
Read MoreThe Oracle draw for today involves two cards since the guide we are using has a different format.
The booklet is named “Using the Celtic Wisdom Oracle” and its “Ancestral Wisdom and Guidance Cards” are illustrated by Wil Kinghan and authored by Caitlin Matthews.
The Divine Ancestors Cards, the Wisdom of our Elders, as represented by the Lords and Ladies of Life, Love and Light
The Clan Cards, the Ancestors of our Blood Line, as represented by an array of folks from the Spinner and Weaver to the King and Queen to Seer and Druid
The descriptions and the narrative are most informative and a great overview of Celtic culture.
Read MoreThe fringe of the fringe seems an apt description of Brittany and Galicia, both on mainland Europe and, therefore, even more weakly linked to Celtic identity.
Read MorePalm trees in Ireland, who would have thought?
Read MoreLady Augusta Gregory was one of the leaders of the Irish Revival. It is chronicled that a trip to Inisheer, one of the the Aran Islands across Galway Bay was the catalyst for her passion for reviving the Irish language. She organized Irish lessons at the school at Coole, visited the Gort workhouse for more stories and became a prolific writer.
Read MoreOnce a month, I draw a card from a Celtic tarot or oracle deck that can bring in new images and words of potential meaning and new energy. Today’s card is from The Sacred Circle Tarot: A Celtic Pagan Journey by Anna Franklin, illustrated by Paul Mason.
Read MoreOn a trip to Ireland a few years ago, I heard an American woman in a bathroom at Dublin airport asking, “what language do these people speak anyway?” Her friend’s reply was “English, I think.”
The language question in Celtic lands is a complicated mix of culture, history, politics, and linguistics.
Read MoreAre you old enough to remember when network TV rolled out the new shows of fall season just before school started? I thought it might be fun to suggest some Irish TV favorites of mine for those longer fall nights that are coming all too soon.
Read MoreThis year Lughnasa was officially celebrated August 7, but we can still acknowledge the turning of the seasons and give thanks for the harvest with a summer bonfire, the baking of bread or perhaps even crafting a grain doll out of chaffs of wheat.
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