Tales From the Otherwood

New Moon ♒️

Logo designed and created by my very good friend, Kraig at Adaptive

Tales From the Otherwood is my podcast, I launched it at the end of 2022 and have aimed for each monthly episode to come out on or as close to the 2nd of the month as possible.

It’s a storytelling podcast that explores the folk tales and folklore of the East Midlands (Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Rutland, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire) with the occasional “Guest Slot” episode of a tale being from either another county of the United Kingdom or from another country.

I realise that focussing on a region of six counties makes it pretty niche within an already niche subject; but as I have lived in Nottingham and the East Midlands for the past 17 years, it makes sense to do so. Especially as my original idea for the podcast was just going to focus on Nottingham. It wasn’t until I was doing a talk on magpie folklore and used the story of The Wizard of Lincoln to illustrate this, that I realised: why limit myself to one area? The East Midlands as a whole has a wealth of lore and stories which have been recorded, and it should be preserved and shared.

Plus, no one else has done it. There are other podcasts that concentrate on folk tales from all around the UK, there are others that tell Celtic folk tales and myths (I’ll set the record straight right now: I have nothing against the Celtic stories and may even cover some in future episodes) but no one specialises in the East Midlands.

I don’t have guests or interviews, at least not at this stage, it’s just me (under my stage name of “Dylan Knight”) talking to the microphone, talking to you. I tell a story then I discuss the folkloric themes and elements that come up from or are associated with the tale being told.

My format is simple: I’ll introduce the story and where it is from; there’s the story itself and then what I call ‘The Chat’. That section is where I talk about the finer details of the themes that come from the story. It might be history, it might be what the particular folkloric subject is or what that tradition is all about, it might even be a combination of all of those things. It depends on the story of the episode. For example, in the episode The Woodman and the Hatchet I discuss the water fairy in the story and comparing the ancient belief of rivers being the embodiment of water goddesses from the pre-Roman past.

I will say though, the amount of time for research, scripting, recording and editing an episode is anywhere between 5-6 hours (maybe more!) and I’ll be honest: as much as I enjoyed my Anglo-Saxon Year series of blogs, I was creating a LOT of work for myself. In fact, I had to REALLY push myself to finishing that series. In between researching and writing my blog, researching the Anglo-Saxon runes (another blog post for another day!) and researching, writing and producing my episodes, I was in danger of burning myself out. I won’t be blogging as much anymore as the podcast has become my primary creative outlet.

This doesn’t mean I’m quitting ‘A Wise Fool’, it just means that this blog will no longer be monthly and will become ad hoc on when posts come out.

I’ll still be here on WordPress reading the blogs I follow, I just won’t be posting as often anymore.

Even if you don’t live in or aren’t from the East Midlands, you might find a story that you really connect with or, even better, may possibly recognise (you think you know Robin Hood?….. check out Robin Hood and the Monk).

Tales From the Otherwood is available on pretty much all available podcast platforms and you can even listen to the episodes straight from my website too:

https://talesfromtheotherwood.buzzsprout.com/

You can contact me to discuss anything about the episodes, or if you’d like to share a story you would like to hear, maybe even share a traditional custom from where you are from…. For the roots of the Otherwood grow far and wide, especially beyond the United Kingdom.

Email: talesfromtheotherwood@gmail.com

Instagram: @tales_from_the_otherwood

For artwork, you can contact Kraig at Adaptive: https://adaptivemedia.weebly.com/

Brightest Blessings to you all and Be Well!

Locksley (“Dylan Knight”).

The Studio!

Midsummer Special: Fairy Lore

2nd Waning Crescent ♈️ (23rd night)

The Summer Solstice and Midsummer have been linked to what we call fairy lore for generations. In fact, in the traditions of Yorkshire and beyond here in the British and Irish Isles, the time around both summer and winter solstices were seen as magical times. As they are again.

Perhaps these are left over echoes of practices from our Stone-Age ancestors, or maybe they came about in respect for spirits of the land; or most likely evolved out of rituals for which the original purposes have now been lost in time.

When picking the strawberries from our plant in the garden, I remembered something I had read describing a Yorkshire custom whilst fruit picking: that folk would cast the first fruits picked over their shoulder as an offering to spirits. Although the author, Liz Linahan, writes this of blackberries (bramble berries), specifically, it being the solstice yesterday (21st June) I decided to honour this belief. The first strawberry picked was thrown over my shoulder with a little dedication to the Spirits of the Land. I popped it back into the pot for the insects to claim.

Not a bad bounty that!

Linahan also wrote of other beliefs from my Yorkshire kin that I hadn’t heard of before, such as the belief that the spirits of the dead were thought to become fairies and that sometimes they would reside in flowers! Linahan writes of the associated flowers as being the fox glove and the broad bean, even writing that people believed accidents were more frequent to happen during the broad-bean flowering time!

Foxgloves, definitely NOT broad beans!

Foxgloves themselves are said to be worn by foxes as a charm around their necks to protect against being hunted. Though the foxglove is toxic to our touch, it has been prescribed for treatment of the heart since at least the Romano-Celtic times.

We do get a lot of foxes in our garden, but they seem more interested in sitting in the sun than trying to put their paws around the flowers to make necklaces….

Fox cub getting comfy…. Can’t water the garden (including the foxgloves) now can I!?

I’m not one for believing in fairies, but I do believe every place has their own spirit. I also believe in showing respect and gratitude, and last night’s private celebration of Midsummer saw me grateful and thankful for everything and everyone I have.

Sources:

Liz Lanahan, More Pit Ghosts, Padfeet and Poltergeists, The King’s England Press, Rotherham, 1996.

Terriwindling.com

All photos by Locksley2010.

Wassail!

New Moon ♒️

I’d like to begin with saying “Thank You!” Last month saw my follower count hit the 200 mark! Thank you all for being amazing and for your support, it really means a lot. 😁

There’s a certain melancholy to the month of January: The Christmas lights have been taken down just after New Year’s and even though the midwinter solstice has been and gone, the shift from the longest night into the shorter ones is gradual. And for some, January can be a depressing time: It’s still dark, winter’s cold really starts setting in and there are monsters in the dark.

Figurative monsters, of course. However, it was an outing to Sherwood Forest, here in Nottinghamshire, that Devi, myself and Devi’s brother, Majic went monster hunting…..

Sherwood Forest held its own wassailing walk from the visitor centre to the Major Oak- where legend has it Robin Hood himself would hide (even though the Major Oak is only about 500 or so years old, having grown after Robin Hood’s time!). This was on Sunday 16th January, the day before the old Twelfth Night which was the traditional time for wassailing.

We joined the throng of about 200 people watching some local Morris dancers doing their merry thing at the visitors centre and we followed the Sheriff of Nottingham (Boo! Hiss!) and someone dressed as the Green Man along the path to the Major Oak. There were adults, children and dogs everywhere and most were carrying pots and pans to scare away the evil spirits in the wood….. in the shape of some amazing looking Krampus!

Go on… gizza kiss!

Krampuses? Krampusi? Either way there was definitely more than one. And when we came upon them, we had to scare them away with a cacophony of pots and pans, rattling, drumming, calling and hollering and clapping.

Various Krampus

Once we’d all arrived at the Major Oak, we were met by the barrier preventing us from getting close to the great tree itself. The Major Oak has suffered from hordes of tourists in the past and is in danger of falling apart, even with the heavier boughs being held up by metal support beams! It was this barrier that also stood between us and the various krampus now approaching the crowd until we made noise and then they ran away (even being chased by their own dogs!).

Beautiful!

The Sheriff of Nottingham declared it was time for the wassail to begin!

The Sheriff of Nottingham explaining how it all works…..

Wassailing is an ancient practice that goes back to Anglo-Saxon times. It comes from the Olde Englishe Waes-Hael! (Be well, or Good Health) which was said when toasting one individual to another. The response to this would be Drink-Hael! (Drink well, or Drink to your health). This would be followed by the participants drinking ale, wine or spiced cider from a large bowl called a ‘Wassailing Bowl’ in a toast of health to each other.

I apologise for mixing present and past tense in regards for wassailing, it is a custom that died out in parts of England yet carried on in others.

Interestingly, wassailing wasn’t just a blessing for people, but also for trees! Traditionally performed on fruit trees, usually apple and pear trees in order to encourage yield: for more cider and perry, respectively!

And so, the Sheriff began the wassail with a speech to which we all had to shout out “Wassail! Drink-Hael!” then he blessed the Major Oak with a traditional rhyme:

“Oak tree, oak tree we all come to wassail thee,
Bear this year and next year to bloom and blow,
Hat fulls, cap fulls, three cornered sacks fills…”

Which he then left open for us to chant back verse for verse….. but was met with the crowd giving a pause then “Yeah!” and “Wassail!” As mentioned previously, this was usually performed to fruit trees, but this particular ceremony was seen as speaking for the whole of Sherwood Forest.

The Major Oak, in all its glory!

From the front.

A man wearing medieval clothing and a mask carried a ladle full of warm cider and poured this onto the roots of the oak and did this again a second time. The various Krampus were invited back for their applause and the crowd were invited to take a slice of toast from one bowl and dip it in the wassailing bowl, which we could either eat, or give to a tree of our choice. I gave mine to a young tree, possibly ash.

Even though the Krampus has nothing to do with wassailing or English folk-lore, it did give a face to the “evil spirits” being chased away at the noise making part of the ceremony. Turns out the noise is also to encourage the awakening of the sleeping tree spirits too.

Does wassailing work? I honestly don’t know, what I do know is that I have been to two Druid ceremonies that used wassailing on one apple tree and a sickly Rowan on the other…. Both had positive results. I might have to try this on our plum tree in the garden to find out!

Wassailing is more prevalent in the south-west of the country, but since being in Nottingham I have been to at least two wassailing ceremonies here, this being the third and another in Leicestershire.

From toasting each other, to visiting and blessing the biggest tree in the fruit orchards and even to Christmas carols, there are so many regional variations. Apparently this was the second year Sherwood Forest have wassailed their most infamous tree. We were very glad to have been part of it and as the nights grow shorter, no matter how subtle, it was a day that goes to show that being outdoors really helps drive away the monsters…. Whatever they may be.

Winds Of Change

New Moon ♑️

Happy New Year! Here we are in 2022! And as it turns out, tonight’s New Moon is genuinely the night after New Year’s Day. And so I wanted to make this post about one of my favourite New Year’s superstitions in the UK.

No, the title does not describe an excess of flatulence left over from too much Christmas eating. Rather, it comes from the belief that around New Year’s the isles of Great Britain and Ireland are blown by wind.

Yes, we could say that any part of these lands can have some level of wind at anytime, but the winds of change aren’t just a typical breeze or gust. These are the winds of the new year blowing out the influences, luck and effects of the previous year.

Perhaps, it is this belief that gave rise to traditions such as:

Just as the clock strikes twelve the head of the house should open the door in order to allow the Old Year to pass out and the New Year to come in.

To compare, in Southampton, England, there is a tradition that just before midnight at New Year’s Eve, all the windows and doors are opened in order for all the luck (either good or bad) from the previous year to exit the household and luck of the new year (again, either good or bad) to enter.

In some other versions of the above tradition, the spirits of those who died in the previous year are flying in the air and through all the houses. Quite, why this is, isn’t clear; but what is clear is that care must be taken when closing the windows and doors as to not trap any of these roaming spirits in your home!

In a more practical point of view, this would make sense to let out all the sweat and tobacco from the household and give some respite from the heat of the celebrations.

From where I come from and where I live now, we don’t uphold the tradition of opening the doors. I don’t think this was practiced in either Sheffield or Nottingham. I do keep an eye (and ear!) out for the winds around New Year, observing whether the Old Year is slowly hanging around, drifting out or being kicked out with no mercy by the New Year.

Whatever the cause for such beliefs and customs, I’m very grateful for the walk that Devi and I took on New Year’s Day as we got to enjoy being outside, watch the setting sun amongst the clouds and clear my head from the drinking on the night before.

Wherever you are in the world and however you brought in the New Year, I wish you peace, joy and good fortune.

A New Year’s Day Breaking at Bestwood Country Park, Nottinghamshire.

A Cardinal Point pt.2: The Four Fabulous Cities of the Tuatha Dé Danaan

Inspired to carry on the Cardinal Point thing as a theme (starting here), I decided to look to the tales of the gods of Ireland (and Great Britain- I believe the Tuatha Dé Danaan had their counterparts in our country too, it’s just the Irish and Welsh were better at recording them. Another blog post for another time!) to see if there was any hint of the Cardinal Directions having the same elemental associations as the present.

According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn (Book of Invasions of Ireland) The Tuatha Dè Danaan (People/Tribe/Nation of Danu) were the fifth wave of people to come to Ireland, the fourth being the dreaded Fomorii. The Tuatha Dé came from other lands, calling in at the ‘Four Fabulous Cities’ bringing with them their Four Treasures or ‘Four Jewels’.

Pic by Marg Thomson

The ‘Four Fabulous Cities’ were: Falias, Gorias, Murias and Finias (sometimes Findias and Findrias). We don’t know much about these cites, except that each city had a wise man whom taught the Tuatha Dé knowledge and skills. And from each city came one of the ‘Four Jewels’; supposedly, these cities were located to the Far North.

City: Falias. Tutor: Morias. Treasure: Lía Fáil.

City: Gorias. Tutor: Urias. Treasure: Sword.

City: Finias. Tutor: Arias Treasure: Spear.

City: Murias. Tutor: Senias. Treasure: Cauldron.

Although, to add to confusion sometimes the sword and spear are the other way around! In some versions, the spear came from Gorias and the sword came from Finias. Even the names of the wise men or tutors were different in some translations: Morias/Mórfessa, Urias/Esras, Arias/Uscias and Senias/Semias. Considering stories are told by word of mouth, sometimes things get swapped.

In a telling of ‘The Earth Shapers‘ by Ella Young, an Irish poet and mythologist, she wrote (reprint of the 1910 edition):

“Ogma brought the Sword of Light from Findrias the cloud fair city that is in the east of the Dé Danaan world; Nuada brought the Spear of Victory from Gorias the flame-bright city that is in the south of the Dé Danaan world; the Dagda brought the Cauldron of Plenty from Murias the city that is builded in the west of the Dé Danaan world and has the stillness of deep waters; Midyir brought the Stone of Destiny from Falias the city that is builded in the north of the Dé Danaan worldand has the steadfast of adamant.”

It is very tempting to look at this and find our elemental correspondences. Especially when we have a blatant example of the described elements to do with each city: Finias as a city on high ground? (Air: East?) Gorias as a city in sunny climes? (Fire: South?) Murias as a City by a great body of water? A great lake? A Sea-side city? (Water: West?) And finally, Falias as a Fortress city? (Earth: North?) Certainly, the Four Treasures match both the cardinal direction associations within the Modern Craft and the Tarot: Sword/Swords/Spades, Spear/Clubs/Wands, Cauldron/Cups/Hearts and Stone/Pentacles/Coins/Diamonds….. but remember, the sword and spear could have been reversed meaning that the spear would then mean air, and the sword fire. It’s such a shame that Young’s version is the only one I can find that actually gives each city an elemental description. However, hers is also the only version that includes other members of the Dé Danaan’s taking each of the Treasures. Normally, Nuada has the sword, The Dagda has the Cauldron of Plenty, and the Spear is later given to Lugh.

The Lía Fáil (Stone of Destiny) is said to cry out loud when under a king. Can we take Falias to mean “stone”? More likely it is from the Irish fál which can mean ‘fence’, ‘hedge’, ‘enclosure’ and ‘wall.’

Gorias is thought to come from the Irish adjective gor meaning ‘pious, dutiful, filial’.

Finias can be linked to fin, meaning ‘white’. It also means ‘fair’, ‘pale’, ‘fair-haired’. Now, this would make more sense if the sword did come from Finias. Another name for the sword was ‘Claíomh Solais‘ or ‘Sword of Light‘…… especially if the ‘fin‘ in Finias was referring to the white heat needed for iron smithing. The Celts did discover how to make items with iron, after all.

Murias can be linked to mor, which can be either ‘great’ or ‘large’ and ‘increasing’ can be linked with Muir (sea). Mur which means ‘wall, or ‘rampart’. Then there is the wise man of Falias, Morias. Don’t forget his name is sometimes written as Mórfessa. With the Irish fes meaning ‘wisdom’ or ‘knowledge’, his name could mean ‘Great Wisdom’ or ‘Increasing Knowledge.’

One of the differences of the wise men’s names intrigues me. This is Arias, or Uscias of the city Finias. Uscias could come from the word uisce or ‘water’. This is also the same root word for whisky! If the variation and translation are indeed correct, then this could put the association of the sword to the south…. the sword once forged needs water to cool down.

And what of the Four Treasures themselves? I have also described the ability of the Lía Fáil. Each of the Treasures or ‘Jewels’ had their own powers: The Lía Fáil, was a device of Sovereignty, to signify who is worthy to lead it would ‘cry out’ or ‘moan loudly’. The spear is sometimes referred to as ‘The Spear of Victory’ as it made its wielder unbeatable. It is debatable as to whether or not this is also the same spear Lugh charged the sons of Tuirenn as part of the eric-fine for murdering his father, Cian. The ‘Sword of Nuada’ was said to be ‘irresistible’ in combat, being unstoppable the moment it is drawn from the scabbard. The Daghda’s Cauldron of Plenty, though, is always full and those who approach it never go away hungry.

Would I compare the Cardinal Point references of modern Pagan practices to the ‘Fabulous Four Cities’? No. There simply isn’t enough about them to give us any insight. The nearest we can compare them to is the Four Treasures, even then two of them appear to be mutable. Although, if anyone was to make a ceremony using the cities as a basis, then why shouldn’t they? It would make a great theme, allowing for some theatrics, too! Perhaps then, if we are looking for the Druidic Cardinal points we need to look at something else the Celtic people deemed more proper in relation. Something measurable that can be felt and heard, but not necessarily seen or smelt. Perhaps we need to look to the wind…..

Part three coming soon!

Sources:

Ella Young ‘Celtic Wonder Tales’, Dover Publications, Inc. New York, 1995. (Reprint of 1910 version)

Web Links and references:

I don’t actually speak any Irish, so to help me I visited Wikipedia (say what you like, but their etymology is pretty good) for…..

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuatha_D%C3%A9_Danann

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebor_Gab%C3%A1la_%C3%89renn

But a big thanks goes to these guys who wrote these articles, without their translations and knowledge of the Irish language, I would have struggled:

The Four Jewels Or Treasures Of The Tuatha Dé Danann

Four Cities, Four Teachers, Four Treasures

Magic Pigs

I originally wrote this for the blog of the Grove of the Corieltauvi. If you would like to read more on what we have done you can view it here.

Meeting took place on Thursday 12/04/18. 3^rd Waning Crescent

Attendees: Danceswithweasels (welcome back!), Greenfingers, Locksley, Teller and Vyvyan (Darth Vyv). Big thank you to Teller and Vyvyan, for allowing us to use their place for hosting and for supplying bacon cobs after my talk. Especially when Teller is veggie. For those not familiar with East Midlands speak, “Cobs” are the local term for rounded bread rolls. Some other places call these “baps”, “rolls”, “buns”, or as my family in Sheffield call them “Bread-Cakes”. To any of the readers outside of the UK….. you wouldn’t BELIEVE how many arguments this causes…..

Anyway, Locksley, shut up and get on with the post!

Title Photo Credit goes to Greenfingers for allowing me to use his photograph.

Introduction

In all honesty? I thought it would be a laugh. At the AGM, I was handing Green Fingers our actual Magic Pig (a little bag for which we use for the collection of subs for us to purchase anything The Grove needs). I realised then that I actually hadn’t taken a meeting in a long time and wanted to do a talk on something and Magic Pig seemed to be as good as any. That and it seems to be a creature associated with many gods and heroes within Celtic mythology. Why was this?

Our Porcine Friends

Starting at the beginning, I read out the description of Sow from the Druid Animal Oracle. To make it fair, I read out both upright and reversed meanings. So we see the Pig as being associated with abundance and plenty, nourishment and sustenance, renewal and creativity.

The Reverse of this gives us a warning against relying on our vanity and “Pig Ignorance” to take other people for their worth, not just, their looks. Danceswithweasels quite rightly corrected me this was Sow and not Pig. True, but I wanted to keep it as the positive aspect of the animal, for the time being. Especially when we have a lovely picture showing said sow pretty much smiling as her litter run around and eat Beech nuts.

My original deck just had a small box and a booklet with the brief descriptions. I now have a second identical deck with a larger box and a book that goes into more detail…. Even telling of the sow, Henwen being linked to Ceridwen. More on this later.

Pigs are evolved from the Boar, which still exist today, they are intelligent, omnivorous and can have litters of up to a dozen piglets. Like us, they can adapt to any environment, and affect the local environment. If there are too many wild pigs foraging, then the nutrition count in the local area drops. This has a detrimental effect on the plant lives and eco systems of said area. If the nutrient levels return, then pigs will increase in population. No wonder we started eating them!

Grave Offerings

Whilst Boar bones are a rarity at burial sites, it appears pig bones and even joints of roasted pork were buried with the chiefs and warrior elite.

Professor Ann Ross writes:

“… as suggested by the evidence from graves, where the placing of joints of pork beside the elaborately equipped chieftains indicates that this was intended to be the food for the feast beyond the grave, is bourne out to a striking degree in the Irish Tales. Here pork is the proper food to be served at the feast and in the ritual of hospitality in the courts of kings, and in the dwellings of the gods.”

It would seem that if pork was the best meat for the ruling and warrior castes of Celtic society, then it was good enough for the gods and for giving to be eaten in the Otherworld when the person is reborn in that world. Bit chewy for a newborn…. a gift for the family on the Otherside perhaps?

From The Otherworld

According to Irish myth, Pigs were brought with the Tuatha Dé Danaan, both The Dagda and Brigid kept pigs and boars. Considering the Boar was around in Both Great Britain and Ireland at the time, it would be interesting to see when breeds of pigs were introduced. Even if the Tuatha Dé Danaan didn’t bring pigs with them, somebody did…..

In Welsh myth, It was Gwydion who told Math, Son of Mathonwy of these strange little creatures called “pigs” or “hobeu”. They were the property of Pryderi, son of Pwyll, who was given this gift of pigs by Arawn, the lord of Annwfn (a realm of the Otherworld). So in both Irish and Welsh myths, we see pigs as being the property of supernatural beings, therefore linked with the supernatural in themselves.

Indeed, pigs in Celtic mythology seem to have magical abilities of their own:

Henwen– (Ancient White One) a sow under the protection of the Powerful Swineherd (Pryderi?) goes into the sea. She then comes to land and is not only pregnant, but brings both wheat and a bee to Gwent. She then goes to Llonion in Pembroke where she brings grains of wheat and Barley.

Pursued by King Arthur, she is never obtained by the King or his men, but she gives birth to a wolf cub and an eagle and a kitten. Each of these is given to a Prince, bad luck befalls each person who raises them. There are two Triads describing this tale, one tells of Henwen, being protected by the Powerful Swineherd (and in typical classical Celtic fashion, is not very clear on this title as being one person or three!) and that King Arthur is unable to obtain even one of the pigs through force or guile. The other describes Arthur as being after Henwen in order to kill her for carrying the ‘Womb-Burden’. But nowhere does the tale link with Ceridwen, at all. Vyvyan pointed out that it was Robert Graves, who had linked Ceridwen with Henwen. Personally, I think her name has more of a connection to the moon than the pig. Especially when her name can translate as either “Crooked (bent) Woman”, “Crooked Fair/white” or even “Poem Blessed”.

Pig of Duis– In the ‘Sons of Tuirenn’, the Sons attack Cian, father of Lugh (who tries to escape in the shape of a pig) but they murder him. As a fine for this, Lugh, chief of the Tuatha Dé Danaan charges them with the task of finding the skin of the Pig of Duis described as:

“The skin of the pig is that owned by Duis, King of Greece. In whatever stream that pig walked, the water turned into wine, and the wounded and the sick became well when they drank it.”

The skin is also said to be as thick as two oxen hides, perhaps this is also a reference to death and burial rites once associated with the graves of warriors and chiefs?

Cormac’s Glossary describes pigs (especially red ones) as included amongst the animals whose flesh (along with cats and dogs) could be used for a method of divination called the Himbas Forosnai. This practice involves the chewing of the meat of one of the animals, puts an incantation on it and offers it to the gods and leaves it on the threshold of the door. Calling spirits, the poet is supposed to gain knowledge to what they seek. If that doesn’t work he says incantations over his palms, calls his spirits to help him and puts the palms over his to fall into a trance in order to gain the visions he seeks. The idea was to gain glimpses of the future through dreams.

Regenerating Pigs

Other magical pigs include the ability to be regenerated whole the day after being slaughtered and eaten. The Dagda supposedly had pigs and fruits that when roasted never diminished.

Usually there were conditions:

Cormac and the Fairy Branch: Pig, When King Cormac MacArt foolishly traded his family for a magical stick, he goes in search of his family and finds himself in the Otherworld. Invited into a hall, before him stands a man with an axe, a log and a pig. The man cuts the pig into four pieces with the axe and places the log under a cauldron of water. The man explains he helped a farmer regain his cows and that the farmer had given the pig, the log and the axe as a reward. The man tells King Cormac, that if he cuts the pig with the axe, and speaks a truth over the log, then, it will cook the pig and he shall have both again the next day.

Pigs of Essach– were slaughtered every night and cooked, but as long as their bones were whole and not gnawed upon, they would be alive again the next day.

We’re Going On A Boar Hunt…

Boars were seen as more aggressive and warlike. Indeed their physicality is different from pigs they have tusks, spiky hair and are sleeker in their build. Pigs have more fat whereas boars are leaner.

Boars in Celtic myth were described as fearsome creatures with tall black/dusky/even purple bristles on their backs, some had up to nine tusks in their jaws. Often a trail of destruction followed them, killing 50 warriors and 50 hounds in their wake. All the more terrifying as if to paint why the creature had to be stopped. The boar hunt was seen as one of ultimate skill, in some cases it was the initiation rite for the new chief…. if the stories are anything to go by, boars fought back!

Certainly, the Hero’s Portion was the prime cut of pork served at the feast to be given to the best warrior. The chief would take the next best, cementing that pork was the food of the chief and warrior classes before anyone else could have some. It is fitting then that boar imagery featured regularly on Celtic coins, weapons, altars, armour and even cauldrons.

The Boar hunt can be epitomised in the story of Culhwch and Olwen: Culhwch is charged by the terrible giant Ysbaddaden Pencaw (with no intention of these being possible so Culhwch cannot marry his daughter, Olwen) with many tasks. One of these was to hunt the dread boar, Twrch Trwyth, in order to obtain the razor and shears behind the creatures ears. Twrch Trwyth was a badass! Culhwch had to leave Wales for Ireland with King Arthur and a lot of his men in order to find him. Twrch Trwyth was kept for a time by Brigid along with two oxen, even in this form he was still fierce and ill-tempered (and responsible for some kind of weird demonic noises). Culhwch, Arthur and the men chased him around Ireland, back to Britain and Wales and after a huge fight resulting in the death of Twrch Trwyth’s piglets and plenty of Arthur’s forces the boar runs off into the sea. Turns out that Twrch Trwyth was actually a Chief who was turned into a boar for his wickedness, the same with his sons, yet was regarded chief of the otherworld boars. This entertained Teller no end as he quipped “I’ll still be a king even when I’m a boar, fuck you!” or something to that effect.

Bizarrely enough Culhwch’s name may have been an indication as to what his destiny held…. Culhwch’s name translates as “Pig-Run”!

In the Welsh tales, Gwydion after telling Math he will return with the pigs, goes to Pryderi with a band of travelling bards. Approaching Pryderi, Gwydion asks him for the pigs only for to be refused the request as they cannot be given until they are double their number. Gwydion then convinces Pryderi to exchange the pigs for twelve magnificent black and white horses, twelve magnificent white-breasted hounds and twelve magnificent golden shields as an exchange. The problem being that Gwydion had conjured up this illusion, which will last only a day. Pryderi pursues but was by Gwydion in single combat…. only Gwydion had used his magic once again to deceive so he could deliver the coup-de-gras. In this tale, the boar hunt is twisted into an act of cunning and deceit rather than skill. Certainly, this is an act of dishonour, resulting in the death of part of the three-fold Powerful Swineherd.

Also, the hero Diarmaid was fatally linked to the Boar he kills…. only to kill himself in the process as their lives were bound. The boar was in fact Diarmaid’s illegitimate half-brother who was magically changed into a boar by Roc, the boy’s father. Roc had been having an affair with Diarmaid’s mother and was shocked to see the boy flee a pair of hounds by going through Diarmaid’s father’s legs. In a moment of harboured jealousy, Diarmaid’s father began to crush the boy. Roc, using a magic wand turned the boy into a young boar-piglet and uttered a curse that the boy would grow into a fearsome vengeful boar and that Diarmaid would hunt him…. only to be killed by one of the bristles on the boars back. Bit harsh, especially when Roc could have used the wand to have healed his son instead of transmogrifying him.

So, forget turning people into toads, kids! Turning people into boars is where it’s at and this leads very well into the next part….

Shape-Shifting

Changing into other creatures is something that happened a lot in the old myths, the tale of Ceridwen and Gwion Bach, for e.g. has plenty of shape-shifting in it. In the tale: ‘The Sons of Tuirenn’, Cian shape-shifted into a pig, in order to escape his attack.

As we have seen, pigs and boars were a favourite creature to turn people into as punishment. Which implies an execution of sorts: their fate was to be killed in the hunt.

Twrch Trwyth was originally a king, but he and his sons were turned into boars for some unmentioned misdeeds. Despite being kept by Brigid, Herself, he still became the chief of the otherworld boars.

Gwydion, as punishment for both murdering Pyderi and for the rape of the maiden Goewin, was cursed into the form of a stag; along with his brother and accomplice, Gilfaethwy, a hind and they procreated. After that they were turned into a sow and a boar, repeating the cycle of bestial reproduction, taking turns on being male and female.

Madness

Speaking of shapeshifters, the wizard, Merlin, went mad for a time, the only creature he would talk to and with was a small piglet, to this pig, he shared his prophecy:

Listen, little pig,

Don’t sleep yet!

Rumours reach me

Of perjured chieftains,

And tight fisted farmers.

Soon, over the sea,

Shall come men in armour,

Two-faced men,

On armoured horses,

With destroying spears.

When that happens,

War will come,

Fields will be ploughed

But never reaped….

Listen, little pig,

Oh pig of Truth!

The Sybil has told me

A wondrous tale.

I predict a summer full of fury,

Treachery between brothers.

A pledge of peace will be required

From Gwynedd,

Seven hundred ships from Gynt

Blown in by the North wind.

In Aber Dyn they will confer.

Supposedly, this madness was brought on by grief, making Merlin live for a time in the woodlands where he would speak only to the animals he came across.

Why madness? The female pig can attack piglets in times of great stress, sometimes even eating them. According to Wikipedia, 50% of piglet deaths are caused by the mothering sow either attacking them or unintentionally crushing them. During these times of stress, perhaps people saw them as being mad…. another trait comparable to Humans.

In Conclusion

Both the Pig and the boar were seen in great esteem by our Celtic ancestors. They were respected for their fierce natures and strength. They were prized for their meat and fertility of litters. Neither was seen as a filthy, stupid animal The fact wild pigs and boars can have a negative effect on the land if they become too populous probably gave rise to descriptions of the destruction they supposedly brought with them. Hereby making an occasional cull of the species not only a necessity, but one to be seen as a test of strength, skill and courage.

As for the associations of the Otherworld, especially when the Boar was already native to Britain and Ireland, perhaps there is some truth in pigs being brought over, even if the memory had faded as to who this new breed came with. I think Anne Ross puts it best with her comment:

“The favourite food of pigs is the acorn, and their passion for the fruit of this most venerated tree, the oak, must have increased their supernatural associations in the popular mind.”

Especially when we consider the oak as not only being revered, but was thought to represent the god Bilé, whose name means ‘Tree’, the consort of Danu. It was Bilé who brought the souls of the dead to Her.

Sources:

Books:

DAVIES, SIONED, The Mabinogion, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2008.

ELLIS, PETER BERRESFORD, The Mammoth Book of Celtic Myths and Legends, Constable & Robinson Ltd, London, 2002 ed.

GOMM, PHILLIP & STEPHANIE, The Drud Animal Oracle Deck, Illustrated by Bill Worthington, Connections Book Publishing Ltd, London 2005 ed.

HAMILTON, CLAIRE, Tales of the Celtic Bards: Myth and Music, O Books, Ropley, 2003.

MATTHEWS, JOHN, The Little Book of Athurian Wisdom, Element Books Ltd, Dorset, 1997 ed.

MATTHEWS, JOHN & CAITLIN, Celtic Myth and Legend: A definitive source book of magic, vision and lore- compiled, edited and translated by the Matthews, BCA, 2004 ed

ROSS, ANNE, Pagan Celtic Britain: Studies in Iconography and Tradition, Cardinal, London, 1974 ed.

Internet Links:

https://www.behindthename.com/name/ceridwen

https://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm-animals/pigs/

https://www.timelessmyths.com/arthurian/merlin.html

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceridwen

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig

Samhain and Halloween are related… right?

The following post comes from my attempt at an unpublished book which I never completed. I thought I could use my chapters as blog posts instead. This was originally drafted in 2013, and my writing voice was different from what it is now. I’ve edited where I could, but I didn’t fancy re-writing approx 3000 words.

The wheel turns once more bringing with it the darkness stretched shadows and weakened light. Harvest has ended, the fallen leaves turning to mulch now begin to whiten with the first frosts of the oncoming winter. Depends on the year, the October of 2017 is quite a warm one. There are skeletal trees, but there are many that are golden, orange and red.

Both Halloween and Samhain bring to mind skeletal trees standing aloft the icy mists, dusky evenings and streetlights battling against the otherworldly fog…. although today has blue skies, sunlight and children wandering around in costume on this Saturday afternoon. Saying that, as my train goes through the Peak District and there’s the fog!

For many Modern Pagans, Samhain was, and still is, the festival marking the official end of the summer season and the beginning of winter. To the mainstream consciousness, ‘Hallowe’en’ is something celebrated by children at best and a load of “Mumbo-Jumbo” or “Devil Worship” at worst. Samhain and Halloween, two totally different festivals celebrated at the same time and yet one is the evolution, if not the descendant, of the other.

Samhain by the water?

Samhain, pronounced “sow-en” (as in ‘sow’, rhyming with ‘now’), comes from the Old Irish Sam (summer) and fuin (end) and there appears to be a difference between the Samhain of back then and what Samhain means today.
Dr Ann Ross hypothesises that Samhain was a celebratory festival that took place by a local lake by the tribe or even tribes that came together for this occasion.
Great feasts supposedly took place by the local water source (such as a lake, a well, a river or the sea) giving us a possibility that it may have been seen as honouring the local goddesses. It is known the Celtic people saw the local water source as the embodiment of the goddess, the water was considered her realm. This may have been the time for giving offerings to the local deities. Celtic practice did include giving up the spoils of war such as shields, spears, swords, loot, to the river, probably in thanks for the victory they achieved in battle. This practice also included decapitated heads of the losers of battle being offered to the waters. This would have made sense to a people who saw the soul residing in the head, and considering it was one of Bilé’s duties to usher the souls of the dead back to the Mother Goddess figure, Danu, then summer’s end would have been the perfect time to do so.

According to the old stories, such as ‘The Wasting Sickness of Cuchulainn’, Samhain is described as follows:

Every year the men of Ulster were accustomed to hold festival together;
And the time when they held it was for three days before Samhain, and for
Three days after that day, and upon Samhain itself.

It was a festival of trade, feasting, drinking, boasting and games of skill and combat. These activities are found in accounts and stories of Beltane and Lughnasadh; Samhain follows suit in that regards. Where it doesn’t is its name.
Unlike Beltane and Lughnasadh, Samhain wasn’t named after any specific deity such as Bel or Lugh. In that respect, it is similar to Imbolc in that the name of the festival is descriptive (“Summer End” and Imbolc’s “Ewe’s Milk”), however there is no association with any specific deity. Instead, the stories tell us of deities, monsters, shape-shifters and ‘fairy women’ who come from the mists to terrorise or enchant the local populace:

In ‘The Wasting Sickness of Cuchulainn’ during the Samhain festival, Cuchulainn fails to catch one of the birds that come from the sky and everyone finds beautiful. To prove himself to his wife, Emer, he pursues two other beautiful birds that are held together by a red-gold chain as they fly over a lake. Failing in trying to catch them, Cuchulainn dreams of two women who curse him with a sickness for trying to attack them. Only for one of them to fall in love with him, problem being he already has a wife and the ‘fairy woman’ is married to Manannan Mac Lir, one of the Tuatha De Danaan!

‘The Dream of Angus’, tells of Angus Og, son of the Dagda, falling in love with a girl he dreams about. On his quest to find her, he discovers she is the daughter of another of the Tuatha De Danaan, Ethal Anbuail. He also finds that she turns into a swan for one year, then a girl the next. So, when he learns she will change into a swan that year at Samhain, he goes to the lake Loch Bél Dracon where he sees lots of swans (150 of them!) with silver and gold chains. He calls out the girl’s name, Caer, and when she comes forward in swan form, Angus turns into a swan also, before singing the song of sleeping as they fly away; beginning their elopement.

The ‘Agallamh na Senórach’ (Colloquy of the Ancients) contains a tale of the hero, Caoilte. Who, with his friends, goes to the Sidhe in order to heal an ailment. They won’t help him unless he kills three ravens that come from the Northern sea that come every Samhain and take three young boys with them.

The Scottish name for Samhain is ‘Samhuinn’, and is used as the setting for the story of ‘The Kelpie’. In this tale, a young shield-bearer called Donall, recounts the act of the Kelpie (sea dwelling creature that can change into either a horse or a handsome young man, either way its enchantment is powerful) taking all the cheiftain’s sons. Donall is sent to look for the one man who may help them, Dall, a blind man who has great wisdom. Dall tells Donall that at the midnight feast of Samhuinn, he shall go to the waters of the sea and pit his magic against the Kelpie to get the sons back. Meanwhile, the Kelpie has seduced Donall’s best friend, Dianaimh, but the spell is broken when she gazes upon the Kelpie’s true slimy, water-horse form. She says she will only go with the Kelpie if she releases the cheiftain’s sons (one of which was her brother). The Kelpie agrees but secretly makes a plan of his own. At the Samhuinn feast, the Kelpie comes and takes Dianaimh’s beautiful cousin into the sea with him. At the same time as this, Dall the Blind has gone to the sea by the castle and works his spell. The Kelpie frees the chieftain’s sons and keeps the vain, selfish girl as a slave in his under-sea kingdom, allowing the mortals to think that Dall’s “magic” was powerful indeed. Now, that’s ‘Trick or treat’ for you!

From the stories and tales, we can see the idea of Samhain being close to the Otherworld and the supernatural. If the stories actually contain a truth in the act of having the feast by a lake or the sea, then this is probably because water was seen as not only the realm of the goddess, but of the Otherworld. Usually, in Celtic myth, if water or an earth mound wasn’t the gateway to the Otherworld, then fog was. What is fog if not a form of water vapour? And in autumn and winter, the chill in the air does indeed bring fog and mist…

Apart from being an ideal time for telling stories of heroes, creatures and gods, Samhain must have also been the last great festival before the hardship of winter was to come. The harvest was already gathered and livestock that was surplus would have been killed for the good of the people. This might seem harsh, but back then when there was only a fire to keep away the cold, sustenance as well as shelter were vital for survival. Animals were not killed for the sport of it as much could be gained from its death: Meat to be cooked and salted, bones for tool handles, jewellery, drinking horns, the creatures fat used for candles and cooking with, fur and feathers for cloaks, bedding and clothes against the snow and ice, its skin used for leather for belts, clothes, shoes, shield decorations and armour. To our modern point of view this might seem brutal, but to our ancestors, it was a necessity as in winter, the cold could kill human and animal alike. And if you didn’t have enough grain to feed the excess cattle, better to use the spare animals than leave them to die of hunger and cold.

Bonfires at Blodmonath?

Coincidentally, the Anglo-Saxons shared in a celebration around the same time as Samhain, this was called ‘Blodmonath’ (Literally ‘Blood Month’) and consisted of ceremonially sacrificing the cattle for the purpose of provision and sustenance as given above. This took place in November and involved a ritualised version of animal slaughter and meat salting, with the head being given to the gods. As well the burial of these animal heads at the homestead, the Anglo-Saxons also lit bonfires; something that Modern Pagans have always ascribed to Samhain and the Celts.

Fire was (and is) seen as a deterrent for spirits of all kinds, whether they are the sprites and brownies of the woods and the home or the spirits of the dead.
There is a number of folk customs around Samhain to suggest that fire was important at this time of year. Obviously when at the end of summer and the beginning of winter, fire was a very useful thing to have. Though it is interesting to note that none of the Celtic stories above mention anything about fire playing a prime ritualistic or ceremonial feature.
Folk customs around Great Britain and Ireland are varied at the time of Samhain, not all revolve around fire, but the some do:

In Ireland, a cross made of sticks and straw called a ‘parshell’ was hung outside the entrance of people’s homes. This was meant to keep out the fairies and goblins from wreaking havoc in the homestead.

In Scotland, Sir James Frazer in his ‘The Golden Bough’ writes of a Highland custom with fires called ‘Samhnagan’, involving the burning of ferns and long grass stalks with tar.
Another tradition involves the collection of peat to make a fire for burning the burning of witches…. crikey!

He also writes of the Welsh Calan Gaef (Calends of winter) custom which happens at the same time as Samhain; this is called ‘Coel Coeth’ and involves the burning of a bonfire until it became ash. At this point each family member of the homestead places a white stone with their name attached, before going to bed. Apparently if any went missing, it meant that the individual whose stone disappeared would die before the next Halloween.

The above practices are mainly Halloween customs of the remaining Celtic lands from the past few hundred years. Though not strictly Samhain rites, there is still the element of the supernatural about them.

“Celtic New Year”

It is in Modern Paganism we find the god has now officially died. The Goddess retreats, carrying the new god within her womb until his birth/rebirth at midwinter. In this version, Samhain is seen as the ‘Celtic New Year’ and a time of ancestor worship as Pagans use this time to say farewells to family members who have died in that year or simply get together to honour their ancestors and gods.
The ancestor part of Samhain actually comes from All Saints Day and All Souls Day. Unlike the traditional Samhain connections with the Otherworld, the focus of these Christian festivals is on the dead. The Catholic emphasis was of ensuring the souls of the dead could move on from purgatory to Heaven, often enacted with the burning of fires or straw to help guide the souls of their departed loved ones.
At some point, every culture has a form of recognising the ancestors. For Samhain, is it a kind of “Chicken and Egg” scenario? who venerated their ancestors first? the Pagan Celts? the Christian Britons? Or did the Christians begin honouring their dead because the old associations with the Otherworld and Unearthly beings became seen as something “evil”, or at least ‘Non-Christian?’

And what of the ‘Celtic New Year?’ According to Ronald Hutton in his ‘Stations of the Sun’:

…the philologist Sir John Rhys, who suggested that it (Samhain) had
been the ‘Celtic’ New Year. He had not documented this from early
records, but inferred it from contemporary folklore in Wales and
Ireland, which he felt to be full of Hallowe’en customs associated
with new beginnings.

Hutton also reveals that Frazer expanded on this idea as the ‘Celtic feast of the dead’.
Indeed, in the classical Samhain, there is no mention of the festival having anything to do with the New Year, Celtic or otherwise.
One argument for this could lie in the fact that the Celts counted their days at night and their months on the New Moon (as in the dark phase of the Moon, not the first crescent it is considered now). If this model has been interpreted correctly then it would make sense for the ‘New Year’ to be placed in the beginning of the dark half of the year. Truth is, we don’t really know.

The modern Samhain accepts the classic idea of the ‘veil being thin’ between our world and, in this case, the world of the dead. For Modern Pagans it is a night of honouring the ancestors, even saying goodbye to those family members and even pets who had died in the year. There are many ways of doing this, some give out litanies of those who they want to acknowledge, others give offerings of food and drink. Some even honour the Cailleach (Hooded One, or Hag), the Celtic Dark Mother who is seen as the personification of Death and winter. She has been compared with the Crone aspect of the Goddess in the Western Magical Traditions, along with Cerridwen and Hecate.
Because of the associations of ‘between the veil’, Samhain is now recognised as a time for performing divination magic. Of course this varies a lot, whether its using Tarot cards, runes, pendulums, tea-leaves, even simply watching the dancing of the flames of a bonfire. There is often a ritual or prayer to deity, an offering of incense before the divinatory rite is held. The stereotype here is that witches call upon demons or the spirits of the dead to do their bidding. The reality is actually of reverence, not enforced servitude; spirits and deities are invited to come forward and give any advice should they wish to do so. Once the rite is over they are politely dismissed, or invited to stay and enjoy the energy of friendship and joy, leaving in their own time before the night is done.

So, aren’t Samhain and Halloween just the same thing?

The answer is both ‘no’ and ‘yes’. Samhain, in its classical version, as we have explored, was seen as a time when Otherworldy beings would become more active and prevalent, as if the transition from late summer to early winter created a sort of ‘doorway’ for spirits, fey people and even the deities to come and interact with the mortal realm. It wasn’t until the advent of Christianity the focus changed from one of a time of mystery to a time of honouring the dead.
Even then there are two festivals: All Hallows Eve, a festival for honouring the saints of the Roman Catholic pantheon, which in time became abridged to the shortened name ‘Halloween’. The second is All Soul’s Day, where fires used to be lit and prayers sung to guide the souls of everyone who wasn’t a saint out of Purgatory and into Heaven.
The bonfires (which may or may not have come from Pagan practice) were then employed to drive away the spirits and devils that were believed to be active at this time. In this regard, Samhain and Halloween are similar as the focus is on the supernatural and protecting people from it.
I still remember when I used to go to church and was horrified to learn they didn’t “Do Halloween”, but they did burn a bonfire for All Hallow’s Eve with the intention of driving away malignant spirits and demons.
Being a Catholic tradition, Halloween would have been taken in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries with the immigrants from Scotland and Ireland to America where it intermingled with another celebration: Dias De Los Muertos, the Mexican Day of the Dead. This is another Catholic practice, although mixed with Native American culture of the Aztecs. They believed the journey to their Underworld was a dangerous one, their gods only letting them pass with bribes. When the Spanish Catholics came, they condensed the two month festival into All Hallows and All Souls. This became Dias De Los Muertos and is celebrated for the spirits of children with candy skulls, toys and gifts. The Adult version honours the deceased with alcohol and tobacco. Both have the motif of skulls and skeletons, possibly stemming from the ‘Danse Macabre’ artwork popular in Europe around the Sixteenth to Eighteenth centuries.
It is quite easy to see how in the America’s, the Latino ‘Day of the Dead’ and the Celtic Halloween became entwined. Both were Christian festivals heavily influenced from native traditions and became festivals in their own right. Within the Twentieth Century, Halloween had become something else: it became a night for costumes and playful horror. By the time it returned to our part of the world, here in Great Britain and Ireland, Halloween became a night for dressing up ourselves as well as our homes. Folk traditions of children dressing up on All Hallows Eve with costumes and masks painted, speaking in silly voices so neighbours had to guess their identity have given way to costumes of ghosts, vampires, witches and now space aliens and pirates!
Even today, Halloween has kept some of the old influences; apple bobbing, for instance, now a game for children was originally a mild form of love divination. Originally, apples were filled with a slip of paper onto which a message would be written such as “Your love will be true” or “He will be handsome yet penniless”. Young ladies would still have to ‘bob’ their heads into the water to retrieve the apple without the use of their hands, however. In fact, a lot of the Halloween superstitions are concerned with young ladies finding out the identities of their future spouses whether gained by peeling an apple skin whole to reveal their true love’s initial, divining what kind of man they will marry by pulling out a cabbage stalk, or even combing one’s hair in front of a mirror at midnight by candle light was said to reveal the face of their future love in the mirror as though standing behind them!

In conclusion…

From (classical) Samhain we gained a time of the supernatural, which then went then became folk traditions of protection and divination. The old stories seem to paint a picture of Samhain being a feast or event taking place by the waters, whereas fire (Christian or not) was also a social hub for people to gather. The Christian element of respecting the dead has now gone full circle, Halloween is about keeping back the monsters. The Modern Samhain draws from a Catholic background with a Celtic flavour, but at the same time has links to traditions that aren’t necessarily Christian. This is why, of all the eight festivals in the Wheel of the Year, I would suggest that if Halloween isn’t the descendant of Samhain, then it is certainly its evolution. Whether Modern Pagans like it or not, Samhain today, with its focus on ancestor worship is not the Samhain of the past; with its physical games, tournaments and slaughter of cattle.

Bibliography

http://m.dictionary.com/etymology/samhain?linkid=8uxrdf&srcpage=definition&site=dictwap

Anne Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain, CARDINAL Edition, Sphere Books, London, 1974.

Peter Berresford Ellis, A Brief History of the Druids, Constable & Robinson Ltd, London, 2002.

Ancient Irish Tales edited by T.P. Cross and C.H. Slover, 1936 used in the book: Celtic Myths, Celtic Legends, R.J. Stewart, BCA, London, 1994.

Peter Berresford Ellis, The Mammoth Book of Celtic Myths And Legends, Constable & Robinson Ltd, London, reprinted 2002.

Gale R. Owen, Rites and Religions of the Anglo-Saxons, Barnes & Noble, Inc., New York, Reprinted 1996.

Ronald Hutton, The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain, Oxford University Press, Oxford, Re-issued 2001.

Sir James Frazer, The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, Wordsworth Editions Ltd, Hertfordshire, 1993 edition.

David Clarke, Strange South Yorkshire: Myth and Magic in the Valley of the Don, Sigma Leisure, Wilmslow, Chesire, 1994.

Jennifer Cole, Ceremonies of the Seasons, Exploring and Celebrating Nature’s Eternal Cycles, Duncan Baird Publishers Ltd, London, 2007.

Anon. The Complete Book of Fortune: The Secrets of the Past, Present & Future Revealed, Blaketon Hall Ltd, Exeter, 1988.

Chasing the Mabon

Big thanks to Teller who asked me ‘So, when are you putting up the blog?’ And a huge thanks to Cthulhudruid who managed to find my original post after it had been accidentally deleted!

Maponus image from Gettyimages

Ah, yes. Autumn! The season of falling leaves, bounties of fruit and vegetation, bird migration and garden spiders coming out to capture unsuspecting prey (shudder). This season also sees the Equinox as the dramatic increase of the dark overtakes the long summer nights. The balance is struck and the wheel turns once again….

Within the usual modern Pagan circles, the Autumnal Equinox has been given a name…. Mabon. Whom or what does this name come from? What the hell is a Mabon anyway?

The short story is that in the 1970’s Aiden Kelly, Wiccan High Priest, came up with the name for the simple fact that he didn’t like that the Autumnal Equinox celebrations didn’t have a grander name. In his own words, please read this.

The long story…..

Mabon is a now shadowy figure, one who once had a cult all of his own stretching from Wales to Lancashire, Northumberland, Cumbria and Scotland. Mabon means ‘Son’ in Welsh and the most familiar version of this is the character of Mabon ap Modron (Son of Mother), from the tale ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen‘.

In the story, the hero Culhwch falls in love with the beautiful Olwen. Which is great, because she loves him too and it turns out that marrying her will lift the curse that was put on him by his jealous step-mother. Problem solved. However, her Dad is Yspaddaden Bencawr, chief giant and realm owning badass. He is so against the idea of the marriage, he sets Culhwch 40 impossible tasks which must be completed. No victory from the young upstart, then no nuptials. Amongst these tasks was one where Culhwch must obtain the comb and shears from behind the ears of the dreaded supernatural boar, Twrch Trwryth. But this could not be done unless he somehow obtained the mardiest dog in the world, Drudwyn. And even then Drudwyn had to be controlled by Mabon ap Modron, a huntsman who must ride the steed Gwyn Dunmane…. and the snag was: “Mabon ap Modron who had been stolen from his home when he was three nights old, and his whereabouts not known…..”

Luckily for Culhwch, his uncle Arthur (yes, THAT Arthur) had given him some of his knights as companions who helped accomplish most of the impossible tasks like some adrenaline charged-Redbull fuelled group from Dungeons & Dragons…. but they could not find Mabon ap Modron.

Anywhere.

Like, nowhere.

It was only after Arthur discovering hint about asking the Oldest Animals in the World the heroes stood a chance. So Culhwch’s band sought out the Blackbird of Cilgwri, the Stag of Rhendynfre, the Owl of Cam Cwlwyd, the Eagle of Gwernabwy and the Salmon of Llyn Lliw, to find Mabon’s location: the fortress of Caerloyw. Even then they have to break him out by force. Skipping to the end; Mabon and another hunter, some wild dude called Cynedyr Wyllt manage to corner Twrch Trwryth and grab the comb (Mabon) and shears (Cynedyr) before the Chief of Otherworldly Boars escapes and runs into the sea, prophesying he and Arthur shall fight at the end of the world…… well, a big rumble between them in the far future anyway.

In one version of the ‘Dream of Rhonabwy‘, Mabon is one of the advisors of Arthur, although this could be a confusion with another, Mabon ap Mellt (Son of Lightening) is described as a huntsman also….. This version hints at either this Mabon was as quick as lightening or was descended from some cthonic sky-god.

Interestingly, the character of Mabon was taken up by Roman occupiers in Britannia. Or perhaps, was taken up by Romanised Celts in the form of Maponus ‘Divine Youth’. Coins and inscriptions show Maponus with his dog (Drudwyn?). It appears that Maponus was equated with Apollo, the god of healing and poetry….. and linked with the bow and arrow, tools of the hunt?

What of Modron? Does the mother give any indication as to who Mabon is? She is of the ‘Washer at the ford’ variety of supernatural women, and is daughter to Afallach, one of the lords of Annwn (Welsh Otherworld), specifically, the ruler of Avalon. If true, then she was a magical being and therefore a woman of Sovereignty (The right to choose and the right to rule) and supposedly bore two sons to Urien Rheged, king of Rheged (supposedly a kingdom in Northern England and Southern Scotland). One of these sons, Owein, plays chess with Arthur in the ‘Dream of Rhonabwy‘…. see how these things always go in cycles?

Bizarrely enough, one of the stanzas of the Graves reads: “The grave in the upland of Nanllau; his story no one knows. Mabon the son of Modron the sincere.” So which is it? Is this the grave of Mabon who was in the quest for Olwen’s hand in marriage? Or was he always a mystery and none knew his details? If so, then why was he so popular? Could it be that Mabon ap Modron was in fact the figure of a mystery tradition? Like a Brythonic version Mythras?

The fact that there are remnants and inscriptions to Mabon/Maponus means there was some kind of reverence to him. What this originally was is sadly lost to time, but things have a very strange way of returning. In Modern Druidry, especially in OBOD, where the role of Mabon is given to the youngest member in the ceremony. When Aiden Kelly chose that name, did he do it because it fitted his aesthetic or was there a whisper from a long forgotten heroic huntsman? Also, how the hell did a babe taken away from his mother’s breast of only three nights old learn to become a hunter in the prison of a fort!? Perhaps….. and this is my interpretation…. perhaps Mabon in the story is meant as a metaphor for the adventurous spirit. He is the youthful part of us that dares to do the impossible once he has broken free of the dark prison of our minds. The Mabon hones it’s skills and when is broken free by bravery and need it can go forward and seize the fierce dog of anger to accomplish great things. For when the sun goes down at the Autumnal Equinox does the night get stronger. And as the nights draw in, it is the perfect time to develop our own skills and look inward until we need to release the adventurous spirit within.

Sources:

The Isles of the Many Gods, David Rankine & Sorita D’Este. Avalonia, London, 2007.

The Mabinogion, a new translation by Sioned Davies, Oxford World’s Classics, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007.

The Keys to Avalon, the True Location of Arthur’s Kingdom Revealed, Steve Blake & Scott Lloyd, Element Books Limited, Dorset, 2000.

Gestation | The Druid’s Well

http://thedruidswell.com/2015/12/11/gestation/

Seeming as my ‘Masculine Principle in Paganism’ is proving to take longer than I anticipated to translate from my mind, I read this post from my friend Catriona at the druidswell blog. And it’s glorious!

It offers a refreshing version of the Cerridwen and Taliesin story in a realistic and angry way.  No fluffy bollocks here! Enjoy…..

The Corieltauvi- Their myths and legends

Was the title of my slot for the Society of Ley Hunters conference, here in Attenborough, Notts, Friday 18th Sept, 2015.

The Grove of the Corieltauvi were asked if we would be willing to send a speaker to discuss any of the ancient stories of the original tribes who lived here (here being Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire).  So me being the gobby type agreed.  I misunderstood at first, I originally thought they wanted me to talk about solstice alignments throughout the landscape.  I know bugger all about Ley Lines and solstice alignments (it’s all angles an ting innit bruv?) but thankfully it turned out they wanted me to talk about the above subject.  Ah. Right.  That’s ok then.

The Admin was especially keen for me to tell the story of Bran and Branwen.  Sure, no problem!

…. Hang on!

Art by Brett Breckon

What’s a Welsh tale about a giant got to do with the East Midlands? I’ll explain in a moment.

I arrived at Attenborough’s Nature reserve and paid my respects to the Lady of the Lake on the way (it appears as long as there is water, She will be there- another subject for another post!) and found my way into the very beginning of Bob Trubshaw’s talk about the Queens of the Valleys.  An interesting talk on historic locations and I even learned what a staple was (it’s a wooden pole with intricate carvings used by the Anglo-Saxons before stone crosses became popular; pronounced “Stapple”).  Trubshaw confessed he hadn’t even approached half of his subject by the end of his talk and had overestimated the amount of information he was going to use.

Next up was local historian, author and folklorist Frank Earp speaking about the landscape of Nottingham, especially the Hemlock Stone and the Cat Stone.  The problem with the Cat Stone is its gone! It was there up until the 1940s but now is nowhere to be seen on the landscape.  And it’s not as if you could just lift it up, the thing was about four ton!  Earp also managed to fill in for Peter Liddle who sadly couldn’t make the day.

Then there was me telling the tale of Bran the Blessed, or to use his real name: Bendigeidfran.  Of the thirteen ships that came from Ireland, his half-brother, Efnysien, cocking everything up on purpose.  Of Branwen’s insult, the armies of Britain coming to Ireland to get her back.  Of Gwern’s demise by Efnysien and how he destroys the Cauldron of Regeneration.  Of Bendigeidfran’s wounding and the ‘Assembly of the Head’ ending with its burial White Hill in London.

So what has it got to do with the people of the Corieltauvi? In one word: Lir. The God of the sea.

The tale I used was from the Second Branch of the Mabinogi.  The first few names we are introduced to: Bendigeidfran, Manawydan, Branwen are all children of Lir.  Lir, or Leir lent his name to Leir-Cestre, now known as Leicester.  Leicester was known in Roman times as Ratae Coritanorum

Local legend has it that Leir was buried in a vault under the River Soar.  This was written by Geoffrey of Monmouth and is thought not to tell of the burial of a King Leir, but contain fragments of the deity, Leir.  This is all written more elegently in this article by Leicester historian and folklorist Charles Bilson here.  But if you want the short version, its this: Monmouth wrote of a King Leir, which inspired Shakespeare to write King Lear.  There was no real King called Leir, but there was the deity called Leir who was cognate with the Irish Lir.  Builders found a temple dedicated to Janus by the River Soar.  The Soar was called the Legra back in the Domesday Book and earlier records go on to show the Legra was originally called… Leir!  If this is all true then that means the Coritani/Corieltauvi had Leir as one of their gods.

So, telling the story of Bendigeidfran turned out to be a good call. I also went into detail about:

Beheading: And peoples of this land believed the soul resided in the head.

Branwen: The possibility of her being a goddess of generosity and communication (she taught a starling how to speak during her imprisonment, she also advised her brother on how to compensate Matholhwch for the insult suffered.  And she also interpreted the ‘Extraordinary news’ seen by the Pig herders.  If not a goddess then she certainly was a supernatural being, seeming she was the daughter of a god.

Cauldron of Regeneration:
Cauldron’s in old mythology usually have magical powers.  The Daghda’s never runs out of food.  Manannan Mac Lir’s (an Irish reference!) boils up food after four thruths have been told around it.  The one in this tale brings the dead back to life but without the power of speech.

I would love to have gone in to more detail, Branwen and Sovereignty, for instance.  Or the idea of the rectangular house being used as a trap, something that is often repeated in the Irish tales.

There aren’t any tales or legends of the Corieltauvi/Coritani people left behind.  But I did go into some of the folklore of the region which may have had links, even if the original stories and meanings have been forgotten.

I told what I knew of Black Annis, a Cailleach type figure based in the Dane Hills of Leicester.  Folk tales have her with a blue face, sharp claws and drank the blood of children.  A belief that was so instilled into the local mentality that cottages were built with a low window so she couldn’t get hold of any new born babes.  I don’t want to go into too much detail as I want to write a post on her, but I wonder if she was actually a local goddess that became demonised by the Church.

The last story I told was that of Yallery Brown and how young Tom found this impish creature underneath a ‘Tiddy Stone’ in Lincolnshire.  It’s one of my favourite tales to tell and even though I admitted it is not a left over tale from the Corieltauvi folk, it is still a warning about interfering with things that should really be left alone.  That being said, I did end it by saying to Frank Earp that if Nottingham’s Cat Stone was indeed moved and the warnings of moving such stones, large or small, are true; then whoever moved it must have suffered deep shit.  Earp nodded in agreement.

The day ended with a fascinating talk by Peter Knight in showing the similarities of symbols in both Christianity and Paganism.  And believe you me, there’s a lot.