Important Facts About Samhain From An Irish Celtic Reconstructionist

Important Facts about Samhain from an Irish Celtic Reconstructionist

Pronunciation

SOW-in or SOW-een ~NOT~ Sam-han, Sam-win etc.

Dates

Most reconstructionists celebrate Samhain on Oct 31-Nov 1, however some may choose to celebrate on Gregorian Nov 13-14 as this would match the Julian dates of Oct 31-Nov 1. Some also believe that it was a three day festival spanning Oct 31- Nov 2 on which Nov 2 is specifically devoted to ancestral veneration, but there is no specific evidence of this, only possible extrapolation from more modern practices.

Following the Celtic method of days beginning at sunset, regardless of the specific dates you choose to celebrate on your festivities should begin at sunset and end at sunset.

Importance in the Mythos

Ná Morrighan has a strong connection to this time of year thanks to the story of Cath Dédenach Maige Tuired (The Last Battle of Mag Tuired) in which she is found depicted as the ‘Washing Woman’ (sometimes washing herself in the river and other times washing the bloodied armor of the soldiers that would die that day), on the eve of the battle which is also Samhain. The Dagda approaches her and couples with her (creating the ‘Bed of the Couples’ along the bank of river and granting Dagda her blessing in the battle to come). This encounter seems to over emphasize the liminality of the encounter by taking place during the changing of the year and with the couple each standing with ‘one foot on either bank’ of the river.

She and her sisters (Badb and Macha) then use various forms of magic to rain destruction on their enemies (in the form of fire and blood). After the day is won Morrighan speaks a prophecy that describes what is taken by some to be the end of days and others to be the events which will later lead to the Ulster Cycle.

Beneath the peaceful heavens lies the land. It rests beneath the bowl of the bright sky. The land lies, itself a dish, a cup of honeyed strength, there, for the taking, offering strength to each There it lies, the splendour of the land. The land is like a mead worth the brewing, worth the drinking. It stores for us the gifts of summer even in winter. It protects and armours us, a spear upon a shield Here we can make for ourselves strong places, the fist holding the shield Here we can build safe places, our spear-bristling enclosures. This is where we will turn the earth. This is where we will stay. And here will our children live to the third of three generations Here there will be a forest point of field fences The horn counting of many cows And the encircling of many fields There will be sheltering trees So fodderful of beech mast that the trees themselves will be weary with the weight. In this land will come abundance bringing: Wealth for our children Every boy a warrior, Every watch dog, warrior-fierce The wood of every tree, spear-worthy The fire from every stone a molten spear-stream Every stone a firm foundation Every field full of cows Every cow calf-fertile Our land shall be rich with banks in birdsong Grey deer before Spring And fruitful Autumns The plain shall be thronged from the hills to the shore. Full and fertile. And as time runs its sharp and shadowy journey, this shall be true. This shall be the story of the land and its people We shall have peace beneath the heavens. Forever

(based on the translation by Isolde Carmody)

It is also mentioned in Echtra Cormaic that on this festival every seven years the high king would host a feast, it was at this time new laws could be enacted. (but it seems that individual Tuathas or possibly kings of the individual providence may have done this for their territories at Lughnasadh).

It seems to be a time considered especially susceptible to (or of) great change as it is the time which the Tuatha de Danann win victory over the Formorians and take control of Ireland, the invasion of Ulster takes place at this time in Táin bo Cúailnge, in Aislinge Óengusa Óengus and his bride-to-be are changed from bird to human and eventually he claims kingship of Brú na Bóinne at this time of year.

Celebration Traditions

Samhain is the beginning of the “dark half” of the year and is widely regarded as the Insular Celtic equivalent of the New Year. The “dark half” of the year was a time for story telling, in fact in this half of the year after dark is considered the only acceptable time to tell stories from the mythological and Ulster cycle (the Fenian cycle being assumed to be no older than the 12th century based on linguistic dating). Traditionally anything that had not been harvested or gathered by the time of this festival was to be left, as it now belonged to the Fae (in some areas specifically the Púca).

This was also an important time for warding off ill luck in the coming year. Large bonfires would be built and as the cattle were driven back into the community from the pastures they would be walked between these bonfires as a method of purification (the reverse custom of Bealtaine where the livestock were walked between the fires on their way out to the summer pastures). Assumed ritualistic slaughter of some of the herd would follow (though this perhaps had the more practical purpose of thinning the herd before the winter and creating enough food for the feasting). In some areas the ashes from these fires would be worn, thrown or spread as a further way to ward off evil.

Homes would be ritualistically protected from the Aos Sí (Fae or ‘Spirits’) through methods such as offerings of food (generally leaving some of the feasting outside for them), carving turnips with scary faces to warn them off (we now tend to do this with gourds), and smoke cleansing the home (in Scottish saining) traditionally with juniper, but perhaps rowan or birch might be an acceptable alternative. It is likely these would be part of the components used in Samhain bonfires as well, for the same reason.

Lastly based on later traditions as well as links in the mythology this is a time where divination practices or those with the ‘second sight’ were regarded to be especially potent.

Art Credit @morpheus-ravenna

My Kofi

Redoing the farm…again!

Sources for Celtic History and Paganism!

So today I was reading Ancient Fire: An Introduction to Gaulish Celtic Polytheism by Segomâros Widugeni when it struck me just how many of the sources were the type of thing that wouldn't necessarily come up on a regular search, particularly some out-of-print books, a lot of which are actually available on the Internet Archive! I took some time to take note of each listed source, and tried to see if I could find the right place to request them from (in the case of a handful of articles and theses), find PDF links where they did already exist, basically whatever I could! Some books are available to buy, most secondhand, and while most are available on Amazon, I won't be linking those here. I'd encourage anyone shopping to consider an alternative option if they can! Now, I haven't read through all of these, but the moment I found at least one of them seems to be impossible to find, I was reminded of the dangers of dying media. So I wanted to put these together so anyone could use them. Not every resource listed is in English. Anyway, on to the list~

Cernunnos: Looking a Different Way

By Ceisiwr Serith

https://ceisiwrserith.com/therest/Cernunnos/cernunnospaper.htm

Cernunnos Origin and Transformation of A Celtic Divinity

By Phyllis Fray Bober

https://www.scribd.com/document/460345187/cernunnos-origin-and-transformation-of-a-celtic-divinity-phyllis-fray-bober

Basic Celtic Deity Types

by Alexei Kondratiev

https://naomh-na-tursan.livejournal.com/5752.html

Deep Ancestors: Practicing the Religion of the Proto-Indo-Europeans

Book by Ceisiwr Serith

https://www.scribd.com/document/362472999/Deep-Ancestors-Practicing-the-Religion-of-the-Proto-Indo-Europeans

The Gods of the Celts and the Indo-Europeans

Book by Garrett S. Olmsted

https://www.academia.edu/38135817/The_Gods_of_the_Celts_and_the_Indo_Europeans_revised_2019_

Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend

Book by Miranda Aldhouse-Green

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/dictionary-of-celtic-myth-and-legend_miranda-aldhouse-green/543335/#edition=5215209&idiq=16154030

The Book of The Great Queen: The Many Faces of the Morrigan from Ancient Legends to Modern Devotions

Book by Morpheus Ravenna Further

to tongu do dia toinges mo thuath [“Mi a dyngaf dynged it”], &c.

By John Koch

https://www.academia.edu/7242277/Further_to_tongu_do_dia_toinges_mo_thuath_Mi_a_dyngaf_dynged_it_and_c

Goddesses in Celtic Religion Cult and Mythology: A Comparative Study of Ancient Ireland, Britain and Gaul

By Noémie Beck

http://theses.univ-lyon2.fr/documents/lyon2/2009/beck_n#p=0&a=title

The Integration of Mercury and Lugus: Myth and History in Late Iron Age and Early Roman Gaul

By Krista Ovist

https://archives.library.wales/index.php/integration-of-mercury-and-lugus

Lady with a Mead Cup: Ritual, Prophecy, and Lordship in the European Warband from La Tène to the Viking Age

Book by Michael J. Enright

How to Kill a Dragon: Aspects of Indo-European Poetics

Book by Calvert Watkins

https://ia801404.us.archive.org/view_archive.php?archive=/7/items/twain-mark-a-connecticut-yankee-in-king-arthurs-court/1-ptry.zip&file=How%20to%20Kill%20a%20Dragon%20-%20Aspects%20of%20Indo%20European%20Poetics.pdf

The Celtic Gauls: Gods, Rites and Sanctuaries

Book by Jean-Louis Brunaux

The Apple Branch: A Path to Celtic Ritual

Book by Alexei Kondratiev

https://archive.org/details/applebranchpatht0000kond

Oxford Dictionary of Celtic Mythology

Book by James Mackillop

https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofcelt0000mack

The female deities of the Celtic religion: worship and mythology: a comparative study of ancient Ireland, Great Britain and Gaul

By Noémie Beck

https://theses.fr/2009LYO20084

Celtic Curses

Book by Bernard Mees

https://www.academia.edu/1012094/Celtic_Curses_Woodbridge_Boydell_2009

Guide to Irish Mythology

Book by Daragh Smyth

https://archive.org/details/guidetoirishmyth00smyt

The Sacred Isle

Book by Dáithí Ó hÓgáin

https://archive.org/details/sacredislebelief0000ohog

The Matronae and Matres: Breathing New Life into an Old Religion

By River Devora

http://polytheist.com/the-web-of-blessings/2015/08/12/the-matronae-and-matres-breathing-new-life-into-an-old-religion/

Interpretatio Romana and Matronae Iconography

By River Devora

http://polytheist.com/the-web-of-blessings/2015/08/31/interpretatio-romana-and-matronae-iconography/#:~:text=The%20overlay%20of%20interpretatio%20Romana,and%20plaques%20and%20glean%20valuable

Celtic chiefdom, Celtic state: the evolution of complex social systems in prehistoric Europe

By Arnold, Bettina and Gibson, D. Blair

https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/3086499

*butacos, *wossos, *geistlos, *ambactos. Celtic Socioeconomic Organisation in the European Iron Age. Studia Celtica 40, 2006: 23-41

By Raimund Karl

https://www.academia.edu/245239/_butacos_wossos_geistlos_ambactos_Celtic_Socioeconomic_Organisation_in_the_European_Iron_Age_Studia_Celtica_40_2006_23_41

The Ancient Celts

Book by Barry Cunliffe

https://archive.org/details/ancientcelts00cunl_0

Sengoidelc: Old Irish for Beginners

Book by David Stifter

https://archive.org/details/sengoidelcoldiri0000stif

Greek Kελτóς and Γαλάτης, Latin Gallus ‘Gaul’

By Kim McCone

https://spr.harrassowitz-library.com/article/spr/2006/1/6

Celtic Heritage: Ancient Tradition in Ireland and Wales

Book by Alwyn and Brinley Rees

https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.36494

Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism

By Erynn Rowan Laurie, Kathryn Price NicDhàna, Aedh Rua Ó Mórríghan, Kym Lambert ní Dhoireann and John Machate, ed. by Erynn Rowan Laurie

https://web.archive.org/web/20080418025755/http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usma&c=trads&id=6645

Which witch is which? : a concise guide to Wiccan and Neo-Pagan paths and traditions

Book Compiled and Edited by Patricia Telesco

Sources for the Three Realms

By Annie Loughlin - original source link is dead, need help to locate!

Dictionnaire de la Langue Gauloise

Book by Xavier Delmarre

https://archive.org/details/dictionnairedelal00dela (referred to as “Essential for Gaulish Language study)

The Settling of the Manor of Tara

By R.I. Best

https://www.ucd.ie/tlh/trans/rib.eriu.4.001.t.text.html

The court of law in Iron Age ‚Celtic’ societies. In R. Karl & J. Leskovar (eds.), Interpretierte Eisenzeiten 3. Fallstudien, Methoden, Theorie. Tagungsbeiträge der 3. Linzer Gespräche zur interpretativen Eisenzeitarchäologie. Studien zur Kulturgeschichte von Oberösterreich Folge 22, Linz: Oberösterreichisches Landesmuseum 2009: 135-60.

By Raimund Karl

https://www.academia.edu/245221/The_court_of_law_in_Iron_Age_Celtic_societies_In_R_Karl_and_J_Leskovar_eds_Interpretierte_Eisenzeiten_3_Fallstudien_Methoden_Theorie_Tagungsbeitr%C3%A4ge_der_3_Linzer_Gespr%C3%A4che_zur_interpretativen_Eisenzeitarch%C3%A4ologie_Studien_zur_Kulturgeschichte_von_Ober%C3%B6sterreich_Folge_22_Linz_Ober%C3%B6sterreichisches_Landesmuseum_2009_135_60

Matasović Etymological Dictionary Of Proto Celtic

By Ranko Matasović

https://archive.org/details/matasovic-etymological-dictionary-of-proto-celtic

Hammer of the Gods: Anglo-Saxon Paganism in Modern Times Second Edition

Book by Swain Wodening

https://archive.org/details/hammerofgodsangl0000swai

Various Works by Christopher Scott Thompson - recommended re: honor in Gaulish society

https://cateransociety.wordpress.com/books/

A Handbook of the Scottish Gaelic World

Book by Michael Newton and Michael Steven Newton

Celtic Values

By Alexei Kondratiev

http://dagdacelt.freehostia.com/values.html

European paganism : the realities of cult from antiquity to the Middle Ages

By Ken Dowden

https://archive.org/details/europeanpaganism0000dowd

A Definitive Reconstructed Text of the Coligny Calendar

By Garrett Olmsted

https://www.academia.edu/62011364/A_Definitive_Reconstructed_Text_of_the_Coligny_Calendar

New Calendar of Gaulish Polytheism

By Jess via Nemeton Nigromanitcos

https://thebloodybones.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/new-calendar-of-gaulish-polytheism/#more-265

Calendar of Feast-Days of Deities

Via the blog Deo Mercutio

https://deomercurio.wordpress.com/calendar-of-feast-days-of-deities/

Altkeltische Sozialstrukturen

By Raimund Karl

https://homepage.univie.ac.at/Raimund.Karl/Sozialstrukturen.pdf

La Langue Gauloise

Book by Pierre-Yves Lambert

https://www.scribd.com/document/782869557/Lambert-1994-La-langue-gauloise-description-linguistique-commentaire-d-inscriptions-choisies

Death, War, and Sacrifice: Studies in Ideology & Practice

Book by Bruce Lincoln

The Gods of the Celts

Book by Miranda Aldhouse-Green

https://archive.org/details/godsofceltsar00mira

War Goddess The Morrigan And Her Germano Celtic Counterparts

Book by Angelique Gulermovich Epstein

https://archive.org/details/WarGoddessTheMorriganAndHerGermanoCelticCounterparts

Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss/Slaby

- Database of “almost all inscriptions ever recorded”

https://db.edcs.eu/epigr/hinweise/hinweis-en.html

A website on Gallo-Roman religion:

http://www.deomercurio.be/en/

A scholarly website with information on Epona:

https://epona.net/

75 notes View Post

dmfromtheblacklagoon

3 months ago

I'm thinking about making a bugs and other arthropods iceberg, just for funsies

here are the ideas I have so far!

LEVEL 1: isopod cultures, difference between butterflies and moths, springtails are not insects, true bugs, fireflies are beetles, harvestmen aren't spiders, funky treehoppers, carcinisation

LEVEL 2: importance of mosquitoes, larviform females, venezuelan poodle moth is a hoax, barnacles are upside down crustaceans, fly diversity, horshoe crabs are related to arachnids, mysid shrimps and krill are not related to true shrimp, crustacean zoea, insects are crustaceans, terrestrial amphipods, ant trophobiosis, funny weevils, whip spiders, playful behaviour in bees, assassin bugs that cover themselves in their prey's corpses, honeybees are invasive, 'spider with wings' hoax, hotwheels sisyphus, scorpions are great mothers

LEVEL 3: cockroaches do not spread diseases, gladiators, tongue eating lice aren't that bad, tongue worms, flightless flies and moths, hangingflies, spider that feeds on human blood*, hematophagous moths, polymorphic butterflies, myrmecophil insects, ant mimicking spiders, sawflies, twig spiders, snout mites, rove beetle tongues, kermesidae, parasitic copepods, there's no point in killing spotted lanternflies, buoy barnacles, tar flies, protecting native bees, antarctic midges, butterflies are moths

LEVEL 4: ice crawlers, fleas are actually scorpionflies, mantises are related to cockroaches, ichthyurus, insane isopod diversity, flies are not the only insects with halteres, phytalmia, owlflies, cockroach trophobiosis, termites are cockroaches, ancyra, longhorn beetle that stings with antennae, saltwater skating flies, coatonachthodes, bioluminescent fairy shrimp, mr. arthrobalanus, primarily herbivorous spider, forcepflies, lake baikal giant amphipods, fruit fly covered in eyes, even weirder fly diversity, the other myriapods, spider mimicry in flies and moths

LEVEL 5: terrestrial ostracods, serolidae, ascodipteron

so what do you think? anything I should add or change?? should I just scrap this concept altogether???? I don't know much about bugs when it comes to facts or how well known said facts are so I'd really appreciate some help with this!

*it doesn't exactly feed on human blood like mosquitoes or bed bugs, it just eats blood from mosquitoes that are full of blood

38 notes View Post

dmfromtheblacklagoon

4 months ago