Bealtaine

A small group of us will soon be traveling to Scotland to link up with like minded people and united, we will celebrate Bealtaine on 6th of May, at a place not terribly far from The Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries and Galloway.

This fire festival is a time of fertility and conception, a time of play in the warm summer sun, a time when cattle were driven between two fires as a cleansing and to increase their regenerative potency. At this time the energy of the life – force is at its peak, the fires are blazing; The sun's energising heat is felt by all thus sexuality and union are honoured.

This is the time of the Lovers: Where the young God Aengus Óg, the poet son of the god Daghda has words to woo the young Goddess Caer!

Samhain Sunrise at Tara in the Mound of the Hostages

photo by Martin Dier courtesy of Knowth.com

Why the change of date?

It is generally accepted that the fire festivals fall on the 31st or 1st of specific months.

Many people have been studying the alignments of standing stones, stone circles and bronze age burial mounds in depth here in Ireland and they have have calculated that many are aligned to the solar midpoints which lie directly between an equinox and a solstice or a solstice and an equinox.

It is at this time when the sun illuminates the carvings on back walls of chambers or a specific stone in a similar way to the occurrence at Newgrange on Winter Solstice.

Due to changes in the calendar this happens around 5 days later than generally accepted.

So the revised dates are :-

Samhain ... 6/7th November

Imbolc ........Feb 4/5th

Bealtaine .....May 5/6th

Lughnasadh ... 6/7th September

Samhain 6/7th November

To use those other dates makes no sense at all to me as they have no alignment to the sun's course and seem to deny the validity of the ancient sites; plus they are at least a week away from the midpoint.

On our return I hope to share with you the experiences of the trip along with some photos.

Visiting ancient places

Easter Monday was a day of sunshine and discovery as we walked over fields of lush green grass. We had with us a small book written several years ago by a local historian in which several artifacts were mentioned as being possibility's of what we might find.

The first to be seen was a Norman motte and unfortunately

the bailey was bulldozed several years ago.

Around the right hand corner of the field a ruin showed

through the trees.

The ancient abbey & monastery of Drumcullen

founded in A.D. 591 by Saint Barrinn, also known as

St.Barron. He was by all accounts an extraordinary character

being a traveler and a navigator & is believed to have discovered

America, long before the noted St.Brendan the Navigator who

visited America many centuries before Columbus.

At the western end of the building is a corballed ceiling,

uniquely (I think) made of very small stones. This chamber

is believed to have been the priests quarters; I think he must

have been a hardy fellow for there was no sign of smoke hole!

On the floor of the corballed chamber lies a fragment

of what was once a celtic cross.

A close up of the Norman motte showing signs

of erosion and further around the erosion is

even worse; how much longer before it to disappears

is hard to tell.

The vista from the side of the motte shows

Knocknaman in the distance. The translation of

which is 'The Hill of the Women' referring perhaps

to the two women druids who fostered the

hero Fionn mac Cumhaill.

There are so many artifacts to be seen and ancient places to visit in this relatively undiscovered part of the Irish midlands and I hope to share more with you in the future.

DISTURBED

Is this the world that we desire

Of hunger, war and fire,

Of toil, spoil and waste.

A system created to create

A world of greed, speed and hate.

Can we stop, arrest the cause

Without causing pain or arising havocs.

To deftly change here to there.

Redirect resources - from

Full bellied western folk - to

Hollowed eyed hungry children

And create a proper balance ?

I wrote the above forty years ago circa 1970. Today I was awoken in the early hours of the morning by my own words, " of hunger, war and fire", reverberating through my sleeping mind until I awoke and rifled through my notebooks to dig them out.

Unfortunately the words I wrote all those years ago are still true today. In yesteryear I was short sighted & only aimed my poem towards the plight of the children in Africa and India.

Now in 2011, I realize they can just as easily apply to children and their parents who live in countries, judged by international financiers as being amongst the wealthy, developed nations of the world.

Tell me, how can we make a difference ?

In a Monastery Garden

Amongst my wide variety of friends there are those who have religious vocations ; They being members of the third order of Franciscans, whose local monastery was established in 1820 with the dictate to educate and feed the people. So on a recent visit, I was inspired to take photos of some of the unique features in their garden.

As many of you may know I am a druid and a pagan, this neither stops me nor them from enjoying each others' company and from having some interesting discussions on subjects which are not always common to our individual followings. That being the case we stretch our minds to seek a common understanding.

One commonality between us is our love of nature, plants, trees, animals, ancient sites and the night sky to name but a few.

The pictures which follow speak for themselves.

A stone circle with a difference

The centre stone of the circle has a hole in it, which means that it

might be described as a contract or marriage stone.

For in ancient times: each lover would put a hand through the

hole to make their marriage vows.

What strange creatures can you see

in this ancient tree?

Not a Sun Dial but a Moon Dial.

The face of the Moon dial, a device that was created

by one of the monks many years ago.

This large iron pot is believed to have been a cauldron

in which gruel or stew was cooked during the famine times.

A modern waterfall feature using

recycled wine bottles !

WOODEN CURTAINS

I am back on-line temporarily with my own computer, it was returned on Thursday having had a new hard drive fitted. Then came the task of re-installing documents and software, it was during the latter procedure that a new fault became apparent in that the 'puter was unable to eject an installation disc ! So next morning saw us back on the phone to mac help, the outcome being that it will have to be returned to their repair people.

During the time that I was without my beloved 'puter neither my brain nor hands were idle, as the pics below show. First was the erecting of a new shelf that was cut from a board which was once part of a friends dining table - imagine if it could talk what stories it might tell and of how many times it was washed with wine.

The second project was to make a set of wooden curtains (shutters) for the window of the third oldest room of this cottage. Previously we had fabric curtains & then a venetian blind, none of these were truly satisfactory. So I had an idea of doing something very different and decorating individual boards using pyrography by putting ourselves & our "companions" into the design.

Whilst the new computer glitch is being attended to I shall be applying a protective coating of linseed oil, which over time will slowly darken the wood and increase the contrast between the illustrations and the bare areas.

Wooden Curtains

Self smoking pipe

Mrs H's morning ritual

The new shelf with a painting by me

APOLOGIES !

A Dutch barge at Pullough Bridge on The Royal Canal

(also in process of a refit)

*********************

I thought it best to inform you all that I am having some work done on my computer in the next few days and Normal Service will resume as soon as possible.

Until then take it easy xxx

An Irish Druid's Tree & Church Art

In the village of Pollagh, County Offaly, there is a church which stands close to the banks of The Royal Canal, from the outside it is visually quite plain. Being of a simple design it appears to be quite humble, for this building was quite literally built by the people of the community, the bricks were made locally and the work was also done by them, a gift given freely and greater than any cash donation.

On opening the narrow double doors and entering one is met with a glorious & breath taking sight of the Chancel.

So !

Let the eyes see.

The open heart feel deeply.

The mind understand

Broad depths of humanity.

The Chancel

The Altar

The Font

The Lectern

The Tabernacle

Stained glass windows by the late Harry Clarke

www.harryclarke.net/biography.html

The Altar Server's seat.

Pullough Church was the first commission for Michael Casey and the artists of Celtic Roots in1991 in this locality.

The Altar furniture was created from Bog Yew and has been carbon dated as being 4,800 years old.

The artist reflects on the making of the altar table's plinth

"I would take it out on my trolley into the garden and allow the winter sun to light it up, and as figures began to emerge in the fusion of sunlight and instinct, there were moments when it was no longer a piece of wood but a celebration of life… "

Yew was one of the traditional trees of the ancient druids, the other tree is Rowan and unlike the druids of other countries Oak was not revered.

The Beara Peninsula

It is my philosophy when taking a few days holiday, to make the journey as interesting as possible by taking the scenic route and to avoid as far as possible the motorways. This I can do when visiting most of my favourite areas especially the Bheara Peninsula (of which 4/5th's are in Co.Cork and1/5th in Co.Kerry) From home it is approximately a 350 km drive and the time it takes is of little importance.

To some this area is also known as The Ring of Beara, no matter the name that is put on it, Bheara has an atmosphere all of it's own and to me it feels like a warm island that is full of friendship and surprises. From B & B's which serve delicious breakfasts, to those who have a lamb grazing the lawn, to some that only rent a bedroom with no breakfast.

Around every corner is a different view, some roads twist steeply up mountainsides and one in particular has a magnificent view of Bull Rock, otherwise known as The House of Donn (Teach Donn).

In Irish folklore Donn is the underworld god of death, who told his people to come to his home after they had died. Bull Rock has a sea tunnel, through which the setting sun shines and it is via the pathway of the evening sun that the newly dead find Donn's home.

Close to Ballycrovane Harbour is a tall megalith whose top two feet pops up over the rocky strewn hill as you round the bend. We have visited this standing stone quite a few times and it is reputed to be the tallest in Europe with a height 5.3 metres.

It is not just a standing stone but an Ogham Stone on private land where the land owner charges a small fee of €2.00 (or did) to every visitor. Ogham is the earliest form of script in Ireland and comprises of a series of lines which pass through a vertical stem line to the left, right or diagonally across. Ogham is read from the bottom upwards. Normally the inscriptions are carved on the corner of a stone, however on the Ballycrovane stone they are in the middle of a plane surface which suggests that they were added after the stone was erected.

A couple of miles or so past the Ogham Stone and standing on a seaward facing hill is The Cailleach Bheara called by some 'The Hag Stone' or 'The Wise Woman of Beara'.

This stone is venerated by visitors from all over the world, they adorn her with ribbons and leave offerings in her wrinkles (crevices).

The stone its self is an erratic meaning that it is not native to the area.

A painting by © Jane Brideson depicting

The Cailleach of Beara.

She The Cailleach is the Divine Feminine, the oldest goddess of this island and like every remarkable figure she can be found all over the land as well as in Scotland, the Isle of Man and England.

The peninsula is renown for it's megaliths and folklore at every visit I learn or see something new.

I believe it is that plus the people that keep drawing me back and I yearn to make another visit .

For further information & map www.bearatourism.com/map.html

SACRED LAND

On a sunny day while frost still lay on the ground in early January, we made our first trip of the year.

We had two reasons for going: One to meet an eccentric character known affectionately as Jim the Bee and secondly to visit an unmapped circle of stones, which a friend had spotted while out and about.

What we did not know at the outset was how the two were inextricably linked.

We spent a happy two hours or more in Jim's home drinking tea and talking of the things about which we had a mutual interest. People's bookcases are always a good lead into conversations and in Jim's library we saw a collection very similar to our own.

During our conversation the subject of sacred sites cropped up or as archaeologists refer to them 'Sites of Special Interest' which are scattered widely throughout this land.

Jim used to work as a supervisor for a government sponsored scheme which brought benefits to his locality in numerous ways via employment and the training of younger persons. This work sometimes included the rebuilding of boundary walls adjoining the roads and the tidying up of overgrown areas.

About a couple of miles from Jim's home was a moderately sized Ring Fort, which had become neglected with numerous self seeded trees and brambles etc.

It was an ideal place for such a scheme to reclaim for posterity.

More was known about this place however: For here was an unofficial burial ground that had been used for generations and right up until recent times, for the internment of unbaptised babies. The Church had denied these special babies burial in the consecrated ground of their cemeteries.

A lonely spot

The Memorial

Out of respect for those whose loved one's had been interred in the ring fort Jim created a quiet loving space by collecting and placing several large stones in a circular form.

He also had a large stone memorial plaque in the shape of a flame erected within its confines.

The inscription

I feel that this was a generous act of Love from Jim the Bee and rightly deserved

by the community as a memorial to the unnamed.

To me as a pagan All Land is Sacred.

Folk Remedies

Common Marigold

Rural communities throughout the ages have always had their healers, herbalists,

water diviners, wise men and wise women, whose ordinary life was no different to

those of their neighbours.They may have been farmers, housewives, labourers or

had some type of trade or none at all.

Today these people still exist: the ones who have cures or easements for a wide variety ailments.

As an example there is an ointment which when applied to a severe burn will not only ease the pain but also virtually reduce the scarring to a minimum.

This ointment is usually made by a woman who has had it passed to her through the female line of her family. I know two women who make this as well as

a person who has the recipe for a herbal liniment that gives great easement and reduction to haemorrhoids.

Even today with the advancement of modern medicine and it's support from the pharmaceutical industry there are people who, given the choice, prefer folk medicine for a variety of reasons.

In my own case: Eczema with dry skin has been a problem since birth and although the effects can be lessened by avoiding certain foods, it still lingers and occasionally breaks out on my lower legs and hands.

The conventional treatment that doctors and skin specialists prescribe has a cortisone base either as a topical ointment or intravenously.

Either method is not a cure, for all it does is to temporarily hide the ailment, only to have it appear elsewhere at a later date.

There is also a good chance of cortisone thinning the skin and damaging the liver, because the liver itself actually produces a substance very close to that of cortisone in minute amounts.

From my own experience Calendula Officinalis (common marigold) is by far the best herbal treatment for my complaint. Obtainable as an oil extract and used in creams, it can be quite costly if you need to use it regularly and liberally thought the winter.

For a few years now I have been producing my own cream, by growing that sunny flower the Common Marigold, removing the heads when in full bloom and extracting their oil and mixing it with beeswax and avocado oil.

This year I added an extra ingredient of unrefined honey and by passing it through the warm oil, I think that the rapid healing properties of the honey have infused in to the mix. I am very pleased with the results after only a few days of use.

The Honeycomb

Why Honey ?

It is used as a folk cure for ulcers by packing honey into the wound and putting cold cream on the surrounding skin. This is a very successful treatment, but not recommended because of the extreme pain!

Honey has been used for thousands of years to heal various ailments and Calendula is the same.

So this Spring will see me busy in the garden planting this wonderful flower and later in the year visiting our local bee keeper for some honey & beeswax.

Finished Product ( behind our first Crocus)