Morgan Daimler's Blog, page 44

Book giveaway for new novel "Into the Twilight"

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Goodreads Book Giveaway



Into the Twilight
by Morgan Daimler

Giveaway ends January 28, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

In the Presence of the Gods

  I am currently working on an article for a new anthology through my publisher and during the process have been reflecting about the times I have felt the presence of the Gods around me. It is always hard to describe the numinous and so often after such an experience we find ourselves questioning and rationalizing away what we felt. This makes sharing these moments far more difficult, but there have also been times when the presence of the Gods created noticeable, tangible effects that were witnessed by many people and these are harder to rationalize away.
   I have been in rituals where the presence of the Gods was like a physical weight hanging in the air, where it became harder to breath and move simply because they were there. I have felt indescribably small when the Gods come into a space and fill it, and once, when I'd inadvertently offended a deity, I felt like a bug under someone's shoe about to be crushed. I have been filled with terror and awe in the presence of Nemain (who still scares me) and overcome by calm in a terrifying situation when Flidais was with me. All of these experiences are precious, and all were profound for me, but they are and can only be deeply personal. Even with poetry I cannot truly convey what it felt like, nor convince anyone else that what I experienced actually occurred.
   In contrast I have personally experienced moments when the presence of the Gods was physically perceptible, if only in small ways. While attending a public Imbolc ritual I and several other people noticed a candle on the altar burning out; it smoked briefly as it burned down then extinguished itself. Several minutes later as the group was singing a chant to Brighid that candle relit itself, the light flaring briefly and then burning steadily for the duration of the chant and a few minutes longer. At a ritual to the Morrigan when the goddess was invoked the temperature dropped so much that people could see their breath in the air and the temperature stayed down for more than five minutes before rising again. Several friends witnessed a broken string of lights, which was unplugged, lighting up and remaining lit during a ritual after Odin was invoked into the space. These little moments represent a few examples of times when the presence of the Gods was tangible and evident to groups of people, many of whom are not usually mystically inclined.
   We are often in the presence of the Gods, both in and out of ritual. It is up to us to be aware of their presence and willing to acknowledge it. We can choose to cherish these moments of connection, or we can rationalize them away, strip them of their numinous beauty. Or we can appreciate the little moments of connection, the glimpses into the mystic, the times when we feel the Gods reaching back towards us. It is up to us to decide.

Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015

  Last year was a very busy one for me. I had four books published - Fairy Witchcraft and Pagan Portals: the Morrigan through Moon Books and the first two in my urban fantasy series Murder Between the Worlds and Lost in Mist and Shadow (self published); I also had pieces in three anthologies this year. I wrote for the blog as well as guest blogging on Raise the Horns, and writing articles for journals and e-zines, including one for Goddess Pages on the Morrigan. I taught at ADF's Wellspring, at the Morrigan's Call retreat, CT Pagan Pride Day and the Changing Times, Changing Worlds convention. And I had the always fun experience of being a guest on the podshow the New Normal as well as appearing on another podcast, Main Street Universe, where I talked about Fairies. I ventured into the new and interesting world of translating older Irish manuscript material, which I've really been enjoying (and look for more of that soon). And of course in between all those shenanigans was Real Life with children and grocery shopping and bills.
   Now we are heading into to 2015. I had genuinely intended to make this year a quiet one, but it doesn't look like that is meant to be. My next novel, the third in my urban fantasy series, is coming out at the end of this month, and I have a piece I am writing for another anthology. I have several other book projects in the works as well as articles coming out in the next issues of Air n-Aithesc, Pagan Dawn, and Goddess Alive. I'm attending Pantheacon for the first time this year, and am already scheduled to teach workshops at a spiritualist church, at the second Morrigan Calls retreat, as well as on a Morrigan Sacred Sites tour of Ireland, and tentatively at CWPN's Harvest Gathering.
  I do plan to keep up with the blog, including continuing with my translation efforts. Hopefully I will be back to my regular blogging schedule now, but I wanted everyone to understand that as my non-blog writing has increased - and as real life demands have taken a lot of my attention - it has gotten harder to give the blog the attention I want. I'd rather not write at all than write when I don't have time to cite sources and give it the quality it deserves.
  As we move into the new year my goal here, for the blog, is to find a balance between more academic entries and more experiential entries. And to get back on my twice-a-week schedule. So happy new year to you all, and stay tuned. 

Oiche Sidhe - a poem

There is poetry in this madness
Grief and delight intertwined
Standing between worlds
Shadowed and bright, undefined
A whirlwind of hope and
Destruction on the air, gleaming
They are calling, "Come away,
Away, beyond mortal dreaming,
Beyond cares and love,
Beyond boundaries unspoken.
Into endless night, into magic,
Into a timeless time, unbroken"
Turning and twisting,
Following a trackless path
Dancing and weeping
Overcome by joy and wrath
Ecstasy consumes like fire
Transforms, transmutes at the core
And then, wrenching, tearing,
Back to mortal earth once more

Yule 2014

 I've mentioned before in other December blogs that I celebrate Yule as a Heathen holiday with 12 days of celebration. This year is proving quite challenging and hectic, but since editing the new novel has my blogging limited I thought I'd touch on how yule is going.
   We began our celebration this year on Sunday the 21, the day of the official solstice, by waking up to a gift exchange. Santa, you see, comes to our house on the solstice (it helps thin out his schedule for his busier night). We woke this year to falling snow*. The kids decided to get up extremely early so the adults were sustained by coffee. And bacon. A good time was had by all, and that afternoon we made gingerbread cookies. Dinner was a feast of ham and orange colored vegetables, some of which were offered to the house spirits. Later we did a small ritual in honor of some of the wights and held a vigil for the returning sun.
    Monday the 22nd the clouds  cleared briefly in the morning and the new sun shone down bright and glorious before the cloud cover closed back in. On that day we honored Frau Sonne with a small ritual and offerings in praise of her return. We lit our Yule log and let the candles burn out.

   Today, the third day of Yule, we choose to honor the Wilde Jagd (Wild Hunt) which rides this time of year. It is believed that the Hunt rides especially when storm winds blow and tonight my area is getting a Nor'easter - so truly the Wild Hunt is riding tonight here. Offerings will be made tonight that they pass us by unharmed. 
   Tomorrow we will honor our house spirit with an offering of porridge and butter. We also have a family tradition with the children of watching a movie (Polar Express) and having popcorn and hot chocolate and the house spirit will receive a portion of everything. 
  On the 25th we celebrate Mutternacht, Mother Night, by honoring Frija and the Idises. Most Heathens today celebrate Mother Night on the eve of the solstice, but we use Bede's reckoning as given here:
Incipiebant autem annum ab octavo Calendarum Januariarum die, ubi nunc natale Domini celebramus. Et ipsam noctem nunc nobis sacrosanctam, tunc gentili vocabulo Modranicht, id est, matrum noctem appellabant: ob causam et suspicamur ceremoniarum, quas in ea pervigiles agebant. 
(Moreover at the beginning of the year by the 8th calendar day of January**, when we celebrate the birth of our Lord. That night which we hold sacred, they used to call by the Gentile*** word Modranicht, that is, Mother's Night, we suspect because of their ceremonies, as in accordance they kept vigils)
So we celebrate Mutternacht on December 25th by honoring and offering to the "mothers".
    On December 26th we honor the spirits of the land. We also cleanse and sain our property, first by walking the boundary with fire and then by scattering a small amount of salt. This is also the anniversary of our kindred's founding in 2006 so we usually get together to celebrate Yule as group on this day, although this year due to scheduling we are meeting on the 28th instead.
   On December 27th we honor our ancestors with offerings and stories. A white candle is lit for them.
  On December 28th we honor Oski - Wodan as the Wish-giver. Small gifts are exchanged and offerings are made to him, and a small ritual is done. Omens are taken for the year to come.
   On December 29th we honor Frau Holda as the leader of the Wild Hunt, with Wodan, and as the protector of children's spirits.
   On December 30th we honor the Hidden Folk, specifically the perchten and huldufolk who travel with Perchta and Frau Holda.
   On December 31st we honor Berchta. Offerings of fish and porridge are left out. We ask her for her blessing in the coming year, especially for good health, and we thank her fo rall her blessings in the year that is past.
   This may seem like a lot but it really isn't. It's just a little each day and much of it is really fun, especially because of the children. The 12 days are hectic, but they go by quickly and everyone enjoys them.
* Frau Holle shaking her blankets out! A good omen in my opinion
** by the Julian calendar the 8th day of January would have shifted back on the Gregorian calendar to roughly December 25th, which is why Bede refers to it as the night they celebrate the birth of Jesus.
*** Gentile is often translated here as Heathen or Pagan but the actual word given is gentili so I have preserved the closer meaning.

Reference
Giles, J (1843). The Complete Works of the Venerable Bede

Fairy Horses

Fairy horses are well known in Ireland and Scotland, where there are two main kinds of fairy horses seen in stories: the Kelpie and the Water Horse. The Water Horse is also called Aughisky and Each Uisce (Irish Gaelic for water horse). In Orkney, they are called Nuggles, in Wales Ceffyl Dwr. In Shetland, they are Coofiltees, and on the Isle of Man they are called Cabbyl Ushtey or the Glashtin. Water Horses and Kelpies are seen in all parts of the Celtic world under these different names and also in parts of the Norse world. In Scandinavian folklore they are called Bäckahästen or “Brook horses,” ; in Norway they are Nokken and in Iceland they are called Nykur. It is likely that that Water Horses and Kelpies, like other European fairies, have followed the people who believed in them to new countries so that they can be found all over the world now.      These water fairies usually appear as black horses or ponies, but sometimes may be white or even green with a black mane. They appear to be unusually beautiful horses and act very tame and friendly; however, a Water Horse or Kelpie can be recognized by the seaweed or other water plants that are sometimes seen tangled in its hair and the water that drips constantly from its mane and tail. Water Horses may take the shape of people, usually women but sometimes a good looking man, but even in this form they can still be recognized for their dripping hair and seaweed or other water plants.
       There is a story from Scotland of a Kelpie who fell in love with a mortal girl. He came to her in the form of a handsome man, courted her, and convinced her to marry him. They had a small home together and in time a child; they lived happily together until the day that the human woman discovered her husband’s true nature. Realizing he was a Kelpie, she abandoned her child and fled. The Kelpie, deeply in love with his mortal wife, raised their child and waited futilely for her to return.
      These fairy horses are known for trying to trick people into climbing on their backs for a ride. Kelpies are said to do this in order to take the person on a wild ride before dumping the person on the ground, in a ditch, or in the water, although some say that Kelpies will trick people in order to take them to a body of water and drown them. The Water Horse is more sinister, tricking the person into riding, and then running into the nearest body of water where it turns on the person and tears them apart them, eating everything but the liver. Water Horses are also known to eat sheep and cows.
      Some people say that the fairy horses that live in lakes and ponds are less dangerous than those that live in running water, such as rivers or the ocean. Other people say that the less dangerous Kelpies live in streams and rivers, while the more dangerous Water Horses live in lakes and the ocean. In general it is never a good idea to try to ride a strange horse, just in case it is actually a Water Horse or Kelpie of some type.
       Another fairy that is similar to the Water Horses and Kelpies, but is not the same, is the Pooka. In Ireland they are called Pooka, Phouka, Puca, or Puka. It is also called Pwca in Wales, and Bucca in Cornwall. These fairies are shape shifters that can appear as many different things, including a man, dog, goat or bull, but they are most often seen as horses. Pookas are dark colored in whatever form they take. As a horse, the Pooka will trick a person into riding them and then run off before dumping the person on the ground. Pookas are seen by some people as mischievous but by others as dangerous. It is said that all the unpicked blackberries and raspberries belong to the Pooka after Samhain, and that people should never eat them after this date because the Pooka urinates on them.
* this blog originally appeared here http://fairywitchcraft.blogspot.com/2...

translating the untranslated part 4 - Lugh's battle incitement

  This is my fourth installment of translating often untranslated material from the Cath Maige Tuired and I'd like to start with a little more background on the CMT itself. I recently read the transcript of an utterly fascinating lecture by John Carey called "A London Library, An Irish Manuscript, A British Myth? The Wanderings of 'The Battle of Moytirra'" in which Carey traces the history of the only extant manuscript containing this vital Irish myth. One of the most important points in Carey's lecture for the purposes of my translation project is that the manuscript for the CMT is believed by scholars to have been written by a younger scribe and one who was fond of intentionally obscuring his writing with:

"willfully eccentric orthography in which certain aspects of Old Irish, together with other usages which seem to be the fruits of pure fantasy, are deployed without rhyme or reason to produce a kind of Irish which looks like nothing else on earth". (Carey, 2014, p 8).

What this means in practical terms is that the Irish of the CMT is in many ways a puzzle. There are points were it is difficult to be sure what a word is supposed to be and others were it is entirely supposition. The way I approach this is to use context to help suss out the most logical guesses with words that aren't obvious. Keep in mind though that expert linguists don't agree on what some of these words are so my translations should be understood as educated guesses. 
   For this fourth attempt I am tackling Lugh's incitement of the army of the Tuatha De Danann before the battle with the Fomorians. Normally translations of this piece end after saying he circled the army. 
From Grey's Irish Texts Edition of the Cath Maige Tuired:
     "Conid and rocan Lug an cétal-so síos, for lethcois ocus letsúil timchel fer n-Erenn. 'Arotroi* cat comartan! Isin cathirgal robris comlondo forslech-slúaig silsiter ria sluagaib siobrai iath fer fomnai. Cuifecithai fir gen rogam lentor gala. Fordomaisit, fordomcloisid, forandechraiged, firduib: becc find nomtam (nointam), Fó! Fó! Fé! Fé! Clé**! Amainsi! Neofitman-n ier nelscoth- trie trencerdaib druag. Nimcredbod catha fri cricha; nesit- mede midege fornemairces forlúachoir loisces martaltsuides martorainn trogais. Incomairsid fri cech naie, go comair Ogma sachu go comair nem ocus talom, go comair grioan ocus esqu. Dremniadh mo drem-sie duib. Mo sluag so sluag mor murnech mochtsailech bruithe nertirech rogenoir et- dacri ataforroi cath comortai. Aotrai.'" (Grey, 1983)

So that upon his cloak Lugh sang this to intervene, on one foot and one eye, encompassing the men of Ireland. "Fight* a slaughterous battle! There is fierce battle, a contentious, cutting army contending before armies of phantoms, men of the land beware. Aligning to truth without choice, following furies. Bursting forth, overthrowing, dividing, black truth: little white death-ring, Hale! Hale! Woe! Woe! Sinister**! Fierceness! A sanctified omen after cloud-shadows our fame will be spread through armies by triple skilled Druids. I am not reduced by battles at borders: wounding, matched, slender-speared, sky ravaging, deadly brilliance, burning, greatly subduing them, greatly thundering, the sun rises. Asking each of them, in the presence of Ogma and also in the presence of sky and earth, in the presence of sun and moon. A band of warriors is my company for you. My army is a great army, ramparts here, fleet-footed, seething, strong-guarding, choosing, may we fight a slaughterous battle! Fight!"



* this is almost always translated as "arise" under the assumption it's an irregular form of atraig "to arise" however I personally feel that its a variation of airgal "to
fight, do battle; overcome". The third possibility is at-roí "to fail" but that is difficult to see in context
   
** also may mean left

Lives Matter

  There has been a trend in American society that is sending a message - a disturbing message - that some lives are more valuable than others. That some people matter more. I could point to specific cases but really there are so many examples its hard to choose which ones to include and which ones to ignore. And I don't want this to become a debate about the details, the minutia, of one example. Because I'm not talking about just one thing here. I'm talking about all of it. Black men and children killed, choked to death, shot, because of the perceived threat they represented. Woman viciously attacked for not smiling back or giving their number to someone. Gay and trans people killed for openly existing. Over and over the message goes out that some lives matter less than others, some lives are disposable.
   This must stop.
    We as a society must stop this. We must stop perpetuating this idea that color, gender, sexual identity, and yes nationality and language, effect the value of a person. We must each come to a place where we understand that beneath these superficial difference - as beautiful as those differences are in creating the diversity of our world - beneath those differences we are all the same. We all want to be happy, to feel safe, to be successful. We all laugh and cry the same. We are all born and we all die. We all bleed.
     I was raised on original Star Trek, where you it didn't matter if you were African, Japanese, Russian, Scottish, or even Vulcan - a person's value wasn't about the color of their skin, or where they were from, or what language they spoke. We need more of that in the world today, more understanding that a person's value lies in the person, not the external details. Even the antagonists in Star Trek were nuanced and presented as people. Can we as a modern society really not do as well in reality as a television show from the 1960's at accepting diversity?
    We all matter, no matter what color, or ethnicity, or nationality, or language, or gender, or sexual identity. Black lives matter. Women's lives matter. LGBT lives matter. Every life matters.    No one should die because someone else sees them as a "what" instead of a "who". 

Offerings and "Elves"

Last month I taught several classes about the Daoine Maith (Good People) at the Changing Times, Changing Worlds conference and one of the most common questions I was asked was about offerings. I thought it might be helpful here to blog a bit about the most common traditional offerings and the way they have been historically understood.
  Probably the most common offering is milk. We see multiple references to this in many sources, both to the milk being offered regularly and to it being given as type of appeasement when disruptive behavior is occurring. Evans Wentz in the seminal Fairy Faith in Celtic countries tells us "milk was set at night for piskies [pixies], who had been knocking on walls and generally making nuisances of themselves." (Evans Wentz, 1911). It should be noted that if you begin to make regular offerings and then stop it will bring you bad luck; an anecdote is related in Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries of a woman who always poured out an offering to the fairies when milking her cow, however after becoming Christian she stopped the practice; one of her cows was then taken by the fairies prompting her to resume making the offerings (Evans Wentz, 1911). Yeats mentions that offerings of milk were left out on windowsills for the Good People to ensure good fortune (Yeats, 1888). 
      Offerings to the Other Crowd may also include butter and bread, left either by a door or at the roots of a fairy tree, and small amounts of anything a person is drinking could be poured out onto the ground as an offering (Estyn Evans, 1957). The custom of pouring out a bit of your drink is something I was familiar with from my grandfather and is easily done. Milk that was spilled on the ground belonged to them and milk might sometimes be thrown in the air for the fairies or butter buried near a bog as an offering to them (Evans Wentz, 1911; O hOgain, 1995). On the quarter days a heavy porridge was offered by pouring it into a hole in the earth and bread was offered which could be left out or tossed over the shoulder (McNeill, 1956; Sjoedstedt, 2000). It was also once the custom to bleed live cattle on Beltane and offer the blood to the fairies (Estyn Evans, 1957). The most common modern offerings are milk, cream, bread or other baked goods, honey, and portions of meals, as well as alcohol.
   Finnish and Germanic cultures also offered to these spirits, usually called elves. In Finland it was believed that elves could be helpful in many domestic areas and appreciated offerings of food, alcohol, coins, silver, or gold (Nenonen, 2014) Guerber tells us that "In Scandinavia and Germany sacrifices were offered to the elves to make them propitious. These sacrifices consisted of some small animal, or of a bowl of honey and milk, and were known as Alf-blot." (Guerber, 1908). As Jacob Grimm tells us: "The hill of the elves, like the altar of a god, is to be reddened with the blood of a slaughtered bull, and of the animal's flesh a feast prepared for the elves... [a]n actual âlfabôt." (Grimm, 1883). The alfablot, or ritual offering to the elves, was a practice throughout the Norse lands that occurred roughly at the end of the harvest season and was celebrated by the entire family unit (Gundarsson, 2007). Offerings to the elves traditionally included milk, ale, silver, and crafted metal (Gundarsson, 2007).
   And for those who are curious the good Neighbors do not actually consume the physical item but rather its essence. Evans Wentz refers to this as the astral portion: "Apparently the piskies only drank the 'astral 'part of the milk" (Evans Wentz, 1911). Robert Kirk calls it the "pith" or "quintessence" (Kirk, 1893). In practical terms what this means is that the physical item remains but the fairies take its substance, so that afterwards what's left can be discarded or left for animals. 


References

Evnas Wentz, W., (1911). Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries
Kirk, R., (1893). The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies
Yeats, W., (1888). Fairy and Folktales of the Irish Peasantry
Nenonen, R., (2014) Finnish Myth
Guerber, H., (1908). Myths of the Norsemen. 
Grimm, J., (1883) Grimm's Teutonic 
Mythology http://www.northvegr.org/secondary%20sources/mythology/grimms%20teutonic%20mythology/01701.html
Gundarsson, K., (2007). Elves, Wights, and Trolls
Estyn Evans, E.,  (1957). Irish Folk Ways

Sjoedsedt, M., (2000). Celtic gods and Heroes
O hOgain, D., (1995). Irish Superstitions

McNeill, M., (1956). The Silver Bough, volume 1

Book Giveaway - Pagan Portals the Morrigan

Happy thanksgiving everyone. I'm doing a book giveaway for a signed copy of my new book Pagan Portals: the Morrigan when it's released next month. If you are interested you can enter here:





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Goodreads Book Giveaway



Pagan Portals the Morrigan
by Morgan Daimler

Giveaway ends December 10, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win