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saltandpine · 1 year

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Gleann Cailliche, the valley of the old lady

'The Tigh na bodach houses representations of the Cailleach (old woman) and the Bodach (old man) and their Nighean (daughter) with some smaller statues said to represent other members of this mysterious family. These beautiful arcane looking water worn stones have legends that surround them. Tales I know, tell of a blessing or geas/taboo. Both are perhaps older than those who settled there. The tale recorded, by Dr Anne Ross (1993), follows something like this:

“The fragments … which have survived orally tell of an event which happened ‘many years ago’ when, in an unusually fierce snowstorm, an unnaturally large man and woman were seen coming down the mountain-side of the upper glen. They asked the people who were still settled there for hospitality and shelter. These were willingly given to them. This pleased the supernatural pair well and they took up residence in the glen when the inhabitants had built a thatched house large enough to accommodate them.”

“The woman was pregnant and in due course gave birth to a daughter. The weather was always favourable when they dwelt there. The stock flourished and the crops were always of the best. Then one day the time came when they must go. Before doing so, they promised that as long as they were remembered and their house kept in order, and everything done as they themselves had done it, they would bring it about that winters would be mild, the summers warm, and peace and prosperity would always be with the people who had been so generous to them. In memory of this event of long ago a small shrine in the form of a house was constructed and every Bealtainn the three stones representing the three deities would be taken out of the house and placed facing down the glen. There they remained until the house was re-thatched and made warm and comfortable for the winter and they were returned to the miniature house on the eve of Samhuinn. When the upper glen was flooded and the people moved away”

The two festivals mark the beginning and end of Summer in the old Celtic calendar. The significance to cow farmers is very direct. Bealtainn marked the time when herds were moved out to pasture at the start of summer. They were moved back at Samhuinn, the start of winter. The Cailleach and the Bodach providing blessing through the year to that which people found most precious – their land, cattle, families and clan. (Source)

#the cailleach #scottish polytheism #scottish paganism #scottish mythology #tigh na bodach #Gleann Cailliche

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anarchotolkienist · 4 years

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Would it be correct to say that the modern association of Gaelic with paganism could potentially be described as an act of (deliberate) historical And cultural erasure/revision?

I would probably say so, yes. The modern association stems from the utter romanticisation of the Celt, separated completely from any actual connections with the remaining peoples who still spoke Celtic languages, from the late 19th century and onward. This then gets picked up on by the Wiccans who use (badly garbled and mispronounced) Gaelic holiday-names to deliniate a lot of their Sabbaths (some of whom are actually based on Gaelic practice that was (is?) to some extent extant in Gaelic culture at the time - the celebrations of Latha Buidhe Bealtainn - mispronounced as Beltane - and Oidhche Shamhna - misunderstood as Samhain, which is the month rather than the day, and usually badly mispronounced too - in Wiccan practice are both close enough to actual genuine Gaelic practice, with some stuff about the Godess thrown in, and at least Mabon is based on a holiday which seems to have been observed in medieval Wales). The Gaels are treated basically as a dead culture and people here, from which you can pick-and-mix whatever absurd elements you want to integrate into your new ‘old religion’ to make yourself feel more exotic than you actually are. I think this sort of syncretism and integration of whatever-floats-your-boat is a real problem for any serious pagan faith, and when you do it to a living culture (rather than, say, the cultures of early-medieval scandinavia) you add insult to injury, because you completely eclipse the actual culture, and the actual people who live and see the world through its lenses in the favour of a phantasm of your own construction. Not enough that is is revisionist, utterly, about the nature of Gaelic culture, it also managed to completely erase the “real existing Gaels” in the popular consciousness. It is a step in the murder of the Gaels as a group, as a people - though, I hasten to add, I don’t think that any of the people who did and do it intended to, nor do I think that, like, and attempt to reconstruct a pre-christian Gaelic religion are inherently wrong or even completely impossible (I think Sinnsearachd does a decent-ish job at it, from what I have seen, although it needs to do a better job about its fascists). It’s just a shame that the shoddy excuse for it in Wicca and new-age pagan-ish-m has probably ruined the chances any respectful engagement with the language community from this spiritual community. The preconceptions about the Gaels and about Gaelic needs to be dropped, competely, by Wicca and assorted in favour of a honest engagement with the culture and the people that they use for legitimacy, rather than throwing in a badly pronounced word here and a half-digested concept there without any real attempt or even a real project.

#long post #gaelposting #good question anon

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windingriverherbals · 5 years

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(via Incense for Bealtainne for my Southern Hemisphere friends)

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etamina-amata · 6 years

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Preparing a Rabbit Fertility Pillow for Bealltainn

Okay, so, in advance, this is not a quick craft. This is not an easy spell, as far as time and energy. It is not slapdash, it must be done methodically and with intent. Also, I am cutting this and providing no pictures (1) because I didn’t think to take pictures before last night and (2) because of the amount of hate I’ve gotten in the past from vegetarian and vegan witches. I am also cutting this both to save space on everyone’s dash, but also in deference to those who are sensitive to or oppose animal husbandry. This spell is intended only for use with wild hunted rabbits or privately reared farming rabbits. I do not support or endorse any theft or use of anyone’s pet bunny. Proceed with this in mind if you wish.

Okay, so I will not be discussing in detail the culling and butchering of a rabbit. If you are in a position where you are doing this, you probably already know how. If you don’t, there are plenty of books, websites, and blogs to instruct you.

So, as a prologue, because there are people who may be offered a rabbit or permitted to pick one out from someone, the first and most important step is finding a rabbit who is willing to work with you on this. There are multiple ways to do this, depending on your comfort level. You could announce it to the eligible rabbits and see who comes forward, or pick them up one by one and talk to their spirits, assuring that they will be honoured from then on, and respected and that their death will have much meaning and nothing will be wasted. Once you have your rabbit that has consented, it goes on.

Remember, consent is important, partially because it will strengthen the working, and partially because it’s just respectful and polite. Some of us may be heathens here, but we at least have manners.

So, after culling and skinning, if you skinned in such a way that left the hide whole, you want to turn it inside out, if the skin is split flat already, you oviously skip this step. Next, place the skin in a pot or bowl of very cold water. ensure that the skin is submerged. You then want to carry on butchering, You want to make sure you prep the meat for preservation as well as butchering it, whether you are freezing, canning, curing, or smoking it. This is an important step, because you will be eating it on Bealtainn.

So, butchering complete, we return to the skin. Empty out the water the skin was in, and fill it again, you want to wash the skin in cold water, thoroughly. You’re trying to remove any and all blood, not fat or flesh, though if some comes off to, that’s fine. Do not use soap for this, just water.

Squeeze the pelt to remove excess water. Do NOT wring the pelt like a washcloth. You will ruin it. Only gently squeeze.

Next, if the rabbit pelt is still in a tube, split it carefully down the middle.

Next, you want to stretch the hide out on a board and using finishing nails or tack nails gently pin it to the board. Do not drive the nails all the way in, you need to be able to get them out later.

Now, salt the hide. This is not your table salt. You want noniodized salt, and you’ll need a lot of it. You want the skin to be covered by about 1/4 to a 1/2″ of salt. You want to leave it in the salt for three days, check often and make sure the skin is still covered. If necessary, add more.

After three days, remove the salt. You now want to peel the remaining fat, flesh and membrane from the hide. If it will not peel, you can use a knife or something dull to scrape it, but be very careful, you do not want to rip or damage the hide.

Now, usually in witchcraft, you want to brain tan a hide, but because of the purpose of this working, we wanted to salt it first, making brain tanning not such a good idea. Instead we’re using eggs.

(Did I just hear sighs of relief?)

So, you want to take two egg yolks -- just the yolks, and two teaspoons of water, and beat it vigorously. This isn’t hard, and you don’t have to get out a mixer, just use a fork. Now, you want to spread the egg mixture evenly over the hide (just the flesh part, not the fur. Keep those nails in for now!) Make sure you get every corner. I like to use a pastry brush, but there are other options. Paintbrushes can be good too, but you want the egg yolk to cover it. Don’t miss any spots.

Now, you want to take sheets you won’t use again (consider them a sacrifice to the cause) that you and your partner have slept on together. (Make sure they are clean, though!) Soak these in water, preferably rain water, and wring out a little of the excess to that the sheets aren’t sopping wet, but moist enough to keep the skin wet.

Leave the skin covered with the sheets for a day and an hour, 25 hours. Then, remove the sheet, take out the nails, and thoroughly wash the hide with water. You now have to let it dry until the skin is damp, but not dry. This can take days or just hours depending on climate. Check regularly.

When the skin is still damp and pliable, begin working the hide, by running it over something repeatedly, the arm of a chair, a rope, the lip of a table. This will take awhile, and you have to work it until it is completely dry, or your skin won’t be pliable. If it drys out and isn’t pliable, dampen the skin again and start working again. You will know when it is done because the skin will turn a milky white colour. While you are doing this, sing children’s songs, lullabies and nursery rhymes, anything rhythmic you associate with babies.

Now, on Walpurgis Night, or May Eve, take the skin to the fires, and smoke it over one of the low ones, for thirty to forty-five minutes. Be very careful that you are smoking, not cooking. As you do so, say:

Th' coney has given

Ain Ah hae worked long

Gife me th' bairn

I've ached fur sae lang

Main Day is coming

Tonecht is Witches Nicht

Brin' me a bairn with een sae bricht .

The next morning, fold the skin in half, and sew up two of the three sides (the fold creating the fourth) making sure the fur is on the inside. Then turn the pocket inside out, putting the fur on the outside. Fill this pocket of the hide with a stuffing of choice. Options include fertility herbs, others use lambswool from the first shearing of the lamb’s life, dew grass from Bealltainn morning, grass from where one plans to celebrate, even patches from baby clothes or blankets you and your partner used as children. Sew this up, and you have a pillow.

Place this pillow under the head or hips of the partner wishing to conceive and carry the child while attempting to conceive on Bealltainn. If possible, some claim is helps ease childbirth as well, to have it with you while in labour. Obviously this is not always possible, but if it is, give it a try.

#fertility magic #witchcraft #traditional witchcraft #cottage witchcraft #Bealltainn #holy days #Beltane

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