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Creideamh Religion

The religious beliefs of Sinnsreachd are inseparable from the culture, but they deserve a good, solid look on their own merits as well. Before reading, it is important to understand two key things about the information on this page- First, this is the theological and ritual way of the Ciarraide, and is not intended to be taken as doctrine for the Sinnsreachd movement as a whole. Each tuath will have a somewhat different spin on things- though the overarching bulk of what is presented here is universal to Sinnsreachd, the details will vary. Second, Sinnsreachd is a modern religious and cultural movement. While descended, directly and indirectly in varying ways, from the original pre-Christian faith of the Gael, it is not the result of secret family traditions of hidden “druid cults” or other such nonsense. Neither is it an attempt to reconstruct the faith of our ancestors as they followed, for such would be virtually impossible without the aid of a time machine. We simply do not know every last detail of our ancestors’ faith and thus have to work from the core parts that survive in recorded lore and customary traditions. Much survived, enough to build from and reclaim our faith, but it is in a modern incarnation and not a direct continuation of that of our ancestors. It could be likened to the differences between ancient and modern Judaism- the same faith, praying to the same god, with most of the same core cultural and social elements, but also changed by time, loss and recovery or replacement of knowledge, and an expansion of scientific and celestial knowledge. When it comes to discussions of things-Celtic, especially religious beliefs, it is important to recognize a few important facts. First, Ireland and Scotland have been Christian for over a thousand years, and while there were elements remaining and last vestiges of the pre-Christian faith around as recently as the 14th Century, Christianity has vastly influenced Ireland for over 1,300 years. This has had many direct and indirect effects on the study of pre-Christian Gaelic faith, not the least of which has been the vast muddying of the waters in the past century by a variety of people, ranging from unscrupulous authors to nationalists with political agendas. In the quest for truth, it is best if the seeker compare the claims of a group, author, or religion against the basics of language, lore, and literature, all of which can be found through our Research page. Secondly, Sinnsreachd is one religion of one segment of one cultural grouping of the overarching heading of "Celts". There is no unified Celtic belief, and there never was. Sinnsreachd is one of nearly a dozen faiths within Gaelic culture, with many of the rest being variations of Christianity and only a third being polytheistic like our faith. Gaelic culture is further divided up into three overall cultural groups based on regional origin- Éireannach, Albanach, and Manannach- from Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Mann respectively. Gaelic culture is one of three surviving Celtic cultures (Gaelic, Brythonic, and Cymric), and one of six (or more) original ones (Gaelic, Brythonic, Cymric, Gallic, Galatian, and Iberian). Each of these cultures varied from each other as much as Plains Indian tribes varied from Pacific Northwest tribes, culturally, religiously, and linguistically. Similar and falling under the same overall cultural grouping, yes, but very different in the details. Anyone trying to sell their wares as "Celtic religion" or similar is flat lying. Lastly, our faith is a living, breathing entity in the modern world, not some anachronistic attempt to recreate the ancient beliefs of our ancestors as they were two millennia ago. Sinnsreachd is for today, for our people now, and embraces modern scientific and cosmological understandings of existence. We understand and accept that the Sun is a burning ball of plasma fed by a hydrogen-to-helium reaction, and not the giant flaming chariot wheel of a deity. However, the core ethics, morals, doctrine, and customs of our people are by and large timeless, and neither require us to live in an Iron-Age mindset nor to shirk an expanded and enlightened understanding of the cosmos. In fact, quantum physics and our expanded understanding of things such as non-corporeal intelligence, the multiverse, string theory, etc. are all complimentary to our beliefs in many ways. We do not need to cast aside science and modernity in order to practice our faith, but instead mold our understanding and practice of such things through the filter of what we believe. The intent of this page is to break from the usual method of presenting our beliefs; to veer away from the archeo-religious dissertations and discussions of ancient beliefs in favor of explaining how we do things now and will do in the future, and what we believe now as opposed to in the past. In this page we will look at the polytheistic Gaelic belief that is Sinnsreachd- the theology, ethics, principles, rituals, and much more. This page is very, very long and for that I apologize, but I would rather impart a broad range of information rather than a simple five or six paragraph overview. Much of this information has never been presented before, at least not in this venue, and thus it is important to remember that these are the modern beliefs of the Ciarraide and related peoples. Contents- Sinnsreachd: Traidisiún Sinseartha Nature of the Gods Nature of the Universe Nature of Man Nature of Right and Wrong Nature of Divine Wisdom Spirits and Beings of Our Beliefs an Daoine Síoraí Spioraid Dúlra Practices and Methodology Sacred Land and Holy Sites Feasts and Holy Days Rites and Ceremonies Religious Functionaries  TRAIDISIÚN SINSEARTHA The Ways of Our Ancestors Religion is the core of our culture, intrinsically integrated into the overall body of the culture, but giving it a soul, a connection to the eternal, as well as a binding connection to our ancestors from whom we inherited our way of life. It is this sacral bond that gives strength to our people. Our religious beliefs, called Traidisiún Sinseartha (Sinnsreachd for short), are a practical, spiritual, and primal way of viewing the world that is based in a combination of tribal worldview and familial paradigm. The general tenets of our beliefs can best be explained as answers to a series of questions about the universe around us. Let us start with theology, the nature of the Divine.  What is the nature of the Gods? It is not simply enough to name them and give a basic overview of their place in history, but to fully understand the modern interpretation of our beliefs one must comprehend the basic nature of the Gods. The simplest answer to the question “what are the Gods?” is that they are a race of supernatural eternal beings capable of creating and shaping reality, souls, and universes, who exist outside of space and time as we know it. They are also our first ancestors, not simply being an ancient race of people who gave birth to us, but the gods who created the very souls that inhabit our bodies. Like our people, the Gods of the Gael, the Tuatha de Dannan, are a family-based tribe. It was they who taught our most ancient ancestors the culture and ethics we follow to this day, for our culture is an imperfect reflection of theirs. In a way, our very way of life was created by them and given to us as their legacy. To our beliefs, all gods exist, and are grouped into tribes, each governing a given group of people. If you follow one tribe of gods such as, say, the Hellenic gods, then you live by their rules, are affected by them, go to their created afterlife when you die, and are protected by them from harm by other tribes of gods. In exchange, you follow their edicts and laws, carry out their orders, and provide them with a direct connection to the mortal world. Different tribes of gods have different, and often competing or incompatible ethics and goals, and thus the idea of serving more than one tribe is a very dangerous and undesirous thing. For to serve two sets of masters is an untenable position to be in if those masters take to feuding. The Tuatha de Dannan, the gods of the Gael, are the tribe whom we follow. Though there are tribes of gods out there who are similar in ethics and goals to our gods, the Æsir and Vanir, for example, they also have their own agendas that preclude mortals from being able to easily serve them both. Thus it is that we chose to follow one or the other rather than having one foot in two camps, so to speak. The Tuath de Dannan are covered more in-depth and individually later on. The paradigm through which we see the divine, not just our gods but all gods, is a belief called Polytheism. As was explained above, we believe all gods exist, but not as aspects of a single deity or an ambiguous “source”, but as distinct and separate individuals with their own personalities and even rudimentary gender concepts. Often, these gods have an auspice, either direct or implied, over certain aspects of existence. In other words, there will be a god of weather, a god of war, a god of the sea, and so on. Within the Gaelic theology, this is a bit more complex. Our gods are not pigeonholed into set, ordered archetypical slots in the celestial machine, but are more like humanity in that they often blur the lines and overlap. Fully one-third of all Gaelic deities are involved in some aspect of war, for example, yet often have other aspects of existence that they are connected to. These aspects are often based around occupations, with a deity who fills that occupation being seen as the patron of all mortals engaged in that pursuit. For example, Goibhniu is the smith and chief brewer of the Tuatha de Dannan. As a result, smiths and brewers of the Gael venerate him more highly than, say Macha, the goddess of sovereignty. Other gods of the Tuatha de Dannan do not have a specific occupational aspect, and are instead seen as the paragons of a type of person. For example, Nuada is seen as the epitome of the perfect king- fierce and grand in battle, solid and fair in judgment, and a righteous and generous leader. Still others among the Tuatha de Dannan have no discernable aspects that would fall into the general understanding of occupation or cosmological patronage, and are generally not venerated for the most part. This brings up the next major point about our beliefs- who are our gods? Now that we have explored the way in which the Gael see our gods, it is time to discuss them as individuals. The Tuatha de Dannan come from a race of gods who originated in the realm of Tír na nÓg, the Land of the Young, wherein are found the four great cities- Falias, wherein dwells the great teacher Morfesa, and from which the Lia Fail (the Stone of Destiny) comes, Górias, where Esras the Noble is found, and in which Nuada's sword Freagarthach, the symbol of the Ciarraide, was made, Múrias, where Senias the Wise teaches wisdom, and where the essence of light was forged into Gáe Assail, the spear with which Lugh slew Balor, and lastly Finias, city of Uiscias the fair-haired poet, where Undrí, the Cauldron of an Dagda, was crafted. Only a small number of the Gods came to Mide (one of the names of the mortal realm), with the majority staying behind in their own realm. In order to come to this realm, they had to create avatars, mortal bodies that they inhabited so that they could experience time and space through a mortal’s eyes. This limited their abilities and made them vulnerable to physical need and threats, but they chose to do so in order to shape this world and teach the mortals their ways. Those that came to this realm followed their matron Dannan, also known as Danú, and were thus known as the Tribes of Dannan- Tuatha de Dannan. Nuada The great and noble gods of the Tuatha de Dannan hold many positions and govern many aspects of the world. The king of the Tuatha de Dannan is the great and noble warrior Nuada. Nuada Lámhairgid was the king of the gods when they set out from Tír na nÓg, but lost his position when he lost his arm in battle against the Fir Bolg at Magh Tuiredh. Though the Fir Bolg were defeated, Nuada had to abdicate the position of Rígh as he was not completely whole in his body. Bres Mac Elatha, also known as Bres the Beautiful, took his place and proceeded to tyrannize the Tuatha de Dannan. After a while, his excesses, lack of hospitality, and weakness in the face of greater aggression by the demonic Fomóiri caused the chieftains of the Tuatha de Dannan to rise up and cast him out. Bres, being half Fomóiri, fled to his father's kin and plotted vengeance against the Tuatha de Dannan. In need of a king, the physician Dian Cécht built Nuada a new arm out of silver, allowing him to regain the kingship of the gods. Later, Dian Cécht's son Miach used draíocht to heal Nuada's arm and make it whole again, allowing him to lead the battle against the Fomóiri in the Godswar, where they were cast down at the second battle of Magh Tuiredh. Nuada's mortal form was slain in that battle, and his godly essence was unbound and released, returning to Tír na nÓg. As the rest of the Tuatha de Dannan shed their bodies and rejoined him, he became the Árd Rí of the gods, ruling in Górias over the whole of the Gods. Nuada is the patron of rulers and warriors, being a god of kingship and the noblest of warrior virtues. He is seen as the epitome of what it is to be a rí or taoiseach, and is an exemplary role model for the laochra to follow. Wielder of Freagarthach, “Answerer” or “Retaliator”, the sword which never misses and strikes any foe down, Nuada is held highly as the paragon of noble warrior virtues. It is Nuada that Tuath na Ciarraide holds as the patron of our tuath, for ours is a martial family and one who hold the kingly virtues in great regard. We venerate him highly as a result. In no way is his worship complicated, for it is, like so many other things about our beliefs, pragmatic, pious, respectful, and from the heart. We make sacrifice to Nuada by praying in a frank and honest manner, as Nuada has little patience for sycophantic speech, either asking for a boon or thanking him for one, and then placing silver, weapons, or armor into a pool of still water. We also venerate Nuada with the Roé, or sparring match, as the Roé itself is a form of worship in it's martial purity. The sword is sacred to Nuada, and the image of Freagarthach is the sacred symbol that honors our patron god. Lugh Another of the leaders of the Tuatha de Dannan is Lugh Lámhfada, the Ildánach, or many-skilled. Lugh, like Bres, is half Dannan, and half Fomóiri. Lugh is the God of light, not the sun as is often assumed, but of light itself. It was for him that the Gáe Assail was crafted, for the Gods, existing as they do outside of space and time as we know it, knew he would be born and use it, and they shaped it out of the element which he was most connected to- light itself. Lugh is also a god of the harvest, and it is in his honor that our fall harvest festival of Lughnasadh is held. Before the Godswar between the Fomóiri and the Tuatha de Dannan, one of the seers of the Fomóiri had predicted that Balor's grandson would slay him. It was thus that he shut his daughter Ethnea into a tower sealed with draíocht. Unlike most Fomóiri, Ethnea was beautiful, and drew the attention of Cian, son of Dian Cécht. Cian managed to slip into the tower and make love to Ethnea, and she gave birth to Lugh. Ethnea, knowing Lugh would be destroyed if Balor discovered him, was smuggled to the Fir Bolg, where a queen named Tailtiu fostered him as her own son and raised him. Blessed with draíocht from both races, he grew quickly in power and skills, becoming ildánach, which means master of all arts and crafts. When he first went to the palace of Nuada he was stopped at the door by the sentry who said only those with a skill may pass. Lugh said he was a wright, but he got the reply that they had one already and so Lugh named all his professions in turn: smith, champion, harper, poet, lorekeeper, seer, practitioner of draíocht most cunning, physician, cupbearer, craftsman in metal, only to be told they already had experts in these. Lugh then asked if there was any single god among the Tuatha de Dannan who had the whole combination of skills, and finding none, the gods allowed him to enter. Lugh was the master strategist who planned the final battle of the Godswar at Magh Tuiredh, but was forbidden from engaging in the fight. If Nuada was to fall, Lugh would be king in his place, and it was a horrible thought to lose one so gifted. However, after the battle was joined, Lugh used his draíocht to slip from his bonds and leap into the fray. He quickly rallied the Dannan troops, and struck deep into the heart of the Fomóiri hosts. Finding himself facing Balor, his own grandfather, he hurled the Gáe Assail and put Balor's eye out the back of his head, turning its baleful killing gaze onto his own men, slaying most of the Fomóiri hosts and ending the war. The remaining Fomóiri who had waged the war were captured and locked away in an Otherworld prison in a realm where they could no longer ravage Mide and the young races the Tuatha de Dannan were teaching. Lugh remained in the mortal world longer than most of the Tuatha de Dannan, though after the emergence of Man he remained more or less hidden. He fathered the great Ulaid hero Cúchulainn, and fathered the master musician Cnu Deireoil who served Fionn Mac Cumhail. He was one of the Dannans who remained in Éireann when men first arrived, and taught them the ways of the Gods. Lugh eventually faded from the mortal realm and returned to Tír na nÓg, shedding his mortal form and rejoining his father's kin. Today, Lugh is one of the most important gods of the Tuatha de Dannan. He is revered as a god of craftsmen, warriors, lovers, poets, seers, and farmers. His light illuminates the world and drives back the darkness, and his courage inspires all. He is most highly venerated during the sacred festival that bears his name in August- Lughnasadh. We make sacrifice to Lugh by placing morning-cut holly or mistletoe, or silver, upon an altar while making prayers to him, then cast the items into water. His sacred holy day is Lughnasadh, the festival of Marriage and crafts celebrated between the summer solstice and autumn equinox. The spear is sacred to Lugh, and the image of the Gáe Assail is his symbol. Danú Though not a great warrior or king, Danú, also known as Dannan, is one of the most important gods of the Tuatha de Dannan. Danú is the mother-figure of the Tuatha de Dannan and, among other aspects, she is also the goddess of motherhood. It was her name that the Tribe of the Gods took as their identity, and it is she who we worship as our tribal matron to this very day. She is a sacred sovereign-goddess of Ireland, as well as being the goddess of home, hearth, and protection. Danú was the goddess who chose to lead the Tuatha de Dannan from Tír na nÓg to Mide, and it was she who chose to shape those mortals in the lands she felt most a part of to follow the ways of the Gods. Unfortunately, much of the lore surrounding Danú has been lost due to the biased tendency of the early Christian monks to ignore all but the most outstanding tales of goddesses in Ireland. Though a decent amount survives, a great deal was lost along the way. What we of the Ciarraide know of her today that is not passed down in the lore is from our own hearts and instincts. To the modern Ciarraide, she is the protector of our sacred places and imparts great power to those who visit them. Being the goddess of motherhood, she is a patron to midwives and mothers, and often there is a shrine to her honor in birthing rooms, nurseries, etc. Danú is often thought of by us as the eternal mother in another way: she always tries to keep her children safe from harm. She guards us in our sleep, aids us in battle, and grants sanctity and security to the home. As most Irish will say "God bless all here" when entering a home, so to do we say "Danú bless all here" when doing likewise. We hold that the sacred times of Danu are the night of the full moon, sunrises, marriages, and any moment of familial bliss or power such as births. She is the protector of our sacred places and imparts great power to those who visit them, and she is a patron to midwives and mothers. We honor her with a shrine in nurseries where our children sleep, protecting them and watching over them. We make sacrifice to Danu by asking for her blessing, or thank her for some blessing given, and place items of beauty or representing family upon the shrine dedicated to her, or into a river. Eochaid Ollathair, “an Dagda” If Danú is the mother goddess of the Tuatha de Dannan, then Eochaid Ollathair is certainly the father figure. Eochaid Ollathair, All Father, is a great and larger-than-life god who is the epitome of masculinity. Also called Ruadh Rofhessa, the Red One of Knowledge, he is a wise and boisterous god, enjoying feasting, fighting, acts of strength, harping, chasing women, mortal and divine, and many other pursuits. Eochaid Ollathair is called an Dagda, "the Good God", because he protects our crops, is the patron of feasts and feasthalls, and is generally a good and jovial god. The great cauldron Undrí, which supplies unlimited food and from which no company, no matter how great, ever walks away unsatisfied, was brought from Finias with him when he took on mortal form and came to Mide. Eochaid Ollathair carries with him a great club, nicknamed "Bod Mór" in honor of his proclivities for carnal pursuits, which was so great that when it was dragged behind him it left a track as deep as the boundary ditch between two provinces. This club could kill with one end and revive the dead with the other. His other great treasure is Uaithne, a living oak harp with which Eochaid Ollathair causes the seasons to change in their proper order. Uaithne also plays three types of perfect music, the music of perfect sorrow, the music of perfect joy and the music of profound and prophetic dreaming. Eochaid Ollathair is renowned for his appetites, both for food and for women. An example of his taste for food is found in the legends of the Godswar, the ancient conflict between the Tuatha de Dannan and the Fomóiri. When the Fomóiri invaded Éireann during the Godswar, Eochaid Ollathair went to spy on them, and to try and delay them until the rest of the Tuatha de Dannan were rallied and ready to fight. Eochaid Ollathair went to their camp and asked for a truce, which was granted, but to mock him the Fomóiri made him a porridge, because his fondness for porridge was well known. They made a great affair of it, filling every cauldron they had with milk, and then adding in a hundred whole sheep, a hundred whole pigs, and a hundred whole goats. The Fomóiri boiled it all and poured it into an enormous hole in the ground. Eochaid Ollathair was then told that he would be slain if he refused the Fomóiri "hospitality" and did not eat the entire meal. They underestimated Eochaid Ollathair, however, for he happily took his ladle, big enough for a man and a woman to lie in it side by side, and ate the entire thing. Eochaid Ollathair's appetites for women are likewise great, so great in fact that he stopped time to engage in a tryst. He had taken a shine to the goddess Bóann, wife of Elcmar, and she likewise returned his favors. So, while Elcmar was off on a day-long errand, Eochaid Ollathair slipped into his home and whisked Bóann off to a river valley, where he stopped time outside of the valley. The tryst lasted quite a while, and Bóann ended up pregnant as a result. Thus, Eochaid Ollathair had to keep time stopped for nine months so that she could give birth and return to her home with Elcmar none the wiser. Thus did Eochaid Ollathair sire Oengus Óg, named "Oengus the Young" because he was, as far as the outside world is concerned, conceived and born on the same day. A god of feasting, time, harping, masculinity, fighting, and the governance of the farming Gael, Eochaid Ollathair is a popular god among the Gael, and it is little wonder that “an Dagda” is one of the more popular gods of our people. We make sacrifice to an Dagda before a feast, asking his blessing and placing food and drink upon the family altar, or a table set aside in his honor. The images of the harp and cauldron are sacred to an Dagda, and it is Uaithne the Harp and Undrí the Cauldron that we use as symbols to honor him. Brighíd Wisdom and grace are also virtues held highly by our people, and these are embodied in the perfection that is our most famous and broadly revered goddess, Brighíd. So important was she to our ancestors, that the Christians had to keep her around in the guise of "St. Brigit" to capitalize on the undying veneration she received, even into the Christian era. She is the goddess of wisdom, poetic inspiration, fire, and fertility. It is Brighíd who breathes life into the fires of hearth and forge, and passion into the mind of the poet and the musician. Brighíd is also one of the many gods and goddesses to whom we look for the protection and prosperity of our livestock and crops. It is she to whom we turn for protection of our animals, as a prayer of the Gael states- "I say the blessing of Brighíd That she placed about her calf and her cows, About her horses and her goats, About her sheep and her lambs. Each day and night, In cold and heat; Each day and night, In light and darkness: Keep them from marsh, Keep them from rocks, Keep them from pits. Keep them from banks; Keep them from harm, Keep them from jealousy, Keep them from draíocht, From North to South; Keep them from poison, From East and West, Keep them from envy, And from all harmful intentions." It is said that Brighíd’s name comes from the term Breo-Saighit, Fiery Arrow, for they say that when Brighíd crafted her mortal body, her essence was so great that a tower of flame reached from the top of her head to the heavens. Daughter of Eochaid Ollathair and Danú, she was among the highest ranking of the Tuatha de Dannan. Thus, it was only fitting that she marry Bres the Beautiful, for this was before his cruel nature was fully revealed. She bore him a son, Ruadan, who chose to leave with his father when Bres was finally overthrown. Later, during the Godswar, Ruadan was sent by Bres to spy on Goibhniu the smith god. Goibhniu was busy making magical spears out of the very essence of the world, powerful and sleek weapons designed to kill the Fomóiri. Ruadan grabbed one and stabbed Goibhniu with it, but the smith god is made of tougher stuff than such that would die from his own weapons. He pulled the spear out and cast it at Ruadan who, being partly of Fomóiri blood, was struck dead. Brighíd saw this, and gave out a cry of grief, a caoin or "keen" as it is known, to lament the loss of her son. Thus it is our most sacred Brighíd who started the tradition used by our people at funerals to this day. Though the veneration of Brighíd is shared by Christian and Sinsearaithe alike, as are holy sites to her such as her holy well in County Cavon, Éire, she is one of the most highly regarded goddesses of the Sinsearaithe. It is in her honor that we celebrate the coming of spring with the great festival of Imbolc in the beginning of February. February hardly seems like the beginning of spring on the surface, but the signs of the coming season begin appearing around this time. Hard storms lessen, new grass begins to grow, sheep give birth, and farmers ready their gear to plant the first seeds of the year's crops. Brighíd is the goddess who breathes this new life into the world, just as she does into a woman's womb. In this way, the gift of fertility to our people, animals, and land, Brighíd is one of the core deities of our very existence. Without her, there would be no life, only the harsh and cold grasp of winter. We make sacrifice to Brighíd by finding a place of natural beauty near water and, making prayers to her, cast jewelry or similar items into the water, or by tying "prayer rags"- strips of cloth with prayers on them or said as they are tied- to trees above the water. The Brighíd’s Wheel, a type of three-armed cross often made of woven reeds, is a sacred charm of protection blessed by her. In addition to these gods of the Tuatha de Dannan, there are many whom we call upon for certain occasions, or who govern certain aspects of life as we know it. These gods are not lesser deities, per se, simply not venerated on a daily basis the way the above gods are because of their auspices being more focused. Áine Áine the Beautiful, whose name means "delight", is our goddess of safe passage and protection on voyages, for she can be asked to gain her father's favor for those who cross over his realm. She is also known for her gifts of healing, and is the very essence of life and vitality. Among the liaga (physicians) and midacha (healers), Áine is said to be the one who creates the spark of life, the binding spiritual "glue" as it were that keeps the soul in the body. As with Brighíd, she is venerated by women for her gifts of fertility, mainly by giving a woman a healthy body and child. It is likewise that she is seen as providing prosperity for our people, as strong children and good health are the greatest treasures a Gael can have. Áine is one of the longest-revered goddesses of the Gael, having been revered well into the 19th century by a festival on the hills of Cnoc Áine, where folks would dance with torches around the stones there anti-clockwise. They then sprinkled the ashes of the torches on their fields and livestock in order to grant them fertility and health. Áine is the daughter of Manannan Mac Lír and Fand, and is sister to Grian, the goddess of the sun. When the Tuatha de Dannan came to Mide, they took primitive men and shaped them into their followers by teaching them how to work metals and build, and how to sing and make music. Over the millenia, the Tuatha de Dannan took various families under their wing, sometimes even siring half-gods among them. Such was the case with Áine, for she gave birth to the founder of the Eoghanacht line, and guided them well after most of the Tuatha de Dannan had returned to Tír na nÓg. She led them to settle in the lands she held dear in what is today Knockainy, where they settled under her protection. In fact, it was while still in mortal form and watching over her children that Ailill Olum, a king of Munster, learned the hard way what happens to those who harm Áine or her children. One Samhain, Ailill Olom and Ferches, a draoi who also knew the arts of war, went to graze his cattle on the hill of Knockainy (Áine's hill) without permission. Áine used draíocht to cause all grass to disappear from the hill, denying Ailill his ill-gotten gains. Ferches and Ailill attacked the Eoganach when they saw them, and their chief, who was Áine's kin, was slain. In his arrogance, Ailill captured Áine and tried to rape her, but Áine managed to bite off his ear in the struggle. Afterwards, Áine swore a curse of revenge on Ailill saying: "Ill have you been to me, to have done me violence and to have killed my father. To requite this I too will do thee violence and by the time we two shall have done with one another I will leave thee wanting all means of reprisal." And this was no idle boast. Áine caused the land to rebel against Ailill, as is the fate of an unrighteous king, and brought about the ruin and death of Ailill and his seven sons. Thus did she avenge those who had wronged her chosen kin, and show the justice that would be dealt to an unjust king. Áine soon left the mortal world and it's vulnerabilities behind after this, but still looks in on her people and protects them from time to time. It is said that she appeared on her hill during the Famine in the 19th century, handing out food to her people. In honor of her protection and the gifts she gives us, the three days following Lughnasadh are sacred to her, and in that time no blood may be shed in anger, for such is supposed to be a time of peace in her honor, or for surgery, for to do so would cause the life spark to escape and the soul to leave the body. an Mórríghan an Mórríghan, "the Great Queen", is probably one of the most enigmatic deities we honor. She represents so many brutal and harsh aspects of our lives, mainly war and vengeance, that she would seem to be a deity which one should fear and avoid, yet she is also prone to granting great favor in battle, and is highly respected among our people. She is one of the goddesses of war, and she is a masterful paragon of warrior-ways, but unlike Nuada, who represents the almost chivalrous and glorious aspects of warrior-tradition, an Mórríghan embraces the harsher side of war. She is the punisher of cowards, who strikes down those who would flee the battlefield, and she is also the giver of the riastarthe, the warp-frenzy made famous by Cúchulainn. An Mórríghan is also the goddess of vengeance, especially through the use of poetic justice. This was sparked long ago, when humanity was still young and the Tuatha de Dannan already ancient beyond imagining. An Mórríghan had given birth to a son named Mechi, who was mortal but had three heads and three hearts. Due to his deformities, mortals led by Mac Cecht, son of Oghma, slew Mechi, and an Mórríghan, in her grief and anger, swore revenge against all mortals by cursing them with ingenuity, especially when it came to killing weapons. Thus, her vengeance would be that humanity would one day destroy itself with its own weapons. It is said that she has since forgiven mankind, seeing as we have managed to avoid wiping ourselves out, but there is little doubt that she will not step in to stop humanity from engaging in self-destruction. An Mórríghan is not an entirely vicious deity, though the above may seem to indicate that. She is more than just a blood-drenched goddess of battlefield savagery, for she is also the goddess of prophecy and draíocht. All among our people who would seek to have visions must honor her, for it is she who has the Sight and governs its use by mortals. She has made many prophecies and seen many things, but the one prophecy she made that haunts our people to this day is that which was made of the times we may very well be living in now- "After the battle was won at Magh Turaidh, and the slaughter had been cleaned away, the Mórríghan, goddess of war and prophecy, proceeded to announce the battle and the great victory which had occurred there to the royal heights of Ireland and to its hosts, to its chief waters and to its river-mouths. And that is the reason the Morrigan still relates great deeds. 'Have you any news?' everyone asked her then. 'I do, a foretelling of time to come. The lay of the great cycle of years.' 'Tell us what portents you see for the world to come.' they asked. The Mórríghan used her draíocht and her gift of prophecy to proclaim the height of the cycle. 'Peace to as high as the sky sky to the earth earth beneath sky strength in everyone a cup very full a fullness of honey honor enough summer in winter spear supported by shield shields supported by forts forts fierce eager for battle fleece from sheep woods grown with antler-tips (full of stags) forever destructions have departed mast (nuts) on trees a branch drooping-down drooping from growth wealth for a son a son very learned neck of bull in yoke a bull from a song knots in woods wood for a fire fire as wanted palisades new and bright salmon their victory the Bóinn their hostel hostel with an excellence of size new growth after spring in autumn horses increase the land held secure land recounted with excellence of word Be might to the eternal much excellent woods peace to as high as the sky be this nine times eternal' 'Then greatness is to come!' everyone shouted as they rejoiced. The Mórríghan silenced them, for she was not yet finished with her words. She then prophesied the end of the cycle, foretelling every evil that would occur then, and every disease and every vengeance that would befall the world as one cycle died and a new one was born. She chanted the following poem: 'I shall not see a world Which will be dear to me; Summer without blossoms, Cattle will be without milk, Women without modesty, Men without valor. Conquests without a king Armies with no nation Woods without mast. Sea without produce Fields without bounty. False judgments of old men. False precedents of lawyers, Every man a betrayer. Every son a reaver. The child will go to the bed of the parent, The parent will go to the bed of the child. Each their siblings mate. They will not seek any mate outside his house And twisted will be the forms of their offspring. An evil time, Son will deceive his father, Daughter will deceive mother, Husband deceive wife, And children and elders will be cast aside.' 'A dark time indeed!’ everyone cried. This foretells the cycle of years, which is ever-eternal. These times are reminders that one begets the other, the times of evil are the death of the old world and the birth pangs of the new. The greatness of the height of the cycle is a time to prepare for the end of it, lest you be caught unawares and perish.” Prophecy is not the only draíocht art an Mórríghan teaches, for she is also a master of the long-lost art of shape-changing. Many forms does an Mórríghan take, both in our tales and today. Cúchulainn encountered an Mórríghan in a variety of forms- a woman with long red hair, red eyebrows, wearing a long red cloak and carrying a gray spear riding in a chariot, a heifer, an eel, a wolf, and as an old crone. She is most often seen as a large, glistening black raven, which is her symbol. An Mórríghan is also a goddess of death. Though this could be inferred from the fact that she specializes in dealing death out to people, she governs another, gentler side of dying. An Mórríghan often appears to warriors on the day of their death as a bean-nighe, or washer-woman, where she will be seen washing the armor or uniform of the soldier who is to die. This may seem grim, but it lets the warrior know that his day has come, and inspires him to live his last day with glory and honor. After he is slain, an Mórríghan then guides him through the Imrama nAnam, the Soul Journey, whereon he will be taken to rejoin his ancestors in Tír na nÓg. She is a guide to the slain, especially warriors, and she ensures they reach the afterlife safely. For this reason, and because she gives us strength in battle and grants our draoithe their gift, an Mórríghan is venerated on those occasions. We make sacrifice to her with caution, though in much the same fashion as Nuada, for she is often demanding in her favors. Sinsearaithe venerate her at times of battle, when one needs vengeance to right a wrong, or at Samhain, when her prophetic nature is sought. The raven is sacred to Mórríghan , and is often her messenger. Sinsearaithe pay head when three ravens croak at once, for we believe they are her voice and often give portents of doom or preceding great strife or war. Goibhniu God of blacksmithing and brewing, Goibhniu is said to brew a mead that tastes like condensed pleasure, and is the brewer of the Gods' wine and ale. He is the master weaponsmith of the gods, and has no equal in the forge, mortal or otherwise. Three blows of Goibhniu's hammer make either a spear or sword without equal, able to strike down the enemies of the Gods without error. Goibhniu is a builder, a chef, and a doting father. It is he who overseas machinery, computers, weapons, and those who build them. We see him in the fires of the forge and the glowing iron being shaped: hear his voice in the ringing of the smith's hammer. Blacksmiths within Sinnsreachd consecrate their forges to him by placing tools of their trade upon an altar in a workshop to consecrate that shop or forge, which is then left undisturbed for the life of the sacrificer or the use of the building, whichever ends first. Said smiths further honor Goibhniu by marking his symbol- the hammer, anvil, and tankard- upon items crafted in their forges. The Gabha Uirlisí- the Hammer, Tongs and Apron- are sacred to Goibhniu, as is the Altóir Inneoin, or Anvil Altar, and are symbols of his might and blessing. Macha Goddess of horses, war, sovereignty, and the sacral bond between a rí and the land. Macha is best known for having taken mortal form to become the wife of Chrundchu mac Andomain, an Ulster landowner. Chrundchu was a widower, and Macha came to him one day, and began to live as his wife. They got on well, and Chrundchu lived in bliss for a time. One day, Chrundchu went to the court of Conchobar, king of Ulster, and there boasted that his immortal wife could outrun the fastest horse in Conchobar's stable. Conchobar called for her to be brought to the court to prove this assertion. She was heavy with child at this time, in the last stage of pregnancy, however. She asked to be allowed to return home, but Conchobar insisted that she race his horses to prove what her husband had said, on pain of her husband being killed if she refused. She called three times to the crowd of people to relent, each time in the name of the mothers who bore them, but the crowd also refused. So, she raced Conchobar’s horses and won. At the end of the race, she squatted before the gates of Conchobars palace and gave birth to twins, two immortal children said to be able to turn into horses of perfect form. As she gave birth, she cursed the men of Ulster that they would suffer for nine days in the pangs of labor in the time of their greatest need. Conchobars palace and the surrounding village was renamed Emain Macha- The Twins of Macha- from this event. Macha is a Goddess of sovereignty, as well as motherhood, and horses. Along with her sisters An Mórríghan and Badb, she is also a goddess of war, and is the third raven heard when An Mórríghan speaks. It is Macha who gives legitimate power to the rí by binding his rule to the land, thereby ensuring that the people prosper or suffer based on their choice of a chieftain. Needless to say, this encourages them to choose wisely. Macha advises ríthe as to the proper way in which they should rule, and will judge a rí worthy or unworthy and the land will bloom or rebel accordingly. She is a patron of the family, and will always protect families alongside Danu. Macha is master of the end and rebirth of the cycle, a period best attributed to winter. Due to this, she is often seen as an old woman in many tales, but is just as likely as her sisters to appear as a young woman or a horse. Macha is venerated in similar fashions to both her sisters and Danu, and is most often venerated during winter. The horse is sacred to Macha and a symbol of her power, especially twin horses. Oghma The god of knowledge, warrior-poet natures, and eloquence, it is Oghma who presides over learning and writing, and the first Gaelic alphabet, Ogham, was named in his honor. Oghma is also the god of writing, runes, draíocht, wrestling, war and wisdom. He empowers runes with his magic, and now that we are a literate people, he is the patron of the written word. He is the father of wisdom and the wise. Oghma is the best wrestler of the gods, and is venerated by hand to hand combatants and the laochra. Those dedicated to oghma's teachings learn the art of wrestling well- be it traditional arts or those from other lands and of modern origin- and His name is sacred within our halls of training and our schools. Sinsearaithe honor him through the dedication of great works of literature or knowledge, and inscribe his name in his language throughout those places and works of knowledge, learning, and wrestling where he is venerated. Manannan Mac Lír The Waverider, son of Lír, Manannan is the god of the seas and guardian of the gateways between this world and the otherworlds. Manannan is venerated most of all as the Opener of the Way, the traveling deity who you should ask to guide prayer and invocations to the other Gods, and for guidance when seeking to speak with the other realms. Manannan is also the guide to the Otherworld, at least of living visitors, and those who died at sea. He is the ruler of all oceans and the keeper of their secrets. Manannan is the patron of sailors, fishermen, and any who desire a safe voyage. We are always wary of his wrath, however, for his temperament is akin to Cromm Cruach's. He is the sinker of ships and the giver of life to those who fish in his domain, and is venerated by them. He is the crashing of waves against the hull of a ship, the raging waves of a storm that drown ships, and the ruler of Tír Tairngire, the realm beneath the waves. We make sacrifice to Manannan by casting silver, hand-forged iron fish, or spears into the ocean while asking for a safe voyage. Manannan's sacred symbol is a special form of triskellion, with feet at the bottom of the three legs, enclosed in a circle, that has become the symbol of the island nation named for him- Mannan. Badb Catha The last of our Gods to be seen in physical form, at least until recently, Badb is the bringer of victory, a battle-Goddess and sister to An Mórríghan. In fact, Badb is the second raven of the three seen when An Mórríghan speaks. She is the goddess of fury and victory in battle, and governs the sovereignty of warrior-kings and queens. It is Badb to whom warriors pray to gain victory, and she rewards the brave and righteous with such. Badb last made a recorded appearance in 1318 CE before the Battle of Dysert O'Dea, where she granted Clan Turlough victory, after which the honored her in their writings- Caithréim Thoirdhealbhaigh, or The Triumphs of Turlough- as "a war-goddess woman-friend". She was also seen before the famous Battle of Clontarf in 1014 CE, in which she danced above the points of the spears of the Irish warriors and granted them victory over the Northmen. Badb is a goddess who brings victory in war, but we are cautious in our veneration, for she also starts them. She stirs up conflict that it may be won by the brave and the righteous, a contest of skills to prove the worth of warriors fighting it. It has often been said that she creates wars to weed out weak men and women, and allow the strong to prove themselves. Badb Catha is called on for victory in war and fighting, or for excellent combat skills, but we are wary of calling her for anything else for, like her sisters, she has a temper. Dian Cécht Honored for his healing arts, Dian Cécht is the Physician of the Gods. Dian Cécht is the one who, after Nuada lost his hand in battle, crafted a silver hand of beauty and skill, with the same strength, mobility, and sense of touch as his original. Dian Cécht has a dark side, however, like many of our Gods. He once had a son, Miach, who grew to become more talented than he at the art of healing, using herbs and draíocht instead of artificing and surgery. After Nuada's lost arm had been replaced by a silver one, Miach made it whole again, flesh and blood, where Dian Cécht had been unable to. At that time, the gods were young, and prone to make terrible mistakes in their youth. Diancecht slew his own son out of jealousy and scattered the herbs his son had used to effect his healing arts so that noone- mortal or God- would ever be able to use them again. He came to reason in time, however, and was so horrified at the act that he swore he would spend the rest of eternity helping others by aiding them, helping mortals rediscover the herbs and medicines over time and teaching them the art of healing. Thus, out of a horrific act of fingal came the god who taught our people to heal. Dian Cécht has taken up his son's mantle, and is the patron of herbalists for he is the one who gifts them with his secret knowledge of what plants heal, and how to use them. He is the patron of physicians and surgeons, for his original purpose is still held and honored. Sinsearaithe call upon Dian Cécht when in need healing or when we need to heal another. Dian Cécht is embodied in the edifice of places of healing, and in the touch of a gifted surgeon. We make sacrifice to Diancecht by burning healing herbs, either on an altar in the home, or at the hospital where someone is in need of healing (though this is increasingly difficult these days due to hospital regulations). The ash staff is sacred to Dian Cécht and is carried by the lia and other healers. Cromm Cruach The Old Man of the Hill, the Lord of the Skies Above, Cromm is the god of the hills, mountains, weather, storms, and space. Quick to anger, his demeanor is reflected in the skies above, the rumblings of the mountains, and the stubborness of the earth in its unyielding battle against the elements. His moods are as ever-changing as the weather he controls. Cromm is the god of the hills, the everlasting sky, and all that dwells above it. It is he who clutches the stars to his bussom and strikes down the foolish with flood or drought. We all walk under his sky or amidst his ebony home where he places the stars to guide us, and we must be wary lest we raise his ire. We make sacrifice to Cromm by placing a libation of wheat, corn, iron, or precious herbs on an altar under the open sky while making prayers to him. Mountains and hills are sacred places for Cromm, and shrines in his honor are best placed atop one. Having come to know our gods, who and what they are from our viewpoint, it now becomes important to understand our view of the universe in which we all exist. The cosmology of the modern Sinnsreachd Gael is very different from that of our ancestors thousands of years ago. As our scientific understanding of the universe has evolved, as well as our general understanding of the broader sense of celestial interactions, our primitive animistic views of the universe have expanded and adapted. Likewise, our understanding of the scope of existence has expanded and our cosmology has followed suit to embrace the idea of other worlds, galaxies, and our place in this huge stage upon which life is played out. To further delve into this, we move on to the second major question.  What is the nature of the universe? The dictionary defines a universe as “the whole body of things and phenomena observed or postulated … the world of human experience.” This definition is a nice, tidy, surgical definition of the realm of existence about us, but it does little to explain what it is. Each culture and religion is thus charged by its adherents to further expand upon this unostentatious cosmological exposition through their own filters of mythology and folklore. The Gael, ancient and modern, have done so through the cultural, religious, and empirical paradigms in which they have existed throughout history. The universe as we see it is many things, but to start with the general concept, it is the plane of existence that we can see, feel, and study that surrounds us. In this regard, we are in agreement with and have not really expanded beyond the scope of the dictionary definition, and it is here that we begin honing the cosmological paradigm into specific aspects. The universe as a whole is a macrocosmic parallel of what we experience here on earth, and the entirety of existence- all of the universes and levels of reality- are likewise a macrocosmic parallel of our universe. In other words, what we see around us in our own lives is but a smaller version of the grand mechanism that is the universe. We love, laugh, hate, cry, build, plan, play, and fight. Likewise do the Gods and spirits of this universe and every other. The world is neither fair nor balanced, but seems to have its own symmetry, a form of imperceptible self-regulation that keeps it in check from going to far towards chaos and anarchy, or too far towards restrictive order and systematization. So to is the broader universe organized in a self-regulatory fashion. In spiritual terms, Mide- the physical universe in which we dwell- is the realm in which we are meant to spend time experiencing mortality in order to both experience life and all that it has to offer, and to further advance and evolve our souls. To the Sinnsreachd Gael, the universe is neither inherently good nor inherently evil, it is both simultaneously. The universe is, in a way, a living entity, though not sentient, and as such it is a fluid and dynamic entity wherein acts and entities both good and evil occur constantly. There is not a “balance” between good and evil in the universe, because the actions of entities, mortal, immortal, and divine, affect it dramatically. Much as we view the natural world around us as inherently amoral, prone to acts of brutal savagery or gentle beauty seemingly at a whim, so to is the universe neutral in respects to morality. Not being sentient, it is incapable of such things. However, the uncountable teeming multitudes of entities, especially the gods and spirits, affect it according to their own whims and desires, thus taking the universe from a neutral existence and turning it into something akin to the Cold War world many of us were raised in. We believe that the Gods use Mide, the physical universe, as the forge in which they shape their creations, us, and the battlefield upon which they fight against those of opposing ideologies. Many tribes of gods and individual kinless gods have agendas that conflict with one another. Existing outside of this universe, or the general concept of time and space as we know it, they do not deal with each other directly, but instead act through proxies in the realms of physicality. Those proxies would be the mortals and immortals who dwell in those realms. In short, the tribes and nations of man and spirits of the world choose sides in a conflict that spans the multiple aspects of existence itself- chess pieces on an unimaginably complex board in which a nearly infinite number of players move an even larger number of pieces in their contests with one another. Some find the idea of the universe being driven by the dynamics of a multifaceted conflict between numerous deities and entities frightening, but we find it comforting. Knowing that these conflicts give life and vitality to the universe, the Gael, who live by a warrior-poet ethic and a heroic morality to begin with, find themselves in a comfortable niche as followers of one of the more dynamic, if sometimes aloof, tribes of gods. Where others seek to abscond from this world, following religions and philosophies that teach escapism either through esoteric spiritualism, naïve utopian idealism, unattainable concepts of “enlightenment”, or a fanatical obsession with the afterlife at the expense of the mortal life, the Sinnsreachd Gael embraces Mide fully. The universe is our home, where we were placed for a reason, and we would be remiss in our obligations to our Gods and ourselves if we did not live life to its fullest. Our view of our place in this universe is that, while we are here to do the will of our Gods and Ancestors, we should also experience life fully, seeking challenges and rejoicing in the triumphs we make. While we understand that we are immortal souls in mortal shells, those mortal shells are a part of us. We believe one should embrace physicality and spirituality, rather than chose one or the other. The Sinsearaí rejoices in life and lives it to the fullest. We are not ashamed of physicality, either the universe itself or simply our bodies, nor do we feel that it is evil. Actions, thoughts, and motives are evil, but the raw physical world that is Mide is not. With the nature of the universe and our place in it explained, we must begin to focus in closer to home. Thus, we move on from cosmology to anthropology, not as a science, but as a theological concept. This brings us to our next question.  What is the nature of Man? Mide is populated by many peoples, those we know who share this world with us, and those who may dwell out there among the stars. Working with what we know, humanity by itself is a very diverse and complex species, and thus there is no single answer to this question from a scientific point of view. However, from the Sinnsreachd perspective, there shouldn’t be one. As has been explained previously, we see humanity in its intended state as being divided up into tribal groups. Each tribal group has a set way of living, language, and beliefs given to them by their respective gods as the way in which they were intended to live. Thus, each of these tribal groups must be viewed individually rather than as some mythical collective cultural whole. The nature of the Sinnsreachd Gael as a people, in our intended state as given to us by the Gods when they taught us, is that of a spiritual yet practical people whose lives and paradigms are centered around the family and tuath. Individually, we are made up of three elements- Corp (Body), Spiorad (Spirit), and Anam (Soul). The body is the physical shell that is made to house the fragment of our souls that we send to experience mortal life. It is, in many ways, the house in which we dwell for a time. The spirit is the animistic spiritual element that binds the soul to the body and teaches it how to exist in physicality. Souls are immortal entities that do not necessarily have a full comprehension of how to exist in mortal form. Things such as eating, breathing, making the heart beat, moving the arm while staying in the body rather than sending the soul out of the body to move something, etc. are all the job of the spirit. The soul is the immortal essence that is our thoughts, beliefs, memories, emotions, etc. Our souls, it is believed, were created by the Gods when humanity didn’t even exist as we know it; crafted from a piece of their own essence. Primitive creatures were slowly shaped by the Gods and our infant souls placed in them to begin learning. Over time, the experiences of the mortal world and the teachings of our gods in their realm where our souls dwell when we die began to mature them, giving us wisdom and higher thought. Our souls were sent back into new bodies after a brief time in Tír na nÓg, and over time we began to understand things differently. A higher level of consciousness emerged, first in tool-making, then art, then music, and so on, a process that continues to this day. What the end goal is, no one can say. Some believe the Gods are shaping our immortal souls to one day be like them, gods of some other realms. Others believe that we are meant to remain here always, expanding our knowledge and wisdom while always being connected to mortal forms. Only time will tell, and in the meantime, we live, die, enjoy a century or three of bliss in Tír na nÓg, then are reborn and start it all over again. Understanding the nature of man, and of the Gael as we were intended to be, one is forced to wonder what causes some to stray from the teachings of our gods, and what happens to them. The question of sin and salvation, in a way, is what we have come to next.  What are the right and wrong ways for living? Soteriology is the theological study of salvation, mainly from the Christian perspective, but it can be applied in general. The principles of the study of a religion’s “salvation” principles basically break down to the concepts of Proper Living, Sin, and Judgment. While many reading this will undoubtedly balk at the idea of a Christian-based theological science being used to review the concepts of right and wrong held by a distinctly non-Christian culture, these three basic concepts are surprisingly universal. Thus, it is through these three concepts that we shall explore Sinnsreachd notions of right and wrong. A character in a famous movie from the early 80’s asked “What is best in life?”, and received an answer befitting the ravaging rapacious hordes that our ancestors are believed to have been by some. If you asked this of a Sinsearaí, she would tell you that the best things for a Gael are to live a life in which honor, courage, integrity, valor, and piety were the chief ethics. A proper life, she would continue, would involve being close to and caring for one’s family, being prosperous, prolific with children, striving for greatness, and living by the ethics taught to us by our ancestors. Proper living for the Sinsearaithe involves service to one's family, namely by remaining dutiful to the tuath and serving the people with honor. Proper living is not hard- basically love and honor your family and tuath, act with honor and courage, wisdom and dignity, and keep the core ethics of the Sinsearaithe close to your heart. There are some, however, who are incapable of or choose not to follow these ways. This is where we find people who live wrongly. Though we do not have the same concept of “sin” as the Christians do, we do have ethical breaches and outright condemnable behavior that is our equivalent thereof. Acting with dishonor, cowardice, immorality, impiety, and so on are obvious breaches of the religious ethics of our people, but there are more specific examples that will help people understand what we mean by these broad generalities. Shaming one’s family, tuath, or the Gaelic people as a whole through actions such as crudeness, public intoxication, laziness, slovenly behavior, lewd acts, etc. is not only condemned by secular ethics, but by our religious morals as well. An example- “Trí comartha clúanaigi: búaidriud scél, cluiche tenn, abucht co n-imdergad. Three ungentlemanly things: interrupting stories, a mischievous game, jesting so as to raise a blush…. Trí hingena berta miscais do míthocod: labra, lesca, anidna. Three maidens that bring hatred upon misfortune: talking (excessively), laziness, insincerity” Worse by far are severe wrong-doings that harm others, and as a result, harm our people as a whole. Some of these acts are crimes in almost every society- rape, murder, child abuse, etc.- but others are crimes and atrocious acts only among our own people. Things such as oath-breaking, betrayal, kin-slaying (which in our eyes is even worse than murder), and abandonment of children are horrible acts that violate our ethics. Other things, actions such as slandering, abuse of women, elders, or children, and the like are among the things that constitute living wrongly among the Sinnsreachd Gael. When someone commits these acts, they face the judgment of the tuath, and when they die, they face the judgment of the Gods. If a person who has lived wrongly or done wrong deeds in their life has not atoned for them before he dies, then when an Mórríghan comes for his soul to take him along the Imrama nAnam, he will face her judgment. If found lacking, then he will not be taken to Tír na nÓg, but instead taken through Muir Ceo, the Sea of Mists, and dropped on an “island”, a metaphor for the many other worlds that exist along the Imrama, which is specifically shaped to deal with his particular wrongdoings. He will find himself suffering the fate he inflicted on others- if a rapist, he will be put in the body of a woman and be brutalized, if a thief, he will be made wealthy only to lose it all to thieves, if a coward, he will be forced to face a horrendous enemy and be abandoned by his allies, unable to flee himself. Eventually he will learn the error of his ways and be sent back to Mide to try again, and he will have to start from square one all over again. Those who are found to have lived well, and who have atoned for any misdeeds they may have committed, will be taken by an Mórríghan and pass through Muir Ceo along the Imrama nAnam until they reach Tír na nÓg. Once there, they will be judged by their ancestors and the Gods to see if they have completed the tasks which they were sent to Mide to complete. If so, they will have earned the right to stay in the Land of the Young with their ancestors and enjoy centuries of rejoicing and eternal feasting. If needed again, or if they chose (the afterlife being perfect, and perfection eventually getting boring), they will be sent down to a body, often (but not always) within their genetic line. Thus are we both bound for an afterlife and reincarnated as well. All of the ethics and cultural elements we have that are so important to a proper living come from our ancestors, and from our Gods. The methods and principles behind such impartation of knowledge are the basis of the next question we shall discuss.  What is the nature of revelation and divine wisdom? The culture of the Sinnsreachd Gael as well as our ethics, morals, and even our social structure are held by the modern Sinsearaithe to be given to us by the Gods as the proper way of living. The question often arises about how such transmission of information takes place, and it is here that we shall explore this issue. Coming from the standpoint of a religious faith rather than an archeological science, there will be what some may consider unempirical methods to our beliefs, but this is to be expected. If science and belief were 100% interchangeable, we wouldn’t need both, and thus we keep science to its own duties and faith where it belongs as well. However, there are some methods of the transmission of divine wisdom which are comfortably in the middle, being under the auspice of both. Canonical sources such as the many manuscripts that have survived the ages form a great deal of the core of the reclamation of our native culture, but they were also instrumental in the rebuilding of our beliefs. Many rites and rituals, tales of our gods and their lives, the Godswar, and so on were all preserved in these manuscripts. From the academic and scientific point of view, these manuscripts preserved enough information to create a skeletal frame on which to build the religion, fleshed out with extant folklore and customs still preserved in Ireland and in the Gaelic diaspora. The religious point of view is that these particular tales and books were preserved through divine intervention to ensure that they survived the 1,500 years of Christianity to reach those who would resurrect the worship of the Tuatha de Dannan in the proper way. With the framework established by the information from the manuscripts, the fleshing-out came from the integration of existing tales, superstitions, folklore, rites, rituals, customs, and so on. Most of these were still virtually untouched by Christianity while some required moderate de-Christianization to bring them back to their polytheist origins. While it is impossible to rebuild the religion 100% as it was, nor is it possible to fully remove all traces of Christianity from them, enough of both was done to allow for a functioning, culturally-appropriate religious belief that is a direct, if non-linear, descendant of that which our ancestors followed. We believe that these customs and traditions survived because our Gods never abandoned us, our ancestors simply abandoned them. The Gods knew it was only a matter of time before the Gael began returning to their native beliefs, in one fashion or another, and thus ensured that the appropriate things were kept alive. There are methods through which the Gods and Ancestors impart information that are purely spiritual and religious, and cannot be governed by empirical measurements as they fall firmly into the auspice of faith. Chief among these are visions and dreams that are given to many of our people. These are differentiated from normal dreams by a series of key images or phrases that mark their validity from a Gaelic perspective, as well as prophecies that come true shortly afterwards as a confirmation of the vision. These help separate the visions from innocent dreams, but they also separate the visions of legitimate people gifted by the Gods or Ancestors from false visions of charlatans or the insane. Other methods through which the Gods and Ancestors impart information to us are divination and portents. Divination is done in many ways, each closely guarded by the draoi who uses them. Most generally center around achieving a trance-like state in which the draoi or fáidh (prophet) is able to see things from outside of the normal realm. Sometimes they are able to go on an Imrama and see things in distant places or even times, but more specifically to the matter at hand, they are able to contact the Ancestors, who pass information along from the Gods or from their own wisdom. the scientists call this “remote viewing”, but we avoid such surgical terms and ideas, for we know that there would be no vision if the Gods did not will it.   an Daoine Síoraí With the basic tenets of our beliefs explained, it is time to move beyond the mortal world and meet some of the immortal entities of the universe as we know it. The Tuatha de Dannan have been discussed already, as they are the gods who are core to our beliefs, but there are many other beings who we deal with (voluntarily or involuntarily) that must be discussed. Known collectively as the Daoine Síoraí, or Eternal People, these beings are those who are between us and the Gods on the scale of power and existence. Spirits of the land, ancestral souls, demonic entities, and non-corporeal beings from the Otherworlds are the subject of this next part of Sinnsreachd belief. Chief among the Daoine Síoraí, and most famous among them, are the beings known as Daoine Sídhe. These powerful beings comprise a great many beings, some alien and nearly as powerful as the Gods, others very much connected to this world and little more than mischievous or helpful spirits. The Daoine Sídhe mostly come from various Otherworlds which are accessed through the draíocht of the mound-gates. These sacred hills are the physical markers of the boundaries between this world and theirs, and can be breached by both mortals and the Daoine Sídhe under the right conditions. Though their motives are unknown, the Daoine Sídhe visit Mide in cyclic waves; sometimes appearing in large numbers for several centuries, then go virtually unseen for a few more centuries, only to reemerge for another cycle. They seem to have specific times and types of places that call to them, though the pattern to such things is, in large part, a mystery to us. The Daoine Sídhe can take human or human-like form, but their minds and ways of thinking are very alien to us. They seem to be a blend of grand cosmic power with near-psychotic child-like emotional states, many of whom do not seem to understand the fragility of the mortal form. Morally, the Daoine Sídhe are neither good nor evil, but seem to have elements of both. Some lean more to one end of the spectrum, some to the other end, but most are in the center in a strange moral limbo in which their actions cannot be judged the same way we would judge other mortals. As many of the legends of our people tell, they will often play with us, inviting us to dance with them in their revels. Such festivities are usually fatal to mortals, however, and the Daoine Sídhe seem to either be unable to comprehend this, or simply do not care. Some of the species of Daoine Sídhe are well known to our legends, such as the Lúracán. Commonly known to deoraithe as “Leprechauns”, the Lúracán are cobbler spirits who make shoes and are fond of alcohol. Often, good folk will leave out offerings of whiskey or mead for them and find their shoes patched up in the morning. The Lúracán are some of the most benign of the Daoine Sídhe, being helpful to mankind. Others, like the shape changing Púca, are not so nice. Mischievous and often harmful, Púcaí are known for their trickery and cruel pranks. Púca will do such things as appear to be an object of value and, once picked up by an unwary traveler, slowly grow heavier and heavier until the traveler is overburdened. They also delight in taking the shape of pets and trying to gain entry into homes (Púcaí cannot cross a threshold unless invited, and they will trick people into inviting them by pretending to be a favorite pet). Once in the home, they unleash all sorts of mischief and mayhem. Another annoying species of the Daoine Sídhe are the Clúricán, relatives of the Lúracán. These are basically the antithesis of the Lúracán, being lazy, as they abhor physical labors, and prone to stealing food and drink in the middle of the night. More of a nuisance and relatively harmless, it is said that those who give ill treatment to the Lúracán will be visited by these nasty buggers as punishment. Another famous type of Daoine Sídhe is the Síofra, otherwise known as a Changeling. These creatures, also known as Malartán, are switched out for human children, which are stolen to replace the sickly Síofra. These creatures are not very dangerous, but their appearance comes in the wake of a child’s abduction, which makes them among the most hated of the Daoine Sídhe. They do not earn many favors with the cruel pranks they play, either. A favorite prank of the Síofra is to grab a fiddle or similar instrument and play it wildly. Their draíocht is such that they can force everyone in earshot to dance against their will until exhausted. Some of the Daoine Sídhe serve the Gods, as is the case with the Murúch. Serving Manannan Mac Lír, these merfolk-like creatures are known for their dedication to the Lord of the Oceans, and also for their temperament, which is akin to that of the sea- calm one minute, violent and brutal the next. Generally, though, unless a person has angered Manannan, they are content to play in the waters and sing haunting songs to sailors. The Murúch are able to slip in and out of the undersea realm by use of a cothúlín druith, a hat which allows them passage between the worlds. Other Daoine Sídhe are also ancestral spirits, having connections to families with some element of their blood in their veins from intermarriage millennia ago. Chief among these, and probably the most famous, is the Bean Sídhe, known to most as the “Banshee”. The Bean Sídhe is a woman of the Daoine Sídhe who appears in two forms- that of a crone, a hunched old woman with gray hair and a knowing, sad gaze, or as a lovely young flaxen-haired woman or girl who weeps and mourns as she combs her hair. She is always seen alone, and she always appears mournful and sad. The Bean Sídhe is seen as a portent of death, and is looked on by the Sinsearaithe as a benevolent spirit rather than the evil omen of doom that the Christians see her as. She is an ancestor, one who cares for her human progeny, and is mourning the loss of one from the mortal world. "Then Cuchulain went on his way, and Cathbad that had followed him went with him. And presently they came to a ford, and there they saw a young girl, thin and white-skinned and having yellow hair, washing and ever washing, and wringing out clothing that was stained crimson red, and she crying and keening all the time. 'Little Hound,' said Cathbad, 'Do you see what it is that young girl is doing? It is your red clothes she is washing, and crying as she washes, because she knows you are going to your death against Maeve's great army.'" - Cuchulain of Muirthemne. Another way in which the Bean Sídhe appears is the Sochraideach, The Mourner, where she is heard and seen by the family in which the death will occur. She appears on the homestead or around the house of the person who is to die, and will sing a caoin for that person. Such a caoin is eerie in it’s mournful, otherworldly qualities, and is heard for three nights before the death. Sometimes the Bean Sídhe will even speak with the one who is to die, such as the case of Aibheall, a Bean Sídhe who told Árd Rí Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig he was going to meet his death at the Battle of Clontarf, and told him of his son’s succession as the Árd Rí.       Spioraid Dúlra Not all of the supernatural beings that the Gael believe in are of the Daoine Síoraí, however. These beings are native to our world, being a part of it as much as we are, more so in some ways. Unlike the Daoine Sídhe, the Spioraid Dúlra, or Nature Spirits, are the living anamacha of this world. Most of the Spioraid Dúlra are without form, unseen and unknown to most. Others have a physical shape, often being variations of normal creatures. Black or white hounds with red eyes, white deer with red eyes, cats with two tails, etc. are all physical manifestations of Spioraid Dúlra. Others have strange, unusual forms that are rarely seen by mortals these days, but are known throughout our legends. One of the most dangerous of these is the Each Uisce. Eacha nUisce are also known as Water Horses or Kelpies, and are nasty creatures with a taste for human flesh. Many types of Eacha nUisce are known, with some living in lakes and the ocean, and others preferring rivers and other running water, but all of them share the same abilities, and appetites. Eacha nUisce usually take the form of a magnificent horse with perfect form and a beautiful coat. They seem friendly, at first, and are very willing to allow someone to mount them. If someone is foolish enough to mount an Each Uisce, however, they are doomed. Legends say that the skin of the Each Uisce clings to the rider like glue, and he cannot tear himself free to escape. Once attached, the rider is then carried at breakneck speed to the river or lake where the Each Uisce dwells, then drowned and devoured. The Each Uisce eats every part of a person, except his liver, and sometimes the lungs, which are said to be the only sign of the victim when they wash ashore. “ Seven little girls and a little boy were going for a walk on a Sunday afternoon when they saw a pretty little pony grazing beside the loch. One of the little girls mounted him, and then another and another until all seven were seated on his back. The little boy was more canny, and he noticed that the pony grew longer to accommodate each new rider. So he took refuge among the high rough rocks at the end of the loch. Suddenly the pony turned its head and noticed him. 'Come on little scabby-head,' it cried, 'get on my back!' The boy stayed in shelter and the pony rushed towards him, the little girls screaming, but unable to pull their hands from its back. To and fro they dodged among the rocks, but the pony could not reach the boy, and at length it tired of trying, and plunged into the loch with its sevenfold prey on its back. Next morning the livers of the seven children were washed up on the shore.” - Popular Tales of the West Highlands, Vol. IV It is said that the Each Uisce can also take the shape of a handsome man standing by the waters edge, but this may be more of a “boogeyman” tale spurred by the Gaelic suspicion of strangers. Human flesh is not the only food the Each Uisce will eat, it is merely the preferred food. They eat cattle, sheep, and other livestock as well, and it is this weakness that allows them to be lured from the water where they can be killed. A similar water-dwelling creature is the Péist. Péiste are lake-creatures similar to giant eels. In various descriptions they are said to have a length of seven yards, a thick body, and a head with a shaggy mane on it like that of a horse. It is said that they are guardians of ancient treasure hidden in the lakes, or that they are guardians to doorways to the Otherworlds that are found in such lakes. It is not without some humor that many of our people say that Nessie is a Péist, and the research into the famous lake-monster may back this up. Recently, a tooth was discovered embedded in the torn carcass of a deer along the shore of Loch Ness, a tooth that closely matches that of an eel, only significantly larger. Regardless, Péiste are known to live in many lakes, and are notoriously hard to find. However, legends about them go back for millennia, and have even been recorded in Christian lore as well. For example, St. Senan is said to have battled a Péist named The Cathach in the 6th century on Inis Cathaigh. Not all of the Spioraid Dúlra are animal-like creatures, some are just as intelligent as we are. One of the more benign of these are the Roane, the seal-people. Roane are also known as Selchies, and are closely tied to humans of Éireann and Alba due to intermarriage in days gone by. It is said of the Roane that they are most often seen in the form of seals, but can shed their seal-skin and become humans for a time. In human form, they are said to be kind and gentle folk with large brown eyes and beautiful form. Sometimes, it is said, a Roan will fall in love with a human and shed their skin to be with that human for a while. Eventually, however, the call of the sea grows too strong and they put their seal-skin back on to change shape and return home. Sometimes the human knows their lover is a Roan, and will hide the seal-skin to keep them there. The romance between a Roan and a human sometimes results in children, and thus there is an eternal bond between the people of the coast of Éireann and Alba and the seal-people of the waters around them. Many tragic stories and ballads have centered on the romance between a Roan and a human, such as The Great Selkie of Sule Skerrie and the like. Even modern stories, such as The Secret of Roan Inish, tell this tale. The Síoraigh an Uisce, known in English as “Water Sheeries”, are another spirit of our world. Similar to a Willowisp, these mischievous spirits take the form of little balls of glowing light with child-like faces in them. They are seen at night as one crosses a bog, and are different from swamp-gas lights in that they move with purpose and intelligence. They bob and weave in a hypnotic pattern, trying to lure the unwary traveler into the bogs where they might fall prey to dangerous places. As a person gets closer to a Síorach an Uisce it moves away, keeping a set distance from the person. Only iron is a barrier to them, making them virtually impossible to catch. Síoraigh an Uisce are bringers of ill omen and pranksters, delighting in leading entranced travelers all over the countryside, through brambles and bogs, until the dawn comes or they tire of their sport. It is said that they are envious of humans, being able to walk the physical world whereas the Síoraigh an Uisce can only flit about in it, and this is the reason for their mischief. It is said that they can make no sound except during the time of Samhain and Bealtaine, where they shriek in the night. Fomóiri Another form of spirit of this world, after a fashion, are the race called the Fomóiri. These powerful beings are not of the Daoine Sídhe, nor are they of the race of Gods from which the Tuatha de Dannan came. They are a people who’s name means Dwellers Under the Sea, which is where they made their home long ago. Likened by many to the Titans of the Greeks and the Jotnar of the Norse, the Fomóiri are a race of beings who dwelt in the dark places of this world before the coming of the Tuatha de Dannan. It is said that they are the embodiment of chaos and disorder, gods of destruction and oppression. Others say they are simply powerful spirits of Mide, semi-divine in power, but as much a part of this world as the Spioraid Dúlra are. Regardless of their origins, their hostility towards the Tuatha de Dannan and the tribes of Man is without doubt. It is said that the Fomóiri are mostly grotesque in appearance, being misshapen and malformed giants that tower many times the height of a man and having monstrous form. The 11th century manuscript Lebor na hUidre describes them as having the body of a man and the head of a goat, or to have had one eye, one arm and one leg. Others, such as Elatha, the father of Bres the Beautiful of the Tuatha de Dannan, were the opposite, having beautiful form and pleasant countenance. Likewise, most of the Fomóiri were brutal in behavior and chaotic of mindset, seeking conquest and enslavement of the races of Mide. However, some, such as Ethniu, wife of Cian of the Tuatha de Dannan and mother of Lugh, were both beautiful and kind of heart. It is said that the Fomóiri came from under the waves long before the Tuatha de Dannan chose to take mortal form and come to Mide. Led by Cíocal, they are said to have been wild back then, knowing not the arts or sciences of the Gods, and instead living a purely feral existence. Though not mortal, they are subject to death in the way many spirits are, with their physical bodies destroyed and their spirits dispersed for some time. Such was the case with Cíocal, and his successor Sengann, when they were slain. Some say they were slain by a mortal, others say the slayer was one of the gods of another tribe of man when they tried to encroach on their territory, none can say, for so long ago was it in the past that it is forgotten. In time, under the leadership of Balor of the Evil Eye, the Fomóiri came to war with the Tuatha de Dannan when they had settled on Mide. Bres, the half-Fomóiri king of the Tuatha de Dannan, had been deposed for his cruelty, inhospitable nature, and violation of most of the laws of the Tuatha de Dannan, and went to his father seeking aid. Elatha, his father, was an honorable being and told Bres that he should not try to take what he could not keep righteously. Balor, however, had other plans, and used the dispute as an excuse to attack the Tuatha de Dannan. The Tuatha de Dannan, led by Lugh, crushed the Fomóiri in the Second Battle of Mag Tuireadh, and Balor was slain by his grandson Lugh. The defeated Fomóiri fled through one of the gateways between worlds under the sea to another realm, and were sealed inside by Manannan. However, the battle had proven too much for the Tuatha de Dannan to bear, and most of them discarded mortal form and returned to Tír na nÓg, leaving the Fomóiri to be forgotten, a simple myth to entertain and terrify children into going to bed. Today, the Sinsearaithe hold many views on the Fomóiri and their purpose. Concepts of “good” and “evil” being relative for us, and more of a way for mankind to explain right and wrong things, we do not necessarily see the Fomóiri as evil, per se, simply as the adversaries of our gods and, thus, ourselves. Due to the intermarrying between first the Fomóiri and the Tuatha de Dannan, and then later the Tuatha de Dannan and mankind, there is a bit of their blood in us as well, and thus we are connected to them, however tenuously. This connection does not mean we owe them allegiance or honor, however, for other than a scant few, the Fomóiri were brutal tyrants who, if they were to return to Mide today, would most likely lay to waste everything in sight and slaughter or enslave mankind.       Practices and Methodology Beannaithe agus Ionaid Naofa Sacred Land and Holy Sites To the Gaelic worldview, everything is spiritual. The entire world, from the rocks to the trees, from the oceans to the computer you view this on, has a spirit. The world is pervaded by a spiritual existence in tandem with the physical. This is not to say that rocks or your computer are sentient, thinking entities, but simply that they have a spiritual expression of their own in the Otherworlds. Although it is true that we believe all the world is spiritual as well, not all of that spiritual aspect is sacred. Some places are holy, others are foul, and still others are neither, but have a sort of power, an “feel” if you will, that helps our fáithe to break through the veil between the mortal world and the Otherworlds. It is upon these holy sites and places of power that we build our sacred sites; places where we worship and where our fáithe divine the future and distant events. River Sanctuaries Sacred rivers have been a staple of the Gaelic people for millennia, with the river Bóinn being the most famous. Often, these rivers are associated with a deity who is embodied in that river, and it is a place of worship where the Gods are thought to hear all prayers and accept sacrifices. To accommodate this practice, one of the most prominent and important holy sites to our people are tearmainn abhann, the river sanctuaries. A tearmann abhann is basically a well-tended grove on the banks of a wooded stretch of a sacred river. It is often at a cove or deep pool of the river where it is deeper, yet still moving. Placed along the river bank to one side of the grove, preferably facing west, is the altar. This is generally a simple affair of flat, natural stones stacked into a tiered dais. Behind this altar, rising up and overlooking it and the assembled people who gather there, is a statue of the god or goddess to whom the river is dedicated. The grounds of the tearmann abhann are kept clear of underbrush, with grass neatly trimmed and the whole place well cared for from riverbank to tree line. In the branches of the trees that hang over the tearmann abhann and the river itself, sacrificial offerings are hung. These range across the spectrum from torcs, armbands, and other jewelry to mirrors, prayer ribbons, and so on. Prayer ribbons are strips of cloth on which are embroidered, painted, or otherwise inscribed prayers to the Gods, and then tied around the branches of the tree. Other items that are sacrificed- specifically swords, knives, and similar weapons sacrificed by the laochra to the Gods- are carried into the river and placed into it with prayers being made. This practice often causes a wall of stones to be built in the river to make a semi-circular pool into which such sacrifices are placed. Due to the value of the items placed in the trees and pools of tearmann abhainn, the tuath to whom that tearmann abhann belongs will often guard it fiercely to keep deoraithe thieves at bay. Holy Wells As with rivers, springs and wells are often sacred as well. These sacred wells or springs are called toibreacha naofa. They are natural springs that have a healing effect that are modified into shrines to various gods and goddesses. A tobar naofa is a place of power, and is very potent in its abilities. Water from a tobar naofa is said to have curative abilities ranging from healing wounds to curing insanity. These wells are often sacred to goddesses of the land or rivers which they feed, and many are attributed to patron goddesses of the tuath in the area. A tobar naofa is a cistern-like structure which has been modified with walls or even an entire shrine built over it. On occasions, when the tobar naofa is inside a cave, the cave is often modified into an underground shrine. Water from these wells is used in many of our celebrations and ceremonies, and are often used to bless people and items. It is akin to holy water for our people and has sacred properties for purifying things as well. As a result, there are often barriers in place to keep people from stepping into the waters of the well and befouling them. Probably the most sacred and famous tobar naofa is the Well of Brighíd, which both Sinnsreachd and Christian Gael use, venerating their respective versions of Brighíd. Much of the setup around a tobar naofa is similar to that of a tearmann abhann in that the same altar and votive trees are present outside the well or inside the shrine. The most common form of prayer at these sites is that of the prayer ribbons being tied to the trees around the well, especially those that hang over it. Sometimes a bullaun stone will be placed there (see below under Sacred Stones) for cure stones to be turned in the hollows, which are filled with water from the well. Due to the sacredness of the water, and the fact that it is often the water supply for the tuath, toibreacha naofa are also very protected sites. Sacred Stones Sacred stones come in many forms, ranging from the almost-mundane to the grand. These stones may have many meanings; they could be Pilgrim Stones, marking the way to a holy site, or marker stones denoting a famous event or battle, or they may be wardstones, marking and protecting a place, or they could even be imposing standing stones gathered in a circle. Each stone has a meaning, as denoted by the markings and carvings upon them. Often, such stones are imbued by a draoi with certain potency. Through the aid of the spirits of the land upon which it is placed, these stones can have many abilities and powers. Probably the most common type of stone is the bullaun stone. This is a stone with one or more hollows in it, which in themselves have two primary used. The first use is for bullaun stones found at tombs and gravesites. These are a form of votive plate, with milk being poured into the hollow on Samhain as an offering to the Ancestors buried there. The other use is as a sort of large-scale rosary, with cure stones placed in the hollow and turned as prayers are made. Those placed near healing wells will often have water from the well poured into the hollow as the stone is turned and the prayers made. These stones and the rituals associated with them are older than the Gael, older than the Celtic people as a whole, and are probably one of the longest-lived ritual tools in existence. Gael, Sinnsreachd and Christian alike, use them in their prayers and rituals, and thus they are a subtle, but important part of our religious beliefs. Another commonly seen stone is the cloch fháda (“long stone”), or standing stone, sometimes called a “menhir”. Clocha fháda are large pillar-like stones, often solitary, but sometimes in groups, that are set vertically into the ground, pointing up. In groups they are often organized in a rough pattern that lines up key stones with the four festival dates in such a manner that the sun rises directly behind the key stone. In this way, they act as a form of calendar for the tuath to let them keep track of the days of the year. Granted, this archaic form of keeping time may seem irrelevant today, when we have computers that calculate the time of the festivals down to the second based on astronomical data gathered from satellites and observatories, but computers can fail, data corrupts, and satellites can fall from the sky. Stone endures far longer than any of man’s high-tech toys, and thus the practice continues. Another form of grouped stones are pair stones. Pairs stones consist of two differently shaped stones, one long, round, and pointed (and often blatantly phallic, much to the dismay of the more easily embarrassed visitor when this property is pointed out), and the other flattened with a trough or groove down the middle. These are shaped to suggest male and female ideology, and are used in a fashion similar in practice, but different in meaning, to the twin fires of Bealtaine (see below.) Herds of cattle are driven between these pair stones to encourage fertility and healthy progeny. Solitary stones are often a form of marker- marking a tomb, sacred place, or marking a site of some importance. Some have a ritual form, being tools used in rituals to grant great fertility to the farmland within the boundaries of the stones, making the place within the boundries of the stones "fade into the mists" (a poetic way of saying camouflaging them from view), or wards that bar entry to things not of this world. Sometimes these stones are plain, such as the one above, other times they are elaborately carved like the one shown to the left. The designs carved into them, if any, can range from Ogham inscriptions describing the events that occurred on the site, the name and deeds of the person buried there, and so on, to carved images of gods, spirits, or abstract stylized designs that can either have a purpose or merely be decorative. Like the bullaun stones, clocha fháda are ancient beyond memory, having been built according to our lore by the Fir Bolg under orders by the Fomóiri, and being known to predate the Celtic people as a whole by a millennia or more. Because of this, much of the lore behind clocha fháda and their purpose has been lost to time, and only those bits that are known from the inscriptions upon their faces or from the writings and lore of the ancients are known and practiced today. Many of the ancient clocha fháda that dot Ireland have unknown purposes, and it is a matter of the visions of the fáithe if we are ever to recover that knowledge. Today, clocha fháda are shaped, transported, and placed with modern tools and equipment, but the purpose they serve is older than history, and its profundity is disguised by the seeming simplicity of their shape.     Sacred Groves A garrán, or grove, is simply places in the forest which has power flowing through it. Often, garráin are a place where the veil between Mide and the Otherworlds is thinnest. Because of this, it is not uncommon for these groves to be full of Sídhe, and they are filled with haunting notes of ethereal music just at the edge of hearing, and the hint of laughter in the rustling of the wind. Needless to say, garráin such as this have a palpable and powerful unearthly feel. Walking into one of these places gives a person a sense of the surreal, a feeling of being… elsewhere. Garráin are often found in conjunction with a river sanctuary or sacred well, but on occasion they can be found and utilized by themselves. Garráin are only slightly modified when developed for use. Similar in design to the tearmann abhann with the placement of an altar of natural stone and a wood or stone statue of the gods to whom the garrán is dedicated against one side. There are some differences, however, though these are also found in the tearmann abhainn when they are combined with the garráin. Chief among these is a stone-ringed firepit capable of holding a sizeable fire. This is used for the purpose of holding Bealtaine and Lughnasadh feasts and other spring and summer celebrations. The center area around the fire pit is for the feast, and those assembled sit in a circle around this central area, with the rí, taoisigh, and any honored guests sitting in the center by the fire. The second difference are votive pits on either side of the altar. A votive pit is a sacred pit into which we commend the feast sacrifices that are made. Often stone-lined, these pits are between four and fourty feet deep, and roughly three to four feet in diameter. When a sacrifice is made in a votive pit, it is often followed by a bit of dirt to cover it, and thus new ones are dug when the old ones fill up. Halla Probably the single most important part of daily life for the modern Sinsearaithe is the Halla. Few tuatha have them, as they are part of the agrarian communities our people are trying to rebuild, but they are an important part of both secular and spiritual life for our people. The Halla is the Great Hall, the feast hall and community center where the people gather to celebrate grand festivals and gatherings, or simply to eat midday meals. A combination of church, town hall, feast hall, and guesthouse, this building is the vital heart of the tuath community. While there is no specific plan for the Halla layout, there are a couple of core common elements. First of these is that it be large enough for a gathering of the entire tuath. This is for obvious reasons, but it helps if the Halla is built to accommodate more in the event that the tuath hosts a Lughnasadh gathering of more tuatha. The second of these is the ancestral altar. This is an altar set on the west-facing wall which has icons, photos, and other reminders of the Ancestors on it. These can vary from simple stones with photos and hand carved statues, to shrines rivaling those of Aikido founders found in the largest dojos. Another common feature is a central hearth in the middle of the building, either an open firepit with a hood overhead to vent the smoke, or a four-faced fireplace with a pillar chimney. The purpose of the Halla is, quite simply, to gather and celebrate. It is used for purposes sacral and mundane, and most of the rites mentioned below are based around the Halla in some fashion. The style and design of the Halla is up to the tuath, and will likely vary wildly based on finances and available resources. it’s place in the heart of the tuath, however, is without question.       Féilte agus Laethanta Naofa Feasts and Holy Days Our calendar is not organized around the typical astronomical season structure of equinoxes and solstices, but rather around what are known as the "Cross Quarters", with the start of the four seasons being at the mid-points between solstices and equinoxes. The beginning of each of these seasons is marked by a grand festival, with two primary festivals marking the beginning of the halves of the year, and two secondary festivals in the middle of those halves. The year for us starts with the great festival of Samhain in November, followed by Imbolc in February, then the great festival of Bealtaine in May, followed by Lughnasadh in August. This site has a hyper-accurate calendar and countdown of the seasons to get an idea of when they occur during the year. Each of these festivals marks the beginning of a season as well as the primary points in the agrarian cycle. As such, they have meanings and practices both sacral and secular, having practical aspects based around farming combined with the spiritual and cultural significance of the changing of the seasons. Let us begin with the end of one year and the beginning of the next, the celebration of Samhain. Samhain Samhain (pronounced "Sow-en") is our new year. It marks the passing of one year into the next, the time of harvest and is also a time of great religious and supernatural significance. It is a period of flux, between the powerful autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. At the height of this time, midway between the equinox and solstice, usually around the 5th of November or thereabouts, the gateways to the Otherworlds open, and the full moon afterward closes them. During this time, the veils between our world and the myriad Otherworlds (spirit worlds, realms of the Daoine Sídhe, Tír na nÓg, etc.) is thinnest, allowing our ancestors to come and visit us, to see how their descendants are doing. It is a celebration of our ancestors, and also a watchful time, as it is a time of chaos and danger. Samhain occurs over a three night period, with the main celebration and feast occurring on the first night. It begins at sunset on the day of the midpoint between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice (for example, 7 November 2005), and ends at sunset three days later. If the full moon occurs on Samhain, then it is an especially potent time. The period during these three days is a time between time, when the old year has ended but the new year has not yet begun. It is a time when the spirits of the dead walk the earth and chaos is prevalent. During this time between time, the spirits of evil souls cast aside along the Imrama Anam ("soul journey", the trip between the mortal world and Tír na nÓg we all go on when we die), Púcaí, and creatures of foul mean from the realms of the Daoine Sídhe are able to cross over into our world and wreak havoc. The evil spirits of the dishonorable dead seek a new body to possess, and the Púcaí and their ilk torment animals and people, vandalize things, and generally make a nuisance of themselves. Samhain is celebrated in much the same fashion as each of our festivals: there's a feast, part of which is set aside as a sacrifice to honor the ancestors and Gods. Before, during, and/or after the feast, some prayers and requests are made of the gods, a lot of official tribal business is conducted, sacrifice is made, and so on (I will go more in-depth into the celebration in a moment.) As such, it is not what many people expect, though there is some ceremony to it. Mainly, it is a festival to honor Cailleach Béara, the Old Woman of Winter, an Mórríghan, and those who have passed before us. During the day, offerings are made to the ancestors, laid out on or in the barrows (burial mounds, see below under Burials), which are often decorated with bright ribbons and flowers. These are often the site of picnics and dances. At night, the celebration of Samhain begins. After sunset, everyone gathers in the Halla or in a central place, except for some of the laochra, who perform guard duty in shifts all night long. The laochra who are off shift either attend the feast or are resting for their next shift. A feast is laid out on the tables, with one setting, called the Pláta Sinsir, or Ancestor Plate, set aside for the ancestors. A tine chnámh, or “bone fire” (from whence “bonfire” comes) is lit in the hearth or firepit, and all other fires in the community are extinguished. The person leading the ceremony (draoi, or the rí if no draoi is available) begins by making a prayer in honor of an Mórríghan, asking her to guide the ancestors back to the land of the living, and to Scathach, asking her to move aside her shield which she uses to separate the worlds. Then a thank-you prayer to the Gods for watching over them in Tír na nÓg. Then a prayer to Cailleach Béara asking for a gentle and mild winter, without death or starvation. Most of the primary prayers center around Cailleach Béara and an Mórríghan, asking for providence and prophecy, respectively, and for protection from unwanted visitors from the Otherworlds. These prayers are heartfelt and from the hip, and often degenerate into slurred toasting towards the end of the evening as the festivities continue after the ceremony. Sacrifices are made at this time, and vary from tuath to tuath, but items of value and votive images of livestock carved in wood, bone, horn, etc. are common. Agrarian tuatha with cattle will also sacrifice a bull-calf at this time, using a form of sacral butchering that is similar to that of Kosherite butchering. This bull-calf is offered to the Gods as it is killed, and is then served as the main course of the feast that evening, with the best slice of meat being taken not by the best warrior, as would happen at any ordinary feast, but placed on the Pláta Sinsir to be given up to the Ancestors and the Gods. The bones of this bull-calf are then thrown into the tine chnámh. After these bones have burned for a while, the head of every family takes a brand from the fire and returns to their homes to light their own hearths from this central fire in a symbolic act of bonding the tuath together. After the hearths are lit (and promptly tamped down to coals, lest the fire get out of hand), everyone returns to the Halla for the feast. There is much entertainment and finery on this night, for it is best to honor our ancestors well when they come back to see how their progeny are doing. A cold and unwelcoming home does not put the honored dead at ease, and will shame them with its miserliness. Thus, for the first night’s celebration at least, we put on our finest and live it up. While the laochra stand guard around the Halla, the people feast and celebrate the visitations of their ancestors. After the feast, the Pláta Sinsir is taken to the clocha fháda or placed on the ancestral altar and left there till dawn. At dawn, the plate is cleared into a votive pit. The Laochra will guard the Halla until dawn. Tuatha that are large and wealthy enough will celebrate this feast three nights in a row. Those that are not so fortunate, as well as individual teaghlaigh (households), will only celebrate this way on the first night, but keep their hearths lit for the full three days. Imbolc Imbolc (pronounced "em-bolk") is the festival of Spring, and is a holy day sacred to Brighíd. It begins on sunset of the day between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox (3 Feb 2006 is the next one), and lasts till the next sunset. Imbolc means "in the belly" (i mbolg), which is a colorful reference to the key marker of this time- pregnant and lactating ewes. It is also the festival of Brighíd, and is sacred to her, even among the Christians, who still venerate her. Imbolc is a celebration dedicated to bringing people together to share fire, food, and companionship in winter. It is a time of feasting, singing, and jumbo-pizza-and-movie nights. It is a celebration of the passing of mid-winter and the lengthening of the days, and the lamps, hearths, and rush lights of our ancestors’ homes were lit in honor of this fact. Today, with modern lighting being a convenience enjoyed by most, a return to the traditional lighting during the feast is common. The core of Imbolc is companionship of the tribe and the celebration of the coming spring. The religious and spiritual aspects are intertwined with this gathering of friends and family, as such camaraderie and warmth of companionship is a very sacred thing to us. Family and tribe being the core of our culture, it is as much a sacred thing as a secular bond, and Imbolc is a festival to celebrate this. It is, in many ways, our people’s equivalent to the American holiday of Thanksgiving, except that it is preemptive since we are celebrating and giving thanks for that which has not occurred yet. The festival begins with a gathering around a gorsewood fire someplace outdoors, usually the tearmann abhann, toibreacha naofa, or garrán. The draoi or rí steps forward and presents himself, making a thankful prayer to Brighíd for the gift of fire, Danu for her protection, and whatever gods and goddesses are appropriate to the tuath. Then everyone returns indoors to the Halla or central place, and the feasting begins. Sometimes, in southern climates, the tuath will eat outdoors seated on blankets, eating in a circle around the fire. During the feast, the tests of skill and camaraderie begin. The laochra show their prowess by wrestling and feats of strength, bards and poets show their skill by performing, the draoithe make predictions and divinations, and the rest eat, drink, and watch the rest of us running around like mad-hatters. After a few hours, the ensemble clears the tables and lay out cushions and couches, where they relax in the warmth of the fire and listen to tales from the bards (note: modern entertainment is rarely used on this night, such as TV's.) Bealtaine Bealtaine (pronounced "bahl-chin-uh") is the festival of summer, and the celebration of the planting of crops and many things-agrarian. Bealtaine comes from an old Irish word meaning “bright fire” because of the use of large tinte chnámh. It begins with sunset on the day midway between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, in early May (5 May 2006) and continues till sunset of the following day (though the feast often lasts far longer). The origins of Bealtaine are clouded by misinformation and the distance of time. Many believe it to have been a festival to the god Bel, however, all of the sources for this explanation trace directly back to 17th century priest and scholar Seathrún Céitinn and his controversial interpretations of the Foras Feasa ar Éirinn. Many historians believe that Seathrún Céitinn invented the god Bel based off of Caesar’s writings of the Gaulic Belanus to explain the festival of Bealtaine, which was still being celebrated in Scotland and Ireland, and thus any explanations based off of his material are suspect. The religious and secular significance of Bealtaine is not in doubt, however. This festival takes place at the end of the optimum planting time for many crops, before the planting season for others, and marks the first day of summer. In a spiritual sense, this is a powerful time because of so much growth, rebirth, renewal of life and the world around us blooming. It is also the last blast of free-for-all after the hard work of the spring planting and before the tending to the crops throughout the first part of the growing season. Due to the agrarian and cattle-based nature of this celebration, only tuatha with their own lands and herds will practice this celebration fully. Those without land and cattle will feast, as stated below, and the rest will not take place. I will describe the ceremony in-full, for such is the way it should be. The festival begins at sunset with preparations for the morning ceremony taking place. There is a gathering of special woods for the tinte chnámh that will be lit in the morning. These woods include the basic sacred woods of ash and hazel, as well as oak, which makes up the bulk of the fire (for practicality reasons as well). At least two large tinte chnámh are prepared, with enough space between them for two cattle to be herded without getting singed (roughly fifteen feet apart). If pair stones have been set up, the fires are placed before them and lined up with them. Cattle and other livestock are prepared as well, with horses manes being braided and ribbons tied into their hair, and cattle’s horns polished and sometimes hung with ribbons or bells. Some of the hair of the tail of each cow is cut and braided into slender ropes for the young girls of the community (more on this later), and blossoms of certain flowers, such as Primrose, are woven or tied into the tails of the cattle. Branches of ash are placed in the cow houses and stables, and staves of ash are often erected on either side of the entrance of toibreacha naofa to ward off any mischief by the Púcaí. Before dawn, in the graying light of early morning when the dew is still on the ground, a game-like ritual is played out where the young girls of the community will sing and skip through the pastures while dragging the ropes made of cow's tail hair through the dew to collect it. This ritual is believed to bring luck and greater dairy produce to the owner of that field. Bealtaine morning dew, according to Sinnsreachd belief, represents the cream of the milk, and gathering it in one's own pasture is believed to gather it up so that the cattle will produce more milk. However, it can also be stolen by doing this ritual in another tuath's land, and thus practices of defending one's land from dew-snatchers may crop up here and there. The ropes used are squeezed into a bowl to bring out the dew, which is used for three purposes. It is believed that a girl who washes her face in this dew will gain great beauty, and that a boy who washes his hands in it will be able to undo any knot and master ficheall (a game of our people loosely similar to chess). It is also a tradition to pour milk on pastures and fields in honor of the ancestors, and to ask for prosperity and fertility of the land. At dawn, all of the fires except for the tinte chnámh, which are lit as the morning sun rises, are extinguished in the community. A massive feast is prepared and prayer ribbons are tied to the boughs of sacred trees and around toibreacha naofa. Prayer is made to Brighíd to bless the tinte chnámh as they are lit, to Bóann as the milk is poured onto the pastures, and to the gods sacred to the tuath as water from the tobar naofa is sprinkled on the homes of the people. Likewise, burning brands of ash and hazel are taken from the tinte chnámh and thrown into the fields where crops have been sown and let to burn out (under a watchful eye, mind you), to bless and purify them. Simultaneous to these events, the draoithe and the buachaillí bó (“cowboys”, yes, an American term, but they are what they are) who tend to the herds gather them up and begin the key rite of Bealtaine. This rite, known as Íonú Bólachta (Cattle Purification), is one of the longest-lived rituals of our people, having survived well into the modern era. This purification ritual is done to purify the cattle spiritually, to ward off disease, and to ask for fertility and the blessing of good milk production. The draoithe sing prayers to Bóann as the cattle, blindered to keep them from going berserk in the presence of fire, are herded between the tinte chnámh two at a time by the buachaillí bó. They are also driven between pair stones if any are present. Cattle that have been purified between the fires have their blood drawn, tested to ensure no diseases are present, and then poured on the ground for good luck. Once this is done, milk cows are milked, the milk being taken for the feast and for making butter and other dairy products, and a bull-calf is taken aside and sacrificed in the same manner as at Samhain. The purified cattle are then returned to their normal lives, none the worse for wear, and the celebrations continue. Once the rite of Íonú Bólachta is completed, and the cattle secured and under watchful eye, the tuath gathers in the Halla, with the exception of the laochra guarding the cattle and the draoithe watching the fires and telling portents in the flames. Once everyone is gathered, the highest-ranking draoi will take a brand from the tinte chnámh and carry it into the Halla, lighting the central hearth. This is the signal that the feast is to begin. As with Samhain, the head of each household (which among our people is often the matron of the family) takes a brand and lights it in this central fire, taking the brand to their homes and symbolically lighting the hearth fires there. These fires are usually put out shortly after in southern climes as it is too warm for a fire to be going. In ancient days, letting a fire go out was a dangerous thing, as it was difficult to restart and was seen as the heart of the home dying, thus fires would burn, or at least the cinders smolder, for half the year, only being extinguished at Samhain and Bealtaine. Today, however, with climate-controlled homes and the ease of fire starting, such a ritual exists primarily as a symbolic reminder of ancient times. After the rite of relighting the hearths, everyone returns to the Halla for the feast. This is much like the feast of Samhain, though the Gods of fertility, livestock, summer, and the sun are venerated rather than the Gods of winter. As with Samhain, we gather in the Halla to feast and live it up. While the laochra stand guard around the Halla, the people feast and celebrate the coming summer and the prosperity to come, eating and drinking well into the night. Just as with Samhain, a Pláta Sinsir is placed at a seat of honor at the feast, along with a mug of fresh milk. After the feast, the Pláta Sinsir and the milk are placed on the ancestral altar and left there till dawn. At dawn, the plate is cleared into a votive pit. At various points during the day, people will go to whatever holy places the community has and offer sacrifices of their own for various purposes. These range from simple items such as a dollar for wealth, a lock of one's hair for love and health, etc. to weapons and armor of worth that are placed into the river. Lughnasadh Lughnasadh (pronounced "Loo-nahs-ah"), is the festival of the beginning of the Fall, the harvest, and the time of the celebration of Lugh and all that he embodies. The festival begins on sunset of the day midway between the Summer Solstice and Autumnal Equinox (7 August 2005 this year, for example) and lasts for three days, ending on sunset of the third day. This is the time and celebration of the harvest, when the bounty of the summer has come to fruition in the waves of grain and corn of our fields. The harvest begins the day after Lughnasadh ends, and continues well into the fall as various crops come to maturity and are reaped for storage. Because of this, Lughnasadh is a time for games, fairs, and gatherings before the hard work of the harvest begins. This creates a multifaceted festival that has even more secular aspects than sacral. One of the core events of Lughnasadh is the Cruinniú or Dáil, the gathering of tribes that occurs before the harvest. The Cruinniú is akin to a country fair in modern times, and shares many of the same elements. Early harvest crops are brought to the Cruinniú for sale and trade, as are livestock and crafts, and intertribal business is conducted between the tuatha. It is also a time of marriages and handfastings, and the resulting binding of tribes together through marriage, as well as the time when many young apprentice laochra go through their trials and take arms (see below under Rites and Ceremonies). Often, these young warriors will engage in games and tests of skill and strength to show off to members of the opposite sex, and to impress the older laochra who have trained them. Hurling matches are played at this time between tuatha, sometimes as sport, other times to settle intertribal disputes. Dolls are made by braiding together corn from the last harvested sheaf. It is believed that this doll holds the spirit of the corn that has been planted in the fields, and is a very special item. These dolls are then ploughed into the fields in the spring along with the seeds of the new crop in order to bless the crop with the previous year’s abundance. The ritual and feasting of Lughnasadh starts on sunset of the first day, and is virtually identical to Imbolc. The festival begins with a gathering, either outdoors, usually the tearmann abhann, toibreacha naofa, or garrán, or in the Halla, depending on weather. The hosting rí steps forward and presents himself, makes an opening prayer to Lugh for the light of summer and the crops which have grown as a result, and then he introduces the ríthe and taoisigh of visiting tuatha and thanks them for coming. Then, the feast begins. It is during the feast that the apprentice laochra take their arms, and are presented to the tuatha assembled. Filí entertain the assembled people with songs and stories of legend, and the draoithe make predictions and divinations at appropriate times. This feast is repeated the next night, and the last day is dedicated to finalizing alliances and formally announcing engagements. Generally, little work is performed on Lughnasadh as it is a day of relaxed warmth and radiance of Lugh's light. Days and Timekeeping It is important to understand that the Gael keep time in a somewhat different fashion from most western societies, and understanding this will help one grasp the placement of the festivals and their meaning in the overall cycle of the year. One of the key differences is that we do not begin our year with the New Years on 1 January, but rather with the beginning of winter in Samhain. Understanding a bit about how we keep time will help one get into the mindset of the festivals. Séasúir na Bliana (Seasons of the year)- Winter: An Gheimhreadh, begins with Samhain Spring: An tEarrach, begins with Imbolc Summer: An Samhradh, begins with Bealtaine Autumn: An Fómhar, begins with Lughnasadh Laethanta na Seachtaine (Days of the week)- Monday: Dé Luain Tuesday: Dé Máirt Wednesday: Dé Céadaoin Thursday: Déardaoin Friday: Dé hAoine Saturday: Dé Satharn Sunday: Dé Domhnaigh       Deasghnátha Agus Searmanais Rites and Ceremonies Unlike many religious traditions, we do not tend towards pomp-and-circumstance rituals or mantras. Our celebrations are not pre-scripted recitations of archaic (or invented) liturgies or prayers. Much of what we do is not the product of formulae, but of the true connection between our hearts and those of our ancestors and the gods above. While we hold that there is power in words, there is greater power in meaning. For words to have power, there must be purpose behind them, an incarnation of the written or spoken word through the sharing of a little piece of one's soul, thus making that word or series of words inextricably entwined with the author or speaker. This is not to say that we do not have rituals or rites, quite the opposite, but the purposes of such and the prayers made during them, and during daily life, are purposeful, rooted in deep-seated intent and a connection with our ancestors. It is more akin to respectfully speaking to one’s grandparents, and for good reason as the Gods of our people are considered to also be our First Ancestors, those who created our souls from a piece of their own essence. Our prayers and rituals are polite, respectful, but to the point and from the heart. There is deep-seated tradition in any ritual we have, however, be it the celebration of the four great festivals, or more personal rites such as coming-of-age ceremonies. In these rituals, there are some ancient practices that have been kept alive as part of these practices. Likewise, there are some thematic elements that are common to various feasts and rites that are ritualized, and give a form of structure to them. The finer details vary from tuath to tuath, and often depend on the level of agrarian-based communal life of the specific tuath. Some of these, such as the herding of cattle between the Tinte Chnáimh at Bealtaine, are only used by tuatha who have land and cattle. Others, such as the Pláta Sinsir, are used universally. It is important to understand that we do not employ “magic”, “spells”, or other similar trappings of “mystery religions”, and it is important to understand that our rites and ceremonies are nothing like such thaumaturgical incantations. Our rites are based around the major occurrences in the life of a Gael, as well as agrarian cycles and events. As such, they are more profound in their spiritual depth and practical simplicity than the grand rituals of the “mystery religions.” Our people put more focus into the emotion and meaning of an event than the trappings, and thus what may seem to be a simple ceremony on the surface is actually a matter of great sacral significance for us. What thematic elements that are found in our ceremonies are often very primal and nature-oriented, as our society has always been close to the land. Agricultural rituals, rites that incorporate themes found in the natural world, and so on are all commonly found in our rituals and ceremonies. As each tuath has somewhat different practices, the rituals and ceremonies presented herein are from the practices and doctrine of Tuath na Ciarraide, and should not be considered to be universal. Other tuatha will share their practices, or not, at their own discretion and in their own way. With this in mind, the rituals of Tuath na Ciarraide- Birth It is only fitting that we start with the beginning of life- birth. The celebration of birth is the greatest celebration our people have. It is a time of unequaled joy, and the entire tuath is usually gathered in the area. We prefer birthing in an intimate place such as the home, or a small, comfortable place rather than hospitals, which are generally used only if medical need demands it. As such, the tuath is usually gathered outside waiting anxiously for word of the birth. At the time of the birth, a Bean Ghlúine (midwife) is present to oversee medical needs. The two most commonly used types of birth are water birth and gravity-assisted birth. In the case of water birth, The father, or, in the case of a single mother, a man or woman of her choosing, is in the tub with the wife. He sits behind her, holding her hand, massaging her back and helping her through the pains of birth. In the case of gravity-assisted birth, the husband holds the woman up and helps keep her steady while she gives birth. Immediately after the child is born, and the umbilical cord severed, the Bean Ghlúine raises the child high overhead so that all may see it and holds the child there for a moment. She then washes the child with water from a sacred well dedicated to Bríd and/or Danu. While this is being done, and the mother is being tended to, the Bean Ghlúine sings a prayer to the gods to bring fortune upon the child, to bring health and glory, etc. Once the child is bathed, examined medically, and cleared as healthy and in no need of immediate medical care, it is returned to the mother wrapped in the firstcloth, a small blanket. The mother then names the child while kissing it upon the forehead. This is the most sacred of rites regarding childbirth, as only the mother may name the child. The father then holds the child up high again and calls out the name to all assembled, proclaiming the newest member of the tuath. The new father and mother then cuddle with the newborn in a quiet restful place while the rest of the tuath goes absolutely berserk with celebration. After some time has passed (i.e., everyone has sobered up and recovered from the subsequent hangovers), a draoi or a fáidh goes to the mother and looks at the child. The draoi or a fáidh then makes a determination of any geasa or portents for the child's future, and blesses the child. From this point out, a bidding war ensues based off of the portents and geasa to see who will train and foster the child through their period as fer/ban midboth. A strong child portended to become a great laoch will have warrior houses competing with one another over who will foster and train the child. A child destined to have a cloudy future will have draoithe bidding in competition with the filí houses over who will train the child, and so on. This is an important, if insane-sounding part of our culture as it ties families together through internal fosterage. The parents have the final say on who the child is fostered by, and this is a major decision that is often deliberated for weeks or months. Once the decision is made, that child spends part of every day from the age of four until done training with the foster family. Marriage Marriages are second only to births in their significance and happiness to our people. Though there were traditionally several types and levels of marriage, Sinnsreachd only uses two of them as they are the ones that best fit the modern age: gealltanas pósta, which is a year-long trial marriage akin to an engagement, and pósadh which is a long-term marriage. For the purposes of this ceremony we shall deal with pósadh as it is the more formal of the two, however both are very similar in format. The wedding usually takes place outdoors or in a halla. Preparations are made for the celebration by lining up the two families, bride and groom, on opposite sides facing each other, thus creating an aisle. The draoi or rí stands at one end, and the bride and groom enter from the opposite end. Music begins, and the bride and groom are brought together from their families' respective sides to face each other and clasp hands. The father or mother of the bride takes a decorated ribbon in which a lock of hair from the bride and groom is often interwoven and drapes it across their wrists. The bride and groom then turn to face the draoi or rí and proceed down the aisle to stand before him or her. The music stops, and the families turn so that they can observe the ceremony. The draoi or rí then takes the ribbon from the wrists of the couple and holds it over his or her head, making a prayer to Brighíd and Lugh to shine their light and blessing upon the couple, and then another prayer to the tuath's patron diety(ies) to bless this new joining within the tuath. The couple then make a profession of their love for each other and their desire to enter into the bonds of pósadh. The draoi or rí has them turn and face each other, and then gives each of them a speech tailored specifically to that person about what this means in their life, and what they will be gaining and giving up. He discusses the ups and downs of married life, and the sanctity of the bonds of pósadh. After his speech, he then asks the couple if they wish to enter the bonds of pósadh. If they agree, then he has them extend their hands clasped together towards him. The draoi or rí then binds the crossed wrists of the couple three times with the ribbon, intoning a prayer along the lines of "Let the Gods and Ancestors witness this union, and may they bless it eternally. May these happy persons walk forth from here under the bounds and blessings of the union of pósadh. Brighíd bless them with passion and wisdom. Danú bless them with fertility and protection. An Dagda bless them with happiness and many healthy children. What I bind here today, let no man or woman tear asunder. This we pray." He then holds high a pair of interlinked forged iron rings, welded so that there is no break in either ring. He then calls out the following- “I hold here unending circles of iron, one for each of these blessed people, intertwined as their hearts are intwined. Unbreakable is the bond they have with one another, and these rings symbolize this couple's new life. With these rings bound and linked do I bless this union.” He hands the rings to the couple, they kiss, and then turn to face back to face down the aisle. The draoi or rí then presents them to all assembled, naming them husband and wife. The music begins and the couple begin back down the aisle. After the couple leave the aisle, the wife takes a goblet of milk and pours it out onto the ground, asking Brighíd and Danú for fertility. The husband takes a bit of money and burns it in a small brazier or fire and asks an Dagda and Danú for prosperity. They then join the rest of the tuath in a massive celebration and feast that usually lasts until no one can stand. Divorce Not all marriages last, however, and Sinnsreachd handles divorces in a very pragmatic manner. Divorce breaks the bonds of pósadh and separates the wife's holdings from those of the husband’s. Divorce is not a flippant act within Sinnsreachd, especially when children are involved, and it is taken quite seriously. Unless extenuating circumstances- child abuse, domestic violence, serious immoral and/or criminal acts on the part of one of the spouses, etc.- a minimum of six months of counseling is required before a divorce will be granted. Once the decision is made, however, and the finalized legal separation of property and arrangement of custody is handled, the ceremony of divorce is strikingly simple. The draoi or rí stands the couple back to back and holds up the ribbon they were married with. A witness stands by with the rings on an anvil or stone with a hammer and chisel. The draoi or rí states the following- “The bonds of pósadh cannot be broken by any other than those who entered into them. If it be your wish to break these bonds and be separate from one another, then walk away and the symbols of your bond shall be severed as you sever the bonds between you.” At this point, if the couple truly wish to divorce, they simply walk in opposite directions. After twenty feet or so, the draoi or rí holds up the ribbon and cuts it in half, casting both halves onto a fire or brazier. The witness then takes the chisel and cuts the rings open and separates them, casting them into a river or lake. Death Death to the Sinsearaithe is not always the sad, somber event that it is to most. Death to us is simply a passing from Tír na Beatha to Tír na nÓg. If the person is dying, then a death vigil is established of close friends and family. They stay by the side of the dying person and comfort him or her, telling tales and laughing to try and make the last moments of the dying person pleasant and happy. The seanchaí or a wise loved one will tell tales of Tír na nÓg and how to progress along the Imrama nAnam, the Soul Journey. Once the person dies, an attending physician pronounces time of death and signs the death certificate. The draoi or chief mourner (one of the loved ones who is chosen to lead the procession in the absence of a draoi) calls upon the Gods to guide the soul of the deceased through the Imrama nAnam to the lands of Tír na nÓg. Then the funerary rite preparations begin. The funeral preparations begin immediately. The body is taken from the death bed, and the sheets upon the death bed are taken and burned. The body is then washed and then wrapped in a shroud or "death shirt". Often, this takes the form of a body wrapping with the head uncovered until burial. The body is placed on a bier in the center of the room, either at home or in the funeral home, and the remaining preparations are made according to caste and family wishes. For example, a laoch would have his or her weapons placed next to him or her, a file would have a favored pen, tool, or jewelry placed next to their body, etc. Hair and facial hair (if any) are neatly trimmed and combed. Once the body has been properly prepared, the funeral rite itself begins. The procession to retrieve the body is led by a draoi or the chief mourner dressed in a black mantle (historically, made of raven's feathers, usually of cloth now) carrying a boudhran (drum). The drum is beaten rhythmically to scare off evil spirits who seek to inhabit the body once it leaves the sanctity and safety of the home. Accompanying the draoi or mourner are as many of the tuath as can attend, as well as family members of the deceased. Laochra of the tuath will carry the bier if no family can do so. The body is placed on a portable bier- effectively a stretcher-like bed with handles- and taken from the home to the halla, either directly or via hearse. The procession winds its way from the house of the deceased to the Halla, and the bier is placed in the center of the room. The feast then begins. The feast is a wake, a celebration of the life of the deceased, and often he or she is honored in song and often-humorous eulogies. As the feast progresses, there are two laochra at all times, who remain sober and alert, who stand guard over the body. It is not uncommon for iron nails or items of iron to be placed on or around the bier to ward off spirits. The wake-feast continues until no one is left standing except the two guards, who will remain with the body until the next morning. The body is then moved to burial or cremation, depending on the wishes of the deceased. Laochra Rites of Passage Among the Sinsearaithe, young men and women are exposed to a variety of castes, both occupational and cultural. Much like trade schools in Europe and elsewhere, children in their teens often take up one of these professions as their chosen path in life and study it in earnest. For the daltaí laoich, those destined to become warriors, this involves a combination of ethical, martial, and cultural training that shapes them into becoming the protectors of our people and, in many tuatha, leaders. The culmination of this training is the day that the dalta laoich undergoes their rite of passage and takes arms to become a laoch. The rite of passage for the laoch is very important ritual. It signifies the coming-of-age for young warriors, and is a very important and sacred time to pass down a solemn duty to defend our people and our way of life. This rite is usually performed after the dalta has completed the initial training for their warrior occupation- graduating from a police academy, completing boot camp, etc. With the occupation confirmed by this accomplishment, they are then judged by the standards of their tuath to see if they measure up and meet the oft-strict requirements of martial prowess, ethical and moral compass, and an understanding of their place within the culture. This is the time when the dalta takes his or her place among us as a full-fledged warrior and takes up the sacral contract with the tuath. The first part of the rite is actually a tripartite ritual to test their ability to fulfill their roles as warriors in our society. Being a laoch among the Sinsearaithe is not just knowing how to brawl, shoot, or move a blade, it is about a worldview and mindset of how their purposes, sacral and secular, tie into the overall aspect of our way of life. Laochra are expected to be exemplary Sinsearaithe, paragons of our virtues, warrior-poet ideology, and heroic morality. As such, there are many aspects to their profession that go beyond martial prowess, and the core of these are also tested. This part of the rite of passage is broken down into the Rite of Courage, the Rite of Skill, and the Rite of Wisdom. Deasghnáth an Mhisnigh (Rite of Courage)- This is potentially very dangerous, and should not be attempted by anyone who is not skilled in the aspects involved. In other words, this is for trained warriors, not hot-headed youths with more bravado than skill. The core of this rite is a ritualistic boar hunt, often performed solo. Armed with a boar spear (a type of spear with a broad, long blade, thick center, and lugs or a crossbar below the blade), the dalta sets out, either alone or with a rifle-armed back-up, on the hunt. The dalta must plan the hunt, track the boar down, corner it, and then provoke it into charging him. He or she then sets the boar spear by bracing the butt against the instep of their rear foot and lowering the head of the spear to a level below the muzzle of the onrushing boar. To prove their courage, the dalta must not falter, but must instead take the charge and try their best to pierce the boar in the chest. If done properly, the spear will bury itself up to the lugs in the boar, piercing its heart. If not, the boar will likely barrel into or past the dalta, where the rifle-armed backup either kills it, or the dalta quickly changes position and sets for another charge. Even if the boar is impaled, it may not stay that way. Spears have been known to break, and a canny boar (females usually) will pull back and re-charge the dalta. The chances of being gored are not insignificant, making this the most dangerous part of the rite of passage. Once the boar is slain, the dalta must take the tusks from the boar and have it properly butchered. The rest of the rite of passage takes place on the night when the boar is finally prepared for cooking. Deasghnáth an Cheirde (Rite of Skill)- Traditionally, this test was a test of a warrior’s ability to defend himself and to evade enemies with cunning and skill. Originally, the dalta would stand in a pit up to his mid-thigh holding a shield and a short staff of hazel wood. Nine veteran warriors would throw blunted spears at the dalta, and if a single spear found its mark the dalta was rejected. The second part of this rite involved evading those same warriors while being pursued through a forest. The dalta was required to evade the pursuing warriors with stealth, being rejected if he made a sound or was caught, and yet had to remain calm enough that his hands did not shake by the end of the chase. This was a test of the warrior’s skill in the forest as well as his discipline. Today’s warriors fight in a different kind of battlefield and in vastly different manners, however. While the test of the forest run is still valid and still used, the anachronistic defense against spears is no longer a proper test of a warrior’s skill. Both tests have been combined into a truly modern incarnation of this test which, while using modern methods and tools, is no less of a valid way to test the same skills of the dalta. While this test will most certainly be a let down to those who have overly romanticized views of Sinnsreachd and Gaelic culture as a whole, it is important to bear in mind that this is a living, breathing culture and not some anachronism or re-enactment society. We change the methods and tools of our trades as time progresses and technology evolves, and we must train accordingly. This test begins in a forested area without any trails other than those made by game. Armed with a non-lethal version of their profession’s weapons (simunition weapons), the dalta and the pursuing laochra don protective gear and begin. The dalta goes in first, with only one load for his weapon, and must quickly put distance between himself and his pursuers for they will follow in three minutes. The dalta must successfully complete the run through the woods to a predetermined point (the length of the run and method for finding the finish point are entirely up to the rí, who is administering the rite, with cocky daltaí being forced to back their boastful words with a more challenging course) without taking a single hit, and still be calm and collected enough to stand before the rí without trembling or shaking. Once the dalta successfully completes this rite, the boar that was slain is put on the fire or into a barbecue pit to cook. The rite of wisdom follows that night at the feast. Deasghnáth an Eagna (Rite of Wisdom)- When the boar has been prepared and is cooking, the members of the tuath gather around the dalta, who sits before the rí, the seanchaí, and the senior-most laoch (or an aire échta if the tuath has one). The rí will then ask the dalta the following- “Tell me (name), what is the wisdom of Cormac that teaches us the way to be wise and kingly warriors?” The dalta replies by reciting the following passage from the Teagasc an Riogh, the Teachings of King Cormac Mac Airt- “It is what Cormac said: 'I was a listener in woods I was a gazer at stars I was blind where secrets were concerned I was silent in a wilderness I was talkative among many I was mild in the mead-hall I was stern in battle I was gentle towards allies I was a physician of the sick I was weak towards the feeble I was strong towards the powerful I was not close lest I should be burdensome I was not arrogant though I was wise I was not given to promising though I was strong I was not venturesome though I was swift I did not deride the old though I was young I was not boastful though I was a good fighter I would not speak about any one in his absence I would not reproach, but I would praise I would not ask, but I would give For it is through these habits that the young become old and kingly warriors.'" The rí will then ask the dalta the following- “Tell me (name), what wisdom does Cormac give us to follow to honour the ways of our people?” The dalta replies by reciting another passage from the Teagasc an Riogh- “It is what Cormac said: ‘Be not too wise, be not too foolish be not too conceited, nor too diffident be not too haughty, nor too humble be not too talkative, nor too silent be not too hard, nor too feeble If you be too wise, one will expect too much of you If you be foolish, you will be deceived If you be too conceited, you will be thought vexatious If you be too humble, you will be without honour If you be too talkative, you will not be heeded If you be too silent, you will not be regarded If you be too hard, you will be broken If you be too feeble, you will be crushed.’” The rí will then ask the dalta the following- “Tell me (name), What wisdom would you share with us from your own heart that we may be the better for it?” The dalta replies by reciting a triad of their own creation that imparts some element of wisdom that they have learned along the way in order to show that they are actively learning and thinking about the Sinnsreachd world and their place in it. At this point, the dalta is asked to follow the senior-most laoch outside or into another room while the rí and the seanchaí decide whether the dalta has shown the basic level of wisdom and learning required of a warrior. Likewise, the seanchaí will ascertain whether the dalta’s triad was of their own creation or taken from the Triads of wisdom that teach our ethics. Such dishonesty would be a great dishonor, and not likely to happen as a result, but it must still be determined that the dalta have honour as well as wisdom. Once the dalta has been determined to have successfully completed three rites, the next stage of the rite of passage unfolds. The senior laoch takes the dalta back before the rí and seanchaí. The rí asks the dalta the following- “Are you ready to take up the mantle of the laoch, to protect your people and your tuath, to honour your ancestors, and to bear courage in your heart, truth upon your lips, and honour as your guide?” The dalta responds yes, at which time the rí holds up the torc chosen for him or her (or passed down from their father or mother). The dalta turns with his or her back to the rí, who calls out a prayer to the Gods- “Cosaint n nDéithe do ar an áit seo. Támuid anseo chun onóir a thabhairt do na nósanna agus deasghnátha naofa ar daoine. Go raibh beannacht na ndéithe agus ár sinsir ar torc seo agus an laoch seo.” (Translation: “Protection of the Gods upon this place. We are gathered here to honour the sacred customs and rites of our people. May our Gods and Ancestors bless this torc and this warrior.”) The rí then places the torc about the neck of the dalta. After the torc has been placed on the dalta, he or she steps before the senior laoch, who hands the chosen weapons to the new laoch. This is usually accompanied by advice to strike with accuracy and courage, and to know when and when not to fight. Once the torc and arms have been granted to the laoch, the rí then tells the warrior his or her leasainm, the warrior’s nickname by which he or she will go among the ranks of the laochra (this changes over time for many warriors based on deeds and traits). The new laoch then turns to the assembled tuath and proclaims “Is (leasainm) mé! Is laoch agus giolla daoine mé!” (Translation: “I am (leasainm)! I am a warrior and servant of our people!”) The people then celebrate with a feast of boar, with the many laochra vying for the Hero’s Portion. Prayers Prayer within the Sinnsreachd faith is a varied and oft-individualistic practice. Each Sinsearaí is responsible for their own relationship with the Gods, not through a priest who acts as a mouthpiece. As a result, while there are ancient prayers that are more formal- and such are presented here for the reader as a guide- most Sinsearaithe pray in a more individual manner, voicing their thanks, desires, and questions in a less-formal manner. Prayer for us is not trappings and ritual, with grand intonations of big words intended to impress those around us, it is a conversation, often one-sided, granted, between us and our Gods and Ancestors. We approach the Gods the same way we would approach our elders or grandparents- familiar, but respectful. Our prayers reflect this, and while the following is a good guide for the intent, each Sinsearaí is encouraged to voice such intent in their own words rather than become engrossed in the words as a mantra. Paidir Maidin: Morning Prayer Fáilte romhat féin, a Ghrian na dtráth Welcome to you, Grian of the seasons 'S tú ag siúil go hard sa spéir; As you traverse the skies aloft; Do chéimeanna tréan ar sciatháin na n-ard, Your steps are strong on the wing of the heavens. 'S tusa máthair áigh na réal You are the glorious mother of the stars. Luíonn tú síos i gcuan na dithe You lie down in the destructive ocean Gan eagla is gan scáth Without fear and without shadow; Éiríonn tú suas ar stua na sithe You rise up on the peaceful wave-crest Mar bhanríon óg faoi bhláth. Like a queenly maiden in bloom. Paidir Am Béile: Prayer for Meals Gach béile faoi mo dhíon, Each meal beneath my roof Beidh siad measctha le chéile They will all be mixed together, in ainm na nDéithe In name of the Gods, a thug fás dóibh: Who gave them growth, Ní bheidh gá inár dtír There shall be no dearth in our land, Ná inár dteach. Nor in our dwelling. Paidir Tráthnóna: Evening Prayer An Déithe naomh: The sacred Gods A choimhéad, a chosaint, a choinneáil; To save, to protect, to surround; An tinteán, an teach, an teaghlach; The hearth, the house, the household; an oíche seo, anocht; This eve, this night; Agus gach oíche And every night, Gach aon oíche. Each single night.       Ministrí Rialta Religious Functionaries Most people are familiar with Christianity, and most reading this will likewise have a passing familiarity with neopagan religions such as Wicca, and the use of dedicated clergy (priests and priestesses) within those and similar religions. Sinnsreachd does not have a dedicated clergy in the same sense- a person who acts as the mediator, or mouthpiece, between the parishioners/worshippers and their deity or deities- because of the strong ethical view that each person is responsible for maintaining their own relationship with the Gods. However, we do have clergy in another sense, and more than one type. Like the rabbinical positions within Judaism, these clergy are not priests, per se, but scholars, teachers, seers, and counselors on matters of faith and spirituality. They do not speak for the Gods any more than the rest of us, but they are a great deal more in tune with the Otherworlds and things-spiritual, and thus have a greater insight to matters pertaining to such than the rest of us. Among the Ciarraide, there are three such persons, each filling a specific role- the draoi, the fáidh, and the rí. Draoi The draoi, draoithe plural, is the primary religious functionary we have. Filling a role very similar to that of a rabbi, being both a teacher of religious and spiritual matters and the leader of the congregation during communal sacrifice and rites. They are held to extremely high standards of education- both secular and spiritual- and are judged by their knowledge of culture, religious traditions, and customary laws and ethics. Modern draoithe often hold higher degrees of learning (Masters or higher, sometimes two or more Doctorates), usually in science, history, or philosophy, and often have a secondary degree in theological studies. Fáidh The fáidh, fáithe plural, are seers and prophets. While it is not uncommon for a draoi to also be a fáidh (in fact, it is fairly common amongst the extant draoithe today), not all fáithe are draoithe. In fact, it is a gift that knows not the bounds of caste or rank. The mother and oldest sister of the rí are both fáithe, as is one of the senior ceardaithe. A fáidh is blessed/cursed (depending on how you look at it) with the gift to see things before they come to pass, to sense things elsewhere and “elsewhen”, as it has been phrased. There are different methods to their gift, some using divination through Ogham staves or runes, some through a bowl or pool of calm water, others from dreams and interpretation of signs. The thing that unites them is their accuracy, which is often strikingly high. The Rí In addition to the socio-political and martial duties of a rí, the position also entails acting as a sort of “lay clergy”. Unless gifted by the Gods with the gift of tairngreacht, or prophecy, that the fáithe possess, the religious duties of the rí are secular in nature. They lead ceremonies and rites in the absence of a draoi, perform weddings, counsel people, and act as a moral compass for the members of the tuath. These religious duties also include being keenly aware of moral codes and customary law, as well as religious traditions and rites.

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