A Gewessi Yule tale... part 1

This is a kid's story I wrote years ago, when my children were young. It brings together world myths under a Gewessi theme and as Yule time is a time to tell tales then it seemed appropriate to dust it off and put it on my blog.

Magpie becomes sad

Once upon a time in the long ago, when all the animals and people were equal and could talk to each other, there was a magpie who was tired of the dislike of the other creatures in his part of the wood. Whenever he would approach they would shout "Thief", "Blackguard" and they would call him other names :- "Good-for-nothing!", "lowlife" & "mischief maker" all because magpies like pretty, shiny objects and take things from nests when their owners were not playing with them or looking after them.

Others would shout "Gossip", "blabbermouth!" and they would call him other names:- "Busybody", "snoop" and "telltale." All because Mr Magpie liked to talk and to talk about everything he'd seen and heard.

These names all made Mr Magpie sad and he would swoop back to his Wife with his eye not as bright as before. As he came in his tail would droop and his Wife would say
"Have you been listening to the small minds again? Remember we are magpies and people have always disliked us." He would say to her
"But why does it have to be this way? Can a Leopard not change his spots? Is there no way to change?"

He would hop to his branch overlooking the sunset and his tail would droop, whilst his eye would not be as bright as before. He would sigh and say
"I wish I was as bright as the sunset and golden as the dawning day, for everyone loves those things."

One evening as Mr Magpie was sat watching the sunset with his dull eye and drooping tale Ostara the Queen of the Dawn walked past. She pulled her forelock (as you must always do to Mr Magpie when he's on his own) and said
"Evening Mr Magpie! How's Mrs Magpie and all the little Magpies?"
"Oh well enough" he said
"I'm glad to hear it," said She "but why the dull eye and the drooping tail?"
"Oh I'm fed up with all the people calling me names like thief, bad-egg, rogue, gossip, backbiter and everything!"
"Oh!" said Ostara and she fell silent while she thought for a bit.

In fact she thought for a long time. She went to the feasting hall of her clan and discussed it with Tor, Allvater, Briggi, Freeya and for a long time with Logi. However they all said
"But he is a magpie and that's what magpie's do! Most magpie's are happy with what they do and don't care that the rest of the people don't like them."
Except Logi, who felt rather sorry for the little magpie, he said
"But WHY??? Can a Leopard not change his spots? Is there no such thing as change? He is very unhappy - it's not fair for him to live without hope."
The rest of the clan discussed it generally
"Hmmm if he can change would he still be a magpie?" said Allvater
"But still he must be allowed to change." Briggi his wife said and on that they all agreed.
"What would he have to do to prove he'd changed?" asked Ostara.
"He would have to live an exemplary life true to our clan's 9 ideals:
Bravery, creativity and discipline.
Honesty, honour and hospitality and finally
Justice, knowledge and loyalty!"
On this they also agreed. They took an oath that if the magpie could change he would receive a reward.

Ostara went to see Mr Magpie watching the sunset, sadly with his tale drooping and his dull, black eye and she sang him this song...
"If you be true and want to be liked
then navigate nine, roads to rule your life,
At first there are three, thus for thyself:

Be Brave and be bold, no cart to the crowd,
Creative too, called the herald of hope
Discipline or duty, a foundation for faith.
Contained in your cauldron, they brew a great beer.

Our next are for others you may meet and greet:
Honesty is healthy, so talk of true things,
Of Honour keep hold - wealth is your word
Hospitality too, give to your guests.

Last is to live, life the great game:
Justice a jewel, in the golden ring of right.
Knowledge a key, the choice to choose well and
Last is for loyalty, tied fast between friends."

Mr Magpie's tail perked up then and his eye became bright with hope. So throughout his life Mr Magpie then lived according to the nine. Here are just some of the things that he did in his travels round the world to prove that he had changed…

Appropriate at Samhuin

Walking through Postman park in London, experiencing the city and marvelling at majestic Plane trees I came across this. A park, a hidden bit of greenery, as interesting & surprising as the vistas at Stowe within this city scape.

Samhuin seed thought : Ikigai A Reason for Being

In French you might say your raison d'etre, your reason for being.  It's rare to know this from a young age and sometimes just when you think you know what it is when you get there you realise it isn't it.
Which is a complex one, the drive to do more than just survive and be happy doing it.  Within the Japanese word there is a certain joy in finding this.  However, as usual, the internet explanations are simplistic.  Trying to soundbite a complex viewpoint.

Within the Gewessi world knotwork art becomes a mandala, the world is a complex weave and finding the thread of Ikigai for you and keeping it can feel like dancing on a knife edge, the various knots of life try to unbalance you. You become a hinge or unhinged within the pattern of the weave.
Which is where a spiritual structure can maintain your Ikigai so that it doesn't become lost in the noise of our society.
  My structure is yoga, meditation and celebrating the wheel of the year, my Ikigai is cycling, my wife and the drive to create - whether that be gardening or virtual systems it is the creative aspect that appeals.

Aesthetic of inner peace

It is important to understand your inner aesthetic & to find it.  This is not the aesthetic, or beauty, that the outer world tells you to appreciate but the one that you emotionally respond to.
The first thing you must do with any moment is to feel whether you like it...is the first sentence that my study of art teacher said. 
What is a moment?  It can be seeing the Mona Lisa for the first time, a vision of the sun setting or a digital landscape in a virtual world.
The key is to take that moment and fully enjoy it, commit it to your mind hoard of gladness.  Don't be distracted by the digital hum of our lives, put aside your personal obsessions be they physical, emotional or mental and gladden your soul by revelling in allowing your internet of the aesthetic.
Your aesthetic may not be someone else's, a bit like the joy my dog has in rolling in fox poo.  It's not something I want him to do but the unparalleled joy he has in that moment is enviable.

Deus sive Natura

"God is Nature, as Nature is God".Spinoza
  Thoughts on Nina Lyon's 'Uprooted' on the trail of the green man. 
It is weird hearing about integral events in your life, such as the rave scene & the 1988 Summer of Love and its impact on the modern world from the perspective of someone 10 years younger, your life as history.  That's getting old I guess. Being taught by people younger than you, whilst in your head you're the same age as them.

What is interesting, I find, is kicking against the perception that each generation grows up thinking it can change the world.    Mine didn't, I remember our head of History a young 30 year old, so ancient to our 17 year old minds, railing at our cynicism & belief that little we did would change the world.  We'd seen the various waves of young adults like the hippies, punks and others fight the system, the man and seemingly lose or even worse become ' the man'. 

O Fuck it, we weren't gonna do that.  I became an 80's yuppie by day and raver by night.  There were a lot of us, ecstasy was our drug & it turned haters into friends, opened closed minds & we became one people.  Then we discovered we had power.  The police had to be cautious of violently break up a rave of 1000s of people from all levels of society - there were Lords & Ladies, children of judges alongside those from the poorest estates, gay's with straights, Chelsea and Arsenal fans hugged.  Everyone was behaving peaceably, loved up and would be dressed in anything from DJ and ball gown to a fully fluorescent outfit.  No one cared, the dance was everything.  A few police couldn't incite us as the repercussions of attacking a mob high on amphetamines would've been too great.  Many of us were the children of the Tory establishment not poor Labour miners who they could brutally attack & then lie in the media to get away with it.

The establishment were scared.  They changed the rules, allowing night clubs to stay open all night as well as banning raves to remove the reasons for raves to happen.  The world was changed, football violence declined, it was a step change in the acceptance of being different.  There's some power in a youth movement not thinking they can change their world and managing it by accident, only realising it as the world turns and they look back.

As we reach the equinox, the time when the Green Man dies in some traditions, it is appropriate to think of these transitions.  As I move into my Gold Days/Golden years so my son moves into his Beltaine years.  The cycle within & without a cycle.
I liked the book, it reminded me of ZAMM , Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, but for a neo pagan world.  A philosophical critique of where it is right now, as well as a warning for the future.

St. Nectan and his glen

Now if you listen to Druidcast you may have come across St. Nectan, where you can hear the wonderful vocal tones of Roland Rotherham talk about him it starts at Druidcast 99, and I had the joy of visiting his legendary glen. It sits between Tintagel and Boscastle, between the myths of the ancient British King Arthur and the Witches museum. Walking up to the glen brought back memories of playing in Cornwall's granite and quartz laden streams, there is even traces of gold in the rocks too.

Nectan is also a water deity within the Irish mythology. Which would make the waterfall at St. Nectan's Cleave or Glen a pool of the well of wisdom. It is certainly a place of pilgrimage to many folk who visit. In this respect it has been treated as a Clootie Well for healing and spiritual help.

It is undoubtedly a place of magic and mystery, although we failed to get down to Rocky Valley

, pics from here, due to the lateness of the hour when we left the Glen. The carvings are Neolithic, 4000 years old, and provide links between ancient Crete and Glastonbury too.

The stacks of 'fairy' rock formations within the glen add to the magical feeling as you walk to and from the waterfall.

Ultimately for the strong spirited the waterfall and it's cold, cleansing waters are the main attraction:

This is the upper part of the waterfall, the plunge pool is shallow enough to stand in but deep enough to become immersed in the water. The afternoon we spent there was certainly a special one. Whilst there is a car park where you can walk to the Glen for the stronger walkers I would recommend it as an essential mid-walk stop on the coastal path between Boscastle and Tintagel.

Belated Lughnasadh seed thought - being happy in the moment

The Lughnasadh period is a busy one for anniversaries; Lughnasadh itself is my wedding anniversary, with a break for the 2nd August and then in sequence my departed Father's birthday, a good friend's birthday, my wife's best friend deathday and then a breather until my birthday. Which this year was a significant one. As it also aligns to summer holidays it is a busy time of year.

Whilst mindfulness has now become a widely known meme, as such ripe for parody, it is still a useful technique for dealing with stress. I have become unemployed for the first time in my life and as such it is easy to become prey to anxiety and my internal negativity. It was as I contemplated the garden, the worry of still not having a job lurked like a sinister mould at the back of the fridge, that I remembered to focus in the moment. It was sunny, I had completed many of the jobs in the garden and I had applied for a number of jobs. There's enough money in the bank too, so I was...

Being where you need to be

If you are, like me, something of a mental list maker then you can become subject to the tyranny of the to do list. Whilst a list can be useful in knowing what to do next it must not be allowed to ruin the moment with self negativity. I used to do this a lot, particularly around the garden...I should have planted those seeds, weeded that border...aarrrgh the hedge needs pruning.... Who was I hoping to please with this? Me, the kids don't care, my wife cares about the garden sporadically and only the bit she can see. The hedges don't care if they look neat to the human eye and we will not starve if I forgot to plant the brassica's. I've earned the money sitting in the bank so I can live without a job for a few months (not that I intend to do that) so I can...

Allow yourself

The garden is not perfect and is not finished, I've not written a blog post for a few weeks and probably gamed a little too much but I've not had a whole summer off in 30 years. I think the last summer I had off was in 1985 when I spent much of it sailing, including racing J24 yachts.

So for Lughnasadh choose a day to throw off the shackles of the mental to do list, enjoy the moment and prepare for the work of the harvest.

Belated Litha Seed thought - Of grief and hate

The Cycle of Grief

I have decided the so called newspaper that many people read online should be renamed as the Daily Hate-Mail

So I was planning to write up a seed thought for Litha. Except that British politics took over, the Brexit vote was intellectually not a massive surprise but emotionally & sub-consciously I'd not expected it. I am ashamed to be English and have been grieving for Britain. So before the vote I was in Denial of how serious it was and Bargaining with all and sundry for Remain. When the result hit on Friday I sank into Depression which transformed into Anger over the weekend. Monday there was some Acceptance. I started supporting France in the Euro's football competition
Then the cycle begins again, Denial is rife on social media with demands for a second referendum now the Brexit lies have been exposed, particularly as the Bargaining with the rest of Europe begins. Then there will be Depression and Anger again, I think this country has been so divided by this issue that the British psyche will take years to reach full Acceptance. If the British Psyche, a product of the United Kingdom, survives that is. We seem to be at a crucial point in our history where the dark forces of hate and nationalism feel they have a majority.
In response I think that Bob Marley expressed it better than I can..

"Get Up, Stand Up"

Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!

Preacherman, don't tell me,
Heaven is under the earth.
I know you don't know
What life is really worth.
It's not all that glitters is gold;
'Alf the story has never been told:
So now you see the light, eh!
Stand up for your rights. Come on!

Chorus

Most people think,
Great God will come from the skies,
Take away everything
And make everybody feel high.
But if you know what life is worth,
You will look for yours on earth:
And now you see the light,
You stand up for your rights. Jah!

Chorus
We sick an' tired of-a your ism-skism game -
Dyin' 'n' goin' to heaven in-a Jesus' name, Lord.
We know when we understand:
Almighty God is a living man.
You can fool some people sometimes,
But you can't fool all the people all the time.
So now we see the light (What you gonna do?),
We gonna stand up for our rights! (Yeah, yeah, yeah!)

And yet the Dog Rose is flowering which reminds us that the Rose, like the Lotus, brings beauty from dung

The Bourne Trees

With the changes mentioned in previous posts I have, for the first time, become the owner of a dog. Not the "needs little exercise will sleep most of the time" breed that my wife told me she'd look after! No, after a weekend of 'just looking' round various dog home's we came home with Brodie...

He's a mongrel perhaps but one that so resembles the New Zealand Huntaway that I suspect that is what he is; especially as there was a breeder of Huntaway's in Sussex around the time he was born! He is apparently a one-man dog needing lots of exercise....

The Tree Ogham

However, I had been missing cycling commuting in all weathers since my supervisor took umbrage at my kit drying under my desk. This has meant the past year has been missing a regular contact with nature. Early morning walkies have provided a recent replacement and time to contemplate nature. I realise this land of the Alder Bourne is not like other parts of Sussex I have known. It has the Oak and Ash as expected but few Birches and no Beeches. Instead it has the Willow and Grey Poplar. The Grey Poplar being a cross of the Aspen and the White Alder. It is one of those Druidic coincidences that these trees are reaching out to me at this cross-roads in life when I am between work and torn between financial and spiritual imperatives. Using Coleen Whittaker's excellent resource here is what it says...

Saille / Willow

The willow is another water loving tree. Willow bark contains Salicin which is used in the treatment of rheumatic fever and various damp diseases. Her catkins, which appear in early spring before her leaves, attract bees to start the cycle of pollination. She indicates cycles, rhythms and the ebb and flux.
Physical: A comfortable relationship to the material world is full of lessons and cycles of changing values. Change is necessary for growth, and values are no exception to the rule.
Mental: To gain understanding of a particular concept, a steady accumulation of facts is the foundation that brings understanding. All cannot be learned in one lesson. Repetition is the key.
Spiritual: This is a period of taking it easy rather than full speed ahead. Learn to play with the cyclical nature of things.

Eadha / Poplar

The Poplar flourishes beside rivers, in marshes and in other watery areas. The pith is star shaped. The upper leaves are green, the underside is silver. The wood was used in the making of shields. Leaves move with every puff of wind. It is commonly referred to as the talking, whispering and quivering tree. The Poplar's ability to resist and to shield, its association with speech, language and the Winds indicates an ability to endure and conquer.
Physical: Whatever challenge you now face, you will endure and conquer with determination. You can bend and not break.
Mental: Shield your thoughts from the fears and doubts about the odds you must overcome. A positive attitude will prevail.
Spiritual: Do not give in to worldly pressures, great assistance is yours on your journey to rebirth.

Koad / Grove

Certain groups or groves of trees have always been revered. Their branches are never pruned or loped. It is assumed these are the remnants of Druidic Groves. These groves contained various types of trees, among them the Oak, and were by a stream. It is here all meetings by the Druids were held 'in the face of the Sun and in the eye of Light". Here grievances were heard and judgements rendered that would settle issues. Grove indicates all knowledge, past, present and future, where all are linked in unity, and the resolution of conflict.
Physical: You may be participating in a resolution of conflict.
Mental: Misunderstandings can be ironed out if all parties will meet, work towards this.
Spiritual: You must try to hold the energy of judgement, of life aligned to the values that are above reproach. By example do we teach others.

The reason to include Koad is that the Grey Poplar forms groves where all the trees are linked by a common root stock. The suckers/scions of the tree root system spread out to propagate it. Pando an Aspen colony, is thought to be one of the largest living organisms. It is amazing to think that this enormous grove could be 10,000 years old and the heaviest organism on the planet, something that is central to Druidry is the power of the trees.

That these three Ogham reach out to me as Brodie and I make our circuit around the fields at this time is interesting. The messages from the Ogham align with the messages I've been giving myself whilst I search for a new job and plan for the future. Another advantage of the regular dog walks in the country is that it has improved both my core & leg strength so my body is more balanced.

All Change

The wheel has been turning and a cycle comes to an end. With the ending of any cycle there is always some sense of loss with tears watering the ground for new growth to appear. So it is with this cycle of change but of all the things coming to an end, the most recognised and awaited often hits the hardest.

Puss-shka

A skinny waif came awaiting a way
into a home, hearth a place to rest a head
an independent spirit, stubborn, her self.

Always hungry with inexpensive tastes
and a super-furry soft expansive stomach
that perfectly vibrated a purry performance.

Occasionally happy to halt upon a lap
when cold, or clammy or ineffably kind
unless she was not and remained her self.

Always around unless elsewhere
exuding Mephistophelean ease
as she reappeared extemporanously.

In later years, introvert and internal
contemplating cautiously the nature of cat
statically she maintained a vortex of suspicion.

Of her names she cared not a whit;
the loving Puss, Pussy or Pushka
the mocking Fatso and Weepoo
or the universal Cat yet
She was Her Self.

Her self is no more, her vortex a hole
the space that is left, leaves little to console.

Beltaine Seed thought - A Gardener's Prayer

A BLESSING ON THE GARDEN

Each day within my garth
They will all be mixed together,
In the name of Ingwine & Gerðr,
Who gave them growth.

Fruit, and veg, and flower,
The good produce of our own earth,
There shall be no dearth in our land,
Nor in our dwelling.

In the name of the Alfar of my love,
Who bequeathed to us the power,
With the blessing of the Land,
And Mother Frige.

Humble us in this garden,
Be thine own sanctuary around us,
Ward from us spectre, sprite, oppression,
And preserve us.

adapted from Carmina Goidelica 78

The Cauldron of Poetry and the Romantic Continuum

From the Venerable Bard to the Wandering Minstrel

What is the difference between the Celtic Bard and the Medieval Minstrel?
I think the difference is that the Celtic Bard seems, like the Fili/Filidh in Ireland, to have had a formal instruction and a formal role in ancient and early medieval societies. Similar to the Norse Skjald and the Anglo-Saxon Scop, whose roles seem & training seem to have been less formal, the Bard maintained the history of the tribe which included spiritual, ancestral and legal knowledge. In this respect they came from a pre-Christian culture & their ability to hold an audience (via their performance) and play an instrument were by-products of their function. They had a high office within the society as keepers of the people's knowledge. The leaders of the people needed to refer to them in many matters and they were often protected by law.
The Minstrel, or Old English Gleeman, from the later medieval Christian Feudal culture was more of a performer and musician. Their function was merely to entertain the audience in an informal way, often whilst referring to the news and issues of the day. Most of the powerful functions of spiritual and ancestral knowledge were now held by the clergy and with the written word there was development of the legal profession. The leaders no longer needed to refer to the Bards but for the folk, now demoted from free men to serfs they provided an essential source of news.
However, as the later medieval Christian Feudal culture took over from the early Medieval Pagan culture it would seem that many of the earlier Bards accepted their loss of social status and became wandering Minstrels. It was probably a gradual decline that took place over several generations.

The intriguing part, I find, is with the Angevin Queen (you could almost say Empress) Eleanor of Aquitaine. She created the model Medieval court and brought in learned people and Minstrels, many of whom seem to come from Brittanny. They (and this is conjecture) may well have been from families that were historically British (Welsh) or even Irish Bards. These Minstrels took the ancient Celtic Myths and forged them into the Arthurian Legends and helped to define the Chivalric code, which has many parallels into Celtic ideas of Good Kingship but within a Christian context. It was at this court, which became a cauldron of culture, that the Celtic world mixed with the love stories from Moorish scholars of the Mediterranean and the Germanic feudal culture of England and France. Here are a series of quotes from sites about this legendary court...

Romanz

" William IX, Duke of Aquitaine one of the first troubadour poets "from here It was defined by the use of the Latin word Romanz as distinct from what was known as ‘real’ literature, which was ironically written in Latin. Romanz with its captivating themes of love, ladies and passion in the courts of Europe it was not long before it became known as romantic literature. Eleanor had grown up at the court of her father William X Duke of Aquitaine, but she was really a chip off the old block of her grandfather (William IX).
"Of all her influence on culture, Eleanor's time in Poitiers between 1168 and 1173 was perhaps the most critical, yet very little is known about it. Henry II was elsewhere, attending to his own affairs after escorting Eleanor there. Some believe that Eleanor’s court in Poitiers was the "Court of Love", where Eleanor and her daughter Marie meshed and encouraged the ideas of troubadours, chivalry, and courtly love into a single court. It may have been largely to teach manners, as the French courts would be known for in later generations. The existence and reasons for this court are debated."

Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Court of Love

"Eleanor’s time as mistress of her own lands in Poitiers (1168-1173) established the legend of the Court of Love, where she is reputed to have encouraged a culture of chivalry among her courtiers that had far-reaching influence on literature, poetry, music and folklore. Although some facts about the court remain in dispute amidst centuries of accumulated legend and myth, it seems that Eleanor, possibly accompanied by her daughter Marie, established a court that was largely focused on courtly love and symbolic ritual that was eagerly taken up by the troubadours and writers of the day and promulgated through poetry and song. This court was reported to have attracted artists and poets, and to have contributed to a flowering of culture and the arts. But to whatever extent such a court existed, it appears not to have survived Eleanor’s later capture and imprisonment, which effectively removed her from any position of power and influence for the next 16 years."

Troubadours

Troubadours: "They flourished between 1100 and 1350 and were attached to various courts in the south of France. The troubadours wrote almost entirely about sexual love and developed the concept and practice of courtly love There was no tradition of passionate love literature in the European middle ages before the twelfth century, although there was such a tradition in Arabic-speaking Spain and Sicily. This Arab love poetry was readily accessible to Europeans living in Italy and Spain and was a major source of the Troubadour-developed cult of courtly love.
Troubadour love poetry, although conceptually adulterous, inspired the man (and perhaps the woman) and ennobled the lover's character. Eleanor set up a court controlled by women which aimed at "civilizing" the rather rough society of the area. Many gifted poets and scholars came to her court at Poitiers. A unique situation where wealthy powerful women were able to create their own environment. The doctrine of Courtly Love was designed to teach courtiers how to be lovely, charming and delightful. Its basic premise was that being in love would teach you how to be loveable and pleasing; so love taught courtesy."

The Romantic Continuum

What we see in Eleanor is a medieval Queen who set up a court and created the rules to empower women in what had previously been a purely patriarchal society. As her various sons, including Richard the Lionheart and King John, grew to age the society reverted back to its patriarchal ways but the shining light of her legendary court lived on in the Romantic stories of the day. These continued to inspire subsequent stories, kept alive in the hearts of the people by the wandering minstrels and troubadours until the printing press could disseminate them more widely.
What we see in the bards and troubadours is that, like the folk they represented, their position in society may have declined with feudalism but the themes of love, justice, honour and virtue still resonated with aspirational yet human characters searching for an idealized future. As the role of the folk in society rose during the Renaissance, Enlightenment and into the Modern world each age generated and continues to generate it's own Bards and Troubadours who learn from and re-visit those continuous themes.

I viewed Prince as a modern day romantic and troubadour R.I.P.

The role of a Gothi / Gythja

This was prompted as a follow on to the post on Lordship and from the discussions on the role of Heathen Guru's or Priests - The Gothi .
"The Gothi leads the ceremonies. That is fairly vague. Also stated was that the Gothi was a respected member of the group. Again, vague, but telling more. If you want to be a Gothi, you will have to be respected by an Asatru group and know enough to lead ceremonies." from here.
So from a Gewessi point of view think about the personal growth part of this; to be a Gothi to yourself you need to respect, love and understand yourself. You need to understand ritual, sacrifice and be knowledgeable on the lore of your land.   As Woden did upon Yggdrasil...
I trow I hung on that windy Tree
nine whole days and nights,
stabbed with a spear, offered to Odin,
myself to mine own self given,
high on that Tree of which none hath heard
from what roots it rises to heaven.
You will need to learn about all of the seasonal blóts and symbels, as well as days dedicated to the Gods and Goddesses and ancient heroes to honour. There may also be ceremonies particular to your group (even a solitary like me has links to groups or tribes) if you are a member of one, such as its founding or the birthday of its founder, and you will need to know those. For a solitary it's important to know and develop your own, these are mine:

1. Ritual Year - the 8 fold cycle from modern paganism and particularly Druidry
2. Full Moon Meditation - Druidry meditation on peace and healing to the worlds
3. Festum Prophetae - 17th June road ride to honour Eddy Merckx and road cycling
4. Virum Honorem - 24th August MTB ride to honour Jason McRoy
5. Life Events - these are ad-hoc

Rituals should involve either a Blót or a Symbel. Here is a prayer
When ale thou quaffest, call upon earth's might --
'tis earth drinks in the floods.
Earth prevails o'er drink, but fire o'er sickness,
the oak o'er binding, the earcorn o'er witchcraft,
the rye spur o'er rupture, the moon o'er rages,
herb o'er cattle plagues, runes o'er harm.

A Gewessi must decide when & know when to hold them and the difference between a Symbel or ritual feast where you need to give a toast, a boast & a promise, and a blót or sacrifice (ritual times of year & ad-hoc) - the text here is a Blót description:
To this festival all the men brought ale with them; and all kinds of cattle, as well as horses, were slaughtered, and all the blood that came from them was called "hlaut", and the vessels in which it was collected were called hlaut-vessels. Hlaut-staves were made, like sprinkling brushes, with which the whole of the altars and the temple walls, both outside and inside, were sprinkled over, and also the people were sprinkled with the blood; but the flesh was boiled into savoury meat for those present. The fire was in the middle of the floor of the temple, and over it hung the kettles,
which then moves onto a Symbel description...
and the full goblets were handed across the fire; and he who made the feast, and was a chief, blessed the full goblets, and all the meat of the sacrifice. And first Odin's goblet was emptied for victory and power to his king; thereafter, Niord's and Freyja's goblets for peace and a good season. Then it was the custom of many to empty the brage-goblet (Brage is a poem often to the departed); and then the guests emptied a goblet to the memory of departed friends, called the remembrance goblet.
This is a historical account, in our modern world I do not think that re-construction is appropriate with its unlicensed butchery and spraying blood everywhere! In our modern age alcohol such as beer, wine or vodka could be used or smudging with incense smoke. Most of all the sense you get from the lore is that this is not a puritanical, staid and boring experience but one of joy, laughter and good-natured flyting which in the modern world we call banter.

To sum up being your own Gothi or Gythja

you need knowledge of ritual and when to perform it, experience of working with your Gods and finally, but most importantly, the personal growth to have confidence and respect in yourself as your Gothi/Gythja.

Eostre seed thought - new beginnings

As I have documented over the past few years I rode upto Wolstonbury hill to re-dedicate myself to the Gewessi path. Since I've been writing this blog it is interesting to note the different weather & how I am feeling at this time. So this year, after 6 months of repeated virus illness and minimal riding, I cycled up on a pleasant sunny, spring day. My lungs no longer felt glued by infection and the wracking cough has subsided, I almost felt like a rider again.

The circle of thorns is lifted

and the reason for the illness became clear, it was holding me in place until this time. The runes told me some years ago to hold fast in my job, I have been doggedly stuck there for many a year. Now the kids have grown, almost flown the nest and I am free of day to day fatherly duties. The runes told me before I went into the redundancy meeting that my desire is granted - it's time to leave my workplace of the past 19 years with the golden handcuffs unshackled and placed in my hands.

It is time to move onto the Druid grade within OBOD's teaching structure, change my job and look to the future. The runes gave me a caution in Isa for the future about moving cautiously but there is wealth also
(Ice) is very cold
and exceedingly slippery
it glistens, clear as glass
very much like gems,
a floor made of frost
is fair to see.
— Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem
I look forward to my adventure ahead and had a Blot for fair weather and good health.

The Role of an Anglo-Saxon Lord

A long time ago, at the request of Beith a noted scholar prevalent on the OBOD Forum I wrote a long essay on this & lost it when my PC crashed (she left due to the badgering of less-than-scholarly people convinced, due to the Dunning Kruger effect, their unstructured opinions were correct). It has taken me many years to write it again.

Heoric Lordship

The key nature of Lordship in the Anglo-Saxon world is in the relationships and incumbent duties around gift giving. It is not a world where the divine right of Kings, with its underlying social caste structure, is a given. This 'divine right of kings' develops later as part of the ossification of structure in the Feudal world. In the Feudal world kingship become hereditary rather than the meritocracy of the Heroic Age (aka Age of Migrations, Dark Ages, Early Medieval period).

The Heroic Age is a world where a lord is reliant upon his people just as his people are reliant upon him. A good lord is much more aware of the symbiosis and potential fragility of this relationship. A lord is either given power by the Witan (wise leaders of the people) or takes power through his own abilities as a warrior and leader. As a lord he gains wealth which is then distributed as gifts. This ties into the act of giving as an oath, which is related to the rune Gebo, the X, which is the handshake of the act of giving between gift-giver and gift-receiver. The act of giving is a sacred one involving responsibility and duties. Thus both the acts of giving & receiving is an oath. Which ties into the religious and cultural significance of the oath and sacrifice. In an oral world one's spoken word becomes very important your 'word is your bond' and it is these ties of bond-ship that uphold the cultural structure of the heroic world. So when a lord is described as 'ring-giver' there is more than just the transferral of wealth involved.

The only thing more sacred than your word would be an oath-ring carved with runes and given to the gods - many oath rings have been found sacrificed at archaeological digs at Heargs & Hofs. The oath ring is sacred to Thunor (Thor) and Wuldor (Ullr), so the ring is related to divine power. So that when a Lord is named ring-giver it also relates to the Oath as Law and the Lord's role as Law enforcer. "Many times this object was the oath ring and this oath ring was a holy item in the hof. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle gives an example of the oath ring being used by the Danes in 876 and there is an account of a ring called Thor's ring on which oaths were sworn. Thor presided over the Assembly, which opened on Thursday (Thor's Day) in Iceland. In Eyrbyggja Saga the oath ring was described as being 20 ounces of silver. When not in use it lay on the stalli and during feasts the gothi wore it on his arm. In the description of Thórólf's hof in Iceland, the ring is described as being 2 ounces and was worn on the finger of the gothi during all assemblies. Like the description in Eyrbyggja Saga, this ring laid on the stalli of the hof when not in use. "

A lord uses the gift of wealth as a contract, he does not give lightly and expects loyalty from the gift receiver. The Battle of Maldon poet says this when describing Godric's cowardly betrayal of his duties as gift-receiver
"and left his good lord
Who had often given him many a mare,
He sprang upon the horse that his lord had owned,
Upon the trappings where no right had he"
The poet contrasts the act of the good lord giving a horse with the crime of stealing a horse. Upon seeing the Lord's horse leave the field of battle it causes the shield-wall to break because the people believe their Lord had broken. The shame of betraying your oath, your Lord and your kin will long be remembered. You will not go to the Halls of the Honoured dead but will instead end up in the grey purgatory of Hel or worse; back to the mud un-remembered and un-mourned.

The Germanic peoples, like the Celtic people, had a long history of tribal law handed down as part of an oral tradition. The Lord holds the Hall, the hearth of his people. This hall is the central point within the Garth, the boundary, of the people. In this respect the Lord has to be aware that he holds the spiritual & physical power of his people, if he breaks or betrays this then his people will break and the line of tradition is broken. As King he is also Gothi to his people and so responsible for their spiritual well being too. So if the Gods don't favour him then his people will break oath with him. If his people break oath with him then he breaks and his lineage can be broken.

Conflicts of interest

A good Lord is also aware of the conflict of interest a person may have between their Lord and their Kin, he will use his generosity as a gold giver and law giver to ensure loyalty to him. A Lord does not inherit his position it is given to him by the people (or for a King the lesser Lord or Thegns of the people). The bond between a lord and his housecarls is one of blood-brotherhood, in that respect the Lord's companions are also bound by the kin-oaths. Whilst a Lord's thanes may not have the kin-oaths, his housecarls should live and die with him...
'Soon in the struggle was Offa struck down
Yet had he done what he boasted to his friend
As he bragged before to his ring-giver:-
That they both to the burg should ride
Hale to their home, or in the battle fall,'
This sentiment is common throughout the A-S literature; in 'Beowulf' at the end Wiglaf articulates the same sentiment and it's a theme within 'The Wanderer' too.

There is a common theme of holding your counsel until you know your mind and not being a loud braggart; 'That with proud minds many did then speak
Who later at need would not endure.'
Which in our modern world we would call 'talking the talk but not walking the walk'. So a good Lord must know when to listen and when to talk wise counsel. This passage from 'The Wanderer' sums up the approach of a good lord...
'A wise Lord must be patient
nor too impulsive, hasty of speech,
nor weak as a warrior
nor reckless,
nor pessimistic
or overly optimistic
nor greedy
or eager for boasts.'

Gewessi Mindfulness

What does this mean to a follower of the Gewessi path? I would say that just as a Gewessi is a Gothi/Gythi it is incumbent upon you to behave a like a Lord (or Lady and I'm not going to get into a Transgender argument about terminology!). So that in your daily mindfulness of interacting with people think of the relationship between gift-giver and receiver and the advice above about how a wise Lord behaves. I find the advice above very useful when dealing with social media.
Picture from here
ref: Heroic Age
Wanderer

Einigen Gawr - Some Giant

This a mash-up of various times I've come across Einigen Gawr, one a story written by a Tom Byrne and I can't find it via google. I can't find much on Einigen, so it seems his story is consigned to the hidden recesses of the internet. This is because Iolo Morganwg and his Barddas is regarded by many as a fraud. His is not authentic, provable Medieval knowledge but he suggested it was. The question of quality is not considered, particularly in this digital binary age when the Twitterati and Face-achers leap upon liminal knowledge with a howl of faux-outrage and vent their spleen from the safety of their mobile profile.

However, I suggest it is time to reconsider Iolo's place in the Druidic continuum as his was one of the spark's that ignited the Romantic movement to explore the Celtic Twilight which led to the Meso-druidic movement and then onto today's modern Druidic paths. Many of those interested in the Druidic path have not heard of Einigen Gawr, einigen in German means 'some', gawr in Welsh means giant. Which is about right, Einigen Gawr is some giant that in Iolo's Barddas is the primary giant, perhaps a little like Ymir to the Norse. There is a quality that continues in the symbol of Druidry the /|\ . So here are three views on the Druidic primal giant of wisdom.

THE GOGYRVENS

This is taken from Iolo's Barddas

1. The three principal elements 2 of every thing: power; matter; and mode.
2. The three principal elements of sciences: life; intellect; and affection.
3. The three elements of wisdom: object; mode; and benefit.
4. The three elements of memorials: understanding from affection; distinctive sign; and reverence for the better.
5. The three elements of letters, ; that is to say, from a combination of one or other of the three are letters made.

They are three rays of light. Einigan the Giant beheld three pillars of light, having in them all demonstrable sciences that ever were, or ever will be. And he took three rods of the quicken tree, and placed on them the forms and signs of all sciences, so as to be remembered; and exhibited them. But those who saw them misunderstood, and falsely apprehended them, and taught illusive sciences, regarding the rods as a God, whereas they only bore His Name. When Einigan saw this, he was greatly annoyed, and in the intensity of his grief he broke the three rods, nor were others found that contained accurate sciences. He was so distressed on that account that from the intensity he burst asunder, and with his [parting] breath he prayed God that there should be accurate sciences among men in the flesh, and there should be a correct understanding for the proper discernment thereof. And at the end of a year and a day, after the decease of Einigan, Menw, son of the Three Shouts, beheld three rods growing out of the mouth of Einigan.

AODA - John Michael Greer

The eminent Druid John Michael Greer refers to him in his book "The Celtic Golden Dawn" and paraphrases Iolo as follows.

In the beginning of things Einigen Gawr, the first of all created beings, beheld three rays of light descending from the heavens in which were the all the knowledge there ever was and ever will be. These were three voices and the three letters of one name, the Name of the Infinite One:

• A, Knowledge, the sign of Gwion, the Bounty of Nature
• W, Power, the sign of Cerridwen, the Cauldron of Annwn
• N, Peace, the sign of Taliesin, the Child of Light

GewessiMan says If Gwion, Cerridwen and Taliein don't call to you then Beli, Arianrhod and Lleu may or for us Gewessi we could look at Ingvi-Freyr, Frig and Balder.

Another view

Excerpts from a long story by a Tom Byrne, internet denizen that I can no longer find..."You may have come across the story of Einigan Gawr, the legendary discoverer of the Coelbren. Here is my amplification of the tale:EINIGAN GAWR To meet with their instructors of the soul, The pious pack together in their choir and worshipped an idol.
And does the wind's swift passage have one goal?
And is one briny mass the sea entire?
And is one spark the fierce unbounded fire?
- from the Spoils of Annwn. In unwritten time, Which compressed itself in the memory, not a chronicle, When a word had life for as long as air would resound with it...

But the Hot Years came. And the sun and rain did not shine and fall as they had before, But the sun shone on and excluded all of the cooling rain, And the barley was burned in the ground and the apples on trees. The withered flow thrashed, and writhed ineffectively over scorched stones. And the deaths began. First the lambs and calves on the parched hillsides when the grass was browned, Then the old and young, when their weakened frames could not fight disease. The adherents all stood at their idol and called on his name, But Einigan Gawr dug graves for his wife and his child.

Then he found a cave and the burning sun made him seek the cool, dark interior. And within the cave were a brackish pool and a bed of moss. So the water and mosses, he mixed them together and drank, And when the sun set, he sat at the mouth of his cave and he called:
"What did we do wrong?
At the cave's mouth, Einigan Gawr saw clouds calm the sun's raw ire. For a long time, Einigan Gawr gazed skyward and did not squint. Then the cloud broke apart in three places and sunbeams streamed out.A triad of light, one left and one right and one streaking straight down.

And the air was still, But he heard a voice, and it called him: "Einigan Gawr, your wail Cut a corridor from your mouth through brain, through your heart to soul, And your body became a huge horn for that note of pure grief. Your case has been made. Your anguish is answered, so listen to me: See your vale below. All the life down there is down there to change, to be born and die, And if some die soon, and if some die late, that is as it is...

Then you must reach out in the boiling broth and collect yourself. You must find the "I". Then your thoughts and words and your deeds will flow from one source, which is solid and sturdy, to stand the fierce tides. Integrity then, I name as the second support for your leap. But of course your life will be brushed by storms and by eddied force that you can't control, and from time to time you'll be prised away from the cauldron's rim. When you know this, at once you must turn and kick out for the brim; You must persevere, till courage and honour shall strengthen your grip.
There are three supports: They are Perseverance, Integrity and Courageousness.
They are all required for your salmon-leap from the cauldron broth.

Imbolc Seed thought - Quality over Quantity

Do what you can with what you have...

The recent deaths of many iconic people; Motorhead's Lemmy, David Bowie, Glenn Frey and Alan Rickman has brought focus, for me, not on their deaths but how they lived their lives. This quote from Glenn Frey's obituary could (I think) be applied to any of them they all had "a work ethic that wouldn’t quit. He was funny, bullheaded, mercurial, generous, deeply talented and driven."

All of them were true stars in a world of celebrity. Bowie, as ever ahead of the game, seemed to recognise this in the way he retreated from public life as celebrity culture rose to prominence. He learnt to toy with the digital age by recording 'The Next Day' in complete secret at a time when Tarantino's script was released into the social media 'digiverse'. He then goes onto completely stage manage his own death as art and neatly side-steps the mawkishness of a funeral turned into a digital-media feeding frenzy by having a quick, unattended cremation without friends and family in attendance. His last image then become his climbing, miming reverse into the cupboard at the end of Lazarus. A perfectly scripted, from this pagan's perspective, passing with a respectful control over his death in comparison to Outside's dystopian view of 'death as art'#. His is a positive message about managing to die with dignity.

Similarly Lemmy never compromised, unless you count moving to vodka & orange from JD & Coke, and was the ultimate rock & roll star to the end. Although his funeral had the full digital coverage it avoided the fake sentimentality by sticking to it's core rock'n'roll, coke'n'hookers, live fast and fuck the consequences ethos.

They all lived quality lives & rather than fading through dementia into nursing home twilight were still doing what they loved until the end. So if there's a particular seed thought for this Imbolc it's around Quality over Quantity; living a life that is driven creatively and allows you to honour your principles yet generously gives back to society.

# For 'Hello Spaceboy' Bowie played just after Oasis, Oasis had recently been slagging Bowie off as past it and not rock'n'roll; with that performance he slayed them, particularly as their performance was lacklustre

Imbolc Waka

Oestre rises earlier,
Noticeably higher,
Songbirds trill a merrier
Tune. Lighter heels, brighter
Hills. All aspects jauntier.

The Laughing Gnome and me

Due to my older sisters I became a fan of David Bowie very young. I remember being wowed by seeing & hearing Space Oddity on Top of the Pops, it must have been the 1975 re-release I guess as I would have been far too young at the age of just over 3 for the original release. Before then, as a child I mostly remember hearing the Laughing Gnome which I loved for it's humour. This is the sort of Gnome that I think of in the lyrics...

From here
Which led me to the Gillie Dubh of Scotland and the Hyter/Hikey Sprites of Norfolk

So from that early beginning David Bowie has produced the soundtrack of my life, and in my opinion, heavily influenced our modern western liberal society. The first time I heard gay people being mentioned was in the lyrics of 'Five Years' on Ziggy Stardust, he made it acceptable to be weird, queer and geeky to a whole generation growing up in the 1970's. I missed out on seeing him during the Serious Moonlight tour because, as I was 15 and work was hard to find in my village at 15, I couldn't afford the ticket. That summer was spent sailing and listening to "Let's Dance" in my future brother in law's car. At college a few years later I lost my virginity to the sounds of 'Stay' from Station to Station. The album 'Low' was the soundscape for failed relationships, angst and depression. When I finally managed to see the maestro in Cardiff on the 'Glass Spider Tour' it was brilliant - it may not have been his best or the critics favourite but it was so special to me. Then my rave years of madness where 'Outside' re-ignited my love and belief in him as a musician. From then 'Heathen' seemed to reflect my move into paganism with those themes echoed in the 'Next Day' and now 'Blackstar' prepares me to move into the latter period of my life; the sage years.

Within meditation my own little laughing gnome, a Pine Marten called 'Fougou', has appeared. He reminds me that life doesn't have to be all serious and grim and is better dealt with lightly with a laugh.

Farewell David Jones, Ziggy Stardust, The Thin White Duke, David Bowie and Thank You