THE CELTIC CONNECTION » MARCH 1997
Page 11
Song of Otherworld Heard in the Balance of Spring
By CYNTHIA WALLENTINE
Marking the dawn of the Celtic pastoral year, the vernal equinox celebrates the Otherworld in the moment of balance which occurs as the sun crosses the celestial equator — this year at 5:56 AM on March 20.
For the Celts, the solstice and equinox observations may have enjoyed less celebrity than the festivals of Samhain, Imbolc, Beltine and Lughnasadh. However, the semi-annual equinox was carefully noted, as it also brought increased visitation from the Otherworld.
On the equinox, when day and night are momentarily equal, the busy activity which keeps the human and Otherworld separate momentarily subsides.
In that time of suspended activity, the conduit between the worlds yawns, the "veil becomes thin." As the contents of both worlds mingle, the resulting tumult offers an opportunity for a renewed relationship with the unseen.
An open mind is required for transacting with the Otherworld. As Yeats writes "If he is sceptical about them, and would fain reduce them one after another to the rules of probability, this sort of crude philosophy will take up all his time."
Keep in mind that such meetings occur in a fleeting instant — longer dalliances in the world of mythos can lead to madness. It must be noted though, that those singular moments of insight can last a lifetime.
Whether one believes such encounters are an external journey or an internal experience, they can be considered similarly. In both instances the contents and symbols of the Otherworld are approaching the individual from without or within.
The equinox is just such a time when an association between worlds can be broached. By engaging in a simple ritual, perhaps a few minutes of silence, the frenetic conversations of everyday life recede, consciousness is reduced and the underlying song of the Otherworld has an opportunity to be heard.
The symbols which cluster around the Celtic observances of the vernal equinox and St. Patrick's Day are particularly evocative in creating associations which are as useful to us as they were for our ancestors. Through symbols like the leprechaun and the magic shillelagh, one can visit the fairy kingdom of the Tuatha De Dannan.
Wise and giving, they offer their myths and enduring company. The snake and the shamrock give evidence of the presence of the Goddess, wrapped in her verdant cloak of Spring.
The four-leaf clover reminds us of the later solar worshipping invaders of Ireland, just as the leprechaun's pot of gold recalls the educated, priestly class of Druids, who controlled the gold trade routes connecting Erin to continental Europe.
T. L. Markey writes "In the so-called primitive stage of many societies, webs of associations, highly symbolic in nature, are frequently woven between periods of the day, cardinal points, seasons, colours and social-spiritual values."
The "primitive" dialect of symbols which was created by our ancestors still exists in our unconscious minds. These symbols
are composed of both personal and universal matter, and it is our association with those symbols which allows us to hear the language of our soul. Tending to those associations tends to the soul and renews the ligature that binds mortal to mythos. This year as you celebrate St. Patrick's Day or the equinox, take a moment to enjoy the multi-layered experience of our ancestors.
A Celestial Visitor Not to be Missed
Observers of the vernal equinox have an extra treat in store as comet Hale-Bopp revisits the earth after an absence of 3,000 years. Currently visible in the early morning sky, the comet should reach its closet point to earth on March 23. For more information on our celestial visitor, point your web browser to http://newproducts.jpl. nasa.gov/comet/index. html.
Surprising Irish and Scottish Connections
By STEPHEN KILMARTIN
Ancient Ireland was divided up into five provinces comprised of Ulster, Munster, Connaught, Leinster and Midhe.
The Ulster Cycle is a collection of stories which are grounded in the five fifths. Indeed, they are primarily concerned with Cuchul-lainn, the Ulster hero, and his king Conor MacNessa in their wars against the king and queen of Connaught, Ailill and Maeve.
These figures play a prominent role in the what may be the greatest story of The Ulster Cycle, The Tain: The Cattle Raid ofCooley.
Some time after 300 AD, Ulster became steadily less important among the five, and the ruling family of Midhe, the O'Neill's, (Sons of Niall) started to take over large parts of Connaught and most of Ulster.
A similar move was made in Munster by the Eoganachta family. Thus was Ireland divided almost entirely into two halves. The people of Ulster were pushed
to a small coastal strip bordering the Irish Sea. The kingdom changed its name to Dal Riada. Eventually, Dal Riada fell under the rule and influence of the O'Neill's. This family, not content with the boundary presented by the sea, launched colonies across the Irish Sea into then Pictish Britain.
Thus was Scotland founded. It was these O'Neill's that the Romans called Scotti, not the original Picts. Indeed, it was this Irish expansion which led to Christianity in Scotland in 563 AD.
St. Columba, who established his abbey on the island of Iona in the inner Hebridies, was a member of a powerful family in Dal Riada and in order to keep his ties in Ireland he settled on Iona, an island that was close to both Scotland and Ireland.
Even more intriguing, is the fact that St. Patrick, the man responsible for bringing Christianity to Ireland in the first place, was from Wales.
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