This is my second monthly recommendation post, where I share different media and events that I come across during that month that I think might be of interest to other Gaelic Polytheists. There is a lot for the month of May, so I hope that you all enjoy.
The ladies over at Story Archaeology podcast released their third installment on the series called Circling the Táin, this installment being called The Birth Pains of Ulster. Before giving this episode a listen, you might want to listen to the first two episodes, 1. The Quarrel of the Two Swineherds {or Where it All Began and 2. Portents and Prophecies. I am a fan of both the blog and the podcast, and highly recommend it for all GPs or anyone into Irish myth.
There are two nifty web resources that I came across for the first time this month that deal with the history of Ireland. First up is a Irish Historic Towns Atlas, that features towns that are monastic in origin, Viking in origin, and quite a few others. The second website is geared towards tourism, but has a good amount of history and lore on it as well. Ireland's Ancient East is a pretty good looking website.
While an older article, Irish Central recently republished an article about North America's only official Gaeltacht {Irish-speaking community}, which I am more than happy to boast is just outside of the city where I currently live. Speaking of which, there is an annual event held there every summer that celebrates Irish language and culture. If you happen to be in the Kingston, Ontario area at the end of June, you should come check it out!
The Oireachtas Gaeilge Cheanada is a three day festival hosted by Cumann na Gaeltachta and Oireachtas na Gaeilge, held from June 23rd to 25th. You can find out more at the event website and purchase tickets over at this site.
There are two books that I have recently added to my wishlist, and although they are not really new releases, they are new to me. Food and Drink in Ireland is a "multi-disciplinary collection of fourteen essays explores the collection, cultivation, consumption and culture of food and drink in Ireland from the beginnings of settlement in the Mesolithic to the present". By the looks of it, this book is probably similar to Domestic Life in Ireland, which is a fantastic resource and read.
The second book is Seanchaidh na Coille / The Memory-Keeper of the Forest, which is a collection of Gàidhlig/Scots Gaelic literature from across Canada. It is described as, "A unique resource, it covers a wide range of territory and time, allowing Gaels to express their own opinions about a broad set of themes: migration, politics, religion, family life, identity, social organizations and more." I can't wait to get this one as well.
Someone from an online GP group that I am a member of found a book that is now available online for free; Celtic Heritage: Ancient Tradition in Ireland and Wales is one of those books that tends to be on all of the recommended reading lists posted by Celtic Reconstructionists. It can be found on Archive.org.
In the same group, someone else shared this video about Saint Brigid's Cursing Stone {you may need to go to the host site to watch the video}:
Harold Johnson and the Cursing Stones from Howard Goldbaum on Vimeo.
There were quite a few other good videos that I came across this month!
Tomás Ó hAodha does a quick intro to mythology of the Tuatha Dé Danann:
The ladies over at Story Archaeology podcast released their third installment on the series called Circling the Táin, this installment being called The Birth Pains of Ulster. Before giving this episode a listen, you might want to listen to the first two episodes, 1. The Quarrel of the Two Swineherds {or Where it All Began and 2. Portents and Prophecies. I am a fan of both the blog and the podcast, and highly recommend it for all GPs or anyone into Irish myth.
There are two nifty web resources that I came across for the first time this month that deal with the history of Ireland. First up is a Irish Historic Towns Atlas, that features towns that are monastic in origin, Viking in origin, and quite a few others. The second website is geared towards tourism, but has a good amount of history and lore on it as well. Ireland's Ancient East is a pretty good looking website.
While an older article, Irish Central recently republished an article about North America's only official Gaeltacht {Irish-speaking community}, which I am more than happy to boast is just outside of the city where I currently live. Speaking of which, there is an annual event held there every summer that celebrates Irish language and culture. If you happen to be in the Kingston, Ontario area at the end of June, you should come check it out!
The Oireachtas Gaeilge Cheanada is a three day festival hosted by Cumann na Gaeltachta and Oireachtas na Gaeilge, held from June 23rd to 25th. You can find out more at the event website and purchase tickets over at this site.
There are two books that I have recently added to my wishlist, and although they are not really new releases, they are new to me. Food and Drink in Ireland is a "multi-disciplinary collection of fourteen essays explores the collection, cultivation, consumption and culture of food and drink in Ireland from the beginnings of settlement in the Mesolithic to the present". By the looks of it, this book is probably similar to Domestic Life in Ireland, which is a fantastic resource and read.
The second book is Seanchaidh na Coille / The Memory-Keeper of the Forest, which is a collection of Gàidhlig/Scots Gaelic literature from across Canada. It is described as, "A unique resource, it covers a wide range of territory and time, allowing Gaels to express their own opinions about a broad set of themes: migration, politics, religion, family life, identity, social organizations and more." I can't wait to get this one as well.
Someone from an online GP group that I am a member of found a book that is now available online for free; Celtic Heritage: Ancient Tradition in Ireland and Wales is one of those books that tends to be on all of the recommended reading lists posted by Celtic Reconstructionists. It can be found on Archive.org.
In the same group, someone else shared this video about Saint Brigid's Cursing Stone {you may need to go to the host site to watch the video}:
Harold Johnson and the Cursing Stones from Howard Goldbaum on Vimeo.
There were quite a few other good videos that I came across this month!
Tomás Ó hAodha does a quick intro to mythology of the Tuatha Dé Danann:
Tale Foundry does another quick intro, this time on all six groups of invaders found in Irish myth:
And to round off the Irish mythology theme, here is a short animated film by Damian Byrne called Cú Chulainns Lament:
I came across a Kate Masters lecture called Megaliths of Orkney and Shetland that is definitely worth spending an hour to watch:
Lastly, Kelden is starting a video series on Scottish witchcraft, and in the first episode the Scottish witch trials are explored:
May was a great month around the blogosphere too! Unsurprisingly, Bealtaine was a topic that came up a few times, including in posts such as May Day & Butter Stealing Witches on The Fading Year, The Folklore of May-Day/Bealtaine on Ireland's Folklore and Traditions, and Bealtaine, Water and Sun-Enchanted Dew on The Ever-Living Ones.
Over at the Primal Heart blog, the author explores devotional practice with An Dagda in a two part series: Devotional Practice with The Dagda and Learning: Devotional Practice with The Dagda.
On Living Liminally there is a great post The Influence of Folk Etymologies, Allec on Child of the Storm shares a lovely Prayer for Protection of the Land, Cailleach's Herbarium shares a yummy floral jam recipe in Preserving the May, Roaringwater Journal shares a lovely spring-time walk in We Welcome the Hope That They Bring, and Occvlta shares a good how-to in How to Burn Incense.
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Laurel
thank you for all these sources, Laurel! Don't always get around to all of them (Cailleach's Herbarium, et al.) or don't know of them, so it helps to have the links. More people here are starting to advertise themselves as "land healers" or clearers, and they may be pagan, but I do wonder if they are really animistic/appreciative of land sovereignty, or if this is just one more way to make money from what one calls one's "spiritual practice" (a true land healer would be doing it even when money isn't involved, IMHO)
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