Tlachtga/Hill of Ward

On the first day the group for the Wolves, Witches and Warbands Irish pilgrimage met up, we made a visit to Tlachtga/Hill of Ward, a ring fort and sacred site in Co. Meath. The weather was very cold, wet and grey, very reminiscent of a late fall day, instead of being on the cusp of Bealtaine, or how I pictured it would be at least in Ireland. Which I suppose was suitable, as there are some at least who think that Tlachtga is the birthplace of Samhain bonfires.

Before doing the group ritual, we all had a chance to explore the site a bit, after getting a little introduction by the lovely Gemma McGowan. The story of Tlachtga had a real impact on me, to the point of tears, but it was to the far corner of the field that the site is on that I first felt called to.

While others are priests of deities or the go-betweens on behalf of the Othercrowd, I was the dipshit on the fringe of sites chatting with trees and plants, and listening to what the birds had to say. This ended up being a personal theme for me at each site I was able to visit, giving me the opportunity to connect with various different spirits and beings of those places. At this particular spot it was the humble stinging nettle that had the most to teach me. 

Only until pretty recently Tlachtga has been often overlooked as far as importance goes, but it is growing in popularity. There has been Samhain festivities held there, and a couple years back there was an archaeological dig. 

Some links of interest:

Tlachtga-Hill of Ward {Knowth.com}

Tlachtga: Celtic Fire Festival by John Gilroy {some parts of the book on New Grange.com}

Excavations at Tlachtga {Facebook page}

The Hill of Ward: A Samhain Site in Co. Meath {JSTOR}

A really beautiful spot. <3

Pilgrimage Processing {Shrine Edition}

I still have a whole lot of processing to do from my time in Ireland. Got the feeling that I will be doing that for some time. I do intend to share bits of that, and figured that I might as well start at the beginning. One of the first things I did after getting unpacked was putting together all the treasures that I got while over there, either found or given to me.

Certain items are devotional pieces dedicated to specific deities, so those sit on their parts of the household deity shrine. Other items I thought would be good to put on the general Gaelic deity shrine, which I have found helpful as a visual focus while doing meditation, work or making offerings while going through this processing.

Some folks find making visioning boards helpful for when planning and dreaming, think of what I am at here as something similar, but after the fact. I suppose in a way it could be for planning and dreaming too though, as I have every intention of going back.

The shrine is now a little bit more spread out compared to what originally was. Thankfully I had some wall space still :) 

Time Flies When in the Otherworld

Bluebells and ferns on the Bog Trail in Knockvicar Ireland, May 2019.

I can't believe that it is June already! It definitely does not feel like a month ago that I was in the midst of such an amazing experience in Ireland. My time there was even more fleeting than since I have been back. Just like when in the Otherworld, time went by in a blink. But, to be fair, we were quite on an Otherworldly journey, those of us on that pilgrimage.

This had been my first time in Ireland, one of which I hope to be of many. It feels much thinner there than where I reside, more so than anywhere I have ever been I think. Although, I suppose the time of year and the company and purpose of being there all had something to do with that as well. Hard to say.

When asked about my time there, it has been difficult to describe most of it, as I still have so much processing to do. There were countless amazing and very weird experiences that happened, and to recount all of them, I really wouldn't know where to begin at this point.

I've said it more than once on here, but I have felt much more private over the last while about my spiritual practice. Although I think that sharing my impressions and how I remember certain things will perhaps help me process what happened to me there. I will say this much, I am sure forever changed. I know that sounds cliché, but at this point, that is the best way I can describe it.

I met really wonderful folks who shared this pilgrimage journey with me, and I also had quite a bit of time to myself. There were so many sacred places visited, of which I will share a bit about each one in individual posts, as well as other topics as they come to me.

Almost certainly there will be changes, at the very least finetuning to my spiritual practice. As well as a project that I feel called to do, once I finally figure out what that is to look like.

Fair to say that Ireland is one fucking strange and beautiful place.

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Some links of note related to folks who helped make this pilgrimage amazing <3

Wolves, Witches and Warbands {the actual pilgrimage}

Land Sea Sky Travel

Coru Cathubodua Priesthood

Lora O'Brien 

Jon O'Sullivan

Gemma McGowan