Post by Senbecc on Sept 15, 2006 8:37:57 GMT -5
This was a post I made as per a request from a friend on the Banned of pagans (Myspace) board, I thought this group might enjoy it as well.
"It was in ships that the Tuatha Dé Danann came. They came from the north (probably Greece being the descendants of Nemedh) and the clouds and mists that concealed them and cast darkness over the sun for three days made it easy for them to land in Ireland on La Baal Tinna, the first day of May, unseen and unoposed by the the Fir Bolg. From where they came and fought their struggle for poetry, truth, and perfect wisdom were four great cities, Falias, Gorias, Finias, and rich Murias. It was in these cities that four wise poets and teachers taught the Tuatha Dé Danann their magical skill and occult knowledge. And from these four cities they brought their four greatest treasures. From Falias they brought the Stone of Fál, the Lia Fáil. The stone of virtue and destiny, which cried out when touched by the rightful king. From Gorias the brought the Spear of Victory, and no battle could be won against it. From Finias the brought the Sword of Truth, and those who deserved it's stroke none ever recovered. And from Murias they brought the Cauldron of the Dagdha, the Cauldron of plenty, from which no company ever went away unsatisfied."
-Battle of Moytura
To me the traditional histories of Ireland are a melding of both factual history and Psuedo-history, they are examples of the past to be followed as given by the Irish Filidh (poets). They tell us of the creation of Eriu in 5-7 invasions of Ireland, as well as their races. The symbolism in the texts is given nine views by the tenents of the Irish dúile (which are all the Druidic elements which lie between Land sky and sea).
The histories of any given tradition or culture are at the root of any study IMO, which is one reason the Ogham for example is at the root of a Druids vast knowledge of all that was, is, or shall be. The traditional histories are both a waterfall of information to nourish the mind and a smooth sheet for the beds of poets.
The Dé Danann rule the triads of the self through law skill and order, where as the Fomorii (for a later example) might be seen as ruling these things through destruction, chaos, and Primal instinct (animism perhaps on some level, they are your suppressed animal instincts, those that civilization has no more use for). These are the sorts of things that are to be gained in the histories of any given tradtion or culture, a furthering of the knowledge of the self as given by Fionn's wheel or shield....But perhaps thats another story for another time.
Senbecc
"It was in ships that the Tuatha Dé Danann came. They came from the north (probably Greece being the descendants of Nemedh) and the clouds and mists that concealed them and cast darkness over the sun for three days made it easy for them to land in Ireland on La Baal Tinna, the first day of May, unseen and unoposed by the the Fir Bolg. From where they came and fought their struggle for poetry, truth, and perfect wisdom were four great cities, Falias, Gorias, Finias, and rich Murias. It was in these cities that four wise poets and teachers taught the Tuatha Dé Danann their magical skill and occult knowledge. And from these four cities they brought their four greatest treasures. From Falias they brought the Stone of Fál, the Lia Fáil. The stone of virtue and destiny, which cried out when touched by the rightful king. From Gorias the brought the Spear of Victory, and no battle could be won against it. From Finias the brought the Sword of Truth, and those who deserved it's stroke none ever recovered. And from Murias they brought the Cauldron of the Dagdha, the Cauldron of plenty, from which no company ever went away unsatisfied."
-Battle of Moytura
To me the traditional histories of Ireland are a melding of both factual history and Psuedo-history, they are examples of the past to be followed as given by the Irish Filidh (poets). They tell us of the creation of Eriu in 5-7 invasions of Ireland, as well as their races. The symbolism in the texts is given nine views by the tenents of the Irish dúile (which are all the Druidic elements which lie between Land sky and sea).
The histories of any given tradition or culture are at the root of any study IMO, which is one reason the Ogham for example is at the root of a Druids vast knowledge of all that was, is, or shall be. The traditional histories are both a waterfall of information to nourish the mind and a smooth sheet for the beds of poets.
The Dé Danann rule the triads of the self through law skill and order, where as the Fomorii (for a later example) might be seen as ruling these things through destruction, chaos, and Primal instinct (animism perhaps on some level, they are your suppressed animal instincts, those that civilization has no more use for). These are the sorts of things that are to be gained in the histories of any given tradtion or culture, a furthering of the knowledge of the self as given by Fionn's wheel or shield....But perhaps thats another story for another time.
Senbecc