Celtic Druid Temple Blog

Celtic Druid Temple - Press Release 13/06/2018

13/6/2018

It is my honour to share today's news of further recognition of the Celtic Druid Temple by the Charities Regulator as a religion with Nature as the Supreme Being.

Our application to the Charities Regulator on behalf of Celtic Druid Temple for charitable status as a Religion with Nature as the Supreme Being under Section 39 of the Charities Act 2009, has been approved on 13/06/2018 after just 9 months. The Celtic Druid Temple's 'Registered Charity Number' as issued by the Charities Regulator (established by the Minister for Justice and Equality on a statutory basis on 16 October, 2014 pursuant to the Charities Act, 2009) is RCN 20106003

The Celtic Druid Temple was recognised by the Revenue Commissioner as a Religion with Nature as the Supreme Being after two and a half years of negotiations on 20/06/2015. The Celtic Druid Temple has legal and formal recognition in Ireland as a religious charity from the Revenue Commissioner with a CHY number 20684 issued by the Dept of Finance.

The Celtic Druid Temple became a Registered Religious Body for Solemnising Pagan handfastings as announced by the Office of the Registrar General of the Dept of Social Protection on 03/02/16. Our Celtic Pagan weddings are performed "according to the Rites of Passage of the Indigenous Wisdom Tradition of Celtic Druid Temple" – this is on your marriage certificate when we facilitate on your special day!

Nature based spirituality has now achieved full recognition in Ireland after a lapse of many centuries. Men and women, young and old seeking to express their Celtic Spirit can openly declare their own direct link to Nature as Supreme Being and seek guidance from the Spirits of the Ancestors. Ritual ceremonies are being held at the ancient temples on the Full Moon and for the Eightfolds of the Sun year across Ireland. This tradition of ceremony at our sacred sites helps us all to re-connect to the cycles of Nature and to our Celtic Spirit so that each of us can make and develop our own unique direct connection to the Gods and Goddesses.

Our Druí have jury service exemption status from the Dept. of Justice and An Garda Siochana have on four occasions provided protection for our public ritual ceremonies at Tara and at Newgrange. BUNREACHT NA hÉIREANN secures our freedom to practice our religion, the HSE also recognises Druidry as a religion and recent European legislation further protects the rights of Druids and Pagans. The European Convention on Human Rights provides a right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and to manifest a religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance. The Irish Educational System recognised Ard Druí Con Connor hosting a spiritual Imbolg ceremony at Tara in their 2004 school book “Religion: The Irish Experience”. Many thousands of people have joined in and contributed at the Celtic Druid Temple’s public ritual Sun and Moon ceremonies since 2003. Celtic Pagans from Ireland and overseas have availed of our private Rites of Passage ceremonies at Temple Crom and at their own chosen locations all over Ireland.

“All Irish men, women and children can now choose to openly practice the indigenous spiritual traditions of this island. We can all now openly honour Nature as Supreme Being and acknowledge the Spirit of our Celtic Ancestors without fear of censure. These rights are protected by the Irish government and the dignity and inherent divinity of all men and all women can be honoured and nurtured to its fullest expression.’ said /|\ Ard Druí Con Connor.

The Celtic Druid Temple has continuously hosted public Full Moon ceremonies on Tara in Co Meath since the Spring Equinox 2003. At Temple Crom, near Castlerea in north Roscommon, ritual ceremonies to honour the Full Moon and the Eightfold Sun Year have been held since 2008. These ceremonies are free of charge and open to all who choose Earth based spirituality. This is an opportunity to stand equal in circle connecting to the fullness of the Moon just as our Ancestors did. Celtic Pagan 'Rites of Passage' such as Welcoming and Naming, Coming of Age, Legal Weddings and Pagan Handfasting, Life Path Guidance and Last Rites are offered at Temple Crom and by request at your chosen location. Training courses are available for those who seek to offer service to the growing Celtic Pagan community. People wishing to join in a ceremony at Temple Crom or at Tara can join us at 8pm on the night of the Full Moon. There are no special requirements to join us in ceremony, children are welcome with adult supervision and we recommend you arrive early, dress in layers and bring an open heart and a smile.

Our sincerity, integrity and clarity around who we are and what we do and have been doing publicly since the Spring Equinox 2003 with open and free Full Moon ceremonies on Tara and here at Temple Crom in north Roscommon since Autumn 2008 is fully acknowledged by the state. We would prefer to be seen as a spiritual tradition that connects us all to Nature and to the Ancestors as we are non hierarchical and do not have a book of rules, but the government in Ireland seems unable to officially recognise 'spirituality'. We will continue to walk our talk and to live life as we have done in the past, but we will live in the now and have an eye to the future too.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Celtic Druid Temple, I want to acknowledge the work done and give thanks to /|\ Ard Druí Niamh Connor for her focused efforts to secure this Registered Charity Number as issued today by the Charities Regulator.

We, as a group feel we have achieved much but realise too that this is simply another step...

Grá, Solas agus Gáire (Love, Light and Laughter)
/|\ Con
celticdruidtemple.com

Celtic Druid Temple - Registered Charity,13/06/2018 - RCN number 20106003.
Celtic Druid Temple - Registered Solemnisers, 03/02/16 – numbers 5863 5863 5864
Celtic Druid Temple - Charitable Status, 20/06/2015 - CHY number 20684.

Contact Details -
Celtic Druid Temple, Rathniamh, Candlefield, Trien, Castlerea, Co Roscommon. celticdruidtemple@gmail.com
celticdruidtemple.com Facebook at 'Celtic Druid Temple - Ireland's Druidschool'.

Please note - the Celtic Druid Temple is not a neo-druid group, we are not wiccan either - we are Celtic Pagans and Druí honouring Nature, the Ancestors of this land at the sacred temples of this land and as such we are the modern expression of the indigenous spiritual tradition of Ireland. Further information on our activities, services and courses can be found online.

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The True Story of St. Patrick

16/3/2018

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The True Story of St. Patrick

Image above of 5th century man in 18th century bishop costume...

Saint Patrick's Day is an Irish bank and public holiday held on March 17th every year, relating to Saint Patrick who made all the Irish become Catholic CE 400 by using shamrocks... so we are told… but historians agree that the man who did this great conversion by bringing the Catholic religion to Ireland was called Palladius (who was married with children), he was most definitely not named Patrick, nor was he Irish and there were no snakes in Ireland for either he or Patrick to eradicate and neither he or Patrick ever mentions shamrocks. As the current calendar is less than 250 years in use it cannot be used to establish dates in the early medieval period so it is highly unlikely that he died on March 17th 460ad. So, what is his true story?

The saint called Paddy/Pat/Patrick was not Irish. Historians agree that Patrick was born in 373 CE giving two possible locations – Dumbarton in Scotland or on the west coast of Roman Britain i.e. Wales. The Romans are said to have exited Britain by 410 CE. Patrick eventually retired to Glastonbury, England, where he died at the age of one hundred and eleven on the 17 March, 460 A.D. These dates do not add up; 460 – 373 = only 87 years of age, so was he 87 or 111 years old when he died? It depends on which spin you read… The man who is so well known to us as St Patrick was originally called - Maewyn Succat or Magonus Saccatus Patricius. His father Calpurnius, had been a deacon and a decurion and his grandfather was a priest, his mother was called Conchessa.

Pope Celestine gave Maewyn Succat or Magonus Saccatus the name of Patrick. The Pope gave him the mission of bringing the Catholic Faith to Ireland. He gave him many relics and other spiritual gifts, and gave him the name "Patercius" or "Patritius". This name is derived from two Latin words pater civium meaning the father of his people. The designation is like Patricus, a Latin / Roman upper class name similar to Patrician. Rome had three classes – Patrician, Plebeian and Paganus. Patrician was the ruling class, while Plebeian was the working and middle class leaving Paganus to be the name / rank for all those who did not obey the rule of Rome.

We are told that he was taken into slavery at 16 years of age and sold in Ireland where he worked as a sheepherder for 6 years but sheep did not exist back then – so he would have been a goatherder... It was during his time as a slave sheep / goat minder that he began to have religious visions. These visions re-enforced (so we are told) his Catholic Faith. During one of these visions he heard voices that told him where he could find a getaway ship. He escaped, went to France where he became a priest and later on he returned to France to become a bishop.

He also burned many Druid books if his confessions are to be believed. 150 Druid Books were burned and on Tara he caused a competition with a Druid Book and the Bible to be thrown into a barrel of water – needless to say the Druid Book sank proving that the Bible was a better book. But hang on, we are repeatedly told that the Druids did not have books!

He also prayed for an old Druid to die – we are told that Arch-Druid Lochru was lifted up high in the air but Patrick knelt in prayer and the Druid fell and was dashed to pieces upon a rock. St Patrick is said to have caused the murders of almost eight hundred Druids. The folk tale of a she-beast called Caoranach that he banished to an island in the middle of Lough Derg in Donegal is accompanied by the tale of a woman who followed him very closely and that after he had banished the she-beast, this woman was never seen again... The pilgrimage today to the retreat centre on Lough Derg is a trick for the followers of this St Patrick religion because it is on the wrong island… the Pagan cave temple on the island that the Catholic Church tried to use was not hospitable to them so them moved their Purgatory to another island in the same lake and achieved some commercial success for a while.

There is a story about Patrick and two Pagan Celtic Princesses – “He also caused two young princesses to die at the Ogulla Well, aka Cliabach Well. Here he baptised Eithne and Fidelma, daughters of King Laoghaire of Tara. They were attending the great Druid school of Cashel Manannáin at Rathcroghan. The two sisters were washing when St. Patrick came upon them. He told them that the only way to see God is after death. St. Patrick then baptized them after which they both died. Not a good plan – this seems to be a cover story for something else.” We are led to believe that Eithne and Fidelma died so they could enter heaven. A church in Tulsk nearby is named after them. Hang on a bit! Two young high-status female Druí Daltaí (student druids) suddenly died after a ‘blessing’ by a christian priest… only a few miles from their Druid school?

We are told – https://sites.google.com/site/catholictopics/s_patrick_and_ireland/eithne-and-fidelma “And so there, within sight of the palace of Cuachan, Patrick baptised them with the waters of the Well of Cliabach. Eithne and Fidelma remained for a while on their knees, deep in prayer. A rough stone altar was made ready and Patrick prepared to say Mass. Before the Mass began the two girls came forward again, saying, "We wish to consecrate ourselves as Spouses of Christ". Patrick received their vows and placed over them the Veil – the first consecrated virgins in Ireland. Then they wished to see the Face of Christ. But Patrick replied, “You cannot do that, until you have tasted the Sacrifice and passed through the Door of Death”. “We desire these things” they replied. Patrick offered the Sacrifice and gave them the Holy Eucharist. Then they closed their eyes, and then they died.”

Ah come on – why would two Pagan princesses - Eithne the Red and Fidelma the Fair, studying at a Druid school (under royal patronage) suddenly want to be spouses / wives of Christ? Why are we told that these two female Druids became Nuns who were automatically brides of Christ in a polygamous marriage that could never be consummated? Why were Virgins marrying a dead man? How come they died after eating Patrick’s sacrament?

Maybe the story needs an outside perspective – two young Princesses: Eithne and Fidelma who were being fostered (living with high status as guests) with Druids Mael and Coplait were attending the great Druid school of Cashel Manannáin at Rathcroghan attended by their armed guards were at the Cliabach Well washing themselves. They are claimed by the church as being among the first converts by Patrick to his tradition. The druid school they were attending is named after the Gaelic version of the sea god that is best known today as Neptune. The school is still visible as raised banks on the west side of Glenballythomas at Cruachan / Rath Croghan near Tulsk in Co Roscommon.

At that time of Eithne and Fidelma, daughters of King Laoghaire of Tara death by baptism the native laws aka Fenechus / Gael Law (aka Brehon law) would have demanded King Laoghaire of Tara seek recompense from who ever was responsible because under Celtic Laws 'whether by accident or by design' his two daughter were dead! But shush! the story was written long after it was supposed to have taken place and really it is just more fake church history.

The designation or title of ‘saint’ for this Patrick has never been acknowledged by any of the Roman Catholic Popes. The Irish church tells us that it was by public acclimation that Patrick got this title. Yet this is just spin. He was called Naomh, which means holy, just as Brigid was holy (ie Naomh) but by being in control of the native language the church changed the meaning of many words and Naomh changed from being holy to being saint. When this happened, no one could say anything because the church wielded the power of life and death and social ostracisation / excommunication against its detractors. Today, we are told that the head of Patrick, like that of Columcille and Brigid rest in a Jesuit Church in Portugal. Their 3 bodies are buried in Downpatrick in the North of Ireland.

Stories claim that when he was 60 years old, St. Patrick choose to go back to Ireland, the land of his slave years - to give the Gael the Catholic word. This was a very advanced age for the time and today the equivalent age may be near 90. His charisma converted many people and in the written records the church scribes tell us that he used the three-leafed shamrock to share the idea of father, son and holy spirit make God. In Ireland, we have five types of 3-leaf-clovers - trifolium dubium (lesser trefoil), trifolium repens (white clover), medicap lupulina (black medick), oxalis acetosella (wood sorrel) and trifolium pratense (red clover). These 5 trefoils have easy to spot differences and most could be found anywhere on the Island but St Patrick never even mentions one of them. Think about this – Patrick never mentions Shamrocks or Seamrogs once, never.

The Irish word for Shamrock is “seamrog” and it means “summer plant”. It grows in the wild all over the northern hemisphere, at high altitudes in the tropics and even in Africa and believe it or not even in South America. Many of these countries have snakes, some of which are huge, others deadly. The type of shamrock given by our Taoiseach to the US president is originally from Morocco, but don’t tell either of them.

Because there is no mention of the three-leaf clover / shamrock in Patrick’s writings we can conclude that this claimed association is quite simply modern propaganda by his promoters. The first written reference to shamrocks in conjunction with St Patrick was made in 1571; over a thousand years after St. Patrick had passed over. The Seamróg became the badge of St Patrick’s Day in 1681 in America. The first written record of the shamrock being a symbol of the Catholic Trinity appears in 1727. So it can be easily understood that the myth of St Patrick had a shamrock symbol added to it only a few hundred years ago – it may be obvious to some that this was a commercialisation tactic as well as displacement of native practices honouring the Spring Equinox.

The shamrock is not the official symbol of Ireland – this honour is reserved for the Celtic Harp. The shamrock now represents the culture of the Catholic Church hero of St Patrick. The shamrock became a symbol of rebellion against the oppression of Queen Victoria, who made it a capital crime (punishable by death) to wear the shamrock. This was probably the most influential reason for the worldwide adoption by Irish people and their sympathisers of the Shamrock as a symbol of Irishness.

Legend has it that Saint Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland -- that they all went into the sea and drowned. There is no reason to believe there were actually any snakes in Ireland ever. There is no archaeological proof of snakes anywhere in Ireland at any time in the past. As this knowledge becomes more available we got fed the notion in to our mainstream consciousness that “this is probably an allegory for the driving out of paganism (snakes were a revered pagan symbol in some places)”. But this is just not so for Ireland, there were not and are not any snakes in Ireland so adding in bits of foreign snake lore is just disinformation.

The famous mountain of Croagh Patrick or as its more commonly known in Ireland “The Reek” was a place of Pagan Pilgrimage long before the Christians became Catholic in 325ad. It is a round cone shaped mountain that looks like a pyramid from a distance. This holy mountain is quartzite with seams of gold throughout, it sits on the western seaboard overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the setting Sun.

Croagh Patrick aka the Reek was once know as Cruchan Aigli or in English; Eagle Mountain, it is 2510 feet above sea level. It has always been a holy place with pilgrimage on the last Sunday of July (during Catholic times), which is of course the wrong day as the Sun magic happens later in the month but the plan was to disconnect the people from the Sun and connect them to a foreign religion. This last Sunday of the month of July is now used because of traditional connection to Lughnasa, the harvest festival of Lugh, a bright god of the Tuatha De Dannan and in his day it may have been called Cnoc Lugh. Archaeological investigations backed up by excavations show that a hill fort with stone ramparts and dwellings and 30 hut sites are to be found on the top of the Reek. There are ancient cooking sites, megalithic tombs, standing stones, burial mounds, ringforts and today’s’ modern Catholic Church. I doubt that many Catholic Pilgrims know that this holy mountain was sacred to Lugh or before that to the great fertility god Crom. Its old name of Eagle Mountain may refer to the practice of excarnation, de-fleshing of the dead by carrion birds before burning of the remains and finally – internment of the remaining bones in an earthen mound. This practice was not uncommon in prehistoric times.

It was on this holy mountain that St Patrick supposedly did his greatest magic – when he summoned a great host of loathsome and venomous creatures and then commanded them to cast themselves over the edge of the mountain, thus freeing the Irish countryside from all kinds of reptiles. This included dragons, snakes and all types of reptiles, none of which ever existed in Ireland. We are told that St Patrick did this by verbal command. The actual truth is that there were no snakes in Ireland and long after he was dead and his head was gone into Jesuit care somebody just added this trick to St Patrick’s name. It was as if the Pagan traditions were still so strong with the Lughnasa pilgrimage to the Reek in August that something had to be done to displace the old ways and such a fantastic story as dragon/snake banishing fitted the bill. It had to be long after St Patrick’s death or else everyone would know it was just made up fantasy.

So, St Patrick’s famous mountain was the most revered place of pilgrimage to the Pagan God Lugh. Hang on a minute – there were no snakes to be banished and he never mentions shamrocks in his writings, no Pope would call him saint and his most famous site is a place of ancient Pagan Pilgrimage! Maybe there was something else that was being occulted from our view by those who would impose a foreign religion on the indigenous practices of our people. The Catholic Church displaced the Pagan Pilgrimage for Lugh with their last Sunday in July, but the holy mountain was seen as holy before they came and will be seen as holy when they are gone too.

The conclusion offered is that this legend of Patrick was fabricated because he did not bring the Catholic faith or Christian beliefs to Ireland, he wasn’t Irish, it is highly unlikely that he could live to be 111 years of age when the usual life expectancy was maybe 40/50ish, he was given immense powers of travelling the entire country building churches and digging wells, killing dragons, snakes and reptiles that did not exist, burning 150 Druid books that did not exist, praying for old Arch Druids to die, killing or causing 800 Druids to be killed, having a female follower who was close to him disappear linked to a she-beast story, causing two princesses to die by his baptism, he never mentions shamrocks in his writings and he was given the totem of a shamrock long after he was dead, his title is not recognized by the leader of his own religion because no Pope would call him a saint and his fabricated importance was set up to displace a Pagan God. His most famous place was and is sacred to the Pagan God Lugh where we can still see incredible Sun and Landscape magic as our ancestors did. The reality today is that on the 17th of March many rivers are dyed green and people wear funny green hats and drink far too much alcohol especially green beer and pretend to be Irish. Do people make drunken fools of themselves on this day because they reckon that is what St Patrick did? He has out lived his usefulness to the Church that fabricated him and has become an alcoholic embarrassment for them – he is now a champion golem to excess commercialism, this is today’s true story of St Patrick.

/|\ Con
an old essay refined Earrach 2018

From Irish Medieval History at https://www.facebook.com/Medieval.Ireland/posts/897375146972947:0

Saintly misconceptions - St. Patrick was not Irish, St George was not English and St Andrew was not Scottish. St. David of Wales is the only patron saint who is a native. Every so often one comes across articles which erroneously claim that St. Patrick’s nationality was Welsh, English or British in spite of the fact that Wales and England did not exist in St. Patrick’s time. He was a Romano-Briton meaning he came from a Roman family living in Roman colonial Britain.

Similar maladroitness has led some to claim that St. Patrick did not bring Christianity to Ireland that this honour was achieved by Palladius. Therefore we should be celebrating St. Palladius Day on March 17th. In reality there were two St. Patricks and neither of them brought Christianity to Ireland! Here is the evidence.

The great Irish historian T. F. O'Rahilly's "Two Patricks" theory was first posited in a lecture in 1942 where he playfully stoked controversy in order the initiate academic debate. O'Rahilly like many scholars before noted that a contemporary continental chronicler named Prosper of Aquitaine wrote that Palladius was sent as the first bishop of the Irish by the pope to Ireland in 431AD. Yet tradition tells us that Patrick was ordained bishop and sent to Ireland to convert the Irish in 432AD. O'Rahilly was intimating that the histories of two men had been confused and folded together. The Irish writers of the lives of St. Patrick say, that St. Palladius had preached in Ireland a little before St. Patrick, but that he was soon banished by the king of Leinster and returned to North Britain.

Scottish church tradition holds that he presided over a Christian community there for around 20 years but the Irish Vita Tripartita (The Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick) states that he died at Cell Fine (thought to be modern-day Killeen Cormac, County Kildare), where he left his books, together with a writing tablet and relics of Peter and Paul. Alban Butler, citing Hector Boethius and Camden, says that he died at Fordun, fifteen miles south of Aberdeen about the year 450.

Neither Palladius nor his mission is mentioned in official Roman sources and references to Palladius in later Irish documents derive either from the Chronicle Prosper of Aquitaine or from Book I of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People dating from 731AD, who also used Prosper as the source of his information. In another entry, written in the later 430s, Prosper appears to allude again to the mission of Palladius in his polemical tract known as Contra Collatorem. He refers to Pope Celestine as having made Britain ("the Roman island") Catholic, while making Ireland ("the barbarous island") Christian. This was in reference, in the first instance, to an earlier episode, in 429, when Pope Celestine dispatched Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, to Britain in order to combat a recent recrudescence of the heresy known as Pelagianism. That mission (again according to Prosper) had been undertaken at the instigation of a deacon named Palladius, who is undoubtedly identical with the man of that name sent to Ireland in 431. It is generally assumed that the mission to Ireland in 431 followed on from the one to Britain in 429, on the basis that the ecclesiastical authorities in Rome would probably have feared for the orthodoxy of any fledgling Christian community in Ireland because of its geographical proximity to the compromised Christians of Britain. It is assumed also that Palladius was, by whatever means, familiar with the situation in Ireland.

When knowledge is absent we fill the gaps with assumptions but the reality is that outside of the references of Prosper of Aquitaine the information is not reliable. Historians consider Prosper of Aquitaine to be a more reliable source of information than the traditional views of the Irish or British because Prosper is neutral. He has nothing to gain and no national cause to promote in relation to these two individuals.

So what exactly did Prosper write? He states in his chronicle entry for the year 431AD “Ad Scotum in Christum credentes ordinatur a Papa Celestino Palladius et primus episcopus mittitur”.

Translated as “To the Irish believing in Christ, Pope Celestine sends Palladius as the first Bishop”.

In plain language Prosper tells us that there were Christians in Ireland before the arrival of Palladius and Patrick, so neither of them were first to bring Christianity to Ireland!

Patrick himself would be allowed to judge all the Irish people on the Last Day...

Patrick, Patron of Ireland

The work of a missionary from somewhere in the west of Britain was crucial to the conversion of Ireland to the Christian faith in the 5th centuryAD. He was a Romanised Celt called Patricius, son of a deacon and grandson of a priest. At the age of sixteen he was seized by an Irish raiding party near his home and brought across the sea to this country, where he was sold as a slave. After several years herding animals in lonely places, he managed to escape, and made his way to the Continent, where he studied for the priesthood. One night in his sleep he dreamed that a voice called to him to return to Ireland and to 'walk once more amongst us'. The compassionate and determined way in which he answered that mystical request has caused him to be known and loved ever since as Naomh Padraig, or Saint Patrick, patron of Ireland.

We know this much of his life-story from one of the few documents written by Patrick himself, his Confessio. But, unfortunately, we know little else of the precise details of his actual mission, for he gives but very scant detail of either time or place. To him his work was principally a spiritual task, the gaining of souls for God, and thus he wrote in a private rather than an annalistic mode. Traditionally the dates 432 AD to 461 AD have been given for his mission in Ireland, and there is little doubt but that his feast-day, March 17, was the date of his death. Although there were some scattered Christian communities in Ireland before his arrival, it is clear that the impetus for the general change to Christianity throughout the land was due to him personally and to his work.

Almost two hundred years after his time, two biographies of him were written, by monks called Muirchú and Tíreachán. Both of these were acquainted with the writings of the saint himself and also with some traditions concerning him. But they invented much, and borrowed material from the Bible and other early Christian literature in order to portray him as a special prophet sent by God to the Irish people. As a result, modern scholars regard these and later mediaeval biographies of the saint as having no historical value, except for the study of how legends develop around the name of a famous person.

These fanciful texts do, however, have some curious accounts which seem to echo the preaching of Patrick himself. For instance, in the Confessio he contrasted the idols of the pagan Irish to the true 'light' of Christianity. He criticised in particular the belief in the divinity of the sun, claiming that 'its brilliance will not endure', and that those who worship it will be punished; and insisted instead on the worship of Christ, 'the true sun who will never perish, nor will anyone who does His will'. It is interesting to note that both Muirchú and Tíreachán tell a story of a fire-ordeal by which the saint showed the superior power of Christianity over that of a pagan druid. According to the story, a servant of Patrick emerged unscathed from the ordeal, being untouched by the fires of paganism, whereas his opponent was totally consumed by the fire of the Christian faith.

In the Confessio, Patrick repeatedly refers to the great 'gift' he has received - meaning the conversion of the Irish people - and remarks that 'whether I receive good or ill, I return thanks equally to God'. Curiously, Muirchú relates a story of how a powerful pagan called Dáire sent a cauldron to Patrick as a gift, but the saint uttered no more than a single word of thanks. The pagan was incensed at this, and had the cauldron taken back, but Patrick expressed the same word of gratitude again. This caused the pagan to reconsider his position, and he gave the cauldron to Patrick to keep, as well as a site on which to build a church at Armagh. It is interesting to note that Dáire was an alternate name for the Celtic father-deity who was more usually referred to as the 'Daghdha', the bountiful god who gave to all from his great cauldron. Since Patrick preached that the Christian God was the true giver of good fortune, it may well be that this story sprang from a confused memory of such teaching.

The most striking story from these early biographies describes Patrick as lighting the first Paschal fire in Ireland. As an account, it is full of high drama. We are told that the High-King Laoghaire had the custom of lighting a fire at the royal centre of Tara on a certain night and that nobody else should kindle theirs before he did so. Patrick had come to the hill of Slane nearby, however, and when Laoghaire saw a fire lighting there he was outraged and ordered that the transgressor appear before him. Then Patrick came to Tara as a great Christian hero, and the High-King and all the royal forces were confounded by his miraculous power.

Several great contests between Patrick and the pagan druids are described, contests in which dramatic changes of climate and environment are brought about by magic and miracles. The saint, of course, triumphs in all of these tussles, which occur in the presence of the High-King at Tara and of all the royal court. The substance of these narratives was borrowed from passages in Christian literature, and it is clear that Patrick was being portrayed as a kind of new Moses triumphing over the Irish potentates, who have all the marks of the Pharaoh and other Biblical tyrants. Indeed, just as Moses caused water to spring from rock at a stroke of his staff, so Patrick is said to have caused holy wells to spring up at different places so as to facilitate the baptism of his converts.

The earliest biographies described the mission of Patrick as taking place in the northern half of the country, but around the 9th century a third account of him was written which extended his mission to the south. As well as the bishopric at Armagh, it was further claimed that he founded the bishopric at Cashel, which rivalled the former in prestige. There is little doubt but that all such accounts of his activities were closely connected with the claims and counter-claims of the two leading power-groups of the period, the Uí Néill dynasty in the north and the Eoghanacht dynasty in the south.

In the 9th century literature we also find the beginning of a celebrated tradition concerning St Patrick. This claims that he spent forty days and nights fasting on top of the mountain of Croagh Patrick in Co. Mayo, and that God became worried lest he might die and thereby leave his mission unaccomplished. The Supreme Being therefore asked him to abandon his fast, but Patrick would only do so on three conditions - that the Irish people would not live permanently under oppression, that the country would be submerged seven years before the end of the world and so be spared the final devastation, and that Patrick himself would be allowed to judge all the Irish people on the Last Day. This tradition, which has Patrick as the special champion of the Irish, persisted down through the centuries and gave consolation to the people in times of misery and distress.

The best-known of all traditions concerning the saint seems not to have originated until the 11th century, when it first appears in biographies of him. This is the belief that he banished the snakes from Ireland. The indications are that this idea was suggested by the many accounts of how the saint banished the 'demons of paganism', and that it was borrowed specifically from a similar motif in the biography of St Honoratus, founder of the island-monastery of Lérins in France where Patrick is said to have studied. The fact that there were no snakes in Ireland was well known from antiquity, and indeed was referred to by the Graeco- Roman writer Solinus two hundred years before Patrick was born.

Later still is the association of the shamrock with him. It was customary in Ireland to use the shamrock as an aperitif, and the placing of some sprigs of it in a toast was no doubt the origin of 'drowning the shamrock on the feast day' of the saint. The actual wearing of the shamrock as a badge on St Patrick's Day is hardly more than a few centuries old, but old enough for some creative mind to notice that its trefoil stem offered a neat parallel to the Christian mystery of the Trinity. Thus we are told that Patrick, being exasperated in his efforts to impress this doctrine on his Irish audience, stooped down and picked up the shamrock, explaining that just as three leaves can spring from one stem so also there are three persons in one God.

The Irish people, however, have not confined their fascination with St Patrick to environmental and theological legends. Down through the centuries they have invented many other stories of a curious and sometimes humorous nature. He is said, for instance, to have met survivors of the epical heroes of old Irish tradition, the Fianna, and to have obtained baptism posthumously for their fellows. It is also claimed that he blessed and cursed various parts of the country, depending on the preferences of the storytellers, and that he ordered that tavern-keepers should always give extra value for money on the day of his feast!

So Patrick, the slave-boy forcibly brought here from abroad, has become to many generations of Irish people the epitome of all that they considered best in their culture - a courageous and protective figure, proficient in miracles, scrupulous in teaching, but full of human kindness and with his own puckish sense of humour.

St Patrick's Day has always had a special meaning for the Irish. The national holiday, which falls on March 17, is an occasion of great celebration not only for the native Irish themselves but also for many- thousands of people of Irish background throughout the world. While the principal parade in Ireland is in Dublin, many cities and towns throughout the country hold parades. Parades and marching band competitions have become the order of the day, and participants come from all over the United States, Canada, Britain and Continental Europe, to join in the festivities. Word of the fun has spread to such an extent that nowadays the period of celebration has increased to a week.

http://www.ireland-information.com/reference/patr.html

St Patrick kills Druids...
ST. PATRICK AND THE DRUIDS.

Let us see what the biographers of St. Patrick have to relate about the Druids.

A work published at St. Omer, in 1625, by John Heigham, has this story:--"One day as the Saint sayd masse in the sayd church, a sacrilegious magitian, the child of perdition, Stood without, and with a rodd put in at the window, cast down the chalice, and shed the holy sacrament, but God without delay severely punished so wicked a sacrilege, for

p. 28

the earth opening his mouth after a most strange manner devoured the magitian, who descended alive downe to hell."

Again:--"A certain magitian that was in high favour with the King, and whome the King honoured as a god opposed himself against S. Patricke, even in the same kin that Simon Magus resisted the apostle S. Peter; the miserable wretch being elevated in the ayre by the ministery of Devils, the King and the people looked after him as if he were to scale the heavens, but the glorious Saint, with the force of his fervent prayers, cast him downe unto the ground where dashing his head against a hard flint, he rêdred up his wicked soule as a pray to the infernnall Fiendes."

The Triptartite Life of St. Patrick relates:--"Laeghaire MacNeill possessed Druids and enchanters, who used to foretell through their Druidism and through their paganism what was in the future for them." Coming to certain town, the Saint, according to history, "found Druids at that place who denied the Virginity of Mary. Patrick blessed the ground, and it swallowed up the Druids."

The book of 1625 is the authority for another story:--"Two magitians with their magicall charmes overcast all the region with a horrible darkness for the space of three dayes, hoping by that meanes to debar his (Patrick's enterance into the country." Again:--"Nine magitians conspired the Saint's death, and to have the more free accesse to him, they counterfeited thēselves to be monks putting on religious weeds; the Saint, by divine information, knew thē to be wolves wraped in sheeps cloathing; making, therefore, the signe of the crosse against the childrē of Satan, behould fire descended from Heaven and consumed them all nine." He is also reported to hay caused the death of 12,000 idolaters at Tara.

St. Patrick contended with the Druids before King

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Laeghaire at Tara. One, Lochra, hardened the King's heart against the preaching; so "the Saint prayed that he might be lifted out and die, even as St. Peter had obtained the death of Simon Magus. In an instant Lochra was raised up in the air, and died, falling on a stone." This Lochra had, it is said, previously foretold the Saint's visit:--

"A Tailcenn (baldhead) will come over the raging sea,
With his perforated garments, his crook-headed staff,
With his table (altar) at the east end of his house,
And all the people will answer--'Amen! Amen!"

The authoress of Ireland, the Ur of the Chaldees, ventured to write:--"When the Apostle of Ireland went there, the people believed him, for he taught no new doctrine." She thought Druidism not very unlike Christianity. Dr. O'Donovan, upon the Four Masters, observes:--"Nothing is clearer than that Patrick engrafted Christianity on the pagan superstitions with so much skill that he won the people over to the Christian religion before they understood the exact difference between the two systems of beliefs; and much of this half pagan, half Christian religion will be found, not only in the Irish stories of the Middle Ages, but in the superstitions of the peasantry of the present day." Todd sees that worldly wisdom in "dedicating to a Saint the pillar-stone, or sacred fountain."

It is not necessary to discuss the question as to the individual Saint himself, around which so much controversy has raged. They who read theology between the lines of old Irish history may be induced to doubt whether such a person ever existed, or if he were but a Druid himself, such being the obscurity of old literature.

St. Bridget's early career was associated with the Druids. A miracle she wrought in the production of butter caused her Druidical master to become a Christian.

p. 30

Colgan contended that St. Patrick, by "continually warring with Druids, exposed his body to a thousand kinds of deaths." In The Guardsman's Cry of St. Patric, which declares "Patric made this hymn," we are informed that it was "against incantations of false prophets, against black laws of hereticians, against surroundings of idolism, against spells of women, and of smiths, and of Druids."

The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters mentions a number of stories relative to Irish Druids, then believed to have once ruled Erin. St. Patrick was a youthful slave to Milcho, a Druidical priest. Gradwell's Succat, therefore, says, "He must often have practised heathenish rites in the presence of his household, and thus excited the horror of his Christian slave."

Scoto-Irish Druids.

St. Columba, the Culdee, was much the same as St. Patrick in his mission work, and his contests with Druids. He changed water into wine, stilled a storm, purified wells, brought down rain, changed winds, drove the devil out of a milk-pail, and raised the dead to life. All that tradition acknowledged as miraculous in the Druids was attributed equally to Columba as to Patrick.

Adamnan of Iona tells some strange stories of his master. One tale concerns Brochan the Druid. "On a certain day, Brochan, while conversing with the Saint, said to him, 'Tell me, Columba, when do you propose to set sail?' To which the Saint replied, 'I intend to begin my voyage after three days, if God permits me, and preserves my life.' Brochan then said, 'You will not be able, for I will make the winds unfavourable to your voyage, and I will create a great darkness over the sea."' The wind rose, and the

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darkness came. But the Saint put off, and "the vessel ran against the wind with extraordinary speed, to the wonder of the large crowd."

The Saint wanted the Druid to release an Irish female captive, which he declined to do. But, says Adamnan, "an angel sent from heaven, striking him severely, has broken in pieces the glass cup which he held in his hand, and from which he was in the act of drinking, and he himself is left half dead." Then he consented to free the Irish girl, and Columba cured him of the wound.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/idr/idr06.htm

My comment - Even if only one claim of murder is true = then Patrick could not be a saint.

Crom Abú

(top picture from: http://www.historyireland.com/st-patrick/st-patrick-the-legend-and-the-bishop/ ) interesting story as well.

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Excommunicate me, I am a Celtic Pagan

22/2/2018

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Excommunicate me, I am a Celtic Pagan.
Freedom to choose your own Life Path
To walk your own Path you must be free. This means spiritual freedom and with this is implied the waking up to your higher self through the spiritual alchemy of self-transformation. This waking up is a series of choices that empower you to express your higher self. If you seek to be your true higher self and/or to offer service to others - you must be strong on your Path. We are not usually given this spiritual freedom at birth and because of that; as adults we must proudly choose to take it, to nurture it and to walk our Life Path with warmth, gentleness and an inner smile!Your Declaration of Defection from any church or religion
For all people seeking freedom it is not enough to simply say the words. It starts with the words, then it becomes belief and eventually it becomes your truth, your chosen Path. Many religions will de-list you if asked but the catholick church will not just let you leave or de-list you from its membership. Once upon a time there was an escape route for forced members who wanted ‘out’ i.e. people who did not want to be listed as catholic but it was closed when too many freedom lovers began to use it! Check out the websites - NotMe.ie and Countmeout.ie and Uplift.ie and catholicdoors.com/faq/qu286.htm for some history of the escape route that is now closed.

The following ‘Excommunicate Me, I am a Celtic Pagan’ draft document may be used by anyone who believes it to be true for them, it is free of any fee or charge. You may copy, paste and edit it to suit your understanding. Due to rampant corruption we suggest that you keep the signed original and only send an ‘authorised copy’ (you write that on the photocopy) with ‘To Whom It May Concern’ on the top of the document. The original you sign is a valuable document, so keep it safe.

To enter training as an /|\ Ard Druí with the Ireland’s Druidschool
You must formally leave any church or religion that lists you as a member before you can enter training as an /|\ Ard Druí with Ireland’s Druidschool. You will in writing inform the office of the religion previously chosen by you or for you by your parents/guardian/s that you do not accept any of their doctrines and that you have taken the Celtic Pagan Oath intending to enter training to become an /|\ Ard Druí with Ireland’s Druidschool, the teaching facility of the Celtic Druid Temple.

Most of the religions/churches will respond acknowledging your request to leave except for the church of Rome. For the Roman Catholick Church to formally de-list you as a member you need to be excommunicated. The following outline letter will cause 'Excommunication from the Roman Catholick Church' because it includes you stating that you have with full faculties chosen Apostasy, Heresy and Schism (see below for explanation). You may or may not get a reply but a copy of your signed letter sent to us is absolute proof that you have now chosen for yourself. We suggest that you keep the originating letter that you have signed for your own records and that you only post authorised copies to concerned parties such as your birth parish priest, local bishop, Primate of All Ireland and to us at the Celtic Druid Temple if you wish.

Excommunication for Roman Catholick Church members – under their rules there is automatic excommunication for committing any of the following offences –

1) Procuring of abortion.
2) Apostasy: The total rejection of the Christian faith.
3) Heresy: The obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth, which must be believed with divine and Catholic faith.
4) Schism: The rejection of the authority and jurisdiction of the pope as head of the Church.
Note – the following methods of becoming excommunicated are not recommended -
Desecration of sacred species (Holy Communion).
Physical attack on the pope.
Sacramental absolution of an accomplice in sin against the Sixth and Ninth Commandments.
Unauthorized episcopal consecration.
Direct violation of confessional seal by confessor.

Please note - Apostasy, Heresy and Schism are our suggested declarations, they are individually sufficient for excommunication but being Celts – we do things in threes!
We recommend that you send copies to your parish of baptism church or current parish priest or local bishop or Archbishop Eamon Martin who is the current Primate of All Ireland (address below). Remember – this declaration is not a request, it is your statement of fact. It is only suitable for those listed as catholics who do not want to be listed as catholics.

                ‘Excommunicate Me, I am a Celtic Pagan’

                                                                                       Your name, address and date

To whom it may concern

                              Declaration of Defection

I,                                               was baptised at                                          (place and date).

This baptism was done before I had attained the age of reason, before I could even talk or walk and was done to me without my approval or permission. I write this formal letter to declare that as an adult I have left the Roman Catholic church and that being of sound mind that I now embrace the Celtic Pagan faith. I am entitled to be excommunicated from the Catholic Church because I choose to be a Celtic Pagan.

I utterly renounce the teachings of the church including the virgin birth, trans-substantiation and the resurrection. I renounce and reject all blessings, benefits, graces, sanctifications, and advantages supposedly conferred on me by the Roman Catholic church. I am not a member of the Roman Catholic church because I do not accept any of its doctrines. I never contribute money or time to the Roman Catholic church. I am opposed to much of what the Roman Catholic church does and what it stands for. I believe that the Roman Catholic church is misogynistic because it does not believe that women should have equal rights with men. The Roman Catholic church funds and works for anti-woman legislation around the world. The Roman Catholic church is homophobic. The Roman Catholic church is pronatalist and forbids any form of sexual behaviour that doesn’t raise the birth rate / its membership. The Roman Catholic church prohibits sex as an expression of love and sexual activity for simple pleasure. Homosexuality is completely prohibited and is condemned by the Roman Catholic church with intense loathing and disgust. The Roman Catholic church is lobbying against civil rights legislation for homosexuals, and is attempting to influence its congregations to deny homosexuals equal human rights with other citizens. The Roman Catholic church is antidemocratic, authoritarian and intolerant and aligns itself with authoritarian right-wing governments and has historically allied itself with them. The Roman Catholic church actively supported the fascists Hitler, Mussolini and Franco against democratic people.

I do not accept the Roman Catholic church position on birth control, or on abortion. I do not believe in the prayers, the miracles or the theology of the Roman Catholic church. I am no longer a Roman Catholic. I reject the assumed authority claimed by the Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic church and refuse to submit to him or those under him according to the hierarchy of the Church. I reject the entirety of the Roman Catholic church religion / faith. I do not want to be falsely counted as a Catholic. I condemn as monstrous the idea of original sin. I reject as ridiculous the idea of an atoning sacrifice and reject its presumed benefits. I am not an adherent of the irrational superstition known as the Roman Catholic church, which has done and continues to do irreparable harm to humanity. I have made a public renunciation of my forced membership of the Roman Catholic church and its dogmatic religion. No one may attack my character or personal traits or oppose my declaration herein in an attempt to undermine my decision to leave the Roman Catholic church and to live my life as a Celtic Pagan. My name may not be used in the records / official rolls of Catholics. I am no longer a Roman Catholic because I am automatically excommunicated because of my declared apostasy, heresy and schism.

I embrace the Celtic Path with Nature as the Supreme Being. I have as an adult spoken out loud the words of the Celtic Pagan Oath at sacred sites. I regularly attend Full Moon ceremonies and the Eightfold Year of the Sun ceremonies with other Celtic Pagans. I am a subscribed member of the Celtic Druid Temple, the state recognised Celtic Pagan religion in Ireland and by association I am a member of the European based international Celtic Druid Alliance adhering to the Ancient Primordial Tradition.

This is my truth, this is my choice, this is my life.

sign
date

end

You may if you so wish send an ‘authorised copy’ to Archbishop Eamon Martin who is the current Primate of All Ireland (head or senior
catholick since 2014)
Postal Address -
Archbishop Eamon Martin,
Primate of All Ireland,
Ara Coeli,
Armagh
BT61 7QY
Northern Ireland
Tel: +44 (0)28 3752 2045, Fax: +44 (0)28 3752 6182, Email: admin@aracoeli.com www.archdioceseofarmagh.org Twitter @ArchbishopEamon
Please note: When calling from the Republic of Ireland there is a direct code 048 before the local number

(Important Note – an authorised copy is simply a photocopy of your signed declaration when you write “authorised copy” on it in biro! This is a legal tactic – you keep the original declaration and thereby you will always have proof that cannot be contested. You may authorise copies and send them to whomsoever you think it may concern.
If you are a subscribed member of CDT, you may send an ‘authorised copy’ (with a SAE) to us at the

Celtic Druid Temple, Candlefield, Trien, Castlerea, Co Roscommon, F45 HK53 Ireland.

We will attach the CDT seal stamp to it, take and keep a photocopy and return it to you. If you seek to enter training as an /|\ Ard Drui you are obliged to send us an ‘authorised copy’ and SAE. We will never disclose personal private information of any members but if you ever find you need us to verify your choice of walking a Celtic Path we can do so. Your blue ink signed and dated declaration is unique and when you send an authorised copy to us we will stamp it with the CDT seal and return it to you adding further acknowledgement of your declared choice to walk a Celtic Path.)

‘Excommunicate Me, I am a Celtic Pagan’ PDF Download

‘Excommunicate Me, I am a Celtic Pagan’ Doc

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The problem with AIR and the beginnings of a solution

18/1/2018

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It will come as a surprise that there is a huge problem with AIR. The size of the problem is so big that there is no possible worldwide solution in the short term. By short term I mean the next 1,000 years or so. We are drowning in an atmosphere that is deficient in its Oxygen content and this is affecting us in many ways. We have very little fossil Oxygen left in our atmosphere. Two hundred years of industrial revolution have basically mined our atmosphere of its Oxygen content. This is very serious because we have also destroyed the Oxygen producing rainforests as well. So, the problem is: we have run out of Oxygen; we have destroyed our forests, the source of new Oxygen.

The Minister for (destroying) the Environment, (as front man for the dark lodge), is pushing Incineration, a huge Oxygen consumer. The low Oxygen content of our atmosphere has created prime conditions for the fungal bloom of Candida Albicans, an intestinal parasite (that leads to the breakdown of our immune system) and hidden inside all this is the destruction of the full hydrological cycle of the living planet.

What do you mean that there is no Oxygen left? What is the proof for this claim? How come we have never heard of this environmental problem before? Is this just scare mongering? Where are the backup sources for this claim?

HEALTH WARNING ON ENERGY AND OXYGEN

Some interesting yearly consumption calculations:

Each year a human requires (average) 1000-Kilowatt hours
Energy from the Sun per sq. / my per year 1000 Kilowatt hours
1000 Kilowatt hours (human) consumes 260kg of O2
1.6 litre car over 1000Kilometres consumes 1000-Kilowatt hours
1.6 litre car @ 50km / hour consumes 22.25 kg O2
Oxygen consumed per human per year 260 kg of O2
Oxygen used ratio, car: human per year 750:1
Eleven hours of car travel consumes 260 kg of O2
In 1989, estimate of vehicles world wide 450 million

These calculations in themselves are easily dismissed as complicated or just another load of statistics, but they set the basis for demonstrating the scale of the problem with AIR.

When you calculate the amount of Oxygen used by 450m vehicles you can see that it is just a sum - 450,000,000 vehicles equal to the amount of Oxygen that would be used by 337,500,000,000 people (67.5 times the worlds' population in 1989).

The annual demand for Oxygen world wide (1989) is the same as 337,500,000,000 people Oxygen's at 260 kg per person per year equals 38,496,225,232 tonnes of Oxygen.

According to Callum Coates in his brilliant book on Schauberger, Living Energies - the area of forest required to produce this amount of Oxygen is 38,259,432 km2. (1989).

This evolves the equation a stage further - the percentage of the worlds total land area required as forest to produce enough Oxygen to supply this vehicle demand is 28.3% or more simply 3/10s of the land needs to be covered with mature forest.

Now, it is very clear that 3/10s or 30% of the land of Planet Earth is not covered in forest, but we have enough figures already in this essay - so I do not propose to make it even more complicated except for …. we may have 50% more vehicles since 1989 and it could mean we need maybe 45% instead of 28.3% of the land to be forested to supply the present Oxygen demand for 2002. The destruction of rainforest has destroyed our source of Oxygen production and the only place we can now harvest the Oxygen from is the fossil AIR, this is the huge problem and we are in big trouble. As we consume the fossil Oxygen we do not really notice the levels dropping. I suggest that the best way to see this invisible reality is to consider ourselves as goldfish swimming at the bottom of the bowl and the level of water is constantly dropping but we do not see it because we are swimming at the bottom of the bowl.

This article and its companion - The problem with WATER, are both describing different aspects of the consequences of planetary deforestation, which has caused the breakdown of the hydrological cycle. When we have no trees the rainfall hits the ground and the temperature differential causes the rain to run off and not soak into the land. This prevents it from a chance to percolate deep into the earth to be cleansed and re-energised at the mantle before ascending as 4-degree Mature Living Water. Humans are therefore deprived of high quality Mature Living Water which is full of Life Force (Prana or Chi) and instead consume sick and tired Water. This is causing great profits for the drug companies who treat the symptoms of disease but do not identify the cause as high toxicity due to chronic dehydration and sugar-based diets.

The other end of the breakdown of the full hydrological cycle is that the trees do not just give off Oxygen when they breathe; they actually give information to the evaporation. The multitude of trees in a mature rainforest all have individual essences or characters and when they release Oxygen into the atmosphere they also let their signature out with joy and intention. This is high quality information for life that rises with the Oxygen and when it joins the evaporation from the sea and lakes and rivers and land. It is the homeopathic flavouring that supports the principle of life on Earth.

So, when we chop down the trees, we stop the Oxygen supply, we stop the Water Cycle and we stop the generation of Life Force. There is no short-term solution because the establishment of mature rainforests on 45% of the land of Earth cannot be done in the short term. Are you getting worried yet?

There is one strategy that might help in the immediate future and that is the complete planting of all un-farmed land with HEMP as a forerunner to the full establishment of temperate broad leaf forests. This powerful plant would produce a lot more oxygen than the grassed fields of our land and provide us with food, fibre and fuel and be a multi-purpose raw material for small-scale local industry and crafts. It would also help with relaxing temperature differentials between the surface of the earth and the rainfall allowing more substantial percolation of rainfall as a start for regenerating the full hydrological cycle. It also would be a return to the days before WW2 and empower local industry and sustainability in natural resources. Besides the planting of Hemp in all unused fields, under the REPs scheme all field boundaries could be widened extensively and planted with native temperate broad leaves and Hemp borders as is ancient times could protect this. (Excavations at Monasteries in Ireland have shown that Hemp was a border crop, filtering the wind, protecting the crop, as it took strength from the wind).

The result would be a lower demand on external inputs with their heavy demand on fossil fuels as a people centred low tech LETS based Eco system returned to conscious co-operation with Nature. I am sure the dedicated environmentalists have heard or read versions of this story before. But it needs to be re told as a future myth over and over again until the corrupt self-serving politicians are finally replaced by honest conscious spirits who are concerned primarily with living on the Earth instead of off the Earth. The Water Wizard himself, Viktor Schauberger said it so clearly in his simple way when he spoke promoting implosion as opposed to explosion technology, which destroys Water and consumes Oxygen…

“They call me deranged. The hope is that they are right. It is of no greater or lesser import for yet another fool to wander this earth. But if I am right and Science is wrong, then may the Lord God have mercy on mankind.” We should pray when we are planting trees and hemp, pray for mercy and more time…..

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The Problem with WATER Types of Water and Beginnings of a Solution

18/1/2018

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Science has caused our problem with water. Science, this is - combined with exploitation and greed and lack of concern regarding environmental impact. This is the root cause of the problem. The science that has been used over the last 100 years has caused the damage to our water, air, and earth on the scale of global metabolic disorder that has almost put our planet into toxic shock. This is the result of left-brain scientific analysis and formulae. It kind of started when Baron Von Liebig reduced a living tree to ashes in the late 1800's. He separated the ashes into their different chemical groups and stated that this is what makes a tree. Taking the water and life force out of the tree first and then analysing the ash did this. He was wrong to say the ash is the tree, when the water and life force were what made the tree live. But, like many wonderful scientific discoveries of our left-brained quantifying scientists, the important qualities were left out. It was not because the scientist did not feel that there was "something else", it was because they could not find a way to catch it and cut it up in their laboratories.

This "something else" has many names - Prana, chi, OD, odic force, bions, astral fluid, aether, grace, orgone and re and Imbas in the old Irish. Einstein, in his first paper when he was only sixteen, wrote about and titled his submission - Electricity, Magnetism and the Ether. Today, we refer to this "something else" as LIGHT. Science has reduced water to a formula (just as the Baron did to the tree) and today we casually refer to water as H2O. This is a mistake, because to arrive at the H2O stage the scientist must remove everything else first. To do this, the scientist will create a quantity of steam, which s/he will then condense into a sterile liquid. This is then reported as H2O, a compound of two hydrogen molecules and single oxygen molecule. Modern civilisation accepts this without much attention being paid to what is implied by the methodology or the consequence of the application. Schoolbooks show pictures of water consisting of two hydrogen and one oxygen as 2D graphic.

This implies that the two H's are stuck to the Oxygen permanently, when in fact they make and break connection with the oxygen thousands of times per second. Never mind that, the books are only talking about dead water from a laboratory and not water in its natural state. This happens because the scientists have agreed that if you are going to be scientific then your experiments must be repeatable by others. So they all kill the water and then analyze the corpse. They will always get the same answer- H2O. Nature provides humanity with water, the scientists however, provide us with a multitude of ways to damage and pollute that water. Their technology is based on wrong principles. They were not aware of water as a living energy.

On Star Trek, humans are referred to as carbon based life forms, this is another fallacy, because we are not mostly carbons, we are mostly water. Your body (if you are well hydrated) is over 70% water, some sources say the brain is over 90% water. Quality becomes paramount when you understand this. Recent humour suggests that water created humans as a unique way of getting about on this planet that is covered by over 70% water.

Types of Water
Within the abundance of Nature there are many types of water. This must be so, because water is a dynamic energy and likes to move. Most importantly, it likes to move in a centripetal laminar vortexian motion. This is because of this type of motion enhances or supports the energy within the water. Centripetal means winding in towards the center, laminar means in layers, vortexian means the shape of the bath water going down the plug hole, motion means movement. Combined, this encourages the Light to enter the water and this raises the vibration or character of that water. Today's technology is centrifugal; opposite to centripetal in that here (centrifugal) the energy is spun to the edge. This lowers the energy within the water. Centrifugal pumping and straight pipe distribution systems combine to lower the energy in any water creating prime conditions for E Coli to multiply. More bad science, do not forgive them for they know what they do. Centrifugal may also be understood as Explosive and Centripetal as Implosive.

Mature Water (Available only from Nature)
This type of water has completed a full hydro-logical cycle and appears out of the earth for us to drink and wash in. Having percolated 10,000 ft deep into the earth and on its way being cleansed of negative imprinting by the various layers of quartz / sand / gravel / limestone etc., the filtered water is then super heated at the mantle. This encourages ascension. When ascending, the water is then imprinted with a wide range of Vibrational information from the layers of quartz / sand / gravel / limestone etc., that it may pass. Variety here creates a range of characteristics and different healing specialties as in our ancient wells. This water is 4 degrees, smooth and soft tasting.

Immature Water
When someone says, "I have a deep well" you are informed that the source is the water table maybe 500 ft deep. This water, if left alone would percolate and eventually become Mature, but because it is harvested at the early stages of development it is only a poor second option to top quality. The water table is highly contaminated with (man made) pharmaceuticals, industrial and agricultural chemicals and organic pathogens. This water will have various temperatures above 4 degrees and the taste will vary from tangy to bland to offensive. As a Diviner, I often refer to groundwater or immature water as the 'Nitrate Sump' because of our farming practice of water-soluble chemicals - nasty nitrates.

Sterile Water / Rain
When it begins to rain the first ten minutes after a dry spell cleans the air of airborne pollutants. It is toxic and should not be consumed. Rain is supposed to clean the air, sterile water is hungry for information and in this stage of its cycle it absorbs the dirt. After the first ten minutes of rain we have a clean basic ingredient for water. The rain easily moves the atmospheric toxins and percolation quickly absorbs them allowing the full hydrological cycle a chance to re energise and fill the water with Light. Humans should not consume Sterile or rainwater because it will absorb your Light. There are certain medical exceptions to this. This water will have various temperatures above 4 degrees, it can even be warm and the taste will vary.

Rivers and Lakes
Rivers are mostly heavily polluted except very near to source. Lakes are still and exposed to the sun and loose energy easily. Avoid both. This shows that high quality water is available only at a specific stage in its full hydrological cycle. This stage of the cycle is found at the holy wells of our ancestors.

Each well was respected and had a name and its particular characteristic for healing was often in that name. Nature provides a huge complex machine to produce high quality water for us, but mankind has lost respect for Nature. More correctly, science fears the powers of Nature because it does not understand Light. Then it ignores the Light. Science thinks it is better than Nature, and so we have people with formulas. More bad science. Because Nature has devised a system that puts Light into water, we should obey the dictate from Schauberger- "Comprehend and copy Nature". This is what the Centre for Implosion Research (http://www.implosionresearch.com) has done; they have found a simple way to add Light back to tap water. This is the only way forward at the moment, to add Light to whatever water you can get. The dead science formula for water as H2O is wrong. The Living science formula for water is - you sweat one pint, breathe two pints and urinate three pints daily (based on a six ft / 12 stone man). If that water contains a man made formula then you support the idea of science i.e. man knows more than Nature does. If that water contains Light then your body will assume full health. We are Light Beings. The Light in the water will detoxify the body and raise consciousness. "Comprehend and copy Nature" - not just intellectually but practically and daily and you may actually enjoy your incarnational potential on this wonderful planet.

HEALTH WARNING ON ENERGY AND WATERCHEMICAL PROBLEMS IN TAP WATER
Aluminium causes - premature ageing, Alzheimer's
Nitrates causes - nausea, cancers
Herbicides / Pesticides causes - birth defects, cancers
Arsenic causes - illnesses, birth defects, death
Chlorine causes - allergic reactions, heart disease
affects - metabolism of fat, hormonal activity
inhibits - certain enzymes, recovery
kills - good intestinal bacteria
Fluoride causes - heart disease, genetic damage, dental problems, brittle bones
affects - immune system, mental ability, kidneys, heart, thyroid gland, eyes, skin, brain function
inhibits - function of white blood cells, wide range of body enzymes, natural DNA repair system.

FLOURIDE IS THE SECOND WORST TOXIN PRESENT IN THE EARTHS CRUST, SECOND ONLY TO ARSENIC. IRELAND HAS BEEN UNDER MASS MEDICATION WITH FLOURIDE WITHOUT ANYBODIES PERMISSION SINCE THE 1960s, See http://www.flouridefree.com

CHLORINE IS ADDED TO OUR WATER SUPPLIES TO KILL E.COLI, BUT THIS CREATES THMs WHICH ARE MORE DANGEROUS TO US.

THM's =TRIHALOMETHANES CAUSE CANCER.

Beginnings of a Solution

TAP WATER FILTRATION
Jug Filters
Cheap, convenient and good first step to cleaning your water. You should change the filter regularly as bacteria will build up and the filter will become ineffective and eventually become dangerous.
Carbon Filters
Simple, but do not treat bacteria or viruses. Removes impurities, smells and tastes and man made chemicals by filtration and absorption. Solid block carbon filters are more effective than the granulated activated carbon filters.

Distillation
Boils the water, condenses the steam and leaves the unwanted substances behind. Distilled water is only valid as a short-term therapeutic detoxifying measure. Long term use leeches energy and nutrients from your body.

Ceramic Filters
Allows water through but traps bacteria. Some have an ion exchange mechanism that traps some metals and also helps to soften hard water. Good for bacterial problems.

Reverse Osmosis Filters
The most effective filters. Can remove almost all contaminants; lead, mercury, arsenic, nitrates, herbicides, pesticides, and can reject bacteria and viruses. Israeli soldiers use portable models.

ENERGISING FILTERED TAP WATER
When tap water is filtered you have neutral water. Now you must bring the life force back into the neutral or sleeping water. Using the combined forces of the vortex and resonance does this. Water Energisers from the Centre for Implosion Research will add the Light (life force or Prana or chi) back into water. The taste and feel will change when Light is added to water and there are three tests given below to double check this for yourself.
Tasting.
Fix the after taste in your mind after drinking raw filtered tap water, energise the same water and fix the after taste in your mind again and compare.
Flowers.
Use cut flowers and two vases' use raw filtered tap water and energised filtered tap water. Keep 7 ft apart, watch over a week.
Animals.
Use two bowls, raw filtered tap water and energised filtered tap water. Keep 7 ft apart; let the cat or dog have access to both bowls at the same time. Watch your pet go for the Light.

TRUTH and WATER
Planet Earth is a Water planet
We are Water based life forms
Water is alive; it is full of Prana
We breathe out one pint daily
We all sweat two pints daily
We urinate three pints daily
We must drink 4 to 6 pints daily
Tea, coffee, beer are diuretics
Carbonated Water is diuretic
Tap water is energetically dead
Warm still water is dead
DNA is Water and Prana
Water has an Auric Field
Magnets structure Water
Energisers energise Water
It is not just H2OIt is a living entity
All Ancient Sites are over Water
Water has a huge memory
To stay healthy, drink Water
Newborn humans are 97% Water
Adults are about 75% Water
The human brain is 85% Water
Bones are 22% Water
Tooth enamel is 2% Water
Water is a colourless liquid
In it we can see the rainbow
We must respect Water again
Water is Sacred
Water is Life

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September 15th, 2017

15/9/2017

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Autumn Equinox, the Second Harvest.

Subscribed members are invited to join us for the start of our Equinox celebrations. Sunday the 17th of September, 11am-1pm here at Celtic Druid Temple in Roscommon, Ireland. We'll be celebrating with ceremony in the Roundhouse and a shared meal in the marquee. Email to book your place.

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August 10th, 2017

10/8/2017

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Check out our new blog page dedicated to the progress of Tigín na Druí, little house of the Druids.

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Fairy Tradition in Ireland and Meath by Kristofer Mc Cormack

14/7/2017

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Introduction This essay will explore the origins of the fairies and how fairy tradition has changed over time. It will also look at the fairies of County Meath and how the tradition there compares to the rest of Ireland.

Image - The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania by Noel Paton

Who are the fairies?

Fairies are otherworldly creatures that inhabit an world invisible to humans[Dái06]. Most European nations have their own fairy tradition with each having their own unique origins stories. Fairies first appeared in Ireland in the early 12th century[Nor20] and seem to be heavily intertwined with the lore of the dead, some of the first tales of fairies evolve from the belief of the dead living on in their burial chamber[Dái06]. This might explain the use of the word sí to describe both fairies and the mythical other world. The Ancient Irish believed that fairies were the first settlers of Ireland. These people were known as the Tuatha de Danaan. The De Danaan conquered all of Eire until they were defeated by the Milesians. The Milesians were believed to be the ancestors of the modern Irish people. Not willing to cooperate with their conquerors, the De Danaan went into hiding and lived in the hills leading to them gaining a new name, Aes Síde or Sí which in this context means mound[Nor20]. The Tuatha De Danaan were often depicted as living in raths, mounds and lakes in the tales of Fionn Mac Cumhaill and in the Book of Invasions. The Tuatha De Danaan or fairy people were described as being the same height as normal people and dressed in elegant green clothing. They had many different abilities such as turning invisible and changing their appearance. The fairies were seen as godly to mortal people, hence, there lifestyle were often associated with the interests of the time. Interests such as music, war and chase were the occupation of the fairies. Their musical abilities were revered, and some of the best musicians of the time credited their best works to the fairies[Nor20]. The other origin tale was the Christian perspective on fairies, the existence of a Christian origin story for the fairies displays the strength of the belief. According to the church, fairies are angels who were thrown out of heaven by God. The tale depicts God opening the floor of heaven and casting Satan and other angels out, when he closed the floor, the angels that had fallen with Satan became his servants, Angels that had landed on the surface become land fairies, the fairies that landed in the sea became sea fairies while the fairies in the air become the air fairies. These exiled angels spend their time trying to get back into heaven by stealing children blood. The fairies are known by many names as there was a folk assumption that you should not refer to the fairies by their name[Joh00]. The fairies are also known as “the good folk” or “the noble folk”

Fairies in Modern Belief

In contrast to the early accounts of fairies in Ireland, the fairies of the 19th and 20th century had a much more volatile relationship with their human counterparts. The fairies were still associated with a lot of good in Ireland, such as music. In the documentary, “The Fairy Faith” a family of musicians recounts how their grandfather came to the acclaim to the people for his musical skills. The grandfather attributes his talents to the fairies, claiming that he played music for a fairy wedding and met two famous fiddlers who thought him the skills he had now[Joh00]. However, the fairies were feared by the people of Ireland and were normally the ones blamed for bad things happening, people were afraid to interfere with fairies on superstitious nights such Halloween, or Hallow Eve. An interesting element of fairy tradition that became popular was changelings. Changelings are fairies that resemble the human that they replace. It was believed by the rural Irish that a changeling was odd and wise beyond their years. The changeling would eventually disappear, if the changeling was discovered during the time it was alive, it would bring back the person it replaced. The presence of changelings were quite common, however, I haven’t encountered a tale where the subject has the person that was taken from them return. One particular tale that was quite disturbing was the burning of Bridget Cleary in 1895. Bridget Cleary was recently wedded to her husband Michael Cleary in County Tipperary. They had lived a happy marriage until her husband noticed his wife acting strangely. The exact details of how his wife was acting strange isn’t told, however it does say that he first suspected his wife being a changeling when she took sick for a few days from a cold. An old man visited the house and told him that the woman in the bed wasn’t his wife. When she didn’t get better, Mr. Cleary became convinced that the woman he was married to was a changeling. He sought a fairy doctor who gave him a cure for expelling the changeling. That night a large number of the Cleary family gathered to witness the expelling of the changeling. When Mrs Cleary refused to take the cure, she was forced to do by a hot poker. She was constantly question and shook as the family attempted to get rid of the changeling. Eventually they placed her over the stove and continued to ask her questions. Eventually the occupants of the house were sasified that Mrs Cleary was not a fairy. Michael Cleary remained unconvinced and the next day when his wife refused to eat he threw her into the fire and poured lamp oil on her. His house went on fire and with it went the supposed changeling. Weeks pasted and his wife did not return which led to Cleary growing remorseful. The occupants of the house were eventually charged with man slaughter[Tho82].

Fairies in Meath

The Schools collection of Co. Meath suggest that fairy belief was quite weak, there is few stories referring to fairies. The three accounts I have included with this essay are entitled Fairies Football, Fairy Reel and Fairy Fort, I chose these particular tales because they were the most common themes of fairy stories in Meath. Fairy football is a about a boy called Seamus who was sitting on Piercetown Hill. He heard shouting and looked down to see a fairy football match taking place. He was impressed by one of the players who wore a red cap and at the end of the game, he shouted out “well done red cap”, when he spoke he was surrounded by a troop of fairy soldiers and was imprisoned and never seen again. Fairy Reel was about fairies unique musical talents, two girls were walking home when they saw dancing fairies in a field, they were struck by the wonderful music of the fairies’ and rush home to tell their mother what they saw. The tale continues with the farmer who owned the field believing that the fairies had a pot of gold buried in his field, he ploughed the field but the grass grew back in a day and he “left the good people to their spring dance”. Unsurprising, fairy places were quite a prominent subject, Meath has many famous burial chambers and scared sites such as Tara and Newgrange which were the preferred dwellings of the fairies. The story I chose described a fairy fort called Rath Maeve near the Hill of Tara, It claims that a fairy with an apron took all the clay from a hill and made the mound with it. The tale also says that if you were to walk under Rath Maeve you would end up on the Hill of Skryne. Modern fairy stories are quite prominent in Meath, from my personal experience there is still a silent belief in fairies in Meath. On the Hill of Tara there is a hawthorn tree known as the fairy tree. I regular walk past this tree on my visits to Tara and it is often covered in ribbons, gifts and sometimes wishes to the fairies. After the construction of the M3 motorway, activist Carmel Divine claimed that the construction of the M3 motorway through the Tara-Skyrne valley angered the fairies and that the woes of Ireland since July 2007 was the fairies taking revenge[Gui11].

Interviews

My interviews were quite successful and I uncovered some interesting perspectives on fairy lore in Meath. My objective with the interviews was to get a contrast between old and modern fairy tradition to see if it had changed since The Schools Collection was taken. My first interviewee told me about some tales of people who have interfered with fairies and were punished such as a man who bulldozed a fairy fort in Oristown County Meath. He was beheaded by a broken saw blade soon after. My second interviewee provided a lot of information I had never encountered before. He described fairies as energy forms that can take on humanoid forms if they wish to. My interviewee had seen fairies before and he said that they would appear only in your peripheral vision. They would usually be about 40-50 yards away. He told me that fairies were misunderstood creatures and were often blamed for bad things such as storms, rain and deaths or behaviour changes caused by illness. He also talked about different fairy types such as the banshee, which was a fairy that sings before someone dies. Both interviewees agreed that fairies were neither good nor bad, they were like us.

Conclusion

Fairy tradition in Meath is quite odd, I found it quite difficult to find tales of fairies in the Schools collection despite the presence of the Hill of Tara in a lot of the children accounts. In my interviews, one of my interviewees said there was a stigma in the belief of fairies and I suspect that this stigma might already have begun in the 1930s in Meath. There is a wealth of tradition and lore about the Battle of the Boyne, local cures and weather lores in Meath. The Battle of the Boyne is a clear source of pride among the children with a lot of descriptions and followed on stories in their accounts. Fairies do not receive the same treatment, the stories about fairies are isolated and often seem outplace with the other traditions that the children associate with their local town. I believe this might the setting in of the stigma about fairies in Meath and the stories that do remain are the ones that the past generations had told their kids. This provides quite a contrast with modern fairy tradition with that of the past. As I mentioned above, there are many stories and mentions of the fairies in modern Meath folklore, especially the fairies of Tara. Both my interviewees told me that there is a select group of people who believe in fairies and many live in Meath which I find interesting as this belief appears to revival of an old tradition. However the stigma still exists and becomes an interesting topic in itself when we consider whether a stigma is healthy for the tradition or killing the tradition. On one side, you could claim that a stigma on believing in fairies is leading to people being too afraid to speak about their fairy stories. However, if the stigma was non-existent would Irish fairy tradition become commercialised like the depictions we see today. It seems that the only thing certain about fairy tradition is that it isn’t going anywhere anytime quickly.

Bibliography
Guidera, A., 2011. Fairytale of New Ireland. [Online]
Available at: http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/fairytale-of-new-ireland-26796272.html
[Accessed 7th April 2017].
hÓgáin, D. Ó., 2006. The Lore of Ireland. Cork : Collins Press.
McGrath, T., 1982. Fairy Faith and Changelings: The Burning of Bridget Cleary in 1895. Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, 71(282), pp. 178-184.
O'Connor, N. J., 1920. The Early Irish Fairies and Fairyland. Sewanee Review , 28(4), pp. 545-557.
Súilleabháin, S., 1942. Handbook of Irish Folklore. s.l.:Folklore of Ireland Society.
The Fairy Faith. 2000. [Film] Directed by John Walker. s.l.: s.n.

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Celtic Druid's Summer Solstice

17/6/2017

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The Sun festivals of ancient Ireland are still known by their old Irish names, Imbolg, Beltine, Lughnasa and Samhain. These Sun festivals are many thousands of years old; they have survived an imperial invasion and occupation for 800 years and the attempted erasure of indigenous consciousness by the catholic church for almost 1500 years. These Sun festivals are the gateway for today's Celtic Men and Women to celebrate with the Celtic Gods – Brigid at Imbolg, Bile at Beltine, Lugh at Lughnasa and Tlachtga at Samhain.

But the advice for anyone seeking connection to the Celtic Gods is to avoid the current catholic calendar of the so-called civilised world to time your ceremony. Pagans and Druids on a Celtic Path use Natural Time as their ancestors did – this means working with the alignments of the oldest temples to the four bright stars in the belt of the Zodiac. The Solstices and Equinoxes do not line up with particular Stars, they are turning points of the day / night balance such as when the Sun’s energy enters the ancient temple at Brú na Boinne (Newgrange) energising the God Dagda after the longest night of the year. The history and correct timing methods are shared below for those who wish to walk a Celtic Path.

Celtic Druid’s Summer Sun Standing
Solstice is from the Latin and is made up from two words given roughly as: sol = sun and stice = stopped. Celtic Druí do not believe that the Sun stops so we use the old Irish word “Tairisem” which means standing still. In summer this Sun Standing happens in the month of June around the 20th, 21st or 22nd when we honour Éatain Eachraidhe, the White Mare Goddess. This is the highest point of the solar year when the Sun reaches it maximum height in the Sky. The Sun is at its highest at noon and shadows are at their shortest. There are almost 20 hours of daylight and only four hours of darkness if you are in Ireland at this time.

This is not a specifically Gaelic holiday and many Pagan cultures celebrate this time with many festivals known by a range of names - Denmark, Sankt Hans Aften. Wiccan sabbat Litha. Slavonia, St. John's Night. Alban Heruin. Gaul (old France), Feast of Epona, (white mare goddess). Roman Empire, Vestalia. Catholic countries: feast of St. John the Baptist – this was an attempt to shift the natives away for the true date by setting the 24th of June as bone fire night. Hopi Indians and Native Americans celebrate the summer solstice but I don’t know their names for this day.

Etain, White Mare Celtic Goddess, Crom agus Corra
In Ireland, many people of all ages and religions do some sort of celebration for this day. The resurgence of the old Pagan ways and the need to believe in something truly spiritual for this day has many people visit the ancient sacred sites. We at Ireland’s Druidschool often hold a presence on Tara and we have multiple ceremonies. Our sunrise ceremony is very simple - we just stand or sit in silence facing the horizon where the sun will actually rise. We watch the clouds, the colours and the rising of the false sun and then the actual sun, and then the actual sun merge into the false sun. Magically - this is spirit rising within.

This longest day is sacred to the White Mare Goddess, who was known in Wales as Rhiannon, in France as Epona and here in Ireland She is called Éatain Eachraidhe (sometimes also spelt Edaín). In the recent destruction of the sacred valley in the Royal City of Tara the remains of a high status female (with horse and giant dog found nearby) was kept totally under media wraps. The high status female is wrapped in black plastic and stored in a warehouse in Drogheda. But Her spirit has returned to native consciousness and once again Éatain, the White Mare Goddess, is honoured with ceremony on Tara on the longest day of the year.

We also watch the Sun rise from Tallaght Hill as the sun aligns with Lambay Volcano, the Pond called Linn Oir and then to the Cairn on the Hill of the Fair Gods. Much is written about this alignment in this website - words cannot describe the thrill of being at a complex of sacred sites that were laid out to work with the energies on this specific day.

We also hold Pilgrimage to Croagh Crom, Ireland's Holy Mountain (aka the Reek). Just south of the holy mountain is a triangular lake called Loughnacorra – this should read – Lough na Corra which translates as the Lake of the Crane Birds. At midday the Sun is reflected from the surface of Lough na Corra onto Croagh Crom and a powerful connection is made. This is the harmony of balance between God and Goddess expressed in the landscape. More info on this Sacred Pilgrimage is available here.

Calculating the Summer Solstice
In the Celtic World and in the time before it - there were no clocks; no calendars and the festivals of the year were measured in Ireland by the penetration of a sunbeam into designed passages in stone Cairns (such as Newgrange) to exactly light up a section of a stone with carvings upon it. This happens even today so the ancestral calendar is 100% accurate. The longest day is calculated by the midday Sun casting its shortest shadow. But the Sunrise on the longest day makes an alignment over Lambay Volcano to a little known monument complex on Tallaght Hill in South Dublin. Even though the Cairn on Tallaght Hill is in ruins - the outer circle of recumbent stones from the Cairn still exists. This means if you were to stand on top of this Cairn on Tallaght Hill when the Sun rises at 0* of Cancer 45* east of north (midsummer) you would see the sun rise over the Lambay Volcano and light up a pond to glow golden before it shines in to the foundations of a ancient ceremonial temple on Cnockan (or the Little Hill) as the locals call it. The old maps give the name of Cnockan as Knockavinidee. A scholar from a nearby valley has given us a translation as “The Hill of the Fair Gods”. This is the ancestors Summer equivalent to Newgrange / Brú na Boinne.

God, Goddess and the Four Archangels
This longest day is sacred to the White Mare Goddess, who was known in Ireland as Éatain Eachraidhe. This was the Iron Age expression of the goddess, in the preceding age the goddess was honoured as the White Cow or Boann / Boyne the sacred river that flows before Knowth, Newgrange and Dowth.

When the Sun and Moon were not visible the time of the seasons and the time of night could be obtained by looking to the bright star in the night sky. This placed the four bright stars next to God and Goddess in order of importance. These four bright stars form an almost equal armed cross within the circle or belt of stars we call the Zodiac. But at the Summer Solstice it was easy to know that it was the longest day because there were only 4 hours of darkness. This is the ancestors timing for the Summer Solstice and it is a glorious archaeo-astronomical feat of Sun light engineering bringing the energies of God to Earth. The Sun, Lambay Volcano, the passage Cairn presumably with its carved stone inside all make an alignment stretching many millions of miles once a year and this shows the correct timing for Summer Solstice.

The Summer Solstice is not aligned to a Star
In its most basic - there were no clocks, no calendars and the passage of time was measured in Ireland by the penetration of a sunbeam into designed passages in stone cairns to exactly light up a section of a stone with carvings upon it. This happens even today so the ancestral calendar is still accurate. The solar alignment that determines the correct time for the Summer Solstice is the most northerly rising of the Sun. The double check is that the Sun reaches its highest at midday and casts the shortest shadows. The temple that catches the Sunrise on the longest day is on Tallaght Hill which overlooks Dublin and Lambay Volcano but all that remains is the base of a Cairn. From Tallaght Hill you can look to Cnoc Lugh, Summerhill, Sliabh na Callighe, Tara and Brú na Boinne without obstruction – a pure line of sight. This was important as fires can be seen, signals sent and communication between districts were made easy, but more importantly in my opinion – the entire Eightfold year and its Cairn Temples pivoting on Lambay Volcano in Dublin Bay all worked to sustain the Earth’s Magnetic Field and they were visually linked.

In Limerick on the west coast of Ireland we find Grange, the largest stone circle in the country. It is over 150 feet in diameter and has 113 stones and was built over 4000 years ago. It makes an almost perfect circle of stones surrounded by a high earthen bank, making it into a Henge. It is aligned with the rising sun on the Sunrise of the Summer Solstice -the sun shines directly in the centre of the ancient stone henge circle. Hundreds would gather here and today people are returning and the numbers increase each year.

In England the focus is at Stonehenge where a huge multiple standing stone circle makes a perfect alignment with the rising sun on the Solstice. This has become a hugely popular event for many people from all over the world.

Earth’s magnetic field
This is one of Eightfolds of the Solar Year of the Tuatha De Danann. Samhain and Imbolg share the same alignment to Cairn ‘L’ on Sliabh na Callighe, Beltine and Lughnasa share the same alignment to Cnoc Lugh (Lyons Hill), the two Equinoxes share the same alignment to Summerhill, the Summer Solstice has its own alignment to the Hill of the Fair Gods on Tallaght Hill and the Winter Solstice has its own alignment to Brú na Boinne or Newgrange. All these alignments for the Eightfold Solar year have the fulcrum or pivotal point of the leaking energies from the volcano being wrapped back into the solar wind. This is earth magnetism and landscape healing at an extraordinary level. In magical terminology – this is the Solar Word wrapping the Volcanic leaking energy into itself as it connects to the acupuncture of the stone Cairns – activating and harmonising the magnetic grid here on Earth.

At the Celtic Druid Temple, we will guide you to find and express your Celtic Spirit by helping you discover the Three Realms, Three Cauldrons and Natural Time - this creates a strong foundation for becoming a Celtic Druid. We train students and pathworkers from all over the world who seek to know and express Sacred Knowledge and Indigenous Spiritual Traditions so that many seekers can walk a distinctly Celtic Druid Path.

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