The Spirit of The Celtic Dragon
Contents:
1. The Spirit of The Dragon Part 1
2. The Spirit of The Dragon Part 2
3. The Spirit of the Celtic Dragon part 3
4. Crom's Return
5. Crom Stone Head
1. The Spirit of The Dragon Part 1
2. The Spirit of The Dragon Part 2
3. The Spirit of the Celtic Dragon part 3
4. Crom's Return
5. Crom Stone Head
1. The Spirit of The Dragon Part 1
Although hidden from view for a long time to most people, the Spirit of the Celtic Dragon is alive and thriving all over the world. Many will say - ‘we never went away’ and ‘we’re back’ and so on but do they really know what the Spirit of the Celtic Dragon is about? In a recent series of talks and slide shows I gave in Dublin City Libraries, in support of Shaolin Sifu Nick Costello, I told part of the story of the Irish Celtic Dragon to some children in Dublin. They were not afraid of Dragons. They had not been given that fear that has been forced on our people for so long. Nick brought the Chinese new year of the Dragon alive for the young ones by bringing an actual street dance dragon on 7 poles so everyone could have a go at bringing the Dragon out and about. They all had smiles, even the teachers and assistants had that grin that only happens when you feel so good. Nick asked each group if anyone was afraid of the Dragon and everyone said No. Then Nick asked them ‘what does the Dragon do?’ We were both pleasantly surprised when some children replied ‘the Dragon protects you’ because that’s exactly what it does.
Classic Celtic Irish Dragon
I was able to tell the young ones the story of the 2000 year old Dragon in Dublin’s hills. Dublin’s Dragon was called Arach by the catholic scribes and this is an old Irish word that actually means Dragon. We are told that Arach was in Glennasmole Valley and he battled with the great warrior Finn McCoole who comes from Rathcoole at the south west side of Dublin. Elsewhere we are told that Finn himself wore a wide belt with many Dragons carved on it. Some parts of the story being told to the children had to be left out because it would be too confusing for their young minds. Finn probably did not fight any Dragons as he honoured them by proudly displaying them on his belt. When the true nature of the Dragon as the lifeforce or subtle energy of the Earth is understood, Finn (as a great warrior chief and a very magical person) would have been a protector of the Dragon. So, we must realize that there is something very wrong with the written history of Dragons in old Ireland. But the thing that is not wrong is that there were Dragons in old Ireland… the thing that is wrong is that the written history is corrupt.
Then I spoke about Caorthanach, the Dragon that St Patrick was supposed to have banished. With many images of Irish Dragons from the Book of Kells being projected onto a screen I managed to maintain the children’s attention and interest at a high level. Caorthanach means - the ram’s headed (spiral horned) serpent. For this bit I pointed a finger at each of my temples and moved my fingers in a spiral and said ‘make spirals’ to the children and as they made their spirals I also got them to say ‘Caorthanach’. I also told the story of St Columba who after being self-exiled from Ireland for causing the deaths of 20,000 soldiers in a battle near Sligo went to Scotland and because of this the first story of the Loch Ness monster was written telling us that Columba / Collumcille banished the Loch Ness monster. But hang on a bit – the ‘Cathach of Columba’ (a book called ‘Battle of Columba’) has a Dragon’s head as a capitol letter…
Q from the Cathach of St Columba
Then I spoke about Caorthanach, the Dragon that St Patrick was supposed to have banished. With many images of Irish Dragons from the Book of Kells being projected onto a screen I managed to maintain the children’s attention and interest at a high level. Caorthanach means - the ram’s headed (spiral horned) serpent. For this bit I pointed a finger at each of my temples and moved my fingers in a spiral and said ‘make spirals’ to the children and as they made their spirals I also got them to say ‘Caorthanach’. I also told the story of St Columba who after being self-exiled from Ireland for causing the deaths of 20,000 soldiers in a battle near Sligo went to Scotland and because of this the first story of the Loch Ness monster was written telling us that Columba / Collumcille banished the Loch Ness monster. But hang on a bit – the ‘Cathach of Columba’ (a book called ‘Battle of Columba’) has a Dragon’s head as a capitol letter…
Q from the Cathach of St Columba
The Book of Kells is credited to Columba and it is full of Celtic Dragons… Neither St Patrick nor St Columba got rid of the Dragons in Ireland because we are told that even in the 11th century Brian Boru was still fighting Dragons…
To get to grips with this confusing plot or propaganda spin around Finn McCoole fighting the Dragon Arach we have to look at the written history with very critical eyes. There is definitely something wrong with the idea of one who should be a protector of Dragons (because of his magical skills) being recorded as a battler or potential slayer of the very Dragon Energy he would have respected. St Patrick and Columba did not kill the big Dragons they had problems with either – they merely banished them, Patrick banished Caorthanach (fire breathing she devil monster) and Columba banished the Loch Ness monster (after stopping it eating a human). Brian Boru (self appointed high king of Ireland) fought with Sigurd Dragon Eye and his Dragon ships (aka Viking Longboats) telling us that the Viking invaders from Orkney had a live and current Dragon tradition in the 11th century. That’s an outline of a thousand years of the Dragon Spirit in the written records of Ireland.
Taking the example of these 4 Irishmen from 2000 to 1000 years ago; Finn, Patrick, Columba and Brian, all having their exploits with Dragons recorded by catholic scribes – I’m going to deconstruct the propaganda while searching for core truths that the scribes simply could not leave out of their stories. This may upset some who hold blind allegiance to the church of the lost religion because the catholick church has its own Dragon even today…
Let me take you deeper into the story. In the book called Lebor Gabala there is a story of the Sons of Mil (Iron Age) who invaded Ireland and fought with the Tuatha De Dannan (Bronze Age) on Tara for the control of Ireland. The Sons of Mil had a Serpent / Dragon wrapped around a staff / stick as their flag. This group was a Celtic Warrior dynasty that held the White Mare (Rhiannon in Wales, Epona in France, Eachtra in Eire) as their expression of the Goddess. Previous to them in the Irish Bronze Age, the White Cow was the Goddess symbol. The important thing here is that the Sons of Mil (Iron Age) who invaded Ireland and fought with the Tuatha De Dannan (Bronze Age) both had a Goddess consciousness. This ‘battle’ is only known today because the scribes of the catholic church recorded it long after it had happened. I suggest that the church adapted / re-wrote the story to suit their own ends but it also shows and proves reverence by the earlier inhabitants (ie pre-catholic) for the Divine Feminine. This battle on Tara is thought to have happened 3500 to 3000 years ago.
This ancient battle shows us that the Dragons presence has been in Ireland from at least 5,000 years ago. That pushes the timeline back a bit…
But, in 1796 the British built a prison called Kilmainham Goal and placed Dragons over the entrance door. It’s now a very popular museum. These Dragon are chained and have neck irons – this symbology shows that the imperial invaders sought control over the wild indigenous spirit of the Irish people.
To get to grips with this confusing plot or propaganda spin around Finn McCoole fighting the Dragon Arach we have to look at the written history with very critical eyes. There is definitely something wrong with the idea of one who should be a protector of Dragons (because of his magical skills) being recorded as a battler or potential slayer of the very Dragon Energy he would have respected. St Patrick and Columba did not kill the big Dragons they had problems with either – they merely banished them, Patrick banished Caorthanach (fire breathing she devil monster) and Columba banished the Loch Ness monster (after stopping it eating a human). Brian Boru (self appointed high king of Ireland) fought with Sigurd Dragon Eye and his Dragon ships (aka Viking Longboats) telling us that the Viking invaders from Orkney had a live and current Dragon tradition in the 11th century. That’s an outline of a thousand years of the Dragon Spirit in the written records of Ireland.
Taking the example of these 4 Irishmen from 2000 to 1000 years ago; Finn, Patrick, Columba and Brian, all having their exploits with Dragons recorded by catholic scribes – I’m going to deconstruct the propaganda while searching for core truths that the scribes simply could not leave out of their stories. This may upset some who hold blind allegiance to the church of the lost religion because the catholick church has its own Dragon even today…
Let me take you deeper into the story. In the book called Lebor Gabala there is a story of the Sons of Mil (Iron Age) who invaded Ireland and fought with the Tuatha De Dannan (Bronze Age) on Tara for the control of Ireland. The Sons of Mil had a Serpent / Dragon wrapped around a staff / stick as their flag. This group was a Celtic Warrior dynasty that held the White Mare (Rhiannon in Wales, Epona in France, Eachtra in Eire) as their expression of the Goddess. Previous to them in the Irish Bronze Age, the White Cow was the Goddess symbol. The important thing here is that the Sons of Mil (Iron Age) who invaded Ireland and fought with the Tuatha De Dannan (Bronze Age) both had a Goddess consciousness. This ‘battle’ is only known today because the scribes of the catholic church recorded it long after it had happened. I suggest that the church adapted / re-wrote the story to suit their own ends but it also shows and proves reverence by the earlier inhabitants (ie pre-catholic) for the Divine Feminine. This battle on Tara is thought to have happened 3500 to 3000 years ago.
This ancient battle shows us that the Dragons presence has been in Ireland from at least 5,000 years ago. That pushes the timeline back a bit…
But, in 1796 the British built a prison called Kilmainham Goal and placed Dragons over the entrance door. It’s now a very popular museum. These Dragon are chained and have neck irons – this symbology shows that the imperial invaders sought control over the wild indigenous spirit of the Irish people.
That brings the timeline forward a bit… Next are the two Dragon statues in the Iveagh Gardens in south Dublin city center designed by Ninian Niven, in 1865 – classic Irish Dragons in a formal garden only 147 years ago… We Irish have a long history with the Dragon but this has been suppressed just as the wild spirit of the people has also been oppressed by those who seek control. These oppressors are the catholick church and the British monarchy - both used the Dragon symbol and both sought / seek control over the Irish people. They have both failed to complete their control agenda.
The British Dragon comes from the Anglo Saxon (from north Germany) invasion of Britain in the Dark Ages – 1500 years ago. Theirs was a White Dragon that many today explain as a Comet. The Dragon of the catholick church is called Marduk and he has an agenda of world dominance.
Marduk, papal coat of arms, Vatican city state
The British Dragon comes from the Anglo Saxon (from north Germany) invasion of Britain in the Dark Ages – 1500 years ago. Theirs was a White Dragon that many today explain as a Comet. The Dragon of the catholick church is called Marduk and he has an agenda of world dominance.
Marduk, papal coat of arms, Vatican city state
Marduk comes from Sumerian times and his is the oldest Dragon story – it’s from over 7000 years ago.
So, who exactly is Marduk? We must allow for a range of spellings but Marduk was the patron deity of the city of Babylon. Marduk was a minor god that became the chief deity and national god of Babylon. The Babylonian Creation Epic had the God Marduk lead a rebellion of the gods against the Goddess Tiamat. Many see this as a legend about the overthrow of the Matriarchy. Tiamat is shown to us as a huge snake with curved horns and a lozenge or diamond hatched body, which as we know is very similar to the Celtic Dragon as shown in such books as the Book of Kells etc. Marduk has many super-weapons and he defeats Tiamat and cuts her body into two parts – the sky and the earth. Marduk creates humans from his own blood and bone.
Tiamat was the Sumerian primordial chaos goddess and goddess of the salt water seas. Marduk was a storm-weather god who was four-headed, four eared, huge, and very powerful. When Marduk was asked to stop Tiamat; he made a deal so that he would forever be venerated as the supreme god and king if he won.
Marduk’s defeat of Taimat is written on the fourth of the Sumerian tablets: Then joined issue Tiamat and Marduk, wisest of gods, They strove in single combat, locked in battle, The lord spread out his net to enfold her, The Evil Wind, which followed behind, he let loose in her face. When Tiamat opened her mouth to consume him, He drove in the Evil Wind that she close not her lips. As the fierce winds charged her belly, Her body was distended and her mouth was wide open. He released the arrow, it tore her belly, It cut through her insides, splitting the heart. Having thus subdued her, he extinguished her life. He cast down her carcass to stand upon it. Marduk dismembered Tiamat’s body and he created mountains from her head, and hills from her breasts, her nostrils he turned into reservoirs and he caused the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to flow from her eyes. Marduk also made the constellations and told the moon its phases… A powerful god!
Marduk also made Man – he was called “Lullu” a primeval savage who was made to do the mundane work and to so bear the drudgery of the gods. Marduk cared about humans who could communicate to him through prayers. As the male god of springtime and of renewal he established patriarchy to replace that of the “mother goddess.” Marduk set up order in his region and created stable government and Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar I builder of the Hanging Gardens, humbly addresses Marduk in prayer:
Without thee, Lord, what could there be For the king thou lovest, and dost call his name? Thou shall bless his title as thou wilt, And unto him vouchsafe a path direct, I, the prince obeying thee, Am what they hands have made. Tis thou who art my creator, Entrusting me with the rule of hosts of men. According to thy mercy, Lord,… Turn into loving-kindness thy dread power, And make to spring up in my heart A reverence for thy divinity. Give as thou thinkest best.
Marduk even set out the star groups of the zodiac and made Nibiru his own star and made Jupiter into the overseer of the entire firmament. The signs of the Zodiac shown below are the originals of those we use today:
Nisan (Mar-Apr), The Labourer, The Ram;
Iyyar (Apr-May), Mulmula and the Bull of heaven, The Bull;
Sivan (May-June), The Faithful Shepherd of Heaven and the Great Twins, The Twins;
Tammuz (June-July), Allul or Nagar, The Crab;
Ab (July-Aug), The Lion (or dog), The Lion;
Elul (Aug-Sep), The Ear of corn(?), The ear of Corn (Virgo);
Tisri (Sep-Oct), The Scales, The Scales;
Marcheswan (Oct-Nov), The Scorpion, The Scorpion;
Chisleu (Nov-Dec), Pa-bil-sag, The Archer;
Tebet (Dec-Jan), ahar-mas, the Fish-kid, The Goat;
Sebat (Jan-Feb), Gula, The Water-bearer;
Adar (Feb-Mar), The Water Channel and the Tails, The Fishes.
In the Sumerian Creation Myth we are told that the gods called him by the fifty titles of all the other gods (i.e. he had all their powers) and we can see that this is how the Babylonian religion became monotheistic. This made him a very suitable mascot for the catholic church that Constantine the Great (a Pagan emperor of Rome) set up in 325 ad at Nicea.
But Tiamat was also called Gaia meaning Mother Earth and it was and is Marduks intention to make rules and to control everything. Marduk is the pet of the one god order and by association – the new world order too. This is why the church used / uses the Dragon slayer Marduk – to suppress knowledge of the Goddess Tiamat / Gaia / Nature.
Marduk is also known as Nibiru and is seen today as the twelfth planet in our Solar System. Nibiru/Marduk is in an extreme elliptical orbit of some 3600 years. This twelfth planet, Nibiru/Marduk, is now approaching Earth and its modern name is 2003 – UB – 313, but it has also been called: Nibiru, Marduk, Nemesis, Hercolubus, the Gods Planet, the Planet of the Empire, the Planet of the Cross or the Red Planet. The 12th planet is expected to pass between Mars and Jupiter (this is its nearest point to Earth during its return) during 2012 – 2014. Nothing happened proving this to be a modern myth from a composite of bad movies and conspiracy theorists.
So now we can begin to see why the Irish Celtic Dragon had to be dominated by the churches Dragon – it was the goddess culture all over Europe that was being replaced by the one god culture –we can now see the religious apartheid and the so called ‘battle of the sexes’ from pre-history in the battle between the male and female Dragons. The female Dragon expresses wildness and chaos while the male Dragon expresses rules and order.
We will look at the lost 13th sign of the Zodiac – Serpens and why it was disappeared almost 2000 years ago. We will look at the lost planet and the lost star sign and hidden Dragon Goddesses all over Europe…
Con, Ard Druí, Beltine 2012
So, who exactly is Marduk? We must allow for a range of spellings but Marduk was the patron deity of the city of Babylon. Marduk was a minor god that became the chief deity and national god of Babylon. The Babylonian Creation Epic had the God Marduk lead a rebellion of the gods against the Goddess Tiamat. Many see this as a legend about the overthrow of the Matriarchy. Tiamat is shown to us as a huge snake with curved horns and a lozenge or diamond hatched body, which as we know is very similar to the Celtic Dragon as shown in such books as the Book of Kells etc. Marduk has many super-weapons and he defeats Tiamat and cuts her body into two parts – the sky and the earth. Marduk creates humans from his own blood and bone.
Tiamat was the Sumerian primordial chaos goddess and goddess of the salt water seas. Marduk was a storm-weather god who was four-headed, four eared, huge, and very powerful. When Marduk was asked to stop Tiamat; he made a deal so that he would forever be venerated as the supreme god and king if he won.
Marduk’s defeat of Taimat is written on the fourth of the Sumerian tablets: Then joined issue Tiamat and Marduk, wisest of gods, They strove in single combat, locked in battle, The lord spread out his net to enfold her, The Evil Wind, which followed behind, he let loose in her face. When Tiamat opened her mouth to consume him, He drove in the Evil Wind that she close not her lips. As the fierce winds charged her belly, Her body was distended and her mouth was wide open. He released the arrow, it tore her belly, It cut through her insides, splitting the heart. Having thus subdued her, he extinguished her life. He cast down her carcass to stand upon it. Marduk dismembered Tiamat’s body and he created mountains from her head, and hills from her breasts, her nostrils he turned into reservoirs and he caused the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to flow from her eyes. Marduk also made the constellations and told the moon its phases… A powerful god!
Marduk also made Man – he was called “Lullu” a primeval savage who was made to do the mundane work and to so bear the drudgery of the gods. Marduk cared about humans who could communicate to him through prayers. As the male god of springtime and of renewal he established patriarchy to replace that of the “mother goddess.” Marduk set up order in his region and created stable government and Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar I builder of the Hanging Gardens, humbly addresses Marduk in prayer:
Without thee, Lord, what could there be For the king thou lovest, and dost call his name? Thou shall bless his title as thou wilt, And unto him vouchsafe a path direct, I, the prince obeying thee, Am what they hands have made. Tis thou who art my creator, Entrusting me with the rule of hosts of men. According to thy mercy, Lord,… Turn into loving-kindness thy dread power, And make to spring up in my heart A reverence for thy divinity. Give as thou thinkest best.
Marduk even set out the star groups of the zodiac and made Nibiru his own star and made Jupiter into the overseer of the entire firmament. The signs of the Zodiac shown below are the originals of those we use today:
Nisan (Mar-Apr), The Labourer, The Ram;
Iyyar (Apr-May), Mulmula and the Bull of heaven, The Bull;
Sivan (May-June), The Faithful Shepherd of Heaven and the Great Twins, The Twins;
Tammuz (June-July), Allul or Nagar, The Crab;
Ab (July-Aug), The Lion (or dog), The Lion;
Elul (Aug-Sep), The Ear of corn(?), The ear of Corn (Virgo);
Tisri (Sep-Oct), The Scales, The Scales;
Marcheswan (Oct-Nov), The Scorpion, The Scorpion;
Chisleu (Nov-Dec), Pa-bil-sag, The Archer;
Tebet (Dec-Jan), ahar-mas, the Fish-kid, The Goat;
Sebat (Jan-Feb), Gula, The Water-bearer;
Adar (Feb-Mar), The Water Channel and the Tails, The Fishes.
In the Sumerian Creation Myth we are told that the gods called him by the fifty titles of all the other gods (i.e. he had all their powers) and we can see that this is how the Babylonian religion became monotheistic. This made him a very suitable mascot for the catholic church that Constantine the Great (a Pagan emperor of Rome) set up in 325 ad at Nicea.
But Tiamat was also called Gaia meaning Mother Earth and it was and is Marduks intention to make rules and to control everything. Marduk is the pet of the one god order and by association – the new world order too. This is why the church used / uses the Dragon slayer Marduk – to suppress knowledge of the Goddess Tiamat / Gaia / Nature.
Marduk is also known as Nibiru and is seen today as the twelfth planet in our Solar System. Nibiru/Marduk is in an extreme elliptical orbit of some 3600 years. This twelfth planet, Nibiru/Marduk, is now approaching Earth and its modern name is 2003 – UB – 313, but it has also been called: Nibiru, Marduk, Nemesis, Hercolubus, the Gods Planet, the Planet of the Empire, the Planet of the Cross or the Red Planet. The 12th planet is expected to pass between Mars and Jupiter (this is its nearest point to Earth during its return) during 2012 – 2014. Nothing happened proving this to be a modern myth from a composite of bad movies and conspiracy theorists.
So now we can begin to see why the Irish Celtic Dragon had to be dominated by the churches Dragon – it was the goddess culture all over Europe that was being replaced by the one god culture –we can now see the religious apartheid and the so called ‘battle of the sexes’ from pre-history in the battle between the male and female Dragons. The female Dragon expresses wildness and chaos while the male Dragon expresses rules and order.
We will look at the lost 13th sign of the Zodiac – Serpens and why it was disappeared almost 2000 years ago. We will look at the lost planet and the lost star sign and hidden Dragon Goddesses all over Europe…
Con, Ard Druí, Beltine 2012
2. The Spirit of The Dragon Part 2
The lost 13th sign was not lost – that is part of the disinformation and confusion program to disconnect us from our Pagan past. It was disappeared. In this essay I’ll trace that transformation and show how we can re-connect to the Goddess in the Sky. The 13th sign Ophiuchus aka Ophiucus sits on the top right in the image below reclaiming space from Scorpio and Sagittarius.
The supposedly lost 13th Sign is of Ophiuchus and this means “serpent bearer”. The Greeks knew it as Ophis Ophioukhou, or simply as Ophis, and familiarly as Erpeton and Egkhelus (eel), respectively the Serpent and the Eel (2 separate snakes…). The solitary serpent Ophiuchus holds today is in 2 parts: Serpens Caput (the head) and Serpens Cauda (the tail). First trick – make two snakes into one and get a powerful man to restrain it / them, this shifts focus from 2 snakes to one man holding one snake. Ophiuchus is the Greek god of healing and medicine and Serpens is the snake used as the symbol of chemical medicine worldwide today. The staff of Aesculapius has a single snake wrapped around a staff (often confused with the staff of Mercury or Hermes which has two snakes and is said to represent commerce). Note – Be very wary of doctors who use the staff with two commercial snakes… The Greek myths have the two part snake appear as one that winds around the staff of Asclepius as in the image below.
Below - The star groups Ophiuchus and Serpens as ‘man controls snake’.
The deeper myth says – Ischys was with Coronius who was mother to the baby Ophiuchus (also called Aesculapius in Greek mythology). Appollo (son of Zeus) looked down from the Sky as he witnessed the two lovers and he became enraged with jealousy. He shot Coronius with his bow and arrow. She cried out "You could have let me bear your child. Now, in my one person, two will perish." To prevent the danger of his son dying, Apollo took the lifeless boy from his mother’s womb and took him to the cave of Chiron (the wounded healer and Centaur), where the young boy learns the arts of healing and of medicine.
We are also led to believe that Asclepius got healing powers of eternal life from a snake. Two versions are recorded – 1) he crushed a snake accidentally and 2) he saw a dead snake in his travels and then saw another snake with a mouth full of herbs come to heal the dead snake. Note – here are 2 stories where the snake is dead… We are told that Asclepius took the herbs that the snake used to heal the ‘dead’ snake and studied them. He then used them to raise the dead! Asclepius is credited with bringing Orion back to life after being killed by the sting of Scorpius (Scorpio). Hades, god of the underworld, did not like Asclepius‘s ability to raise the dead because it meant that humans could live forever like the gods, so he got his brother Zeus to use a thunderbolt to kill Asclepius (here we see Asclepius being able to restore life to the dead being accepted by the Gods even though it annoyed them).
Disregarding any problems with Hades (god of the underworld in Greek mythology) - Zeus somehow changed his mind, did a healing and then put Asclepius in the sky holding Serpens. Zeus now called Asclepius “Ophiuchus” which means "serpent bearer", as acknowledgement of his remarkable healing skills. Now Asclepius (a man doctor on Earth) is renamed Ophiuchus (a star group) and he has been transformed from being an immortal herbal healer into a Serpent holder / restrainer. Second trick.
Let us think this through a bit. A man sees a dead snake returned to life with herbs, learns the technique and angers Hades who gets Zeus to kill him. Then Zeus heals the dead man and makes him into a star group restraining the Serpent in the sky. Not very convincing – the gods conspire and do murder of men…. Then make the dead man into a star group fighting the snake that gave him the power of immortality, I don’t think so, something dodgy going on here!
Let us have a closer look at this star group.
We are also led to believe that Asclepius got healing powers of eternal life from a snake. Two versions are recorded – 1) he crushed a snake accidentally and 2) he saw a dead snake in his travels and then saw another snake with a mouth full of herbs come to heal the dead snake. Note – here are 2 stories where the snake is dead… We are told that Asclepius took the herbs that the snake used to heal the ‘dead’ snake and studied them. He then used them to raise the dead! Asclepius is credited with bringing Orion back to life after being killed by the sting of Scorpius (Scorpio). Hades, god of the underworld, did not like Asclepius‘s ability to raise the dead because it meant that humans could live forever like the gods, so he got his brother Zeus to use a thunderbolt to kill Asclepius (here we see Asclepius being able to restore life to the dead being accepted by the Gods even though it annoyed them).
Disregarding any problems with Hades (god of the underworld in Greek mythology) - Zeus somehow changed his mind, did a healing and then put Asclepius in the sky holding Serpens. Zeus now called Asclepius “Ophiuchus” which means "serpent bearer", as acknowledgement of his remarkable healing skills. Now Asclepius (a man doctor on Earth) is renamed Ophiuchus (a star group) and he has been transformed from being an immortal herbal healer into a Serpent holder / restrainer. Second trick.
Let us think this through a bit. A man sees a dead snake returned to life with herbs, learns the technique and angers Hades who gets Zeus to kill him. Then Zeus heals the dead man and makes him into a star group restraining the Serpent in the sky. Not very convincing – the gods conspire and do murder of men…. Then make the dead man into a star group fighting the snake that gave him the power of immortality, I don’t think so, something dodgy going on here!
Let us have a closer look at this star group.
In this image above we see that Ophiuchus (Asclepius holding the Serpent) is facing us while standing on Scorpio in the line of the Zodiac. To the right is Libra and to the left is Sagittarius and above him is Hercules who is not part of the belt of the Zodiac, below his foot is Scorpio.
In the image above we see a shadow outline of Ophiuchus and three distinct star groups that are used to create him and the one snake while at the same time destroying / replacing older knowledge of the two snakes.
The third trick - all the images I can show of this 3 part star group are made up of non-existent lines drawn to suit religious / political agendas. I’ve got an agenda too so I’ve had a closer look and redrawn the lines as I see them before Hades and Zeus performed Necromancy reviving and turning a dead man healer / doctor into a star group restraining wild energy that gave him power. The image below shows two unconnected parts of a snake called Serpens.
The third trick - all the images I can show of this 3 part star group are made up of non-existent lines drawn to suit religious / political agendas. I’ve got an agenda too so I’ve had a closer look and redrawn the lines as I see them before Hades and Zeus performed Necromancy reviving and turning a dead man healer / doctor into a star group restraining wild energy that gave him power. The image below shows two unconnected parts of a snake called Serpens.
The following image shows the two parts of the snake within arbitrary boxes made up by astronomers. I have added the line from 8 to 10 because I want to show the 8, 9 and 10 head of the diving snake / eel. Note - the original image did not have a line between 8 and 10. The rising snake has its head at 1, 2 and 3.
Now my image below is of the same stars grouped to show an ascending and a descending pair of snakes each with a triangle of 3 bright stars. Note the distinct heads and zig-zag bodies on each snake because this is what makes them into identifiable animal forms. I’m not allowing the drawn box shape of Ophiuchus to limit the shapes of the two snakes. When we consider all three star groups as one area in the sky then we can name them as we choose, after all the naming of constellations is simply a man made convention…. Look at the image below and you can see two snakes – one going down and one going up. Let us go a bit deeper allowing the snakes to zig zag as they do
Most of these stars have their own story and the italics in the image are mine to help simplify the stars with their basic meaning in English. (a) the heart of the snake (b) tongue of the snake (c) smooth scaled (d) Moses’ bronze serpent (e) ? (f) ? (g) eye of the serpent (h) the good snake (i) tip of the serpent’s tail (J) snake’s eyes.
(the above determinations are mine, whittled down from http://www.topastronomer.com/StarCharts/ConstellationViewer.aspx?ID=76&Star=7788 )
So I can suggest there are two snakes; one diving and one rising. So the diving snake on the left (d)+ (b)+(i) carries names that are – “bronze serpent, tongue of the snake and serpent’s tail” Note - the bronze serpent is connected with Moses who used a bronze snake for healing!
(the above determinations are mine, whittled down from http://www.topastronomer.com/StarCharts/ConstellationViewer.aspx?ID=76&Star=7788 )
So I can suggest there are two snakes; one diving and one rising. So the diving snake on the left (d)+ (b)+(i) carries names that are – “bronze serpent, tongue of the snake and serpent’s tail” Note - the bronze serpent is connected with Moses who used a bronze snake for healing!
The rising snake on the right (j)+(g)+(a)+(h)+ (c) carries names that are – “snake eyes, eye of the serpent, neck and heart of the snake, the good snake, smooth scaled”. Note (e)+(f) my searches did not yield any mythological info on these two stars.
Two snakes, not one… so how about the man figure? The man figure of the Serpent Handler is better known today as the dragon slayer. Remember that dragon, snake and serpent are interchangeable. In modern times the dragon slayer is expressed as Saints Andrew, Michael, George and Patrick of the catholick religion. In the bible the serpent is given as the seducer of Eve. Many religious persons try to see a heavenly Cross in the stars of the head of the snake on the right where astronomers see only a triangle. The notion they push is that the cross (ie instead of the triangle head) belongs to these Saints. Below is St George killing the dragon – note the stars… and the snakes by his raised hand…
Two snakes, not one… so how about the man figure? The man figure of the Serpent Handler is better known today as the dragon slayer. Remember that dragon, snake and serpent are interchangeable. In modern times the dragon slayer is expressed as Saints Andrew, Michael, George and Patrick of the catholick religion. In the bible the serpent is given as the seducer of Eve. Many religious persons try to see a heavenly Cross in the stars of the head of the snake on the right where astronomers see only a triangle. The notion they push is that the cross (ie instead of the triangle head) belongs to these Saints. Below is St George killing the dragon – note the stars… and the snakes by his raised hand…
Each of the saints named above either killed or chased dragons away. Why? The Dragon Snake Serpent brought great healing to us – why chase it away? Maybe it was the ability to self heal with herbs that is being chased away? Or was it knowledge of and connection to the Goddess that was being demonised and hidden away?
The Goddess Queen-of-the-Great-Region or Queen of Heaven was a title given to a number of ancient sky goddesses in the ancient times as: Anat, Isis, Alpheta, Ariadne, Arianrhod (moon related), Innana, Astarte, Hera, Asherah, Frigg, Hera and even Juno bore this title. Today the title “Queen of Heaven” is used by Catholics and Orthodox Christians for Mary, mother of Jesus. Corona Borealis, a small constellation in the northern sky whose Latin name means "northern crown," is located on Mary's head — a crown representing Mary as the Queen of Heaven. The star group Corona Borealis (Latin) is also known as - English; ‘northern crown’, Greek; ‘Wreath’, Arabic ‘Broken Fish’, Australian Aborigines; ‘Boomerang’. This is a very pretty star group shaped like a tiara / crown of 7 jewels some of which sparkle like diamonds …the brightest star is Gemma: ‘the jewel in the crown’ and next brightest is the star T-Corona; the ‘Blaze Star’. Now and then they suddenly flare up to become very bright sparkling like diamonds in a sunbeam.
The Goddess Queen-of-the-Great-Region or Queen of Heaven was a title given to a number of ancient sky goddesses in the ancient times as: Anat, Isis, Alpheta, Ariadne, Arianrhod (moon related), Innana, Astarte, Hera, Asherah, Frigg, Hera and even Juno bore this title. Today the title “Queen of Heaven” is used by Catholics and Orthodox Christians for Mary, mother of Jesus. Corona Borealis, a small constellation in the northern sky whose Latin name means "northern crown," is located on Mary's head — a crown representing Mary as the Queen of Heaven. The star group Corona Borealis (Latin) is also known as - English; ‘northern crown’, Greek; ‘Wreath’, Arabic ‘Broken Fish’, Australian Aborigines; ‘Boomerang’. This is a very pretty star group shaped like a tiara / crown of 7 jewels some of which sparkle like diamonds …the brightest star is Gemma: ‘the jewel in the crown’ and next brightest is the star T-Corona; the ‘Blaze Star’. Now and then they suddenly flare up to become very bright sparkling like diamonds in a sunbeam.
These high ladies from the times before the catholick church have mostly disappeared from common use and knowledge. Even Mary had her divinity removed under the idea that she was merely human without original sin, but once upon a time Mary was used to displace and replace the Pagan Goddess / Queen of Heaven but having done her forced job - she herself was downgraded and let go…
The following images are of the Pagan Goddess Queen-of-the-Great-Region or Queen of Heaven, some of whom are wearing a crown…
The following images are of the Pagan Goddess Queen-of-the-Great-Region or Queen of Heaven, some of whom are wearing a crown…
Asherah
|
Minoan Snake Goddess (fake animal on top)
|
Athena
|
Astarte
|
Hecate
|
Panel from the Gundestrup Cauldron
|
Verbia
|
Inanna
|
Unknown fresco of the night sky showing figure with 2 snakes and a crown.
|
To close – this disappearing trick of the religious overlords as they tried to hide the Queen of Heaven was merely slight of hand. They hid the two snakes by making them one and then they put a powerful male to control the snake – his names include Ophiuchus, Ophiucus, Moses, Andrew, Michael, George and Patrick. The stars that make up the “Goddess Queen-of-the-Great-Region” still exist as do her many names - Anat, Isis, Innana, Astarte, Hera, Asherah, Frigg, Hera, Juno, Mary and Brigid etc.
You can find the Goddess Queen-of-the-Great-Region and her two snakes in the night skies in summertime when you look up to the western edge of the Milky Way you’ll see the star groups of Scorpio and Sagittarius – She is just above them as She has always been and She will be wearing her 7 point crown. Go out every evening in late summer when the stars shine brightly and when you find her - hold your two arms up to Her and smile and say ‘hello’ cause She’s always been there and She’s been waiting for you.
End
Con Connor, Ard Druí, Lughnasa 2012
You can find the Goddess Queen-of-the-Great-Region and her two snakes in the night skies in summertime when you look up to the western edge of the Milky Way you’ll see the star groups of Scorpio and Sagittarius – She is just above them as She has always been and She will be wearing her 7 point crown. Go out every evening in late summer when the stars shine brightly and when you find her - hold your two arms up to Her and smile and say ‘hello’ cause She’s always been there and She’s been waiting for you.
End
Con Connor, Ard Druí, Lughnasa 2012
3. The Spirit of The Dragon Part 3
From part 1
“So now we can begin to see why the Irish Celtic Dragon had to be dominated by the churches’ Dragon – it was the goddess culture all over Europe that was being replaced by the one god culture –we can now see the religious apartheid and the so called ‘battle of the sexes’ from pre-history in the battle between the male and female Dragons. The female Dragon expresses wildness and chaos while the male Dragon expresses rules and order.
We will look at the lost 13th sign of the Zodiac – Serpens and why it was disappeared almost 2000 years ago. We will look at the lost planet and the lost star sign and hidden Dragon Goddesses all over Europe…”
From part 2
“Let us think this through a bit. A man sees a dead snake returned to life with herbs, learns the technique and angers Hades who gets Zeus to kill him. Then Zeus heals the dead man and makes him into a star group restraining the Serpent in the sky. Not very convincing – the gods conspire and do murder of men…. Then make the dead man into a star group fighting the snake that gave him the power of immortality, I don’t think so, something dodgy going on here!”
Part 3
Now we look at the Dragon in Irish history, ie the Pagan Goddess in our stories, manuscripts, and carvings and in our enduring respect for the Divine Feminine even during the dark catholic times.
Where do we find our true history from the left over bits in the politically rewritten and twisted version? Maybe we have to look between the lines (of the surviving stories) knowing that the scribes of the church had to avoid being challenged in open debate in front of nobility who knew the old traditions and stories so they (the church) had to include core elements in their version. This is not an attack on the church; it is a shared understanding of the true story grown from the seeds of truth that had to be included in the churches written down version of our oral tradition. Later on they rewrote their version of our oral Celtic tradition with further revisions to further suit their agenda. But they out did themselves because they have inadvertently brought great attention by their demonization to the Gods and traditions of the indigenous Celts that they sought to replace.
We don’t believe that there was a “Goddess good and God bad” tradition in Ireland in the times before the patriarchy of the male dominated church. Could there been an existing counter imbalance to inspire their “man good / woman bad” over reaction agenda? It is doubtful – but as a tactic it was clever at the time. For the Celtic Gaels there were Gods and Goddesses of many types who had skills and special attributes according to their roles and place in ancient society. But perhaps the idea of “the Gods” is a misnomer – maybe the term should best be understood as a generic description of humans with extra ordinary powers. Not mere mortals but humans who excelled and inspired by their exemplary lives. Just think of the old Gods as friends whose spirit could be contacted and used to inspire everyone to express their higher selves.
Three types of gods were honoured by the ancient Celts:
Personal (ones that provide special inspiration and guidance),
Tribal (when working in groups) and Spirits (genius loci / guardians) of the land they live on.
Ancestors (who were actual people that history has confused by turning them into gods) and land spirits (temple guardians) are honoured as separate entities but sometimes they were the land spirits or were attached to the land and the spirits of the land.
The great Queen Maeve has a story that is still told today, albeit the churches version. The bad side (according to the church scribes) of Queen Maeve (see the Táin Bó Cúailnge) that is coded into a great epic is packed with disinformation and misogyny. Her character has been turned into a terrible personification by layers of lies that include all the things the church wanted to demonize about women. In the story that was written by the scribes of the church Maeve is a royal whore who destroys people for her ego’s needs and is presented as a multifaceted personality capable of extreme ferociousness who kills without remorse.
“So now we can begin to see why the Irish Celtic Dragon had to be dominated by the churches’ Dragon – it was the goddess culture all over Europe that was being replaced by the one god culture –we can now see the religious apartheid and the so called ‘battle of the sexes’ from pre-history in the battle between the male and female Dragons. The female Dragon expresses wildness and chaos while the male Dragon expresses rules and order.
We will look at the lost 13th sign of the Zodiac – Serpens and why it was disappeared almost 2000 years ago. We will look at the lost planet and the lost star sign and hidden Dragon Goddesses all over Europe…”
From part 2
“Let us think this through a bit. A man sees a dead snake returned to life with herbs, learns the technique and angers Hades who gets Zeus to kill him. Then Zeus heals the dead man and makes him into a star group restraining the Serpent in the sky. Not very convincing – the gods conspire and do murder of men…. Then make the dead man into a star group fighting the snake that gave him the power of immortality, I don’t think so, something dodgy going on here!”
Part 3
Now we look at the Dragon in Irish history, ie the Pagan Goddess in our stories, manuscripts, and carvings and in our enduring respect for the Divine Feminine even during the dark catholic times.
Where do we find our true history from the left over bits in the politically rewritten and twisted version? Maybe we have to look between the lines (of the surviving stories) knowing that the scribes of the church had to avoid being challenged in open debate in front of nobility who knew the old traditions and stories so they (the church) had to include core elements in their version. This is not an attack on the church; it is a shared understanding of the true story grown from the seeds of truth that had to be included in the churches written down version of our oral tradition. Later on they rewrote their version of our oral Celtic tradition with further revisions to further suit their agenda. But they out did themselves because they have inadvertently brought great attention by their demonization to the Gods and traditions of the indigenous Celts that they sought to replace.
We don’t believe that there was a “Goddess good and God bad” tradition in Ireland in the times before the patriarchy of the male dominated church. Could there been an existing counter imbalance to inspire their “man good / woman bad” over reaction agenda? It is doubtful – but as a tactic it was clever at the time. For the Celtic Gaels there were Gods and Goddesses of many types who had skills and special attributes according to their roles and place in ancient society. But perhaps the idea of “the Gods” is a misnomer – maybe the term should best be understood as a generic description of humans with extra ordinary powers. Not mere mortals but humans who excelled and inspired by their exemplary lives. Just think of the old Gods as friends whose spirit could be contacted and used to inspire everyone to express their higher selves.
Three types of gods were honoured by the ancient Celts:
Personal (ones that provide special inspiration and guidance),
Tribal (when working in groups) and Spirits (genius loci / guardians) of the land they live on.
Ancestors (who were actual people that history has confused by turning them into gods) and land spirits (temple guardians) are honoured as separate entities but sometimes they were the land spirits or were attached to the land and the spirits of the land.
The great Queen Maeve has a story that is still told today, albeit the churches version. The bad side (according to the church scribes) of Queen Maeve (see the Táin Bó Cúailnge) that is coded into a great epic is packed with disinformation and misogyny. Her character has been turned into a terrible personification by layers of lies that include all the things the church wanted to demonize about women. In the story that was written by the scribes of the church Maeve is a royal whore who destroys people for her ego’s needs and is presented as a multifaceted personality capable of extreme ferociousness who kills without remorse.
The true side (according to us as Celtic Druí,) of Queen Meave or Medbh begins with deciphering the meaning of her name. There are many spellings of her name but they all have joy and sweetness in them. Her name can mean - she who intoxicates, joy, hilarity, baby, a red curly haired girl with green eyes and a sweet alcoholic drink called mead. Her divinity or god/goddess like powers includes the ability to shape-shift between a young maiden and old hag and her supra-natural traits include very fast running. Her very presence is able to deprive men of their strength. Her totem animals or spirit guides are shared as a bird and a red squirrel that perch on her shoulder.
But more importantly Maeve personifies the spirit of sovereignty of the land itself as She is a beautiful young woman who through marriage grants kingship of Ireland. A man could not be a king of Ireland without a marriage to Maeve… The church wanted to control the kings and the land so they set out to blacken the old respect for the personification of the spirit of the land. Maeve is the spirit of the Land as protected and presented by the Brehon or Gael Laws. This understanding / attitude / tradition were and are under persistent attack by the church.
Because we live on the land and love the land and seek out our indigenous tradition at all times we get a different understanding to that gained by reading fantasy druid novels or the academically approved stories of Maeve. Let us look at mead for a bit and seek its true extended meaning in terms of the fertility of the land. Mead is made by fermenting a solution of honey and water and yeast – this makes a unique drink with a ‘fire in the belly’ effect. Sounds simple to make? It’s very nice to drink so why is it not available commercially in the tourist pubs of Ireland or anywhere else for that matter? Because the fertility of Ireland has been downgraded and the people oppressed for so long that the sweet drink called mead is now only made in small batches by dedicated individuals. Today almost all Bees are force fed sugar. This is because their honey (winter stock of food) is stolen by humans for cash profit. The Bees are force fed sugar throughout the year – they are sugar junkies. This is a major factor in the global problem of ‘Colony Collapse Disorder’. Look at a natural (no chemicals) system of living with the land – the health of the Bees was the fertility of the land because they are the supreme pollenisers. When the church got a foothold on this island they got rights to the mead production and wine importation. Things changed little in our cattle based economy but in the background the harvesting of honey by the ordinary people became seen as stealing from the church. It takes a lot of honey to make mead and even today with the honey from sugar addicted Bees the cost of ingredients for making mead prohibit its commercialization. Eventually the church gave up Mead production but the skill had been taken from the people – it has begun to turn back as we happily know a few people who make mead…
So the attack on Maeve was an attack on the notion of fertility in the land expressed as a woman!!! May I remind everyone that it takes a man and a woman to procreate and that no matter how important a man may make him self out to be – procreation is a two sided affair of male and female.
The Goddess of the Land expressed as Maeve or Mead is an example of the Dragon’s energy as fertility in Irish history. The Dragon is the life force or energy of the land that rises at Spring and rests at Autumn - this has been hidden or suppressed from public awareness for a long time. This concept of the Pagan Goddess / Dragon Energy as fertility in our (church written) stories and manuscripts is missing. This is because they sought to replace the existing respect for the Celtic Way with their own system of an unmerciful god.
Fionn McCoole had Dragons as his belt as Kuno Meyer tells us – “and about his waist he put a stout corset with a decorated, firm belt with gruesome images of dragons, so that it reached from the thick of his thighs to his arm-pit, whence spears and blades would rebound”.
Now we can suggest that Fionn / Finn was the star group Orion who had Dragons as a girdle or belt. Hydra and Serpens are the two ‘dragon star groups’ in the belt of stars we call the zodiac. The northern star group Draco (Dragon) could also be a part of this coded star lore / mythology. The Dragon being wrestled by Ophiochas that rises from the Scorpion up to the Crown of the Queen of Heaven (Corona Borealis) makes 4 Dragon star groups in the upper part of the globe. All these star Dragons get touched by Finn as he returns each winter to the dark skies. In 21/12/2012 Finn / Orion reached his zenith touching a special part of the sky beginning a new cycle of time. It will be 25000 years before Finn touches the same place again.
But more importantly Maeve personifies the spirit of sovereignty of the land itself as She is a beautiful young woman who through marriage grants kingship of Ireland. A man could not be a king of Ireland without a marriage to Maeve… The church wanted to control the kings and the land so they set out to blacken the old respect for the personification of the spirit of the land. Maeve is the spirit of the Land as protected and presented by the Brehon or Gael Laws. This understanding / attitude / tradition were and are under persistent attack by the church.
Because we live on the land and love the land and seek out our indigenous tradition at all times we get a different understanding to that gained by reading fantasy druid novels or the academically approved stories of Maeve. Let us look at mead for a bit and seek its true extended meaning in terms of the fertility of the land. Mead is made by fermenting a solution of honey and water and yeast – this makes a unique drink with a ‘fire in the belly’ effect. Sounds simple to make? It’s very nice to drink so why is it not available commercially in the tourist pubs of Ireland or anywhere else for that matter? Because the fertility of Ireland has been downgraded and the people oppressed for so long that the sweet drink called mead is now only made in small batches by dedicated individuals. Today almost all Bees are force fed sugar. This is because their honey (winter stock of food) is stolen by humans for cash profit. The Bees are force fed sugar throughout the year – they are sugar junkies. This is a major factor in the global problem of ‘Colony Collapse Disorder’. Look at a natural (no chemicals) system of living with the land – the health of the Bees was the fertility of the land because they are the supreme pollenisers. When the church got a foothold on this island they got rights to the mead production and wine importation. Things changed little in our cattle based economy but in the background the harvesting of honey by the ordinary people became seen as stealing from the church. It takes a lot of honey to make mead and even today with the honey from sugar addicted Bees the cost of ingredients for making mead prohibit its commercialization. Eventually the church gave up Mead production but the skill had been taken from the people – it has begun to turn back as we happily know a few people who make mead…
So the attack on Maeve was an attack on the notion of fertility in the land expressed as a woman!!! May I remind everyone that it takes a man and a woman to procreate and that no matter how important a man may make him self out to be – procreation is a two sided affair of male and female.
The Goddess of the Land expressed as Maeve or Mead is an example of the Dragon’s energy as fertility in Irish history. The Dragon is the life force or energy of the land that rises at Spring and rests at Autumn - this has been hidden or suppressed from public awareness for a long time. This concept of the Pagan Goddess / Dragon Energy as fertility in our (church written) stories and manuscripts is missing. This is because they sought to replace the existing respect for the Celtic Way with their own system of an unmerciful god.
Fionn McCoole had Dragons as his belt as Kuno Meyer tells us – “and about his waist he put a stout corset with a decorated, firm belt with gruesome images of dragons, so that it reached from the thick of his thighs to his arm-pit, whence spears and blades would rebound”.
Now we can suggest that Fionn / Finn was the star group Orion who had Dragons as a girdle or belt. Hydra and Serpens are the two ‘dragon star groups’ in the belt of stars we call the zodiac. The northern star group Draco (Dragon) could also be a part of this coded star lore / mythology. The Dragon being wrestled by Ophiochas that rises from the Scorpion up to the Crown of the Queen of Heaven (Corona Borealis) makes 4 Dragon star groups in the upper part of the globe. All these star Dragons get touched by Finn as he returns each winter to the dark skies. In 21/12/2012 Finn / Orion reached his zenith touching a special part of the sky beginning a new cycle of time. It will be 25000 years before Finn touches the same place again.
In the fifteenth-century church on Scattery Island we see a large-eyed dragon with crocodile jaws that might have been a carved representation of the Cata. We are told that the Cata was ‘the amphibious beast of this blessed Isle,’ described with spiked back, scales, fish tail, nose curling up spirally, and clawed forefeet. No such beast ever existed but the notion of controlling it was used to show great power by the church – remember that the Holy Island was a Druid College before the church invasion…
We have a story about south Dublin and the death of Conaire Mór at Bruden Da Derga, from about the eighth century, which speaks of ‘The Leviathan that surrounds the world’. To me as an archaeoastronomer and astrologer I can easily recognize this as the same belt of stars that Finn had.
At one time may I suggest that these ‘belts of dragons’ were used to teach awareness of the night sky to young students. With this knowledge people, or more especially their scouts, could tell the time of night, the season of the year and the cardinal points n, s, e and w by just a glimpse of the sky. Such knowledge empowered people and took away fear – you could easily understand how such awareness translates to ‘knowledge of the dragon protects us’.
By turning these Dragon star groups into fearsome monsters the church disempowered the people while simultaneously putting priests up there as heroes who could defeat these terrible monsters… Part of the basic training here on the ‘Becoming a Celtic Druid’ weekends teaches how to see all these Dragon star groups – so the knowledge is alive again.
There is a story about Patrick and two Pagan 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/stories-of-s-patrick/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 them selves. 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.
Cashel Manannáin at Rathcroghan
We have a story about south Dublin and the death of Conaire Mór at Bruden Da Derga, from about the eighth century, which speaks of ‘The Leviathan that surrounds the world’. To me as an archaeoastronomer and astrologer I can easily recognize this as the same belt of stars that Finn had.
At one time may I suggest that these ‘belts of dragons’ were used to teach awareness of the night sky to young students. With this knowledge people, or more especially their scouts, could tell the time of night, the season of the year and the cardinal points n, s, e and w by just a glimpse of the sky. Such knowledge empowered people and took away fear – you could easily understand how such awareness translates to ‘knowledge of the dragon protects us’.
By turning these Dragon star groups into fearsome monsters the church disempowered the people while simultaneously putting priests up there as heroes who could defeat these terrible monsters… Part of the basic training here on the ‘Becoming a Celtic Druid’ weekends teaches how to see all these Dragon star groups – so the knowledge is alive again.
There is a story about Patrick and two Pagan 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/stories-of-s-patrick/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 them selves. 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.
Cashel Manannáin at Rathcroghan
Go to the end of the story – the two girls died. What? No mad angry King Laoghaire (Royal Pagan High King of Ireland) chopping off murderers heads??? Under Gael / Brehon Law accidental or deliberate murder was a serious crime with serious punishments for the death of high born – for clergy the eric or fine for such acts was double! No story about the blame for the death of his two babies??? No responsibility for the head teacher at Cashel Manannáin regarding his charge from the high king? What about the Patrick tricking the two girls into a ‘dead’ marriage and then death??? This made him a good guy??? He survived this??? No way – it is all a story written long after the supposed event to waste the old ways and enforce the new religion. They would not get away with this today, would they?
The fake story is still presented – it was even built into the coat of arms of the local bishop in the Diocese of Elphin until he was replaced. His motto read “Fiat Mihi” and this means “be it done unto me”.
The fake story is still presented – it was even built into the coat of arms of the local bishop in the Diocese of Elphin until he was replaced. His motto read “Fiat Mihi” and this means “be it done unto me”.
In the sad story above we have an image of Patrick, a man who was above the law of the land being allowed to murder two high born female Druid students with impunity. Total control is the message – even the high king was afraid of the murderer…. This disinformation is how our true culture and heritage was eroded. Such an event never happened in our opinion but perhaps such a story was needed (long after Patrick’s death) to re-enforce the new religion at a much later period.
It is important to note that at Ogulla / Cliabach the well is not a well – it is a meeting point of two streams – one of which comes from the valley where the ancient Druid school was and is. The other stream passes by a graveyard… ugh. Not far away is a small river that bursts out of a hillside and flows all year round – that is probably the place of washing due to two reasons 1) a true spring with all year flow 2) soft warm water. Relatively warm that is +4* all year when the winds chill factor might carry a minus value. This only makes sense when you visit real holy wells because the water in such wells is always +4* and it feels warm in winter. January 12th is the church’s holy day for Eithne the Red and Fidelma the Fair and at this time of year it is cold. The mixed streams at the so called Ogulla Well would be far too cold in January to use for body washing.
Despite the above, here in the west we still have many statues showing enduring respect for the Divine Feminine fertility principle. They are most often called Mary but there are many Brigids too. If you consider the population density in the west compared to the east of Ireland this amount of statues of women is way out of proportion. We see this as how the respect for the divine female has survived at the edge of Europe – it’s an old Pagan tradition wearing the cloth of the catholick church. We enjoy seeing this outward expression of respect for motherhood (which is fertility or creative lifeforce). We reckon that the people in the country side have a closer affinity to Nature and that as a generalization – many people of the land (living with and caring for the land) show this in the only socially acceptable way possible as statues to (the Goddess as) Mary or Brigid. These are the same people who know and tell the old stories and have the ‘cure’ for many strange health problems, they carry on their traditions even now when there are fewer priests to sheep herd them. So in many hidden ways (to the outsider) the old ways carry on in family shrines in front gardens to Mary and Brigid that openly and strongly declare respect for the Mother.
It may seem strange to some readers but there actually is a continuity of the Pagan tradition in the west dressed up or overlaid with a catholic veneer. I reckon it would really freak out some to hear such ideas being put about. Now it’s anyone’s guess as to what percentage would be freaked out because 1) their secret was out and 2) that anybody could think up such a thing. But when we look at it without the guidelines or fear of religion we can recognize mothers keeping their menfolk aligned with right thinking i.e. respect for motherhood, their young daughters strongly demanding and getting freedoms that have been absent from Irish life since the times of the Patrician and slowly and surely the people drift back to the freedom of Pagan times.
Some readers may question what has all this got to do with the Spirit of the Celtic Dragon? This is the invisible side of the Dragon expressing reverence for fertility. There are other and more recognisable expressions such as the return of the people en-masse to the sacred sites of their oldest ancestors to ‘feel the energy’… It’s doubtful that many who visit these ancient holy places would speak of the Dragon Energy but it’s what they seek to connect with. More and more people in Ireland go to the sacred places from the times before the church – they go at various times and days of the year with a range of intentions. Don’t judge them – they are escaping and returning home.
It is the sacred duty of each Druí (Celtic Druid) to support people as they come out of the dark times and back into the Light at the sacred temples of their Ancestors. By this it is not intended that any modern Druí would try to control or regulate or impose a book of rules or baptize until dead any of these seekers. Instead, it is hoped that the Druí can hold the knowledge of sacred space and the Dragon’s Energy therein and combine this with personal experience seeking the wisdom needed to help, encourage and inspire seekers to find and express a love of life and the land and the cycles of the Sun and Moon and the harmonic idea of Gods and Goddesses.
Ard Druí Con Connor, Imbolg 2013
It is important to note that at Ogulla / Cliabach the well is not a well – it is a meeting point of two streams – one of which comes from the valley where the ancient Druid school was and is. The other stream passes by a graveyard… ugh. Not far away is a small river that bursts out of a hillside and flows all year round – that is probably the place of washing due to two reasons 1) a true spring with all year flow 2) soft warm water. Relatively warm that is +4* all year when the winds chill factor might carry a minus value. This only makes sense when you visit real holy wells because the water in such wells is always +4* and it feels warm in winter. January 12th is the church’s holy day for Eithne the Red and Fidelma the Fair and at this time of year it is cold. The mixed streams at the so called Ogulla Well would be far too cold in January to use for body washing.
Despite the above, here in the west we still have many statues showing enduring respect for the Divine Feminine fertility principle. They are most often called Mary but there are many Brigids too. If you consider the population density in the west compared to the east of Ireland this amount of statues of women is way out of proportion. We see this as how the respect for the divine female has survived at the edge of Europe – it’s an old Pagan tradition wearing the cloth of the catholick church. We enjoy seeing this outward expression of respect for motherhood (which is fertility or creative lifeforce). We reckon that the people in the country side have a closer affinity to Nature and that as a generalization – many people of the land (living with and caring for the land) show this in the only socially acceptable way possible as statues to (the Goddess as) Mary or Brigid. These are the same people who know and tell the old stories and have the ‘cure’ for many strange health problems, they carry on their traditions even now when there are fewer priests to sheep herd them. So in many hidden ways (to the outsider) the old ways carry on in family shrines in front gardens to Mary and Brigid that openly and strongly declare respect for the Mother.
It may seem strange to some readers but there actually is a continuity of the Pagan tradition in the west dressed up or overlaid with a catholic veneer. I reckon it would really freak out some to hear such ideas being put about. Now it’s anyone’s guess as to what percentage would be freaked out because 1) their secret was out and 2) that anybody could think up such a thing. But when we look at it without the guidelines or fear of religion we can recognize mothers keeping their menfolk aligned with right thinking i.e. respect for motherhood, their young daughters strongly demanding and getting freedoms that have been absent from Irish life since the times of the Patrician and slowly and surely the people drift back to the freedom of Pagan times.
Some readers may question what has all this got to do with the Spirit of the Celtic Dragon? This is the invisible side of the Dragon expressing reverence for fertility. There are other and more recognisable expressions such as the return of the people en-masse to the sacred sites of their oldest ancestors to ‘feel the energy’… It’s doubtful that many who visit these ancient holy places would speak of the Dragon Energy but it’s what they seek to connect with. More and more people in Ireland go to the sacred places from the times before the church – they go at various times and days of the year with a range of intentions. Don’t judge them – they are escaping and returning home.
It is the sacred duty of each Druí (Celtic Druid) to support people as they come out of the dark times and back into the Light at the sacred temples of their Ancestors. By this it is not intended that any modern Druí would try to control or regulate or impose a book of rules or baptize until dead any of these seekers. Instead, it is hoped that the Druí can hold the knowledge of sacred space and the Dragon’s Energy therein and combine this with personal experience seeking the wisdom needed to help, encourage and inspire seekers to find and express a love of life and the land and the cycles of the Sun and Moon and the harmonic idea of Gods and Goddesses.
Ard Druí Con Connor, Imbolg 2013
4. Crom's Return
Crom, Cloghane, Co Kerry
CROM is perhaps the oldest of the Irish Gods.
Crom is associated with the people of Ireland from before the Iron Age Celts invaded. He is not listed as being one of the Gods of the Iron Age Celts but He is honoured by them. He is connected with ‘bull sacrifice’ bringing the era of His influence to possibly as far back as the Age of Taurus (Tarbh / Bull) that means 4 to 6000 years ago. If we allow the star group called Gemini to be seen as Finnbenach, (the white tipped horned bull of Connaught from the Tain) and Taurus to be the Donn (brown bull of Ulster) – then the era of ‘the Bull’ includes the Ages of Taurus and Gemini and may therefore be extended back to 6 to 8000 years ago. This predates the building of Brú na Boinne (Newgrange) by many years. Crom is the great ancestor God of this island.
Names of Crom
Crom Cruach, Crom Crúaich, Cromm Crúaich, Crom Cróich, Cromm Cruach, Cenn Cruach, Crom Cruagh, Crom Crooach, Crom Cruaidh, Ceancroitihi, Crom Dubh, Black Crom and as Crom-Cruaghaír, the great Creator. Cenn Crûach (Bloody Head), Welsh god Pen Crug or Cruc, Crú, Crau, Crom has been rendered great; and Cruin, the thunderer, Crow (Blood) Crom Dubh (Dark, Bent One of the Mound) Corpre Crom, Crywm (Soul Carrier the Bent) Crom Darail & Crom Deróil (Second & Feeble) Cró (The Little Nut). Lord of Light and Darkness and of the Seasons. Always take into account that Gaelige, the native language of this Celtic land has been taken over and adapted to the imperial needs of the alien church - oh yes, our native tongue has been abused too. It was they who wrote the false historys with sad endings for all the Pre-Celtic and Celtic Gods and where the Gods were too strong to be disappeared the church added disparaging adjectives to their names - but to Celts, he is called Crom. Crom often refers to curved or bent and cruach etc means harsh or tough. Priest-equivalents or Druí of Crom were the Cruim-thearigh.
Golden Crom
He is golden because he is ‘made of gold or capped with gold’. An often repeated description - Crom Cruach is a large idol, made completely of gold, which stood on the plain of Mag Sleact, which is in County Cavan in Ulster, Ireland. We have many storys about Crom as the central stone in a stone circle covered with gold (and silver) surrounded by twelve bronze figures or stones covered in bronze. An old reference to Crom has been recorded in Ogham letters, thus translated, "In it Cruach was and twelve idols of stone around him, and himself of gold. “Made of stone, Crom was sheeted in gold” sums it all up - except that occasionally Crom is a big rectangular solid block of Gold. Golden Crom is the Sun and the 12 stone circles shows us the framework for the ancient astronomy techniques of our the Sumerian system. On the mountain called Croagh Patrick a seam of gold was re-discovered in 1980s with average of 14 grams (0.45 ozt) of gold per tonne in at least 12 quartz veins, maybe 300,000 troy oz of gold (worth over €360m). The Holy Mountain of Ancient Ireland sacred to Crom and Corra is made of Quartz/Quartzite and Gold!
Ancient Theft of Crom
These gold, silver and bronze metals were sacred in early times and were used in ceremony and as additions or energy multipliers to and in the temples. This is demonstrated on our Temple Builder weekends. But in the catholick church period such sacred metals were seen primarily as of commercial value and the churchmen stripped the ancient temples robbing the gold and silver. They also made up many lies to justify their piracy. This has always been the modus operandi of the church worldwide. We also have bits of statues of black wood, covered and plated with thin gold that have been found in bogs that may depict Crom. It may have been that the natives in attempts to preserve the indigenous traditions hid such gold plated black wooden statues from the eyes of the greedy priests. Put this in perspective by realising that in Crom’s times the gold and silver was left out day and night wrapped around or as a cap / bowl on top of the temple stones (ie enhancing the life force / energy field of the temple) and in the early days of the church all these precious metals were stolen and probably then stored underground and guarded by soldiers. Putting gold on sacred temples is its most noble use and serves everyone’s good because it enhances the life force or energy field but when melted down and hidden underground, guarded by soldiers, its use becomes vulgar as it is restricted for individuals and control of others... The line drawing below is of the famous Crom stone that Patrick was supposed to have destroyed... his staff created the spirals when he hit it so hard that it broke... yeah right! None the less - this is what is left of a La Tene stone.
Crom is associated with the people of Ireland from before the Iron Age Celts invaded. He is not listed as being one of the Gods of the Iron Age Celts but He is honoured by them. He is connected with ‘bull sacrifice’ bringing the era of His influence to possibly as far back as the Age of Taurus (Tarbh / Bull) that means 4 to 6000 years ago. If we allow the star group called Gemini to be seen as Finnbenach, (the white tipped horned bull of Connaught from the Tain) and Taurus to be the Donn (brown bull of Ulster) – then the era of ‘the Bull’ includes the Ages of Taurus and Gemini and may therefore be extended back to 6 to 8000 years ago. This predates the building of Brú na Boinne (Newgrange) by many years. Crom is the great ancestor God of this island.
Names of Crom
Crom Cruach, Crom Crúaich, Cromm Crúaich, Crom Cróich, Cromm Cruach, Cenn Cruach, Crom Cruagh, Crom Crooach, Crom Cruaidh, Ceancroitihi, Crom Dubh, Black Crom and as Crom-Cruaghaír, the great Creator. Cenn Crûach (Bloody Head), Welsh god Pen Crug or Cruc, Crú, Crau, Crom has been rendered great; and Cruin, the thunderer, Crow (Blood) Crom Dubh (Dark, Bent One of the Mound) Corpre Crom, Crywm (Soul Carrier the Bent) Crom Darail & Crom Deróil (Second & Feeble) Cró (The Little Nut). Lord of Light and Darkness and of the Seasons. Always take into account that Gaelige, the native language of this Celtic land has been taken over and adapted to the imperial needs of the alien church - oh yes, our native tongue has been abused too. It was they who wrote the false historys with sad endings for all the Pre-Celtic and Celtic Gods and where the Gods were too strong to be disappeared the church added disparaging adjectives to their names - but to Celts, he is called Crom. Crom often refers to curved or bent and cruach etc means harsh or tough. Priest-equivalents or Druí of Crom were the Cruim-thearigh.
Golden Crom
He is golden because he is ‘made of gold or capped with gold’. An often repeated description - Crom Cruach is a large idol, made completely of gold, which stood on the plain of Mag Sleact, which is in County Cavan in Ulster, Ireland. We have many storys about Crom as the central stone in a stone circle covered with gold (and silver) surrounded by twelve bronze figures or stones covered in bronze. An old reference to Crom has been recorded in Ogham letters, thus translated, "In it Cruach was and twelve idols of stone around him, and himself of gold. “Made of stone, Crom was sheeted in gold” sums it all up - except that occasionally Crom is a big rectangular solid block of Gold. Golden Crom is the Sun and the 12 stone circles shows us the framework for the ancient astronomy techniques of our the Sumerian system. On the mountain called Croagh Patrick a seam of gold was re-discovered in 1980s with average of 14 grams (0.45 ozt) of gold per tonne in at least 12 quartz veins, maybe 300,000 troy oz of gold (worth over €360m). The Holy Mountain of Ancient Ireland sacred to Crom and Corra is made of Quartz/Quartzite and Gold!
Ancient Theft of Crom
These gold, silver and bronze metals were sacred in early times and were used in ceremony and as additions or energy multipliers to and in the temples. This is demonstrated on our Temple Builder weekends. But in the catholick church period such sacred metals were seen primarily as of commercial value and the churchmen stripped the ancient temples robbing the gold and silver. They also made up many lies to justify their piracy. This has always been the modus operandi of the church worldwide. We also have bits of statues of black wood, covered and plated with thin gold that have been found in bogs that may depict Crom. It may have been that the natives in attempts to preserve the indigenous traditions hid such gold plated black wooden statues from the eyes of the greedy priests. Put this in perspective by realising that in Crom’s times the gold and silver was left out day and night wrapped around or as a cap / bowl on top of the temple stones (ie enhancing the life force / energy field of the temple) and in the early days of the church all these precious metals were stolen and probably then stored underground and guarded by soldiers. Putting gold on sacred temples is its most noble use and serves everyone’s good because it enhances the life force or energy field but when melted down and hidden underground, guarded by soldiers, its use becomes vulgar as it is restricted for individuals and control of others... The line drawing below is of the famous Crom stone that Patrick was supposed to have destroyed... his staff created the spirals when he hit it so hard that it broke... yeah right! None the less - this is what is left of a La Tene stone.
Killyclugin Stone line drawing
Black Crom
Crom was the most ancient God of the Irish and the christian and catholick church feared Him and as a consequence they have ‘blackened’ His name at every opportunity. But this ‘blackening’ has been so extensive that the power and importance of Crom survives because of it! We are told that the “first-born was always sacrificed to Crom since the time of Eremon in exchange for good harvests of milk and grain”. This barbarous act sets out to blacken Crom but it also establishes the importance of Crom. The phraseology here is damning - it suggests that mammy and daddy killed their first born child for Crom. In practice it was most likely the common method of honouring the Gods by dedication of the first part of each harvest and thereby staying in a respectful mind with regard to the Source. Crom is golden and shiny and gold has the special magic in that it does not rust or blacken so as we remove the darkness of lies; the beauty shines out again.
The Work of Crom
Crom was venerated as a fertility god. At the same time, He was the god of heaven. He was both a fertility and a seed god. Crom is also the Heavenly-God of Wheat and Fertility. Crom could assume the form of a snake or dragon and is as nimble as a march hare. Crom is "a hill dweller, owner of a bull and of a granary, corn bringer and cultivator, feast giver, ruler of the elements, owner of a baleful light, a possessor and a conserver of his possessions." St Patrick retraced the ancient pilgrimage from Tara to Crom Dubh’s Shrines. On the way to Crom Dubh’s shrine, there are several St Patrick’s Wells that were obviously wells sacred and dedicated to Crom Dubh once upon a time. Interestingly enough, the annual pilgrimages to these wells are never held on St Patrick’s day, but around the time of Lughnasa on (or around) 1st August, i.e. old Crom Dubh’s day.
Crom was the most ancient God of the Irish and the christian and catholick church feared Him and as a consequence they have ‘blackened’ His name at every opportunity. But this ‘blackening’ has been so extensive that the power and importance of Crom survives because of it! We are told that the “first-born was always sacrificed to Crom since the time of Eremon in exchange for good harvests of milk and grain”. This barbarous act sets out to blacken Crom but it also establishes the importance of Crom. The phraseology here is damning - it suggests that mammy and daddy killed their first born child for Crom. In practice it was most likely the common method of honouring the Gods by dedication of the first part of each harvest and thereby staying in a respectful mind with regard to the Source. Crom is golden and shiny and gold has the special magic in that it does not rust or blacken so as we remove the darkness of lies; the beauty shines out again.
The Work of Crom
Crom was venerated as a fertility god. At the same time, He was the god of heaven. He was both a fertility and a seed god. Crom is also the Heavenly-God of Wheat and Fertility. Crom could assume the form of a snake or dragon and is as nimble as a march hare. Crom is "a hill dweller, owner of a bull and of a granary, corn bringer and cultivator, feast giver, ruler of the elements, owner of a baleful light, a possessor and a conserver of his possessions." St Patrick retraced the ancient pilgrimage from Tara to Crom Dubh’s Shrines. On the way to Crom Dubh’s shrine, there are several St Patrick’s Wells that were obviously wells sacred and dedicated to Crom Dubh once upon a time. Interestingly enough, the annual pilgrimages to these wells are never held on St Patrick’s day, but around the time of Lughnasa on (or around) 1st August, i.e. old Crom Dubh’s day.
The blessings of Crom are found everywhere.
The sheer number of attacks on Crom by Patrick shows us exactly how powerful Crom was and is even today. Patrick is supposed to have attacked Crom and isolated him on a sea stack off Co Mayo. But these storys of Patrick v Crom do not appear in any of Patricks own storys but were attributed to him much later. This shows that even after Patricks time - Crom was strong in the minds, hearts and story’s of the people. The carved stone of Killycluggin, County Cavan is dome-shaped and covered in Iron Age La Tène designs. It is claimed by the church chroniclers that these Celtic spirals are the imprint of Patricks shepard-staff (Bachall Iosa) that were caused when Patrick broke the stone with a bang of his staff. That the Bachall Iosa was given by Jesus to Patrick (even though almost 300 years separated them) shows us just how much power Patrick needed to control Crom.
The sheer number of attacks on Crom by Patrick shows us exactly how powerful Crom was and is even today. Patrick is supposed to have attacked Crom and isolated him on a sea stack off Co Mayo. But these storys of Patrick v Crom do not appear in any of Patricks own storys but were attributed to him much later. This shows that even after Patricks time - Crom was strong in the minds, hearts and story’s of the people. The carved stone of Killycluggin, County Cavan is dome-shaped and covered in Iron Age La Tène designs. It is claimed by the church chroniclers that these Celtic spirals are the imprint of Patricks shepard-staff (Bachall Iosa) that were caused when Patrick broke the stone with a bang of his staff. That the Bachall Iosa was given by Jesus to Patrick (even though almost 300 years separated them) shows us just how much power Patrick needed to control Crom.
Line drawing of Crom stone (before being kicked)
Wives and family of Crom
Crom was not a batchelor. We have 2 stories of Crom having a partner - 1) Aine or Corra, goddess of Ireland, and harvest deity, who lives on Cruachain Aigle aka The Reek or Croagh Patrick. 2) He attracted a familiar spirit that followed him. Her name is a generic: Linnaun shee, a fairy sweetheart; in Irish spelt "leannán sidhe." Linnaun-shee or more correct Lannaun-shee; a familiar spirit or fairy that attaches itself to a mortal and follows him. From Irish leannan, a lover, and sidh [shee], a fairy: lannaun-shee, 'fairy-lover.' This clearly tells us that Crom as a mortal had special powers sufficient to have a fairy lover... Crom’s two sons were called Téideach and Clonnach, they are made out to be even worse than Crom himself. Crom also had two dogs - Coinn Iothair (hound of rage) and Saidhthe Suaraighe (bitch of wickedness).
Festivals of Crom
Crom was honoured on Samhain eve, the night of the Celtic New Year, at the Summer Solstice and on Lughnasa, the festival games of Lugh around early August and again on both Equinoxes. In old Ireland there were three harvests - Lughnasa, the Autumn Equinox and Samhain. A unique solar phenomenon at this mountain that lasts about twenty minutes is seen at Sunset on the 18th of April and the 24th of August. Normally, the Sun disappears behind the Reek, but on the 18th of April and the 24th of August the Sun itself climbs to the very top of the Reek and then the Sun begins to roll down the northern slope of the Reek as if it is a ball on the edge of a hill - this is seen from Bohea / Boheh in Co Mayo.
Crom was not a batchelor. We have 2 stories of Crom having a partner - 1) Aine or Corra, goddess of Ireland, and harvest deity, who lives on Cruachain Aigle aka The Reek or Croagh Patrick. 2) He attracted a familiar spirit that followed him. Her name is a generic: Linnaun shee, a fairy sweetheart; in Irish spelt "leannán sidhe." Linnaun-shee or more correct Lannaun-shee; a familiar spirit or fairy that attaches itself to a mortal and follows him. From Irish leannan, a lover, and sidh [shee], a fairy: lannaun-shee, 'fairy-lover.' This clearly tells us that Crom as a mortal had special powers sufficient to have a fairy lover... Crom’s two sons were called Téideach and Clonnach, they are made out to be even worse than Crom himself. Crom also had two dogs - Coinn Iothair (hound of rage) and Saidhthe Suaraighe (bitch of wickedness).
Festivals of Crom
Crom was honoured on Samhain eve, the night of the Celtic New Year, at the Summer Solstice and on Lughnasa, the festival games of Lugh around early August and again on both Equinoxes. In old Ireland there were three harvests - Lughnasa, the Autumn Equinox and Samhain. A unique solar phenomenon at this mountain that lasts about twenty minutes is seen at Sunset on the 18th of April and the 24th of August. Normally, the Sun disappears behind the Reek, but on the 18th of April and the 24th of August the Sun itself climbs to the very top of the Reek and then the Sun begins to roll down the northern slope of the Reek as if it is a ball on the edge of a hill - this is seen from Bohea / Boheh in Co Mayo.
Catholic Pilgrimage days are the last Friday of July aka 'Garland Friday' and 'Reek Sunday', aka last Sunday in July and August 15th which is the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven. By knowing the names, places, dates and festivals of the Gods honoured by our Ancestors we can re-connect to their spiritual message and bring health, prosperity and balance back to our connection to Mother Earth. Archaeology at the Reek 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 / Croagh Patrick. There are ancient cooking sites, megalithic tombs, standing stones, burial mounds and ringforts. Today’s’ modern Catholic Church was built in 1905 inside an oval enclosure dating back to the Stone Age as shown in the pic below.
Annagh near Murrisk Co Mayo is a hidden ancient Druid center that now lies at sea level. The winter solstice aligns with the standing stone row at Annagh near Murrisk Co Mayo every year on 21 December at 1.40pm. And we got the picture one year as shared below.
Once a year this stone alignment connects with the Sun through a gap or saddle in the holy mountain we call Croagh Crom.
5. Crom Stone Head
Crom has returned to the Celtic Druids of Ireland, firstly in the re-discovery of Crom as the biggest star group in the southern sky as the flying water dragon and more recently in the form of our guardianship of an actual ancient carved stone head. I have also carved a new stone head as my connection to Crom and we now have a 3D printed replicia as well!
Crom has returned to the Celtic Druids of Ireland, firstly in the re-discovery of Crom as the biggest star group in the southern sky as the flying water dragon and more recently in the form of our guardianship of an actual ancient carved stone head. I have also carved a new stone head as my connection to Crom and we now have a 3D printed replicia as well!
Crom is the fertility god of ancient Ireland. It must be kept in mind that all written references to the gods and heroes of ancient Ireland were written down by church scribes with a twist/spin to suit their own anti-indigenous agenda. Crom is our oldest known 'god' who existed even before the supernatural Tuatha Dé Danann of the Bronze Age and before the Iron Age Milesian Celts who also respected Crom as a god. In the Annals of the Four Masters and in all other church manuscripts/texts, all other 'gods' were merely heroes of legend while Crom was an actual god. The next image shows Crom as the flying water dragon blessing the land who lives in the stars (aka Hydra if you are Greek).
Here at the Celtic Druid Temple we created a sanctuary in 2013 with the help of volunteers - a 6m diameter wooden roundhouse that we have named Temple Crom. In this temple we house many hand crafted items including a 4m long wooden Dragon, a hand painted image of Crom, deer skulls with full antlers and soon enough we will install a wooden upright pillar with a Crom head upon it. In our Lughnasa Festival this year we hope to bring 'our' Crom Head to the very top of Slieve O' Flynn (our hill) with its uninterupted views of Croagh Crom (Croagh Patrick), Neiphin, Sliabh an Iarainn and Cruachan, four very holy places on the horizon. Every year at Lughnasa our hill has Blueberries ripe for eating - a classic part of the hill top Lughnasa gatherings of the past, that is if the birds do not eat them all...
In the great book 'The Festival of Lughnasa, a study of the survival of the Celtic Festival of the beginning of the harvest' by Maire MacNiell on pg 426 she writes - "If we assume that the festival lasted for three days in which one god took over from another, and ally that with the legend of Crom Dubh buried for three days with his head only above ground, with the three faced god of Corleck Hill (edit) and with the many references in Irish Mythology to a head on a hill, we may speculate that there was a custom of bringing a stone head from a nearby sanctuary and placing it on top of the hill for the duration of the festival. The head looking in different locations may be related to the wide prospect seen from the hill and so often spoken of by the people. During this time the god may have been looking propitiously on the ripening corn plots. My assumption is that the stone head is the chief god, Crom Dubh, and that Lugh is temporarily in the ascendant." See two of three faces of the Corleck Head below.
We were given guardianship of the Crom stone head in a very simple way. It had been kept inside a dark garage laying on its side in a nearby village for 40 years. We have over the years given many lectures and organised lots of fun activities with medieval costumes and theatrical weaponry for the visiting archaeology / anthropology team so we have the respect of the village team and from the castle owner and the excavation organisers. Niamh, while researching folklore stories of the area came across a reference to a stone head in the village. Its location was not clear but it was definitly in the village. I hazarded a guess which turned out to be spot on as we found out later. Niamh mentioned the stone head to one of the archaeology teachers and she said she had seen it. She was not sure where but it was in the village. Then we got the following photo of a photo on a computer with the reflection of our 'archaeology teacher' superimposed note the possible third eye socket shadow. The trail was getting hotter...
Shortly after their visit Niamh and I met the archaeology teacher again because she had said that she had seen the stone head and we enjoyed a pint and a chat. She said she'd ask about it for us and went off for her evening meal. We asked two elder natives about the stone head but without success. However, they did give us an address and info on another stone head in a pub about 30 miles away but not the local 'head'. Then as we two drove off we saw our teacher friend chatting to a man at the place I had guessed as the possible location for the head. Niamh pulled over and got out and began to chat - the next thing was the man went into his garage and reappered with a stone head in his hands. It weighs 10kg and it was brought over to the car I was sitting in and put on the drivers seat. Instantly my hand reached out and touched the cold stone and as I heard the 'chat' that it was in the shed / garage for 40 years I felt that it had been on its side and sleeping.
Then Niamh and the guardian had the following discussion - The guardian asked Niamh if she knew what the purpose of the head was. Niamh replied that she didn't, but that 'the academics' seem to think that these type of carved stone heads form some part of pagan idolatry. With that the guardian asked Niamh if she knew anyone who would take care of it. Niamh said that she thought Con would be very good at looking after it and so the guardian said the simple words of, "right, will we put it in the boot of the car so?". The stone head was put in the boot, our teacher friend stood quietly in awe, we gave our address and all was done. We drove and brought the stone head and our story to our three volunteers who had been working on our woodland and attending some of the village festivities with us. There was a sense of amazement and a happy presence all around.
Being of a peaceful disposition we just put Crom on the inside of a sheepskin and placed this in a south facing window. Over the next days I made a wooden base so Crom could be upright again after 40 years of sleeping in a dark garage. He attended our Full Moon and Sun ceremonies.
While wondering what would be the best thing to do with Crom as opposed to just letting him sit in the window I got the idea of a 3D scan and print replicia. Various outrageous quotes were obtained for a brass version so I checked out basic 3D print options. I decided on a two part hollow version, got a quote for scan and print and sent this to our chairperson. The finance for this unique project was approved and finally a project was initiated. Then invitations were sent to our membership to join with us in a very special ceremony.
Then Niamh and the guardian had the following discussion - The guardian asked Niamh if she knew what the purpose of the head was. Niamh replied that she didn't, but that 'the academics' seem to think that these type of carved stone heads form some part of pagan idolatry. With that the guardian asked Niamh if she knew anyone who would take care of it. Niamh said that she thought Con would be very good at looking after it and so the guardian said the simple words of, "right, will we put it in the boot of the car so?". The stone head was put in the boot, our teacher friend stood quietly in awe, we gave our address and all was done. We drove and brought the stone head and our story to our three volunteers who had been working on our woodland and attending some of the village festivities with us. There was a sense of amazement and a happy presence all around.
Being of a peaceful disposition we just put Crom on the inside of a sheepskin and placed this in a south facing window. Over the next days I made a wooden base so Crom could be upright again after 40 years of sleeping in a dark garage. He attended our Full Moon and Sun ceremonies.
While wondering what would be the best thing to do with Crom as opposed to just letting him sit in the window I got the idea of a 3D scan and print replicia. Various outrageous quotes were obtained for a brass version so I checked out basic 3D print options. I decided on a two part hollow version, got a quote for scan and print and sent this to our chairperson. The finance for this unique project was approved and finally a project was initiated. Then invitations were sent to our membership to join with us in a very special ceremony.
Details of email invite to members of the Celtic Druid Temple -
Subject: very special invitation
Hi,
we hope you and yours are well. We wish to extend an invitation to you and a friend to join us for a very special event here at Temple Crom in the afternoon of the 25th of March 2023. We have two things to do - 1) celebrate 20 years of our public practice as Celtic Druids, 2) create a focus for a positive future for the free people of the land. Our hope is that you join with us at this gathering to create a positive affirmation / time capsule / focusing wish / conscious desire / guiding hope for the present and future of the people of this land.
During Lughnasa last year we were gifted with an ancient artifact of a carved stone head, another way of saying this is that a Crom stone head came into our guardianship because the time was right. We do not believe that important things like this happen by accident. Nor do we believe that our ancestors worshiped 'rocks' but instead that such carved rocks as now in our guardianship were memory holders, witnesses to agreements, special items to help the clans focus, to help them share common consciousness and a shared connection to planned futures.
I, Con had already made a stone head from a large almond shaped rock taken from Belmullet a few years ago, then this 'new' head came to us last year and we now have a 3D printed head for our gathering. The 3D Crom head is made from natural materials and is hollow inside with a closing cup (under the neck) to keep it all secure. We will place our best positive thoughts into 'items' and then put these items into the head and then seal it closed using beeswax. This will create a concentrated positive charge for others to connect to later.
There is more to say and further details of this event to share - so if you wish to join us = please confirm by a return email and our second email will share further details about our plan and our responses to any questions. The event is free, by invitation only and is planned as a fun day - please let us know asap if you can attend.
Grá
Con agus Niamh
celticdruidtemple.com
ps - the attached photo is a pic of a computer screensaver taken by the woman who first mentioned the head to us in Ballintobar - the Crom head is a native of this part of Roscommon... Note: the shadow showing the location of the awakened third eye...
Our reply to those who responded -
Hi,
We have extend an invitation to you and a friend to join us for a very special event here at Temple Crom in the afternoon of the 25th of March 2023. You have accepted his invite and we can now give you the details.
Our address: Candlefield Trien Castlerea Co Roscommon.
Our postcode: F45HK53 Our GPS: N53 44,306 W008 34,322
See picture of our entry gate and read our 'How to get here' at:
https://www.celticdruidtemple.com/how-to-get-here.html
Gates will be open from 1:15pm and will be locked closed for our privacy at 1:45pm. Tea or coffee and a slice of cake will be available from 1:15pm to 1:45pm.
There is no late entry as our special event begins at 2:00pm and ends at 4:00pm.
The main focus of our gathering is - to create a concentrated positive charge in small quartz rocks that we have here, that have not had any human charge impressed and that have been washed clean by rain - this makes these quartz rocks ready to hold a 'positive thoughts' charge. These charged rocks will be put inside a 3D printed copy of the Crom Stone Head for others to connect to later.
Only a few words are needed - an example is = It is my intention to impress / imprint these spoken words into the quartz stone: "Trust, honour and respect". This is me giving the best advice to a young person to help him or her to stay true and connected to spirit regardless of external events. The spoken word carries strong vibrations and our gathering will witness everyone's advice being spoken out loud. A maximun of 10 words is plenty and a minimum of one word is ok too. Just think of it as a condensed version of your own life's wisdom gained from your personal knowledge and experience that you wish to make available to others when they need it most.
Secondary events preceeding the main focus are - Niamh and I are 20 years together as a couple, our public ceremonies began 20 years ago, CDT outgoing chairperson Frank will give the actual chair to Red John our new CDT chairperson and then there is a suprise gifting. Niamh will tell the story of how Crom as an ancient stone head came to the Celtic Druid Temple.
No mobile phones at this gathering please = just leave them in your car (the gates are locked), no cameras (exception is Red John), we will ask all attendees to honour an agreement to use a 'talking stick' to let everyone have uninterupted input as they introduce who they are and at the stage of sharing their words of advice. Attending this event means that you and your guest (if any) fully agree with the plan as given.
Grá
Con agus Niamh
celticdruidtemple.com
21/03/2023
END
|
|
|
This members gathering worked very well, it all finished at 6:30pm but everything was just right. So now we have three Crom heads, one I carved, an ancient original and a blessed 3D replica. I am able to get other replicas made and send these to anywhere in the world with all profits above costs donated to the Celtic Druid Temple. Contact me at [email protected] for more details if you and your group wish to become guardians of the ancient tradition of Crom.