#dewos

The Old Gaulish antlered god Cernunnos is hot these days. (Ask me, He's always been hot.) So how do you pronounce His Name?

It was a gray and cloudy, rainy Winter Solstice morning. We didn’t see the sun till a few hours after dawn. In the photo above the winter solstice sun appears over the river Clyde, the watery realm of the Goddess Clutha. Clutha Isn’t just associated with the river she is the entire water cycle, from the rains coming in from the west and into Loch Lomond which flow into the river Leven and then into the mighty River Clyde om their journey to the sea.

Published in the 1940s, The White Goddess written by Robert Graves has served as the basis for a great deal of popular information on the Celtic ogham. Despite being the grandson of ogham scholar Charles Graves, Robert took liberties with the history of the ogham alphabet and added embellishments such as the thirteen-month ogham tree calendar. The appeal of this calendar for working with the energy of trees has captured the imagination of many of us who have incorporated it into our magical practices.

Rhiannon, Goddess of Birds and Horses, is also known as the Queen of the Fairies. A Goddess of Transformation, she uses her powers for love of others or self, shining in our hearts as an example of true love and beauty. She appears in both the first and third branches of the Mabinogion, a medieval Welsh narrative which grew out of the ancient myths of the Celtic Gods and Goddesses. She possessed deep magic and could manifest her dreams and desires both for herself and for the good of all.

Title: Pagan Portals: Gods and Goddesses of Wales — A Practical Introduction to Welsh Deities and Their Stories Publisher: Moon Books Author: Halo Quin Pages: 120pp Price: $10.95 (paperback) Release Date: 1 July 2019

Rhiannon. Pryderi. Pwyll. Arianrhod. Taliesin. Ceridwen. Annwn. In this brief -- but informative -- primer, Quin explores the primary texts which preserved the tales of the Welsh Gods and Goddesses; analyzes what we can learn about the Deities from these texts; and offers suggestions for meditation, journeywork, and offerings in their honor.

A time of magic and transformation, sacred to the goddess Brighid, is upon us at the eve of Imbolc, Lá Fhéile Bríde as it is known in Irish and Là Fhèill Brìghde as it is known in Scottish Gaelic. Brighid is one of our oldest and most revered of goddesses, Britain and Brittany are both named after Her, she is the sacred guardian of these countries. Her special festival, Imbolc, is one of the oldest Celtic festivals- one of the most famous sacred sites in Ireland, the mound of the hostages at Tara, built around 3350BC is astronomically aligned to the Imbolc sunrise, and there are several others, showing us that this time has been sacred for thousands of years. Thought to mean ‘in the belly’ Imbolc is a time when the ewes are pregnant and the new lambs are born, and when the year ahead is still pregnant with possibility.

Just before Yule, the statue of Lleu Llaw Gyffes arrived at White Mountain Druid Sanctuary. The plinth had already been put in place. Here is Kirk standing with the statue in place.

Tis the season to prepare for the Festival of Brigid. Here in Ireland the customs of the goddess Brighid and St. Brigit, Abbess of Kildare, are often conflated. There was a Fire Temple at the Abbey until Henry VIII broke up the monasteries. Both the saint and goddess rule poetry, healing and craft. Both represent abundance, springtime, and returning light. In 'being both' Brigid (or Brighid or Brigit or Biddy or Bride) is a prime example of spiritual adapt and survive. Nothing is lost. It transforms a bit and moves with the times, but the essence is still there. What is important is to keep what is useful of the old and infuse it with up-to-date intentions as time rolls on, feeding the well spring of inspiration.