[ogham]

• Зелёный человек (Jack of the Green, Green Jack) в традиционных народных праздниках:

@темы: лес, события, волшебные существа, кельты

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[ogham]

• 23 апреля в Британии (да и в других странах) празднуют день святого Георгия, который в народной традиции чаще всего называли Зелёным Георгием, Зелёным Джорджем, и судя по сохранившимся народным обрядам, он был связан с Зелёным Человеком, Джеком-в-Зелени, Духом природы.
Зелёный человек – таинственный персонаж британского фольклора, чьи образы мы находим как запечатленными в легендах и сказках, так и вырезанными в камне на стенах церквей и других зданий: человек, изо рта (а иногда и из ноздрей, щек, углов глаз) которого прорастают листья.
Чаще всего сейчас Зелёного Человека связывают с образом Jack-o-Green, персонажа карнавалов и шествий Майского дня, который входил в свиту Майских Короля и Королевы, наряду с Лордом Беспорядка, Hobby-horse, Шутом и другими весёлыми личностями. Он был полностью обряжен в зелень, так что были видны только глаза и губы, и больше всего походил на быстро перемещающийся, веселящийся, пьянствующий, резвящийся и отпускающий непристойные шутки куст.
Но вообще Зелёный человек – персонаж куда более древний, чем, скажем, церковная архитектура, да и образ его встречается не только на территории Британских островов, но и в других частях Европы. Он – дух леса и всего того, что растет. Он – тот, кто прячется в зелени и смотрит на нас из листвы. Он – воплощение границы между миром растений и миром людей, но в то же время и тот, кто соединяет эти миры воедино. Весной, когда природа просыпается, когда по стволам деревьев движется сок, когда лопаются почки, выстреливая молодыми листочками, - просыпается и Зелёный человек, воплощая в себе начало «зелёной» части года и всю силу растительного мира.
Праздники в честь Зелёного Человека в христианский период слились с праздниками Святого Георгия (23 апреля/6 мая), эти дни в народе стали называть Зелёным Джорджем (Егорием, Ежи etc.), и появление «Зелёного Святого», несущего жизнь и здоровье, приветствовалось ветвями со свежими листьями – чаще всего ему посвящали ивовые побеги, а в других местах ежевику и вербу, из которых сплетали венки и гирлянды, чтобы украсить свою одежду, дома, сосуды для воды и молока, но связан он и с другими растениями – с плющом и виноградом, остролистом и тисом, дубом и терном. Считалось, что приходя, он наделяет людей и животных той же неудержимой силой, которая заставляет растения в это время бурно идти в рост, на некоторое время стирая границу между силами растений и силами существ из плоти и крови. В других местах он выступает как воин, ежегодно сражающийся и ежегодно же побеждающий зимнего персонажа (это отсылает нас к кельтскому мотиву вечного сражения двух королей – зимнего и летнего, и к более позднему образу Зелёного Рыцаря из артурианских легенд). Сохранились и обряды, где Зелёного человека, Лесного короля, и его спутницу, Черную Королеву убивают в конце майских торжеств, тут может быть два варианта понимания обычая: либо в жертву приносится его человеческая часть – чтобы его растительная сила могла беспрепятственно разлиться по миру и раствориться в нём, либо именно в этом торжестве принимает участие не Летний Зелёный человек, а Зимний (эту версию подтверждает и то, что его спутница называется Черной – это обычно относится к существам тёмной половины года). Кстати, существует и образная и смысловая связь между Зелёным человеком и мёртвой головой, поросшей зеленью – то, что было живым, даст силу растениям, которые, в свою очередь, напитают живых.
Кроме человеческой формы Зелёного, сохранились и мотивы, где он выступает не человеком, а зверем, из которого прорастают листья. Животные эти как правило либо священны для данной местности, либо обладают общепризнанной силой – сохранились изображения прорастающих листьями вепрей и львов, быков, волков и драконов, сохранилось и изображение оленеголового рогатого человека, увитого зеленью. Тут можно усмотреть связь с тем, что Зеленый Человек – один из ликов лесного божества, покровительствующего жизни вообще и животным в частности, - Рогатого Бога.

Как одно из лесных существ, Зелёный человек – это оживший лес, все тени, мелькающие среди стволов, все лица, читающиеся в коре, взгляды из густой листвы, шорох и шаги за сплетением ветвей, все существа, таящиеся в чаще. Кроме Зелёного Человека существует и множество других, принадлежащих лесу, образов: наши лешие, лесные хозяева и другие лесные духи, греческие дриады, средневековый Дикий человек (Woodwose), соединяющий мир людей с миром животных, так же как Зелёный соединяет людей с растительным миром. Еще один образ - Дикий Пастух, лесное божество, берегущее как свои, дикие стада, так и принадлежащие людям. Тут нет противоречия: у кельтов, например, стада свиней не были полностью одомашнены, и паслись в лесах, куда их и сопровождал пастух, проводящий в лесах вместе с животными все «зелёное» время, всю светлую половину года, добывая себе пропитание самостоятельно. Такие пастухи, даже вполне человеческого происхождения, стояли несколько за пределами человеческого общества (также, например, как скитающиеся в лесах безумцы-гельт), и их образы нередко сливались с образами волшебных, потусторонних существ, причем иногда их воспринимали как мудрых отшельников, а иногда – как зловещих колдунов.
В Германии образ лесного человека также превратился в пугающий: Рупрехт Нахт (Ночной Рупрехт), существо из веток, палок и листьев, жил в тёмном лесу и крал стариков и младенцев себе на обед, другой германский же лесной персонаж, Питер Шварц (Чёрный Питер) – воровал молодых девиц. Впрочем, их обоих считали почти божествами даже в христианский период, и сохранились и легенды о том, что они одаривали тех, кто их почитает.
Все эти существа, как и сам Зелёный Человек, считаются еще и хранителями лесов, препятствуя кому-либо наносить лесу ощутимый вред.


© Shellir

@темы: события и праздники, Британия, события, волшебные существа, традиции, легенды и мифы

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[ogham]

• В любой непонятной ситуации иди в лес.

@темы: лес

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[ogham]

• Великан из Вилмингтона, или Долговязый из Вилмингтона (Long Man of Wilmington) - гигантская меловая фигура, расположенная в Восточном Сассексе, Англия, недалеко от Истборна, на склоне Виндоверского Холма (Windover Hill).
Рост Великана - 69 метров, причем рисунок сделан так, чтобы казаться пропорциональным при взгляде снизу, от подножия холма.
Происхождение этой фигуры до сих пор остается неясным, и даже датировка ее вызывает сомнения, причем разброс дат огромен - кстати, вообще из меловых фигур подтвержденной древностью лет обладает только Уффингтонская белая лошадь.
Самая распространенная легенда говорит о том, что фигура была создана монахами близлежащего Вилмингтонского аббатства, и якобы изображала пилигрима, опирающегося на два посоха - однако это очень спорная история, т.к. монахи вряд ли бы стали изображать неодетую фигуру. Профессор Джон Норс (Jorh North), астроном и математик, предполагал, что фигура могла быть создана в 4 тысячелетии до нашей эры и была связана с созвездием Ориона, таким образом являясь одной из древних астрономических конструкций. Также относили эту фигуру и к периоду римского завоевания, и к периоду англосаксов (т.к. в 1965 году в ходе раскопок в Финглшеме, Кент, была найдена брошь этого периода с изображением божества, предположительно Одина, опирающегося на два копья точно таким же образом, как это делает Вилмингтонский Великан). В последнее время, благодаря исследованиям профессора Ридингского университета Мартина Белла (Martin Bell), временем появления Великана и вовсе считают рубеж 16 и 17 веков, хотя, так же как и в случае с другими меловыми фигурами, не совсем понятно, ради чего они могли создаваться в этот исторический период - самой распространенной причиной принято называть политическую сатиру. Впрочем, каких-либо четких доказательств возраста Великана по прежнему нет.
Первое же письменные упоминания об этой меловой фигуре и ее зарисовки сделаны топографом Джоном Роули только в 1710 году. Также есть более поздние записи антиквара сэра Вильяма Бёрелла, датируемые 1766 годом, где Вилмингтонский Великан также зарисован, причем держащим в руках не посохи, а грабли и косу - при этом куда более короткие, чем нынешние шесты. Впрочем, грабли и коса были сочтены поздними искажениями образа.
Сейчас Вилмингтонский Великан считается одним из признанных неоязычниками мест поклонения, во время кануна Бельтейна у его ног исполняется моррис-дэнс, а сам образ нередко связывают с вратами и переходом.

© Shellir

@темы: символы, Англия, места

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[ogham]

• Старая Галла, дай мне своего дерева, а я дам тебе своего, когда из меня вырастут побеги...

Работы Кейт Перелли (Keith Perelli), художницы из Нью-Орлеана.

@темы: лес, арт

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[ogham]

Очередной фрагмент из книги Жана Фриса "Божественый котёл: руководство по магии кельтов"

• Граб (Carpinus betulus)

Нередко ошибочно принимаемый за маленький бук, граб – дерево, вернувшееся в Северную Европу через много лет после завершения ледникового периода. В отличии от бука, граб сравнительно невелик, и листья его имеют зубчатые края. Иногда он принимает странную искривленную форму.
Создается впечатление, что граб способен оправиться от любых повреждений – поэтому он стал идеальным деревом для живых изгородей, межевых столбов и строительства укреплений. Грабы быстро растут, а их древесина очень тяжелая и прочная. Как материал для строительства укреплений, она была весьма популярна на протяжении всего Средневековья, до XVII века включительно. Гораздо раньше описывал сложности при штурме таких укреплений Цезарь в своих «Записках о галльской войне» (Bellum Gallicum, 2,17) – «В пользу их совета говорило то, что нервии с давних пор были слабы конницей (да и до сего времени они о ней не заботятся, но вся их главная сила состоит в пехоте). И вот, чтобы тем легче парализовать набеги соседней конницы за добычею, они надрезали снизу молодые деревья и пригибали их к земле, а между ветвями, густо распространившимися в ширину, насажали ежевики и кустарника, так что этот плетень образовал своего рода укрепление, похожее на стену, причем не только нельзя было туда проникнуть, но и что-либо за ним разглядеть. Так как подобные плетни должны были затруднять движение нашего войска, то нервии сочли нужным воспользоваться упомянутым средством» ( пер.М.М. Покровского) Для строительства подобных укреплений брались побеги граба и сгибались. Концы побегов зарывались в землю, а наверху этих арок делались прорези. Новые побеги могли так же сгибать или же сплетать с другими. Если иметь достаточно терпения, то из нескольких грабов можно вырастить плотную стену, образованную живыми деревьями. Заросли ежевики, посаженные между рядами деревьев, делали все остальное; возведенные из древесины граба стены хранили покой поселений и замков. Эти укрепления были очень действенны, если селяне ухаживали за ними и не поддавались искушению делать в этой зеленой стене дыры, чтобы можно было проходить сквозь нее напрямую и тем самым экономить время. С появлением тяжелых полевых орудий этим стенам из деревьев и шипов пришел конец. В период Тридцатилетней войны (1618 – 1648) последние уцелевшие стены из ежевики и граба были уничтожены артиллерийским огнем.

© Жан Фрис, перевод: Ulfr Gunnarsson

@темы: растения, Фрис

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[ogham]

• Туманы над Гластонбери Тор (Glastonbury Tor). По легенде, именно здесь лежал один из входов в Иной мир, в Авалон, а туман - знак того, что дорога туда может быть открыта.

@темы: Англия, легенды и мифы, места

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[ogham]

• Туманы над Стоунхенджем.

Всегда считалось, что в тумане может открыться дорога в Иной Мир.

@темы: Англия, места

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[ogham]

• Немного прекрасных субботних музык, чтобы день был хорошим.

Clanadonia - фолк-группа из Глазго, Шотландия, существующая уже больше 10 лет. Кланадонию создали два познакомившихся на съемках "Гладиатора" каскадера, в какой-то момент решившие создать еще и музыкальный проект - только волынки, барабаны и шотландская кровь. Лидер, "двигатель" и воплощенная харизма коллектива - Tu-Bardh Stormcrow Wilson. Clanadonia часто выступает на улицах, участвует в фестивалях, недавно они закончили работу над саундтреком к сериалу "Чужестранка".

@темы: Шотландия, музыка

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[ogham]

• Сегодня начинается первый весенний звездопад, поток Лириды, связанный, как можно понять из названия, с созвездием Лиры. Лиру легко найти на небе - она находится рядом с легко узнаваемым Северным Крестом (созвездием Лебедя), а одна из звёзд самой Лиры - бело-голубая Вега, вторая по яркости звезда Северного полушария.
Лириды - звездопад переменной интенсивности, так что трудно сказать, сколько падающих звезд можно будет увидеть на его пике - двадцать или восемьдесят.
Лириды будут длиться до 25го апреля, а пика достигнут 20-22 числа.
Так что любуйтесь и загадывайте желания.

@темы: события, дела Небесные

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[ogham]

• Заяц (на современном ирландском - giorria или ghiorria [g’iri∂]), хоть и не связан напрямую именно с Огамом, был одним из почитаемых животных у кельтов, причем это относится и к континентальным кельтам (фигурки зайцев на этой территории находили неоднократно) и к островным, в мифах которых он периодически появляется. Кроме того, Цезарь писал в своих "Записках о галльской войне", что мясо зайцев (наряду с мясом гусей и петухов) бритты не едят, хоть и держат возле своих поселений этих животных. Впрочем, судя по легендам, такой запрет существовал не у всех кельтских народов.
При этом, как это часто бывает со священными животными, которые принадлежат не только проявленному, но и запредельному миру, восприятие зайца не было однозначным. С одной стороны, всегда отмечалась его ловкость, скорость, стремительность, выносливость и сила, но с другой, как животное ночное и сумеречное, он стал ассоциироваться с волшебными потусторонними существами, далеко не всегда добрыми, а позже, в христианское время, - с ведьмами.
Один из самых ярких и часто встречающихся мотивов этого мифа - заяц, преследуемый гончей или сворой гончих, то есть мотив охоты - например, в легендах о фианне упоминается и охота на зайцев тоже. Заяц в таком случае воспринимается как священная жертва (что, кстати, объясняет, почему те же бритты не ели заячьего мяса, хоть и содержали их - мясо жертвенных животных употребляется только в определенных случаях). При этом в кельтском мифе исход охоты никогда не гарантирован, и это нередко подчеркивается сюжетом, так что воспринимать зайца только как вечно убиваемую жертву нельзя. Охота - это состязание в силе и ловкости, и победить может как преследователь, так и преследуемый. Были у кельтов, кстати, и другие почитаемые животные - объекты охоты, например олень и кабан, функции которых в кельтском мифе тоже куда более широки, чем функции сакральной жертвы.
Заяц, разумеется, как любое священное животное - может выступать как проводник. Например, именно заяц, за которым охотится Оссеан, приводит его к вратам в иной мир. Есть сюжет о том, что Мананнан мак Ллир, бог морей, в образе зайца привел гончих короля Конхобара (а вместе с ними - всю охоту уладов, разумеется) к месту, где жила Дейрдре.
При этом интересно, что заяц у кельтов (впрочем, как и у многих других народов) не воспринимается как животное трусливое, как это характерно для наших сказок; наоборот, он нередко воспринимался как воплощение силы и смелости. Например, легендарная воительница Боудикка перед тем, как отправиться в поход на римлян, обращалась к богине Андрасте - покровительнице битв и сражений, - и принесла ей в жертву зайца. Впрочем, те, кто хотя бы раз наблюдал сражение двух зайцев друг с другом, или то, как они способны отбиваться от хищников, вряд ли впредь будут считать зайца животным трусливым.
Хотя сейчас зайца принято ассоциировать с плодородием, и такой подход принят многими неодруидическими организациями, в кельтском мифе нет четких связей зайца именно с этой сферой, хотя для других народов такое значение характерно. Точно так же не было у кельтов и связи зайца (и заячьей лапки) с удачей и счастьем. Заячьи лапки, впрочем, использовались - как магическое средство лечения проблем с ногами: заяц ведь быстр, неутомим и легок на ногу. До сих пор сохранилась ирландская поговорка Tabhair do phog do chois an ghiorria, "Поцеловать заячью лапку", что означает попрощаться с кем-то или с чем-то навсегда, быстро уйти из ситуации, исчезнуть из нее.

© Shellir

@темы: животные, Ирландия, кельты, легенды и мифы

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[ogham]

• «Короче, когда ты в лесу, ты становишься частью леса. Весь, без остатка. Попал под дождь — ты часть дождя. Приходит утро — часть утра. Сидишь со мной — становишься частицей меня. Вот так. Если вкратце».

Харуки Мураками. «Кафка на пляже»

@темы: лес, арт

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[ogham]

ЧАСТЬ 1 | ЧАСТЬ 2

Акмэ Альм.

16. Альм

Alim is the ogham of the high pine and the skylark, seeing clearly a long way. The meaning is not so much based in the tree as it is in the vision of the place where the tree is growing. Picture a high place overlooking the sea, a lake, or an ever more distant range of hills or mountains. A grassy, rocky place; almost empty except for one huge, gnarled, old pine towering over everything. The pine commands a view of everything around it while still being a part of everything and, throughout its long life, has triumphed over storms, drought, ice and still flourishes.

The bird linked with this ogham is the skylark. The skylark lives in the grass and, from it, flies up into the clear sky. When it is just a speck in the blue, it bursts into a song that can be heard everywhere for miles. The skylark has always been the symbol of the continuing bravery of the commonplace and beautiful.

There are two lessons we can learn from Alim, the high pine. The first is the joy of being at one with Nature. Biologically, the way that trees drink and breathe is by drawing in water and minerals with their roots, passing them up through their trunks and branches, and sending them to their leaves. The pores in their leaves are open, breathing out water vapor and oxygen. In the summer, both deciduous and evergreen trees are breathing and singing this exhalation of the great Ohm. Evergreens are awake all year round, however, and if you walk in the woods on a sunny winter day you can hear, if you listen with your inner ear, the quiet hum of the pines. Trees are connected deep into the ground and high up in the air with all around them, and we should look for this sense of connectedness.

The second lesson is to look more than two steps ahead along our path. We should always know what we plan to do next, but we should also have a sense of where we are headed and what we can do if things don't turn out as planned. Keeping in mind the eventual outcome of our actions helps to keep us from finding ourselves at a dead end.

This is the dual message of Alim: look all around you with a clear sight, and rise above adversity. The clamor in the valley may be confusing and daunting but the view from the peak will put things into perspective. The card reversed tells us that our vision is clouded and our perceptions need to be examined.

This concept is not expressed in the Norse Rune-set, and so there is no rune paired with Alim. It stands alone, sending its message "Rise up!"

17. Онэн

This is the North American substitute for the European Furze or Gorse. Both Gorse and Goldenrod grow everywhere as yellow-flowered weeds in poor or otherwise barren soil. Gorse is a prickly plant, and Goldenrod is irritating to many people's immune systems. The Ogham teaching poem identifies Ohn as "I vam the blaze on every hill." which well describes a field of goldenrod in bloom.

Ohn is the ogham of gold and gathering together. It speaks of honey and hives, coins, wealth and sweetness on the material plane. It is linked to the rune Feoh, the rune of cattle and possessions. It is important to remember, though, that the secondary meaning of Feoh is slavery, and the Norse adage that explained the rune is "Wealth causes friction between relatives, while the wolf lurks in the woods." This is the wealth ogham, not the happiness or comfort ogham. Possessions are necessary and useful, but they do not give meaning or spiritual richness to our lives.

The bird paired with Ohn is the magpie, the bird that steals trinkets and coins and gathers together a hoard. The Magpie is also known as a squabbling bird that quarrels with its neighbors. The archtypical Magpie in fable is a bird who tricks and is tricked, trying to get something of value for nothing. Gold sets the traps of cheating and dishonesty to trick the gullible into thinking that worth is set by monetary value alone, and not by some higher standard.

Ohn can be used for spell working, but it is always wise to pair it with an ogham or rune that has a more spiritual meaning for balance, or to use it only with a clear and limited desire. Many teaching stories exist in every culture of the foolish person who wishes for wealth only to find that the price to be paid is something far more important.

The message of the reversed card is first of financial difficulties but also of incompleteness or of something lacking. This is a useful rather than an oracular card and, when in balance, sends a message of sweetness. When we are given this ogham we should keep in mind that "Enough is as good as a feast."

18. Ур

Ur is the card of luck, potential, and newness. As Ohn is the ogham of material good fortune, Ur is the ogham of good luck in life events and of strength and health in the physical body and mental attitudes. Because it pertains to happenings, it is an oracular card but it is also a powerful spell-working ogham to help events come to a happy completion.

Just as Ohn and Ur are linked oghams, so are Feoh and Ur linked runes. Ohn and Feoh are discussed in the previous card page, and are both wealth symbols. Unlike Oak, Birch, and Yew where the ogham and rune are the same tree, Ur is not the same symbol in the runes and the ogham. The rune Ur is the Auroc, an extinct wild cow something like a musk ox or a water buffalo. This is a symbol of tremendous strength and power. Perhaps it says something about their cultural identities that the most powerful symbol to the Celt was luck while the correspondingly powerful symbol to the Norse was strength.

There is a valuable lesson in this rune pair. Feoh and Ur are domestic cattle and the wild auroc, and their secondary meanings (linked to these symbols) are slavery and freedom. We should remember this and realize that wealth will alleviate our money concerns but that luck, health, and strength will free us from worry. The reversed card tells us that there is low vitality or insufficient drive, something that needs to be healed before we can move forward.

The bee is connected to Ur. The Ur line in the Ogham teaching poem refers to this symbol as well as to the power of this ogham-"I am the Queen of every Hive." The Celts believed that the bee, like the raven, was able to fly from this world to the other world. Although the other world can be described as the Spirit World, for the Celt the Spirit World and Tir-na-Og are slightly different concepts. Tir-na-Og can be translated as the Land of Youth, or the Land of Never-Ending Spring but the most meaningful description for me is the place where what we wish to be true is true. It is a place of rest, where we wait to return to the world again or to travel up the spiral to something else.

The fully laden bee can always fly directly to its hive from the last flower. Using the ley lines, it can fly from Tir-na-Og to us carrying, not messages like the raven, but the intangibles of luck and health.

19. Эйе

Eadha is the tree of whispering leaves. All of the huge family of poplar trees, which include Aspens, have a stem to twig attachment that makes the leaves shiver or tremble in the least breeze and causes an unceasing whispering noise throughout the stands of these trees. This aspect of Eadha represents both the voice of our doubts nagging at our unconscious and also the soft voice of the Great Mother calming our fears. The message of Eadha is that there are threats that we should fear, but also that we can encompass them.

Eadha is the shield tree which is one of the magical weapons with NgEtal, Tinne, and Ioho. The Ogham identification poem says, "I am the Shield for every head." Poplar wood, which is light, was used for shields in the time when shields were used in war, but Eadha could be used both then and now on the mythic plane as a spell-working barrier. The card reversed has much the same message but warns that fearfulness can overcome us unless we guard against it.

The whispering of the aspen leaves is also oracular, and tells us to be alert for quiet messages from the other world, or for intuitive messages or feelings from our unconscious mind. Eadha councils us to trust those messages, and to rely on all of our senses and intuitions even when not strongly voiced. This is the meaning of the rune paired with Eadha, the Rune Eh. Eh's primary meaning is unconnected to the ogham, but its secondary meaning is to trust and cooperate with the natural world and to form a complete partnership with it.

The bird connected with Eadha is the whistling swan. These birds do not sing, but make a whistling noise while flying as the wind of their passage flows through their strong wing primaries in much the same way that the aspen makes a noise when the wind passes through its leaves. Swans, as one of the larger migratory birds, have long had a place in mythic symbology as struggling against misfortune and triumphing.

Eadha, like many of the oghams, sends a mixed message about the future. It does not foretell particularly good things, but this is what life sends us. Although we do not have to fear frost, starvation, homelessness, disease, or injury at the same level as the ancient peoples; these threats are still present to us as well as the general miseries that all people of all times face. The message of Eadha is "Don't be afraid."

20. Ивэр

This is the oracular tree of the longest night. Thule, the old name for the winter solstice, is the pinnacle of power for the Old King. This is the power of cold nature, the age and strength of stones, the compression of deep water, the solidity of frozen earth. Thule is translated as the turning point, the place one must turn back from and cannot go beyond. Rather than seeing this as giving up or as a barrier that must not be crossed we should remember the folk saying, "Down so low, no place to go from here but up." The night after the longest night is shorter, and we are on the way back up the circle. All cultures and religions from the oldest to the youngest celebrate the return of the sun at this point on the calendar, and the belief that troubles will always lessen with time.

Yews are slow growing, multi-trunked trees that live to be ancient, complex, and unique. Parts will die off, but the whole will survive. In recognition of their longevity they have been planted on barrows, tombs, and in churchyards for centuries, and symbolize the endless cycle of death and rebirth. Life and Death nest one inside the other, two halves of the whole. In the life cycle, death is the last Thule that we go beyond to rebirth or up the spiral to the next cycle. The ancient Ogham poem says, "I am the tomb to every hope."

The meaning of the ogham is that life has its inevitable turnings and dangerous times, and there is no reversal to this message. Both the ogham Ioho and the rune Eoh are the yew tree. Yew is a warning but also a defense. It is the long bow, one of the magical weapons. Like the other magical weapons, yew bows were used as mundane weapons at one time. The long bow was a revolutionary innovation in the warfare of its time, and was a decisive factor in political power. Magically, it is a weapon of potent defense meant to be employed when times are blackest and most threatening.

The bird connected to this ogham is the eaglet. Like the unstrung bow, the eaglet is a symbol of power held in reserve. The bow, when employed, will send an arrow through a knight's armor. The eaglet, when grown, will be the strongest of raptors.

All of the archtypical personas are different faces of God. These, the Old King and the Sorceress, are the oldest and farthest removed from human nature and loving-kindness. They are never fooled, or charmed, or bamboozled by our make-believe. On the other hand, they are not disappointed or downhearted when events turn against them. The Holly King and the Old King are close-the Holly King's reign ends just before Thule-and the Holly King is the warrior persona of the Old King who rules. The Sorceress is the dark face of the Crone Goddess, turned away from humanity.

The message of Ioho is a grim one but it also says, "Be brave."


Обратите внимание, порядок и начертание некоторых форфэд изменены так, как это сейчас принято в некоторых неодруидических организациях.

Форфэда.

21. Эвэ / Коад

This is the sacred grove of the Druids, and the spiritual center around which all things circle. The Druids, in the same way that they had a gease against writing, had a similar gease against building religious structures of any kind and worshipped in naturally occurring groves of trees. Ceremonies at natural places such as mountains, lakes, or woods and communion with individual special trees are an important part of a whole nature religious life.

Staying in touch with and listening to the entire web of life is regenerating and rewarding. The pattern of understanding is written in the spiral of the nebulae and in the spiral of an unfolding fern leaf for us to read and appreciate. Looking at these messages, we can understand why the Druids did not write things down. Why bother, when the meaning is expressed so clearly and elegantly without our interference?

I try to maintain an awareness of the mundane world-- earning a living, doing chores, and running errands-- while at the same time remaining aware of the greater world-- the phase of the moon, the wind and weather, and the singing of the trees. For me the expression of this duality of the interaction of man and nature is the placing of stone on stone. Stonehenge and all standing or placed stones are my symbol of the unity of nature and the inclusion of humankind in the all.

To feel a part of the spiral of the universe, I believe that it is necessary to acknowledge that we are on the circle of life. Of course, we make our life choices by our own will but if we do not make choices they will happen anyway. We must express ourselves, interact with others, live by some standard of ethics, and bring our lives to some completion. We can direct ourselves to an end consciously or choose to walk backwards on our life path and never anticipate the outcome of our steps.

We can never choose not to grow old and die, and there are events in all of our individual lives that happen to us whether we will or no. We must accept these things to stay in communion with the all. To try to choose agelessness, going backwards on the wheel, or to attempt immortality, stepping off the wheel, are destructive evils because they close us off from forces greater than ourselves and leave us alone.

The symbolic meaning of Koad is the cycle completed, perceived, and understood. This corresponds to the harvest festival of Mabon, when the Great Mother gives us sustenance from her abundance and permits us to enter into the mystery. The harvest rune, Jera, is the partner to Koad. The card's message is one of peace and plenty, and its reversal tells us to watch for narrowness of concentration.

22. Орь

The flash of lightning in the dark allows us to suddenly see clearly. Oir stands for this burst of illumination when things become clear. Researchers call this the "A-ha!" moment when a leap in understanding reaches a conclusion that was not foreseen. A more mundane example of this experience is when we are completely lost and then see some familiar landmark. The incorrect orientation we were on disappears and the world (in our perception) spins around into the correct direction and we are back on our route.

The Northern European tree that stands for this ogham is the spindle tree, which does not grow in North America. However, the spindle as a symbol has a meaning that corresponds to the flash of understanding. In the Sleeping Beauty story, the prick of the spindle is the catalyst that catapults her from the unknowing, childhood state. Her next stage would be into adulthood but, unfortunately for her, she is the victim of the evil fairy's curse which complicates her progress.

We are mostly free from curses, but still find ourselves from time to time on the cusp of life stages or decisions, looking ahead into the darkness. Oir is an oracular message that we will be able to see clearly and is also useful in spell working. It is not represented by a spiritual warrior, but stands in a general ideological sense for the triumph of light over darkness, understanding over misinformation.

Paired with Oir is a Norse lightning rune, Sigel, which also stands for victory. This is simply triumph in battle with another lightning rune, Ziu, symbolizing the working out of divine justice. There is no reversal for Sigel, since there is a victor in every contest. There is a warning in the reversal of Oir, however. Since we always see things from our point of view, it is tempting to assume that what we wish for and see as the triumph of right is best for all. Oir reversed warns us against the sense of entitlement that tempts us into making decisions for others based on our desired outcome, or demanding justice when what we are really motivated by is selfishness.

The flash of lightning is the spark of inspiration and the rainbow is the fullness of understanding. You can believe that the universe is slipping into chaos, or that it is gradually circling into balance. When lightning strikes it is not a bolt forcefully shoved into the passive world, but instead the charge of the earth and the charge of the cloud coming into equilibrium.

23. Илэн

Uilleand has flowers with the sweet nectar hidden at the base of the narrow flower. The animal partner with Uilleand, the Killdeer, has a nest that is on the open ground but is hidden by the bird's misdirection--the broken wing pretense-- when danger threatens. These natural occurrences are symbols in the Spirit World of hidden sweetness and the attainment of the heart's desire. The Killdeer's nest and chicks are so important to the parents that they will confront any predator without hesitation. Honeysuckle flowers are both beautiful and fragrant but the plant is a common wildflower, just as Killdeer are attractive and appealing birds but not difficult to find.

Countless myths, parables, and folk-tales illustrate this principle. An entire industry, the romance novel genre, is based on this idea. Your heart's desire is not rare or occult, but hidden in plain sight right in front of you. Acceptance of the gifts you have been given is the path to true happiness. Wyn, the rune of uncomplicated joy or bliss, is the corresponding rune. The message is unreservedly good and directed to the individual on a personal level, "The desired end will come; the thing you are hoping for will happen."

Joy is not a destination to be traveled towards or a formula to be invoked. It is a way of being. In all the world, we are the easiest people for ourselves to trick. We trick ourselves into thinking that we will only be happy when some external result occurs. When we finish what we are working on, when we find true love, when we complete the perfect family, when we live in our dream home, then we will be content. Our heart's desire, however, is inside our heart and not external at all. It is how we feel that makes happiness not what we gain.

The dangers inherent in this message are obvious. There is the message of the reversed card, that we must know what we truly wish for in order to make a wish. We must also always be careful what we wish for because we may find our wishes granted in unexpected ways. The more subtle danger in human society is the always-present desire of others to make decisions for us. It is not our lover's desire, our spouse's desire, our mother's desire, our children's desire, our boss's desire, or society's desire but our own deepest desire that we can attain. Any person who professes to know better than you do what you want is lying.

These cautions aside, we can always be glad receive this ogham message. It says, "Look confidently into your heart and find happiness there."

24. Ифин

Phagos is the tree of old learning, of ancient ideas. For the ancient Celts, the ancestral knowledge was, of course, the Ogham and so the animal counterpart of Phagos is the crane. The crane makes ogham symbols with its long, dangling legs as it flies. It also ritually dances a circle dance with its mate. Like the bee, which dances a circle dance to communicate, this is seen as giving it access to the Spirit World. The corresponding symbol to the Norse was the rune Odal which represents the homeland and the ancestral roots that give our lives deeper meaning.

Beech trees have a smooth gray bark like fine-textured skin and large leaves that turn the light brown of paper, lingering on the tree into the winter. Beech trees are never alone in a wood. One mother tree will always have a host of children around her, just as one idea will sprout others if studied and understood.

Ideas are the most universal and useful tools. Being able to see an idea from many different aspects, understanding how it ties into different belief systems, give us a more complete vision of that idea. Knowledge and ideas are not dangerous, but the misguided perception that any belief or idea that we hold is the one true statement of dogma; not to be examined, questioned, or challenged is hideously dangerous and almost inevitably leads to prejudice and intolerance.

Whenever I have moved to a new location finding the library and bookstores (new and used) are as vital to me as finding the nearest patch of woods and flowing water that are open to the public. Whenever someone expresses a judgement, perception, or belief system that I am not familiar with I try to draw out more information about it rather than quickly disagreeing or propounding my opposing or competing ideas. "Go and find out" is always a good code to follow as long as we are careful to avoid the crocodile's jaws.

Phagos is a message ogham. Phagos is the ogham of mythic understanding on a personal scale as Nuin is the ogham of mythic understanding on a large scale. The message is that we have something to discover, learn, or understand for our personal growth. We are ready to deepen our comprehension of the old mysteries, and an aid will be sent to us. Reversed, we are warned that we have been sent a message that we have ignored. We cannot stand alone, but must use our roots to anchor us.

25. Эмэнхол / Мор

This is the card of Fate or, in the Northern tradition, Wyrd. When runestones are made, the Wyrd rune is represented by a stone with a blank, uncarved face. Thus, when it is turned over nothing is revealed. In the Celtic mythos, this image is the sea. We see the surface of the water, but nothing is revealed of its depths. Both the Celts and the Norse had a great respect for the sea and an appreciation of its power. Both cultures used open boats to travel long distances on the stormy North Atlantic. Much of their livelihood came from the sea or by means of trading along sea routes. The sea brought them food and goods, wealth and adventure, but could also threaten their boats and their lives with no warning. Storms showed them the power of the natural world at its most inimical.

This is the role of fate. It brings things into our lives, good and bad, and we must work with them. When the spirit world sends us a message, we must carefully examine it and struggle to extract its deepest meaning rather than quickly assume the most obvious, complimentary, or desired point. When an event changes our lives, we must carefully determine whether we have engineered it into happening or if it is a truly fortuitous event. We must also decide what, if any, response is appropriate. We must know ourselves to know what to do. Are we passive, and too likely to give up a struggle against adversity by assuming that it's Fate and nothing can be done? Or are we more likely to stubbornly push on when our desired goal is a castle in the clouds with no pathway to it by any means?

Wyrd and Fate are somewhat different concepts. Like many of the Northern mythic ideas, Wyrd cuts both ways. It is not just Fate intervening into our lives from outside, although it includes this aspect. It is also our inborn abilities and personality working outward on the world around us. Finding a balance between what we wish to do, what we are able to do and what we should do is our life's Wyrd.

For sea-faring people, the mystery of the sea and the power of the storm are major symbols. For Northern people, the crystalline beauty of the snowflake and the power of the avalanche are the same symbols. For people in a warmer climate the life-giving rain and the power of the hurricane stand in the same light. The Chaos theory concept that everything has a universal effect and that we affect things in ways we cannot foresee is a part of this same magic.

There is no reversal to this card and no specific message. It is rather a reminder that we are small parts of the all, and that the universe is more likely to act on us than be acted on by us. Turning up this card may be a warning against self-interest and insularity or forewarning that a great event may move into our lives.

ЧАСТЬ 1 | ЧАСТЬ 2

@темы: символы, Огам, арт, растения, колоды, фэды, акмэ Альм, Форфэда

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[ogham]

• Помните, в ноябре мы писали о редкой колоде по Огаму? В сущности, тогда про нее не было известно ничего: сайт, на котором она была выложена, канул в Лету, ни названия, ни происхождения. Так что спешим поделиться: нам все-таки удалось разузнать про эту колоду побольше.

Зовется она Ancient Irish Tree Cards, автор - Джудит О'Грэди (Judith O'Grady). Колода и впрямь выпускалась очень ограниченным тиражом (если вообще не единственным экземпляром) для Lake of Oaks Protogrove, канадского подразделения международной неодруидической организации Ár nDraíocht Féin, ADF. Автор рисунков на картах - Шэннон Дарх (Shannon Darch).

Пока что выкладываем оригинальные описания карт на английском, позже будет и переведенный вариант.

ЧАСТЬ 1 | ЧАСТЬ 2

Акмэ Бьех

1. Бьех

Beith is the maiden tree, the first of the three Goddess trees. Many ancient cultures use the image of the Triple Goddess. Both the three Fates from Southern European symbology and the Norns from the Norse are personifications of this archtype. The ancient Irish Triple Goddess is both like and unlike these concepts. Like the other triads, the Irish triple Goddess is three women at three life stages, each with her own viewpoint and message. Unlike the Norse or the Romans, the Irish viewed the Triple Goddess as three stages of one single life, or as three different manifestations of the same deity, the Great Goddess Bride. The modern personification of the Goddess Bride is Gaia, the totality of the world. So, for the Irish, the triple goddesses all partook of the same store of universal knowledge and the form they wore was part of the message they were bringing to the listener.

The Maiden is the life stage when adult life is beginning, menarche is past and the girl is beginning to be comfortable with her adult body and to be interested in adult sexual contact. Seasonally, it is the full rush of Spring, the beginning of the bright half of the year at May first, or Mayday. Mayday is the point on the mythical cycle when the Maiden Goddess and the Young God, the Green Man of the woods, become lovers. They engender the child who will be born at the tipping of the year, nine months later, at Imbolc. Historically the Mayday festival was a time for lovers to declare themselves and to begin marriage contracts. Maypoles were made out of birch saplings, and brooms were made from birch twigs to sweep away the remnants of the old, dark time and start afresh. The old saying, "The new broom sweeps clean" comes from this practice.

Birches have this meaning in all of the cultures that they grow in. The rune that Beith is paired with is also birch, or Beorc, with the same meaning of beginning and the same beautiful symbol of Spring. The image of the shining green of new birch leaves, the contrast of the white trunks and spring flowers underneath is the picture of the future clear and bright. The bird connected to this tree is the robin, also the symbol of Spring and a fresh start.

This is the time to start a new project, to make agreements and contracts. The message this card sends is that it is time to begin. The time of preparation is past, difficulties have been overcome, and a new beginning can be made with confidence of success. If you have not been planning for a change, than this may be an indication that something is coming and to be prepared, not to let an opportunity pass. Beith reversed tells us that the way must be cleared first, that there is something to be finished and put away before a new beginning can be made. This is a happy, uncomplicated card with the message, "Go ahead! Begin! Take a risk and succeed!".

2. Льис

In North America, this tree is the Mountain Ash. The same tree in Europe is called the Rowan and has been used since pre-history as a protection against enchantment and evil. For thousands of years people have planted rowans in front of their front doors to turn away evil in all forms, as ill-wishing and evil spell-casting and physical harm. Several years ago, I went to a friend's housewarming party in her newly built sub-development. As often happens, she asked me to identify the tiny tree the landscapers had planted outside her door, and to tell her about its significance. She turned on the outside light and I went back outside to find that it was a Rowan. I have since noticed that Mountain Ashes are often the saplings in the front yards of new-built houses. Of course, they are attractive, quick growing, hardy trees and so a logical choice but this is, to me, an example of the spirit world and the mundane world intersecting.

Making and carrying a little universal cross (one with both arms equal) of Rowan twigs bound with red thread will protect you personally in the same way that a Rowan tree protects your home. The rune that is paired with Luis is the rune of protection, Elhaz, the warding sign. These are the tree and rune most often used in spellcasting and charm making. This use of Luis and Elhaz are an illustration of the first principle of Wicca, "An it harm none, do as ye will." The rune that is paired with Luis is the rune of protection, Elhaz, the warding sign. These are the tree and rune most often used in spellcasting and charm making. An ethical witch cannot cast a spell against someone, but only against the harm directed at her.

In a reading, the message of this card is positive and not negative. It does not tell us that there are things threatening us from outside because we all know already that the world can be a dangerous place. Instead it reminds us that we are already protected and to employ our protections without fear. The card reversed tells us much the same thing, that we should use common sense to overcome what threatens us.

Some of the Ogham are magical weapons, which can be employed against things threatening us. Some of the Ogham are magical warriors, who can be asked to help us. Some are messengers from the Spirit world, alerting us to sendings. Luis has some of all of these qualities, but it is not a personification of a weapon, warrior, or message. It is the personification of the sanctity of the home, and the sacred need for security in our own space.

If we direct all of our energies towards blocking any possible bad or unforeseen outcome then we are left with no energy for forward motion at all. Our Wyrd, or Fate, will sometimes bring us things that are troublesome or disruptive no matter how we try to protect ourselves. We should not refuse to see what we do not welcome but instead pick out the good learning experiences that are imbedded in all unfortunate happenings, send back to the originator the evil, and rise above the sorrow or trouble with confidence.

3. Фьярн

Alder is one of the oracular trees, and sends us the message that we should pay particular attention to what is happening all around us. Fearn is a tree that, when cut down, will send up new shoots from the old stump. In mystical terms, it is as if the tree is still there even when it is removed, and can return. It is a water-resistant wood, and was used in ancient times for foundations and bridge piers. Alders nowadays rarely become full-grown trees, but are mostly found as small, brushy groups of shrubs in swampy areas. Swamps are one of the in-between things that are in the mundane and the shadow world at once. Dawn, twilight, the tidal zone of the sea, and the marshy edges of bodies of water are all places where the boundary between one thing and the other is inexact.

All around us there exists the collective unconscious of the mind of humankind. We have an understanding of all forms of life inside us on a cellular level in our DNA. We feel the pre-language emotions of animals in our reptile brain. We can, with practice, bring ourselves into communication with the mystical world and see the real and the ideal superimposed one on top of another. Almost everything that we see around us or that happens to us is both itself and more than itself simultaneously. This Ogham reminds us to try to extrapolate a more universal meaning from an immediate happening; to make connections between events and meanings.

The Raven is the bird connected to this tree. Ravens are carriers of prophecy and wisdom in many cultures. Two Ravens, Thought and Memory, sit on Odin's shoulders. Ravens fly with the Morrigan to battlefields. Just as Alder is built into bridges in the real world so Ravens create bridges between the real and the Spirit World. The archetypes of the Great Goddess and the Spiritual Warriors are sending the Raven with messages from the Spirit World to us but those messages also manifest in the mundane world in ordinary people and events, giving things in the mundane world double meanings.

The message of Fearn is that we should look for the message we are already being sent in some more ordinary form. Reversed, it means that we are not paying attention and are missing the point. The Rune connected to Fearn is Mannaz, the rune of all humankind or the archtypical human being. The wisdom of all ages of man and nature will give us oracular guidance if we pay attention to it.

4. Саил

The Willow is a lunar and water tree. Saille is a tree connected to the mother and to the nurturing side of our natures rather than the warrior side. One way to say this would be to say that Saille is feminine rather than masculine, but this is only true if we keep in mind that all of us are both feminine and masculine. Being connected to the Mother is completely universal because we were once all helpless babies depending on our mothers. So can we all look to the Great Mother for help, care, and understanding.

It is vital to understand how important water is to us, both as a symbol and as an actuality. We are conceived in wetness and develop in our own sac of water until we are ready to be born. Biologically, we are mostly water on the inside and must constantly replenish ourselves to remain wet enough to live. Ecologically, the health of our water supplies is the indicator of our quality of life. World-wide, the cycle of water being drawn up and released governs the planet's weather, affecting every part of humankind and our well being.

The importance of water to us in the real world is mirrored by its symbolic importance in the spirit world. Water is the element of the West. It is the element of life and of mystery. It is the paradigm of the spirit world itself: we need it to live but we cannot live wholly in it without drowning. We must refresh ourselves in the spirit world but we cannot immerse ourselves in it.

Willows bend gracefully over the water and move gently with every breeze. When great storms come parts of the trunk or major branches may be broken off, but the main tree will adapt and survive. Often the broken portions will grow where they have fallen spanning the stream. This is the message of Saille; to go with the flow and to maintain spiritual balance. Balance and tranquillity are the watchwords. The card reversed tells us that we are lacking in balance and that we should bring the different parts of our lives into harmony. Lagu is the corresponding rune, the water rune of flow.

The message is not one of inaction, however. The bird symbol is the kingfisher, a water bird. Kingfishers will sit on a branch overhanging the water, still and balanced. They seem to be immobile but they are actually alert to every detail of their surroundings and when the opportunity is at hand they hurtle into the water and reappear with a fish. This card tells us to bend and adapt but to also be alert and ready to act when necessary.

5. Ньин

Yggdrassill, the world tree that supports and binds together all the layers of the universe, is an Ash tree. The Ash is the major oracular tree in all the Northern cultures. Just as in Beith, the rune and the ogham use the same symbol and have very similar meanings. Nuin is the ogham, As is the rune of the Ash tree. The meaning is that messages have been or will be sent, and to be alert to them. Unlike the other oracular trees, the messages being sent by Nuin are always of great importance and can be life changing. We can expect when we choose this card that some event will occur that will affect more than ourselves.

Although in general it is a dangerous temptation to put ourselves in the hero spot or star role of an unfolding story, often the message of Nuin is that we do have a decisive part to play in larger events. We may be able to bring a needed skill, knowledge, or attribute to an important effort; or we may be called upon for an action or sacrifice. In the Northern mythos, Odin is the archetype for sacrifice. He gave one of his eyes in exchange for a drink of water from the well of knowledge at the base of the world tree, and hung on Yggdrassill for several days and nights to learn the meanings of the runes. Thought and Memory, the two ravens, fly over the Middle World and return to sit on Odin's shoulders to tell him what they have seen. Thus, knowledge of the Middle World and understanding of the Spirit World are his rewards for personal sacrifice.

The demands that follow this omen can be serious, but they will not be beyond our strength. We must look inside ourselves for what we already know but have not yet perceived. Ash trees produce distinctive seeds, or keys. These are the symbol that we have the keys to understanding available to us. We should be prepared to follow honest advice, and to think globally about the effects of our local actions. The card reversed tells us to avoid insularity and biased opinions.

Wands are made of ash wood, in order to open a channel from the Spirit World to the mundane world. Wands or staffs are one of the magical weapons, but one which has always resonated with magic. Even in the days when arrows, bows, and spears were unremarkable tools of war, wands and staffs had a glamour around them. They can, now as then, only be used with knowledge and understanding. Ash wands, leaves, or keys can be used in spellworking to show our readiness to receive messages but we cannot, of course, force the cosmos to direct itself along the path we choose. This ogham reminds us of our very small part in the all, and we should remember this in our dealings with others and with the greater world.

Акмэ Хуах.

6. Хуах

Huathe is another of the oracular trees, with a special message from the Irish Crone Goddess or from Urd, the eldest Norn. The Norse, always a practical people, saw the past as the special province of the eldest Norn because the oldest would have the greatest knowledge of the past. She speaks about how the actions and events of the past will affect us in the here and now. The future, the Norse felt, was unknowable and so is the province of the veiled Norn about whom nothing is known and who rarely speaks.

The ancient Irish, however, saw the Triple Goddess as three facets of the same persona all of whom know all. The Crone Goddess is the oldest of the three Goddesses and speaks prophetically about the future, often about death. The eldest, the Irish felt, can give us valuable advice about the future from their stores of wisdom and experience. In both cases the persona of the future can also be the personifier of Death. This is logical since death is at the end of all of our futures, however distant. Often the Crone Goddess comes to warriors before battles in Irish legends to help them avoid mistakes and to make the best out of their inevitable end.

Huathe shows us the power of the otherworld and how it interconnects with the mundane world. The three Goddess trees: Beith, Quert, and Huathe are linked and Huathe is paired as well with Straif, the trees which are Whitethorn and Blackthorn. Because it has such a pivotal connection with these trees we must carefully look at the other cards we have drawn and slowly extract the meaning. The advice of the oldest Goddesses, while freely given, is not always easy to understand and can be confusing.

Huathe is not always the voice of doom and foreboding but it is always a warning, both in the upright and the reversed position. The crow is the animal symbol of this ogham. Crows are suspicious and watchful birds, and act as the alarm system of the animal world. They will watch us and report on our whereabouts and actions to the world at large as we walk by them. In mythology, crows are viewed as knowing what is happening all around them and seeing more about the outcomes than the human actors but rarely helping out with advice. People in legends mostly get help from the crows by overhearing them talking about events to the other mythical beings.

Where they grow as a native tree, hawthorn hedges are covered thickly with white blossoms in the spring. This time is known as Hawthorn Winter. Thus the ogham Huathe is paired with Is, the standstill rune of ice. These images give us the tree's meaning: to stop and wait. Huathe signals a period of restraint. Sometimes this can be a sexual restraint, sometimes an adoption of a passive stance or a wait-and-see attitude. When we are deciding on a course of action, we can see Huathe as the mystic Granny with the crow on her shoulder as her familiar. The voice of the old Wisewoman is like the warning cry of the Crow, warning us about the possible bad outcomes of heedless action.

7. Дуир

Duir is the doorway tree. It is the symbol of protection and solidity, strongly barring the way to things that should not enter as well as opening to allow the entrance of things that are welcome. This magical ability to do two things, to tell the difference between good and evil, makes Duir a valuable aid in doing magical work since it helps and strengthens our intentions. We can use oak as a protective charm for our houses and possessions, but also as a strong ally for ourselves.

The Oak King, the Young King or the Green Man, is the mythic representative of Duir. We can ask his aid in positive undertakings, especially those with some element of danger. He is one of the righteous warriors in the cosmos. The Arthurian figure of the king pulling the sword from the stone and the whole mythos of the perfect knight of chivalry are personifications of this Archtype. Protection is his provenance, and this is the message of the card when drawn reversed: that we are in a weakened position or that some threatening event is coming but that we have aid we can freely draw on to help us. This idea is also expressed in nature and in the spirit world by the Oak struck by lightning, but growing even though it is split.

The rune Dag and the ogham Duir are both Oak and both have the same symbolic meanings. They stand for the top of the year cycle, Litha or Midsummer, which is the festival of the longest day. This is the peak of growing things and the triumph of light over darkness. Light and Darkness are always engaged in a struggle as a necessary part of the wheel of life. Neither one can completely conquer the other, and nothing in life is ever purely one or the other. The symbol of Dag, the double-headed ax that cuts both ways, is a reminder of this.

This is not a gloomy or forboding symbol, however. The other representation of this same symbol is the butterfly. The bird symbol of Duir is the wren. The wren is the king of the birds, even though it is small and timid. Each wren is tiny, but the tribe of Wren is strong and lasting. Each butterfly is fragile, but the nation of Butterfly is everywhere. Each acorn is insignificant, but the Oak is a mighty tree growing for hundreds of years and lasting through storms and lightning strikes. Autumn oak leaves are brown and dull, but they stay on the tree until the new leaves of spring.

The message of the card is a comforting one," Everything will work out."

8. Тьинэн

Tinne is the Holly King's tree. In one small sense he is the antithesis of Duir, the young king, but to view them as opposites is very misleading. The old religion is not about opposites but about opposing forces and being in balance with them. It is about understanding your Wyrd and working for the best within it, not trying to fight against it or to deny the forces of nature or the spiritual world.

The Holly King is another of the Spiritual Warriors. He is the champion of Justice. His time of the year is the time just before Thule, the longest night. His tree, Holly, is an evergreen tree with stiff, sharply pointed leaves. Holly leaves show us, in themselves, an example of the message of Tinne. They are soft in the summer when other leaves are abundant but stiffen and sharpen their spines when winter comes and browsing animals will want to eat them.

These would seem to be very grim symbols, but we must keep in mind that the modern image of the Holly King is Santa Claus, the old gent who keeps a list and rewards the just with longed-for toys and punishes the unjust with lumps of coal. We can ask for his help if we remember that his only agenda is for justice, so we must examine the struggle for signs of selfishness, self-indulgence, or willful delusion before we enter into it.

For centuries the message of Tinne has been, "I am a battle-raging spear." The spear is the symbol of the rune that is paired with Tinne, the rune Tyr, the spear of sacrifice and accomplishment. Tinne and Tyr also stand for victory in any sort of competition that uses strength and power in a balanced manner. Not generally a war of words, more common in the technological age, but any athletic competition or contest using a physical skill. In a mythic sense, any struggle that is using unfair power or overwhelming dominance in an unbalanced way is the battleground of Tinne. Although the Holly King can be a daunting figure, the message of Tinne is one of triumph. The spear is an immensely powerful magical weapon that can be sent a great distance when strongly thrown and can defend a large safe area around an embattled warrior.

The card reversed is a warning of a lack of balance. You should look carefully at the basic motivations of yourself and your allies, the possible unexpected outcome of your actions, and the innocent people who might be swept aside in the struggle before you lend your strength to any action. Invoking the aid of the Holly King is something that should be carefully considered, because once he enters a struggle he will side with the just until victory is achieved.

9. Колл

Coll is the tree of wisdom and understanding. The message of Coll is not a direct one, but rather a story message that we can use as a kind of parable. In Irish mythology, the archtypical Hazel tree that grows in the Summer Country, Tir-na-Og, drops nuts of wisdom into the river of life. For centuries the nuts were eaten by the Salmon of Wisdom, who by eating them had gained an understanding of all things. The salmon is caught by an old Druid Priest who is cooking it with the help of Fionn, his pupil. The Druid warns Fionn that eating the salmon is forbidden. But, while working the spit over the fire, Fionn burns his thumb on the hot fat of the roasting fish and puts his thumb in his mouth to soothe it, thus gaining the powers of divination and foretelling the future as well as understanding the speech of all birds and animals. He grew up to become the heroic chief and war leader Finn MacCool, the main figure in one of the great cycles of Irish mythology.

This story and the message of Coll tell of a kind of understanding. There is the directed understanding of long study and research that gradually brings us to a planned goal, and the moment of serendipity when something happens to what we are working on and a completely unexpected but beneficial ending or discovery occurs. Coll is a combination of the two. Fionn was studying with the druid in order to gain understanding, but his eating the Salmon of Wisdom came about by accident. When illumination occurs we must know what we are looking at to understand it. We must have the background knowledge to interpret and use the conclusion. We must use the understanding in an appropriate way to benefit from it and further it.

This makes Coll a very useful card in Magic Workings when we are looking for understanding on a subject we are studying. The Rune paired with Coll is Cen, the rune of illumination. The shape of Cen is the opening of a lantern. To benefit from using a lantern we must know where to point it, and so to benefit from Coll we must know where to look. The card reversed tells us that there is a creative blockage or a misplacement that is keeping us from a conclusion.The symbol of Coll is the egg, echoing the egg shape of the hazel nuts, and indicating the useful meat hidden inside. On the Eightfold Year the time of the Spring Equinox is represented by Coll and the Egg which stand for the illumination and growth to come as spring advances. The Equinoxes are the balance points of the year when the day and night are equal. They are stock-taking points when we should think about ourselves and what we are doing. The message of Coll is a quiet one: "Look around. Consider. Bring yourself into balance and understanding."

10. Куэрт

Quert is the choice of beauty. Because it provides nourishment, the Apple is the tree of the Great Mother in Northern Europe and all of the other places cold enough for apple trees to prosper. Apples are also persistent trees that easily outlive the society that planted them. As we walk through what seems to us to be uncultivated forest we come upon apple trees flourishing on the edges of the brush, feeding deer and rabbits with the same abundance that they once did people. In North America, we are blessed by having other examples of these mysteries: the Great Mother is represented by the maple tree, whose sap feeds us, and the persistence of life by the Lilac.

In Wicca, as in many other religions, there is a coda to religious action which states, "As above, so below." This refers to the etheric link between the Spirit World and our mundane world. Just as the shadow of the farmyard persists around the apple that in the here-and-now is surrounded by woods so the shadow of the Spirit World persists around the idea of Quert like Avalon, the Apple Island, glimpsed through the mist off Cornwall. Another example of this concept of the hidden mystery inside the mundane appearance is the apple core. When we cut an apple in half, stem to bud end, there is nothing unusual to be seen. If we cut it across the middle, there is a pentagram revealed by the edges of the core. So we are reminded that there is Magic in everything if we look at it from the right angle.

The message of Quert is that there are choices to be made, and that the hidden will be revealed. In the Greek myth, Atlanta loses a race and agrees to marry because she stops to pick up the golden apples that her opponent and suitor has thrown in her path. This is always the case: when we make a choice we can no longer choose the other thing. Our life-path, our Wyrd, is the interaction between free will and fate. We perceive opportunities and act on one of them: fate offers us the choice between winning the race or having the apple. The card reversed tells us that a choice must be made, that life is never static.

The rune paired with Quert is Peorth. Some see this rune as the dice cup, where the hidden is revealed when the dice are thrown and direct action and fate come together. This is an acceptable explanation but, I think, not deep enough. The womb is the cup that reveals the greatest mystery to all of us when we make the journey from the Spirit World to be born. We go from fetus to baby, draw our first breath, and choose life. The moment of birth, like the moment of motherhood, is a pivotal one where all the layers of life tip over together for a heartbeat. The heartbeat of the baby, the heartbeat of the mother, and the heartbeat of the Great Mother who gave birth to and loves everything, all ring together.

Акмэ Муин.

11. Муин

The vine of muin is the berry vine, and so the image is that of the bramble thicket. This is a symbol with a wealth of meanings. The traditional symbolic meaning of Muin is to range over a wide area and gather together useful things. This would seem to be about possessions but it is not really about material things but about understanding. The line about Muin in the centuries-old Druid Ogham poem is, "I am a hill of Poetry." The Celts did not view poetry as a literary process or as a form of self-expression but as a means of making Magic and understanding their world. Learning required memorizing long teaching poems, allusive lists, and mystical riddles. Once they were committed to memory, since writing down Magic was forbidden, they needed to be protected.

Just as the ancient Irish made walls out of bundles of thorny branches to protect their cattle and settlements so they would put Muin up as protective walls in their minds to keep their learning safe. The hill in the Ogham poem is the hill-fort, the place where all of the community gathers to be protected in times of trouble. The hill-fort is the seat of the local king's court, the location of the Druid's college, and the vantage point from which the sentries keep watch. The hill is Poetry, symbolic of the precious learning and wisdom protected inside, and also of the beauties of Nature.

A modern image of Muin is the thorn hedge around Sleeping Beauty's castle. The personification of the Maiden Goddess sleeps inside and can be awakened by the completion of a magical quest. Another image is Br'er Rabbit's brier patch where he is safe and can venture forth to gain what he needs. The rune Thorn is associated with the ogham Bramble. Thorn and Bramble both have a common secondary meaning: they scratch at the same time that they keep out intruders. Acquiring knowledge and keeping precious things safe always has some cost; in time, in trouble, in giving up some other path. Focusing on a certain path or way of study always means shutting out something else. The choice must be made with understanding, trying to recognize the validity that rests in other choices.

The symbolic berry vine includes the symbolic berry. A high point of any summer is the family or group expedition to go berry picking. All the pickers, from the least to the eldest, are able to contribute to the sweet harvest. Some are enjoyed at once (some are always eaten in the field) and some are distilled down into a delicious treasure for enjoyment all year long. With its thorns, Muin protects the fruits of learning and understanding.

Another way to express this meaning is by the modern saying, "Knowledge is Power." Learning about things is the purest and best kind of possession. If we learn about anything we can: history, philosophy, psychology, science; it is all useful and we end up by learning about ourselves. The reversed card warns us about closing ourselves off from learning and being intractable. The message of Muin is, "Know yourself by looking outward."

12. Горт

Gort and Muin form a pair, one looking outward and one inward. Both are different kinds of vines, and different kinds of self-knowledge. Although it has no thorns, Ivy is a bitter, dusty vine that can crumble walls and kill its support trees if it is left to grow unchecked. Gort must be treated with respect and balance.

Gort is the spiral labyrinth, symbol of the spiral search for self with the clear blue sky at its center. In the modern Irish language Gort means hunger or need. The message of the ogham Gort is that there are changes necessary before growth can begin or groundwork that is needed to facilitate balance and understanding. In the Ancient Irish mind, hunger and famine are inextricably linked. Hunger does not refer to the feeling you get just before a meal, but to the want of some necessary thing that cannot be supplied. In the hard time of the winter, hunger can easily become famine if the supplies of the tribe cannot be stretched until the spring. Hunger can also exist on the spiritual plane, and refer to the desire for learning, understanding, or the betterment of one's life. The paired rune is Nyd, the need rune that says something is lacking.

If the necessary thing is not supplied, then the course of the life, the tribe, or the history of the land is altered. If the time of need is worked through, and the center is reached, then fulfillment and understanding are achieved. The fire festival of Imbolc is the seasonal point that has this meaning. It is not spring, but we can see spring at a distance in the center of the labyrinth. If all goes well, we will progress from the tipping of the year up the circle to the true point of balance at the Equinox and on to the bright half of the year.

The Sow is the animal symbol. Pigs in the ancient world were not the fat pink domestic animals we think of today, but semi-feral animals that foraged through the woods loosely watched by herdsman. They were a valuable source of food but could also be quite dangerous. One of the most potent and fearful Goddess images is the sow that eats her own young. Pigs are tender and very protective mothers, but if they are poorly cared for or put under too much stress or abused they may respond by neurotically eating their piglets.

We tend to think of self-discovery as an unreservedly good thing but, in fact, it is a path full of pitfalls. Shutting out the outside world and focusing on only our own thoughts, feelings, ideas, and needs can easily be addictive. This is the message of Gort reversed, to beware of selfishness and self-absorption. On the other hand, not listening to the distractions of the superficial world can free us to hear the music of the spheres or the trees singing the great ohmn, to see the blue sky in its lucid simplicity, and to find peace and balance. The message of Gort is "Know yourself by looking inward."

13. Нгетал

NgEtal is the reed of thatch, floor coverings, measuring sticks, and pens. In the older world reeds were important in everyday living both for common folk and for the gentry. Everyday maintenance is, however, more of a concern to poorer people with fewer reserves to fall back on. If you live in a thatched hut thatch is more important than it is if you live in the manor. NgEtal is the ogham of the maintenance of order, of the preservation of the right way.

Both the Norse and the Irish placed great value on the rights of the common man and the concurrent responsibilities of the ruling class. Modern North American law is based on the Norman/English model, where all people have a duty upwards to the class over theirs ending in the king who rules by divine right and has a duty only to God. Ancient Ireland and the Celtic communities in Britain were ruled by Brehon Law until those lands were conquered and placed under Norman rule.

Brehon Law details the value and rights of all members of society including the poorest peasants, women, livestock, farmland, wild animals, and trees. All people had responsibilities downwards to the people poorer or weaker than they culminating in the king who was responsible for the well-being of all the people under his rule. Any person under him could accuse him of unfairness or selfishness and be heard by the specialist in remembering and applying the law, the Brehon. No member of society was above the law. In extreme cases, if the king was found to be flawed he could be deposed by vote and a new king elected.

NgEtal is also one of the spiritual warriors. Unlike the other warriors, who are noble, he is the warrior of the common man. An example of the archetype that he represents is the folk hero we call Robin Hood, who stole from the oppressive rich and gave to the deserving poor. He is the warrior for those who suffer and have no resources or champion. Many cultures gave the role of preservation of order to a household god. The Norse god's name was Ing, the god who guards the hearth fire or inglenook. The rune Ing is the obvious pair of NgEtal.

The bird symbol of NgEtal is the gray goose. They are useful birds, providing pens, down, and food but they are also life-mates and live and travel in an orderly and directed routine. Goose quills provide fletching for arrows, the weapon of Robin Hood and of the common man. The secondary meaning of NgEtal is stored potential released, like an arrow towards a target or like male potency.

We think of geese as a fall bird because they migrate away from us in the autumn. The festival of Lammas, when the corn god is cut down in the field, is a festival of Ing; just as Robin Hood, mortally wounded in his struggle for fairness, was carried to the window to shoot one last arrow to mark his grave in the Greenwood.

We can use NgEtal in spell working, not for individual gains, but for the benefit of all. The message of NgEtal is to aim the arrow at the correct target, to always consider the balance of Nature, and to share in the common good. The message of the reversed card is to remind us to have a clear purpose and good sight of the goal before letting loose.

14. Страф

Straif is the tree of Samhain, the beginning of the dark half of the year. Its message is that the forces of change are working through our life. Straif is the root word for the English word strife and this ogham, one of the oracular oghams, tells us that we are going to be acted upon by Fate until it will seem that we are brought to the point of no return or of feeling that there is no way left open before us. Another word deriving from this same root, however, is strive. We can let the clouds overwhelm us, or we can struggle to find our way. However Fate acts on us we can decide how to respond.

Whitethorn and Blackthorn are closely related trees. Whitethorn, though, focuses on the growing season and the flowers. Blackthorn sends a message of the fierce thorns and the strong cudgel that can be made from the trunk. The rune with this message is the Rune Hagal, the rune of the hailstorm. Straif is the storm-bringer. Both the rune and the ogham stand for disruption and the destruction of our clear path.

The Thrush is the bird paired with Straif. In the same way that the Raven carries messages from the Gods in Tir-na-Og, the Thrush is an oracle in the mundane world of our Wyrd, or life-path. The Thrush knows us through and through, our unvoiced motivations and desires. He can break through the shell of our preconceptions, like breaking the shell of a snail on a rock, and cause us to see our deepest selves. Breaking our superficial image, breaking through the rocks that stand in our way, is destructive but brings us to a clearer understanding and vision. The storm can jolt us out of the easy way we have picked through laziness or selfishness and into a higher path. No matter how attractive the path we have chosen is, our Wyrd shows us that we are capable of more by showing us this ogham.

Sometimes the storm clears the air for what is to follow. We have all experienced the brilliant sunshine and special freshness that come after a storm. Because storms come into our life whether we will it or no, this ogham has no reversal. When the disruption is past we must see what has weathered the storm, where we need to make repairs, and what has not lasted and must be replaced. This is the time to decide if changes should be made, and to benefit from what we have learned.

We should remember that this is an oracular card, not an evil one. There is always a message being sent that we should be looking for in the events. A warning that is listened to is far more helpful than one that is ignored. We should look into the heart of the mystery rather than close our eyes to it.

15. Руис

Ruis is the tree of the Norns. The Norns are the Northern Archetypes of the prophetic goddesses that Southern Europe called the Fates. They are the old woman who looks to the past, the young woman who lives in the present, and the veiled woman who sees the future. Another one of their descriptions is the one who spins, the one who draws the thread, and the one who cuts the thread off. When we select three runes to answer a question, this is called "asking the Norns" because the Norns are spiritual council-givers, and we get one piece of advice from each Norn.

Elder is the tree of Ruis. It has a shrubby, multi-stemmed growth habit. When it is trimmed it grows back many new trunks from the original roots. The message of Ruis is to remember the circularity of life, that the beginning and the end are parts of the same whole. There is no reversal of this card just as there is no reversal of a circle. One of the lessons that any of the sets of Triple Goddesses teach us is that life progresses and changes. The Irish Triple Goddess shows us appropriate models for the different stages of life. As we age, we step naturally into the next persona and learn the wisdom of that Goddess. The Norns show us how all stages of life can co-operate and achieve their goals together. The message of all the Goddesses is that change is natural and we should change with it.

The Elder has little white flowers like flakes of snow that turn into dark-staining berries. A covering of snow changes the appearance of things and elder berries make a purple dye; thus the rune paired with Ruis is Rad, the rune of transformation. Elder berries can also be made into wine, effecting physic transformation. When there is change, we must look under the covering of snow, through the dye, and beyond the effervescence to the reality.

The bird of Ruis is the grackle, the North American equivalent of the rook. Grackles fly in big flocks, all turning and wheeling together as one in the same way that the Norns each understand the purpose of the all and act together simultaneously.

Ruis is one of the oracular trees, but the message it sends is often not a specific one or one easy to interpret. Ruis sends the message of right balance; to find the center of the circle and spin there, aware of the all.

ЧАСТЬ 1 | ЧАСТЬ 2

@темы: символы, Огам, арт, растения, колоды, акмэ Бьех, фэды, акмэ Хуах, акмэ Муин

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Ébhadh

[shellir]

• Фэда - Ébhadh, Эва
Дифтонг - ea, éo
Растение - Роща. Белый тополь. Осина. Иногда - девясил.
Перевод - этимология не ясна

Ключевые слова - единство, объединение, совместность.
Лосось мудрости. Познание, мудрость, память. Древность, возраст, издревле.
Священное место, святилище.
© Shellir

@темы: Огам, фэды, Форфэда

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[ogham]

• The Green Man Tree Oracle (Оракул Деревьев Зелёного Человека) - одна из самых красивых колод по Огаму. Она нарисована британским художником Уиллом Вортингтоном (Will Worthington), а текст к колоде, описание карт создал известный писатель Джон Мэтьюс (John Matthews); в первый раз колода была издана в 2003 году.
В колоде 25 карт - 20 карт для основных семей Огама + 5 карт для Форфэды. Есть замены (по сравнению со стандартными древесными ассоциациями для фэд) - например, для фэды Гьетал (Ngetal) в этой колоде выбран папоротник, а не тростник или ракитник, для Альм (Ailm) выбрана шотландская сосна, для четвертой гласной Эйе (Edadh) выбран белый тополь, а для форфэды Эвэ (Eabhadh), наоборот, осина (что несколько спорно).
На каждой карте - изображение дерева, в листве которого угадывается лицо зеленого человека. Различаются деревья, и лики Зелёного тоже каждый раз разные. На каждой карте также есть изображение фэды, ее название и английское название связанного дерева.
Колода увеличенного формата, напечатана очень хорошо, и к ней есть большая книга, в которой можно найти не только гадательные значения для каждой карты, но и пересказы легенд, касающихся того или иного дерева.

© Shellir

Полностью колода представлена в нашем ВК-альбоме

@темы: символы, Огам, арт, растения, кельты, колоды

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[ogham]

• Бригитта - одна из известнейших ирландских богинь, из первого или второго поколения Туата де Даннан. Иногда говорится, что она дочь Дагды, а иногда - что дочь Дану и Дагде приходится сестрой. Ее имя, вероятнее всего, можно перевести как "Высокая", "Превосходящая" или "Возвышающяся". Впрочем, в Глоссарии Кормака приводится народная версия появления её имени, там говорится, что Бригитта - искаженное Breo Saighead - "Огненная Стрела".
В ирландских мифах Бригитта была женой Бреса Эохайда, полуфомора, что был в те древние времена королем над Туатами. В этих легендах она описывается как поэтесса, придумавшая после смерти своего единственного сына Руадана один из жанров бардической поэзии - Caoineadh, поминальную песнь или "плач".
Бригитта воспринимается как тройственная богиня, но ее лики как правило не связаны с тремя возрастами, а просто отвечают за разные сферы ее деятельности. Сейчас Бригитту считают "госпожой трёх огней". Первый её огонь - огонь ремесла, что горит в кузнечном горне. Это огонь ремёсел и прикладного искусства, огонь мастерства, огонь созидания. Второй огонь - огонь сердца, требующий, чтобы страждущим оказывалась помощь. Это огонь целительства. А третий огонь Бригитты - огонь вдохновения, небесный огонь, сходящий на бардов, когда они творят лучшие свои произведения.
Впрочем, власть Бригитты простирается далеко за пределы этих направлений, немногие из богов могут похвастаться таким количеством функций. Как хозяйка огня, связывалась она и с первым солнечным теплом, что согревает землю, делает ее снова плодородной и пробуждает семена, да и зерно для посева Бригитта благословляла и наделяла своей силой тоже. Она была покровительницей девушек и женщин, помощницей во время родов. Она покровительствовала множеству домашних дел и работ - от прядения и ткачества до изготовления сыров. Бригитту считали хозяйкой зверей, причем как диких так и домашних. По легендам, ей принадлежали разные волшебные звери, например, великий волшебный кабан Торк Триат (Турх Труйт) - король и праотец всех кабанов, два чудесных быка Фе и Мен и король всех баранов Кирб.
Бригитту как правило представляли одетой в белое или зелёное (снег и трава), что, с учётом других ее функций, роднит ее с "белыми девами" весны из центральной Европы.
Почитаемая в дохристианское время, Бригитта не исчезла и после крещения Ирландии, - многие и многие ее черты можно найти у святой Бригитты Килдарской, которая до сих пор покровительствует Ирландии и которой нередко молятся о том же, о чем когда-то молились богине Бригитте.

©Shellir

@темы: символы, боги, Ирландия, Туата де-Даннан

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[ogham]

Новый фрагмент из книги Жана Фриса "Божественный котёл", руководства по магии кельтов. Поскольку в этой главе как-то особенно много спорных моментов, мы сочли правильным сделать несколько примечаний к тексту.

• Злаки, нива.

«Хороши ягоды во время жатвы;
Хороши и пшеничные стебли,
И дикая горчица меж упругих колосьев»

«Когда нетронута роса
И собрана пшеница»

Хотя для ботаника нивы совсем не то же самое, что и леса, ирландские поэты включали их в свои перечни деревьев¹, хотя это и звучит достаточно субъективно. Злаковое поле летом – это настоящий «мир в себе». Карабкаются по стеблям мыши, отдыхают в уединении посреди полей косули, находят приют, а порою и пропитание, под сенью качающихся стеблей, зайцы, - и надо всеми ними парят в степенном спокойствии соколы и, сотрясая воздух могучими трелями, взмывает в вышину жаворонок, песнопевец и шаман небесной выси. Поскольку люди не могут пройти по полю, не оставив после себя следов разрушения, поле было запретной территорией. Сельских детей пугали бесчисленными демонами– такими как Хлебная Горбунья с серпом, Хлебный Волк, и великим множеством подобных духов-хранителей местности, что поджидают забывших об осторожности незваных гостей под ослепительными лучами полуденного солнца. Если ему досадить, такой дух легко выходит из себя. Все это делало жатву опасным временем, и порождало множество причудливых ритуалов, в которых крестьяне могли бы дать выход своим нереализованным эмоциям. Вы бывали в деревне за несколько дней до начала страды? Многие крестьяне обеспокоены, но все же хранят сердитое, угрюмое терпение. Тяжелый труд и само выживание в течение года зависят от собранного вовремя урожая. Когда погода наконец-то устоялась, начинается жатва – долгий процесс, требующий больших усилий и психологического напряжения. А что, если дождей будет чересчур много, или они хлынут слишком рано? От собранного вовремя урожая зависит жизнь целой фермы.

В Средние века крестьяне нередко сперва собирали урожай с полей знати и Церкви, и лишь потом им позволялось трудиться на себя. Конечно же, это не улучшало их настроения. Начало страды всегда было связано с немалым риском, ведь любая непредвиденная гроза могла свести на нет многомесячный труд, и все испытывали облегчение, когда снопы были связаны и собраны. Затем начинались празднества. Все начиналось со специальной церемонии срезания последнего снопа – считалось, что в нем заключен дух зерна. Часто этот сноп одевали в яркие тряпки и увозили домой как «короля зерна». Там сноп занимает почетное место, в дар ему приносят еду и питье, а праздник тем временем продолжается. Это умиротворяет и веселит дух зерна, поэтому в следующем году урожай тоже будет изобильным.

Что же касается конкретных видов, древние европейцы культивировали много сортов ныне очень редких зерновых: к сожалению, они не дают достаточно семян, чтобы конкурировать с более экономически выгодными культурами. Древние кельты знали больше дюжины сортов зерновых, превосходя в этом своих современных потомков. Назовите это «прогрессом», если хотите. В период позднего Ла Тена земли Северной Италии, заселенные различными кельтскими племенами, были настоящим земледельческим раем и вызывали зависть даже у римлян. У нас есть доказательства существования в Галлии зерноуборочных машин. Это были запряженные ослами повозки, срезавшие и собиравшие верхушки злаков, тогда как стебли оставались на месте.

Солому использовала, чтобы летать на шабаш, знаменитая ведьма семнадцатого столетия Изабель Гауди из Олдэрна², в чем та призналась под пытками. Фигурки из соломенных стеблей, зачастую переплетенных между собой или связанных красивыми узорами, играют важную роль во многих связанных с урожаем обрядах, а несколько великолепных и сложных плетеных крестов связывают с Ирландской Невестой или Бригиттой.

Юджин О’Карри (1837) утверждал, что в древней Ирландии друиды произносили свои заклятья над пучком соломы, травы или сена (прим. 3), известным как «длуй фулла»³ («трепещущий пучок»)

Пучок бросали в лицо жертвы, превращая ее в безумца или неприкаянного скитальца. Однажды ревнивый друид швырнул «длуй фулла» в лицо князю Комгану – мудрецу показалось, что он застал князя в постели со своей женой, - и Комган, виновный или невинный, сразу покрылся волдырями и чирьями, лишился дара речи, волос и разума и провел остаток дней, бродяжничая в компании безумцев. В другой легенде, старый и слепой друид Дилл хранил колдовской пучок соломы в своем башмаке. Чародей рассчитывал с его помощью уничтожить манстерский Десиз, но пока он спал, враги друида украли волшебный пучок, и вся затея с треском провалилась.

© Жан Фрис, перевод: Ulfr Gunnarsson
____________________
1. Ирландские поэты никогда не приравнивали поля злаков к лесам и священным рощам, значимость диких растений и диких и полудиких животных всегда была выше. Даже стихи для эпиграфа к главе Фрис взял не из ирландской поэзии, а из валлийской поэмы 14 века. Но сейчас, в современной неодруидической традиции, нередко пытаются вписать и само зерно, и сельскохозяйственную группу обрядов в изначальную кельтскую традицию и даже втиснуть солому в Огам деревьев.

2. Ведьмы использовали далеко не только солому для полётов на шабаши, чаще, опять же, фигурируют дикие растения. Ну и мы понимаем, что время Изабель Гауди - это 17й век, который имеет крайне мало отношения к магии кельтов, а также помним об уровне достоверности информации, выданной под пытками.

3. Dlui Fulla упоминается в среднеирландском глоссе "Правда имен" (Cóir Anmann, 183), где говорится, что друид Фулла первым использовал заклинание, нашептанное на пучок трав и стеблей (не соломы), чтобы поднять человека в воздух. Обычно это переводят как "пучок безумца", а не как "трепещущий пучок". Сам тип чар - наговор на пучок трав - стал широко распространенным в Ирландии, но особой связи со злаками тут не было.

(примеч. Shellir)

@темы: растения, Ирландия, легенды и мифы, Фрис

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[ogham]

Очередной фрагмент из книги Жана Фриса "Божественный котёл. Руководство по магии кельтов".

• Чёрная бузина (Sambucus nigra)

«Светлы верхушки бузины; смел одинокий певец;
Жестокий привык угнетать;
Горе тому, кто берет из руки награду»

«Я был пределом, я был главой.
Козел на кусте бузины»

В Шотландии бузину почитали как защиту от ведьм. Крест из бузины защищал конюшни и фермы, и то же самое делала веточка в петлице, когда человек находился вне дома. Стоя рядом с кустом бузины подле холма фейри, в канун Самайна люди могли видеть танцы и пиршества Добрых Соседей. Даже несколько капель зеленого сока бузины, нанесенных на веки, наделяли даром предвиденья.

Это изящное растение частенько сажали возле дома, поскольку дух бузины считался очень доброжелательным и полезным. Во многих сельских районах куст бузины был настолько почитаемым, что срезать его можно было лишь после долгих извинений. Один такой ритуал описал в XVII веке К. Шлезеин: нужно было обнажить голову, встать на одно колено и с почтением произнести: «Госпожа Бузина, дай мне своего дерева, и я дам тебе своего, когда оно вырастет в лесу». Мы видим явную связь бузины со смертью, и действительно, ее германские названия «Holunder» и «Holler» родственны имени Хелья - это темная богиня зимы и Нижнего Мира. В «Эддах» она фигурирует как Хель – ужасное божество девяти преисподних, наполовину черная и наполовину белая.

В Германии она немного добрее, но известна своими ужасными зубами. Ее потаенные владения можно отыскать на пустынных вершинах гор, во тьме пещер и на дне озер. Вот что рассказывали ведьмы на суде в Гессене : «Фрау Холле спереди выглядит как красивая женщина, но сзади – как полое дерево с грубой корой». В английском, «EI» - относится к этому божеству, тогда как «der» означает «дерево». В скандинавской мифологии, в корнях бузины живет лесная богиня Хюльдра, очень похожая на Фрау Холле. Хюльдра – мать всех эльфов, гномов и подменышей, и внутри она совсем полая, как ветка бузины – из-за полой сердцевины это дерево любят все, кто делает дудочки. Говорят, что если сжечь бузину, это сулит несчастье, печаль и болезни для людей и скота. Считается, что тот, кто заснет под кустом бузины, может проспать несколько дней кряду. Бузину считают защитой от молний. В Рейнской области крест из бузины кладут на гроб, или втыкают в свежую могилу. Если бузина пускает корни и ветки (что происходит достаточно часто), то считается, что душа покойного свободна от грехов и вознеслась на небо. Часто могилу измеряли бузинной палкой, и ею же погоняли погребальную колесницу. Если взять сердцевину стебля и пропитать его маслом, получится хороший светильник. Такая свеча, спущенная на воду в канун Рождества, покажет всех ведьм и злых духов

Бузину применяют в некоторых отраслях медицины. Сок ее темно-красных ягод часто применяли, чтобы вызвать потоотделение, такой же эффект оказывал отвар из цветов, который был еще и популярным средством от лихорадки и простуды. Из семян добывали масло. Сок из ягод бузины считали напитком, дарующим бессмертие; с его помощью также улучшали цвет вина. Если в медицине для борьбы с лихорадкой использовали сок бузины, то народное колдовство обращалось с той же целью к самому растению. Считалось, что веточка бузины могла остановить лихорадку – ее ломали над постелью больного, а затем в молчании втыкали в землю: по мере того, как она пускала корни и ветви, болезнь уходила – хотя этот процесс, разумеется, был очень неспешным. Таким же образом можно было избавиться от артрита. Если вы хотите вернуть украденное имущество – наклонитесь к ветке бузины и прочтите заклинание: это лишит вора покоя до тех пор, пока он не вернет украденное.

© Жан Фрис, перевод: Ulfr Gunnarsson

В Огаме чёрная бузина связана с фэдой Руис (Ruis).

@темы: волшебные существа, растения, Фрис

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[ogham]

• Султан Пит Пони (Sultan Pit Pony) - изумительно красивый современный лэнд-арт в Южном Уэльсе, недалеко от города Кэрфили, созданный художником Миком Петтсом (Mick Petts). Султан - огромная 200-метровая насыпная земляная скульптура.
Лошадь, ее поза, общие очертания рождают ассоциации с меловой Уффингтонской белой лошадью - кажется, что "меловой скелет" оделся плотью из земли, но на самом деле эта скульптура, расположенная недалеко от старой угольной шахты Пенальт, рассказывает о "шахтных пони" (pit ponies), которых использовали под землей для вывоза добытого угля и отвала. При создании скульптуры использовали порядка 60 тонн глинистого сланца, оставшегося после добычи угля в этих шахтах.
После запрета в середине 19 века на изнурительный женский и детский труд, в шахтах для вывоза угля и отвала стали использовать некрупных лошадей - не обязательно, впрочем, именно пони, достаточно было, чтобы лошадь была крепка и невысока в холке. Лошадки работали по 8 часов в день, перевозя нагруженные повозки; когда лошадь становилась старше - рабочий день ей могли сократить до 4х часов. Разумеется, поднимать и опускать их в шахты каждый день не было возможности, потому стойла для "шахтных пони" устраивали под землёй; такие лошади были собственностью шахты и поэтому о них по возможности хорошо заботились. Иногда лошадям устраивали "отпуск" и поднимали их на поверхность, чтобы они могли попастись на свежей траве. Впрочем, такое "подземельное существование" не шло на пользу лошадям, и срок их шахтёрской жизни редко превышал три-четыре года.
В начале 20 века в шахтах работали порядка 70.000 таких лошадей, но позже, с механизацией вывоза угля из шахт, количество "шахтных пони" стало, разумеется, сокращаться, однако еще в 1984 году на территории Британии использовалось для подземных работ 55 пони, а самый последний шахтный пони по кличке Робби был отправлен в отставку в 1999 году.
Кстати, Султаном эту скульптуру прозвали местные жители - в честь одного из шахтных пони; впрочем, найти о нём какую-нибудь информацию не удалось.

© Shellir

@темы: Уэльс, животные, места