HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! :-) Time of the Ancestors... Time to remember that you are the result of the love of thousands over the generations back through the ages... In ancient times on the eve of Samhain (Gaelic) or Calan Gaerf (British) the old year died and the new one was born. The newborn year matured until Imbolc (February 1) when the ground was ready to be impregnated with seed. The historic Hill of Tara contains a Neolithic (New Stone Age) structure built between 3000 and 2500 BC and known today as the Mound of the Hostages. It is an ancient passage tomb with its inner chamber aligned with the rising sun on the dates of Samhain and Imbolc. The ancient Irish and British believed that the gods and the spirits of the dead lived in an otherworldly space including in fairy mounds, across the western sea or in an invisible world that coexists with the world of humans. At Samhain and again at Bealtaine (May 1st) the partition between this world and the otherword became weak allowing the spirits of the otherworld to roam freely among the living. In Irish literature the people of the mounds are called daoine sídhe (p. dee ana she) who are variously said to be the ancestors, the spirits of nature or goddesses and gods. The aos sí (p. ahos shee, older form aes sídhe p. ays sheeth-uh) is the term used for a supernatural race in Irish mythology comparable to the fairies or elves. Often they are not named directly but rather spoken of as “The Good Neighbours”, “The Fair Folk”, or simply “The Folk”. The word sídhe (p. she) is probably best understood as meaning fae or faery and widely known as in Banshee (Bean sídhe), the harbinger of death in Irish folklore. Confusingly the word sídhe is also the word used to describe the dwelling place of faeries thus these days they are often referred to as sídhe mounds or fairy mounds. The hill of Knockma (Cnoc Meadha) west of Tuam, County Galway is said in legend to be the residence of Finnbheara, the king of the Connacht sidhe. The hill rises out of a large flat plain and has two large prehistoric cairns (stone mounds) on top of it. One is said to be the burial place Finnbheara and the other of Queen Medb (Mab). When Finnbheara rises tonight and if you happen to be in the vicinity you will probably hear this tune played in his honour called appropriately “King of the Faeries”. Tonight with the portals to the otherworld open your ancestors are coming to visit, so be sure and leave them food and pay respect to them. It was through their struggle that you enjoy freedom and a bountiful existence today. Enjoy the feasting and Happy New Year!!
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 14:44:12 +0000
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