There must be something in the water, because I've been having thoroughly odd dreams lately. One I had yesterday seemed to involve Lugh, and I can only really half-remember it all now but it seems that he really wanted to make himself known even if I didn't see him. These things don't happen very often to me, so I'm inclined to think that I should do more than simple offerings and libations in the garden to acknowledge him.
He and I have unfinished business, it seems, after all these years of not really wanting much to do with each other, and so I'm pondering on that, and trying to figure things out. A lot of my efforts over the past year or so have been aimed at really connecting with the underlying themes of Lùnastal, and of course he's intimately connected with the whole thing.
These past few Lùnastal festivals I've felt that I've had some success with it all, and while I think I can still build on that and really cement my practices into something solid, I've never really had the expectation that Lug himself would really want much to do with me. Maybe my dream is telling me different. Maybe my dream is telling me that deep down I think otherwise. Either way, it seems I should try. If someone comes knocking then one should be a good host, even if you invited them in the first place...
At Lùnastal I had a stab at doing some praise poetry in Lug's honour - I'm not a poet by any stretch and really, I figured it was personal and not being a professional I should keep it to myself. On the one hand, it seemed to be well-received, so that was something...On the other hand, there was something unfinished to it. Maybe that's it. Maybe I should finish it. Or try. I dunno.
So here it is, I'm offering it up. As I said, I'm no poet so it's nothing fantabulous, but it comes in honesty and earnest, if anything, and that's all I can do, really. While I've tweaked bits here and there just now, the overall form and feel has been kept, so it has the idea that this is being said towards the end of the celebrations, after the games and the feasting, in front of the fire:
In Praise of Lug
Oh Lug son of Ethliu,
Many-skilled and wise,
I sing my praises to you,
Renown that is plain.
Oh Lug of lofty deeds,
Golden are the fields,
Heavy hang the fruits,
Ripeness of fame.
Oh Lug of pure form,
Bright is the smile,
That smiles on you,
Beloved is the name.
Oh Lug of peace,
Peace to this earth,
The fruits of labour,
Each year the same.
These offerings I give to you,
These games I’ve held for you,
This fire that burns for you,
In your name.
Peace be with you,
Peace on this land.
Saturday, 11 December 2010
Friday, 10 December 2010
Book review: Scottish Customs from the Cradle to the Grave
Scottish Customs from the Cradle to the Grave
Margaret Bennett
For once, I'm not sure I have much to say about a book. In a good way. Because I really can't think of much to say other than: I like it.
As far as finding information on various life passages, this about the only book you need to start you off. Like British Calendar Customs, it's more like a source book, with excerpts from various different authors from around the seventeenth century onwards. Bennett gives a bit more commentary than Banks did, but it's still quite light and lets the excerpts speak for themself.
The book covers customs associated with childbirth, baptism, courtship, marriage, through to death. It's all laid out in a logical order and the various different subjects that come under each chapter are well-grouped together, so finding things is easy.
One of the most charming bits about the book is that Bennett herself contributes some of the material from her own diaries and memories, as well as those of her family and students. You get the impression that not only is she passionate about the subject, she's the sort of person you could talk to for hours on end about it all, and she'd always come up with something you've never heard before.
The source material also includes bits from newspaper articles and interviews that Bennett herself (or her students) have recorded, so you get a good mix - more than most books offer. It's very dense and thorough. I can see that might be offputting for anyone wanting to read it from start to finish (and to be honest, I didn't - this is the sort of book I've had for years and have picked at various chapters as needed until I'm done), but as a resource it's excellent. It doesn't give everything you need to know, but it gives a good solid start so you can go on to hunt up more information if you want to. Does it have its limits? Yes. (For one I'd like to have seen more discussion of handfastings). But the solidness of this book far outweighs the slight niggles you might have.
Margaret Bennett
For once, I'm not sure I have much to say about a book. In a good way. Because I really can't think of much to say other than: I like it.
As far as finding information on various life passages, this about the only book you need to start you off. Like British Calendar Customs, it's more like a source book, with excerpts from various different authors from around the seventeenth century onwards. Bennett gives a bit more commentary than Banks did, but it's still quite light and lets the excerpts speak for themself.
The book covers customs associated with childbirth, baptism, courtship, marriage, through to death. It's all laid out in a logical order and the various different subjects that come under each chapter are well-grouped together, so finding things is easy.
One of the most charming bits about the book is that Bennett herself contributes some of the material from her own diaries and memories, as well as those of her family and students. You get the impression that not only is she passionate about the subject, she's the sort of person you could talk to for hours on end about it all, and she'd always come up with something you've never heard before.
The source material also includes bits from newspaper articles and interviews that Bennett herself (or her students) have recorded, so you get a good mix - more than most books offer. It's very dense and thorough. I can see that might be offputting for anyone wanting to read it from start to finish (and to be honest, I didn't - this is the sort of book I've had for years and have picked at various chapters as needed until I'm done), but as a resource it's excellent. It doesn't give everything you need to know, but it gives a good solid start so you can go on to hunt up more information if you want to. Does it have its limits? Yes. (For one I'd like to have seen more discussion of handfastings). But the solidness of this book far outweighs the slight niggles you might have.
Monday, 6 December 2010
Catching up on reviews
Feeling kind of bereft with nothing to write about at the moment - I'm picking at bits, but I haven't really decided on what to do next, yet, and I need to go to the library again at some point before the new year, if possible, so I should really get a move on I suppose...Then again, I didn't get to the library last weekend because of the snow, and it doesn't look as though it's going anywhere anytime soon. So maybe not.
But in the meantime, I've got a few reviews to catch up on from my last batch of library books and a bit of extra reading I've done.
I know. Exciting.
British Calendar Customs: Scotland Vol III - June to December, Christmas, the Yules
Mrs M MacLeod Banks
This is one of those books that have been like trying to get hold of the holy grail: So impossible to find, you end up wondering if they actually exist...
Well this one does, apparently, although I can't vouch for volumes one and two because it seems they've gone missing from the library where I spotted this volume purely by chance. I've seen the books referenced a lot in some of the reading I've been doing over the years, so obviously I had to have a look, even if I'm missing out on the other two.
I suppose given my quest and my happiness at getting hold of a copy, it was invevitably going to be a bit of a let down - it didn't blow my socks off, let's put it that way - but it did offer some good bits and pieces here and there that I found useful. Really, my lack of excitement about it is more to do with the fact that I'm already familiar with most of it by now, and that's not the fault of the book or the author.
The book is a collection of excerpts from other works, so it's only natural that it draws from all of the usual suspects - Alexander Carmichael, Revd. Napier, Campbell, Pennant, Martin, Gregor, and so on. In that respect it's very useful if you don't have access to all of the works themselves because it's all handily compiled in one place (or, three volumes) because it excerpts all of the relevant bits under the relevant day. In this day and age it's not so much of a plus, really, if you have internet access and can look them all up on archive.org. I probably would have been a lot more excited about the book if I couldn't do that.
The book is ordered by month, with excerpts listed for relevant days that have particular customs associated with them, and Banks makes her own contributions and a little commentary here and there as well. For the most part, though, she lets the material speak for itself, unless it's necessary to add context (June starts off with a lot of Bealltainn customs that have been shifted from the start of May, for example, so she adds commentary here - this was all especially useful, or would've been when I was doing research on that).
The larger entries are also subdivided by subject matter, though the layout there is a bit confusing and repetitive. You still have to sift through the chapter, because sometimes a subject is listed again with more information later on, so it could have been a real plus but it ends up a bit of a headache if you want to make a quick reference to something. That's a minor inconvenience, really, though.
One really useful aspect of the book is that it makes a good compliment to F. Marian McNeill's work in The Silver Bough. McNeill doesn't always reference things in as much detail as would be helfpul to do more research on something she touches on, I find, but here you get the sense of a lot of bits and pieces that McNeill's drawn from but hasn't necessarily mentioned. This alone makes me want to get hold of the other volumes by Banks, but alas, it seems it's not meant to be just yet.
Ultimately, I can't say I love this book, but if Scottish folklore is your bag, I'd definitely recommend adding this one to your list. If anything, it's an excellent resource for the lazy researcher...
But in the meantime, I've got a few reviews to catch up on from my last batch of library books and a bit of extra reading I've done.
I know. Exciting.
British Calendar Customs: Scotland Vol III - June to December, Christmas, the Yules
Mrs M MacLeod Banks
This is one of those books that have been like trying to get hold of the holy grail: So impossible to find, you end up wondering if they actually exist...
Well this one does, apparently, although I can't vouch for volumes one and two because it seems they've gone missing from the library where I spotted this volume purely by chance. I've seen the books referenced a lot in some of the reading I've been doing over the years, so obviously I had to have a look, even if I'm missing out on the other two.
I suppose given my quest and my happiness at getting hold of a copy, it was invevitably going to be a bit of a let down - it didn't blow my socks off, let's put it that way - but it did offer some good bits and pieces here and there that I found useful. Really, my lack of excitement about it is more to do with the fact that I'm already familiar with most of it by now, and that's not the fault of the book or the author.
The book is a collection of excerpts from other works, so it's only natural that it draws from all of the usual suspects - Alexander Carmichael, Revd. Napier, Campbell, Pennant, Martin, Gregor, and so on. In that respect it's very useful if you don't have access to all of the works themselves because it's all handily compiled in one place (or, three volumes) because it excerpts all of the relevant bits under the relevant day. In this day and age it's not so much of a plus, really, if you have internet access and can look them all up on archive.org. I probably would have been a lot more excited about the book if I couldn't do that.
The book is ordered by month, with excerpts listed for relevant days that have particular customs associated with them, and Banks makes her own contributions and a little commentary here and there as well. For the most part, though, she lets the material speak for itself, unless it's necessary to add context (June starts off with a lot of Bealltainn customs that have been shifted from the start of May, for example, so she adds commentary here - this was all especially useful, or would've been when I was doing research on that).
The larger entries are also subdivided by subject matter, though the layout there is a bit confusing and repetitive. You still have to sift through the chapter, because sometimes a subject is listed again with more information later on, so it could have been a real plus but it ends up a bit of a headache if you want to make a quick reference to something. That's a minor inconvenience, really, though.
One really useful aspect of the book is that it makes a good compliment to F. Marian McNeill's work in The Silver Bough. McNeill doesn't always reference things in as much detail as would be helfpul to do more research on something she touches on, I find, but here you get the sense of a lot of bits and pieces that McNeill's drawn from but hasn't necessarily mentioned. This alone makes me want to get hold of the other volumes by Banks, but alas, it seems it's not meant to be just yet.
Ultimately, I can't say I love this book, but if Scottish folklore is your bag, I'd definitely recommend adding this one to your list. If anything, it's an excellent resource for the lazy researcher...
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
And finally, introducing...
I can't remember how long ago I started the article on marriage - three months or so? It's taken a while, anyway, and although previously I said that it looked like I was going to have to split it into three parts or so, it ended up having to be six...
Yes, I pretty much managed to end up writing the best part of a book in the end, around 30,000 words or so. It kind of took on a life of it's own, but that's what you get when you try to be thorough, I guess. And even then, I know there's more I could've added, given enough time and resources. But anyway, seeing as that completes the life cycle on Tairis, for now, I've split off the articles on Death and Burial, and Birth and Baptism, and lumped them all together under a new section called 'Life Passages'.
So with that caveat in mind, here:
Given the length of it, I've had to repeat bits here and there in the hopes that while the whole thing should be cohesive, each article can stand on its own (ish). And while yes, I've proofread it, there are still probably some clangers I've missed, so hopefully it will all make sense. After so many thousands of words, my fingers sometimes end up not quite doing what my brain tells them to.
With that, enjoy. I'm not sure what I'm going to move on to next...I rather fear I may have to clean the house tomorrow while Rosie's at nursery.
Oh, the horror!
Yes, I pretty much managed to end up writing the best part of a book in the end, around 30,000 words or so. It kind of took on a life of it's own, but that's what you get when you try to be thorough, I guess. And even then, I know there's more I could've added, given enough time and resources. But anyway, seeing as that completes the life cycle on Tairis, for now, I've split off the articles on Death and Burial, and Birth and Baptism, and lumped them all together under a new section called 'Life Passages'.
So with that caveat in mind, here:
- Part One - covering the earliest evidence, early Irish law and sacred marriages etc.
- Part Two - covering informal marriages in Ireland and Scotland, as well as handfasting
- Part Three - covering the later evidence for marriage customs in Scotland and the Isle of Man
- Part Four - covering the later evidence for marriage customs in Ireland
- Part Five - covering the early evidence for attitudes towards sex and sexuality
- Part Six - giving some thoughts of ritual elements and rites to add to a reconstructionist ritual
Given the length of it, I've had to repeat bits here and there in the hopes that while the whole thing should be cohesive, each article can stand on its own (ish). And while yes, I've proofread it, there are still probably some clangers I've missed, so hopefully it will all make sense. After so many thousands of words, my fingers sometimes end up not quite doing what my brain tells them to.
With that, enjoy. I'm not sure what I'm going to move on to next...I rather fear I may have to clean the house tomorrow while Rosie's at nursery.
Oh, the horror!
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Happy Irn Bru Day!
Scotland has the dubious honour of being one of the only countries in the world where a locally produced fizzy, caffeinated beverage outsells the number one fizzy caffeinated beverage in the world, Coca Cola. It's safe to say that Scots like their Irn Bru, not least because you get a generous 20p back on each glass bottle you return to the shops for recycling...
And so inevitably today, with the kids celebrating St Andrew's Day at school and Tom being duly dispatched with something tartan attached to his uniform, as requested, it was inevitable that as part of their 'traditional Scottish fare' on offer, he got to sample some of this:
The nation's beverage (made from Scottish girders). Along with some Tablet, and some shortbread.
I recommend checking out the Wikipedia page for the Irn Bru, by the way...
But also, the kids got to perform some traditional Scottish songs, and Tom's class did Katie Beardie. I can't find a decent video for that, so instead, I shall post a few videos of other Scots favourties in honour of the day. The first one:
Is commonly sung as a lullaby to babies. The next one is a personal favourite of Mr Seren's:
But my personal favourite is this one:
And with that, Happy St Andrew's Day! Oh, and don't forget The Haggis Hunt.
And so inevitably today, with the kids celebrating St Andrew's Day at school and Tom being duly dispatched with something tartan attached to his uniform, as requested, it was inevitable that as part of their 'traditional Scottish fare' on offer, he got to sample some of this:
The nation's beverage (made from Scottish girders). Along with some Tablet, and some shortbread.
I recommend checking out the Wikipedia page for the Irn Bru, by the way...
But also, the kids got to perform some traditional Scottish songs, and Tom's class did Katie Beardie. I can't find a decent video for that, so instead, I shall post a few videos of other Scots favourties in honour of the day. The first one:
Is commonly sung as a lullaby to babies. The next one is a personal favourite of Mr Seren's:
But my personal favourite is this one:
And with that, Happy St Andrew's Day! Oh, and don't forget The Haggis Hunt.
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