Podcasts about celtic ireland

Những nét phổ biến nhất của lễ hội Halloween mà chúng ta kỷ niệm ngày nay bắt nguồn từ truyền thống Samhain của người Celtic Ireland. Các chuyên gia cho rằng khắc bí ngô và việc đi xin kẹo có nguồn gốc từ Ireland và đã trở thành một phần của sự trao đổi văn hóa xuyên Đại Tây Dương...

Getting married is all fine and well, but what happens when you (historically) want to dissolve your relationship, well my friends question no more as Katie takes you through Celtic Ireland, Medieval Germany Victorian England to find you the interesting ways to legally get rid of your spouse. Hosted by Katie Charlwood  Part of the Airwave Media Network - www.airwavemedia.com Go on, do the survey, please.... I'll be your friend  www.surveymonkey.com/r/airwave Wishlist Wishlist Donate at:  Patreon  Tip Jar Follow me on… Twitter Instagram TikTok Facebook Business Enquiries: katie@whodidwhatnowpod.com Fan Mail: Who Did What Now Podcast Willow Tree Farm Donegal Ireland F94KX64 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remember, we welcome comments, questions and suggested topics at thewonderpodcastQs@gmail.com   S3E39 TRANSCRIPT:----more----   Mark: Welcome back to the Wonder Science-based Paganism. I'm your host, Mark, Yucca: and I'm the other one. Yucca. Mark: and today we have a very special episode. We're interviewing James Morgenstern, who is on the Atheopagan Society Council. And so, along with Yucca and myself and a bunch of other people. And so it's just an opportunity to get to know him and ask his ideas about where he sees the community going and how he came to be a part of this community and all that good kind of stuff. So, welcome James. James: Thanks for having me. Yucca: We're really happy to have you, so Well, why don't we get started with. you know how, how you found or came to agonism. James: So, it's kind of a, a, a long journey that started back in like the late eighties like 87, 88, somewhere around in there. And I, I was, I, I was an, an avid reader back then. And I remember coming across like a group of, at a garage sale, this collection of encyclopedias called Man Myth and Magic. And it was like everything supernatural in the cult from A to Z And I got made fun of a bit in grade school and called Encyclopedia Brown and stuff like that because I like, I, because I read encyclopedias. And so I came across these, bought 'em for like a quarter a book with my allowance and read them all. And that really sort of piqued my interest in, in the cult and whatnot. And there were there were articles in there about like, Paganism and, and Witchcraft and Wicca and, and what have you. And so I started seeking out books all of this under, you know, the cover of secrecy because I, you know, grew up in the Midwest, in central Illinois. And all of that stuff was a big no-no. So I. With, I had gone to you know, I grew up in a tiny little town, so we had gone some friends of mine and I had gone with one of their parents into this town, and there was this store in the mall that I went into, I think it was like, it might have been a b Dalton book Sellers, you know, one of those book sellers that's not around anymore. And I found a copy of Raymond Buckland's, Complete book of witchcraft. And I went through that whole thing. It was like a series of lessons. Anybody familiar with, you know, witchcraft from back in that area is familiar with the big blue book. But it went through the whole self initiation ritual thing that they had at the end of that. And that was sort of my start on that path. I started reading a lot of Scott Cunningham. He had, you know, a lot of good material for like solitary practitioners and and whatnot. And later on in my, you know, in my adult life I got involved with a this was shortly after I was married, I got involved with a group in Springfield, Illinois called the Edge Perception Collective. And we put on seasonal public rituals, you know, for the, for the community there in central Illinois. And from there I got involved with the Diana's Grove Mystery School and which was, those folks were fantastic. There's just some really good, you know, kind nice people. And the. It was interesting. They had like a 200 acre property in the Ozarks and, you know, it was beautiful. Had this, it had been a cattle ranch at one point, and so like the edges of it were forested and there was this big meadow in the center with like a seven circuit labyrinth mode into it. That was huge. And they had all these cabins that had built, had been built on the property by the Amish. And you know, they did week long intensives and, and weekend you know, seminars and things like that on all sorts of different topics. I took several like drumming classes there with lane Redmond and, and whatnot. And the you know, the whole time though, like, looking back, I, I realized that. With, in terms of like the belief in like DA and things like that. I was really sort of going through the motions on it. Like, I don't know that I ever actually really believed that, that there were these beings out there. I think a lot of it was me looking for an alternative to what I was in the middle of and sort of, you know, inundated by, and that was, you know, conservative Christianity you know, Midwestern Bible country, you know, kind of kind of folks. And so I, I, I sort of, I moved to St. Louis in like 2000 and really sort of drifted away from all of that and had this big. Spot in my life, you know? A lot of the stuff that I had done previously, even, you know, even being part of the, of this group and that that community all on my own, you know, was all solo stuff. Mark: Mm. James: And a lot of that, you know, took place primarily in, in, in my head. You know, it's the whole like, you know, you develop like a mind palace or whatever they call it these days where you've got this sort of sacred space in your own skull. And that some of that was coping mechanisms and things like that for, you know, mental health issues and, and whatnot. But but I had this big hole and, and, and that lasted a long time. And I moved to California in like 2013 or 2014. At the beginning of 2014. And I remember like, I don't remember the exact year it was, but I was online and on Facebook, and I don't remember if it was like a suggested group or if I was searching for, you know, some sort of online group to join. I've got a lot of, I've got friends out here, you know, on the west coast that are all part of this sort of like spooky dark, you know, like, you know, witchy, woodsy, you know, forest people type community musicians and artists and whatnot. And so, lots of pagan stuff being posted by them and, and you know, that whole aesthetic. So it may have been a recommended group but I found the Athe O Paganism one and I clicked on it and looked at the about page. Read the description and everything, and that seemed like that's, like, that was really kind of where I was at. Like, I wanted, I wanted all the pagan stuff, but I didn't want all of the praying to God's goddesses or offerings to forest, you know, fairies and, and, and things along those lines. so I joined the group and was just sort of a, a lurker for a while. And then I don't remember exactly how I met you, Mark. I think I, it was, you had posted something about where you lived or something along those lines, and I was like, Holy crap. Like, that's, that's, that's, you know, 20 minutes away, 30 minutes away or whatever. and I don't remember if I sent you a message or if it was in a comment or something. Like I don't, the details of all that are Mark: I think he sent me a message as I recall, and we decided to meet for coffee. James: Yeah. But that was fantastic. And then I read your book and like your whole story of how you came to all this. A lot of that resonated with me cuz I'd been involved with similar groups, you know, in the past, the whole church of all worlds. And you know, I wasn't involved with them at all, but I, I was well aware of them and, and things going on with them. And then, you know, I wanted to I wanted to take a more active role in the community because. I don't know. I feel like, I feel like everybody should want to take a more active role. You know, you gotta participate in community, you know, on some level. At least that's how I feel, you know, for myself. And so I, when a call went out for moderators on the group, you know, I, I stepped up to that and and then was a moderator on and off for a couple of years, I think.  Yucca: A few. Yeah. James: yeah, recently, recently, you know, stepped down from that again. And then when the Atheopagan Society started coming together, you know, and, you know, we decided to put together an actual, like, council of people, you know, I, I. Felt the need to be a part of that, you know, on the, on the ground floor. Mark: Mm-hmm. James: don't know cuz I, it's, it's really given me a lot in terms of like, helping sort of fill that hole that I had in my life for so long with not having any sort of like, ritual, you know, or spiritual life, you know, it was, I dunno, it was like, I struggle with I struggle with a fair amount of mental health issues, you know, depression, things like that. And when having that, having a spiritual life and even in my own head now using words like that is, there's a little bit of dissonance because I don't believe in like a spirit world, but I, when I tend to use the word spirit or spiritual, I'm, it's more in the sense of essential. Mark: Mm-hmm. James: spirit being the essence of a thing. You know, and so a spiritual life for me is an essential life. It's a thing that, you know, it's something that's Yucca: mm. James: Um, and the, the, a paganism group online and just the, you know, approaching spirituality from that standpoint has, has helped me out a lot. And so I, I wanted to, to, to try to give back on some level as much as I'm able anyway. Mark: Well, that's great. Thank you for that. Yeah, it's, it's been great for me because you, you are local to get to know you and, you know, become friends. And now of course we have the Northern California Affinity group the Live Oak Circle, and we've been having in-person meetings with a little group of folks. And to me that's just been wonderful. I've, I've really enjoyed sharing rituals with, with a group like that.  James: In person is definitely, at least for me personally, is far more rewarding than, you know, online. So if there's a certain, there's a certain distance that I feel, you know, with online interactions and they, they just doesn't feel as personal and meaningful to me. Other people get a lot out of it, you know, I know that we have like the the mixers and things like that, you know, on Saturdays and like on Thursdays or whatever online. And I know that there are a lot of people who get a lot out of those, and that's fantastic. You know, I think you should get, you should get that community interaction however you can get it. But yeah. Yucca: well, I really love that we've been able to start building both of those kinds of, of interactions right now as, as we're, we're growing and able to do in person gatherings. Both like we did earlier this spring with the retreat and then with local groups and then the mixers and the text communication, which is what mostly the Facebook discord is. Mark: Mm-hmm. Yucca: So it's, it's lovely to see that diversity and people being able to kind of plug in, in the way that fits in in their life and, and their particular needs. James: Yeah. Yucca: and it seems like James, you've, you've been a big part of a lot of that kind of looking out for and caring for and participating in that online component. James: Yeah. Like, I feel, I feel very, and one of the reasons I wanted to be like help be a moderator and stuff for the, for the Facebook group was that I feel like I tend to get protective of, you know, the groups that I'm, that I'm part of. It's all, it's like chosen family kind of, kind of situation. And I felt like being a moderator helped, like, put me in a role where I could be more effective at doing that. Yucca: Mm-hmm. James: because there's a lot of folks that aren't able to sort of stand up for themselves and you only have so much, aside from just blocking people online you've only got so much that you can do in a group if you aren't a moderator. You know, you don't have the ability to, you know, to shield other people from, you know, abuses and things along those lines. And not that we've had a huge problem with. Folks like that in the, our fa I feel like out of all of the Facebook groups that I've, that I've been a part of and all of just the social media groups in general that I've been a part of, the Atheopagan group is definitely by far the most friendly and problem free group that I've, that I, especially with, you know, now we've got well over 4,000 members. Like, it, it, it shocks me on some level that there wasn't, that there wasn't a lot more moderation issues than there, than there was. We just don't get the trolls. I think a lot of that is, is due in part to like our screening process for people, you know, and and just the, you know, vigilance and the community themselves, like, you know, that even aren't moderators stepping up to, you know, Sort of take charge cuz it's, it's, I feel like it's all of our responsibilities to make sure that we've got a nice, you know, safe, accommodating, friendly community, you know, to be a part of. You know, and every, every group is gonna have issues, but I feel like our group is, is always working on those, you know, when something comes up, when someone brings something to our attention, something was problematic or something that we, that needs to be addressed that we're, that we, we work on it. I feel like that effort is an honest one and that, you know, and that's important. But but yeah, it's by far the, the best group I've been a part of. And I, and I think that speaks a lot for the people that are involved. Mark: I agree. Yeah, I mean, I've, I continue to be amazed by the quality of the community that's come together online, around aop, Paganism, and As you say, with more than 4,000 members, you would imagine that there would be more conflict. And it's not like there's group think because we have really interesting conversations about lots of different things and people have varying perspectives on a variety of different things. But there's a civility and a a fundamental assumption of good intention on the part of one another that I think is really rare for Facebook. I mean, I don't even go to my main Facebook feed anymore. I just hang out in the atheopagan. James: yeah, yeah. And it was, it was really great for me at the retreat to get to meet some of those folks in person. you know, cuz you see a name, you see a name and like an icon on online and I don't know, for me that's Yucca: A real animal person  James: Yeah,  Yucca: really right there in front of you. James: cuz like online there's a, like, I feel like there is sort of a certain degree of anonymity that's necessary because it can just be a dangerous place. So I don't fault people for not putting pictures of themselves up as like their Facebook photo or whatever. You know, I didn't do it for the longest time. Uh uh, now I don't really care. So it's whatever. But but it's nice being able to put a face to, you know, conversations that I've had with folks and, and things along those. Mark: So, I have kind of a two part question, I guess, for you, James. The first one is so what do you see your role as being on the Ethiopia Pagan Society Council? What, what do you see as, you know, what are your responsibilities there? What is, what do you see yourself as doing for the community there? And then the second part of the question is what about the future? What, what sorts of things do you see the society being able to do to foster this community or support it or train it or, you know, whatever. What, what's your vision there? James: I think in terms of my, my role, like, I feel like I, I try to represent the, the greater community as a whole. Mark: Mm. James: Take into consideration, like when we're making decisions and things like that, the needs of, of, of the community as it's been sort of represented to me by my interactions with people on Facebook, you know, in the Facebook group. And, and to a far, far lesser degree, the, the discord sort of, cuz I, I, I started the, that Discord server I don't, a couple years ago or whatever. And Discord is not my, it's not my thing. It's, you know, it's some people that's totally their jam and that's, and they prefer that over everything else and that's totally fine. It's just, it was never really my thing, but there was a call for it online and so I just, I had used it previously for like some gaming. And so I was like, well, you know, I'll start a server and we'll see how that happens and how that works. And now it, you know, it's got a, I think a couple hundred people on it. Mark: I think about 500 Yucca: Yeah, James: is it really? Mark: Yeah. Yucca: It's got some great stuff. Yeah. Mark: Yeah. James: I, yeah, like I said, it's, it is wasn't really my thing. I am not a tech savvy person, so, you know, there were got all these people that jumped on it, that were doing Discord stuff all the time and asking me as a, you know, as like the admin there, you know, Oh, can we do this? Can we do that? And it's like, I have no idea how to do those things. So and I don't have a whole lot of time to learn how to do those things. So like, I, that's a, yeah, that's a whole nother change. But in terms of like my role and what I, you know, what I seem like my responsibilities being like, I, I don't know. I. I think everybody, I think every group and, and it hasn't been a thing that I, that has been something that I feel like I've needed to worry about because our, our group and our organization has, it's worked a lot differently than a lot of other groups that I, that I'm aware of in the Pagan community and not so many that I've been a direct part of in, in terms of like decision making groups and whatnot. But I don't know. There was sort of this idea in my head at one point of like, being kind of a watchdog and making sure that things didn't start going down like a hierarchical you know, sort of problematic path. Often happens with those sort of council type groups in various PE communities. Like I said, I'd been a member of a group in the past. The, the edge of perception, which, you know, all we did was really put on public rituals. That's all we did. We weren't like a, we weren't sort of guiding a community necessarily. So all of our meetings dealt with what are we gonna do for the next, you know, for the solstice or whatever, and you know, who's gonna do what roles. And you know, how is, you know, how much did we spend on supplies for the last one? How much money do we have in the account for supplies for the next one? And you know, and that sort of thing, we were, we were a not for profit five. I think we had, you know, our 5 0 1 3 c, you know, thing or whatever. So we had to, you know, keep track of receipts and all that good stuff for taxes and but There weren't, so, there weren't really any issues in terms of like power struggles or anything along those lines, you know, people wanting to take control of things necessarily. At least none that I was aware of, but I definitely know that there are groups that are like that. You get like an individual who is, and that's one of the things like I, I feel I really sort of commend you for Mark, because you, that's, you have not being sort of the founder of, of this whole thing. You have made, I feel like you've made great strides to not put yourself in a position of. Power and or a position of authority or anything along those lines. You know, you've been pretty good about when people try to appeal to you as an authority on something and say, Well, Mark says this, or whatever. You're very much, I feel like you've done a pretty good job of, of the whole, like, you know, I'm just like, I'm just another member of the community like you, you know, just because my name's on a book or whatnot, that doesn't mean that, like what I say is, is law sort of thing. And I know that's been an issue. So there was an, at one point in my head there was this idea of like, kind of being a watchdog for the community if that sort of thing started to happen, to try to be a bull work against that. But that's, but it's never come up. So, that quickly faded into the background as something unnecessary. So I, so mainly I think I, I feel like I'm just there as support. Like I, like I said before, I, you know, I struggle with a lot of mental health issues and what have you. So my, my ability to do things is, is relatively limited. But I do, I, I, you know, I want to do whatever I'm capable of, you know, and take a more active role other than just seeing posts online and hearing about things and, you know, listening to the podcast and whatnot. And as far as going forward, I'd like to see a lot more opportunities like that provided for the entirety of the community. You know, it's a big community and I think a lot of those opportunities should be like on a, on local levels. You know, like you mentioned before, we've got our local live Oak Circle. Here in Northern California, which, you know, we've had like, what, like almost a dozen people Mark: Yeah. James: I think involved, you know, that have that at least, you know, I've seen, you know, active, we've got our own little discord server Mark: Mm. James: and whatnot to help coordinate stuff. And then you know, we've had Facebook members who have posted things about their local meetups, you know, one in Chicago that looked like had a fantastic turnout. And I like seeing it. It makes me happy to see things like that happening because I, community is something that's really important to me. And I think it's, I think a lot of the reason it's really important to me is, is because of how little direct access I have to it. You know, I'm, I'm sort of isolated out in the redwoods, you know, and So, and community interactions are, are, have become far more important to me. They're more meaningful to me because I have them, you know, so rarely. So that's an important step going forward, I think, is helping to foster those local communities Mark: Mmh. James: to build a greater, you know, broader, you know, general community. The, I thought that the Sun Tree retreat was a, was a fantastic success in terms of like turnout and whatnot. So I'd really love to see more events like that going forward. Like maybe regional regional ones and then, you know, a like a main sort of national one or whatever here in the States. And it would be fantastic to see. Because we've got members of the Facebook group from all over the world, you know? And we've got affinity groups for larger affinity groups, for like regional affinity groups for some of those areas. But it'd be great to see them putting together, you know, events and it, and I think a lot of people think if the, if like, Oh, we, if we're gonna do that, we're gonna need all of these things and we're gonna need this awesome space, and we're gonna need, you know, speakers or we're gonna need, It's like, you don't really, you just get together, get together and have a meal, you know, and make it a ritual, you know, be, be mindful of the various parts of the meal that you're, you know, as, as they're, as they're served or consumed or whatever. Or get together and, you know, if you're into drumming and stuff, you have a drum circle or sing some songs together or, you know, just do some, do something. As a community and it'll grow from that. You don't have to have like a fancy convention space or, you know, retreat center to go to or something along those lines. But I think building those communities is important because we, we do better together. You know, we, we move forward better, faster, more stronger together than we do, you know, as individuals. And some people, you know, social interaction is not a thing for them and they don't do well in groups and that's fine. You can totally do it by yourself. But, you know, I feel like as a, as a community though, moving forward, like these smaller local localized groups are really. I think that the next best step forward. Mark: Hmm. I think that's really well said about community and humanity as a social animal. You know, we, we get e even those of us that are very introverted will usually get something out of social interaction. They may not be able to take very much of it. But there's a, there's a sort of a, an energizing or a charge that comes with interacting with other people who see you and are authentic and open and kind and, you know, fostering that kind of a climate is, it's super important to me and it seems. That's what people are gravitating to in, in the online communities is like, wow, these people are nice and they're thoughtful and they're interesting and they, and they're rational and and they are open to the idea of secularizing the world in, you know, in ways that are moving and impactful. So, yeah. Yeah. That's very cool. I didn't realize that you had joined the council with the idea of being sort of a watchdog on, you know, on the power dynamics, but I'm, I'm glad to hear that you haven't felt that was necessary. James: Yeah. I mean that was sort of, it wasn't like a main reason, you know, the main reason was like, I, I wanted to be a part of it. I, you know, I wanted to be a part of, I wanted to give back, you know, cuz I had gotten quite a bit out of, you know, the online community and, and whatnot. And wanted to give back beyond just being a moderator on the Facebook group. And the, the whole like watchdog thing was sort of a secondary, a secondary thing, you know, one of those creeping things in the back of my head. And it was like, Oh, I've, like, I've seen groups like this come together before with really good intentions and then a cult of personality forms around one person. And and then it all falls apart. And I didn't wanna see that happen. You know, like I said, I, I feel, I feel kind of protective of our community. , which can have its own drawbacks because I, I, there are times when I'm feeling probably too protective and might see threats where there aren't any. And that's, you know, that's, that's my own shoot to deal with. The yeah, I think other things that we could do, like I, I, I think I probably mentioned previously about you know, we've got members of the community who probably are a little isolated and not as able and like some sort of like, outreach program or something along those lines, you know, to bring resources to those people. You know, I think this, this podcast has obviously been a great. Because you know, like you had mentioned to me previously about like the number of new members coming to the Facebook group because they heard the podcast which is fantastic, you know, but that's one of those things that like is of, it's available to everybody all over the world, you know, You know, you don't have to be on a specific social media platform or whatnot. This podcast is available on, you know, numerous different podcast platforms and everybody's got, and I think network, maybe possibly networking more with other similar like-minded groups. Yucca: Mm-hmm. James: You know, I think that might be a good step in the right direction. Cuz you know, In the end to get sort of philosophical, we're all in this together. Yucca: Yeah. James: that's not just like the a o paganism group online. And that's not just, you know, our, our local circles. It's, you know, everybody we're, and you know, we might not all completely agree on things all the time, but we, none of us get out of this alive. So we should all work together to make, to make the experiences as, as as pleasant as possible. Yucca: Hmm. Mark: Yeah. James: and that, you know, and that in that involves a lot of work. And not, not necessarily like physical footwork type stuff, but like personal work, you know, for each of us. Things like Like dealing with issues of racism and ableism and things along those lines. You know, that's, that's stuff that has to be worked on, on a personal level. And you know, we all have a lot of, I think a lot of us the vast majority of us have a lot of internalized, you know, issues with those things. Things that have become normalized for us because it's just, they're, they just are things that have never been an issue. You know, it's a thing we've talked about in the Facebook group. Paganism in general for the, for a long time was a primarily white thing, Yucca: Mm-hmm. James: And and so I think a lot of people of color and whatnot really felt it was inaccessible to them, Mark: Yeah. Or that they were unwelcome. James: or that they were unwelcome. Exactly. Because there's still this huge trend, and that's why I'm I really. One of the things that I really like about Atheopagan and that that drew me to it, is that it's not based in a culture, a preexisting culture. It's not based around a preexisting set of traditions. You know, it encourages, you know, a DIY approach. You know, create your own rituals, create your own traditions, you know, start new ones. Don't, you know, like we, it's not the goal to recreate some lost civilization or culture, or to live in, you know, a a, a pretend past that never really existed. Cuz that's what most of these groups, you know, I feel like to some degree do. And it's not about escapism either, Yucca: Mm-hmm. James: Which is a thing that I found. I've gotten a lot of flack in the past for, for bringing the issue up in groups that I've been a part of that I feel like a lot of people were, you know, they'll be a part of a group that espouses like, you know, justice or something along those lines. I'm not gonna name any groups in particular. But they'll espouse values like justice. But then when issues of justice are brought up, people, you know, start going on the whole, like, why do you gotta make this political? It's like, uh, how is it not, How is that not like everything is political. If it involves people, it's political. So, You know, every aspect of our lives is affected by politics. You know, nobody lives in a. Yucca: Mm-hmm. James: from the rest of the world. So literally every aspect of our life is, has been affected or is constantly affected by politics. Whether it be the laws that we're living under or the regulations we have to abide by when doing things to our homes or you know, our yards, you know, down to like HOA organizations with how tall your grass can be and crap like that. Um, it's all politics, you know, And so, and I understand like people who get tired of hearing about hearing all the arguing Yucca: Mm-hmm. James: what have you, and I think that's primarily, it seems to be primarily an American issue, you know, a US issue. But you know, everybody knows what's going on in this country, you know, right now and has been for a while. So, you know, the whole world knows the sort of situation we're living in. So I think it's understandable that people are burnt out. . And, but most of those people who are like, Why do you gotta make it political, are the ones who aren't really all that negatively affected by politics. Mark: Right. They're  James: tired of hearing people argue about it because it interrupts their peace and quiet and they come into these groups because they're trying to escape rather than, you know. But for me, like I said, a spiritual life is an essential life and as an essential part of life, it's politics is unavoidable Mark: Mm. James: cuz that's an essential part of life. You can't exist in the world without, with other people, without politics. So, you know, that's I think working on those issues on an individual level is important. And working on those issues as a community, you know, supporting each other. You know, I, I feel like our community has been really good in like the comment sections and stuff on Facebook of offering up resources when issues come up and someone says, Well, I don't know how to do that, or I don't, you know, or where do I go to find that information? There's usually always someone who's got a list of links or books to read or, you know, or, or YouTubers to follow, or, you know, something along those lines that are, you know, resources. And then it's incumbent upon us to take personal responsibility then at that point, and read those things, you know, or, you know, or, or, or look up those papers or, or what have you. And you know, it so yeah, I the whole escapism thing, that's Mark: Yeah, we've, we've talked about that here before. I mean, it's, it's tricky because you can use sort of fantastic language and, and framing to. Make your life a lot as a tool to make your life a lot more enchanted. Right. James: Oh yeah. Mark: But you need to keep in mind, you know, it's that ability to recognize the difference between metaphor and reality. You know  James: And I, I'm a, I'm a big fan of like, the myth poetic, you know, as, as a tool, you know, for, like you said, re enchanting, you know, your life. But there's a, it be, it starts to become escapism when that becomes the, your preferred realm to exist in. Cuz it's not a real place. And you live in the real world and there's no getting around that. Mark: sure. When you start blaming fairies for things, James: Or Mark: It's a problem. James: right, or you know, like a thing you had mentioned, and I think you had mentioned it in, in your book, you know, with people like excusing behaviors, because you know, it's the will of the gods or, or whatnot. And the spiritual bypassing that takes place, you know, where people are like, Oh, well the reason this bad thing is happening in your life is because, you know, maybe you've angered some spirits or something along those lines. And, which is really just a fancy way of victim blaming at that point.  Yucca: It's a way of not taking responsibility, James: yeah, exactly. And so that's, that was going back to like the first question. You know, that's, that's another thing that sort of drew me to Athe o Paganism, was that, that that wasn't a part of all this. There was no, there was no road. For that sort of approach to things, you know, personal responsibility and and, you know, taking steps in our own sort of growth and development, you know, are are built in. And that's that's very appealing to me and I think needed, you know, in. Mark: Yeah. One thing that I've really appreciated about many people in the Pagan community, I certainly wouldn't say all of them, but many people in the Pagan community, is that there is this kind of dedication to personal growth, you know, to, to doing the work to become the best people they can and. I just see that as essential. You know, it's like if, if the goal is excellence in how we interact with one another in the world that we create in our engagement with the rest of the natural world in all of that, then it, you know, it starts with the wrestling that's happening in your head and, you know, figuring that stuff out and getting as clear and as kind and as balanced as we can. And so it, so that was one of the things that drew me back towards Paganism. And after I got sick of it, you know, there were those people that were living in a fantasy world and were, you know, causing harm out of that. But then there were these other people who were just amazing. Humble, fantastic, incredible people. And I wanted those people . I, you know, I, I wanted to go back and get them. So that's, that's been part of what this has been about. James: yeah. I've had, and like, you know, I, I skipped over in my story about how I got to aio Paganism. I skipped over a lot of the stuff that I got involved in, looking for ways of like making meaning in the world. That were more solo like, I got into Chaos Magic, and I got into the, you know, I was involved in the Lima for, for a while, Mark: Mm-hmm. James: you know, joined some initiatory orders and, and what have you. And know, it was all, you know, brain hacking, trying to figure out how to make myself that better person, you know, that you just mentioned. And doing it on your own by yourself is often very difficult. And so I, I think having a community that's all also working towards that. And like you said, not everybody involved in those groups was good. But there were definitely some jewels, you know, that stood out. But for some of them, like the, the, the, the Leic community there was a lot of just. I, I pretty much left all of, I left the Lima because of a lot of the just really horrible, toxic stuff. And I've always been a proponent of the idea that whatever it is that you're championing, whatever cause that you're standing behind, whatever beliefs that you are espousing, look around at the other people who are going, Yes, that's what that I'm on, pa on. I'm right there with you. I'm on the same page as you are. You believe what I believe and I absolutely support you. And if those people are neo-Nazis, and if those people are, you know, just you know, white nationalists and racists and terrible people, then you need to, you need to rethink these ideas that you're championing. Cause if they're saying, Oh, no, no, I totally agree with you, I don't think that's a good thing. and, So, you know, I, I, I've had these conversations to get political. I've had these conversations with folks who, you know, espouse like conservative values and whatnot, and they're like, Yeah, but you know, I don't agree with those guys, but yeah, but they agree with you. Like you don't agree with those guys cuz you don't, because they're on, you're just sort of cherry picking, you know, the things of their ideology that they, that you don't agree with. And I don't know that you're actually looking at, at what they believe and what you believe with an unbiased, you know, viewpoint. And I think that your ideas and their ideas line up far more than you're willing to admit to. And because on some level you do agree with them because if they're agreeing with you, how is that not the same thing? You know, if you say XYZ and they're like, Yes, xyz, and then you say, Oh yeah, but I don't agree with their xyz, but it's it's the same xyz. Then, you know, I think that needs some reflection and some rethinking. And so, yeah, I don't know where I was going with that. I've got my mid-afternoon coffee, caffeine hitting my, hitting my head and it's sending me on spirals. Yeah. What were we saying? Yucca: We had been talking about the gyms in the community, and you'd said that you'd kind of skipped over some of the, the, James: yeah, Yucca: the various groups that you'd been involved in and stopped being involved in. James: yeah. Cuz I think when, when, for me it was like a matter of percentages, you know, if there's like three or four people in the community that are absolutely wonder. People and the, the overwhelming majority of the community is not, then that's, then you, you can't, you can't it, I personally can't stay in a community like that. I can't stay involved with a group like that. Like I, it, it's always terrible to have to sort of leave a group because you know you're gonna miss those people probably, especially if you developed any sort of personal relationship with them. And you can always stay, you know, connected with those people outside of that group. But being part of the group itself is just not an option any longer. Again, I think, I feel like you gotta look around at the people who are, who are standing behind you and chanting along with you and see what sort of flags they're waving and, you know, if those are flags that strike you as you know, bad things, then maybe you should think about. You know why it is that they're chanting along with you. And I, and it's mostly been like, you know, events that have taken place here in the US over the last, like six years or so that have really sort of brought that sort of idea to a head for me. You know, or also if you don't, the people who are on your side are championing ideas that actively seek to harm or impede the lives of people you care about, then maybe you should rethink those ideas also, because if you really care about those people, why would you want to promote the things that are going to hurt them, you know? And I feel like in our, to bring it back to, you know, our community, I feel like we are, I feel like we're, we can always do better, but I feel like we're doing a pretty good job. And that is, and that's not to sort of say, you know, to let us off the hook in any way, shape or form. The work is, the work is constant and ongoing and not quick. You know, there is no fast like flip a switch and suddenly you're not racist, you know, or you flip a switch and suddenly you're not ableist anymore. You know, those are, they're patterns of behavior that come about from living in a system that promotes all of those things and oftentimes rewards those things. So, you know, working out of those situations, those methods of thought and whatnot is a. It's a lot of deep work, but I feel like as a community we can support each other in that work. And that's what part of what I was saying about when conversations like that have come up on the Facebook group, you know, people offering up resources, you know, books, you know, books to read and things along those lines. I know we've got, there's like a book club like an atheopagan book club and I think that they've read some, some pretty good books, you know, in, in that regard on some of those issues. I definitely, I'm not a part of it cuz reading books for me is a, it's a whole thing that's gets too complicated to get into right now. But but I definitely encourage them to read more of those books that help work on those issues. You know, everybody likes to read, you know, the fun books. Things like gathering loss is a popular one. Or what's the other, the Mark: reading Sweet Grass. James: Yeah. Braiding, sweetgrass. Those books, those books come up a lot in conversations. and those are great. Yeah. Yeah, they're great. I, I'd like to, you know, I'd like to see more opportunities for for unlearning the sort of problematic tendencies that, that, you know, the overwhelming majority of us tend to have. Mark: Mm. James: cuz that makes the community more accessible to the folks, you know, like I mentioned before, that felt it, you know, this sort of spirituality inaccessible before, Mark: Mm-hmm. James: Yeah. And, and build your own tradit. You know, around that sort of thing cuz that can help reinforce all of that and Mark: You know, I, I need to put in a word about that. I, I wrote a blog post probably four or five months ago now. In which I agree for myself, I, I want to create new culture. But I can see how for people of color, they might want to draw culture from their ancestors forward. Um, and so, you know, when I talk about, when I talk about Ethiopia, Paganism being a modern thing that just got started in the early two thousands, and it's not rooted in any culture that really comes out of the fact that I just designed it for me and I'm this white guy you know, this sort of Mongol American white guy. And I think. I've, I've since done more thinking about that, and I think that it's really important for us to acknowledge that there's a place for drawing indigenous traditions, drawing traditions of African ancestry, you know, drawing those, those pieces forward into the ritual practices of people that come out of those, those ethnicities. James: I, I absolutely agree. I think on, on a personal level, I think, you know, for your own like personal ritual and spiritual life, I think drawing on, on, on your heritage is, is absolutely, although I don't like using that word, heritage I think drawing on that is Backgrounds. is, is, is important and can be really sort of empowering and enriching and whatnot. I think it, where the issue comes in is when the overwhelming majority of a group comes from a particular background Mark: Yeah. James: and they try to make those aspects of their background, the primary focus of the community's background. So like, you know, taking a recent holiday for example. So that's an Irish thing, you know, that's a Gaelic culture cultural thing. Yucca: Mm. Mark: Mm-hmm. James: so everybody's like, everybody talks about sow and it's like, I mean, it's not, it's not like a solar festival, you know, it's not one of the cross quarter you know, holidays that is tied to an astronomical. Or anything along those lines, like the solstice and equinoxes. So it is a very sort of culturally specific thing, and not everybody celebrates that. And so when everybody's almost sort of insisted be called that because Halloween is too much of a, I mean, it's, it's even got its own cultural sort of baggage, you know, in terms of like all Hall's Day being, you know, kind of a, a, a more Christian centric holiday and the whole, the whole co-opting of, of, you know, pagan holidays by Christianity idea and those sorts of things. But I think a lot of people, when, when the community, when the greater community refers to it as a specific cultural thing like sa, those people who did not come, did not grow up in that background. Feel isol, you know, separated and they feel like they're not able to take, they feel excluded. So I feel like as a greater, you know, sort of global community or whatever, coming up with new non culturally specific things is great. And then incorporate in your own personal rituals and whatnot, and even your own local group rituals, incorporate aspects of the, of, of your own background into that. And then your group can each, each person can bring their own cultural background into the mix. And you have this, you know, lovely bouquet of, of mixed flowers, you know, that everybody can enjoy. The but yeah, I think that when people lean into those sort of traditional ideas of the holidays, You know, of our, like, you know, that can be one of the things that isolates people who have traditionally been sort of excluded from these sort of circles, and it makes us less inclusive. You know, I personally celebrate sound because That's my background. You know, I'm 93% Scottish and Irish and with a smidge of, you know, other, you know, I'm a, I'm a American mut, you know, with a blend of, of European backgrounds. And but I wasn't raised in any of those cultures, you know, that's a, so that's a thing. One of my. I don't wanna say pet peeves cuz that's not what it is. One of my issues that I struggle with a lot of times is I don't believe that for the most part Americans have in general, white America doesn't have a recognizable, consistent culture or cultural background to draw from. Which I think is one of the reasons why so many folks look to, like Ancient Ireland and Ancient Scotland or ancient Germany and you know, or Scandinavia, they look to Asat true, you know, because of their roots and their heritage and they, or they look to, you know, like the Celtic sort of stuff because of their, you know, their ancestry. It's like, that's great, but you likely weren't raised with any of those traditions, assuming those traditions are real at all. And so, In a way that's sort of a, it's a hot button topic and I'll probably get flack for it and people will talk about me. But I feel like in a way that's sort of still a matter of cultural appropriation cuz you weren't raised in that culture and there are people who legitimately went through terrible things because of their connection to that culture. They were prohibited from practicing just like here in the United States with the, with, you know, indigenous peoples being legally prohibited from pr, from practicing, you know, you know, uh, their, their ancestral traditions and what whatnot to step up. Having not gone through any of that and just adopt those things and say, Well that's, you know, that's my, that's, you know, my heritage. It's like you're, I. I guess blood wise down the road, always, you've got that connection to people who participated in that. But you, you never did. You're, you know, that's not part of your, your culture for the overwhelming, not for everybody. Obviously there are exceptions. People who are like first generation Americans and whatnot. They may have relatives who who carried some of some older traditions and stuff forward. But this idea of participating in these like ancient traditions, like, I mean, it's, Yucca: I think it doesn't necessarily just have to be first generation either. I mean, there, you know, there's a, James: but those traditions have to have been carried forward. Like, I feel like you need to have been raised in the culture to, to really, because otherwise you're, you are participating in a thing without, without any sort of, you know, you're participating in a thing that other people were punished for without. The threat of punishment, you know, and without having gone through those  Yucca: I, think it's really very specific to different ones. I mean that some, some times when those ancestors were forced to stop, Doing tho having those traditions. You know, my, my father's first language, he was not allowed to speak that outside of the home. And his, you know, his, his mother wasn't allowed to speak it. So I wasn't, I didn't get that language from him. Right. But, but there's still a connection that I have to that culture, right? Or, you know, and, and so for instance, my, my child is relearning the language even though there's a generational gap between, you know, what she was, how she's been raised, the culture that she was raised in, and, and wanting to like to rebrace, right, to reclaim and rekindle some of that. James: And I think as long as, as, as those things are being passed down with the knowledge of, of the struggle that people went through regarding those things, like how the, how the, you know, and that's, you know, the reason that you're doing it. But I think a lot of that is disregarded when people just sort of pick up a book on Celtic paganism or something along those lines, and they think that they're participating in these like ancient Celtic rituals and whatnot, which is Yucca: My personal pet peeve around that is when it gets all lumped into one culture, it's like, wait, but, but we're a lot of different cultures, you know? James: I've been involved in Drewry and things like that, and there's this idea of like this Dr. Reconstructionism and whatnot, which I think is. The fact of the matter is, is we don't know what any of the, there was nothing written down and we don't know what was practiced. So these like ancient rights or ancient rituals, they're not ancient. They're all new modern inventions. And there's that zero evidence that, you know, and there's a lot of hearsay and people are like, Well, no, this was passed down. Word of mouth. It's like, yeah. And we've all played telephone, we've all played that game. And there's a good chance that the way that you're doing things is absolutely nothing like what people did then. You know, and you've got the influence of Christianity and things like that. And to think that, to think that, like, I don't know. I think the assumption that, like the monks that wrote down a lot of this stuff, when they were encountering these new cultures, you know, as they were, were coming into the areas that they weren. Repainting and reinterpreting and just straight up lying about things. I think I, I don't think that's an honest approach to, to what that is. So,  Mark: Well, and, and James, this also goes to the lionization of the ancient, right? I mean, there's that whole idea that because something is old, that it's got a deep validity to it. And that's, that's one that I just. Honestly, I don't go with, I mean, to me, cultures are valid just because they're valid and it doesn't matter whether they started recently or, and then, then there are cultures that aren't so valid, like Joseph Smith's arrangement that has now taken off and has many followers all over the world that you know, the values of, which I find really problematic. But just because something is new doesn't make it invalid. And just because something is old doesn't make it valid. But particularly for people where there's been genocidal effort to extinguish the culture, I think it is really important to be able to say to someone who's, you know, grandfather and father were, you know, grandparents and, and parents were not allowed to speak their native language, that they are still entitled to relearn that language and restart those cultural traditions again. James: Sure, I think. But I think that a lot, and I think a lot of it is for me personally, that's it. It's all continued upon intent. Mark: Mm-hmm. James: if you're, if I think if you're going to do that, then you need to be learning about the struggles that they went through. You need to be informing yourself about the reasons why this is an issue, you know? It's like, you know, the, it's, for me, it's like the, the whole like, you know, When it comes to, like in, in indigenous folks, you get the person who does their 23andme DNA test and they get the thing that says, Oh, you're 0.05% Native American. And they're like, Oh, cool. Well, I'm just gonna start practicing Cherokee, you know, traditions or, or whatnot cuz you know, well I'm part, you know, I'm part Native American and what, and, and not learning why that's a, why that's a problem. Mark: Yeah. James: It's like if you're, I, you know, because in all likelihood, you, you, you really, the only connection you have is a genetic, is a genetic connection to those, you know, to those folks because you've not, you know, I don't know. It's a, it's a, it's a complicated. It's definitely not cut and dry. There are definitely, you know, exceptions to the rule and, and, and all of that good stuff. There's, I come from a, you know, a line of people who are very, very far removed from any of that. I, the, the research that I've done on my own family, you know, I got as far back as like the 15 hundreds to some, you know, Sept of SCOs who, you know, the, the, the McCulloughs or, or whatnot. And they were like a, they didn't have their own tartan, which was a, which was a pretty modern invention. They didn't have their own, you know, sort of clan, steel and motto or insignia or anything. There were like a vassal clan of some other larger clan, but. I wasn't raised with any of that. My grandparents weren't raised with any of that. My great grandparents weren't raised with any of that. You know, if anything, there's more Appalachian you know, traditions and culture, which is a mishmash of, of, you know, a number of things. Because the farther you get from the source, the more diluted those things sort of become, the more integrated with other, you know, cultures and, and, and traditions and whatnot. Those things become and they become their own thing, you know? So like, I feel like for me, like I've, I've, I've tried to educate myself on the struggles of those people from my background who were barred from like my Irish ancestors who were barred from speaking Irish, you know, by the English in my. I try to educate myself about that. And I try not to just take it for granted that I'm just allowed because my, you know, my grandmother's last name was Bailey, you know, and I think that there's the overwhelming majority of people that I have encountered in the Pagan community. That's really the sort of approach. There's this romanticized like idea of like ancient Celtic Ireland, you know, that people pursue. And and it goes, it goes back to the whole escapism thing for me. And you know, I think a lot of people are what draws a lot of people to modern paganism. And the new age movement is a dissatisfaction with the way the world is right now and a lack of sort of, Lack of meaningful internal life you know, to to help give them a sense of comfort and whatnot in, you know, the, the sort of times that we're having. And I think that there's that appeal to, it's the reason we read, you know, that's the reason we read fantasy books and things like that, you know, So for a brief time we can live in a world that is not this one. Mark: Yeah, but this one is so amazing. Yucca: Yeah. James: it really is. You open your eyes and you look at the world around you and you see like really look and see the various processes taking place on the. Smaller levels, you can just keep going. You know, like, Oh, well why does that happen? And there's a whole process involved and it's like, and then you can take a piece of that process and say, Well, why does that happen? And there's this whole other process involved, and it's this like fractal rabbit hole that, you know, winds up down in some quantum, you know, wormhole thing Mark: Some probabilistic. Weird. James: Yeah. Mark: Yeah, James: until we're just speculating, because we really don't know, because we are physically incapable of seeing any more detail from that for now. And you can do the same to the greater scale, you know, because the immensity of this universe and reality in general, as you know, is astounding and incredibly humbling. For me to contemplate. I've spent many a night lying on my back as a kid. I had, I built a skateboard ramp for myself, and there would be times when I would lay down on the deck of that skateboard ramp and living in rural America, there wasn't a lot of street lights and things like that to obscure my view of the sky. And spent a lot of time laying, just looking up at the stars in the moon and whatnot, and always feeling that sensation of sort of being held to the earth. Mark: Hmm. James: Like at any moment I could fall off of it Yucca: Hmm mm. James: into the, you know, the sky, you know, up into the, that vastness, because what is up Mark: Mm-hmm. James: that's arbitrary you know, it's in relation to where, you know, to where the ground is. That's up. Mark: Yeah. James: But in the, in the schema things, there is no up. There's no down. It just, we have to put these sort of descriptions on things to help us make sense because of how limited we are in, in our, in our perception. But I think going back to yet another thing that drew me to a, the o paganism is that whole idea of like, that's, I'm, I'm part of all of that. That's, that, that craziness, that just overwhelming levels of complexity. And like we talked you know, yesterday, mark, about the human brain and how, how little we really know about how it operates. This chunk of fat and water and whatnot that sits inside, you know, this bone on the top of our head or our bodies. Excuse me. Throat thing happening. The, the overwhelming, like, I don't know the awe that sets in Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: Mm-hmm. James: the, you just, there are times when it just takes my breath away. And it's the appreciation of that and knowing that every other person who's part of the, you know, not just part of our community, but every other person in the entire world is also part of that. Mark: Mm-hmm. James: And if there's anything that connects us, that's, it's that, you know, we're all part of this sort of greater mechanism. I don't know that like, I guess you could call it an organism if you wanted. Yucca: Mm-hmm. James: You know, I guess it all depends on per. , but we're all tiny, tiny, tiny little pieces of this huge thing that operates in a relatively specific manner. Mark: Mm. James: even though it seems like, you know, at times all of the stuff is so random and whatnot. That's sort of the point, is that that's how it works, is that there's no sort of predetermined path. No one has laid it all out, you know, and mapped everything out. Like what's the point of that? You know? Excuse me, my throat. So Yucca: Yeah. Well, I'll, Yeah. James: having me on.  Yucca: Yeah. So thank you James. This has been, This has been amazing. Mark: It has, it's the, I mean, we've wandered into all these really essential subject matters about, about our path and about our community, and it's just been a really great conversation. Thank you. James: Yeah, thank you for, for tolerating my, my ramblings.  Yucca: Well, thank you for sharing them with us. We really appreciate it. Oh, James: my pleasure. Mark: And we'll see you all next week. Everybody. Have a great week.    .

Explore Ireland Ep 2 3 # Dr. N. Sumathi - Celtic Ireland @ Radio MITWS India :https://open.spotify.com/episode/7z1M7wBP1OUv6sJHhpxPN9?si=BUZn1JHySZyQkSx9T7KvcQ&utm_source=copy-link Welcome to 2 and 3 episode of Explore Ireland. In these episode Dr. N. Sumathi speak about around and celtic Ireland. We are appreciate her contant support and love to this radio platform. For more detail https://radiomitwsimdia.wordpress.com for any query contact Dr. Karan Pratap Singh +9199717001069

Halloween….the spookiest time of year. When the veil that separates the living and the dead gets dangerously thin. Welcome back, writers and weavers to season three of Writing the Broomstick!No matter where you live in the world, we're willing to bet that your culture commemorates the end of summer and the beginning of winter...when our ancestors prepared themselves for the harshest months of the year. In ancient Ireland, the Celts celebrated with the Samhain festival—a time when rural farmers stared darkness in the face with a giant celebration and where spirits roamed the earth. But how did Samhain evolve into Halloween? Katrina and Genny take you on a quick tour throughout Celtic Ireland where the seeds of our modern-day Halloween were sown. We discuss the origins of the Jack-o-lantern, trick-or-treating, costumes, and spookiness in general.We then trail off into dreamland where both girls share their experiences of Halloweens gone by. Suggested Reading for the Spooky Season:The Wise One  by K.T. AnglehartSources:https://www.history.com/news/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-irish-originshttps://www.irishcentral.com/roots/irish-traditions-halloweenhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-history-of-trick-or-treating-is-weirder-than-you-thought-79408373/https://www.ireland.com/en-gb/things-to-do/events/puca-festival/https://wfupress.wfu.edu/arts-and-culture/spooky-history-of-samhain/https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-europe/origins-halloween-samhain-002271https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/13things/7448.html

When the Vikings set up Dublin as a raiding and trading station, little did anyone expect it to turn into a kingdom that lasted 300 years! Least of all the warring factions of Celtic Ireland. Load up your longboat with axes and craic, it's the Viking Kingdom of Dublin. Deadly! Support us on Patreon at patreon.com/ctdeapod. Contact us at ctdeapod@gmail.com or at our website: ctdeapod.com.  Follow us @CTDEApod on Twitter and Facebook and never miss another update. Review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you complain about stuff.

Would you marry Cúchulainn? Emer did, against her father's wishes, but it's not easy being the wife of Ireland's greatest hero. Deirdre tells us the story of Emer, Cúchulainn's wife, and Paudie and Mark discuss Celtic Ireland's attitudes towards marriage, Fearghail's efforts to prevent his daughter marrying the Hound of Ulster, and how their views of Cúchulainn himself have changed over the years. If you have any question you'd like us to answer, topics you'd like us to discuss, or stories you'd like us to tell, tweet us at @leprechaun_ie with #AskAStoryteller or find us on Instagram @leprechaunmuseum. If you'd like to support the podcast and the museum, our Ko-Fi and Shop is at ko-fi.com/leprechaunmuseum. Featuring Paudie Holly and Mark Ó Géaráin. The Jealousy of Emer is told by Deirdre Quinn. Recorded in the National Leprechaun Museum of Ireland.

Monday, 1 February 2021, 1 – 2pm Christian saint or Celtic goddess, Brigit has long been associated with the spring season, representing renewal, healing and fertility. But who was the enigmatic Brigit, Brigid or Bríg and what lessons does her legend offer us today? In the midst of a global pandemic which has shaken the world, can we find ways to generate hope from centuries old wisdom and tradition? Join us on the 1st of February for a conversation with Professor Katharine Simms, Dr Mary Condren, artist Rita Duffy, Early Career Researcher Nandini Gupta, and Trinity Long Room Hub Director, Professor Eve Patten. Rita Duffy is an artist in residence at the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Institute. Born in Belfast, Rita was awarded a B.A. from the Art & Design Centre and an M.A. in Fine Art at the University of Ulster. She was elected to Aosdana in 2017. She is one of Northern Ireland's groundbreaking artists who began her work concentrating primarily on the figurative/narrative tradition. Her art is often autobiographical, including themes and images of Irish identity, history and politics. Rita Duffy's work has grown and evolved but remains intensely personal with overtones of the surreal. Professor Katharine Simms Ph.D. was Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at Trinity College Dublin until her retirement in 2010. She has written three books, From Kings to Warlords (1987), Medieval Gaelic Sources (2009) and Gaelic Ulster in the Middle Ages (2020) as well as numerous articles on Gaelic politics and society in later medieval Ireland, including several on the role of women, and the later commentaries on Brehon law tracts. Dr. Mary Condren is a Visiting Research Fellow and teaches at the Centre for Gender and Women's Studies, in the School of Histories and Humanities, Trinity College Dublin. She is director of Woman Spirit Ireland and has organised and resourced Festivals of Brigit, in Ireland and North America, for over thirty years. She is the author of The Serpent and the Goddess: Women, Religion and Power in Celtic Ireland. Articles on Brigit and feminist topics: https://tcd.academia.edu/MaryCondren

Welcome to The OTB Brief, everything you need to know about sport, first thing every morning, with John Duggan of OTB Sports. We bring you the latest news from sport and what's happening today with thanks to Cedral, the new name for Tegral, your partner in roofing for generations to come. There are also details of today's OTB Sports Radio schedule - subscribe to The OTB Brief for your first sports fix every morning! You can also tune into OTB AM, our sports breakfast show from 7:30 am - where we've reaction, news, and analysis of all today's sport - watch or listen live across OTB Sports.

It’s that time of year where we’re all getting ready for Halloween but as we prepare for the festivities some of you may not have known that Halloween actually originated in Ireland. The festival of Samhain originated in Celtic Ireland The post An Irish Halloween appeared first on IrelandWays.com.

Episode 186: Going Through Changes - Shapeshifters in Myth and Speculative Fiction   Before they populated the pages of paranormal romance novels, shapeshifters had long held a place in myths and folklore. Those creatures who can change they're shape have long been a source of human fascination, whether it's a desire to take on animal characteristics, representation of deities, the wolf who sometimes looks like a man or the witch who escapes the inquisition by going into a hare. This week Jules and Madeleine take a look at the evolution of these creatures from the 'wizard's duel' of Welsh myth to Celtic Ireland to Navajo tales of trickster Coyote. From there, the dragons examine where the shapeshifter has travelled next in modern speculative fiction. Don your wolfskin belt and join us for an episode with claws.   Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic

What can a story from ancient Ireland tell us about the Gauls before Caesar? Maybe a lot. The Hound of Ulster is synonymous with Irish history. But it also draws back the curtain on a world we see echoed in the archaeology of ancient Gaul: a world of epic feasts, the hero’s portion, cattle raiding, magical cauldrons, and chariot warfare. Think of this episode as a sort of Cauldron of Rebirth. We’re going to go out on a limb and operate under the assumption that a tall tale from Celtic Ireland can help us make the Gauls live and breathe again. https://patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl http://www.ancienthistoryfangirl.com/

Joven Hundal, Jack Pawlakos, and Kenneth Jeon don their invisible cloaks to dive deeply into the motivations behind scary movies, Halloween history, and Trick or Treat trends. Kenneth Jeon brings us his 20/20 Vision with insight about Night of the Living Dead plus three funny, light-hearted films including Shaun of the Dead, What We Do in the Shadows, and TV show, Gravity Falls. In World Watch, Joven goes back in history to the origins of Halloween in Celtic Ireland where costumes were made out of animal skins and animal heads as masks. In Trends without Ends, Jack brings us the current Halloween costume trend: “Ugly Halloween Sweaters”, a one off of the “Ugly Christmas Sweaters” tradition. Halloween is big business with costumes, decor, anf candy. This year it is predicted 185 million people in the United States will be celebrating Halloween, and the total spending for decorations, costumes, and treats for this frightening fun ends up at a whopping nine billion dollars!!

Joven Hundal, Jack Pawlakos, and Kenneth Jeon don their invisible cloaks to dive deeply into the motivations behind scary movies, Halloween history, and Trick or Treat trends. Kenneth Jeon brings us his 20/20 Vision with insight about Night of the Living Dead plus three funny, light-hearted films including Shaun of the Dead, What We Do in the Shadows, and TV show, Gravity Falls. In World Watch, Joven goes back in history to the origins of Halloween in Celtic Ireland where costumes were made out of animal skins and animal heads as masks. In Trends without Ends, Jack brings us the current Halloween costume trend: “Ugly Halloween Sweaters”, a one off of the “Ugly Christmas Sweaters” tradition. Halloween is big business with costumes, decor, anf candy. This year it is predicted 185 million people in the United States will be celebrating Halloween, and the total spending for decorations, costumes, and treats for this frightening fun ends up at a whopping nine billion dollars!!

Journey with us to the ancient realm of Ireland in its Celtic spirituality along with the Tuaha De Danann, fairytale and folklore, discovering the parallels of Neoltihic and Celtic Ireland to our Reiki path - both supporting us in living in truth, in wholeness, in oneness. Celtic practices and the ancient Tuatha De Danann, fairy realm, remind us of the power and grace of the natural world that support us in living a life of wonder, mindfully gazing, nourishing our senses and soul. With fierce love we immerse in the global wave co creating a world of honor caring for ourselves, each other and the earth, as we choose to transform the dysfunction of the world around us, and rather focus our attention on the birth of a new way of living. join a growing world community as we birth in every moment la a vibrant world and humanity -in balance of the masculine and feminine — the movement of both of men and women in sacred union and solidarity - lifting and co creating a world that works for everyone. Complete your journey with a deeply nourishing meditation and healing session based in japanese Reiki practices of Joshin Koky ho along with soul nourishing celtic reflection of the deep eros, sensuousness of our breath, our bodies and the healing presence of the earth   we love to hear from you contact us at info@sacredventures.com or go to www.reikiunleashed.com

Mark wrote his first ten pages at the age of twelve, complete with diagrams of Indians, a stampede, and a prairie fire. More recently, he's been writing historical fiction in an early medieval setting. He is the author of The Bonfires of Beltane, an epic novel of Christian historical fiction set in ancient, Celtic Ireland at the time of St. Patrick. He's currently working on a sequel to that book and a fantasy novel. He is also the co-editor of Tales From Calvary. From the congregation of his former church, he gathered there testimonies, poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction. You will find there four of Mark's short stories. He enjoys reading the classics, fantasy, and historical fiction. He is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and the Minnesota Christian Writer's Guild. He is represented by the Leslie H. Stobbe Literary Agency. When he's not working for his church, Mark will probably be at his desk writing. Or walking his dog, Chloe, a miniature Australian shepherd who requires three miles a day to keep from driving her master crazy.

Mark wrote his first ten pages at the age of twelve, complete with diagrams of Indians, a stampede, and a prairie fire. More recently, he’s been writing historical fiction in an early medieval setting. He is the author of The Bonfires of Beltane, an epic novel of Christian historical fiction set in ancient, Celtic Ireland at the time of St. Patrick. He’s currently working on a sequel to that book and a fantasy novel. He is also the co-editor of Tales From Calvary. From the congregation of his former church, he gathered there testimonies, poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction. You will find there four of Mark’s short stories. He enjoys reading the classics, fantasy, and historical fiction. He is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and the Minnesota Christian Writer’s Guild. He is represented by the Leslie H. Stobbe Literary Agency. When he’s not working for his church, Mark will probably be at his desk writing. Or walking his dog, Chloe, a miniature Australian shepherd who requires three miles a day to keep from driving her master crazy.

On the best articles on Halloween's origin.  4 students of the history share their brief findings and thoughts on Halloween.Origin and Meaning of HALLOWEEN.After searching the origin of Halloween, historical meaning behind Halloween and the Halloween of today, I have found various viewpoints on the subject.  But even though there are slightly different view points there is a common message throughout it. Here are four statements from people in different walks of life really sum it up.  All of them have studied this topic extensively (refer to main stream reference material - like Encyclopedia Britannica for a surface reference.  It ties back to their statements).  One is from an Agnostic, the other from a certified Witch and the other from a Christian.  Can I go participate?  What are the repercussions if I do?  Bottom line, Is it good or bad for me and my family?  The world paints a pretty picture of Halloween, it looks harmless, but is it? There are many that claim to have the starting point but many of their stories vary from one another.  So in searching for the truth I used the first principle of law, i.e. the truth will be revealed by looking at what is constant in all the messages.  The people I chose come from completely different personal backgrounds in order to aid an unbiased viewpoint.  This is what I have found: The views vary but even though it varies there is one thing that is consistent - An Evil spiritual thread woven throughout all the rituals disguised under the banner of “Fun”, in order to trick people into it.  No matter which way it is dress up it is centered on 2 fundamentals - invoking Fear in others (not from God) and coming from or driven by Evil. The worst of it is we as parents encourage our Children to participate. Many of these rituals and playful events like, “Trick or Treat” is still performed today.  It is a pagan festival that will not be celebrated in the 1000 years reign with Christ.  For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord (Eph 5:8-10).  Celebrating a pagan festival (it is not a superimposed Christian Holiday like Christmas) is not acceptable no matter how much fun it is.  Christians know the answer deep down but do they want to obey.Actual Extracts from 4 types of studients of Halloween: Agnostic, a Witch, and 2 Christians. 1. HALLOWEEN from an Agnostic.The word itself, "Halloween," actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year. One story says that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living. The thrust of the practices also changed over time to become more ritualized. As belief in spirit possession waned, the practice of dressing up like hobgoblins, ghosts, and witches took on a more ceremonial role. The Jack-o-lantern custom probably comes from Irish folklore. As the tale is told, a man named Jack, who was notorious as a drunkard and trickster, tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Jack then carved an image of a cross in the tree's trunk, trapping the devil up the tree. Jack made a deal with the devil that if he would never tempt him again he would promise to let him down the tree. According to the folk tale, after Jack died, he was denied entrance to Heaven because of his evil ways, but he was also denied access to Hell because he had tricked the devil. Instead, the devil gave him a single ember to light his way through the frigid darkness. The ember was placed inside a hollowed-out turnip to keep it glowing longer. The Irish used turnips as their "Jack's lanterns" originally. But when the immigrants came to America, they found that pumpkins were far more plentiful than turnips. So the Jack-O-Lantern in America was a hollowed-out pumpkin, lit with an ember. 2. HALLOWEEN from a WitchIn recent years, there have been a number of pamphlets put out by various Christian organizations dealing with the origins of modern day Halloween customs. Being a Witch myself, and a student of the ancient Celts, from whom we get this holiday, I have found these pamphlets woefully inaccurate and poorly researched. In an effort to correct some of this erroneous information, I have spent several months researching the religious life of the ancient Celtic peoples and the survivals of that religious life in modern day times. Listed below are some of the most commonly asked questions concerning the origins and customs of Halloween. Where does Halloween come from? Our modern celebration of Halloween is a descendent of the ancient Celtic fire festival called "Samhain". What about the aspects of "evil" that we associate with the night today? The fairies, however, were often considered hostile and dangerous to humans because they were seen as being resentful of men taking over their lands. On this night, they would sometimes trick humans into becoming lost in the fairy mounds, where they would be trapped forever. After the coming of the Christians to the Celtic lands, certain of the folk saw the fairies as those angels who had sided neither with God or with Lucifer in their dispute, and thus, were condemned to walk the earth until judgment day. Many followers of various pagan religions, such as Druids and Wiccans observe this day as a religious festival.What about "trick or treat"? During the course of these hijinks, many of the people would imitate the fairies and go from house to house begging for treats. Failure to supply the treats would usually result in practical jokes being visited on the owner of the house. Since the fairies were abroad on this night, an offering of food or milk was frequently left for them on the steps of the house, so the homeowner could gain the blessings of the "good folk" for the coming year. Many of the households would also leave out a "dumb supper" for the spirits of the departed. The folks who were abroad in the night imitating the fairies would sometimes carry turnips carved to represent faces. This is the origin of our modern Jack-o-lantern. Was this a religious festival? Yes. Celtic religion was very closely tied to the Earth. Their great legends are concerned with momentous happenings which took place around the time of Samhain. Many of the great battles and legends of kings center on this night. Many of the legends concern the promotion of fertility of the earth and the insurance of the continuance of the lives of the people through the dark winter season. What about sacrifices? Animals were certainly killed at this time of year. Most certainly, some of these would have been done in a ritualistic manner for the use of the priesthood. Were humans sacrificed? Scholars are sharply divided on this account, with about half believing that it took place and half doubting its authenticity. 3. HALLOWEEN from a Christian.What is Halloween not?  It is not Satan's birthday nor is it a good celebration.  What is Halloween?  It is a pagan festival started in the British Isles with the Druids.  And Satanists most solemn ceremony of the year.  It is the celebrating of the spiritual forces of darkness.  The ancient Celtic festival called Samhain is considered by many to be a predecessor of our contemporary Halloween.  Samhain was the New Year's Day of the Celts and was celebrated on November 1st (5th Century BC).  It was also known as the “day of the dead”, a time when it was believed that the souls of those who had died during the year were allowed access to the land of the dead.  It was related to the season, when the crops and the animals were to be brought in from the distant fields.  It was also the night of the wandering dead, the practice of leaving offerings of food and drink to masked and costumed revelers, and the lighting of bonfires, continued to be practiced on October 31, known as the Eve of All Saints, the Eve of All Hallows, or Hallow Even.  It is the glossing of the name Hallow Even that has given us the name Hallow e'en.  Come evening, evil spirits were everywhere. Charms and spells were said to have more power on the eve of Samhain than any other time.  The spirits of Samhain, once thought to be wild and powerful, and also evil.  People maintained that the spiritual beings people had experienced during that day were real, and later on the Church said it was the manifestations of the Devil, the Prince of Liars, who misled people toward the worship of false idols.  Thus, the customs associated with Halloween included representations of ghosts and human skeletons--symbols of the dead--and of the devil and other malevolent, evil creatures, witches etc..  People went on expecting the arrival of ghosts on Oct. 31st.  Halloween was brought to the US in 1840 by Irish immigrants.In exchange for the victim, they left a Jack-O-Lantern with a lighted candle made of human fat. Which was supposed to prevent those inside the home from death demons that night. When some unfortunate person couldn't meet the demands of the Druids then it was time for the trick. A symbolic hex was drawn on the front door for later that evening. That night evil spirits would visit the homes that have the symbolic hex.  Some people in the home were killed or tormented.  Does this festival sound good to you?Why do people keep Halloween going?  Kids love Halloween because it is both fun and scary, and of course free candy. But they have no idea what's behind this celebration.  As we get closer to the Second Coming of Jesus, Satanism will increase.  Who is the motivating force behind it and why?  Satan's greatest desire is to hurt and destroy people.  He promotes Halloween because it glamorizes the powers of darkness thus drawing little children and ignorant parents into his realm. Parents who are allowing their children to participate are causing their children to stumble.  The children respect and believe what the parents are telling them.  When the children interact with other children who are dressed up as the devil, witches they come to accept it as “Fun” and nothing that should be shunned.  They establish strongholds in their mind like, “There are good and bad witches” (that’s a lie from hell because all witches are bad) another is the dark forces of this world have fun (that’s another lie).  But it is paying off, witchcraft is exploding among teens today under the banner of “innocent fun” and films, e.g. Harry Potter. If Satanists can establish strongholds in the minds of young children, then it will be harder for good to break them when they are older.  People hold onto their traditions and die defending it then even if it was based on a lie they will still defend it to their destruction.  Therefore knowing or ignorant parents are setting their children up for failure.  Now they may find moments of pleasure but later live in hardship unless they repent.What do Satanists do leading up to this day?  They celebrate it and interact with the spiritual forces.  They brain storm ideas to impact the roots of future generations, i.e. Children. They want people to say, “It is fun and therefore it cannot be bad.”  So whatever evil core they use they seek for avenues to coat it with elements of “Fun” thereby disguising the evil properties.  Parents will start saying, “It cannot be bad, look how much fun and joy the children are having.”  Darkness needs an avenue through which to enter people’s lives, Halloween is just one avenue.  What should Christians do?  Use it as an opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Share the gospel but don’t participate.  Sharing the gospel will bring people out of the spiritual darkness.  But if we are not bringing the lantern of the gospel then don’t participate.  Then we are hurting ourselves and others.  An increasing number of people are seeing the dangers associated with celebrating Halloween.  Wise parents are replacing Halloween with family night activities. Others are having "Glory Gatherings" where all references to Halloween are removed and wholesome games are played, Christian songs are sung and Christian videos are shown. While others pray that God shows mercy on the people. What happens if Christians don’t believe it is Bad and continue to participate?  God said that my people perish because of their ignorance, lack of knowledge (Hos. 4:6).  If the Christians truly want to know the answer they would seek God for the answer.  But the reason many don’t seek God on this is because deep down they know it is bad and if they ask God and He reveals it to them then they have to obey.  The fact is they don’t want to obey this.  Because once they know then they cannot hide behind the curtain of ignorance.  But ignorance is not an excuse, “If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity” (Lev. 5:17).  God will hold us accountable for the way we bring up our children.  As “there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.  Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, and the end of mirth may be grief.  The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from above.  The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps.  A wise man fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident” (Prov. 14:12-16).  Once we come to Christ Holy Spirit is on the inside of us speaking to us.  The only reason some cannot hear Him clearly is because they are not spending time in His Word and not praying.  He continues to speak but the strongholds of tradition cover His voice and many ignore it (Eph. 4:17-19).  So find out what is acceptable to the Lord (Eph 5:8-10). God will speak through His Word and will confirm it with a sense of knowing in the heart.  “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Tim. 4:3-4).  “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!  For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth....Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:1-7, 12-17).    “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7).  People give out candy and join it with “Trick or treat”, thereby participate in the pagan ritual.  The things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?  (1 Cor. 10:20-22).  “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12).  So ask yourself, “What is the probability of Halloween being celebrated in the 1000years reign of Christ and why?”  If it is not God's Will to celebrate it then why are you participating in it now?  Is it to bring God Glory or Satan glory?4. HALLOWEEN from another Christian.In order to understand Halloween, it is important to understand the history of this fall holiday. Halloween, which directly stems from Irish, Scottish, Welsh and British folk customs, was celebrated as the Druids' autumn festival. The Druids were an order of priests who worshiped nature. They were accomplished magicians and wizards at the height of their influence some 200 years before the birth of Jesus.This holiday was originally celebrated to honor Samhain, lord of the dead, on October 31 (the end of the summer). The Druids believed that on this date, Samhain called all the wicked souls that had been condemned within the last year to live in animal bodies. He was believed to have released them in the form of spirits, ghosts, fairies, witches and elves.According to Druidic tradition, these souls of the dead roamed the city on Halloween night and returned to haunt the homes where they once lived. The only way the current occupants of the house could free themselves from being haunted was to lay out food and give shelter to the spirit during the night. If they didn't, the spirit would cast a spell on them. That is where the phrase "trick or treat" comes from: They would be tricked if they didn't lay out a treat.The jack-o'-lantern was also a part of this belief system. The carved pumpkin symbolized a damned soul named Jack. According to the tale, Jack was not allowed into heaven or hell. So, he wandered around in the darkness with his lantern until Judgment Day. Fearful people hollowed out turnips (and later pumpkins in the United States), carved an evil face on them, and a lit candle inside to scare him and other evil spirits away.The Druids had other outlandish beliefs which have since turned into tradition. For example, they were afraid of black cats because they believed that when a person committed evil, he would be turned into a cat. Cats were thus considered to be evil. To scare them away, the Druids decorated their homes with witches, ghosts and the like. They also decorated with cornstalks, pumpkins and other goods in offering of thanks and praise to their false gods.In addition to being Halloween, October 31 was also the New Year's Eve of the Celts and Anglo-Saxons. To celebrate, they built huge bonfires on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits, and often offered their crops and animals to them as a sacrifice - sometimes they even offered themselves or others.The Romans began the conquest of the Celts around A.D. 43 and ruled much of what is now the United Kingdom for about 400 hundred years. During this period, two Roman autumn festivals were combined with the Celtic festival of Samhain. One of them, called Feralia, was held in late October to honor the dead. The other festival honored Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The practice of bobbing for apples became associated with Halloween because of this festival.Some people have thought that Halloween's only significance was as the evening before All Saints' Day, a festival of the Catholic Church honoring all Christian saints. The Mass said on All Saints' Day was called Allhallowmas. The evening before became known as the Eve of All Saints, the Eve of All Hallows, All Hallows' Eve, or Hallow Even, which has given us the name Hallowe'en.Although All Saints' Day contributed to the naming of Halloween, All Saints' Day itself did not exist until A.D. 700 when it was instituted by Pope Boniface IV. Originally it was celebrated in the spring on the first Sunday after Pentecost. Its date was changed to November 1 by Pope Gregory III (reigned A.D. 731-741) in an attempt to add a Christian influence to the traditional pagan customs still being celebrated on October 31 by Celtic converts. When sending missionaries to convert native peoples, the Catholic Church encouraged the redefinition of local customs into Christian terms and concepts. Therefore, All Saints' Day and Halloween became unified, because of the same ties to reverencing the dead.The combination of these customs eventually became the traditional celebration we call Halloween. It is important for parents to consider these "harmless gestures of enjoyment" and the distorted images they make in a child's heart. We must realize Halloween is a holiday centered around fear and death.Modern day witches and wizards believe this night to be the most suitable night of the year for magic and demonic activity. In Deuteronomy 18:10-11, God forbids us to participate in any kind of occult practices or witchcraft. Further, in the New Testament, we are told to abstain from the appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22).As Christians, we should not celebrate Halloween, rather we should recognize October 31 as the day the Lord has made - a day we can rejoice in (Psalm 118:24). And we don't need to be fearful, for God has not given us a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7).Parents should teach their children faith in God. Children can have just as much fun on a Halloween centered around the Word of God and family fellowship. Make a commitment today to give your children the Word of God instead of the fairy tales the world offers - it will help them grow in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).Here is a prayer of safety you can pray for your family on Halloween:Father, in the Name of Jesus, I thank You that You watch over Your Word to perform it. I thank You that my family and I dwell in the secret place of the Most High and that we remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty, Whose power no foe can withstand.Father, You are our refuge and our fortress. No evil shall befall us - no accident shall overtake us - nor any plague or calamity come near our home. You give Your angels special charge over each one of us, to accompany and defend and preserve us in all our ways of obedience and service. They are encamped around about us.Lord, I will train my children in the way they should go; and according to Your Word, when they are old, they will not depart from it. And I bind the devil from trying to influence them in any way this holiday.Father, You are our confidence, firm and strong. You keep our feet from being caught in a trap or hidden danger. When we lie down, You will give us peaceful sleep. Father, You give this family safety and ease us - Jesus is our safety!Here are all the verses typed out at least one should hit home.Deuteronomy 18:10-11There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the deadEphesians 5:8-10 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.  Ephesians 4:17-19  This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of[a] the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 1 Thessalonians 5:22  Abstain from every form of evil. 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables”. 2 Timothy 3:1-7, 12-17 “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!  For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" Leviticus 5:17 “If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity”.  Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places”. Acts 19:19-20  Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. Galatians 6:7  Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.Now the decision is yours to make, make the right one. 

The story of the immortal Tuan and his meeting with Saint Finnian Today we hear the tale of Tuan and Saint Finnian, one of the best shape-changing myths in the Celtic mythos. Set in historical times, we look back through history with the meeting of Tuan the Immortal. This episode is slightly longer than normal at 47 minutes - sorry, we just didn't want to break this story. Full Show-notes, with sources and credits, can be found on our main Website at http://celticmythpodshow.com/irish16 Running Order: Intro 0:40 News & Views 1:12 Story 4:02 Listener Feedback -Myspace 42:30 Promo - Anne is a Man! 43:00 Promo - Njal's Saga 44:02 Irish Gaelic Phrase of the Day 45:40 We hope you enjoy it! Gary & Ruthie x x x Released: 12th September 2008, 48m We love hearing your feedback, please email garyandruth@celticmythpodshow.com, or call us on Speakpipe   News & Views We discuss our new Fairy Art gallery and wonder whether Fairy Art has a greater significance in today's society   Tuan the Immortal Names Used in this Story Listed in order of appearance For more information about the Characters below, see our Biographies section. Lough Foyle Magh Bhille Finnian Collum Cille Tuan Cairill Muredach Red-neck Ulaid Leinster Starn Sera Partholon Erin Noah Nemed Agnoman Semion Stariath Domnann Fir Bolg Gaeleoin Beothach Iarbonel Tuatha De Danann Padraig Alban   St Columba (Collum Cille) Saint Columba (Collum Cille) at Bridei's fort Saint Finnian San Finnian di Molville   Listener Feedback We send welcomes and thank yous to all the friends we have made on Myspace.   Promo - Anne is a Man! Anne Frid de Vries A blogsite that reviews some seriously good podcasts.   Promo - Njal's Saga Njal's Saga A podcast of the Viking Classic, Njal's Saga, read by David and Sandra of the Spoken Lore Podcast.   Irish Gaelic Phrase of the Day Céad Míle Fáilte which actually means a hundred thousand welcomes not a thousand welcomes as we thought and said in the Show :) You might also see it as Céad míle fáilte romhat! which means 'A hundred thousand welcomes to you!'   Sources used in this Episode Irish Fairy Tales The Story Or Ireland The Story of Tuan mac Carill The History of Ireland, Geoffey Keating Clan Donald Heritage Mysterious World: Ireland The Epics of Celtic Ireland , Jean Markale The Story of Tuan mac Caroll The Celtic Encyclopedia, Harry Mountain And, of course, the Awen - inspiration and imagination!   Special Thanks   For incidental music: Victor Stella After the War, Podsafe Audio . See the Contributor page for details. Diane Arkenstone The Secret Garden. See the Contributor Page for details. Kim Robertson, Angels in Disguise, All or None . See the Contributor Page for details. Jigger Time Ticks Away. See the Contributor Page for details.   For our Theme Music The Skylark and Haghole, the brilliant Culann's Hounds. See their Contributor page for details.   Extra Special Thanks for Unrestricted Access to Wonderful Music (in Alphabetic order) Anne Roos Extra Special thanks go for permission to use any of her masterful music to Anne Roos. You can find out more about Anne on her website or on her Contributor page. Caera Extra Special thanks go for permission to any of her evocative harping and Gaelic singing to Caera. You can find out more about Caera on her website or on her Contributor Page. Celia Extra Special Thanks go for permission to use any of her wonderful music to Celia Farran. You can find out more about Celia on her website or on her Contributor Page. Damh the Bard Extra Special thanks go to Damh the Bard for his permission to use any of his music on the Show. You can find out more about Damh (Dave) on his website or on his Contributor page. The Dolmen Extra Special thanks also go to The Dolmen, for their permission to use any of their fantastic Celtic Folk/Rock music on the Show. You can find out more about The Dolmen on their website or on our Contributor page. Keltoria Extra Special thanks go for permission to use any of their inspired music to Keltoria. You can find out more about Keltoria on their website or on their Contributor page. Kevin Skinner Extra Special thanks go for permission to use any of his superb music to Kevin Skinner. You can find out more about Kevin on his website or on his Contributor page. Phil Thornton Extra Special Thanks go for permission to use any of his astounding ambient music to the Sonic Sorcerer himself, Phil Thornton. You can find out more about Phil on his website or on his Contributor Page. S.J. Tucker Extra Special thanks go to Sooj for her permission to use any of her superb music. You can find out more about Sooj on her website or on her Contributor page. Spiral Dance Extra Special thanks go for permission to use Adrienne and the band to use any of their music in the show. You can find out more about Spiral Dance on their website or on their Contributor page. Get EXTRA content in the Celtic Myth Podshow App for iOS, Android & Windows Contact Us: You can leave us a message by using the Speakpipe Email us at: garyandruth@celticmythpodshow.com. 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This week's episode is titled, “Patrick”Last week's episode was a brief review of Christianity's arrival in Britain. We saw how the Anglo-Saxons pressed in from the east coast where they'd been confined by what remained of the Roman army. But when the Roman's pulled out in 410, the Saxons quickly moved in to take their place, confining the Romano-British Christians to the western region of the Island. It was from that shrinking enclave of faith that a spark of faith leapt the Irish Sea to land in the dry tinder of Celtic Ireland. That spark's name was Patrick.While there's much legend surrounding Patrick's life, there's scant hard historical evidence for the details of his story.  We have little idea when or where he was born, where he lived & worked, when & where he died, & other important specifics. What we do have are incidental clues & his own records, vague as they are.The record of Christianity in Ireland prior to Patrick is sketchy. A bishop named Palladius was appointed by Pope Celestine to the island, but he didn't stay long. He left the same year Patrick arrived.Patrick was born into an affluent & religious home. His father was a deacon; his grandfather a priest. The family was likely of the Romano-British nobility & owned minor lands along the shores of western Britain. Several locations claim to be Patrick's ancestral home.  At the age of 16, he was captured by Irish slavers who regularly raided Britain's coast. He was taken back to Ireland & sold into captivity.Patrick recounts little of his 6 yrs as a slave except to say he was a shepherd or swine-herd who spent long periods tending his charges. Being a slave, he endured long periods of hunger, thirst & isolation. This trial moved him to seek God in earnest. The faith of his parents became his own.Years later, in writing what is known as his Confessio, Patrick said he believed his slavery was discipline for spiritual apathy. Not only did he attribute his own slavery as the chastening of the Lord, he said thousands of fellow Britons also suffered for the same reason.  He came to see the discipline as God's grace because it led him to God. He wrote -More and more, the love of God and the fear of Him grew in me, and my faith was increased and my spirit enlivened. So much that I prayed up to a hundred times in the day, and almost as often at night. I even remained in the wood and on the mountain to pray. And—come hail, rain, or snow—I was up before dawn to pray, and I sensed no evil nor spiritual laziness within.At 22, Patrick said he heard a supernatural Voice calling him to fast in preparation for returning home.  Not long after, the Voice spoke again: ‘Behold! Your ship is prepared.' The problem was, Patrick was 200 miles from the sea. Confident he followed the direction of God, he struck out for the coast.  When he arrived & informed the captain he was supposed to board, the captain recognized him as a runaway slave and refused. Patrick realized now his situation was precarious and looked for a place to hide. Seeing a nearby hut he began to make his way there when one of the crew shouted at him to hurry up and board. It seems the crew was short-handed & thought to use Patrick as extra a novice seaman, paying for his fare by the hard work of a lowly deck-hand.The ship set sail & 3 days later landed. Where is a bit of a mystery as Patrick is vague at this point. The best guess was northern Gaul. He says once they landed the crew wandered in a kind of wilderness for nearly a month. We do know that between 407 & 410, the Goths & Vandals ran amok across this region. Things grew desperate and the captain began to berate Patrick, mocking his trust in an all-powerful, all-loving God. Where was all that power and love now that they were in danger of starving to death? Patrick wasn't intimidated by the challenge. As we'll see, this kind of opportunity called forth from Patrick an even more determined faith. He told the captain, “Nothing is impossible for God. Turn to Him and He will send us food for our journey.” In desperation the crew obeyed. And as they prayed, a herd of pigs suddenly appeared. The sailors feasted & thanked Patrick, but they balked at embracing his faith in God.There's a break in Patrick's account at this point so we're not sure what happened next. A couple years pass and he's back home in Britain with his family. They pleaded with him to stay but he'd learned enough of the will of God to know not to make such promises. A short time later he heard the call back to Ireland. He says he had a visionary dream in which an Irishman invited him back to the land of his slavery. Patrick writes in the Confesso -His name was Victoricius, and he carried countless letters, one of which he handed over to me. I read aloud where it began: ‘The Voice of the Irish'. And as I began to read these words, I seemed to hear the voice of the same men who lived beside the forest of Foclut, which lies near the Western sea where the sun sets. They seemed to shout aloud to me as with one and the same voice: ‘Holy boy, we beg you, come back and walk once more among us.' I was utterly pierced to my heart's core so that I could read no more.Realizing God was calling him back to the Green Isle, Patrick began to prepare. He understood the call to evangelize the Irish but didn't think himself properly equipped to do so. He sought training in the form of theological study & official ordination. Since both his father & grandfather had followed this course it seemed proper for him as well.  There's some confusion at this point on where Patrick went to get his education. One biographer sends him to Rome while others say he went to northern Gaul to study under Bishop Germanus.How long Patrick spent in training is unknown but he was eventually ordained as a deacon. One notable event from this time that would later be important to his life was his confession of a youthful sin to a close friend. It was something Patrick had done about a year before the Irish raiders captured him. It troubled him ever after and moved him to confess to a friend there in Gaul. The friend told him he thought it not that important an issue to fret over and that it would not prohibit him from being used by God. The friend even assured Patrick he would one day be made a bishop. Though the sin is left unspecified to us, it would later come back to haunt him.How Patrick evangelized Ireland is an important case study because it opens to us the mind of Christian missionaries during this period. It may also help us understand the troubling religious syncretism that infected the medieval church.The native Celtic religion of Ireland when Patrick returned was dominated by a pagan priesthood called the Druids.  What we know of this Celtic religion is sketchy at best. Julius Caesar is one of our main sources from his encounters with them in his conquests of Gaul and Britain. The Romans loathed and at times feared the Druids. This was due to their near complete control over their people, a control enforced by abject terror. That terror may very well have been put in place by their being empowered by demonic spirits. Human sacrifice was a regular feature of the druidic system and they were attributed with the power to work the miraculous, often in cruel fashion.As I mentioned, there was some limited Christian presence on Ireland prior to Patrick's arrival but the church had made little headway against the domination by the Druids. Patrick's 6 year foray as a slave prepared him to know what he faced in the way of religious opposition when he returned. His plan was to confront the Druid's on their own turf. He understood the only way to make headway among the people was by freeing them from their fear of the Druids. To do that, he'd need to look to the power of God to trump any demonstrations of demonic power the Druids conjured up.This is where the stories of Patrick's life become difficult to discern the truth of. His medieval biographers take this kernel of truth and spin elaborate yarns about his confrontations with the Druids. Most of those stories are probably fictional, while a few may be based on real events. The larger lesson for us to glean is Patrick's method of evangelism.The idea had grown among theologians that pagan religions weren't so much anti-Christian as they were pre-Christian.  Drawing from the Apostle Paul in Romans 1:20, they believed that “Since the creation of the world God's invisible attributes were clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made.” Paul himself applied this in Athens when spoke to the philosophers on Mar's Hill. Paul was disturbed by the many idols he encountered in Athens, yet used them to evangelize the Athenians. He said, ‘I see how ultra-religious you are in every way. I even found an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god'. What you worship as unknown, I'm here to make known to you.” In Ecclesiastes, Solomon said God has written eternity on people's hearts. Patrick & those who followed after looked for how to bring the Truth of Christ to the lost by using whatever elements of their native faith they could, converting it to the Truth of Christ.Patrick and his contemporaries in no way approved of paganism or considered it an acceptable variant of the Gospel. They believed there were supernatural beings behind the idols & ideals of paganism; demons who kept people in spiritual bondage. They believed miracles and magic did occur. After all, Pharaoh's magicians used supernatural power. But à & here's the key to Patrick's methodology à the God of Moses was more powerful, & used His power to bring good while demonic power served only to promote ruin.So when Patrick arrived in Ireland and proclaimed the Gospel, the druids came out in opposition. Their hegemony over the Irish was imperiled. They thought nothing of moving swiftly to kill him. They were the law and could do what they wished. But: They found it harder than they thought. None of their plans or plots worked. It was as if a supernatural wall protected Patrick. He wrote of this time, “Daily I expect murder, fraud, or captivity. But I fear none of these things because of the promises of heaven. I have cast myself into the hands of God Almighty who rules everywhere.”While trusting himself to the protection of God, he also took practical measures to gain allies among the Irish by building amiable relationships with them. These allies kept him informed of the various plots against him.While Patrick does not himself record any specific confrontations with the druids, that's the subject of many of his biographers. A turning point in Patrick's mission came when an Irish chieftain named ‘Laoghaire' came to faith. This chieftain had a group of powerful druids who advised him but who were unable to defeat Patrick in demonstrations of supernatural power.  When a couple of those Druids fell ill, Laoghaire was convinced of the superiority of Patrick's God and message and professed faith in Christ. As was common to that culture, with his conversion, the people of His clan also came to faith. Their alliance with other clans opened the door for Patrick to bring the Gospel to them as well and soon the entire region had converted.This then was Patrick's method of evangelism as he made his way across Ireland. He confronted the Druids head on, showing the superiority of God's power, breaking their monopoly on the minds of the Irish first, then going after their hearts with the Grace of God in the Gospel of Christ.Another turning point was the conversion of some of the Druids themselves.Patrick was driven to bring the Gospel to Ireland because Hibernia, as Ireland was called, was considered the end of the World & Jesus had said the Gospel would be preached to the ends of the world, then the end would come.  Patrick thought he was hastening Christ's return. In his writings, he repeatedly mentions he was in ‘the last days', and quoted Matthew 24:14. He wrote, “It has been fulfilled. Behold! We are witnesses to the fact that the Gospel has been preached out to beyond where anyone lives.'Patrick wasn't alone in this belief. Christians never gave up the idea Christ would return when all the nations heard about him; they just discovered more nations. About exactly a thousand years after Patrick, Columbus went to America not merely in a quest for fame and riches, but to hasten the 2nd Coming.  His Book of Prophesies shows how he thought his discovery fitted into biblical predictions of the end times.While the legend of Patrick's use of a shamrock to explain the Trinity is interesting, there's no historical evidence of it. It wouldn't have been necessary because in the Celtic religion, the concept of a divine trinity was already in place. There's also no evidence to support the story of Patrick driving all the snakes out of Ireland.We've quoted the first of the two documents Patrick left us, his Confessio. The other was a letter he wrote to a British chieftain named Coroticus. Coroticus claimed to be a Christian but sent his soldiers on raids to Ireland. They'd taken many of Patrick's converts as slaves. In one case, just a day after being baptizing, dozens of Patrick's converts were brutally attacked by Coroticus' raiders. Though they were still dressed in their baptismal garments, many were killed, the rest hauled off as slaves.  Patrick was outraged and wrote an open letter to Coroticus which he circulated to many others. It excommunicated both Coroticus and his soldiers, barring them from Christian fellowship and Communion until they did penance and restored what they'd stolen.Not long after Patrick was named bishop of the Irish church, that friend to whom he confessed his youthful sin, betrayed him. Though the man had earlier said what Patrick had done was no great error, he decided to brand it so by making it public and bringing shame on Patrick. Though we never do discover the nature of the thing, it was a scandal to church officials. Some called for Patrick's immediate ouster as bishop. Misfortune is a magnet of ill-news and soon others were adding to the accusations against him.  One man claimed Patrick had gone to Ireland merely to get rich, an odd charge when we considered the poverty that marked his life and the unlikely prospect before he went of the success of that ambition.The charges were serious enough to require a church synod. They commissioned an investigation. A group went to Ireland to question Patrick. Though he never testified at the synod back in Britain, the turn-coat friend who'd betrayed him thought better of his betrayal and ended up defending him. The Confessio was Patrick's reply to the charges against him.While the official outcome of the synod is unknown, that Patrick was never censured or deposed as bishop suggests the charges were refuted.Patrick was less concerned with planting churches as he was in making converts and was tireless in his journeys back & forth across the island. Following the pattern of the time, he considered the ascetic life of the monastery as the purest form of the Faith and encouraged his converts to be monks and nuns. This led to the building of dozens of monasteries and nunneries in Ireland. The rural nature of the island also encourage this form of the Church. Without major urban centers, large churches overseen by bishops were rare. So Irish Christianity was centered in communal monastic life.Patrick died of natural causes on March 17th, 493.  Today, he's one of the most famous figures from the 5th C.  Like so many others of the past who accomplished great things, we'd probably not even know of him were it not for the dynamic missions outreach that came from Ireland. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland was British. And the Faith he transplanted across the Irish Sea eventually came back to Britain.Many have noted how the Irish have a habit of leaving Ireland. The missionary monks were no exception. There were churches in Britain before Patrick's day. His father and grandfather were church leaders. But the Anglo-Saxons had confined Christian Britain to a small sliver of the west. A century after Patrick, an Irish monk named Columba founded a monastery on the island of Iona, off the coast of Scotland. Though a small base, Iona was nevertheless responsible for a mighty wave of missionary outreach to Scotland & Britain.With this vibrant base in Ireland & Britain, Celtic monks went to the Continent.  They established bases of outreach in Germany, Switzerland & Italy. These in turn became centers of evangelization and scholarship. These Celtic monasteries maintained a fierce independence from Rome, though they held the same faith. The Roman popes tried to assert authority over them but for the most part Celtic Christianity resisted such control.It was in these monasteries that much of the ancient wisdom of the Greeks & Romans was stored, laboriously copied, & assiduously studied, waiting for the day when it would re-emerge in what's known as the Renaissance.In his book How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill says this of Patrick -The Irish gave Patrick more than a home—they gave him a role, a meaning to his life. For only this former slave had the right instincts to impart to the Irish a New Story, one that made new sense of all their old stories and brought them a peace they had never known before.