I got this from Wikipedia.
In Irish mythology, Abarta (possibly meaning "doer of deeds"[1]), was one of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and is associated with Fionn mac Cumhaill.[1]
One tale of Abarta's trickery is where he offered himself as a
servant to Fionn mac Cumhaill, shortly after Mac Cumhaill had succeeded
his father as leader of the Fianna, a band of mighty Milesian warriors.[1]
In a gesture of goodwill, Abarta then gave them a wild grey horse,
which fourteen Fianna had to mount onto its back before it would even
move.[1] After Abarta had mounted behind the Fianna on the horse, it galloped off taking the warriors to the Otherworld where the Tuatha Dé Danann had been driven underground by the Milesians.[1]
The Fianna, led by Fionn mac Cumhaill's assistant Foltor, had to acquire a magical ship to hunt down Abarta's steed.[1]
Foltor, being the Fianna's best tracker, managed to navigate into the
otherworld, where Abarta was made to release the imprisoned Fianna
warriors, and to satisfy honour, had to hold on to the horse's tail and
be dragged back to Ireland.
Monday, January 30, 2017
Friday, January 27, 2017
New Moon (January 2017)
Tonight will be the New Moon and I will be honoring the Morrigan. I hope that you all have a good New Moon and be well.
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Druidic Meditation (6 Months)
Today marks six months that I've been doing my Druidic meditations. Making it to this point has been something that I've been looking forward to. Now I move onto the other half of my first year and I'm really looking forward to it. These meditations have helped me out in more ways than one and I'm glad that I decided to start doing them.
Blog's Been Up for Two Months
Today marks two months that my blog has been up. It's amazing how long that I've been doing this path even though I've only been blogging under this blog for two months. Thanks, everyone, that has come on here and read my posts. Means the world to me.
Getting ready for Imbolc
Next Wednesday will be Imbolc, the first of the three spring festivals. Imbolc is sacred to Breed and is celebrated by all that practice some form of paganism. Even if they don't call themselves a pagan. We look forward to the warm weather returning. Imbolc coming means that we're on the other side of winter, with spring just around the corner. Imbolc is also the second sabbath of the dark half of the year.
The Ewes are going to start producing milk, meaning that milk base items are the thing during this year. There's a whole history of Imbolc that you can google yourself but to me Imbolc is a time that I look forward to. My brain looks forward to the end of winter and the beginning of flowers and tall grass.
The Ewes are going to start producing milk, meaning that milk base items are the thing during this year. There's a whole history of Imbolc that you can google yourself but to me Imbolc is a time that I look forward to. My brain looks forward to the end of winter and the beginning of flowers and tall grass.
Monday, January 23, 2017
Earth Path for the Week of January 23, 2017
This will be the last, on-time post, until the 6th of next month. My net is going down and I won't be able to blog on-time. Here's today's video.
Irish Gods: Aimend
Time for another one. I got this from Wikipedia.
In Irish mythology and genealogy, Aimend is the daughter of Óengus Bolg, king of the Dáirine or Corcu Loígde. She marries Conall Corc, founder of the Eóganachta dynasties, and through him is an ancestor of the "inner circle" septs of Eóganacht Chaisil, Eóganacht Glendamnach, and Eóganacht Áine, who established the powerful kingship of Cashel. Details of the story imply she may have originally been a goddess (Byrne 2001: 166, 193).
Etymology.
This name appears to be derived from Proto-Celtic *aidu-mandā. The name literally means "burning stain," which may have been a byword for the notion of ‘sunburn’ (q.v. [1] [2] [3]). The Romano-British form of this Proto-Celtic name is likely to have been *Aedumanda
In Irish mythology and genealogy, Aimend is the daughter of Óengus Bolg, king of the Dáirine or Corcu Loígde. She marries Conall Corc, founder of the Eóganachta dynasties, and through him is an ancestor of the "inner circle" septs of Eóganacht Chaisil, Eóganacht Glendamnach, and Eóganacht Áine, who established the powerful kingship of Cashel. Details of the story imply she may have originally been a goddess (Byrne 2001: 166, 193).
Etymology.
This name appears to be derived from Proto-Celtic *aidu-mandā. The name literally means "burning stain," which may have been a byword for the notion of ‘sunburn’ (q.v. [1] [2] [3]). The Romano-British form of this Proto-Celtic name is likely to have been *Aedumanda
Monday, January 16, 2017
Earth Path for the Week of January 16, 2017
I just posted this video on my channel and bringing it here.
Irish Gods: Balor
This is the first one in a long list of Irish gods and goddess that I
will be covering. I get my info from Wikipedia, which did a good job
here.
In Irish mythology, Balor (modern spelling: Balar) was king of named Fomorians, a group of supernatural beings. He is often described as a giant with a large eye in his forehead that wreaks destruction when opened. He has been interpreted as a god or personification of drought and blight.
Name
It is suggested that Balor comes from Common Celtic *Baleros, meaning "the deadly one", cognate with Old Irish at-baill (dies) and Welsh ball (death, plague).[1]
He is also referred to as Balor Béimnech (Balor the smiter), Balor Balcbéimnech (Balor the strong smiter) and Balor Birugderc (Balor of the piercing eye).[1] The latter has led to the English name Balor of the Evil Eye.
In Mythology
Balor is said to be the son of Buarainech and husband of Cethlenn. Balor is described as a giant with an eye in the middle of his forehead. This eye wreaks destruction when opened. The Cath Maige Tuired calls it a "destructive" and "poisonous" eye that no army can withstand, and says that it takes four men to lift the eyelid. In later folklore it is described as follows: "It was always covered with seven cloaks to keep it cool. He took the cloaks off one by one. At the first, ferns began to wither. At the second, grass began to redden. At the third, wood and trees began to heat up. At the fourth, smoke came out of wood and trees. At the fifth, everything got red hot. At the sixth...... At the seventh, the whole land caught fire".[1]
Balor hears a prophecy that he would be killed by his grandson. To avoid his fate, he locks his only daughter, Ethniu, in a tower on Tory Island to keep her from becoming pregnant. One day, Balor steals a magical cow of abundance, the Glas Gaibhnenn, from Goibniu the smith. He takes it to his fortress on Tory Island. Cian, who was guarding the cow for Goibniu, sets out to get it back. With the help of the druidess Biróg and the sea god Manannán, Cian enters the tower and finds Ethniu. They have sex, and she gives birth to three sons. Balor attempts to drown the boys in the sea, but one is saved and is raised as a foster-son by Manannán. He grows up to become Lugh.
Lugh eventually becomes king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He leads the Tuath Dé in the second Battle of Mag Tuired against the Fomorians, who are led by Balor. Ogma disarms Balor during this battle, but Balor kills Nuada with his eye. Lugh kills Balor by casting a sling, or a spear crafted by Gobniu, through his eye. Balor's eye destroys the Fomorian army. Lugh then beheads Balor.
One legend tells that, when Balor was slain by Lugh, Balor's eye was still open when he fell face first into the ground. Thus his deadly eye beam burned a hole into the earth. Long after, the hole filled with water and became a lake which is now known as Loch na Súil, or "Lake of the Eye", in County Sligo.
Interpretation
In his book The Myths of the Gods: Structures in Irish Mythology, Alan Ward interprets Balor as the god of drought and blight. He interprets the tale of Balor as follows: The Drought God (Balor) seizes the cow of fruitfulness (Glas Gaibhnenn) and shuts her in his prison. The Sun God (Cian) rescues the cow with help from the Sea God (Manannán) – water being the natural enemy of drought. The Sun God and a Water Goddess (Ethniu), attempt to produce a son—the Storm God (Lugh)—who will overcome the Drought God. They succeed in spiriting the future Storm God away to the domain of the Sea God, where the Drought God cannot reach him.[2] The Storm God and Drought God at last meet in battle. The Smith God (Gobniu) forges the thunderbolt and the Storm God uses it to unleash the storm and kill drought, at least temporarily.[3]
The folklorist Alexander Hagerty Krappe (1894–1947)[4] discusses the Balor legend in his book Balor With the Evil Eye: Studies in Celtic and French Literature (1927). Krappe believes Balor comes from a very ancient myth—perhaps as old as agriculture—of a woman (the earth) shut away by an old man (the old year), impregnated by another man, whose child (the new year), then kills the old man. Other versions of this myth are said to be found in the tales of Gilgamesh, Osiris, Balder and Danaë.[5] Moreover, according to Krappe, Balor is related to Janus, Kronos, the Serbian monster "Vy,"[6] the Welsh Ysbaddaden,[7] and other versions of a two-headed god with an evil eye. Krappe also suggests that the woman may originally have been a cow goddess, such as Hathor, Io or Hera.
In Irish mythology, Balor (modern spelling: Balar) was king of named Fomorians, a group of supernatural beings. He is often described as a giant with a large eye in his forehead that wreaks destruction when opened. He has been interpreted as a god or personification of drought and blight.
Name
It is suggested that Balor comes from Common Celtic *Baleros, meaning "the deadly one", cognate with Old Irish at-baill (dies) and Welsh ball (death, plague).[1]
He is also referred to as Balor Béimnech (Balor the smiter), Balor Balcbéimnech (Balor the strong smiter) and Balor Birugderc (Balor of the piercing eye).[1] The latter has led to the English name Balor of the Evil Eye.
In Mythology
Balor is said to be the son of Buarainech and husband of Cethlenn. Balor is described as a giant with an eye in the middle of his forehead. This eye wreaks destruction when opened. The Cath Maige Tuired calls it a "destructive" and "poisonous" eye that no army can withstand, and says that it takes four men to lift the eyelid. In later folklore it is described as follows: "It was always covered with seven cloaks to keep it cool. He took the cloaks off one by one. At the first, ferns began to wither. At the second, grass began to redden. At the third, wood and trees began to heat up. At the fourth, smoke came out of wood and trees. At the fifth, everything got red hot. At the sixth...... At the seventh, the whole land caught fire".[1]
Balor hears a prophecy that he would be killed by his grandson. To avoid his fate, he locks his only daughter, Ethniu, in a tower on Tory Island to keep her from becoming pregnant. One day, Balor steals a magical cow of abundance, the Glas Gaibhnenn, from Goibniu the smith. He takes it to his fortress on Tory Island. Cian, who was guarding the cow for Goibniu, sets out to get it back. With the help of the druidess Biróg and the sea god Manannán, Cian enters the tower and finds Ethniu. They have sex, and she gives birth to three sons. Balor attempts to drown the boys in the sea, but one is saved and is raised as a foster-son by Manannán. He grows up to become Lugh.
Lugh eventually becomes king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He leads the Tuath Dé in the second Battle of Mag Tuired against the Fomorians, who are led by Balor. Ogma disarms Balor during this battle, but Balor kills Nuada with his eye. Lugh kills Balor by casting a sling, or a spear crafted by Gobniu, through his eye. Balor's eye destroys the Fomorian army. Lugh then beheads Balor.
One legend tells that, when Balor was slain by Lugh, Balor's eye was still open when he fell face first into the ground. Thus his deadly eye beam burned a hole into the earth. Long after, the hole filled with water and became a lake which is now known as Loch na Súil, or "Lake of the Eye", in County Sligo.
Interpretation
In his book The Myths of the Gods: Structures in Irish Mythology, Alan Ward interprets Balor as the god of drought and blight. He interprets the tale of Balor as follows: The Drought God (Balor) seizes the cow of fruitfulness (Glas Gaibhnenn) and shuts her in his prison. The Sun God (Cian) rescues the cow with help from the Sea God (Manannán) – water being the natural enemy of drought. The Sun God and a Water Goddess (Ethniu), attempt to produce a son—the Storm God (Lugh)—who will overcome the Drought God. They succeed in spiriting the future Storm God away to the domain of the Sea God, where the Drought God cannot reach him.[2] The Storm God and Drought God at last meet in battle. The Smith God (Gobniu) forges the thunderbolt and the Storm God uses it to unleash the storm and kill drought, at least temporarily.[3]
The folklorist Alexander Hagerty Krappe (1894–1947)[4] discusses the Balor legend in his book Balor With the Evil Eye: Studies in Celtic and French Literature (1927). Krappe believes Balor comes from a very ancient myth—perhaps as old as agriculture—of a woman (the earth) shut away by an old man (the old year), impregnated by another man, whose child (the new year), then kills the old man. Other versions of this myth are said to be found in the tales of Gilgamesh, Osiris, Balder and Danaë.[5] Moreover, according to Krappe, Balor is related to Janus, Kronos, the Serbian monster "Vy,"[6] the Welsh Ysbaddaden,[7] and other versions of a two-headed god with an evil eye. Krappe also suggests that the woman may originally have been a cow goddess, such as Hathor, Io or Hera.
Learning Druidry (6 Months)
Today marks six months that I've been a learning Druid. It's been an amazing half a year and starting tomorrow I will be on the other side of it. In two weeks I will be getting my altar ready for Imbolc, the first spring festival, and I will be burning my incense. I found some incense for Imbolc at a local store and I'm looking forward to burning it. I will be celebrating Imbolc on the first and not the second. To me the second is a Catholic holiday and not a pagan one.
Looking forward to continuing to grow as a Druid.
Looking forward to continuing to grow as a Druid.
Thursday, January 12, 2017
Full Moon (January 2017)
I posted this on The Celtic Wanderer.
So tonight was the Full Moon and I decided, after two full moons not doing this, that I would do the Druid Prayer of Peace. It's something that the Druid Network created and I've been doing it ever since I got started in Druidry. And since I have a portable Druid altar I decided to use it tonight and do the ritual. The only thing that I added was the charcoal burner with the hot charcoal on it.
I really felt something during this Full Moon. The portable altar is really cute and it does help me focus on rituals. Though I will say that I'm only using it, for now, on the Full Moon. However, I find that it doesn't take that much space and it really helps me to connect to things. Here's it in use and I hope that you all had a wonderful Full Moon.
Note: I made Moon Water, which I will give as an offering to the ancestors.
So tonight was the Full Moon and I decided, after two full moons not doing this, that I would do the Druid Prayer of Peace. It's something that the Druid Network created and I've been doing it ever since I got started in Druidry. And since I have a portable Druid altar I decided to use it tonight and do the ritual. The only thing that I added was the charcoal burner with the hot charcoal on it.
I really felt something during this Full Moon. The portable altar is really cute and it does help me focus on rituals. Though I will say that I'm only using it, for now, on the Full Moon. However, I find that it doesn't take that much space and it really helps me to connect to things. Here's it in use and I hope that you all had a wonderful Full Moon.
Note: I made Moon Water, which I will give as an offering to the ancestors.
Doing God Posts
Every Tuesday I will be doing posts about gods and goddess of Ireland. I hope that you will enjoy them and that they will help. I will be posting where I got the info from so that my blog doesn't run into problems. Enjoy and thanks for coming on.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
My Irish Altar/Shrine
I want to show off my shrine/altar so that everyone can see. Hope that you enjoy.
My Blog is Changing but Not the Title
I've decided to use this blog to record my Irish Polytheist path. I have another blog, which I will be getting rid of next year. I hope that you'll enjoy the blog and what I will be posting. I'm not changing the name. It will be the Nerdy Druid.
Monday, January 9, 2017
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Happy New Year
Today is the beginning of 2017 and I'm really glad to be here. This year we will be moving to Virgina and hopefully good things will come our way. The biggest fear that I have is that my mother's vertigo will come back and she will be in bed or throwing up. It takes several months for my mother to get back to her old self.
This year I'm hoping to finish my first year as a Druid and with Imbolc a couple of weeks away I have plenty of things to plan for. In two days I'm buying my pink and yellow candles and taking out my Imbolc stuff. So excited to be doing this and so excited to continue to learn. Have a good 2017.
This year I'm hoping to finish my first year as a Druid and with Imbolc a couple of weeks away I have plenty of things to plan for. In two days I'm buying my pink and yellow candles and taking out my Imbolc stuff. So excited to be doing this and so excited to continue to learn. Have a good 2017.
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