Goddess Guidance
The Olde Religion is the magick of the Earth herself, and at it's very heart lies the mysteries of life & death...It is the essence which binds all things together, and it will last beyond the time of men...
Samhain...Oct 31st-Nov 1st
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At Samhain, the Wicca say farewell to the God, knowing that he will be reborn at Yule. This grand sabbat, also known as Feast of the Dead, Feast of Apples, All Hallows, and of course Halloween, once marked the time of sacrifice. This was the time when the weakest animals were slaughtered to ensure food throughout
the winter. This is a time of reflection and coming to terms with the one thing in life which we have no control - death. On this night the veil that separates the physical from the spiritual realities is at it's thinnest, and many capture this moment for dimensional openings and workings. It is also a time of endings, when we 'empty our cup' of that which doesn't serve us, and we see the glimmer of hope in the future. There are as many concepts attached to this holiday as any other, however, it's most important aspect is the remembrance of our ancestors and all those who have gone before.
The History of Samhain...
Contrary to a popular internet-based rumor, Samhain is not the name of an ancient Celtic god of death, or of anything else for that matter. Religious scholars agree that the word Samhain (pronounced "sow-en") comes from the Gaelic “Samhuin”. However, they divided on whether
it means the end or beginning of summer. Samhain actually refers to the daylight portion of the holiday, on November 1st.
Around the eighth century, the Catholic Church decided to use November 1st as All Saints Day. Since the local pagans were already celebrating that day anyway, it made sense to use it as a church holiday.
'All Saints Day’ became the festival to honor any saint who didn’t already have a day of his or her own. The mass which was said was called Allhallowmas – the mass of all those who are hallowed. The night before naturally became known as All Hallows Eve, and eventually morphed into what we call Halloween.
Sunset on Samhain is the beginning of the Celtic New Year. The old year has passed, the harvest has been gathered, cattle and sheep have been brought in from the fields, and the leaves have fallen from the trees. The earth slowly begins to die around us.
This is a good time for us to look at wrapping up the old and preparing for the new in our lives. Think about the things you did in the last twelve months. Have you left anything unresolved? If so, now is the time to wrap things up. Once you’ve gotten all that unfinished stuff cleared away, and out of your life, then you can begin looking towards the next year.
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A Welsh triple Goddess (Aspects of Maiden, Mother & Crone),
Cerridwen is an ancient wise woman. As the keeper of the cauldron, she brews the elixir
of knowledge, gazing into its waters to see what the future may bring. Cerridwen's cauldron is a feminine symbol of renewal, rebirth & transformation, representing the womb of the Goddess.
Cerridwen
Honoring Our Pets & Wildlife at Samhain
Man's relationship with animals goes back many thousands of years. They have been a source of food and clothing. They have protected us from the things that lurk in the darkness. They have provided comfort and warmth. They even help raise and nurture our children. If you have animals in your home -- pets or livestock --
this is their night. Feed them first, before you feed the humans in your family. Put some food out for any wild animals that may happen by as well.
If you have a pet that has passed away during this last year, you may want to include a photo or keepsake of them on your table as you and your family honor them with a prayer...
"Samhain has come, and it is the end of the Harvest. The crops are in from the fields, and the animals are preparing for the coming winter.
Tonight, we honor the animals in our lives. Some have died that we may eat. Some have provided us with love. Some have protected us from that which would do us harm.
Tonight, we thank them all.
Blessed are the animals, those we love and who love us in return."
Don't be surprised if your pets come visit while you're praying... animals tend to be very aware of the spiritual plane!
If there is any food left over from your meal, leave some out for the spirits. Any extra bread can be thrown outside for the wild animals and birds.
NOVEMBER...
Nov. 1 Cailleach's Reign; Day of the Banshees, honoring the riders of the Wild Hunt
Nov. 2 First Quarter Moon
Nov.10 Full Moon
Nov.11 Day of the Fairy Sidhe, honoring the Fey in whom is held the force of immortal life.
Nov.16 Night of Hecate
Nov.18 Last Quarter Moon
Nov.25 New Moon
"I am the Cailleach, Goddess of Winter,
Mother of Mountains, Ageless Lady of Dark Places,
Ancient Crone of Wisdom.
The Winter brings the Spring,
and in death, I am endlessly renewed."
The Cailleach (pronounced "kye-luhkh") is one of the
more fascinating, more powerful, and sometimes more terrifying of the Celtic goddesses, often referred to as
"The Veiled One".
Originally Scotland was called Caledonia, or land given by Caillech.
In parts of Britain she is the Goddess of Winter.
Depicted as a blue-faced hag, who is reborn October 31 (Samhain) She brings the snow until the Goddess Brigit deposes her and she eventually turns to stone April 30 (Beltaine). In later times the mythical witch like figure of "Black Annis" is believed to have derived from her.
She was an ancient Goddess of the pre-Celtic peoples of Ireland. She controlled the seasons and the weather; and was the goddess of earth and sky, moon and sun.
She is a Tutelary Goddess to southwest Munster, and appears in tales describing a knight being importuned by an old hag for love, acceptance of which transforms her into a beautiful maiden.
To the early Celts, darkness was associated with new beginnings, the potential of the seed below the ground, and in Celtic mythology, the wisdom of darkness is often expressed by powerful goddess figures. A Dark Goddess of nature, particularly in Scotland, is the Cailleach. She is the ancient Earth Herself. the bare earth covered with snow and frost. She is the Death Goddess, who lets die what is no longer needed.
Samhain ushers in the reign of the Cailleach Bheur, the blue-faced hag queen who rules over the three months of the Winter season. Her name means the veiled one...one who belongs to the hidden worlds. Bheur means sharp or shrill; hence,She personified the cutting winds and harshness of the northern winter. She is reborn on every Samhain when the earth is beginning to die; She is the personification of winter. It is the Cailleach who rules the time between the last harvest and the beginning of spring when Her reign is broken by the appearance of Brigid and the Sacred fires at Imbolc. She is typically depicted as a one-eyed old woman with bad teeth and matted hair.
She lives in a cave below the 'mountain of snows' and carries a magical staff, and when She strikes the grass, it turns into blades of ice; and then, on Beltane Eve, She tosses Her staff under a holly tree and returns to earth in the form of a grey stone. The ancestors say that this is why grass does not grow under the holly trees. Some accounts say that She turns into a beautiful maiden instead. She was also guardian to animals throughout the winter. The protector of wolves and deer, She is honored by hunters looking to feed on fresh meat during the darkness of the year. Her sacred trees are the holly and the gorse bush. In Celtic myth and legend, the hag is often equated with the Sovereignty of the land. In a festival known as Reign of the Old Woman, the Cailleach is celebrated on this
The Cailleach is said to be ancient.
Myth and meaning of the Cailleach.
The cailleach is a sort of mystery; a Goddess who survived eons after her worship died out. she is vastly ancient, so ancient that we virtually nothing of her original myth and ritual. she can be found in Ireland and Scotland and England, traced through folklore, through the names of ancient monuments and natural wonders, and through enigmatic verses and stories.
It is not possible to obtain an idea how long she was worshiped, or by whom. The Celts came to the lands of the Cailleach some 2000 years ago. bringing their own pantheon of Gods and Goddesses. The new arrivals recognized the Cailleach as already ancient, for as a famous Irish poems says, 'There are three great ages; the age of the yew tree, the age of the eagle, the age of the Cailleach.' It is impossible to know what this Goddess meant to her original worshipers.
Cailleach must have been very important, for she did not disappear as countless other divinities have, If nothing is truly known about her, paradoxically she is still alive, still a power in the lands once dedicated to her. from these vestiges, we can reconstruct something of the powerful original figure of ancient times.
She had many names Cailleach Bheur or Carlin in Scotland; Cally Berry in northern Ireland; Cailleach ny Groamch on the Isle of Man; Black Annis in Britain; the Hag of Beare or Digne in Ireland. She was of fearsome appearance, with only one eye an eye of preternatural keeness, in the middle of a blue black face. She was noted to have red teeth and hair white as a frosted snow covered mountain top. Over it she wore a kerchief and over her dull grey clothing a faded plad shawl.
In her right hand she wielded a magic rod or hammer with which she struck the grass into blades of ice. In early spring, she could not bear the grass and sun, and would ßy into a temper, throwing down her wand beneath a holly tree, before disappearing in a whirling cloud of angry passion, “…….and that is why no grass grows under holly trees”.
At winter’s end, some accounts say the Cailleach turned into a grey boulder until the warm days were over. The boulder was said to be “always moist’, because it contained “life substance’. But many tales say that she turns into a beautiful young woman at this time, for the other face of the Cailleach is Bride, once goddess, now gentle Scottish saint, whose special day, February 1st marks the return of the light.
On the eve of Bride, the Cailleach journeys to the magical isle in whose woods lies the miraculous Well of Youth. At the first glimmer of dawn, she drinks the water that bubbles in a crevice of a rock, and is transformed into Bride, the fair maid whose white wand turns the bare earth green again.
At a cultural level, the Dark Goddess appears in a number of guises, and her role is to facilitate at important transition times of Celtic society, such as war and the choosing of kings. In Ireland, Morrigan, whose name means Phantom Queen, is a battle-fury. Along with Badb (Crow) and Macha, she forms a terrifying triplicity who unleash their powers of enchantment to bring mists, clouds of darkness, and showers of fire and blood over their enemies. Their howls of menace freeze the blood and cause soldiers to be the battlefield. Any aspect of this triple goddess might appear among opposing armies as crows or ravens, sinister black carrion birds of death.
Or warriors might see a lean, nimble hag, hovering above the fray, hopping about on the spears and shields of the army who were to be victorious. Another of her aspects is the Washer at the Ford, an old woman seen washing the linen of a soldier about to die in battle. Beholding her at this luminary place, a warrior knew that he would soon be crossing the river that separates life and death.
Yet to the Celts, blood and carnage on the battlefield fertilized and replenished the earth. War and death gave way to life and a Bourishing land, and Morrign, who represents this mystery, was also a goddess of fertility and sexuality, sometimes appearing as a beautiful young woman. She was strongly identified with the land itself, in her guise as Sovereignty, the goddess with whom a king-to-be had to mate in a ritual marriage to the country of Ireland.
Queen of Air and Darkness
The early Celts savored the dark side of life. They embraced war like a lover, plunging into battle naked, singing gloriously boastful songs. They were fearless in the face of death, which their belief in reincarnation taught them was “…but the center of a long life.” It was not uncommon for a man to lend money and agree on repayment in a future lifetime. Their day began at dusk; the new year at Samhain, the festival we know as Halloween. Darkness was associated with new beginnings, the potential of the seed below the ground. In Celtic mythology and folk-lore, the wisdom of darkness is often expressed by powerful goddess figures. Whether in the natural, cultural or individual context, their role is to catalyze change through the transformative power of darkness, to lead through death into new life. A Dark Goddess of nature, particularly in Scotland, is the Cailleach, a name that came to mean “Old Wife”, but which is literally, “Veiled One,” an epithet often applied to those who belong to hidden worlds. To this name is often added Bheur: ‘sharp’ or ‘shrill’, for she personifies the cutting winds and harshness of the northern winter. She was also known as the daughter of Grianan, the “little sun” which in the old Scottish calendar shines from Hallowmas to Candlemas, followed by the “big sun”June 21st, of the summer months.
In some tales, she does not turn to stone, but rather appears at the house where the fiana lay and begs that she might be allowed to warm herself at the fire, and when she crept into his bed he did not repulse her, only put a fold in the blanket between them. After a while he gave, "a start of surprise," for she had changed into the most beautiful of women that man ever saw. So, it would seem that the Cailleach represented a goddess of both winter and summer.
So is also her guardian spirit a number of animals. The deer have that first claim to her. They are her cattle, she herds and milks them and often gives them protection against hunters. Swine, wild goats, wild cattle, black cats and wolves were also her creatures. In another aspect, she is a fishing goddess, as well as the guardian of wells and streams. She also turns up in Manx-Gaelic as Caillagh ny Groamagh.
There is a story of two young hunters that did NOT follow Her hunting advice. The Cailleach pointed them in the right direction to hunt and they were able to make a kill of a large Stag. The two then proceeded to drag the heavy Stag on the long journey home. After toiling all the way home they found that the Stag was gone. They told their father of what had happened. "Did you bless the meat as the Cailleach told you?" he asked. When they replied that they had not he said, "Well, if you don't bless the meat, then it's the fairies who get their share!"
Symbols of the Cailleach
Because of her great antiquity, it is difficult to know for sure what symbols of her original worshipers connected with the Cailleach, In reading and hearing about her from my parents the vestiges of her worship that remain in my own mind. I can say with association to the big rocks and mountains were indeed connected with her from ancient times. Many high rocky, foggy misty hills in Ireland and Scotland bear her name; Many legends , as well which relate how she created mountains by dropping the contents of her apron on the ground. At Loughcrew, are also named for her, There is on other rock monuments of the Megalithic people, we can find superlative spiral imagery that has been tied to a Goddess, though it is impossible to know if she is the Cailleach. There to is as connection The Caileach appears in form of a cat who tests the morality of a hunter in the middle of a stormy night. Black Annis, an English form of the Cailleach , was said to appear in spring in the form of a black cat. In the far west of Ireland there are traces of a vestigial cat Goddess whom lived in a cave and answered questions like a prophet. The connection of the hag Goddess with the cat in other lands (Egypt and Korea) supports the use of a cat as a symbol for The Caileach.
Invoking the Cailleach
Embracing the Cailleach can be a step towards embracing our own potentials as purple-clad, powerful Crones ourselves.
Collect a variety of rocks with which to decorate your altar. A wonderful way to do this is to walk along a beach or take a nice hike, walk listen and smell nature as best you can where you are able to do so., A spiritual magical hike, a kind of meditative state, make sure you are aware of your surroundings at all times. let her messages be clearly heard. Do not pick up any rock you find, feel it listen to it, let the selection of rocks be a part of a ritual she whispers in your inner self. Take a Granny smith apple, cut it so that the star will show to you, place this on a red cloth like The Cailleach teeth or on a piece of plaid cloth like the clans folk if you desire. Cast a circle place a mirror on or above your altar. bless the elements, salt, water ect. as you would normally do. Ask yourself what strengths are written on the face you see in the mirror? intelligence, curiosity, serenity. Hold these ideas in silence. Then begin to praise the women you have become and will still yet to become. The qualities that you saw in yourself write them down, praise them and yourself for embodying them. Close the circle then invoking The Caileach again, praising her for the strength she has given you. Celebrate afterwards with a feast of fruit juices or wines , aged cheese and your Granny Smith apple or apples.
Celebratory foods reminding us that age at it`s best, is a time of refinement, good taste, and great power.
