Since our most recent video – A’ Ghealach Ùr (The New Moon) – which was released back in February, we’ve been working on a number of projects for the website and for future publication. We’ve had such great feedback from the videos we’ve been doing for the Gaol Naofa Youtube channel, though, that we decided it was high time for another one, so we’ve taken a short break from things to put together our newest video, titled Offerings in Gaelic Polytheism.
Offerings are an important part of our religious practice, and – in theory – they are also one of the most simple things a person can do to make the transition from someone who’s interested in Gaelic Polytheism, to someone who is a practising Gaelic Polytheist. Our latest video is intended to be a brief introduction to the subject, giving an idea of why we make offerings, and how we can go about making them:
Wherever you are in the world, we believe it’s important that offerings should be made with respect to the local spirits. Offerings should not harm the environment or local wildlife, and we would urge careful consideration and contemplation about how your offering(s) may impact the local area. In recent times, this especially needs to be stressed when tying clooties or other things on trees. Although traditions evolve naturally over time, and the type of offerings that are being tied to trees are no exception, the increasingly common trend of tying non-biodegradable items (including, for some reason, things like iPhone cases and even nappies/diapers) tightly onto branches ends up stunting the tree’s growth or even killing them. The practice of leaving pennies or other coins worked into the tree trunks or natural cracks in stone is equally damaging. We believe that the Nature Spirits whom we honour will be better-disposed to you if you don’t harm their abodes and if the offering you make is truly something that honours, feeds, and beautifies the tree or sacred site instead of damaging it. Similarly, as much as we try to keep pets from getting at food offerings, there is always the risk of strays getting into them, and in many places wild animals commonly consume the offerings. Small amounts of human foods are usually not dangerous, but just to be on the safe side be aware of local wildlife, and familiarize yourself with what foods may be harmful if consumed by local animals.
As always, we hope you find the video useful! If there are any subjects you’d like us to cover in future, why not let us know on the Gaol Naofa Facebook page.
We leave you with this ‘Good Wish’, excerpted from the Carmina Gadelica #282, Dùrachd:
Photo credit:John McSporran, used under Creative Commons Licence.
Before we get onto discussing our new video, we’d like to take this opportunity to announce a new member of An Chomhairle Ghaol Naofa (The Gaol Naofa Council). Marsaili Ros has joined the council as our new Brughaidh (“hospitaller”), and we’re very pleased to welcome her to the team! Along with our three other Brughaidhi, Marsaili will be overseeing all aspects of hospitality and member relations within the organisation, and will be involved in all of the usual decision-making the council is responsible for. Since Marsaili has joined us, we’ve updated our Organisational Structure page, and have also added a new page to the Gaol Naofa site detailing our Membership Guidelines to make them easier to find.
Each month, as the first sliver of the new moon appears in the sky, members of Gaol Naofa join together to welcome the return of the moon and honour An Trì Naomh. In our latest video, we explore the Gaelic lore and traditions in which our rites are rooted:
To the Gaels, the “new moon” is a bit different from what astrologers call the “new moon.” In astrology, the “new moon” refers to the exact, astronomical conjunction of the moon and the sun; this is the period when no moon is seen in the sky at all, usually for a period of about three days. In colloquial use, some refer to this period of no visible moon as “the dark of the moon.” In the Gaelic lore, however, the “new moon” refers to the very first sliver that shows in the sky after this period of darkness.
As Alexander Carmichael describes in the Carmina Gadelica, each month at the new moon it was traditional to greet the first visible crescent seen in the sky. Surviving lore about this tradition can also be found in the Isle of Man and Ireland. You can find an overview of this lore, with pointers to further reading, at Tairis: Daily Practices: Prayer to the Moon.
In Gaol Naofa we have continued this tradition as a way of helping our international membership — some of whom may be spread far and wide from one another — share in a sense of community as we come together and honour the gods, spirits, and ancestors. The prayers given in this video are from the Carmina Gadelica (Volume III), with translations by Kathryn Price NicDhàna; for more information on how we approach adapting and translating prayers from the Carmina, see our article on Prayer in Gaelic Polytheism (especially pages 6-7). For more on making offerings, see our article on Offerings in Gaelic Polytheism.
Fàilte ort féin, a ghealach ùr
Àilleagan cùmh nan nèamh!
I welcome you, new moon Shining strength of the skies!
Rounding off our series of videos on the festivals of the Gaelic year, we now have the final two installments which are covering the Midwinter period. In spite of the fact that the festivities at this time of year aren’t Gaelic in origin, they’ve come to be important occasions and have taken on many Gaelic elements in the ways they’re celebrated, which means that some of us may choose to observe Midwinter celebrations with friends and family in a secular, or more culturally-focused way.
As with our other videos, we take a look at the origins of the festivities and how they might be celebrated by Gaelic Polytheists today, and because of the concentration of celebrations that can be found at this time of year we’ve split them into two separate videos. First we have Grianstad an Geimhridh — The Winter Solstice, covering the roots of the festivities as evidenced by the ancient, pre-Celtic monuments like Newgrange and Maes Howe (which are aligned to the winter solstice), through to the Christian and Norse influences with Christmas, the peculiar and uniquely Gaelic traditions surrounding Saint Stephen’s Day, called Lá an Dreoilín (or Wren Day) in Ireland, and the traditions of the Yule log, the latter of which is identified with the Cailleach in Scotland.
Our second video takes a look at the secular New Year, with the Scottish celebrations of Hogmanay (New Year’s Eve) at the forefront. While Gaelic Polytheists might view the new year as beginning with Samhain, some of us may also choose to observe the secular new year, perhaps especially those of us who are Scottish-oriented in our practices. The new year only shifted to January 1st in 1600 (in Scotland; 1752 for Ireland), but Scotland’s complex religious history, which saw Christmas being effectively banned for four hundred years, means that the New Year has long been one of the most eagerly anticipated and celebrated dates in the modern calendar. As with any other liminal period in the Gaelic festival year, Hogmanay sees a concentration of protective rites and communal feasting, but while the original reasons for its popularity (the banning of Christmas) are no longer a factor, it has arguably come to be a celebration of culture and heritage as much as it might be a good excuse for a party.
Over all, the focus of the traditions that are attached to this time of year are on the family (whatever that might mean to you) and loved ones, and in appreciating the warmth and light of the hearth and home in the depth of the winter cold and darkness. As the secular year comes to a close, as the days begin to lengthen once again, Gaol Naofa would like to wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year. “Yule gude and yule gere, Follow de trew da year.”
25 January — Burns Night 31 January — Gealach Ùr 1 February — Lá Fhéile Bríde 1 March — Gealach Ùr 17 March — Lá Fhéile Pádraig 18 March — Sheelah's Day 25 March — Là na Caillich 29 April — Gealach Ùr 1 May — Lá Bealtaine 28 May — Gealach Ùr 21 June — Grianstad an tSamhraidh 27 June — Gealach Ùr 5 July — Laa Tinvaal 26 July — Gealach Ùr 1 August — Lá Lúnasa 24 August — Gealach Ùr 23 September — Gealach Ùr 29 September — Là Fhèill Mìcheil 22 October — Gealach Ùr 31 October — Oíche Shamhna 21 November — Gealach Ùr 30 November — Latha Naomh Anndra 21 December — Gealach Ùr 21 December — Grianstad an Gheimhridh 26 December — Lá an Dreoilín 31 December — Hogmanay
