Animism

Introduction – Celtic cosmology  To understand why Scottish folk practice includes a focus on nature – earth, sky and waters spirts and its animated world we need to understand the roots of this island and its associated cosmology. This post explores Scottish cosmology and “Celtic” and Gaelic cosmology ideas and hypothesis in an attempt to unpick some of the more modern elemental systems found in Scottish folk magic. Scotland is a small part of a larger nation and has been influenced by many different cultures- some though war and raids some through colonisation and settling and then the march of …

If you wish for the blessings of a sacred site to go with you when you leave, take not only your own rubbish, but also the rubbish left by others. Dispose of it responsibly. Consider the act of taking litter away as the reciprocal exchange that you make for visiting a site. ASLan This page follows on from our site conservation guidance for visitors. It’s been written to further explain the information in these guidelines for folks who may need more information. We respectfully ask that you minimise your impact on a site when your visit. The “leave no trace” principle means leaving …

They say moving house is one of the most stressful things. It’s right up there with death and divorce. Having moved to a new house over the Bealtainn weekend I can agree. Though luckily no one got killed and we are still married. It’s been a maze of solicitors, paper work, travel, packing and unpacking boxes and general DIY until my body ached too much and I had to sleep, stressed pets, stressed people and so many plants to move … I spare you the rest of the gory details. We made it through. All in one piece. Now it’s …

The mist the dew, the dew the mist The mist, the dew, in the eye of my love In the eye of my love, Thou who didst open the young eye Close it tonight in the sleep of death In the sleep of death – the road to the isles 1927 This series explores our ancestors experience with the dead and folk magic. Veneration of the dead was born from encounters with the Neolithic landscape, dualism of Roman and later Christian thinking and smatterings of Norse fatalism and anglo-saxon pragmatism. All Scottish folk magic stems from this cultural intertwining. The role of the …

It is the familiar spirit of the place; It judges, presides, inspires Everything in its empire; It is perhaps a fairy or a god? (No, in fact it was a cat, ed) – Charles Baudelaire (the flowers of evil, 1857) The call of the desolate, dank and dead. Twilights veil settles thickly on a resting landscape. Nightfall’s gloaming orange light catching the harl, billowing mist unrolling like a generous feather duvet. Vapour peaks and troughs captured by the sinking Valium sunset form a myriad of grotesques as they rise and fall from sight. Unrelenting drizzle frames Scotland in driech endless …

Dondering around the countryside, sauntering through glen, dirt track, woods and burns. Battling the wind and falling leaves. Passed graveyard and sacred stones. An idea presented itself. To write a series of posts embracing the theme of the season. The dead. There’s a lot of information kicking around already about the dead and their relationship to Scottish folk magic traditions and lore. Some populist and modern, others older or academic. Most of it focussed on the dead as a secondary or tertiary concern to Scottish life. However, there is a different role the dead and the Sidhe/Sith play. A more …