Pagan Christianity?

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drewbhoy D
drewbhoy Oct 26, 2009 16:29:19
Replying to Branwen

Branwen wrote:
Beltane and Samhain definately predate the celts, they were the feast of the Nine Maidens and Three Fates etc... all over Europe and were calcualted astrologically on conjunctions of the Moon, Venus, Pleiades and sunset and sunrise. Samhain, in particular, was the time of year when the dead are judged for their lives and the living judged for the coming year by the Weird Sisters, and as such the veil between the worlds is thin and all sorts of things happen. Beltane was the opposite, where nothing you did would be judged and you could go a bit mad.

There's some doubt as to whether these were just the four main ones which had law court sessions attached to them too, and the other festivals weren't mentioned by early christian chroniclers as being vulgar pagan folk festivals.

I like Ellis-Davidson, got a few titles mostly relating to northern tradtions though. MacNeill, Máire: The Festival of Lughnasa (Oxford University Press) 1962. Republished 2008. ISBN 0-906426-10-3. It's the book all the other books used to quote, but was very rare to find a copy. It's 900 pages, but I heard the new print might be in two books and somewhat abbreviated.

On the subject of Lughnasa, I read this in James Moffat's Before Scotland,

Bull's Blood

"Paganism took a very long time to die out in remote parts of the Highlands and Islands. In connection with the Celtic festival of Lughnasa, at around the end of August bulls were sacrificed on an island in Loch Maree. This feast had a formal association with St. Maelrubha, an early missionary, but his name had been clearly substituted for a pagan deity. In the 17th century the presbytery of Dingwall was outraged at the persistence of this: 'amongst other abhominable and heathensiche practices that the people in that place were accustomed to sacrifice bulls at a certaine tyme on the 25th of August, which day is dedicate, as they conceive, to St Mourie as they call him'. In much earlier times Druids supervised the sacrifice of bulls both in pursuit of divination and also for votive purposes, often on behalf of a king. Perhaps the bulls of Loch Maree were sacrificed for the kings of the Caereni, the Sheep Folk."

Some would say that the Pagans and Druids are still on the go................

B Branwen
Branwen Oct 26, 2009 19:41:03
Replying to drewbhoy

The Lord Lyon in charge of Heraldry in Scotland is still entitled to call himself the Lord High Seannachaidh, a druid title for the Kings Druid Genealogist, a person that recited the Kings genealogy and the great deeds of his ancestors all the way back to the deity his people were descended from. The two main courts are still called the Samhuinn Court and the Beltane Court.

The Druid'd Bardic Schools lasted into the 17th century in Scotland, till it was realised passing down an oral history and tradition was going on still. (100 years longer they lasted than anywhere else).

Stories of hedge druids were still common in the 1800's. I remember the story there was still a druid living in Holyrood Park at the Cat's Nick till the middle of that century, and when he died the blocked off the cave. Votive offerings of a druidic nature were found there still in 1836 too, dunno if its twilight rennaissance druids or not though.

I remember reading that the Napiers herbalists family could trace themselves back to druids too, again, dunno if its twilight rennaissance druids or not though.

Theres still a herd of the sacred sacrifice cattle in Scotland. They are white with black and red snouts and ears, and look a bit like aurochs. Older breed than the so called hairy highland coo.