All
of these prayers are inspired and adapted from a series of books collectively
called ‘The Carmina Gadelica.’ They represent the prayers, invocations, and
sacred poetry of the Scottish Islands compiled by the scholar Alexander
Carmichael in the latter half of the 19th century, and represent the inherited
oral traditions of a Gaelic community from over a thousand years of history. A
careful analysis of the Carmina provides a unique insight into the spiritual
beliefs of both pre-Christian Pagan Celts and of the developing Catholic
theological framework. In short, the Gaels considered all space, sacred. The
entire landscape was woven of intense spiritual and heavenly threads, and each
moment or life experience was awarded a prayer in dedication. It can also be
observed that the ancient Celts followed specific points in the day with
spiritual devotions, specifically dawn, midday, dusk and mid-night. This is
known as the Trathan or ‘four-times.’
Generally
speaking the name and concept of God within the Carmina Gadelica is translated
from Dei, a term which is cognate with the Latin Deus, Greek Theos, and
Sanskrit Deva. In Irish it precedes the designation of every day, and itself
can mean day. The root meaning of this name is both sacred and source of
illumination. For me, it means the revolution of the sun around the earth and
thus emblematic of unity, it represents life, growth, healing, the flow of the
celestial sea and infinite energy, and thus is symbolic of the Great Spirit.
Another term for God within Gaelic culture is Cruithear or ‘Creator’ or
‘Shaper.’ This conception of a supreme being is similar to Native American and
First Nation peoples. The Creator in Native Gaelic culture is both supreme in
kingship and personal, immanent and an essential aspect of a world perceived as
a woven fabric.
I
conceive and believe in Cruithear within the traditional trinitarianism of both
Gaelic and Indo-European theology, whereby the creator possesses both masculine
and feminine characteristics, although beyond gender definition, and composed
of three primal aspects; creator, sustainer and destroyer. Cruithear is the
Great Father Sky, joined with the Holy Mother Earth, expressed in the divine
word of the Son of Light.
The
traditional posture of prayer in invocation is standing erect, raise the arms
outward (to form a T shape) then bend the arms at the elbow up-to head level to
form an L shape. This posture is described in a medieval Irish monastic
manuscript called ‘The Rule of Tallaght’ and believed by some scholars to
imitate pre-Christian Druid practice. Traditionally this posture would be
assumed in greeting each of the four sacred directions.
Morning
Prayer.
The
morning prayer is pronounced upon waking, or more effectively at the moment of
the sunrise, and facing the east. It was the tradition that the Chief Druid of
a village sing a song of greeting to the sun at dawn to welcome it back from
the underworld, and likewise another farewell song at sunset, both times being
considered the most liminal and sacred of spaces in the natural world.
I
will kindle the flame of my soul this morning,
In
the presence of Deep-Sea, Heavenly-Sky, Rich-Earth,
Without
malice, jealousy, envy, fear, without terror of
Anyone
under the sun.
O
Great Creator
Kindle
thou in my heart within
A
flame of love to my neighbor, my foe, my friend,
To
all my kindred
To
the brave, the knave, the thrall,
From
the lowliest thing that lives
To
the name that is highest above all.
Exalt
my thoughts, my deeds, my word, my will,
My
understanding, my intellect, my way my state.
I beseech
thee this day;
To
keep me from harm, mischance, grief,
Shield
me, fill me, keep me, watch me.
Traditionally
the morning prayer is accompanied and ended by a form of encircling protection
called a caim or ‘hoop.’ The suppliant stretches out their right hand with
their forefinger extended and turns around deosil (sunwise) like a pivot,
describing a circle. This ritual invokes a spiritual protection around the
person. The most famous caim prayer is found within the Lorica of St. Phadraig,
and of undoubtable pre-Christian origin, and which invokes the power and energy
of natural elements:
I
arise today
Through
strength of Heaven:
Light
of sun
Radiance
of moon,
Splendor
of fire,
Speed
of lightening,
Swiftness
of wind,
Depth
of sea,
Stability
of earth
And
Firmness
of rock
The
Creator to navigate and guide my soul...
Midday
Prayer.
The
midday prayer is directed toward the sun at its highest position in the sky
toward the south. It is not in itself a solar adoration but a form of
thanksgiving for its great capacity to heal, promote growth and spiritual
illumination.
Eye
of the Great Creator,
Eye
of the Glorious Creator,
Eye
of the King of Heavens, Lands of Harmony and Bliss,
Eye
of the Chieftain of the Living-Ones,
Here,
settled in the throne of the sky, Pouring upon us,
At
each time and season,
Pouring
upon us waves of energy, heat and strength,
Generous
waves of gold,
Glory
to thee, thou glorious sun
Glory
to thee thou sun,
Face
of the Great Creator of Life.
The
Dusk Prayer.
The
evening prayer bids farewell to the sun as it leaves us in the west, a time for
recollection and assessment of our day’s activities and preparation for a new
day. The new day begins after sunset in Gaelic culture.
I
smoor the hearth of my soul, within and without…
And
on all my household,
I
close this bright day
And
end the song of my spirit
I
bid farewell…
O
Creator,
Compass
me this night
Both
soul and body,
Compass
me this night
And
on every night.
Compass
me aright
Between
earth and sky
Enfolded
in the mystery of thy laws
Secure
in your darkest robes
Illuminated
by moons light.
The
Midnight Prayer.
The
sleep prayer is directed toward the north, visualizing the Pole star above the
head as a guiding light, and the sun beneath our feet in the ‘underworlds.’
Together they form a symbolic shaft of light which passes through the body,
cleansing the soul of dark impurities, filling us with cosmic energy. The Gael
imagined retirement as boarding a coracle or small boat, and drifting through
an ocean of sleep.
I am
now going into the sleep,
Be
it that I shall be in health awake,
Keep
though my coracle,
Keep
it always…
As
my soul soars in the shadows of heaven.
The
white day comes to the fire,
Thou
to me as a star,
Thou
to me as a guide,
From
my life’s beginning to my life’s closing.
Be a
bright flame before me,
Be a
guiding star above me,
Be a
smooth path below me,
Be a
navigator behind me…
Today,
tonight…
Unto
the guiding light of eternity…
A
perfect world without end, changeless through life eternal.
Perhaps
with the Gaelic notion of the day as a microscopic equivalent of an entire
life, and the eternal cycle of being and existence, the final evocation
summarizes the tidal nature of the cosmic order, and the threefold nature of
the Creator, of birth, life, death and eventual rebirth;
As
it was,
As
it is,
As
it shall be
Evermore.
O
thou Triune of Grace…
With
the ebb,
With
the flow,
O
thou Triune of Grace…
With
the ebb,
With
the flow.
Purpose
and practice of the prayers. The principal motive and intention of these
prayers is to in-tune with the natural celestial rhythms of the day, which
itself reflects the year, the seasons and indeed a lifetime. They are a method
for immersion in the sacredness of the moment and time, together with a
harmonic understanding of space and movement. They naturally inspire a
commitment to a natural spiritual path. It is also an opportunity to step back
out of ordinary time, to contemplate and consider within a silent and sacred
space, created by you for you. Yet, in doing so the personal soul-aura is
lightened and polished to a sparkling radiance which benefits all around.
Ultimately our consciousness evolves to a greater understanding of the
beautiful music of cosmic truth.
All Rights Reserved/Crown Copyright: David John Drew 2007
Image: Alexander
Carmichael (1832–1912) was born in Lismore, off the coast of Argyll, and was
educated at Greenock Academy and in Edinburgh. As a civil servant with the
Customs and Excise ministry, his work took him to Skye, Uist, and Oban, where
Gaelic still dominated during the mid-nineteenth century. He collaborated with
the folklorist John Francis Campbell (1822–1885) in his folklore collection and
made his own large collection between 1855 and 1899, in particular from 1865
until 1882, while the family lived in the Hebrides. His collection consists
mainly of Gaelic prayers and invocations, hymns, blessings, charms, as well as
numerous songs. The material was collected from both mainland and island
sources and range in time over several centuries. Carmichael eventually settled
in Edinburgh.
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