The Zen Process of Uncovering Self Deception

 

The Zen Process of Uncovering Self Deception

 

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2007

 

Meditation and illumination cannot teach a child, it can only make one. It is like a sword, a sharp and distinct bolt of lightening that cuts a person into two parts and of the space that remains; this is it! Without notions and only being, un-graspable and unknowing, not perceived by normal senses or existing... it has no name, form or function and yet wholly everything: the sum total of being. It is not attempting to navigate through a room filled with dense smoke, nor trying to focus upon a thing, but becoming the smoke and the room, experience and understanding. Finally, not sensing ourself as a container but containing all things... and then when all of this seems like a dream, of forgetting our self and being the child enveloped by zen.

 

How is 'what' not possible? 'What' is the distinction we create between our self and other things. It is a protection rather than an explanation. It is a terrible God that prevents our complete dissolution from an accumulated identity. We are therefore slaves to this perception of color, we struggle to maintain these confining bonds and create yet more chains to justify our existence through comparison. True compassion is not weighing the quality of something or improving it to our own standard, but truly an identification which is the same as a simple act of breathing with everything: a total absorption of all the energy, and in this process our 'what' disappears and dissolves as one tremendous wave like a blind, ecstatic cry of joy; un-contained and all-embracing.

 

Desire is only a form created within ourselves. It has little to do with that object we wish to embrace. In the action of desire our whole being succumbs to fragmentation like an exploding grenade or a shattered mirror that comes to reflect our self in a thousand myriad forms. In this way we are totally incapable of 'one-ness.' With a thousand heads we are completely drowned in a crazy, uncoordinated mass of individual voices screaming. We are forcing our-self to make constant decisions, to define, qualitate, select and categorize. To charge one with more importance over another and the many. Every moment of our time is thus filled with confusion and abstract emptiness. Perception becomes separated senses devolved into base survival; a struggle to manipulate the universe to our own demands, the strongest and the weakest, light and dark, hot and cold, birth and death... for ever.

 

Thus desire is the corpse that we make love to in our minds, a blind act of necrophilia which only satisfies the itching rash of a fever. In a genuine act of passion there is a complete symbiosis that incorporates all of existence; where two beating hearts are transformed into one complete breath. In one naked perception there are no distinctions or distractions. We embody all differentiations and transcend both positive and negative, assuming all forms and become an energy without a name that is pure and sparkling. This is not seeking a solution to a predefined dilemma but realizing the 'I am You.' This is the burning in one flame that illuminates the darkness surrounding us, and questions fall away in direct experience.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DAVID JOHN DREW 2007

The Celtic Animal

 

MONDAY, MARCH 19, 2007

The Celtic Animal:

 

"Modern urban dwellers are cushioned, to and extent, from the rhythm of the seasons, from the immediate effects of good and poor harvests and of the health and fertility of flocks and herds.........in any pre-industrial and rural society, the association of communities with the natural environment and their dependance on it are both close and direct."

 

Miranda Green identifies the close proximity that ancient Celts had with their environment. It was essentially a life that involved a close ineraction with nature. With foliate and zoomorphic designs Celtic artists took much of their inspiration from the plant and animal world to produce some of the most fantastic and original art in history. The Celts percieved supernatural forces in all natural phenomena to the extent that every tree, mountain, rock and river was seen to possess its own 'numen' or individual spirit. The sanctity with which elements of the landscape and natural phenomena was beheld further led the Celts to venerate animals dwelling in the land, and further becoming the objects or elements of elaborate rituals and the center of profiund belief systems. In some cases animals became the link between the ordinary and the divine sacred, or otherworld.

 

 

On the most basic level, animals (in Celtic mythology) are tied into fertility and vitality, as Lars Nooden points out. They also become channels of communication to the realms of the Gods and spirits. The origins of these beliefs may be shamanic. Certain animals are associated with specific attributes;

 

1) Boars represent fertility, wealth and courage.

2) Salmon represent knowledge and wisdom.

3) Snakes (and dragons) represent strife, trouble and infertility.

4) Birds represent prophetic knowledge, skill of for-seeing the future.

5) Horses, cattle and pigs (all domesticated animals) represent fertility, assurity, personal wealth and status.

 

The Celts firmly believed in rebirth and reincarnation as demonstrated by the story of Fintain and the Hawk of Achille. Some Celtic people believed that the soul of a person may be reborn as a very small animal, sometimes a fly or worm. Druids believed that the tiny and humble wren was the reborn soul of a human and was considered sacred, called 'Droo-in.'

In Christian Celtic myth the four evangelist (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are represented as animals; the winged man of the incarnation, the majestic lion, the sacrificial calf or ox, and the ascending eagle.

 

 

For me, the epitomy of the relationship between the Celt and the animal world is summed up by a 4th century AD monastic scribe, idly writing a poem in the margin of a manuscript ( a Latin commentary on Virgil) in which he compares himself and his pet cat:

 

 

"I and 'Pangur-Ban' my cat,

Tis a like task we are at:

Hunting mice is his delight,

Hunting words I sit all night.

 

Tis a merry thing to see

At our tasks how glad are we,

When at home we sit and find

Entertainment to our mind...

 

...So in peace our task we ply,

Pangur Ban my cat and I;

In our arts we find our bliss,

I have mine and he has his."

 

Conclusions:

 

More than anything the Celtic view of animal life reminds us that we should perservere in maintaining a working relationship with the natural world order. Perhaps we are not 'the dominant species' but simply one element of a greater whole. We must repsect animals as beings with inherent souls and/or spirits, that can enhance our appreciation for the universe, our dialog and communication with the Gods, ancestors and spirits. If we take the life of an animal in order to preserve our own let it be done with dignity and due respect. All creatures should be awarded the honor that is due to them by reason of their simply existing.

 

Jain Zazek, The Art of The Celts.

 

Joelle Miller, Symbolic Meanings of some of the Animals Appearing in Celtic Art (From Celtic Myth and Magic by Edain McCoy):

http://www.joellessacredgrove.com/celtic/animals.html

 

Lars Nooden, Animal Symbolism in Celtic Mythology:

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~lars/rel375.html

 

Miranda Green, Animals in Celtic Life and Myth:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415185882/002-8556887-1631258?v=glance&n=283155

All Rights Reserved - DAVID JOHN DREW - 2007

Tacitus and Caractacus

SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2007

Tacitus and Caractacus

 

Caractacus was the Chieftan/King of the Catuvellauni tribe (lands central/west Britian, north-west of London towards Wales) at the time of the Roman invasion under the Commander Aulus Plautius (circa 50 CE). He had a brother named Togodumnus, together they were sons of the British King Cunobelinus. As a strong and dominant force, Caractacus and his tribe resisted the Roman invasion for over 9 years, although they were defeated by Roman forces in the East.

Caractacus moved west to the Silures (Glamorgan in Wales) where another skirmish took place with Roman troops, although it was an undecisive conflict. Then he moved north to the tribal lands of the Ordivices (central Gwynned, south Clywd, north Powys) in preparation for a major battle. The exact location of Caractus's last stand is unknown, despite archeological surveys, though local legend suggests a place called Caer Caradog, or Llanymynech, a limestone bur in Shropshire, a natural location for strong defense/offence position.

 

Caractacus was apparently an intelligent and capable General. It was at this location that he was defeated by a force under the command of the Roman Governer Ostorius Scapula in 51CE, however, Caractacus escaped the carnage of the battle and ran northwards to the lands of the Brigantes under Queen Cartimandua. The Brigante Queen was a Roman sympathiser and under a 'client/ruler' contract (the Romans allowed her to rule with comparitive automny). Queen Cartimandua therefore welcomed, held and then handed Caractacus over to the Roman authorities. He was then dispatched to Rome as a slave (together with his wife and son). Such was Caractacus's sense of nobility and justice that the Emporer Cladius pardoned him, and allowed him and his family to live out their life in peace in Italy. Caractus's place and time of death are unknown. For me, the most poignant part of Tacitus's record of these events, is his record of Caractus's speech at the Emperor's tribunal;"Had my moderation in prosperity been equal to my noble birth and fortune, I should have entered this city as your friend rather than as your captive; and you would not have disdained to recieve, under treaty of peace, a King descended from illustrious ancestors and ruling many nations. My present lot is as glorious to you as it is degrading to myself. I had men and horses, arms and wealth. What wonder if I parted with them reluctantly? If you Romans choose to lord it over the world, does it follow that the world is to accept slavery? Were I to have been once delivered up as a prisoner, neither my fall nor your triumph would have become famous. My punishment would have followed oblivion, whereas, if you save my life, I shall be an everlasting memorial of your clemency"In this speech, Caractacus displays a well informed knowledge of the international politics of the day, I wonder also if he was fluent in Latin (or the Romans in Gaelic)? He is also acutely aware that his life and actions have a historical importance, knowing that his captors are recording everything for posterity. Strange as it may seem, had it not been for the Romans we may never have known about Caractacus, the Gaels, the Druids and have such important documentation. There is an ancient stone which commemorates Caractus:

 

 

Pictured above, at Winsford Hill (SS 88983355) The inscription reads "CARAACI NEPUS', or the 'kinsman of Caractus.' The location of the stone is Exmoor, an expansive and wild plain located in the south-east of Britian in Devon. A shelter was built for it in 1906. The stone was first documented in 1219 as a Forest boundary and called the "Langeston". A little stone hut has been built round it! There seems a modern impulse somehow to domesticate standing stones, to impose our suburban mind set upon their wildness.The practice of siting a Romano-British memorial stone, along a track way up on the hill is a Roman one - think of the tombs along the Appian Way.

 

SOURCES:

 

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9G_Rts.ev1FP3EBBA.jzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBsYnVxczg1BHNlYwNwcm9mBHZ0aWQDSTA2N184OQ--/SIG=12gplrl0b/EXP=1174326206/**http://www.celiahaddon.co.uk/standing%20stones/exmoor.html

 

http://www.britannia.com/history/bb51.html

 

http://www.roman-britian.org/

 

Tacitus. Annals, Book XIICoutrell, Leonard, "The Roman Invasion of Britian," Barnes & Noble, New York, 1992

 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - DAVID JOHN DREW - 2007

A Daily Celtic Prayer Devotional

A Daily Celtic Prayer Devotional

 

The conception and Practice of Daily Celtic Prayer.

 

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.

 

COPYRIGHT 2007 BY DAVID JOHN DREW

Book Review: Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe by H. Ellis and Davidson

 

Book Review: Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe by H. Ellis and Davidson

 

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2007

 

This book is mainly concerned with the format and content of pre-Christian Scandinavian religion, using Celtic and Germanic equivalents as a means of reference, support and comparison. I first became aware of Scandinavian culture during my schooldays in North-East British Northumberland, and the lessons were mainly concerned with depicting the savagery of the Viking raiders, the terrible ‘dragon-headed’ long-ships, and their rape, pillage and plunder of civilized Anglo-Saxon Christian settlements. This image of barbaric ice-warriors filled my imagination until the mid-eighties when excavations and archeological discoveries at Coppergate in York revealed many interesting and highly cultured facets of Viking life in the early medieval period. Much of these discoveries and subsequent research was installed as a permanent museum now called ‘Jorvik Viking Centre.’ A decade later I was fortunate enough to visit Bergen in Norway and experience Scandinavian culture and history first hand, the Bryggens Museum is a showcase of finds from the earliest settlements and includes ceramics, rune inscriptions, artifacts and the remnants of a principally shipping and commercial society up to the Middle Ages. ‘Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe’ provided me with a carefully researched and detailed account of the spirituality of the Scandinavian peoples, and which brought to maturity all my previous thoughts and experiences, to an understanding which gives considerable credit to those communities for their important cultural legacy in Western Europe.

 

Davidson has used the medieval literature, myths and legends of Iceland and Ireland as the primary reference source for this book, in combination with archeological research papers and sources, and iconography of pre-Christian Western European culture. Her main inspiration appears to come from many scholars of Celtic history including Nora Chadwick, Kenneth Jackson and Anne O’Sullivan, although the principle thesis of the this research is prompted by Georges Dumezil (1898-1986) the religious historian who specialized in the analysis of Indo European civilization, who asks; “Is it possible to fit these Norse and Irish legends into a general pattern of Indo-European religious beliefs, extending back far into prehistory?” This question it seems, is the answer that Davison was seeking to explore within her work, and she does so with imagination, clear perception and a satisfying conclusion. With a broad yet defining sweep she manages to assess and investigate seven principle areas of interest; sacred places and sanctuaries, feasting and sacrifices, warriors, codes and rites and battle, land spirits, deities and ancestors, prophetic knowledge, divination and the priestly caste, cosmology and the other worlds, and finally the ruling gods, goddesses and divine pantheons.

 

Davidson begins with the earliest sources of a broad Indo-European culture, the archeological sources of Halstatt and La Tene circa 800 BCE to 200 CE, and follows through her study to approximately 1000 CE when the Scandinavian Vikings began to convert to Christianity. She employs free use and comparison of geographical sites, archeology, linguistics, cultural, social, artistic and spiritual characteristics, and the dynamics of the anarchical tribal-feudalism of early European society to successfully accomplish the study.

 

I grew up within a traditional working class British community. There, the cultural inheritance was composed of remnants of ancient and medieval thought whose pattern and dynamic has evolved little beyond the concept of ‘indentured servitude.’ Tribalism still exists albeit in the form of soccer, and beyond the boundaries of the town there still exists a fear, a dreaded chaos, of foreigners and disorganization. Even when I was a lad in the seventies there was a strong sense of home, a hearth and odd yet valid seasonal customs whose origins may be traced back a thousand years. From a curious perspective, even a psychological one, this volume (and others like it) helped me to understand my background, language, beliefs and culture from a traditional point, and subsequently how those traits still influence my perception and actions today. It is not a book that changed my life, but illuminated facets of it and helped me in understanding myself more.

 

All Rights Reserved DAVID JOHN DREW 2007

The Gentle Bee Shaman: Keeper of the Pollen Path

 

The Gentle Bee Shaman: Keeper of the Pollen Path

 

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2007

 

Last night, as I was sleeping,

I dreamt a marvelous error;

That I had a beehive here inside my heart.

And the golden bees were making white combs

And sweet honey from my past mistakes.

 

 

-Antonio Machado

 

The Shamanic spiritual path of the anthropologist Simon Buxton developed slowly over a 13 year apprenticeship with a European Bee-Keeper. During that time he established the British branch of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, and The Sacred Trust; an organization which guides those seeking native spiritual traditions. His sharp and enlightening path is detailed in his book; ‘Shamanic Way of the Bee: Ancient Wisdom and Healing Practices of the Bee Masters.’

 

I find this a strange, beautiful but not altogether surprising occupation. The ‘Pollen Path’ is certainly mystical, yet based on practical elements and possesses a sound purpose. The honey bee and all its relatives have been exchanging information with humans since the beginning of our time, they themselves are prehistoric, having been here for at least 55 million years since the Cenozoic era. Within the concept of healing and nutrition we are indebted to this marvelous creature, their beneficence is without doubt. Buxton’s initiation into this secret world came when as a nine your old boy he succumbed to a fatal infection of encephalitis, yet was miraculously saved by an Austrian bee-keeper Shaman. We need only consider the various healing agents of the hive to understand; honey, pollen, propolis, wax and royal jelly to understand the immense potential. I myself recently created a successful skin healing salve with bee’s wax and lemon balm for a particularly bad irritation. This is animal-spirit medicine at its most potent; traditional practitioners even used the bee stings as a form of acupuncture!

 

In medieval Ireland there was a saying; that one of the three most difficult things to understand was the work of bee’s (obair na mbeach) and as such were closely connected to the mysterious and magical priestly functions of the Druids. Legal restrictions were imposed as to who kept bee hives and who was entitled to the seemingly divine produce of honey, but especially mead; reserved for warriors and nobles. Throughout Europe, especially amongst monastic orders the bee was not only symbolic of the soul, death and rebirth but also of the Virgin Mary herself; the queen bee of heaven. Amongst the Native Navajo the pollen path is sacred, representing the very source of life and incorporates a ritual as a way of envisioning the center of existence. They sing;

 

“O beauty before me, beauty behind me, beauty to my right, beauty to my left, beauty above me, beauty below me, I am on the Pollen Path.”

 

It is a journey to understanding the deepest aspects of the self, to the hive of the heart, to listen to the constant drone of the song of creation, and extract the honey-like essence of our mind and bodies. Pollen is the substance of the earth, the spirit, the cosmos; truly the finest blessing.

 

As a totem animal the bee possesses the powers of a higher consciousness, prophetic dreams, industriousness, diligence, productivity, creativity, immense sexual attraction and can act as a divine messenger. Like the Queen Bee in the Grimm fairy tale, this creature has the capacity to restore order, life and love; a balm blessing on the lips of the ‘forever young.’

 

One of my favorite stories is that of Saint Modomnoc; as a young lad of the O’Neil clan in Ireland he longed for a spiritual life, life his relative St. Columba. So one day he set off across the sea to serve and study as a monk in the monastery with St. David in Wales. Modomnoc was given charge of the bee hives, and diligently he cared for them like they were his own children; even planting the sort of flowers they liked best in the garden. The bees likewise became enamored of the monk, constantly following him around, buzzing about his head singing fair melodies in an enchanting manner.

 

Soon it came to the end of his time their, and after his ordination he packed up and prepared to return to Ireland; bidding farewell to his bees. Every time he boarded the ship the bees would fly after him, not even twice but thrice times in a row. He tried all means to persuade the creatures to remain in the Welsh monastery, but all without success until eventually St. David himself told Modonmoc to take them with him. He eventually settled in Bremore near Dublin and built there a spiritual dwelling which soon became known as ‘The Church of the Beekeeper.’

 

All Rights Reserved David John Drew 2007

Garden of the Bears

 

Garden of the Bears

 

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2007

 

“I am the black bear, around me see the light clouds extending. I am the black bear, around me see the light dew falling………” – Pima Indian medicine song.

 

 

As we slowly drift into fall it is worth reflecting on this season from the perspective of the majestic and noble bear; those of us lucky enough to live close too or near mountains or forests will experience this creature at first hand this time of year. The gradual approach of winter alerts the creature to the necessity of building up its weight for a long hibernation, and it is frequently found scavenging and roaming amidst human settlements for tasty morsels. The relationship between bear and human is a long epic, full of myths, fantasy, amazing adventure and struggle. And so, before our tired eyes begin to falter before the slowly fading Harvest moon I will recount some of the great legends of our gentle forest cousin.

 

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago (believe it or not) the mighty and majestic bear once roamed all across Europe, dwelling in the dark forests of oak and ash… free and plentiful. It was the inspiration for many legends and tales amongst the Celts and Scandinavians, its strength and stamina was imitated through heroic deeds of valor. In ancient pagan Norway there were specialized bands of warriors called ‘Beserkers’ or ‘bear-shirts’ because they donned the hides and furs of the bear, adorned themselves with their teeth, claws and bones, and were always the first furious combatants in battle… invoking the strength and ferocity of their totem beast. Such fearless warriors were in high demand as body-guards for the nobility and persons of the highest rank. The Norwegian term bjorn was one of the titles of Thor, the mighty god of thunder.

 

Fionna MaCleod recounts an ancient Irish Celtic legend of the Pole Star; the youthful Finn mac Cumhail went bear hunting beyond the western mountains. Together with his two faithful hounds Luath and Dorch they discovered an immense bear and chased him all the way to the icy North-lands to an everlasting rainbow, across which the bear climbed. It was met in the middle by the two hounds and all seemed to have brought to a conclusion when it crashed to the ground, mortally wounded it seemed… but not! It started running again. The ‘All-Father’ the Great Creator watching this spectacle from the heavens decided this escapade was more than enough and so he hoisted the bear by means of a rope noose into the pitch dark sky where it raced around Arcturus the ‘North Star’ or ‘Northmen’s Torch.’ Finn didn’t give up, with the hero’s leap he mounted the rainbow, then again onto the hill of heaven and gave eternal chase to the divine beast. Here the magnificent northern lights we see are said to be the spears of Finn, forever being hurled at the Great Bear… forever in pursuit.

 

In ancient Ireland there were two names given to the bear; art which is cognate with the Greek arktos and the name of the star Arcturus, and math or mathus which is the origin of the name mac-mathghamhna or the ‘bear-club clan’ of the Mac Mahon’s. In Pagan Irish tradition the bear possessed a unique divinity and was often regarded as a god of the heavens, forming a triplicity in the night sky with Arcturus as the ‘Bear-Guard’ or ‘Fort of the Bears’ and the two smaller bears sleeping around it, called Ursa major and Ursa minor. There is another myth that these sleeping bear gods will arise from their hibernation and come to the aid of their people when called, and this obligation is borne by the bear-tribe of the Mahon’s.

 

Bears still existed all across Western Europe as late as the fifteenth century, although they had become extinct in Britain by the 10th century. They were frequently caught, imported and used in games and entertainment, for public spectacle. In 16th century Elizabethan England fighting bears were common; famous bears such as ‘Harry Hunks’ and the ‘Great Sackerson’ became national idols, fighting at the Paris gardens in Southwark London every Sunday. By the beginning of the Spanish civil war in 1936 bears had almost completely disappeared in Western Europe, only in the eastern parts of Romania, Hungary, Poland and the Transylvanian mountain ranges do they still live in considerable numbers. In the Apenusi mountains is the ‘Pestera Ursilor’ or Bears-Cave where the 15,000 year old skeletal remains of an ancient family of 140 bears has been discovered. Even when the bear is no longer with us in a physical way, we can always sense its powerful spiritual presence, like the invocation-song of Vainamoinen in the Kalevala:

 

Autumn weather is slippery, winter days are dark.

My bear, my darling, honey-paws, my beauty,

You still have ground to cover, heath to clamber upon.

Start, splendid one, to go, glory of the forest, to step along.

 

We cannot fail to recognize the primitive importance of the bear to our sense of being, when our lives as children begin with old tales like ‘Goldilocks.’ In the original oral tradition the young fair girl was a silvered widow, and before that a crafty fox called Scrapefoot… when we dig deep we become wild creatures living in the dark deep forest just like the bears, then we stole their food and now they repay us likewise. Beware; before you scream in fear remember he is just a prince with a fur-coat!

 

I send my blessings to you all this fall Equinox, and pray your harvest and hibernation during the dark months be a peaceful one, deep, relaxing and refreshing.

 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DAVID JOHN DREW 2007