#ask allec

[an-stoirm]

for the polytheist & pagan ask: 🔥?

The question is... "Do you have a favorite myth or tale from your pantheon or others?"

I love mythology and folktales. I am going to use my canned answer of relying on talking about some of Lugh's myths, because I do enjoy them.

First would of course be Lugh's Coming to Tara -- which is usually told as part of the Second Battle of Mag Tuired. The brief synopsis for those who aren't familiar with the story is this (as I remember it): Lugh hears about the need for the Tuatha Dé Danann against the Fomorians and so He goes to the Hill of Tara to meet with King Nuada. But the guards out front are like, "Well, we need people with unique skills." Lugh rattles off like... six? seven? skills of His, each time told by the guards, "Yeah, we have someone who can do that already." To which, after rattling off His skills, Lugh asks, "Do you have someone who can do all of that?" The guards are then like, "Wow. What? No... Let's go get King Nuada." And thus, Nuada declares Lugh the Samildánach -- the Many Skilled -- and He's invited in. (There's also like a strength dual between Lugh and I believe Ogma once Lugh comes to meet all the Tuatha Dé Danann, and maybe also some test of musicality is also done against the Dagda? But anyway.)

I love this myth of Lugh because it shows a lot of things I love about Him -- compassion, sense of justice, cunning, and skillful!

The second myth I will touch on briefly about Lugh that I do really adore is the Sons of Tuireann. This story is longer, so I won't sum it up, but I will say that I know there are people who look at this story and look down on Lugh for it? But I read someone's interpretation on Tumblr a while back that changed the reading for me (I won't tag who - but I still follow them and if they are reading this, feel free to claim so!) But basically, it shows that Lugh cares deeply for His family? And while He won't break the law to express His grief, His wrath for killing His father disgracefully is still expressed. He does so in a cunning way, as He is still Lugh, but He is heartbroken and the story doesn't shy away from expressing that. So I like this story because it shows the complexities of Lugh.

Anyway.... I wrote a lot on just two myths. Though in reference to the last ask, there's a poem I read online eons ago reframing the Descent of Persephone that lives rent-free in my head and I have it saved on a Google Doc with proper credit (since it was originally posted on Livejournal oh no!) ... I do love that poem's take, but that myth in general I think is very powerful.

ANYWAY anyway. Thanks for the ask!

[guidetogaelicpolytheism]

What should/could be a beginner's first steps in their practice? Also, in terms of learning about the gods, do I pick ones which I connect with in my life and focus on learning about them, or should I learn about all of them with equal intensity? Thank you

My apologies that this took me so long to get to! I’ve been very busy ^^;;

The answer to both your questions is going to vary depending on you and your needs, wants, and expectations. 

The first step would probably be to figure that out, actually. What do you want your practice to look like in a year? Then work backwards from that and slowly build to that. I say this because it could be tempting to do everything now, but that can lead to burn out and that isn’t useful. 

For learning about the gods, you could honestly pick ones you connect with and focus learning about them, or just as well learn about all them at the same time. But I would definitely couple whatever you do with learning about the context of Their myths, cults, worship, etc. 

I hope this helps give you some direction! I recognize it’s very vague, but again it really depends on what you want. 

- Allec

[transtarot]

Should I transition?

I can’t answer that for you, Anon. There’s pros and cons to transitioning that I cannot weigh for you. I will point out that you can transition in some aspects of your life, and not in others (depending on how you define “transition”), so it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing thing. 

Best of luck Anon!

Sincerely,

Allec

[lugh-ildanach]

What do you do with the offerings to gods after they've served their purpose?

Depending who you ask, there’s a lot of different things you can do in a Gaelic Polytheist context.

The three agreed upon ways to dispose of offerings is to burn it, bury it, or drown it: burn it in a fire, bury it in the ground, or drown it in a body of water -- usually one that is in motion.

Now, I personally cannot do any of those because I live in an apartment away from any lakes or creeks or rivers. I don’t have a yard to burn things, nor bury things. So I pour liquids down the sink and put solid food into the trash. I haven’t received any backlash for this, but that could just be me. I also try to give offerings like incense since they burn on their own and I don’t have to worry about disposing of anything. Or other non-tangible offerings. But anyways, I digress...

I hope that helps!

- Allec / @nicstoirm

[an-stoirm]

Do you think the aos sí live only in Ireland or are they present throughout the world? As a member of the Irish diaspora looking to reconnect with Irish spirituality, I’m not sure if leaving milk and honey out will do anything unless I’m living in Ireland (as well as doing other practices etc). I have yet to come across anything that says “the aos sí are everywhere” or “the aos sí are only in Ireland”.

Hello Anon!

I think the reason there isn't a definitive answer to this question is that this isn't a question with a definitive answer. I have heard both sides of this and it seems like, to me, it can be both - in the sense that the same aos sí may not reside in both, but different aos sí may appear in various places.

I also think this is a two-part question. First question being, "Where do the aos sí reside?", followed by, "If they reside in multiple locations, does the way we address them need to change according to that location?"

The first question is harder for me to answer, because I don't work with the Good Folk very often -- though I will pay respects if I think they are present. In a way this means that I do think that they are "everywhere", but I don't think the Good Neighbors in Ireland are necessary the same entities in my American backyard -- just the same classification, perhaps.

For the second question, I think I can more confidently answer that this will always depend on who you are dealing with. I don't think starting out with the classics (eg: milk and honey) would hurt, but I think being open to adjusting as you learn more about who you are interacting with is a must.

I'm still waking up as I answer this so please let me know if you have any questions or if I didn't coherently answer this XD;

[an-stoirm]

Hi Allec, I'm a member of Clann Bhride and they're very trans-inclusive (one of the founding members fits under the trans umbrella). I don't know how active the Discord is, but the Facebook group is quite active. The group is very welcoming to people of different religious backgrounds, even if Brighid isn't their primary deity.

Oh thank you for responding! I appreciate your insights.

[an-stoirm]

How much stock do you put in deity identification tarot spreads, and should I use one? I'm reasonably certain that there are one or more deities wiling to or actively interacting with me. I've make offerings to both Mannanan Mac Lir and Lugh in the past three months. I'd like to know with more certainty whether it's one or the other or both, but I haven't found a spread to ask my cards with and I've heard mixed opinions on deity ID spreads on the whole.

Well, I think deity identification spreads can be useful... but they’re tricky. There are so many deities and so many aspects for each deity. Does the RWS card The Sun represent the shining brilliance of Lugh, or does the horse in the spread indicate Manannán?

So you could certainly try it yourself, but I find that when someone doesn’t have any idea about who is knocking ... it can be frustratingly vague.

I actually use to offer a Deity Identification Spread in my Etsy Shop, but I discontinued it after I never felt good after doing a reading. It always felt too vague, and that didn’t sit right with me, so I stopped offering it as a divination service. 

In your case, I would go the route of asking for omens. “If Lugh is talking to me, show me three hammers within a week.” Or “If Manannán is who is talking to me, show me three cranes within a week.” Something like that? 

If you want to use cards, I would suggest a Yes/No spread I learned. You shuffle our deck, then draw until either you get an Ace or draw 13 cards. Then, you repeat the process two more times for a total of 3 piles. All Aces means “Yes”, No Aces means “No”, and a mix means a Mixed Answer.

I hope that helps!

[an-stoirm]

Would you be so kind as to read for Vincent, he/his? 🧡 He needs to know how to get along with his new housemate. Thank you!

( <3 )

As Vincent wanders his way into the purple tent, he would first hear the sound of shuffling cards and little else. Sitting behind a small table sits a petite blue-skinned Samsaran woman. Her eyes open slowly at the sound of Vincent’s entrance, which reveal that her eyes are white with no pupils.

“Welcome,” she softly says, “Please, take a seat. I am Rem, and you are?”

After introductions, she nods in recognition of the question. “How to get along with your new housemate? Yes, indeed, a valuable question...” She closes her eyes as she continues to shuffle her tarot deck -- the Ellis Tarot. She focuses on the question and draws three cards: King of Pentacles, Three of Rods, and Knight of Swords.

“The first card,” Rem begins to explain, “is the King of Pentacles.” She gestures to the card. It shows someone sitting on a wooden throne among a forest. The person is holding a sprouting plant in one hand and a pentacle in the other hand. They have two horns growing from their head. “The King of Pentacles is a card about grounded power, but it is also about being a master of your home. This new housemate will not take away your sovereignty -- only you can reduce that. Do not yield what is yours to this new housemate, but do not take what is theirs either. Respect the boundaries between the two of you, and most importantly respect what is yours to be yours.”

Rem gestures to the middle card and says, “The second card is the Three of Rods.” The card in question shows someone standing in a grassy field with three large sticks with fires on the top of them - perhaps torches of some sort? - and a large beast in the background. “This is the card that demonstrates rewards for your efforts. Have you extended any good will towards this housemate, so that they may return that good will to you? It may be wise to act towards this housemate how you wish the housemate to act towards you. That is not always the best policy, of course, but in this situation it seems that you and this housemate are both trying to figure out the living arrangements. Set the tone as you want the tone to be set. Take initiative, then sit back and wait for it to be reciprocated.”

“And the last card,” Rem says as she points to the third card. “The Knight of Swords.” This card is much darker than the other two cards. It shows someone in dark armor riding a darkly feathered bird that has three heads. The person is sitting upright, holding their large dark sword over their shoulders. “Be fierce, Vincent. This card would signal that the first two methods may not work if you do not prove that you are willing to stand up for those principals. Follow through with any promise, any threat, and any statement. Make it known through your actions, not just your words, that you will defend what is yours and treat others with respect until met with disrespect.”

Rem slides the cards back into her deck. “That is what the cards say for this matter. I wish you luck, Vincent.” She takes her payment and then says goodbye to Vincent.