#imbas

[modark]

The Bardic Tradition

I made a long thread explaining in detail all the symbolism in this piece when I first posted it. That's lost to time now, thanks Elon. I'll try to rewrite it to the best of my ability in an abridged form.

The basic gist is that its a visual representation of the ancient Gaelic bardic tradition. Seated in the center is St. Colmcille, composing an old Irish hymn to St. Brigid, "Brigit bé bithmaith". He is holding hazel nuts, symbols of knowledge / inspiration in Irish legend. On the two pillars on either side of him are King David (left) and Orpheus (right), two famous poets from antiquity. Two legendary poets from Irish legend, Oisín and Amergin, are situated above each pillar respectively. The two fish are seen swimming "upstream" (as in the legend of the Salmon of Knowledge) toward a sheela na gig, a architectural feature / grotesque of early Irish churches which some consider to be symbols of femininity, meant to ward off evil. At the top of the image, hands from a cloud (representing God) release a white dove (representing the Holy Spirit) down to St. Brigid. She owes her angelic appearance to her being considered both a pagan goddess and Christian saint. She is guarding a flame, which symbolises poetic inspiration, and which can be seen floating above the heads of all the other figures.

[caraecethrae]

The power that lies in the well of wisdom is expressed as flame. The waters of the well burn and glow, liquid enlightenment to fill the cauldrons within us. Patrick Ford speaks of this illumination in the waters, drawing parallels between Irish and Indo-Iranian myths regarding brilliant, fiery powers within tightly guarded sacred wells. He says, “Irish tradition knows an essence whose main quality is an illuminating brilliance and whose source is ultimately in the water. It is a quality that characterizes wisdom and the poetic arts, and it is called imbas forosnai, ‘wisdom that illuminates.’“ The word forosnai has the meanings ‘lights up (or burns—as a candle), illumines, kindles, shines.’ Imbas, the poetic fire in the head, finds its source in the watery depths, bringing enlightenment to those who drink from it.

Excerpt From: "The Well of Five Streams Essays on Celtic Paganism" by Erynn Rowan Laurie. Scribd.

[ivy-kissobryos]

Poetic talent – imbas – was transferred to her through a kiss before they parted. He had promised to give her song, as well, if she would put her tongue in his mouth. Afraid that he would bite it off, she refused, and so she was able to compose poetry, but not to set it to music. Her fear was a legitimate one, for many of the spirits in these realms are capricious and unpredictable. Their trickster nature is a part of the chaotic force of the Otherworlds into which we must plunge if we seek poetry. We must act with caution even as we abandon the order of the world we know.

Excerpt from Mandragora, Bibliothèque Rouge

[minnesotadruids]

Do you think that your path will succumb to being more academic about what is written than about what is spiritual? I only ask because in a lot of pagan paths there seems to be people who can't function without a book. If you know your rituals and what spirit or energy you are working with then wouldn't at times letting spirit just lead you be the way to go?

A couple years back I posted [this quote] from Kristopher Hughes (the leader of the Anglesey Druid Order) from one of his seminars, and he sums up part of my sentiments rather nicely.

In the Reformed Druids of North America, my primary druid order, there’s the pesky phrase I’ve mentioned at some point in the past that pops up in our written works that says  “Just do druidry!” After all, the practice is largely experiential.

Some members of the priesthood will take it an extra step in the wrong direction and say to just put your books down and go talk to a tree, and you’ll learn more than any book can tell you. It’s a cute notion, but it’s also a quick way to set someone up for failure, and could be dangerous. It’s like not studying herbalism properly and eating random plants because an invisible pixie told them to.

Improvisation is not one of my strong points. I’m terrible at thinking on my feet. That’s why I love my books. The RDNA liturgy isn’t set in stone (I intend to literally set it in stone someday just for fun), and each time I bind a new book (or have one printed on demand by a publisher now) the contents and the ritual scripts are different and evolving [LINK].

The RDNA does suggest winging entire rituals and experimenting with unusual methods. ADF, of which I am also a member, recommends speaking from the heart in the ritual segments. That has taken an immense amount of practice because the divine inspiration (called Awen or Imbas in some druid orders) comes to me at a snail’s pace, and about an hour later I’ll come up with something creative (which also makes me terrible at live debate or interpersonal arguments). 

There’s a Henge of Keltria offshoot Grove that I attend regularly which has rituals only lit by candlelight. In those rituals, spoken parts in every segment have to hit on numerous key details. As long as you mention the key details you can improvise the rest. I’ve really only gotten by because I’ve memorized my own lines after writing them all down and practicing them daily. Ironically, there are multiple songs sung during the rituals, and we will use cheat sheets (in the dark) because we’ll sometimes forget the lyrics, and we’ve been singing them for years, but I digress.