#mountain hound

[ask-dolly]

“Wh... Who am I? Who are you?”

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[thepaganstudygrouppage]

I've done some research and do you think that anthropologically speaking Morrighan might be more of a title of the head of the Tuatha De Danann at the time in mythology than only a name? its a theory I've had for a while. Can you tag the answer #paganstudygroup so i can find it?

Just to make sure I’m understanding your question, I’m reading it as, “Is it possible that the name of ‘the Morrígan‘ is the title of the leader of the Tuatha De Danann rather than the name of a specific goddess?”

Short answer: Maybe.  There are arguments for and against, some more convincing than others, but ultimately we’ll never know for sure in a way that satisfies most standards of scholarship.

Longer answer: Like you say, the name “an Morrígan“ is indeed a title already, most likely translating to “Great Queen.”  Up to seven names have been identified as na Morrígna (plural, “Great Queens”), specifically Badb Catha, Macha, Anu, Fea, Bé Neit, Nemain, and the Morrígan or Morrígu herself, so we do see “the Morrígan“ actively being used as a shared title.  The third-to-last paragraph in this post about the Gaulish goddess Cathubodua attempts to help explain that.

It’s very difficult to say much about the gods in their pre-Christian context because the pre-Christian Irish were a group of insular communities with their own group identities, their own ways of doing things, and no written records.  By the time the myths were being written down, Christianity was the dominant force of both culture and scholar, and we can see how a lot of what we think we ‘know’ about the gods - family relationships, iconographies, and so on - changed over time by comparing the literature.  If the Morrígan was ever a queen or feminine authority over the Tuatha Dé in pre-Christian polytheism, I don’t think there’s any way to know for sure.

There’s tantalizing tidbits supporting the idea, of course: her name itself, as mentioned, plus the similarity of Anu and Danu.  Anu/Anand is occasionally mentioned as one of na Morrígna, but Danu is a linguistic hypothesis; Mary Jones summarizes this whole controversy here.  I support the idea that “Tuatha DéDanann” is better translated as “God-peoples of skill” rather than “people of the goddess Danu,” both because of the historical lack of evidence for Danu herself and because it better reflects the gods as a community.

What’s strange is that despite her name, she’s almost never in a position of actually being a queen.  The only exception I can think of is Macha Mong-Ruadh, one of seemingly five different women named Macha, who enforces her right to rule and is one of the Machas who lends her name to the site of Emain Macha (Fort Navan).  Otherwise, all of na Morrígnaseem to act primarily as sorceresses, battlefield presences and inciters, sometimes as warriors in physical combat, and especially as facilitators of fate and prophecy.  (Although, to be fair, queenship doesn’t feature as prominently as kingship anyway except in a few notable and beautifully dramatic cases.)

Honestly, I think it’s likelier that the name “Brighid” is the descendant of a title used for those who held more conventional dynamics of power.  It translates to “exalted one” and has a history that stretches back to her continental roots.  (This is absolutely not to say that Brighid is Danu or a mother goddess or anything like that.)  Again, however, that’s pure speculation, as far as I know.

UPG: This is now entirely UPG, so take everything I say here with extra grains of salt and personal opinion.  I suspect that the title of queen is more a reference to the essence of her power as opposed to a more literal meaning of it.  The Morrígan isn’t described as a literal queen the way the Dagda, Nuada, and others are very straightforwardly kings, but she’s still very much a power behind the throne in her role as a sovereignty goddess.  It’s by her will that she ensures the Tuatha Dé’s victory against the Fomorians in the “Cath Maige Tuired,” for example.  She is/they are the deity/deities known for speaking prophecy, for facilitating destinies, for manifesting the consequences of choice both good and bad (even if that looks more like cursing people and stealing cattle than weaving with the skeins of mortal lives, but hey, everyone needs a hobby).

Lora O’Brien, a well-known Irish polytheist and native Irish person whose discernment and knowledge I’ve come to trust, interprets the Morrígan as queen of the Otherworld specifically, I think based heavily on subtext and UPG/SPG and the tales around Uaimh na gCat, with the other Queens having their own sovereign places in, or closer to, the physical world (e.g. Macha and Ulster, Queen Medb and Connacht, etc).  But the title of “queen” seems to describe the…function, or ideal, of queenship rather than a literal royal office that a phrase like “Queen of the Gods” would imply.  It’s possible it simply refers to her function as a Celtic-style sovereignty goddess.

There’s also the question of Badb Catha.  Even though she’s one of the most well-known and commonly referenced names, I personally don’t perceive her acting in the role of sovereignty goddess in the ways that the Morrígan and Macha do, and if I were to line up the Queens on a spectrum she would have the greatest degree of deviation from the mean for me.  But there are many implications to this that would take too long to unpack here and take me further on a tangent, and not all of her worshipers agree on everything about her anyway, so yeah, YMMV.

(I hope this rambling helps in some way.  I have a lot of feelings about my Queen and I try not to be too biased, but she, as well as the rest of the Tuatha Dé, and basically just gods in general, are terribly complex by nature and circumstance.  This is also my last post as a PSG mod, so I’ve just gotta squee over her.  <3)

- mountain hound

[thepaganstudygrouppage]

I'm interested in Irish polytheism; specifically, I want to begin worshiping Manannán mac Lir. I can't easily have a shrine or give offerings because I currently live in a dorm room with a roommate, so I don't have a lot of privacy. Is it okay for me to just pray to him silently? Also, is there a specific way that I should end prayers, like how Christians end prayers with "amen"? Thank you.

I don’t know of any prescribed prayer endings in Irish polytheism, though many of us have our own, sometimes in English and sometimes in Irish.  I usually stick with a simple, “Blessings and hail, [deity name/epithet/title].”  

If praying silently is effective for you, Anon, then go ahead, and all the more power to you. I don’t know of any deities who require a shrine, but my UPG perceives that some deities do seem to prefer it while others are more flexible. 

Consider what the purpose of having one is: this can change between people and gods, but I see shrines as a space specifically set aside for the god’s hospitality, rest, and devotion.  Shrines can be temporary if necessary, being set up and then boxed away again when needed, or they can be outdoor spaces you visit when you need to go that extra length for communication.  (Our “broom cupboard” tag should have ideas for shrines that are disguised as curio shelves or designed to be temporary set-ups.)  I have a shrine to Manannán mac Lir, but the nature of my relationship with him makes it feel…heavy and pinned down, so I’m planning to replace it with something I can hang from my car’s rearview mirror to see if having a point of devotion in a moving vehicle works better.  Edit: the thing is made of shells and other bits from the sea and, quite honestly, just looks like an extremely hippie accessory rather than an obvious point of devotion.  If you decide you do want a focal point for him but can’t do a formal shrine, you can hang a necklace or other dangly thing that makes you think of him from a mirror or on the wall, or hang a themed suncatcher in the window, or anything else that facilitates what you need.  Don’t be afraid to experiment!  SPG suggests that he has a unique sense of humor about lots of things.  :)

Ultimately I’d recommend poking around the community to see what people with stronger relationships with him, like @nicstoirm​, have to say about it.  Does anyone with a relationship with Manannán mac Lirhave anything to add or correct?

- mountain hound

[thepaganstudygrouppage]

Ever since I found out about paganism, especially Wicca, I've been fascinated so much, because I never understood how religion could be so important to people. While I do resonate with it a lot, there is this big recurring theme of it that always kind of bugs me a bit. Wicca is great because it's so supportive of different sexualities and generally embraces sexuality, unlike most other religions. But with the whole "sex is a gift from the gods" what about asexual people? I'd hate to be left out.

Keep in mind that I’m not Wiccan and I’m speaking purely as an outsider.

Like any other religious or spiritual group, you’re going to get individual people and private groups who are bigoted in some way.  People who are asexual are sometimes the recipients of that bigotry.  Wicca overall has very strong themes of fertility, which is often translated into sexuality of a specifically heteronormative nature.  However, this is not true of all Wiccan groups, and acceptance of non-heteronormative gender and sexual identities is increasing.  I often see Wiccan and neopagan conceptions of fertility being translated into non-sexual forms of creation: the fertile grounds of imagination, the growth of skill and prosperity, the weaving together of communities, etc.

People who are anywhere on the asexuality spectrum have as much right to be in pagan spaces as people who aren’t ace.  I would argue that if sex is a gift, so is consent; sex positivity isn’t about making everyone want to have sex but about respecting people’s choices on if, when, how, and with whom that sex is - or isn’t - performed.  If we’re made in the gods’ images, as some Wiccans and pagans claim, then that means all of us.

Here in San Francisco, California, CAYA ( the Come As You Are Coven) is an organization that actively works towards inclusivity, coming as it is out of the rich queer pagan communities of the Bay Area.  I think they offer online resources and possibly training in their own spiritual tradition, which, from what I can tell, is pretty heavily neopagan/Wiccan.  Lasara Firefox’s Jailbreaking the Goddess proposes an alternative feminine archetypal model to the Maiden/Mother/Crone, a fivefold one divorced from Western, heteronormative notions of gender and expectations of sexual fertility.  (I imagine you could develop a parallel model for a different gender pretty easily based on Lasara’s fivefold one, if you’re ace but not feminine).

It’s also possible that another form of paganism that puts less emphasis on fertility and sexuality may be more comfortable for you.  That simply takes exploration and testing the waters, and there’s no need to rush; the gods and spirits and their traditions will still be around in the future, too.

Since I’m neither Wiccan nor someone who works with archetypal forms of the divine, however, that’s about the extent of my knowledge.  Does anyone have anything else, especially if you’re an ace pagan or Wiccan?

- mountain hound

[thepaganstudygrouppage]

Celtic pagan isn't closed off, right? i definitely haven't seen anything but i want to check

(Celtic pagan anon) also my family is very heavily Irish because that’s where our ancestry is, so is it safe to get into this without it being bad? i’m nervous aa             

Some individual groups or priesthoods may have their own private requirements, but anyone can be a Gaulish, Irish, Brythonic, or Gaelic polytheist as long as they act with respect towards the Celtic-speaking cultures that are still alive and thriving (like Ireland).  This is true regardless of your blood ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, race, culture, ethnicity, nationality, mental or physical ability, education level, socioeconomic class, or other identity.

Some people differentiate between the aforementioned polytheisms and Celtic paganism (myself included, just to be transparent about my bias), but that’s a personal choice you are - and should be - free to make on your own.

And because this question always inspires a few hateful messages…  There are, of course, some people who believe differently about the importance of blood ancestry, but I’ve yet to hear a reason why people who don’t have ‘Celtic’ ancestry should be barred from any of these traditions that isn’t just fundamentally based on racism, xenophobia, and/or white nationalism.  Having Celtic heritage is not the same thing as being part of that culture.  Unless there are some secret ancient texts that mysteriously reflect later history and modern forms of racism, even the myths don’t support these exclusionary views.  Here’s a take on the importance of ancestry from someone who’s not only an Irish polytheist but a native Irish person, too.

So as long as you’re coming from a place of respect for yourself, the living culture, and the gods and spirits, just like you would for any religious practice, you do you.

- mountain hound

[thepaganstudygrouppage]

is it possible to worship Aphrodite but worship another deity from another religion as well? like Yemaya from Yoruba? sorry if this is dumb i just wanna be sure thank you 💓

Multi-tradition practice is possible, yes (unless you’re part of a religion that has guidelines and/or taboos about that sort of thing, in which case you’ll need to examine those guidelines or taboos for an answer).  Here’s a post sharing some opinions on that in greater depth.  However, in regards to Yemaya or any of the other Orisha, I strongly recommend speaking to a properly initiated priest of one of the Orisha traditions before you begin engaging with her if you haven’t already.

- mountain hound

[thepaganstudygrouppage]

I'm a wiccan who want incorporate hellenic gods in their practice, any advice?

My advice would be to separate the practices. Wicca is a religion in and of itself and so is Hellenic Polytheism. Wicca focuses primarily on two deities, the God and Goddess, whereas Hellenic Polytheism is focused on the worship of all the Theoi. To be respectful of both traditions, I suggest creating two boxes for yourself. Your Wiccan box and your Hellenic box. When you step into the Hellenic one, worship as a traditional Hellenic and all that entails. When you want to step into the Wiccan one, same deal. Respect each tradition separately, because both of them have rules and traditional practices. My advice on the whole is to be respectful above all. Each practice has its own rules and regulations and the PSG will always advocate for a multi-faith practice rather than an inter-faith one. As far as Hellenic Polytheist resources go, Baring the Aegis is always going to be my first go-to. That blog has just about everything you need to know about traditional reconstructionist Hellenic practice. I’m on mobile so I can’t link, but just google ‘Baring the Aegis’ and you’ll get the blogspot and the Tumblr blogs. If you have any more questions regarding Hellenic Polytheism specifically, feel free to hit me up on my blog @crystalizedforest. ~terebinth

Here’s @baringtheaegis and the “Baring the Aegis“ blogspot, for others with navigation difficulties.  :)

- mountain hound

[thepaganstudygrouppage]

New pagan here. I have always enjoyed this time of year around Samhain. My spirit comes alive. I was wondering some ideas on how to celebrate. I am usually afraid to celebrate anything in case my roommates, neighbors and family judge but I really want to this year. Help?

I’d suggest doing some research into its origins and considering what this time of year as well as Samhain itself means to you.  When you say your spirit comes alive, what does that really mean?  Examine that statement.  What are you feeling physically, emotionally, magically, and spiritually?  What kinds of activities best express those feelings?  Maybe it’s visiting an outdoor cemetery and taking the time to greet the dead and straighten up the walkways.  Maybe it’s revisiting all those silly childhood crafts, like melting crayon shavings with big autumn leaves between waxed paper with a hot iron and hanging it from the window, but now  you’re engaging your inner child with sensory play and maybe sigils in the crayon shavings.  Maybe it’s spending all day making a lavish dinner for your living family and leaving an extra plate out with food for your dead.  Maybe you physically and magically clean your house from top to bottom to prepare for the next half-turn of the year.

I think that whatever activities you choose to do, they should tie in to those things that make you feel so alive so you can engage with that aliveness on multiple levels, whether it’s for Samhain or any other holiday.  Here’s our “samhain” tag.

- mountain hound