{"id":4828,"date":"2019-05-01T01:10:09","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T06:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=21352"},"modified":"2019-05-25T12:28:29","modified_gmt":"2019-05-25T17:28:29","slug":"an-excerpt-from-a-modern-celt-by-mabh-savage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2019\/05\/01\/an-excerpt-from-a-modern-celt-by-mabh-savage\/","title":{"rendered":"An Excerpt from A Modern Celt: Inspiration from the Elf Mounds by Mabh Savage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\nInspiration\nfrom the Elf Mounds <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*An Excerpt from <\/strong><\/em>A Modern Celt: Seeking the Ancestors<\/a> by Mabh Savage<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\nSo,\nwhat winds whisper from the elf mounds; what wind breathes from\nbeneath the hollow hills where fairies dwell and myths were born? In\nother words, how many of us today still feel inspired by the tales of\nancient Celtic warriors and wise folk? Which parts of our lives do\nthese stories creep into the most? What do our ancestors still truly\nhave a hand in? What is the meat<\/em>\nof modern Celtic influence? \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWell\na quick \u201cGoogle\u201d search on the word \u201cCelt\u201d will find you\nbrewing techniques that are based on Celtic history; BBC Wales has a\nsite dedicated to the history of the Iron Age Celts and the word CELT\nis used as an acronym by organisations in fields ranging from\nteaching to audio compression! Let\u2019s take a look at the images\nsection now: maps of the Celtic migration across Europe; knot work;\nhelmets; warriors fighting in great battles; beards, shields and\nswords; jewelry,\nsandals and musical instruments. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nTake\na look around when you\u2019re out and about and see how many tattoos\nyou see that incorporate Celtic knot work, and how many sterling\nsilver Celtic crosses you can see in the windows of jewelers.\nWhen the paths were resurfaced outside a new housing estate near\nwhere I live, there were some elder trees, ancient and gnarled, that\nwere untouched even though they were growing right out of the\npavement that otherwise was completely dug out and overhauled. If the\ntrees were left untouched for superstitious reasons (oh how I wish I\ncould talk to the people who did that stretch of road!) those\nsuperstitions almost certainly stem from the Celtic reverence for\ncertain trees. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\nThis\nseems to be carried into the names of local establishments. Without\ntraveling\nmore than a couple of miles in any direction, I can visit Copper\nBeech Nursery; Hollybush Children\u2019s Centre; Holly Bush Farm\nConservation Centre; Beech Medical Centre. My own doctor is housed\nwithin the Hawthorn Medical Centre! These names show how the\nimportance we still place upon trees, which almost certainly stems\nfrom our Celtic ancestors. The druidic reverence for certain trees\nled Robert Graves to create the Celtic Tree Calendar which, somewhat\nunfortunately, has become used as an actual \u201cCeltic Calendar\u201d for\nsome people- it has no real basis in Celtic timekeeping or astrology,\nbut it does, again, show how deeply we are influenced by accounts of\nCeltic society and how much we want to recreate aspects of that in\nour modern lives. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSir\nTerry Pratchett, an incredibly popular British author, created the\n\u201cLords and Ladies\u201d, elves that while being beautiful are fierce,\nruthless and inhuman. There are similarities here of course to the\nFae, who are often described as incredibly beautiful and powerful,\nyet they too are not quite human. They also can possess great\ncruelty, as in the story of the death of C\u00edan, Lugh\u2019s father, who\nis stoned to death in hatred by a rival family until all that is left\nis a \u201cpoor miserable, broken heap\u201d (Gregory,\nLady Augusta. Gods and Fighting Men: The story of the Tuatha de\nDanaan and of the Fianna of Ireland, arranged and put into English.\n1905<\/em>). \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terry also created the Nac Mac Feegle, who actually live inside the burial mounds of kings, harking back to the tales that the fairies will take you under the hollow hills to their home. In these tales, often the protagonist finds what they believe is their heart\u2019s desire but returns a hundred years later, to find everyone they love is dead and gone. In one of Terry Pratchett\u2019s stories, this would probably be because the Nac Mac Feegle had drunk them under a tiny table! Pratchett himself implies in his introduction to \u201cThe Folklore of Discworld<\/a>\u201d that tales and superstitions should not be forgotten as they are part of the history of who we are and how we got here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAny homage to these ancient\ntales is a great example of the way Celtic culture still inspires\nmodern artists and writers. Through their modern art, they will\ninspire others to go seek out these ancient tales for themselves. We\nsee the same stories being used over and over in a thousand different\nways, keeping them alive to pass down to our children and future\ndescendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIf you enjoyed this, Mabh\u2019s\nbooks are available on Amazon<\/a>\nand at all good bookstores.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Modern Celt: Seeking the Ancestors on Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About\nthe Author:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mabh\nSavage<\/strong> is\na Pagan author, poet and musician, as well as a freelance journalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\nis the author of A\nModern Celt: Seeking the Ancestors<\/a> & Pagan\nPortals \u2013 Celtic Witchcraft: Modern Witchcraft Meets Celtic Ways<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Inspiration from the Elf Mounds *An Excerpt from A Modern Celt: Seeking the Ancestors by Mabh Savage So, what winds whisper from the elf mounds; what wind breathes from beneath the hollow hills where fairies dwell and myths were born? In other words, how many of us today still feel inspired by the tales of ancient Celtic warriors and wise folk? Which parts of our lives do these stories creep into the most? What do our ancestors still truly have a hand in? What is the meat of modern Celtic influence? Well a quick \u201cGoogle\u201d search on the word \u201cCelt\u201d will find you brewing techniques that are based on Celtic history; BBC Wales has a site dedicated to the history of the Iron Age Celts and the word CELT is used as an acronym by organisations in fields ranging from teaching to audio compression! Let\u2019s take a look at the images section now: maps of the Celtic migration across Europe; knot work; helmets; warriors fighting in great battles; beards, shields and swords; jewelry, sandals and musical instruments. Take a look around when you\u2019re out and about and see how many tattoos you see that incorporate Celtic knot work, and how many sterling silver Celtic crosses you can see in the windows of jewelers. When the paths were resurfaced outside a new housing estate near where I live, there were some elder trees, ancient and gnarled, that were untouched even though they were growing right out of the pavement that otherwise was completely dug out and overhauled. If the trees were left untouched for superstitious reasons (oh how I wish I could talk to the people who did that stretch of road!) those superstitions almost certainly stem from the Celtic reverence for certain trees. This seems to be carried into the names of local establishments. Without traveling more than a couple of miles in any direction, I can visit Copper Beech Nursery; Hollybush Children\u2019s Centre; Holly Bush Farm Conservation Centre; Beech Medical Centre. My own doctor is housed within the Hawthorn Medical Centre! These names show how the importance we still place upon trees, which almost certainly stems from our Celtic ancestors. The druidic reverence for certain trees led Robert Graves to create the Celtic Tree Calendar which, somewhat unfortunately, has become used as an actual \u201cCeltic Calendar\u201d for some people- it has no real basis in Celtic timekeeping or astrology, but it does, again, show how deeply we are influenced by accounts of Celtic society and how much we want to recreate aspects of that in our modern lives. Sir Terry Pratchett, an incredibly popular British author, created the \u201cLords and Ladies\u201d, elves that while being beautiful are fierce, ruthless and inhuman. There are similarities here of course to the Fae, who are often described as incredibly beautiful and powerful, yet they too are not quite human. They also can possess great cruelty, as in the story of the death of C\u00edan, Lugh\u2019s father, who is stoned to death in hatred by a rival family until all that is left is a \u201cpoor miserable, broken heap\u201d (Gregory, Lady Augusta. Gods and Fighting Men: The story of the Tuatha de Danaan and of the Fianna of Ireland, arranged and put into English. 1905). Terry also created the Nac Mac Feegle, who actually live inside the burial mounds of kings, harking back to the tales that the fairies will take you under the hollow hills to their home. In these tales, often the protagonist finds what they believe is their heart\u2019s desire but returns a hundred years later, to find everyone they love is dead and gone. In one of Terry Pratchett\u2019s stories, this would probably be because the Nac Mac Feegle had drunk them under a tiny table! Pratchett himself implies in his introduction to \u201cThe Folklore of Discworld\u201d that tales and superstitions should not be forgotten as they are part of the history of who we are and how we got here. Any homage to these ancient tales is a great example of the way Celtic culture still inspires modern artists and writers. Through their modern art, they will inspire others to go seek out these ancient tales for themselves. We see the same stories being used over and over in a thousand different ways, keeping them alive to pass down to our children and future descendants. If you enjoyed this, Mabh\u2019s books are available on Amazon and at all good bookstores. A Modern Celt: Seeking the Ancestors on Amazon *** About the Author: Mabh Savage is a Pagan author, poet and musician, as well as a freelance journalist. She is the author of A Modern Celt: Seeking the Ancestors & Pagan Portals \u2013 Celtic Witchcraft: Modern Witchcraft Meets Celtic Ways.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":206,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/206"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4828"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4765,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4828\/revisions\/4765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}