Imbolc Eve

Tonight will be Imbolc Eve for me. From today until the sun goes down on the second I will be leaving offerings to Brigantia which will be milk and incense. I don't really have a family to celebrate Imbolc with, since my mother is heavy Christian. However, I do what I can with what I have. I will be talking about my full Imbolc experience on the third.

Celtic Gods: Alaunus

I get my info from Wikipedia. Thanks a lot.

Alaunus or Alaunius was a Gaulish god of healing and prophecy. His name is known from inscriptions found in Lurs, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in southern France^[1] and in Mannheim in western Germany. In the latter inscription, Alaunus is used as an epithet of Mercury.^[2] The name of this deity is also found as a placename both of sites and rivers. Its feminine form Alauna appears in the Roman-era names of Valognes in Normandy, Maryport and Watercrook in Cumbria, Alcester in Warwickshire, Ardoch in Perthshire, and Learchild and the River Aln in Northumberland.

The etymology of the name remains uncertain. Some connect it with the Proto-Celtic root reconstructed as *alo- ("feed, raise, nurture"), but Matasović discounts it.^[3] Nicolaisen connected the various hydronyms to the unrelated Proto-Indo-European root reconstructed as *el- or *ol- meaning "to flow or stream".^[4] Monaghan posits an unrelated Celtic river goddess Alauna, found in Brittany

Irish Polytheist (1 Month)

Today marks one month that I've been down this path. The third was beyond annoying and something that I really don't want to happen again. Being tired to do ritual is not something that I want to happen again. Thankfully it didn't happen to often. I look forward to continuing down this path and learning more.

New Moon (January 2017)

Tonight is the New Moon, time to honor the goddess Sheela na gig. Even though she's a Gaelic goddess, she does appear in England on the outside of churches. So I honor her due to this. She's a crone goddess in every sense of the word but she also has the power to bring forth life. I do hope that you have a good New Moon.

Getting Ready for Imbolc

Next week will be Imbolc, a time to honor the goddess Bridget. However, I will be honoring her in her Welsh form and it's not uncommon to see Welsh Polytheists honoring Imbolc as well. Imbolc is one of the four Celtic holidays that Polytheists honor. We don't honor the seasons, though we do acknowledge that the seasons have changed. These four holidays are the original ones that the ancient Celts observed. The day before Imbolc I will show off my altar.

Celtic Gods: Abellio

I get this info from Wikipedia, which did a good job.

Abellio (also Abelio and Abelionni) was a god worshipped in the Garonne Valley in Gallia Aquitania (now southwest France), known primarily by a number of inscriptions which were discovered in Comminges.^[1] He may have been a god of apple trees.

Some scholars have postulated that Abellio is the same name as Apollo,^[1] who in Crete and elsewhere was called Abelios (Greek Αβέλιος), and by the Italians and some Dorians Apello,^[2] and that the deity is the same as the Gallic Apollo mentioned by Caesar,^[3] and also the same as the Belis or Belenus mentioned by Tertullian^[4] and Herodian.^[5]

Other scholars have taken the reverse position that Abellio might have been a similar solar deity of Celtic origin in Crete and the Pyrenees, but the Cretan Abellio may however not be the same god as the Celtic one, but rather a different manifestation, or dialectal form, of the Greek god Apollo or his name.

Celtic Gods: Abandinus

Before I get started I want to say this. I will be covering a Gaulish or Welsh deity. This is so that the god, or goddess, is better understood. So this is the first one. I get this info from Wikipedia.

Abandinus

Abandinus was a name used to refer to a Celtic god or male spirit worshipped in Godmanchester in Cambridgeshire during the Romano-Celtic period.

Semantics of Theonym

The semantics of the theonym are unknown. All the same, linguistic knowledge of Proto-Celtic lexis permits a narrowing of the likely possibilities of the theonym’s semantics. The name could be interpreted as an extended form of a stem composed of Proto-Celtic elements deriving from Proto-Indo-European roots *ad- ‘to’^[3] + either *bʰend- ‘sing, rejoice’^[4] or *bʰendʰ- ‘bind’.^[5] Along these lines, the name would mean ‘(the god) who sings to (something/someone)’ or ‘(the god) who binds (something/someone) to (something/someone).’ However, it is also possible to see the name as an extended form of a variant form of the Proto-Celtic word *abon- ‘river,’ derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ab-, *h₂eb- ‘water, river’.^[6] The Romano-Celtic name for the Humber is documented as having been Abus^[7] which suggests that a shorter element *abo- existed in the Proto-Celtic lexicon as a word for ‘river’ or ‘water.’ This *abo- element could have been the source of the Ab-- element in the theonym Abandinus. So the name can also be analysed as *Ab-Andinus ‘Andinus of the River,’ Andinus being a theonym attested elsewhere in the ancient Roman Empire.

Full Moon (January 2017)

Tonight will be the first full moon that I will be celebrating of this new year. I'm really looking forward to experiencing it. The Full Moon is a time that I honor the goddess Brigantia, which I view as a moon goddess. This might sound Wiccan but there's no evidence that the Celts had moon gods. So I go with my gut on this. I will be thanking her for this night and lighting incense and a candle to her.

Have a good Full Moon and be well.

Changing Things

Yesterday I did a post about my path and this time, I'm doing it again, I'm changing it slightly to Irish Polytheism. I'm still interested in Gaulish and Welsh Polytheism but I'm doing Irish. So look for those kinds of entries soon enough. I do have some Gaulish and Welsh deities already written up and I'm going to keep them there. Let's hope the change lasts.

Why I chose Gaelic and Welsh Polytheism

One of the things that is always asked by people is why did you choose the path that your on? What made you decide that this was the religion that you would follow? One of the main reasons for choosing to practice Gaelic and Welsh Polytheism is the sense of 'home.' It's something that all pagans claim that they felt when they finally found their path.

I'm no different from that. My family comes from Germany, which east of the Rhine was part of Gaul. However, that's not the reason that I chose Gaelic Polytheism at all. I don't believe that you need to be from those places to practice this religion. My family also comes from England, Scotland, and Ireland. However, I'm not drawn to Irish or even Scottish Polytheism. I'm drawn to Welsh and the Welsh deities.

Since both the Gaul and the Welsh came in contact with each other then practicing both is constant with Polytheism and Reconstructionism as a whole. Honoring deities that were combined with Roman and Celtic is also constant with how I do things. I look at what is known and use that. So I chose this path for two reasons. The sense of home and it connects me to my ancestors. And I think those are the most important thing of all.

Through the Otherworld up for 2 Months

Merry Meet!

As we get closer to the half-way point towards Imbolc I would like to note that this blog has been up for two months. I want to thank everyone that has followed my blog, read it, and enjoyed it. I hope that you all have a good rest of the month and may the gods guide you.

Blessed Be!

I'm Back On

Today I paid my bill and my internet was restored. I'm glad to be back and I've decided to do a small change to this blog. I practice Gaelic Polytheism as well as Welsh Polytheism. I love both and I practice both. Of course this is something that's acceptable as both groups had contact with each other. Looking forward to doing things and practicing my religion. Another thing that I'm doing is changing my blog title so that it will reflect these changes.