Altú

Finally, I've sat down and written the Altú rituals, to be done by someone on their own or in a group setting. Now I just need to finish my translations (as everything spoken in ritual is done in Irish Gaelic.) This is a slow process, as I have to get everything double checked by others more competent in Irish than I am.

I've been thinking about the calendar some more. I haven't played with it at all- no new names for any of the holidays or anything- but I have been debating some things. For one: Siúlóirí work with all three tribes of Na Treibheanna (Na nDéithe Mór, Na nDéithe Lasmuigh and Na na-ainDéithe) to various extents. Each of the 13 nDéithe Mór has a 3 day holiday over the course of the year; each of the deities (the number of which hasn't been solidified quite yet) of Na nDéithe Lasmuigh will have a 1 day holiday somewhere in the year. But where does that leave those of Na na-ainDéithe? I mean, they're not gods, as such (as reflected by their name, "The Not-Gods") but they're still worthy of our respect and reverence.

To go on a slight side note- I need to redo part of the FAQ, I just realized, as I didn't initially include Na na-ainDéithe as part of Na Treibheanna, so all the references to work done with the Ancestors, Good Folk or Land Spirits need to be rewritten. Oh boy.

Back to the calendar- the question becomes: how do I honor them within the year without overwhelming my already stuffed calendar? (It's pretty full, honestly, if you consider the weekly Altú and the monthly Gealach Dubh rites. [Which, speaking of, I haven't written up anything for Gealach Dubh either, and I'm not sure if I should. Maybe a basic beginning and ending to make it more uniform and put one in a reflective and ritual mindset, and leave the middle bit open for the reflecting? I think that'll work.]) Members of Na na-ainDéithe fall into one of four categories, basically: Ancestors/Beloved Dead, Land Spirits, Good Folk, and Heroes. I suppose I could do one holiday for each of the four categories? That would keep it simple.

If I go off that model, then I essentially only need to add two holidays, as my calendar as it stands has Lá Bealtaine as the day of the Good Folk and Oíche Shamhna as the night of the Beloved Dead/Ancestors. Those two are UPG extrapolations from the Celtic and Wiccan holidays of Beltane and Samhain. But what to do for the Land Spirits and the Heroes? When in the year is an appropriate time to honor them? I'll have to think on it some more.

I think I'm going to wander through my files and previous entries and put together a bulleted to-do list, as I'm much better at accomplishing things when I have them laid out that way.

// Juni