On the Comparing of Celtic and Germanic Mythology..

[Lyfing]

My Celtic blood has been calling me, here lately, like my Germanic blood did many years ago, to find within it the something of great meaning. This blood speaking, I take as no less than the engrained archetypes of the unconscious part of my being seeking to become conscious and to go forth into the world so it may manifest itself into the wholeness which I continually, and heroically, journey ever afterwards…to come to life in this world from within.

The Germanic was never enough. Something was always missing. I think I can see far off what else it is I have been searching for..I am not there yet and I may never be..it’s the journey that matters they say..

I have found that these two parts do not contradict each other but rather compliment each other. No others have ever awakened in me what they have, and, now, it feels as if a new journey is embarked upon..a turning of my way..

Hellason, Cythraul, and others seem to have already started walking down this path. I do not think it a coincidence that our paths have crossed as we search for this Grail but as all a part of the magic that is a reawakening of ourselves…it seems life will ever be magical as long as it is taken as such..

So, what is the meaning of this thread you ask..??

Well, I had to start somewhere. And, this somewhere is here..

How do we reconcile within ourselves these two parts..?? Where do we begin..??

I have taken the approach of comparative mythology, seeking to find in such a wholeness I can see as myself. In reading Joseph Campbell’s books comparing the mythology of all peoples, times, and places this door was opened, and now I realize its’ import in relation to me. We are all a part of humanity. And, a special part of being that, is that myths speak to us, are spoken by us, and lived through us. Which myths are ours we may ,very well, create out of our own imaginations, but ultimately our imaginations are the same as those who came before us, and it is in theirs that we may find ours..

Later,
-Lyfing

[Osweo]

My Celtic blood has been calling me, here lately, like my Germanic blood did many years ago, to find within it the something of great meaning. This blood speaking, I take as no less than the engrained archetypes of the unconscious part of my being seeking to become conscious and to go forth into the world so it may manifest itself into the wholeness which I continually, and heroically, journey ever afterwards…to come to life in this world from within.
Cucum dom thig tissaid uile iar bar n-ecaib.
All of you, my children, shall come to my house after your death. - Donn

The Germanic was never enough. Something was always missing. I think I can see far off what else it is I have been searching for..I am not there yet and I may never be..it’s the journey that matters they say..
This may be the ultimate conclusion for a man of your ancestry (probably the same as mine?). Although shouldn't the possibility be raised that the Germanic would be enough, were it only as full as it must once have been when it was everything and all to an entire European civilisation, back in the day? Maybe you just haven't been able to reconstruct enough. :confused:

I have found that these two parts do not contradict each other but rather compliment each other. No others have ever awakened in me what they have, and, now, it feels as if a new journey is embarked upon..a turning of my way..
Good man.

You probably know me, being more of a pedant in such matters than a theorist, much less an active proponant, as one of the less spiritual here, at least in so far as my ability to articulate this aspect of my life in pure words on a screen to people on the other side of the world. Nevertheless, best of luck on this new journey!

You might fancy reading a bit of John Rhys, I suppose, something I've been working with lately. His suppositions regarding a once Goidelic Britain are obsolete rather, but much of the rest is powerful stuff. Lake Ladies and so on. I wonder if he deliberately didn't write some of the more obvious conclusions...?
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/cfwm/index.htm


I presume after you've got this out of your system, or rather into and integral to it, you'll be following me down the passage tombs and through the cup-and-ring-marks, to an even deeper layer, yes? Albion is older than even Donn and Lug. :) Dig out Geoffrey Ashe's Camelot and the Vision of Albion some day. Thing about the Celtic side, is that it's been squashed down so long and so deep that it's fused a lot closer to its predecessors, like a layer of sedimentary rock getting all metamorphic down in the deeps.

DEEP is a word you'll be needing to think about. Dumno-... There's profound stuff there, far more than I would dare to try and tell you about.

Read much Taliesin yet? Contrary to some folk's expectations, you'll get more of your esoteric from the Brythons than the Gaels.

[Psychonaut]

How do we reconcile within ourselves these two parts..?? Where do we begin..??

These have been my questions of late as well. The more my wife and I talk about things, the more convinced we are that it is probably better to look at paganism as a principally geographical phenomena rather than a principally linguistic one. So, in practical terms, what we're seeking to do, is examine both British and French paganisms in their entirety and kind of split the difference within our family.

[Brynhild]

My Celtic blood has been calling me, here lately, like my Germanic blood did many years ago, to find within it the something of great meaning. This blood speaking, I take as no less than the engrained archetypes of the unconscious part of my being seeking to become conscious and to go forth into the world so it may manifest itself into the wholeness which I continually, and heroically, journey ever afterwards…to come to life in this world from within.

I practised my Celtic path for some years, then within these last few years my Norse/Germanic blood began to stir things up for me.


The Germanic was never enough. Something was always missing. I think I can see far off what else it is I have been searching for..I am not there yet and I may never be..it’s the journey that matters they say..

I, too, felt that the Celtic was never quite enough. Finding my Norse path may not have completed me in the sense that I'm still undertaking my journey, but a crucial piece of my puzzle has fallen into place.


I have found that these two parts do not contradict each other but rather compliment each other. No others have ever awakened in me what they have, and, now, it feels as if a new journey is embarked upon..a turning of my way..

Like opposing and yet harmonious forces. I can't have one without the other.


Hellason, Cythraul, and others seem to have already started walking down this path. I do not think it a coincidence that our paths have crossed as we search for this Grail but as all a part of the magic that is a reawakening of ourselves…it seems life will ever be magical as long as it is taken as such..

There are no such things as coincidence. The Wyrd weaves in such a way that there is always an underlying plan and goal in everything that everyone does. We meet people at a juncture in our lives to remind us of not only where we have come from, but where we must also head towards - or in this instance, back to.


So, what is the meaning of this thread you ask..??

Well, I had to start somewhere. And, this somewhere is here..

How do we reconcile within ourselves these two parts..?? Where do we begin..??

I have taken the approach of comparative mythology, seeking to find in such a wholeness I can see as myself. In reading Joseph Campbell’s books comparing the mythology of all peoples, times, and places this door was opened, and now I realize its’ import in relation to me. We are all a part of humanity. And, a special part of being that, is that myths speak to us, are spoken by us, and lived through us. Which myths are ours we may ,very well, create out of our own imaginations, but ultimately our imaginations are the same as those who came before us, and it is in theirs that we may find ours..

Later,
-Lyfing

Books are always a great ready reckoner, but we must also bear in mind that we are learning from a reconstructive level and how we find our path is ultimately our own.

I found my way a lot easier by honouring deities in a specific fashion (I'm such a tart, one is never enough! :D), mainly through ritual, meditation and deathwalking. Knowing where our ancestors are from - even if we don't know for sure who they are, we can at least get some sort of idea about what they represented.

Some people get their knowingness through study and theory. I come from a more instinctive level for the most part. I hate using the word "Psychic" because it conjures up the shonky new age suggestions with the term now, but I am very intuitive. I love how our forebears used to navigate by the moon and stars, they were in tune with the seasons which dictated everything they did in their lives. If I can claim even a little bit of that knowledge for myself, and continue to pass it on to my descendants, I know that I am at least on the right track.

[Freomæg]

Nice thread Lyfing. Mutual development is the most re-assuring.


you'll get more of your esoteric from the Brythons than the Gaels.
On this slight side-note, I agree. I'm fascinated by the popularly more obscure Brythonic traditions. I visited a forum briefly which discussed Brythonic tradition exclusively. Worth checking out for people put off by the Disney-esque tourist magnetism of mainstream Gaelic-ness which tends to represent Celtic Britain for the world.

[Osweo]

On this slight side-note, I agree. I'm fascinated by the popularly more obscure Brythonic traditions. I visited a forum briefly which discussed Brythonic tradition exclusively. Worth checking out for people put off by the Disney-esque tourist magnetism of mainstream Gaelic-ness which tends to represent Celtic Britain for the world.

Concerning the Bardic institution? 'Barddas'? Iolo Morgannwg's stuff?

Ceridwen, and the circles of being and the like? I'm never quite sure what to make of its professed deep ancestry, but even as an innovation it's an interesting tradition in itself.

I tend to give it the benefit of the doubt for the most part, given that the Gwydion material is hard to interpret otherwise.