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The Cities of Magick and the Four Directions In the tale, "Cath Maige Tuireadh", The Tuatha Dé Danann became masters of Magick by studying the occult arts as taught by four Wizards in the four Otherworldly cities of the islands of the "North". North here means the Otherworld and could just as easily be in the Sky or under the Sea. The names of the four Otherworldly cities are: Findias, Gorias, Murias and Falias, and their wizards are: Uiscias, Esras, Semias and Morfesa. If one looks at the meanings of each city and wizard name along with the gift that each wizard gave to the Tuatha Dé Danann, a secret is revealed: These are my translations, please feel free to provide your own/any corrections you may feel appropriate to your own practice: Wizard /City Element/Meaning/Hallow These four gifts, wizards and cities appear to indicate the four traditional Magical elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth as well as others (more about them later). The directions that are indicated are: East, South, West and North. Each direction has a corresponding Hallow, Wizard, Elemental Power, Otherworldly City and a number of distinguishing characteristics. (Picture of the Four Cities goes here, FOURCITY.PCX) When Magick is in the air and the lights of the night are not quite natural, that is the time we should stand in the Center and guard ourselves by the Powers of the Four Cities. Mark the ground with an "X" (an Ogham of Centering and gathering as well as protection), and surround yourselves with the Four Hallows, the gifts of Wizards to the Gods. The Four Hallows These are the gifts of Uiscias, Esras, Semias and Morfesa to the People of Danu. Each has a unique Power and each is wisely used in the appropriate direction, at the proper time and by the hand and head that have studied and achieved the secret of each. "I am Word of Skill" The Sword of Nuada, from which no one ever escaped once it was drawn from its deadly sheath. This hallow was the gift of Uiscias and was brought from the city of Findias. Some say that it is this Sword that separates the day from the night at morning. Its edge is the thin silver line in the East that separates Sky from Sea at the coming of the Dawn each day. As the king's champion, it is Ogma of the Sunface that wields his mighty sword. It is only fitting that the blade that cuts the horizon, can also plough the furrows or carve the Ogham. Words along an edge. Words of Power. Beginnings of Thought! "I am the Point of a Weapon (that poureth forth combats)" The Fiery Spear of Lugh. The holder of this spear would always be victorious, since no battle could ever be sustained against it. This spear was sometimes represented as being the Sun's rays at Mid-Summer. As such, none should look directly at it, as it rules the Southern Sky. It has the same destructive power as the eye of Balor. When Lugh was victorious over his grandfather Balor, the power of the Fiery Spear ceased to destroy. Its power was contained and used to sustain life. Another name for the Spear of Lugh is the grain and corn of the Harvest itself (which also safely harnesses the power of the Sun). The Sun is the source of energy and power, yet it can only be used by those that are many-skilled. When not in use, the Spear of Lugh was kept in a vat of cooling water (just as the Sun was thought to journey through the waters of the Land under the Waves). "I am Boar for Boldness, The Cauldron of the Dagda, which satisfied every need. The Cauldron is many things within Celtic traditions. As a Cauldron of plenty it is the mighty Sea which has a bounty that sustains the world. Not only, is there an endless supply of fish, but also there is an endless replenishment of the moisture of the clouds as water is transformed into its fogs and mists. Though they may not have known this, the Sea also contains the phyto-plankton that replenish the world's oxygen supply as well. The Sea is also a Cauldron of Knowledge in the way that its calm surface hides and contains the secrets of its depths. It is no small matter that the House of Donn, the Land of the Blessed Ancestors is within the Sea as are the islands of the imrama. It is fitting that The Dagda's Cauldron should provide Life from the Lands of the Dead. Who is He who announceth the ages of the Moon? The Stone of Fal, which would cry out beneath every king. Stone endures. Symbols in stone speak to us across many generations. Stone is eternal. The enigmatic brughs and stone circles contain a great secret. Within their structure is contained the secrets of the rising and falling of the Sun and the Moon. Upon the swirls within the rocks are the pathways to the stars themselves. Not only can a stone acknowledge a king, it can also contain the wisdom and the spirits of the Mighty Ones. The Lia Fail was located on the Northern end of the Mound of Tara. A Black Raven upon a Stone of Destiny. Words of a Goddess. Words of Prophecy. Triple Morrigu! The Four (Five) Directions, Masters and Qualities "I am Bull of Seven Fights" The East , where arises the Sun and the Dawn. It is this quarter that symbolizes the "clearing of the mists" and "the plowing of the fields". In this Magical direction is Findias (City of Light) wherein rules Uiscias, Master of Awakening Knowledge. It is within the new beginnings of the day and year that we begin to Prosper. We must harness the oxen of our team to the plough and begin our labors. We will receive that which we have planted. We will see only that which has been made clear by the Light. Always when we begin, there is the potential of failure. We must work hard and be diligent and then we can hope for success. The end of our journey can be no better than its beginning."I am Dewdrop, The South, where the Sun's full glory brings us warmth for growth. This is the quarter that warms the heart of Nature. It is the realm of Harmony and Fire. It sustains the passions of poets as well as the growth of Life. Esras is the Gatekeeper of the Heart's Warmth. His realm is Gorias (City of Warmth). We must listen to the Music of our Soul's Song. It is within the rhythms of life that we can find the keys to opening the ways. "I am Wind on Sea, The West, Islands of the Otherworld. Semias is the guardian of the veil between the worlds. When we stretch our Spirits beyond the walls of Ego, we can drink of the Well of Segais and be renewed by its many streams. Knowledge is the gift of Murias (City of the Sea). Bounty is its blessing. There is a thin line to its source, yet five broad streams that flow forth. Within the Cauldron of the Dagda awaits the Deeper Mystery.
"Who smootheth the ruggedness of a
mountain?" The North is our fortress of Fate. It is here that we must face the conflicts of Destiny. Morfesa, Master of Great Knowledge will judge us. Within Fal's stone foundations are carved the works of our life, our death and our onward journey. If we have awakened our awareness with the Sun's dawning; if we have nurtured its growth as the seasons spin past; if we have walked the thin line between worlds to the Cauldron of Rebirth; only then can we face our Destiny within the cold stone of Fal (City of Destiny). Only then are we prepared to gain the center of Bith.
"I am God who fashioned Fire for a Head." The Center is the realm of the Spirit. It is the interconnection of all time and space. It is an infinity of Circles within Circles, connected by threefold Spirals of Creation. Here is the land of the Bíle, sacred tree of the tribe. When we are within the Sacred Center, we are home. It is the land of the Old Ones and the Gods. The spiraling Tree of Life connects us to all things, all directions and all Draíocht. "Enchantments
about a spear? Enchantments of Wind?" "Air" means East in Old Irish and "airtherach" means the front of the head or the "perceiving intelligence". The Celts determined directions by facing East in the morning. South was to the Right and North was to the left. West was then behind. Sacred Space was entered from the West to the East, so that one was facing the direction wherein new beginnings occurred. Positive Magicks were worked "Sunwise", called "deasal" (to the righthand side). Banishing Magicks were worked to the lefthandside or "tuathal". This motion was "against the Sun". All of this is relative motion. To bring power from the Sky one would "honor" the Sun and travel its path. To invoke Power from below, one would travel the way of the Land which is where I think the word "tuathal" gets used. The right side was considered "good, strong, positive, projective and Light". The left side was considered "not good, weak, banishing, receptive and Dark". The Three Worlds are Above, Here and Below; Sky, Land and Sea; Future, Present and Past. This arrangement agrees with many indigenous as well as Shamanic cosmologies. Just about every Magical system I've ever seen is based on the seven directions. Almost all of them have a medicine/spirit/seasonal wheel. The Celts were especially enamored of wheels and circles. The area in which they lived was filled with stone circles and astronomically aligned stone/ritual sites. One of the primary Celtic Gods was a God of the Wheel (Taranis). Mogh Roith (the name means the Devotee of the Wheel) was possibly a God of the Wheel and not just a Druid. The Sun itself was said to be "roth fail" or a "wheel of circling light". There are many other references to wheels, the Sun and the zodiac within Celtic writings. Magicks were best conducted at places that were "in-between". This means that they were best done on the edge of a lake, river or stream; at the top of a hill or a mountain or within a cave; at the dawning or the dusk or within a mist or a fog; upon a threshold, beside a well or in front of a fire. Places where roads crossed were considered to be good for Magick (since they were neither one road or the other). Bruidhean were located at such places to provide hospitality for all. This "not quite in this world" characteristic is one reason why a pooka or a faerie will vanish if you look straight at them (one should always gaze upon such beings from the corner of the eye). It is also a major reason why folks lose their focus during meditations and out of the body experiences. The Summerlands were always in the Great Sea to the West. The Tuatha Dé Danann were said to have come from the sky/ the North/ the islands at the top of the world. People were considered to be Spirits inhabiting bodies and not Bodies that also happened to have Spirits within them. No spell had any Power without having risk to the person casting the spell. It is for this reason that oaths were taken to the three Worlds of Sky, Sea and Land. No curse could be given if the sender of the curse was not willing to take an equally horrible curse in return (however, if their own cause was just...if they were "true", then they had nothing to fear). This is why many incantations were done across the edge of a spear or a knife. Magick cut both ways. Only the Truth would protect you. Let's see how the "Truth Against the World" is itself divided. [_members/blfsnhdtcqmgngstraoueieaoiuiioae/members/daireclass/_private/_amrún_foot.htm] |
