Three Forms of Imbas
Searles O'Dubhain

Sat Jan  9 09:51:55 1999
Imbas is an Old Irish term for prophetic knowledge that comes through illumination or enlightenment.  The "Cauldron of Poesy"  talks about it a little and more mention is made of it in the tales of Fionn and Fedelm, as well as in Cormac's Glossary.  I've recently been considering this experience in its triadic forms: Dichetal do Chennaib, Teinm Laegda and Imbas Forosna.  What follows are some of my thoughts though more can be had from O'Dubhain's Cauldron in the Summerlands Public Library.*p*A lot of what I'm posting here is my *interpretation* based on my own studies and my own experiences.  A more thorough and scholarly investigation needs to be done to conclusively "nail down" each technique.  It is my hope, that someone will be inspired to do such a study and subsequently post their findings here as well.  The terms in question  are: Tenm Laida, Dichetal Do Chennaib and Imbas Forosna *p*Teinm Laida, Dichetal Do Chennaib and Imbas Forosna are the "Three Illuminations" of the Filidh.  They are the techniques that a Druid or a Fili could be expected to know after passing through the eighth year of study in a Druidic/Poetic school. They are the height of what I called "passive Drai/ocht".  It is my belief that the more active forms of Drai/ocht were reserved for the final four years of a Druid/Fili's schooling.*br*              *br*Teinm Laida (Illumination by Song, "Cracking the Pith") is an altered state that is achieved by chanting or singing a repetitive pattern (usually calling on the gods in some form). This could possibly also have included drumming and dancing as alternative means of achieving the proper altered state.  Such activities are now known to synchronize the body and mind to an the external rhythm,  allowing one to cast off the chains of normal perception. The practioner of this art must float at peace within the rhythm of the song (dance, beat, mantra, etc.). The state of inner quietness and focus that was achieved by such chanting may well be considered to be an "altered state".  The incessant reptition of the mantra would serve to take one to the center of knowledge or to "crack the pith."  In such a state, communion with the ancestors and the gods could occur more readily, allowing prophecies and insights to be made.  Sometimes the space for such an illumination might have been marked off using rods of the appropriate woods (yew/hazel) which might have themselves been marked with Oghamic inscriptions.*br*            *br*Dichetal Do Chennaib (Extemporaneous Composition, "from the Fingertips") is a state achieved by relaxation and clearing the mind in a Ritual environment. It usually involved using some sort of Magical implement such as a knife, a sword or a staff. Sometimes the Druid had to actually touch the subject (if alive, usually upon the head) or directly handle an item to discover what secret knowledge was contained within it. This information could be almost anything: events from a person's past life, a detailed history of who and what had happened to an object or even how and why the subject was bespelled or enchanted.  The examples that I've seen seem to suggest to me that a spontaneous flow of information and/or poetic verse might accompany the first contact that occurred between the seer and the object. This verse would then be interpreted based upon the vast storehouse of Druidic knowledge that had been accumulated through many years of study, experiment, observation and experience.  This suggests that the divination contained many levels of meaning (frequently the poetic compositions also contained many levels of knowledge and encrypted meaning).  It is possible that Ogham were used to facilitate and to quantify  the translation of hidden knowledge through touch and a use of a form of "Hand Ogham."*br*              *br*Imbas Forosna (Illumination of Tradition or "Sudden Illumination") was a form of altered state used by Seers and Fili to create and/or see visions. The seers would totally isolate themselves from all sensory inputs, sounds, lights and feelings. This could be enhanced by being closed up within a very dark room or laying under a covering of hides (though it could also be done in a mundane situation, even on a battlefield). The Seer would pronounce incantations over his/her hands, placing then crosswise upon the face and eyes.  While lying or standing within isolation (sometimes in the company of their hand gods and/or idols/Ogham rods), they would attempt to float and relax, going into a more receptive state.  When the proper state was achieved, a signal would be given for the hides to be removed or for the door to be opened.  The sudden,  instantaneous transition from Darkness to Light would trigger spontaneous visions or poetic utterance.  In such an "in-between time and place"  prophecies could be made more easily. A heightened awareness of the secret knowledge of the surrounding space might also be made available to the seer.   It is in the rush of perceptions and altered lighting conditions, that a kind of prophetic magnetism was generated (this is like gases rushing into a vaccuum or a balancing out of the charges within a chemical mixture of isotopes).  The key to the technique seems to have been in the sudden changes of external/internal stimuli.  Sometimes, Imbas Forosna was practiced by chewing the flesh of a dog, a cat, a pig or a bull while meditating with the palms upon the eyes.  In this practice, it is similar to the actions of the Tarbh Feis (though that ritual involved actual prophetic dreaming vs the meditative state/change of Imbas Forosna).*p*It is said that during the days of the early Celtic Church, Padraig outlawed the techniques of Imbas Forosna and Teinm Laida because they used pagan idols and Magical symbols.  Dichetal Do Chenaib was allowed to continue because it was thought to be based more upon knowledge acquired from the study of poetry and scientific information and did not utilize idols or invocations to the pagan gods.*p*Searles