The Inis Glas Hedge School
Searles

Fri Aug 25 09:49:41 2000
Here is the short form for the curriculum of The Inis Glas Hedge School.  I offer it here as it was sent to me years ago by Erynn Laurie and Lorrax.  It touches on many topics I'm sure that we would like to inculde in our studies within the Summerlands Druid Seminary.*p*Searles*p*The Inis Glas Hedge School*br*Lesson One Outline*p*Song: 9th Wave/Song of Aimirgen*p*Tale: The Five Invasions of Ireland*p*Handouts: Timeline*br*	Instructions of Cormac*br*	Irish Triads*br*	The Gundestrup Cauldron, Timothy Taylor, Scientific American*p*The Historical Context*br*	Non-literate cultures, teachings passed orally through poetry, tales & song*br*		Irish verb "to teach" means "to sing over"*p*Various forms of Celtic cultures*br*	Hunter/Gatherers*br*	Pastoralists*br*	Agriculturalists*br*	Metalsmiths*p*Urban & Rural cultures*br*	Urban: Gauls*br*		Iberian Celts*br*		Cisalpine Celts*br*	Rural: Irish/Scots*br*		Welsh*br*		Cornish*br*		Manx*p*Deforestation & its impact*br*	Romans: a Celtic chieftain once said "the Romans make a desert and they*br* call it peace."*br*	Plato (Gordon)*p*Surrounding Cultures*br*	Germans/Norse*br*	Picts (may have been proto-Celtic)*br*	Romans*br*	Greeks*br*	Slavs*p*Indo-European cultural similarities: Dumezil*br*	Tripartite structures*br*	Gundestrup Cauldron & travelling art motifs*p*Reading: Excerpts from the Instructions of Cormac*br*	"To refute untruth"*br*	""It is the strengthening of Paganism"*p*Ethics: Personal & Social Boundaries*br*	Caelte: Strength in our arms, Truth in our hearts, Fulfillment (Clarity) in our tongues*p*Celtic "9 Virtues"*br*	Honor*br*	Justice*br*	Loyalty*br*	Courage*br*	Community*br*	Hospitality*br*	Gentleness*br*	Wisdom*br*	Eloquence*p*What offends the Gods? What offends human community?*p*	Penalties for oathbreaking, repeated denial of hospitality, desecration of*br*sacred places/things, improper conduct in battle*br*		Forbidden to take part in ritual*br*		Forbidden to take oaths*br*		Forbidden to take part in battle*br*		Forbidden to buy or sell*br*		Denied hospitality except bread & water*br*		Forbidden to share common goods or to borrow*br*		Forbidden to have sexual relationships*br*		Forbidden access to healers except in life-threatening need*br*		Forbidden inheritance & civil rights*p*Ethics are applied to all of life, not just humans*br*Ethics applied to rivers & mountains*br*Jack's Portion or the commons*p*Pros & Cons of tribalism today*p*"Each person is better than their birth"*br*Brehon Laws*br*	Roles of women, children, sexuality*br*	Fosterage, importance of relationships*br*	Slavery & Freedom (changing social status)*br*	Debt across lifetimes*p*Exercizes: The Center Point, Acknowledging the Three Realms*p*Assignment: (Essay) Discuss one of the virtues as it works in your life through Strength, Truth & Fulfillment/Clarity*p**br*Lesson One*br*Reading*p*Cunliffe, Barry, The Celtic World : An Illustrated History of the Celtic Race, Their Culture, Customs and Legends (Greenwich House, NY 1986)*p*Gray, Elizabeth A. Cath Maige Tuired: The Second Battle of Mag Tuired (Irish Texts Society, Leinster 1982)*p*Littleton, C. Scott, The New Comparative Mythology : An Anthropological Assessment of the Theories of Georges Dumezil, 3ed (University of California Press,  Berkeley 1982)*p*Mallory, J.P., In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archaeology and Myth (Thames & Hudson, London 1991)*p*Oosten, Jarich G. The War of the Gods: The Social Code in Indo-European Mythology (Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 1985)*p*Rees, Alwyn and Brinley, Celtic Heritage : Ancient Tradition in Ireland and Wales (Thames & Hudson, NY 1989)*p*Taylor, Timothy, The Gundestrup Cauldron, Scientific American, March  1992*p*Vansina, Jan, Oral Tradition as History (University of Wisconsin Press, Madison 1985)*p**p*The Inis Glas Hedge School*br*Lesson Two Outline*p*Tales: Tuan*br*	Fintan*p*Handout: Carmina solar & lunar poetry*br*	Suggested Links Between Eastern & Celtic Music, Fanny Feehan*p*The Ancestors*br*	Who are we?*br*	How can we connect with our ancestors?*p*The Hazards of Racism*br*	The Celts were a linguistic group, not a racial group*br*	Spiritual ancestry*br*	We live many lives in many bodies*p*The Celts have a living culture! Have respect for living traditions while we*br*explore that which was lost.*br*	Music, Traditional & Modern (1/4 tones in Irish Music) (Sinead, Pogues,*br*	Chieftains, Altan, etc)*br*	Poetry*br*	Gaelic literature*br*	Anglo-Irish & Anglo-Welsh Literature*p*Oppression of the Celts*br*	Romans*br*	Christianity*br*	Land Clearances for sheep*br*	Famines*p*Our Own Families*br*	Genealogy as the story of our own ancestors*br*	Honoring our own ancestors*p*Tale: The Search for Mabon*p*Land Spirits*br*	Kinds of Land Spirits*br*	Genius Loci "spirits of place"*br*	Water - kelpies, selkies, etc*br*	Tree & Plant*br*	Stones*br*	Animals*br*	Pucas (spirits)*br*	Spirits that travel with humans - brownies, leprechauns*p*Encountering Land Spirits in Places of Power*p*Local Land Spirits*br*	Respect them but be cautious*br*	They may not respond to Celtic protocols*p*Offerings to Land Spirits*br*	Milk*br*	Water*br*	Hazel nuts*br*	Rowan berrires*br*	Grains*br*	Tree & Hedge plantings*br*	Re-seeding wildflowers*br*	NO SALT!*p*Exercizes: Crossing the Waters*br*	Solar Adorations*p*Assignments:*br*	Create a shrine for your Ancestors*br*		photos, mementos, candles, incense, offerings*br*	Create a solar and lunar adoration for your use*p**br*Lesson Two*br*Reading*p**br*Carmichael, Alexander, Carmina Gadelica, Lindisfarne, 1991*p*Curtin, Jeremiah, Myths and Folk Tales of Ireland, Dover, NY 1975*p*Evans-Wentz, W.Y., The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries, Citadel, NY 1990*p*Keightly, Thomas, World Guide to Gnomes, Elves, Fairies & Other Little People, Avanel, NY 1978*p*Kirk, Robert, The Secret Commonwealth, Folklore Society, Cambridge 1976 (or any other edition you can find)*p*Driscoll, Robert, ed. The Celtic Consciousness, George Braziller, NY  1981*p*Ross, Anne, Folklore of the Scottish Highlands, Barnes & Noble, NY 1976*p**p*The Inis Glas Hedge School*br*Lesson Three Outline*p*Tales: dindsenchas: The Naming of Tara by Five Peoples*br*	Aimirgen's invocation of Ireland*p*Cosmology: what does it mean?*br*	lack of single central Celtic creation myth*br*	Sequana and the duck as world-diver, sun-diver*br*	dindsenchas as creation myths*p*The Three Realms: Land, Sea & Sky*br*	everpresent*br*	Oaths by 3 realms*br*	Otherworld equivalents of the Three Realms*p*The Triskele and the Double Spiral -- gateways*p*Directional cosmology*br*	Four directions, N S E W*br*	Five directions, SW*br*	Eight directions, Above, Center, Below*br*		The directions are NOT elements*p*Deosil & Tuathail: differing energies*p*The Well and the Tree (brief)*br*	Feige Find & Five Rings (brief)*p*Nine duile: many sets, none exclusive, differed between times & places*br*	examples: Deer's Cry, Spence*p*Handout: duile - elements/body/energy, different categories*br*	glossary of terms*p*emotions "on you"*br*head as seat of soul*p*Helen's Welsh famtrad: 7 elements (Helen gives discussion)*br*	Scottish poetry referring to 7 elements*p*metal - never living*br*stone - nonliving, supports life*br*wood - once living, might live, living*br*water \*br*air     | potential for life*br*heat   /*br*life - motivating force*p*interactions between states*p**br*Eight Welsh "elements" from early Welsh medical text*p*Deities*br*	deity is a continuum, landspirits to greater Gods & Goddesses*br*		kami, deity, nature spirit - who is what? can we ever really tell?*br*	deities have many roles, often overlapping*br*	Gille Decair - Gods in disguise*br*	deities of place*br*	deities of arts*br*	deities of natural phenomena or creatures*br*	deity as real vs. archetype or convenient concept*p*Danu, Manannan & Bile as "tribal" deities*br*	individual deities as personal matron/patron*p*Handout: deities correspondence chart -- NOT the only interpretation, not meant as a cookbook listing.*p*Exercise: half-hour Meditation on Danu, invocation by Gordon*br*	light incense, candles*br*	water charged with Danu's energy, everyone drinks*p*Assignment: essay on the 9 duile, doesn't have to be very long. Think about interrelationships*p**br*Lesson Three*br*Reading*p**br*Cross, Tom Peete & Clark Harris Slover, Ancient Irish Tales, Barnes & Noble,*br*Totowa NJ 1988*p*Davidson, H.R. Ellis, Myths and Symbols of Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian*br*and Celtic Religions, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse 1988*p*Dames, Michael, Mythic Ireland, Thames & Hudson, London 1992*p*de Santillana, Giorgio and Hertha von Dechend, Hamlets Mill: An Essay on*br*Myth and the Frame of Time, Gambit, Boston 1969*p*Green, Miranda, The Gods of the Celts, Barnes & Noble, Totowa NJ 1986*p*Lebra, William P., Okinawan Religion: Belief, Ritual, and Social Structure,*br*University of Hawaii Press, Honoloulu 1966*p*MacCana, Proinsias, Celtic Mythology, Hamlyn, London 1970*p*Onians, Richard, The Origins of European Thought About the Body, the Mind,*br*the Soul, the World, Time, and Fate, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1951*p*Sjoestedt, Marie-Louise, Gods and Heroes of the Celts, trans. Myles Dillon,*br*Turtle Island, Berkeley 1982*p*Redgrove, Peter, The Black Goddess and the Unseen Real: Our Unconscious*br*Senses and Their Uncommon Sense, Grove Press, NY 1987*p*Thompson, William Irwin, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology,*br*Sexuality & the Origins of Culture, St. Martins, NY 1981*p*Webster, Graham, Celtic Religion in Roman Britain, Barnes & Noble, Totowa NJ*br*1986*p**p*The Inis Glas Hedge School*br*Lesson Four Outline*p*Readings: Instructions of Cormac ("preserving ancient lore")*br*	Triads about knowledge and/or wisdom*br*	excerpts from Law texts about judgment and precedent*p*Research methodologies and standards*br*	occultists vs. scholars - are they playing the same game?*br*	importance of wide reading*br*	don't believe everything you read*br*	why some books don't cut it*br*	role of intuition in research*br*	what we assume effects our conclusions*br*	data vs. interpretation*br*	case study: Castaneda and de Mille*p*Doing research*br*	libraries: intro to Suzzallo/Allen libraries*br*		your local libraries*br*	books & journals*br*	bibliographies & how to use them*br*	keeping notes on sources & your own thoughts & analysis*br*	interlibrary loans*p*Reading: Imbas Forosnai from Cormac's Glossary*p*Handout: Imbas Forosnai by Nora Chadwick*p*Meditation: what is it and why do we need it?*br*	meditative states*br*	physiology of meditation*br*	importance of proper breathing*p*Uses of meditation*br*	focus*br*	contemplation*br*	self-healing*br*	self-assessment*br*	receptivity to contact from deity/spirits/etc*br*	assessing others*p*Problems of meditation: case study -- New Moon*p*Assuming meditative space*br*	safe space*br*	purpose*br*	listen to your body*br*	perceptions while in meditative states*br*	self-hypnosis*br*	guided meditations & visualizations*br*	journaling your meditative work*p*Brief discussion of Clocha for meditative process*p*Exercise: guided meditation through Cormac's Cup -- discussion*p*Assignment: research your personal deity. Find tales about them, images,  other*br*associated deities who are related as kin or through names or themes. Show and*br*evaluate your sources. Intuition & meditation are ok as sources!*p**br*Lesson Four*br*Reading*p**br*Davis, Martha, Elizabeth Eshelman, Matthew McKay, The Relaxation & Stress*br*Reduction Workbook, New Harbinger Publications, Oakland 1988*p*de Mille, Richard, The Don Juan Papers: Further Castaneda Controversies,*br*Ross-Erikson Publishers, Santa Barbara 1980*p*Gross, Ronald, The Independent Scholar's Handbook, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley*br*1993*p*Graves, Robert, The White Goddess, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, NY 1948*p*Hope, Murray, Practical Celtic Magic, Aquarian Press, 1988*p*Hutton, Ronald, The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles, Blackwell,*br*Cambridge 1991*p*Laurie, Erynn, A Circle of Stones: Journeys & Meditations for Modern Celts,*br*Eschaton, Chicago 1995*p*Luhrman, T. M., Persuasions of the Witch's Craft: Ritual Magic in*br*Contemporary England, Harvard University Press, Cambridge 1989*p*Merrifield, Ralph, The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic, New Amsterdam Books,*br* NY 1987*p**p*The Inis Glas Hedge School*br*Lesson Five Outline*p*Tales: Mayday poem of Fionn*br*	The Adventure of Nera - Samhain*br*	Lugh defeats the Earth Giant - Lughnassadh*p*The Year of the Celts*br*	Samhain, Imbolc, Beltaine, Lughnassadh*br*		liminal times*br*	Day and night*br*		Oengus mac ind Og becomes the ruler of time*br*	Feats & wonders performed on liminal days*br*		wonder tales*br*	Deities associated with different days or times*p*Watching the natural world to determine holy days*br*	Cross-quarter days: Manannan & Midsummer*br*	Megalithic monuments & the pre-Celtic peoples*br*	Coligny calendar*br*	Robert Graves & the tree calendar*br*	continental vs insular calendars*p*Puget Sound - creating a ritual calendar that celebrates our own local times*br*	examples: salmon run in autumn*br*	blackberry season near lughnassadh*p*What happens if you move to another area?*br*	observing local seasons & events*p*Altars & Sacred Space*p*Using cosmology to model altars*br*	the altar as between*br*	rules of altar construction*p*	Sacred space in your living space*br*	the world as sacred space*p*Old world sacred sites*br*	travel guides*br*	ordinance survey maps*br*	gazetteers*p*Local sacred sites - handout: Seattle sites associated with Native lore*br*	Be careful have permission from residents & local land spirits *br*	we are NOT doing Indian ceremonies, just honoring local spirits *br*	in our own ways connecting to Celtic deities & spirits in local sites*p*Tale: Corby tells a local Native tale about one of the sacred animals*p*Exercise: G&E build an altar for the class. Group discusses meanings &*br*symbolism of the altar & its components*p*Exercise: Raising the Mists*p*Assignment: Create an altar for your personal deity, indoors or out. Work*br*with your altar as sacred cosmology, liminal space between the Sidhe realm *br*and our own*p**br*Lesson Five*br*Reading*p*Brennan, Martin, The Stones of Time: Calendars, Sundials and Stone Chambers*br*of Ancient Ireland, Inner Traditions, Rochester VT 1994*p*Carr-Gomm, Philip, The Druid Way, Element Press, Rockport MA 1993*p*The Celtic Folk Calendar, Kevin Danaher; from The Celtic Consciousness, ed.Driscoll*p*Jackson, Kenneth, A Celtic Miscellany, Penguin Classics, Middlesex 1971*p*Krupp, E.C., Echoes of the Ancient Skies: The Astronomy of Lost*br*Civilizations, Harper & Row, NY 1983*p*MacNeill, F. Marian, The Silver Bough, Cannongate, Edinburgh 1989*p*MacNeill, ME1ire, The Festival of Lughnasa: A Study of the Survival of the*br*Celtic Festival of the Beginning of Harvest, Comhairle Bhaloideas Cireann, Dublin 1982*p*Ross, Anne, The Folklore of the Scottish Highlands, Barnes & Noble, Totowa NJ 1993*p*Ross, Anne, The Pagan Celts, Barnes & Noble, Totowa NJ 1986 (formerly  Everyday Life of the Pagan Celts)*p*Wood-Martin, W.B., Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland: A Folklore Sketch, Longmans, Green & Co., NY 1902*p**p*The Inis Glas Hedge School*br*Lesson Six Outline*p*Poem: Kathleen Raine, child in the little boat*p*Readings: Sanas Cormac definition of fili*br*	Ansruith*br*	druimcli*p*Handout: poetic grades & training of fili*br*	Welsh poetic grades*p*The place of the fili in Celtic society*br*	Seannachies*br*	Court vs Wild poets*br*		fianna, geilt*br*	House poets*p*The Five Crafts of Poetry (Auraicept)*br*	nourishes*br*	sings*br*	impels*br*	judges*br*	establishes*p*The powers of poetry: healing, memory, divination*p*Social uses of poetry: praise, satire, history, genealogy*p*Conservatism of the poetic tradition*br*	innovation, continuity & localization (spiritual bioregionalism?)*p*A living tradition means there is no confusion. Confusion arises with fossilization of a tradition.*p*Parry and Lord and "The Formula" -- The Singer of Tales, Traditional Oral  Epic*p*The importance of learning to create poetry. "Poetry is the sister of wisdom."*p*The importance of learning Celtic languages -- language as worldview*p*Handout: Celtic poetic forms, Irish & Welsh*p*Reading: The Cauldron of Poesy (Erynn's translation)*br*Handout: The Cauldron of Poesy translation & commentary*p*Cauldrons in Celtic myth*br*	Daghda*br*	Cerridwen*br*	other cauldrons*p**p*The Three Cauldrons*br*	The Cauldron of Warming*br*	The Cauldron of Motion*br*	The Cauldron of Wisdom*p*Connection to the three harp strains, duile, etc*p*The three cauldrons & the head cult*p*Tale: Boand gives birth to the three harp strains*p*Functions of the cauldrons*br*	health*br*	emotion*br*	intellect*br*	wisdom*p*The energies of the Cauldrons*br*	Yoga and its possible connections*p*Activating & using the cauldrons*br*	filling*br*	turning*br*		joy*br*		sorrow*br*	boiling*br*	brewing*p*Observation of the cauldrons*br*	you can't move someone else's, but you might be able *br*	to effect what's in them*br*	not everyone will have cauldrons in the same positions*br*	not everyone will have all cauldrons active (every second person)*p*Exercise: Cauldron Breathing*br*	turning the Cauldron of Motion through contemplation of joy & sorrow*p*Reading: The Un-Test*p*Assignments:*br*	Write a poem to your personal deity*br*	Analyze the Un-Test*p**br*Lesson Six*br*Reading*p**br*Eliade, Mircea, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstacy, Bollingen, Princeton 1974*p*Eliade, Mircea, Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, Bollingen, Princeton 1969*p*Fallon, Peter & Derek Mahon, The Penguin Book of Contemporary Irish Poetry,*br*Penguin, NY 1990*p*Jackson, Kenneth, Studies in Early Celtic Nature Poetry, Cambridge*br*University Press, Cambridge 1935*p*Lord, Albert B., The Singer of Tales, Harvard University Press, Cambridge*br* 1960*p*Moyers, Bill, The Language of Life: A Festival of Poets, Doubleday, NY 1995*p*Keefe, J.G., Buile Suibhne: (The Frenzy of Suibhne) Being the Adventures*br*of Suibhne Geilt, A Middle Irish Romance, Irish Texts Society, London 1913*p*Raine, Kathleen, Defending Ancient Springs, Inner Traditions, Lindisfarne*br*Press, West Stockbridge MA 1985*p*Raine, Kathleen, Selected Poems, Inner Traditions, Lindisfarne Press, Great*br*Barrington MA 1988*p*Skelton, Robin, Spellcraft, McClelland & Steward Ltd, Toronto 1978*p*Skelton, Robin, Samhain and other poems in Irish Metres of the Eighth to the*br*Sixteenth Centuries, Salmon Press, Dublin 1994*p*Skelton, Robin & Margaret Blackwood, Earth, Air, Fire, Water: Pre-Christian*br*and Pagan Elements in British Songs, Rhymes and Ballads, Arkana, NY 1990*p*Snyder, Gary, No Nature: New and Selected Poems, Pantheon Books, NY 1992*p*Travis, James, Early Celtic Versecraft: Origin, Development, Diffusion,*br*Cornell University Press, Ithaca NY 1973*p**p*Spellcraft is unfortunately not in print in the USA. It can be mail-ordered from the University of Victoria, BC university book store in Victoria, British Columbia. Their phone number in Canada is (604)  721-8311.*p*Samhain may be ordered direct from the publisher at Salmon Publishing Ltd., Poolbeg Enterprises Ltd., Knocksedan House, 123 Baldoyle Industrial Estage, Dublin 13, Ireland.*p**p*The Inis Glas Hedge School*br*Lesson Seven Outline*p*Tale: Fionn and the Man in the Tree*p*Handout: Chain Symbolism in Celtic Tales*p*Images in tales & poetry*br*	places - shore, bridge/ford, forest*br*	things*br*	animals*br*	people*br*	trees*br*	foods*br*	colors - red/white/black, colors of winds*br*	neither/nor paradigm, liminality*p*The Well & the Tree*br*	Cauldrons & Wells*br*		Sampo & whirlpools, cauldron & whirlpools*br*	Norse parallels -- Mimir's Well & Yggdrasil*p*Tale: Boand & Nechtan's Well*p*Fire in Water themes*br*	Sulis & Bladdud*p*Handout: Sulis Head drawing (meditative device)*p*Tale: The King of Ireland's Son (fire in water)*p*Immersion*br*	Boand is drowned*br*	Siannan & Segais*br*	Dismemberment theme similar to shamanic initiations, but no*br* 	"reconstruction"  phase -- the body is the river itself*p*Healing wells & hot springs*br*	Brighid*br*	Airmid, Dian Cecht & Miach*p*Trees*br*	the five sacred trees of Ireland*br*		Trefulngid Tre Eochair*p*Poem: The Tree of Ross*p*Handout: The King, the Poet and the Sacred Tree*p*Exercize: Becoming Derg Corra (ecstatic union with nature)*p*Assignment: Read a Celtic tale or poem and analyze the symbols contained in it*p**br*Lesson Seven*br*Reading*p*Buchan, David, Scottish Tradition: A Collection of Scottish Folk Literature, Routledge &*br*Kegan Paul, London 1984*p*Carr-Gomm, Philip & Stephanie, The Druid Animal Oracle: Working With the Sacred Animals of the Druid Tradition, Fireside Press, NY 1994*p*Green, Miranda, Animals in Celtic Life and Myth, Routledge, NY 1992*p*Green, Miranda, Symbol and Image in Celtic Religous Art, Routledge, NY 1989*p*Mellon, Nancy, Storytelling & the Art of Imagination, Element, Rockport MA*br* 1992*p*Nagy, Joseph, The Wisdom of the Outlaw: The Boyhood Deeds of Finn in Gaelic Narrative Tradition, University of California Press, Berkeley 1985*p*O hOgain, Daithi, Myth, Legend & Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk*br*Tradition, Prentice Hall Press, NY 1991*p*Parry-Jones, D., Welsh Legends and Fairy Lore, B. T. Batsford, Ltd., London 1988*p*Rhys, John, Celtic Folklore, Welsh & Manx, vols 1 & 2, Wildwood House, London*br*1983*p*Ross, Anne, Pagan Celtic Britain: Studies in Iconography and Tradition,*br*Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 1967*p**p*The Inis Glas Hedge School*br*Lesson Eight Outline*p*Tales: Three Lugaids meet Sovreignty*br*	Cu Chulainn's first battle*br*	The Phantom's Frenzy (Red Ale)*p*Rituals*br*	All life is ritualistic - primate rituals, bird rituals*br*	Why we need ritual*br*	What ritual does*br*		honoring Gods, Ancestors & Land Spirits09*br*		protection & warding*br*		patterning the cosmos*br*		affirming passages*br*		healing & blessing*br*		creation of magical objects*br*		internal work*br*		external magic*p*Storytelling as ritual*br*	tales & consciousness*br*	proper time for tales*p*Meditative states in ritual*br*	contemplative ritual*br*	devotional ritual*p*Ritual space*p*Exercize: Building the Sidhe Mound (wards & shields)*p*Poetry as necessary to ritual*br*	keening as ritual*br*	briochtai - spells, "eight syllable" poetry*p*Symbolism in ritual*br*	taking symbols into oneself*p*Ritual as living myth*br*	ritual drama*p*The Natural World*br*	wilderness/wildness vs civilization*br*	the Fianna*br*	Suibhne Geilt*br*	nature poetry in Irish & Welsh*p*Handout: nature poetry in Irish & Welsh*p*Importance of nature for its own sake*br*	"the preserving shrine"*br*	nature triads*p**br*Loss of connection with nature*br*	Ireland then & now*br*	Gaul then & now*p*Urbanization & loss of language accompany loss of connection with nature*p*Puget Sound - connecting with nature where we live*br*	local watersheds*br*	local parks*br*	local wildlife*br*	local wilderness areas*p*Building localized mythology*br*	Columbia as Danu*br*	building connections between Gods and land*p*Assignment: Create a ritual to acknowledge your bonds & relationship to the*br*land where you live*p**br*Lesson Eight*br*Reading*p*Driver, Tom F., The Magic of Ritual: Our Need for Liberating Rites that Transform Our Lives & Our Communities, Harper Collins, San Francisco 1991*p*Eliade, Mircea, Rites and Symbols of Initiation: The Mysteries of Birth and*br*Rebirth, Harper & Row, San Francisco 1958*p*Gomme, Alice B., The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland,*br*Thames & Hudson, London 1984*p*Gundarsson, KveldulfR Hagan, ed, Our Troth, The Ring of Troth, Ars Obscura, *br*Seattle 1993*p*Lonnrot, Elias, The Kalevala or Poems of the Kaleva District, trans. Francis Peabody*p*Magoun, Jr., Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA 1963*p*MacNeil, Maire,The Festival of Lughnassadh: A Study of the Survival of the Celtic Festival of the Beginning of Harvest, Comhairle Bhealoideas Eireann, University College, Dublin 1982*p*Spence, Lewis, Myth and Ritual in Dance, Games and Rhyme, Watts & Co.,  London*br*1947*p*Thompson, Robert Farris, Face of the Gods: Art and Altars of Africa and the African*br*Americas, The Museum for African Art, NY 1993*p*Turner, Victor, Revelation and Divination in Ndembu Ritual, Cornell University Press,*br*Ithaca NY 1975*p*Yamasaki, Taiko, Shingon: Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, Shambhala, Boston 1988*p**p*Rainforest road trip*p*Reading: King & Hermit, pp 8-32*p*2 hours meditation in the forest*p*Pay attention to your surroundings, the sounds, birds & animals you see*p*Pay attention to your body*p*Pay attention to your mental/emotional state*p*Music for return: Keltoi - Chi mi na Morbheanna*p*Discussion of experiences*p**br*The Inis Glas Hedge School*br*Lesson Nine Outline*p*Readings: Cu Chulainn leaves ogham spancels for Medb's army*br*	Ogma creates the Ogam*p*Handouts: ogams from BB*br*	Ogam letter meanings*br*	Meroney - Early Irish Letter Names*br*	Extra Ogam Letters*br*	Scapulomancy article*br*	Raven & Wren articles*p*History of the Ogam alphabet*br*	probably derived from Latin*br*	probably no older than 1st century ce*br*	used mainly on territorial & burial markers*p*O'Boyle on ogam as musical notation*p*Fionn's Window as meditational device*p*General divinatory theory*br*	synchronicity*br*	divine intervention*p*Three basic types of divination*br*	symbol*br*	pattern*br*	inspiration*p*Handout: chart of divinatory systems by type*p*Casting of oghams vs taking of omens*br*	bird omens*br*	cloud omens -neldoracht*p*Procedure for making ogham staves*br*	which trees to use*br*	ritual preparations*br*	asking permission from trees*br*	thanking trees*br*	offerings*p*Overview of Ogam meanings & basic divination system*p*Poetic divination*br*	tenm laida*br*	imbas forosnai*br*	dichetal di chennaib*p*Life & the Afterlife*br*	Tir na Marbh - Land of the Dead*br*	Teach Duinn - the House of Donn*br*	Manannan as psychopomp*br*	Voyage of Bran*br*	Islands to the West*br*	Sidhe mounds as realms of the dead*br*	ghosts & hauntings*br*	beansidhe & omens of death*br*	contracts across lifetimes*br*	reincarnation*p*Cthonic deities in gravesites*p*How can we live a good & decent life?*br*	ethics in relation to humans & ancestors*br*	ethics in relation to Gods*br*	ethics in relation to Land Spirits & nature*p*Worship & prayer as part of everyday life*p*Reverence for dead, remembering ancestors*p*Exercize: sample Ogam reading, 3 staves*p*Assignment: Create your own Ogam staves using proper rituals & protocols*p**br*Lesson Nine*br*Reading*p**br*Calder, George, Auraicept na n-Eces: The Scholars Primer, John Grant, Edinburgh 1917*p*MacAlister, R. A. Stewart, The Secret Languages of Ireland with Special Reference to the*p*Origin and Nature of the Shelta Language, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1937*p*McManus, Damian, A Guide to Ogam, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies,  Dublin 1990(?)*p*OBoyle, Sean, Ogam, the Poets Secret, Gilbert Dalton, Dublin 1980*p*Thorsson, Edred, Runelore: A Handbook of Esoteric Runology, Samuel Weiser, NY 1987*br*