Druids
Druids
Druids
SAL, SAIL, SAILE, the sea, salt water, the willow, slimey,
dirty, Lat. salum, Eng. swell, Bry. c’hoalen, salt. Salach,
dirty. salann, salt, the Lat. sal, salt.
SALL, obs. lampoon, satire, invective, bitterness, singing,
harmony.
It would seem that Lugh and Bil, and the Cailleach and
the Bride are not really contending personalities, but
components of a single god and goddess. Some of the old
tales reinforce this by saying that the Cailleach retreated
annually to the Island of Youth, far out in the western sea,
on the Oichche Bridd, or Eve of the Bride. In the center of
woods in that place (as in An Domhain) there was once a
fountain of perpetual youth. "There at the first glimmer of
dawn, before any bird has sung or any dog barked, the hag
drinks of water that emerges from a crevice of a rock, and
having renewed her youth, emerges as Bride, the fair young
goddess at the touch of whose wand the dun grass turns to
vivid green, starred with the white and yellow flowers of
spring." Of course, the transformation of Beul to Lugh and
Cailleach to Samh was only made fast on the first of May,
and in the interval from Bride's Day to Beltane
schizophrenia (and mixed weather) prevailed, as it does to
the present. , or failing sun, is described as one-eyed and
hairy, like the seals of the ocean. From this last
characteristic, she was also known as Mag Moullach, the one
with the Hairy Hand. She was also given as the Beire, or
Bear. Various Anglo-Saxon tribesmen identified her as the
Old Sough, Gyre-Carline, The Storm-Wife or Gentle Annie.
The death goddess was said to have a local seat within the
Scottish mountain called Ben Nevin, and came forth from it
on or about the time of the New Year (November 1), to wash
her great plaid in the whirlpool of Coire Bhreacain, the
"Cauldron of the Plaid." "Before the washing it is said that
the roar of a coming tempest is heard by people on the coast
for a distance of twenty miles, for a period of three days
until the cauldron boils. When the washing is over, the plaid
of old Scotland is virgin white."
The old-world Gaels said that the sun and the moon-
spirits were pursued in the sky by the wolves or dogs of the
under-sea world, who (at the time of eclipses) came near to
devouring her. Maritime Canadian seamen said that the sun
as pursued by sun-dogs; the moon was considered at hazard
because of pursuing dawfish (dawnfish or dogfish) which
are a species of shark. Although these sharks are too small
to be a hazard to men they were always considered ominous:
"A ship followed by a shark is due for bad luck." The cloud
formation known as the sharks mouth is infrequent enough
to be remarkable. When it occurs the clouds are seen to
arrange themselves in parallel rows (like sharks teeth).
These rows usually fan out from two points on opposite
horizons and are most expansive directly overhead. "When
the shark's mouth is seen, wind will come from one of these
quarters."
SAMH, sorrel. Plants with a sour taste because of their
oxalic acid content. Oxalis is a noted member of this group.
Poisonous when consumed in quantity.
SAOIBHAGEUL, a fable.
SÀR, oppression, Lat. sperno, Eng. spurn. See above and note
below.
SÀR, excellent matchless, noble, brave, a hero, Cy. hoer,
positive in outlook, stubborn, assertive, thus an oppressor.
This word appears in Ogam in names such as Netta-sagru,
Sagarettos, Sagramni, based on seg, strong, fast, victorious,
mighty, the Skr. sahas, might.
SAS-MHORT, murder.
SEAN (shawn), old, OIr. sen, Cy. & Bry. hen, Gaul. seno, Lat.
senex, Goth. sinista, oldest, Eng. seneschal, an elderly
advisor, Skr. sanas. Seanagar, old-fashioned. knowing,
seanair, the “high old-one,” a grandfather.
It is my duty
To preserve inviolate the history of the
fathers,
To pass it along without bias by
instruction,
From mouth to mouth, from knee to knee,
The witness and the heritage most
precious
In the power of the free, as opposed to the
unfree,
Without injury to any person or thing,
Without twisting the truth, in opposing
deceit,
Without strengthening evil, without
weakening justice,
So long as the blood is warm, and breath in
the body...
SEASG, barren, dry, EIr. sese, Lat. siccus, dry, situs, thirst.
From this seasgair, literally the “high-and-dry one,” a
person in comfortable circumstances, cosy, one who is
warm and quietly disposed. From this also seasgann, a fenny
country, a marsh, i.e. a place devoid of normal plant life, a
“barrens,” cf. with Eng. sedge. Seasgach, causing barreness.
SEIRC, love.
SGEUL, a tale, OIr. scel, Cy. chwedl, the root seq, to say, Lat.
inseque, this say I, I tell, Germ. sagen, Eng. say.
SGIAN (skane), a knife, EIr. scian, Skr. cha, to cut off. Lat.
scena, the knife of a priest, Eng. section, saw.
It is my duty
To preserve inviolate the history of the
fathers,
To pass it along without bias by
instruction,
From mouth to mouth, from knee to knee,
The witness and the heritage most
precious
In the power of the free, as opposed to the
unfree,
Without injury to any person or thing,
Without twisting the truth, in opposing
deceit,
Without strengthening evil, without
weakening justice,
So long as the blood is warm, and breath in
the body...
This word may have its ultimate root in Kari, the Old
Norse god of the upper air, an elemental whose “brothers”
were Lokki and Hler. His feminine counterpart is perhaps
SIGH, (shee, shay, shaw), the daoine sidh, the side-hill folk
devoted to the goddess Danu. Sigh is a contraction of
siabhrach, siobhrag, sibhreach (the spelling varies between
districts) which appears to derive from the Old Irish Gaelic
siabra. The word confers with the Welsh hwyfar which is
used in such names as Gwenhwyfar or Guinevere, in each
case a fairy, elf or fay, one of the wee folk. Hence: siaban,
sand drift or sea spray; siab, a dish of stewed periwinkles
(Hebrides); siabhas, a useless ceremony. The siochair gave
the impression of malformation even where visual defects
could not be seen.
The sidh were "wee folk" in the old sense of the word,
"tall and thin" rather than small or diminutive. It was said
of them: "Their attire is green, their residence the interior
of hills. They appear more attached than their neighbours
(the elfs and fairies) to monarchical government, for the
fairy king and queen were recognized by law in Caledonia
(northern Scotland). They were more mischievous than the
southrons, and less addicted to dancing." King James VI of
England suspected their might be a "jolie court" composed
entirely of these "seed" people, but felt their reality was
not something that should be "believed by Christians."
Questioned why the Crown burned witches for having
"congress" with the completely fabulous sidh, James was
unable to answer.
When they were seen it was noted that they were thin,
up to six feet in height, handsome and young-looking in
spite of their suspected great age. Befitting an ephemeral
race, their forms appeared shadowy, and it used to be said
that they could only materialize within view of a human.
Their skin was observed to be soft, their hair long and silky
and their essential clothing of sun-drenched white linen.
Their speaking and singing voices were seductive, but their
way with the single pipe, bagpipes and harp was unrivalled
among men. They dressed well until the tax-men came to
call; thus the Tain Bo Cuailgne says: "They all wore green
cloaks with four crimson pendants to each; and silver
cloak-brooches; and kilts with red tartaned cloth, the
borders or fringes being of gold thread. There were
pendants of white bronze threads upon their leggings and
shoes, the latter having clasps of red bronze. Their helmets
were ornamented with crystal and white bronze and each
had a collar of radiant gold about his neck, with a gem the
worth of a new-calved cow set in it. Each wore a twisted
ring of gold about the waist, in all thirty ounces of this
metal. All carried white-faced sheilds bearing
ornamentation in silver and red bronze. There were ferrules
of silver upon their spears and the had gold-hilted swords
carrying coiling serpent forms, gold and carbuncles. This
astonished all who saw their parade."
SIOL, a seed, OIr. sil, semen, rooted in Celt. se, a sow, the
AS. surname Sile, anglicized as Sheila or Sheela, one of the
Daoine sidh, or “seed people.”In Christian mythology the
name becomes Cecilia supposedly remembering the blind
saint who was a patron of music and those without sight.
Celia is a diminuation of this name. Cecil is the male form
in English.
SLATAN DRUI’ACHD, the druid’s rod. MIr. slatt, Cy. llath, Br.
laz, MEng. latt, AS. laetta. Perhaps cognate with iubhar, the
yew. This tree was the preferred wood for wizard’s rods. In
former times there were many tree cults it being believed
that the gods and men originated as the spirits of trees and
that they could become reincarnate within them for periods
of time. An important yew-tree cult formerly existed on
the island of Iona, which some render in Gaelic as Tom-na-
a-Iubhraich, the “Knoll of the Yew-wood trees.” This druidic
sect was wiped out by Saint Columba. Iona itself is said to
be a side form of Iubar, translated as “The Place of Yews.”
A Well of the Yew was formerly located at Easter Ross, but
the ancient tree associated with it was cut down in the last
century. The best-known extant yew is that at Fortingall,
Perthshire. It is known to have stood at the time of Christ
in the Glen Lyon, and is currently protected by a wall and
iron gratings around its roots. See bha firid, aige beoir. “The
Highlanders retain a tradition of the slatan drui’achd, which
they say was a white wand.” (James Logan). Note that in
Atlantic Canada it was once commonplace for unmarried
girls to seek “the stick” of their husband-to-be. This
phallic symbol was considered to possess the
characteristics of the future mate. Thus a slender stick
brought a thin man not overly endowed, while a stout stick
gave way to a robust mate. Where a woman proved
overparticular in her judgement of marriageable men, it
used to be said that she would surely end “married to some
stick in the woods.” If a woman married badly it was agreed
that “when she danced through the woods she picked up a
crooked stick!”
SLAT N’ NATHAIR, rod of the Dark Lord, who was the alter-
ego of the sun-god Lugh. The magical extension of the arm
of Cromm the “Crooked.”
His first wife was Fuamnach and his second Étain who
is sometimes seen attached to Ogma. He is said to have
been chosen as a foster father to Aonghas, which may
explain why this god is not shown taking an active role
against him in the troubles that followed. Midir confers in
many ways with the Welsh Myrddin, the Anglo-Norman
Merlin who the Romans called Merlinus. This god-hero is,
in turn, reflected in the earlier Welsh underworld deity
named Gwyn, “who was a great hunter, the one who conducts
the souls of the dead to Annwyn.” His antagonist was the
magician called Gwydion, “a friend of mankind and giver of
the arts of civilization; he wars against the underworld
deities.”
SLIGHE, a way, EIr. slige from the root sleg, I strike (with
an axe). Ro sligstear ro selgator rotu: They hewed out ways.
Confers with slachd, thrash or beat, strike; the Eng. slash
and slay. The Celts were the first road-builders and land-
developers. This word is related to the next. See slaugh.
SMIOT. To throw in the air with one hand and hit with the
other, Eng. smite.
SNAIM, a knot, EIr. snam, a bond, from the root ned, to bind,
Lat. nodus. See next.
SOIR, the east. EIr. sair. The source of all Christian doctrine
and mythology.
SRENG. A Firbolg warrior who cut off the hand of the Tuatha
king named Nuada, thus subjecting Ireland to the Tuathan-
Fomorian war. In Connacht, people of the seventeenth
century still confidently pointed out Sreng as an ancestor.
STAN, obs. tin, Cy. ystaen, Bry. stean, Lat. stannum, tin.
Currently, below, down below. Staoin, pewter.
SÙIL, sùil, eye, from svar, “to burn,” From the same Celtic
root: seall, look thou; sealladh. sight; Cy. selu, to espy, to
gaze. selw, beholding; haul, the sun, Breton, sell, a look,
sight, heaul, the sun; the Bry. Sul or Sulis, a goddess of fire
and thermal waters, who the Romans equated with Minerva.
They entitled her waters Aquae Sulis, the “Waters of Sul,”
and theses are still to be seen at Bath, England. This Celtic
goddess was also based at Hesse, Germany, where she is
referred to as “the Eye of heaven.” This being the case she
is the female form of Lugh or Aod. See next entry.
SUMACH, plaid.