Caer Australis Blog

The Australian Standing Stones once again come to symbolise a ‘Monumental Non-sense‘, this time lead by Winter Solstice celebrations.

“Longer celebrations to mark the shortest day” – Glen Innes Examiner, by Tim Hughes 16/06/2009

“Festival co-ordinator and Celtic Crone, Joanne Cause said, “It’s an important time for Celtic culture. There are lots of activities and it would be great to see people dress up – cloaks, medieval clothes and sheepskin.”

“The events are part of an expanded weekend program to celebrate the shortest day of the year, a time when Celtic cultures would ask the Oak King to defeat the Holly King and ‘call back the sun’.

“Once again at the Standing Stones, the two kings will meet for a fight, and artists will fire pottery works in a bonfire, to be lit on Saturday evening. Then on Sunday, a family fun day will follow a dawn service, where, if the morning is clear, the sun will strike the base of the Solstice Stone in the stone circle – a true working calendar, Ms Cause said.

Crofters Cottage will be open for breakfast, and around 9:30am, Leonie Starr-Price will demonstrate the narrowness of natural energy lines in the stone circle because of the solstice. Nursery owner Toni-Lynne Whelan will talk about the Celtic tree calendar, around 11:00am there will be a Harry Potter fancy dress parade for children. ”

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This misrepresentation of Celtic culture is immense. It is hoped that these protestations become known.

Ever since Caer Australis has published its findings regarding the Celtic calendar, the feast of Samhain and the timing of the Celtic new year on the calendar of Coligny and regards the fire feasts, there have been mixed responses, for and against CA’s conclusion and the evidence presented that the Celtic year begins at Beltaine.

This has been since 2002, when soc.culture.celtic was vibrant and vigorous in its activities. Today we continue to draw a wide audience, as shown by the visitor map to the CA home page this year, and post on Connecting Celts and Caer Feddwyd forum boards, and so keep the discussion alive.

We have a contact form, and every so often we recieve feedback. The other day the following arrived, and we welcome others to send comments. As long as discussion can take place, that is a good thing!

“Sir,

My name is Stanislas [surname deleted for privacy] and I am a Swiss fan of celtic civilisation. For this reason, I wrote a “thesis” or a “trial” (as you want) on celtic civilisation and, of course, of this calendar.

Normaly, I let people writing what they want on Internet about that. But this time, I can not.
Because you wrote a vulgarisation destinied to uninformed persons. In this vulgarisation, you based on one word, or on a limited translation.

For exemple, you wrote that Samonios is the month of summer. Because “Samon” seems like “Sommer”. So, I am agree with you that samon has the term of sommer in itself. But I am giving you three reasons which explain that Samonios is in November and not in May.

1st: in fact, it is your translation in your website: “Samhain – the Fire at the End of Sommer”, Sam “sommer” and Fuin “end.
2nd: I quote: Cuchulainn in “Tochmarc Emer”: “For two divisions were formerly on the year, namely, summer from Beltaine the first of May, and winter from Samuin to Beltaine”. So, Beltaine, we are agree, is in May and is the beginning of sommer, to Samoninios; so in November.
3rd: did you read “De Bello Gallico”? Ceasar says (VI, 18): “All claim Gaulous from Dis Pater. < ...> They measure the length, not by the number of days, but the number of nights < ...> and the early months and years counted by starting the day with the night”. This means the celtic year would begin with the dark part. So, before the winter solstice.

If you read french, you can see on http://www.arbre-celtique.com/ This is a very good website which explains some good things about Celts or celtic philosophy.

I hope you would change a part of your website, or explain the other theory of this extraordinary calendar. Because, all of us know that we do only theories.

In the end, I beg your pardon for my english, I hope you can read what I have written.

Cordially [etc]”

We do thank Stanislas for his feedback, and have invited him to visit (and he has) our exposition “Samhain is not the Celtic new year”, and hope there may be fruitful conversation to be had. We have linked the website he recommended to our Celtic Resources & Links list.

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Another email recieved came from Temple of the Dark Moon, who are publishing a book shortly:

“The reason I am writing is that I am in part way through a book on the Wheel of the Year from a Southern Hemispheric Pagan perspection, and one section of my notes mentions that the information used may have been adapted from your excellent and well reseached web site.

I have tried to find whether the wording has indeed been adapted (I have been in the process of writing this book for a number of years now) or whether it is still relatively word for word. However I have not been able to come up with an answer either way to completely satisfy me – so I thought I would write to see if I could actually include the section in my book with your permission (and full creditation etc).

The section is as follows:

Along with the “calendar” dates, there are also astrological influences that, for some, need to be taken into consideration. The following is taken from the highly recommended web site of Caer Australis (www.caeraustralis.com.au) :

The Southern Wheel
The more one investigates the Southern Sabbats, the more differences can be observed compared with the Northern Sabbats. Our ancestors, based in the Northern Hemisphere, guided by the stars and one constellation in particular was the Pleiades, the seven sisters. Bealtaine, in its true form, is linked to the rise of Pleiades. In the Northern Hemisphere, the first lunation of Summer, the rise of the Pleiades occurred in May (the modern month). The rise of the Pleiades was followed by the red star, Aldebaran (the brightest star in the constellation we know as Taurus), staging the setting for the Trinox Samoni, the three night feast of Summer. Likewise, during the seventh month from that date, the modern November, the first lunation of Winter was marked with the rise of Antares staging the prophetic setting of Samhain. ”

In sofar as information from our site is used here, we are delighted to agree, and have replied as such.

Wherever traditional Celtic feasts are held in honour of their intrinsic qualities, that is an affirmation of the long and proud history and enlightened culture of the Celts.

Wherever pseudo-religious feasts linking themselves unjustifiably to Celtic history and culture are made, this should be noted and differentiated from Celtic culture so that there can be no doubt of difference and no weakening of culture through confusion.

Just so it is clear, on CA’s The Southern Celtic Year, a popular and much-visited page with content looked for by neo-pagans and with links to several neo-pagan websites, a clear educational message is made with respect to the differences between neo-pagans and Celts, as above.

Anyway, the solstice approaches, and the June gathering at pre-Celtic monuments abound. Below are some featured articles from the press from 2008. But to kick off, and as a prime example of mucking about with Celtic culture – it’s hard to go past this from Glen Innes:

The claims made are an epitome of absurdity!

See the Winter Solstice flyer, published on the Blue Sapphire Caravan park’s website.

The claims are that this is “A TRULY CELTIC EVENT”. It is located at “THE STANDING STONES GLEN INNES SATURDAY/SUNDAY 20TH AND 21ST JUNE, 2009″

Some of these so-called “truly Celtic” events include:
• THE OAK KING FIGHTS THE HOLLY KING
• CARD READERS
• LEARN ABOUT THE CELTIC TREE CALENDER: WHICH IS YOUR BIRTH TREE

This is a further diminishing of Celtic culture in Australia, and one more for the loonies and liars.

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Hippies, druids party at Stonehenge for summer solstice.

“MORE than 24,000 people from druids to fans heading for a nearby music festival hailed the sun rising on the longest day of the year overnight at Britain’s ancient Stonehenge monument.

“Revellers wearing antlers, black cloaks and oak leaves huddled at the Heelstone to cheer the rising sun [as] dawn broke on the summer solstice over 5,000-year-old stone circle, one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world.”

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In Australia, a mock-Stonehenge type monument has been erected at Glen Innes to celebrate Celtic Australia. While this is of course a “monument-al non-sense“, as such stones do not in any way represent Celts, the activities there are even worse.

From the local press:

Have a read of these articles, the first from 2005, the second a few months ago. Would very much like to know your responses to them, and any further inspiration it may trigger…BTW yelling at the screen can’t be heard by the rest of us …concerning Celtic identity, Aussie Celts, Celtic reality vs fantasy, anything along those lines:

from: Glen Innes Examiner, 26/08/2005

Celtic history on the weekend
BY SAM BARTLETT
26/08/2005 10:00:06 AM

HAVE you ever wondered about the people from which Glen Innes derives its ‘Celtic Country’ branding?

If so, there’s a wealth of knowledge on the ancient Celts being discussed over afternoon tea at the Red Branch.

Subjects such as Early Modern Irish Witchcraft, the Traditions of Cornwall, Celtic Symbolism, Celtic Beliefs and Witch Myths are covered in detail in the conference rooms of the Red Branch, all done under the experienced hand and knowledge of Dr Sally Parkin.

While there has always been a certain amount of stigma attached to anything relating to witchcraft, Dr Parkin says in Celtic cultures, particularly Irish, what is classed as a witch was simply a healer or herbalist.

“Witches in Irish culture were mainly women who were herbalists or charmers,” she said.

“They were not classed as witches who would do any harm, and would probably be white witches as they are called today.

“They were mainly Catholic women from an ethnic Irish background who spoke Gaelic.

“Even if they were caught doing something wrong, the community did not want to harm them – they just let them be.

“Most Irish women were healers and if they did give you the ‘evil eye’ it was not intentional, it was something they were born with, and if they were caught stealing it was because they didn’t have enough for themselves.”

Dr Parkin, a former UNE professor with a Phd in Early Modern Witchcraft Studies, said much of the vilification of witches came from a mistranslation from Hebrew to English in the bible made by James I in the early 1600’s.

“There’s no word for witch in the bible in Hebrew, it was ‘sorcerer’ or ‘seer’ that were used, which both had entirely different meanings to witch.”

Joanne Cause, the Celtic Crone, will also be running a seminar on Choosing your Celtic Totem each Thursday at the Red Branch from 11.30am to 1.30pm.

For more information on the seminars visit the Red Branch website.

[NB: The contents of YourGuide, including all text and graphics, both advertising (classified and display) and editorial material are, unless otherwise indicated, © Copyright 2000 by Rural Press Ltd and its subsidiaries and affiliates.]

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from: Glen Innes Examiner, 24/06/2008

Solstice events full of energy
TIM HUGHES
24/06/2008 10:01:00 AM
IT may have only happened once in the past five or so years, but clear weather allowed the sun’s rays to strike the Australis stone at the centre of the Australian Standing Stones at dawn on the shortest day of the year on Saturday, kicking off winter solstice activities.
Organiser Joanne Cause said the stone “lit up beautifully” at the dawn service, attended by around 40 people including Glen Innes Severn mayor Steve Toms and his wife Judi.

“It’s a privilege to be in the largest array of standing stones in the southern hemisphere at the winter solstice, but moreso this year, because it’s only fine enough weather about every five years and was raining last year,” she said.

Later that day, just before sunset, festivities continued, about 60 people heard Ms Cause give an outline of the importance of the solstices; watched a demonstration of archery from Greg James from Cabarita, Queensland, and listened to a talk by astrologer Leonie Price about the importance of the solstice and equinoxes.

Mrs Price, who with her husband recently moved to Glen Innes after purchasing Mackenzie House in West Avenue, gave a display of ‘dowsing’ lines of energy – an act similar to water divining – in the western half of the stone circle.

“In most stone circles the energy leys (lines) are at their most powerful at the solstice and equinoxes, and this has been shown here. The stone circle helps to fix the energy grid,” Mrs Price said.

According to Celtic tradition, the yule log – a remnant of last year’s winter solstice bonfire- was then lit and used by the ‘Oak King’ (Steve Funnell) to ignite a large bonfire, under which were five 44-gallon drums containing about a dozen pottery works to be fired, made by local artists. The Oak King and the Holly King then did battle reflecting the change of the seasons.

“The lighting of the fire with a log from the past reflects the continuity of the flame of life,” Mrs Cause said.

The works were removed from their ‘kiln’ on Sunday afternoon, as part of more activities including a talk by author and district resident John Pathlander on how communities can save the world using natural energy, and a sausage sizzle hosted by Clan Donald.

“It was a great success. We may not have had a lot more people than in past years but we still attracted international visitors who came just for the weekend. There will be a new team organising it next year and I am sure it will only grow,” Mrs Cause said.

[NB: The contents of YourGuide, including all text and graphics, both advertising (classified and display) and editorial material are, unless otherwise indicated, © Copyright 2000 by Rural Press Ltd and its subsidiaries and affiliates.]

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Look forward to responses…he says, mumbling something about Robert Graves rumble frazl wrdl gah!!!

For those interested in the activity performed at the A.S.S. mentioned in the Glen Innes Gazette, there is a balanced and well researched article on Caer Feddwyd:

The Holly Tree, by Blackbird Hollins(2003)

As so often is the case, the truth is far more interesting than the fiction. To quote Hollins,

‘Much of the lore surrounding holly, especially neo-pagan lore, is unfortunately fabricated. The Druids in particular are the targets of many fanciful theories on tree lore. Some of this can be traced back to Graves, who at least was a good poet. The rest of it is probably ‘unsubstantiated personal gnosis’, which, thanks to the Internet, has been widely read, copied and rehashed. Assertions that the Druids wore crowns of holly while collecting mistletoe, or that the Druids decorated their houses with holly, or that Santa Claus has his origins in said Druids, are sadly unfounded.

However, we do have vibrant and varied folk traditions throughout the world, running through many faiths and cultures, which all agree that the holly is among the most powerful and magical of plants. It seems that I am not alone in my appreciation of this beautiful and mysterious tree, and I hope that this article has kindled the flame in others too.’

Have a good read of this one

How do some of the icons of modern Celtic culture fit into the history of these lands? There is on ‘Foamy Custard’, by Bob Trubshaw, an article that gets right into the thick of things. It’s called the English and the ‘Other’.

There’s a bucket load of good information in there, and it’s pretty hard-hitting. It’s not negative, just right there – in your face; and more than anything explanatory.

“By the mid-nineteenth century the lore and customs of the ‘folk’ – now ingeniously perceived as both the peasants and the epitome of a nation – were regarded as being under threat. Sir Walter Scott and his European contemporaries thought that popular rural culture was a survival of an unbroken tradition that stretched back before Christianity.

The ‘folk’ were regarded as set apart from the gentility. While the elite social classes had culture, the common people had folklore and folk customs.

Edward Lhuwd’s pinoneer lingusitic studies published in 1707 labelled of a group of European languages as ‘Celtic’. The year is significant as this was when the Act of Union created the idea of a British nation.

After the Act of Union, political expediency in the eighteenth century invented the idea of ‘Britishness’ rather than English, Scottish or Welsh nationalism – superimposed on a mixed bag of English, Welsh and Scottish and more regional identities.

And being British meant being Protestant. Catholic France was clearly ‘Other’ throughout the eighteenth century, and Ireland increasingly became ‘Other’ as that century progressed.

During the nineteenth century several eminent historians began to foster the notion that everything good about English culture had its origins with the Germanic Anglo-Saxon settlers, who were thought to have exterminated the indigenous ‘Celtic’ Romano-British population.

‘Celtic’ was a convenient way of being ‘British’ but not English. The invention and widespread adoption of ‘Celticness’ in the eighteenth century is intimately linked with the invention and promotion of ‘Britishness’.

Walter Scott, at the request of George IV, had invented Scottish culture – tartans, bagpipes and Highland games; Lady Charlotte Guest was instrumental in providing a similarly ‘pre-packaged’ national identity of pointed black hats, red capes and harps for the Welsh. Iolo Morganwg earlier had invented Druidism – thinly-disguised Protestant theology transposed into the radical political philosophies prevalent in Wales at that time.

The nineteenth century nationalists developed what has now become an unimpregnable belief in a shared Celtic culture. This constructed common identity is, in essence, based on only one common characteristic – a sense of national identity that is defined by its ‘otherness’ to England.”

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There’s a lot in there to think about, and from an Australian perspective regards its national identity – and regards the term ‘Anglo-Celtic’. Makes you look at the components of Celtic festivals – look at the mix of Stones, Hats and Bagpipes…

It would be of little surprise to discover that the “discovery” of a Samhain start to the new year is another fiction that conforms to Trubshaw’s observations.

Here’s good read for a cold and rainy day: it’s a satirical play written by Eimar O’Duffy in 1919.

Bricriu’s feast : a comedy in three acts, with an epilogue (1919). This play is very funny, taking a light handed approach to the importance of The Champion’s Portion, and a timely reminder for Ireland in the early twentieth century to keep her wits about her – no spoilers!

Biography for Eimar O’Duffy.

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – New translation by Benedict Flynn (audio CD available from here), we learn that:
“The beheading game, the main plot (of SirG&GK), has its roots in ancient pagan folklore. The earliest version is an eighth century Irish story, Briciu’s Feast, where Gawain’s role is played by the Irish hero Cuchulain.

Maybe before, or after!, reading the comedy, a translation of the early Irish story would be enjoyed, and this is found at Flan Bricriu – Bricriu’s Feast translated by George Henderson.