"Grows an oak upon a steep,
The sanctuary of a fair lord;
If I speak not falsely,
Lleu will come into my lap"
- Gwydion, Mabinogi of Math ap Mathonwy
Welcome to the Grove!
Celtic literature richly embraces life and inspires all who have loved, lost and lamented, celebrated the changing seasons, been defeated and felt the sweetness of triumph.
In the Grove are presented songs and poems that touch on the Celtic view on life, from early times through to today. We including poems by ourselves.
Just as the wood is the blackbird's heritage where he sings of joy in summer and of the cold in winter, so the Grove is a place of poetry and song, complementing the Gorsedd as the place of thoughts and ideas.
So now, enjoy these songs amongst the oaks!
Summer has Come
Summer has come, healthy and free,
The cuckoo sings sweet music,
Gentle birds leap upon the hill,
And swift grey stags.
A sound of playful breezes in the tops
Of a black oakwood is Druim Daill,
Green bursts out on every herb,
The top of the green oakwood is bushy,
Ravens flourish, summer has come!
Gaeaf - Winter
Keen is the wind, bare the hill,
Wave over wave covers the shore;
Loud wails the wind against the mountain peaks;
The lake is cold in the winter storm,
The stag is lean, the evening is short.
Saint Columba
I reverence not the voices of birds,
Nor sneezing, nor any charm in the wide world,
Nor a child of chance, nor a woman;
My Druid is Christ, the Son of God.
The Dream of Macsen Wledig
He was high on a mountain, as high as heaven; and as he came over the mountain, he entered the fairest of regions that mortal had ever seen. A castle the fairest that mortal had ever seen, and in this castle a fair hall. Two auburn-haired youths he saw playing gwyddbwyll, and before them a hoary-headed man seated on a chair of ivory, and a maiden before him on a chair of red gold, excelling in beauty! And all he had in the world was gone from him, save the love for the maiden he had seen in his sleep.
from: Rowan Berries in the GroveAt the second battle of Moytura, Mag Tuireadh na b-Fomorach
The Tuatha de Danaan defeated the Fomors
The Morrígú and Badb proclaimed victory from atop the mountains
And Badb sang this song:
I
1 Sîth co nem Peace up to heaven
2 Nem co doman Heaven down to earth
3 Doman fo nim Earth under heaven
4 Nert hi câch Strength in everyone
II
5 Án for lann A cup at a well (linn),
6 Lân do mil Full of (di) honey
7 Mid co sâith Mead to satiety
8 Sam hi ngam Summer in winter
III
9 Gai for sciath A spear on a shield
10 Sciath for durnd A shield on a fist
11 Dunad lonn-garg A ferocious encampment
12 Longaither trom-foíd Great grieving is banished
IV
13 Fod[b] di óií Fleece from a sheep
14 (R)oss for biur A deer on a spit
15 Benna adbae The horned-beasts of a yard
16 Airbe i[m] mêithi A fence around abundance.
V
17 Mess for crannaib Mast on trees
18 Craob do scís Stooped from being weighed down
19 Scís do áss Being weighed down with growth
VI
20 Sâith do mac Sufficiency for a son
21 Mac for muin A (new) son on a shoulder,
22 Muinêl tairb The neck of a bull
23 Tarb di arccoin A bull for slaughtering.
VII
24 Odhb do crann [As] a knot [is] to a tree
25 Crann do ten [As] a tree [is] to a fire,
26 Tene a nn-ail A fire [is] in a [flint-]stone
27 Ail a n-uír [As] a [flint-]stone [is] in the soil.
VIII
28 Uích a mbuaib Salmon for cattle
29 Boinn a mbru The Boyne their womb
30 Brú la fef-aid (feb-ád) A womb bounded by excellent prosperity
IX
31 Áss-glas i n-aer Green growth [sprouting] into the air
32 Errach foghamar [From the] spring [to the] autumn
33 For-âsit etha Grow the grain-crops
34 Íall do tir Birth pang for the land
X
35 Tir co trachd Land as far as the shore
36 [Tracht] la feab-rae [A shore] bounded by an excellent foreshore
37 Bid-ruad rossaib Ever-sturdy [with] woodlands
38 Siraib rith-már[aib] Extensive and afar
XI
39 'Nach scel laut?' 'Have you any news?'
40 Sîth co nemh, Peace up to heaven
41 Bid-sîr naeb sí Everlasting [is] holy-peace
From: "The Second Battle of Moytura" transl. Whitley Stokes. ©CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, College Road, Cork, Ireland (2004) www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G300011.sgml
Summertime, Wintertime, Goddesses, Saints, 'Rowan Berries'
Summer in the Grove
Featuring the works:Summer Has Come
The Salmon of Knowledge
Arrival of the Giolla Dacker
Song of Summer
Mac ríg
The Yellow Bee
A Rose by Another Name
May
Arberth Hill
Summer
Original works:
Olwen
Green Bough
Green
The Mayfly
Y Ddraig Goch
The Little Prince
Winter in the Grove
Featuring the works:A Song of Winter
Winter
Summer is Gone
Saman's Day
Samhain
Chant of the Fairy Maiden
Clear Winter
Original works:
Summer's End
She
The Fallen
Knowing Nothing
The Acorns
Saints in the Grove
Featuring the works:St David - Llandewi Brefi
St Piran - On the Millstone
St Patrick - The Conversion of King Laoghaire's Daughters
The Paschal Fire
St Columba - My Druid is Christ, the Son of God
St Brigit - I Should Like
Blathmac, son of Cú Brettan
The Fate of the Children of Lir
Goddesses in the Grove
Featuring the works:Danu Mother of the Gods
Brigit
Isis Queen of Heaven
Badb's song
Minerva of the Gauls
Arianrhod
The six gifts possessed by Emer
Modron mother of Mabon
Mary mother of Christ
Olwen - White Track
The fair woman, Bé Find
The great Queen, Rhiannon
Pisces' Babies
Rowan Berries in the Grove
Featuring the works:
Soma of the Celts
Glyn Cuch - The Red Valley
Gwydion obtains the swine of Annwn
Grania declares her heart to Diarmait
The Quicken Berries of the Forest of Dooros
The Dream of Macsen Wledig
I am the wind on the sea;
I am the wave of the sea;
I am the bull of seven battles;
I am the eagle on the rock;
I am a flash from the sun;
I am the most beautiful of plants;
I am a strong wild boar;
I am a salmon in the water;
I am a lake in the plain;
I am the word of knowledge;
I am the head of the spear in battle;
I am the god that puts fire in the head;
Who spreads light in the gathering on the hills?
Who can tell the ages of the moon?
Who can tell the place where the sun rests?
"And Amergin was the first to put his foot on the land, and when he stood on the shore of Ireland, that is what he said; And three days after the landing of the Gael, they were attacked by Eriu, wife of Mac Greine, the son of the Sun, and having a good share of men with her."
From: "Gods and Fighting Men. The story of the Tuatha de Danaan and of the Fianna of Ireland, arranged and put into English" by Lady Gregory. The Coole Edition. 1904: 1970 reprint. ©1970 Colin Smythe Ltd., Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, p.74.
To August
The Celestial Sphere turns in the skies,
The Bright Star finds its time to rise
And Long Arm's Games of lightning skill
Are set with fire upon the Hill;
At the light of high summer dawn.
But now, too, in the Bright Star's sight
Are lands with days of longer night,
Across the sea, the Ocean's brine
Far from the Hill, beyond the line;
The lands swept by the South Wind.
And in these lands on cold day's morn,
From Earth through the Spheres our thoughts are bourne,
To She the Exhalted up on High
And watch for her fiery brand in reply,
The soft spring hand of Bride.
by John Bonsing August eve 2006
An Gevren - The Link
by Carrl Myriad & Charles Penglase
An Gevren
Gwage ew an devyth a whola ma hye,
ma esperans whathe ca ra cusk an matern.
En Annwn hydolack ma'n castel a trallia
an doaz an marrack agon whange creac ethew
Kevren ema ha na ell e boaz terrez,
en powiow pe; an hean eyth ew clappiez.
Ma'n prydyth brezelack a carna e gaon eve,
bera e gorffe ma'n goodg a cana.
Thew leall lavar dre ra treegas gon downs,
ma'n ethen Rhiannon a cana go hoan teag.
Ma floh an gwenz gwyn a quyska suithlian Myrdhin,
ma'n pobel heb pow a rowlya gwlasketh an ayre.
Kevren ema ha na ell e boaz terrez,
en powiow pe; an hean eyth ew clappiez.
Ma'n prydyth brezelack a carna e gaon eve,
bera e gorffe ma'n goodg a cana.
An jeeth na gerez an dragun rooz a vedn doaz,
an chauk due vedn nyedga en ebron adrez.
E dowle eve collenwez ma'n marrack a toaz tre,
An dewas drez arta the leall gwlasketh hye.
Kevren ema ha na ell e boaz terrez,
en powiow pe; an hean eyth ew clappiez.
Ma'n prydyth brezelack a carna e gaon eve,
bera e gorffe ma'n goodg a cana.
The Link
Deep is the wasteland alone she lies weeping.
But all is not lost, though the King still sleeps.
In the land of Annwn, the tower is turning.
The time it is nigh, for the hero's return.
There is a link and it cannot be broken.
In far distant lands the ancient tongue is spoken.
The oath of a warrior-bard it comes ringing.
Deep in his veins the blood is singing.
It was foretold, that the dance would stand strong.
The birds of Rhiannon still sing their sweet song.
A child of the white wind, wears the mantle of Merlin.
The clan of the landless rules the kingdom of air.
There is a link and it cannot be broken.
In far distant lands the ancient tongue is spoken.
The oath of a warrior-bard it comes ringing.
Deep in his veins the blood is singing.
On an emerald dawn, the red dragon shall rise.
The wings of the chough shall encircle the sky.
His quest is fulfilled and the hero rides home.
Restored is the Goddess to her rightful throne.
There is a link and it cannot be broken.
In far distant lands the ancient tongue is spoken.
The oath of a warrior-bard it comes ringing.
Deep in his veins the blood is singing.
Original work and design © Caer Australis 2011: From Coogee in Sydney's eastern beaches NSW Australia