Like the Graceful Dolphin, I shall Dive into the Chaotic Oceans!

                 My sisters reminded me a couple of days ago why I shouldn't have been afraid to talk to the Daghdha... they gave me the same lesson I have often given others of my path...

                  My Gods are my kin. They are my ancestors. The relationship we, as Celtic spiritualists, reconstructionists, Ban Draoi, and the like, have with our Gods is of a close, family unit. We do not fall to our knees in subservience to Them, we do not " worship " them, grovel at their mighty feet, or, most importantly, fear them. Fear is for the weak and ignorant. Fear is not an option with the Celtic Dieties. They want strong, fearless, intelligent followers.

                  For example, if one was to take Macha as their major diety to work with, they better not fear Her, or grovel at Her feet... otherwise they're likely to get pummeled with a spiked mace. Instead, one should stand up tall, proud, unafraid and look Her in the eyes when they speak. Unafraid to argue with Her, unafraid to tell Her how they really feel. Macha has been, unjustly, described as a horrible death Goddess... mean, moody, ready to kill at the drop of a dime... but this is NOT true. Because most wiccans and neo pagans have absolutely no real understanding of the Celtic metaphysic, they have a hard time understanding what death means to a Celt. Macha is in fact, one of the nicest Goddess's one could encounter, if they stand before Her with love and respect, not fear. Macha is a fertility Goddess, and the patron Goddess of County Ulster. My own daughter, Emania, is named after Macha's brooch... " Emain Macha ".

                   When we work with our beloved Dieties... we are learning from an ancestor. Not unlike learning a special skill from a grandparent. There is love, respect, wisdom, compassion, and strength... all key skills to those of us walking on this path of cultural knowledge. My discussion with Manannan Mac Lir the night before last is good example. I was not groveling at his powerful feet, or saying things like " Oh Great and Powerful God of the Seas of Eireann!!! Show me your wisdom and spare me your wrath!!! " Gods that sounds stupid. Instead, I sat upon a beach, looking out on a crystal ocean... next to someone I see as more of an Uncle. There was no fear, no nervousness... just love, admiration, great respect, awe, and maybe a touch of pride in knowing I was sitting there, next to, in my eyes, the most powerful Sea God in the world. Kinship... its a beautiful thing.

                  The core belief of the Celtic Metaphysic is, " The children of my family are the children of my one true family ". Its even more beautiful in Irish. To the Celt, especially the irish Celt, family was the MOST important thing in the world. The Native Americans have a saying that follows along with, like most Native American beliefs, the Celtic Metaphysic. " It takes a whole tribe to raise one child ". This is so very true. My family, my Tuatha, are a very important, and intrical part of my daughters life. They help teach her, watch over her, guide her, ect... Part of todays society is falling apart because there is no sense of family community. Child abuse goes on for years, regardless of neighbors knowing, because they just don't care anymore. " Its none of my business " has become used as a tool to seperate us from one another...thus causing isolation, depression, loss of self love, and a disconnection from the world. As a Ban Draoi, I try to make it my obligation to my Tuatha, to show them that they are far from alone. That our family is strong, and here for one another.  These words are not just spoken, but shown to eachother. We do not use eachother for selfgain through means of lies, conflict, backstabbing, or bullshit words of, " You're not ready to learn the truth...". That statement goes against the very ideals of Celtic belief. Knowledge is everything. We do not with hold information from our family, from our people. Instead we teach. Knowledge is the gateway to spirituality, to finding oneself in a world of seperation from divinity, a gateway to understanding that we are not alone, we are not a peon in a giant universe, and we are not meant to journey through life without a shoulder to lean on. Knowledge, taught from the beliefs of Celtic Spirtuality, helps us to see that though we are a tiny grain of sand, that tiny grain of sand is needed for the continuation of the universe. Erase it, and the universe falls apart. We are divinity. We are the children of our ancestors. Ours Dieties are our family. The children of my family are the children of my one true family...

                 My sister Eleasaid is a very intelligent, kind, and unselfish individual. Her mind is like a library of information, and I look up to her not only as my sister, my friend, but also as my mentor. My Ollamh. She paid me a great compliment last night as we talked about several things...including helping our sister Colleen to begin learning what her soul so desperately craved. Eleasaid said to me, " I know you're Ban Draoi because you have a special gift for explaining to people the Celtic beliefs in a simple way, easy for anyone to understand. " I will hold that to my heart forever and always, and I hope I can continue to live up to that statement.