366 Celt: A Year and A Day of Celtic Wisdom and Lore. Carl McColman

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СКАЧАТЬ ago, and fewer people may speak the old Celtic languages, but the tales have a way of reinventing themselves or adapting for a new generation. Many Celtic authors, poets, and illustrators have reinterpreted the old tales in new ways, whether directly (as in the retelling of myths by Lady Gregory) or obliquely (as in the way James Joyce wove Fionn mac Cumhaill into his dark and puzzling masterpiece Finnegans Wake). Meanwhile, the explosion of interest in Celtic spirituality among the neopagan community has ensured that the old stories will continue to be told, perhaps with more feeling than has been the case for 1500 years. What’s important to remember is that the stories do not have to conform to a canon or critical edition of any sort. They are tales that live and breathe, and every storyteller who recounts these old adventures, whether aloud or in print, will put his or her own spin on how the tale is told. Details will change, plotlines will evolve, and characters will mature. It’s a mistake to worry about getting myth “right.” Far more useful is to continually ask, “What can this story tell me about myself, and my world?” For that is the mark of a true myth, even when the details are fuzzy.

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       THE PATH OF THE SEER

      A side from the druids and bards, the third kind of Celtic wisdomkeepers according to ancient tradition consisted of the seers, or ovates. Classical writers referring to the Celts of mainland Europe indicate that seers, bards and druids were three distinct communities; while in other areas these categories may have been more integrated. For example, in Ireland we find the tradition of the filidh, or visionary-poets—a kind of wisdomkeeper who combines the qualities of bards and seers.

      What makes a seer? Begin with the word itself: one who sees. So the seers were the visionaries, the mystics and psychics who were able to receive information from the otherworldly realms. The seers were gifted at interpreting the signs of nature—the omens that could be discerned in the patterns of birds in flight or of clouds overhead. As diviners, the seers were gifted at scrying—the ability to tease meaning and wisdom out of the patterns of a burning flame or a convulsing sacrifice. Whatever the medium, the seer was responsible for receiving raw data, interpreting it, and communicating its meaning to others as messages from the spirit world.

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      THE PATH OF THE SEER

      One gifted seer from Irish myth, the druid Cathbad, uttered a prophecy concerning the birth of a girl who would be named Deirdre. His gloomy prediction foretold of great suffering that would ensue thanks to her (or rather, thanks to stupid things the king would do in regard to her). Need I say that the Ulster Cycle tale known as “Deirdre of the Sorrows” is little more than a detailed recounting of how the seer’s prophecy came to be fulfilled?

      Any competent seer possessed the ability to get out of the way of a message coming through from the spirit world. In other words, an essential part of the seer’s role in society entailed his or her ability to prophesy. Among the seers of old, such inspired information may have come from a variety of otherworldly sources—from ancestral or natural spirits as well as from any of a variety of gods or goddesses.

      Prophecy is often understood as predicting the future, but that is only a small part of the prophetic function. The best prophecy is not about understanding the future so much as about living well in the present. Master the present, and the future takes care of itself. So even if a seer could predict the future, his primary value would still have been his ability to speak spiritual knowledge and wisdom, as it had more of an immediate use.

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      THE PATH OF THE SEER

      Like Cathbad, at least some seers did enjoy a reputation for prophecy in the popular understanding of revealing the future. Two of the best-known prophetic seers, both from Scotland, were Thomas of Erceldoune (also known as True Thomas or Thomas the Rhymer) and Coinneach Odhar, better known as the Brahan Seer. Thomas lived in the thirteenth century, and according to legend was a bard whose skill with the harp caught the attention of the fairy queen. She approached the harper, beguiled him into being her lover, and whisked him away to the otherworld for seven years—and in return for his being a good sport, gave him the “gift” of an ever-true tongue (in other words, of being forever unable to tell a lie). Four centuries later, the Brahan Seer made a series of predictions about everything from technology to politics; but after telling a local noblewoman about her husband’s infidelity, he was repaid with accusations of witchcraft that led to his execution. Obviously, a seer’s life comes with its share of danger!

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      THE PATH OF THE SEER

      A colorful assortment of seers dance through the world of Celtic myth. Merlin the Magician and Taliesin the Bard were both renowned for their prophetic gifts, while the Mórrígan—one of the most frightening of Celtic goddesses—speaks about a grim future in one of the most chilling passages of Irish myth. A seer named Finnéces spent years trying to catch and eat the salmon of wisdom thanks to a prophecy that a person named Finn would gain the world’s wisdom from eating the fish; unwittingly, he sets the stage for the prophecy to come true—only it would be his servant boy, Fionn mac Cumhaill, who would eat the salmon and gain the wisdom. Later stories recount one of Fionn’s comrades in the Fianna, Diorruing, as a seer gifted not only with prophecy but also clairvoyance that he accessed merely by closing his eyes. This gift was not always a blessing, however: once when Diorruing commented to Fionn about the one woman who would be a worthy mate for him, great tragedy ensued when she chose to give her love to another member of the Fianna.

      Such prophecies could be in the myths only as literary devices—to help move the stories forward. But it’s just as easy to see in them how they indicate the importance of prophecy—and therefore, of the seer—in the world of Celtic wisdom.

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      THE PATH OF THE SEER

      Especially in Irish tradition, the roles of the seer and the bard are closely related. In Irish society even after the arrival of Christianity, thefilidh or “seer-poet” provided both spiritual guidance and artistic vision to the community. Modern artists, whose work today is aimed at making people think, or inspiring revolution, or otherwise impacting society beyond the sheer aesthetic value of the work, are continuing this tradition of visionary creativity.

      So when we consider the function of the seer in the world of Celtic wisdom, bear in mind that the seer’s role may extend far beyond the trade of psychics and soothsayers. Sure, you can visit your local metaphysical bookstore and book a session with an astrologer, clairvoyant, or tarot reader, and if the person has a whit of talent you’ll get an insightful and perhaps even healing reading. But they are not the only visionaries who embody the living tradition of the seer. You can cultivate the spirit of the seer within yourself even if you have no desire to practice divination or fortune telling. Perhaps in today’s societies, seers can be found everywhere: as schoolteachers, librarians, software designers, nurses, engineers … yes, even politicians and lawyers could be susceptible to the power of the spiritual world to erupt into their lives and provide guidance and insight into the direction best for them (and others) to follow.

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      THE PATH OF THE SEER

      Among shamans of old, it was sometimes believed that a person didn’t opt to be a shaman, but rather became one when they were so chosen by the spirits. I think it may be wise to keep this in mind, and always allow for the possibility that СКАЧАТЬ