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

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      THE PATH OF THE BARD

      The bards of old did not merely sing praises and recite poetry of glorious and mighty deeds. Granted, that may have been their stock in trade when working for a wealthy patron, but legend insists that the bards could curse as well as charm. Indeed, Irish myth clearly describes how a talented bard’s satire could raise blisters on a previously unblemished face—a not inconsiderable feat, with profound implications for a king whose right to rule lay partially in his flawless physique. Indeed, much of the dramatic tension of the earliest cyde of Irish myths comes when the bard Cairbre satirizes the inhospitable Fomorian king Bres, causing boils to erupt on his face and thereby setting into motion the forces which would depose him—and lead to the greatest of legendary battles.

      Cursing is not something that we moderns like to think of as a “spiritual” activity. Yet the interesting part of Celtic cultural history is that cursing is found among both the pagans and the Christians of old. Perhaps we don’t like cursing because we secretly wish to believe that the world is a benign place where no hostile forces exist. The ancients certainly knew better, and wanted their spiritual leaders to have a psychic arsenal ready to protect themselves from malevolent energies.

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      THE PATH OF THE BARD

      One way we can find meaning in the bard’s ability to satirize an unjust or inhospitable king would be to think of the bard’s vocation in terms of helping people to see things from a new angle. Sure, to the extent that the bard praises the worthy king, it’s a straightforward job. But sometimes, it is the job of a poet or a storyteller to make sure we see things from an alternative perspective. In ancient times, this meant presenting the actions of the unjust leader in a humorous or ironic way. Nowadays, we no longer have poet-historians, but we do have storytellers, journalists, essayists, and other contributors to the public debate. For these modern “bards,” it might simply mean refusing to buy in to the “official” way of seeing things. No, what the government says is not the only way the world is. No, what religious leaders, or scientific leaders, or business leaders have to say is not necessarily the ultimate truth. A gifted bard may not speak words of such satirical potency that they cause blisters to burst forth, but he or she may nevertheless invite listeners to consider choices and possibilities that might otherwise go unnoticed and unexamined.

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      THE PATH OF THE BARD

      Can the ordinary person be a bard? Well, maybe few of us will ever master the intricate knowledge of history and lore that an ancient bard was required to know; after all, the bards of old, like their druidic peers, had to study anywhere from twelve to twenty years before they were considered masters of their craft. In our day, such training does not exist; let alone opportunities for anyone to ply the bard’s trade. Even so, this does not mean that the spirit of the bard is lost. Anyone who tells stories with a dash of magic or mythology is walking in the path of the bards. Anyone who integrates poetry, music, history, and prophecy into their way of seeing the world and sharing it with others is living as an aspiring bard. And anyone who uses their skills as a communicator to invite others to consider alternative ways of seeing the world—especially in regard to those who wield power—is certainly on the bardic path.

      So don’t think of the gifts of the bard as unattainable to you today. Maybe the deep secrets of Taliesin (the greatest of Welsh bards) are lost, but there are other, humble ways to do your part to keep the spirit of the bard alive.

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      THE PATH OF THE BARD

      What would it take to be a bard today? First of all, give up on the idea of calling yourself a bard. For starters, if you haven’t studied for over a decade or mastered at least several hundred mythic poems or tales, you don’t deserve the title. But it’s okay to describe yourself as an aspiring bard. Now, what exactly do you aspire to? Poetry. Music. Song. Story. Alternative ways of seeing the world. Consider how you can integrate these art forms into your spirituality and your daily life. Remember what separates a bard from an entertainer: look at how you can use language and music not merely to show off how clever you are, but to truly bring joy and meaning to the world of spirit, and likewise to help bring the world of spirit to those who hear your artistry. Finally, if you do not wish to explore the path of the bard for yourself, then find ways to cultivate and nurture such skills in others. Listen to their stories, dance to their music, comment on their perspective. Allow the (aspiring) bards in your life to transform you.

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       THE PATH OF MYTHOLOGY

      Perhaps no single element is more important to the spirit of Celtic wisdom than myth. I don’t mean myth in the sense of “something that people falsely believe to be true” like the many urban legends that circulate around the Internet. No, the streets of America are not filled with kidney thieves, nor did Nostradamus predict the 9/11 disaster. Rather, the myth that is so essential to the Celtic world is the matter of mythology—the stories, legends, poems, ballads, and folklore that speak to a world beyond space and time, where gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, warriors and bards dwell—and where in their magical and dramatic lives, we can find insight into the mystery and majesty of our own.

      Some aspects of Celtic myth and lore are commonplace: just about anyone who’s heard of Ireland has heard of banshees or leprechauns. Most everyone knows that Patrick evicted the snakes from Ireland, and that King Arthur’s knights spent the better part of their careers searching for the Holy Grail. But the layers of myth go far, far deeper. And what is often ignored when mythic stories are told or retold is what they mean—why they’re so important. Of course, sometimes such meaning is best left unsaid, so that each person may discover anew how the myths speak to him or her.

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      THE PATH OF MYTHOLOGY

      The single best collection of myths in the Celtic world comes from Ireland; the other significant body of myth was preserved in Wales. Both Irish and Welsh myth were committed to written form in the Middle Ages, by Christian scribes, most if not all of whom were monastic. This leads to a number of unanswerable—yet difficult—questions. Are the myths simply the product of imaginative storytellers, or do they hearken back to an ancient, pagan belief system? How many of the myths have been lost? Of the ones that survived the ages, how much pagan lore did the Christian scribes who preserved them censor, consciously or unconsciously? Of course, we’ll never be able to answer these questions definitively, although scholars have made a number of educated guesses. The good news? The written myths do seem to point to an earlier time; some of the stories preserved may have originated as early as the first century CE. The bad news: yes, there’s a lot missing. Yes, there’s no doubt that the Christians tampered with their pagan source material (the damage was worse in Wales than in Ireland). But the extent of this loss is itself shrouded in mystery. All we can do is take what we have, and attempt to understand the grandeur of the Celtic past based on fragmentary evidence. And then keep the myths alive, by telling the stories, and identifying ways to apply this ancient wisdom today.

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