Recommended Irish Pagan resources on topics such as Irish Mythology, Irish History, Irish Culture, Irish Spirituality, Irish Storytelling & Irish Travel.
Category: Irish Culture
Irish Medieval Food – Pottage
“Pottage is not so much used in all Christendom as it is used in England” – Andrew Boorde, Dyetary (I542) Pottage in England, came from the Old French pottage, meaning simply ‘potted dish’. I’m not sure how extensively Mr. Boorde had travelled in Ireland, but here it was craibechan for a stew and anraith for…
Irish Folklore – The Nails
As any witch will know, you take good care of where your hair and nails end up. And with whom. So here’s some advice from the native Irish Folklore tradition on best practices around your own nail care. Avoid cutting your nails on Sunday. it is thought that whoever does so is followed closely by…
Irish Pagan Holidays
Pagan Holidays (Holy Days) worldwide are coming back to a more general use and understanding, with folk often asking questions about whether Christmas is a Pagan Holiday (it is, sort of), and observing the 8-fold Wheel of the Year. The current Neo Pagan calendar (and its primarily Wiccan holidays) is ostensibly based off the ‘Celtic…
Gaelscoileanna – Education through the Irish Language
Most of us will know, or at least know of, a child who attends a gaelscoil. These Irish language medium schools are those which function in accordance with the usual rules of the Department of Education, just like a regular school, except that Irish is the language of instruction and the language of communication amongst…
Irish Celtic Pagan Symbols
This is a question that comes up a lot – what are some Pagan Symbols used by the (Celtic) Irish? It’s kind of a tough one to answer, as we don’t have an extant [surviving through the ages] Irish Pagan tradition, per se. We have a whole lot of Irish mythology, of course, and even…
Irish Pagan Magic – Piseoga
A group of friends sit around a table. Scratch Scratch Scratch. “Ah, me nose is itchy”, says one. A few light punches are exchanged, and all is well again. Did you understand this exchange? Do you actually believe that an itchy nose is the sign of an impending fight, and that a mock fight should…
Ireland’s First Female Veterinarian
Veterinarians have been around for quite a while now. From the Egyptian king Piyadasi, who made medicines available to animals as well as humans in 1900 BCE, and the Roman ‘Veterinarius’ who were mostly military doctors just for animals – we can trace the development of the field to the first official organisation – when…
Irish Medieval Cooking – Worties
‘Worties’ was the common name in Ireland, from the English ‘wortes’, which were vegetable greens and members of the onion family, such as cabbage leaves, spinach, beet greens, leeks, wild garlic leaves and so on, as well as some of the leafy herbs used for seasonings, like borage, parsley, and sage. When cooked together with…
Is the Mórrígan Recruiting?
As part of our annual 6 month Intensive Programme, I answer questions from students who want to know more about the Irish Goddess Mórrígan, with whom I have had a solid working relationship for about 15 years now… and the last 13 of them as Her priest. 8 of those years were spent in daily service (and…