Lora O'Brien – Irish Author & Guide
Your Authentic Connection to Ireland
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…
As a Priestess of the Mórrígan, I get regular questions about working for/with this Irish Goddess. Here is one of my answers… Bec Dunn asked: “I want to set up an altar whilst I do this work to connect with Her, are there things to include or definitely not put on?” Altars are so personal….
The Mórrígan She Stands Silent, hooded, darkened countenance shifting, muted, inescapably There. Her Face Unknowable, terrible, hidden She is Everything and Nothing. Two Spears Weapons of truth, Imperative Thrusting knowledge and awareness Slaying All that we must leave behind Forcing All that we must discover Darkness and Strength Power and Insight Fear and Finding She…
There’s lots of stories with Táin in the title, but this article relates specifically to the best known of them – the Táin Bó Cuailnge, or ‘Cattle Raid of Cooley’. Sources of the Táin Early Irish manuscripts are the oldest remaining extant literary source material in Europe, opening a fascinating window to the Medieval society in which they…
It began at a hospital bedside in Western North Carolina. Holding my grandmother’s hand as she took her final soft, short breaths. She was surrounded by the people closest to her, being loved and supported as she slipped away into the Otherworld. There was something mesmerizing about that moment. In the days that followed, as…
I observe Samhain from dark moon to dark moon. When I first went ‘public’ with this over 3 years ago, it seemed a novel idea to many folks, and maybe a little bit… extreme or some shit? But it’s always made sense to me, for a few reasons: 31st October as modern Samhain/Halloween doesn’t correlate with…
No, it’s not ok to pronounce it Sam-Hane… “How can I be substantial if I do not cast a shadow? I must have a dark side also if I am to be whole” ? C.G. Jung In Irish (Gaeilge), it’s pronounced Sow-wen, with sow as in female pig. It’s a word that has a huge cultural and…