View from the Big Hills

“Come out of your Celtic Twilight kids.” - Suffocate, Noel Brazil Much as I love the music and lyrics of Noel Brazil, particularly when sung by Christy Moore, I don't really want to come out of the Celtic Twilight.... at least not yet. There is something too compelling and fascinating about Irish superstitions - as long as you either take a magical view of them or don't take them too seriously. More often than not, superstitions are seen as quaint, misguided and limiting beliefs cobbled together by our rather unintelligent ancestors who simply didn't know any better. Most people think they are rather stupid and without relevance to our modern world, but I'm not so sure. I don't hold a linear view of evolution. N.B This blog follows on from my earlier posting on Irish superstitions gathered in the 1970s by my aunt. You can find the earlier post here:- http://viewfromthebighills.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/some-irish-superstitions.html I hope you ...

"Begin thy work, first having prayed the Gods To accomplish it." - The Golden Verses of the Pythagoreans I was delighted to be signposted to this beautiful and inspirational prayer a couple of years ago by an American colleague and ex-member of Charles Fielding’s Dallas Group. Despite having explored the Western Esoteric Tradition and much of Neo-Platonism through a 27-year period, this great piece had passed me by until a time when I needed an extra boost and some encouragement on the Path. I come back to it for meditation, prayer and general sustenance from time to time. I hope you enjoy it. “I pray to all the gods and goddesses to guide my mind in this work that I have undertaken—to kindle in me a shining light of truth and enlarge my understanding for the genuine science of being; to open the gates of my soul to receive the inspired guidance of Plato; and, in anchoring my thought in the full splendour of reality, to hold me back from too much concei...

Growing up in the North of Ireland in the 60’s and 70’s, I had a fair mix of school teachers. Some were great, others were average, and one or two of them were an embarrassment to their profession. One of my best teachers taught History and English, and something he said one day stuck with me. He told us that while Ireland had had its share of Viking marauders, Welsh raiders, Norman colonisers and English occupiers, the Romans were “the biggest non-event in Irish history.” The biggest non-event in Irish history – the Romans! In my young mind that was a truly fabulous statement. I relished the concept.  In holidays across the Irish Sea in England and Europe with my parents, and later as an adult, I have always loved to come across the Roman remains and artifacts I never experienced in Ireland. From Hadrian’s Wall, to the remains in Wroxeter, Glevum and Corinium to the Temple of Mithras in the City of London, they have all caught and inspired my imagination. Despite their accur...