Gaelic Translation

[Landra]

Just finished an interesting book, and it references the phrase below, but even the authors are uncertain of its meaning. Does anyone know?

The speaker was Irish and ancient. The spelling is probably not correct.

"a'garoon a'fain"

May you find what you seek,
Landra

[ClareJulissa]

I don't speak much Irish, but the proper spelling is likely something along the lines of "á ga (?) rún á fáinne." I'll poke around and see if I can find it out for you. It sounds pretty familiar.

ETA1: fáinne means ring.

ETA2: rún means resolution. Keep in mind I'm getting this from Google Translate. I'll check a more reputable source in a moment.

ETA3: from englishirishdictionary.com:

fáinne
halo (n m4)
ring (n m4)

Usage
fáinne sí = fairy-ring
fáinne gealltanais = engagement ring(n)


ETA4: from the same site:

rún
intention(n m1)
secret(n m1)




I don't know if I've been much help, but I hope I've been reasonably useful! I'll take another look around.

[Landra]

It's a start anyway. Thank you.

May you find what you seek,
Landra

[odubhain]

Just finished an interesting book, and it references the phrase below, but even the authors are uncertain of its meaning. Does anyone know?

The speaker was Irish and ancient. The spelling is probably not correct.

"a'garoon a'fain"

May you find what you seek,
Landra

It seems to me to be saying that to have a ring is to have secret knowledge (or conversely: to share a secret is a binding). It'd be helpful to know the context of the remarks in the book so that the possible words and spelling can be determined before looking for literal and figurative meanings.

Searles O'Dubhain

[Landra]

"To share a secret is a binding" or some permutation thereof seems to fit.

The book was "When Rabbit Howls", and the author is a case of multiple personalities, the "by line" on the cover says "The Troops for Truddi Chase".

It touches repeatedly on psychic phenomena commonly associated with multiples, including conclusive evidence that several of Chase's "others" were able to read minds very effectively. The speaker was a personality named Ean, the only one who knew Gaelic, and it was said when members of the troop formation experienced a vision of him speaking to a woman who apparently was from another world. Throughout their lifetime (Truddi Chase died last year) Ean was a mysterious figure, who refused to explain his nature to the other members of the so-called troops. It would not be unreasonable to conclude that he and at least one other was a walk-in. Personally, I suspect that he was a manifestation of Truddi's higher self and certain past life memories.

May you find what you seek,
Landra

[Myrddyn Emrys]

It seems to me to be saying that to have a ring is to have secret knowledge (or conversely: to share a secret is a binding). It'd be helpful to know the context of the remarks in the book so that the possible words and spelling can be determined before looking for literal and figurative meanings.

Actually, I believe you've hit it spot on. A very good friend/mentor spoke that phrase to me early on in our studies together.

To share a secret is a binding.

[Landra]

Thank you all very much. I am satisfied with the answer given, and the translation sheds a little more light on the ending of the book.

May you find what you seek,
Landra