Celtic Commandments:

[Kern]

Celtic Commandments:

Give thou thine heart to the wild magic,
To the Lord and the Lady of Nature,
Beyond any consideration of this world.
Do not covet large or small,
Do not despise weakling or poor,
Semblance of evil allow not near thee,
Never give nor earn thou shame.
The Ancient Harmonies are given thee,
Understand them early and prove,
Be one with the power of the elements,
Put behind thee dishonour and lies.
Be loyal to the Lord of the Wild Wood,
Be true to the Lady of the Stars,
Be true to thine own self besides,
True to the magic of Nature above all else.
Do not thou curse anyone,
Lest thou threefold cursed shouldst be,
And shouldst thou travel ocean and earth,
Follow the very step of the ancient trackways.
--From the carmina gadelica, ancient celtic oral tradition

Is this really ancient? It sounds Wiccan to me with the mention of the Lady and Lord and the threefold curse?

[Morgandria]

Mike Nichols, a popular Wiccan author online, took the Carmina Gadelica and "re-paganized" parts of it more towards his belief structure. Some of the original can be found here:

http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/corpus/Carmina/

There are bits of the original gaelic that point towards pagan spirituality, and perhaps native folk beliefs of the people it came from, but the original verses were collected in the 19th century, and are definetely Christian.

[Twig]

Thats quite the collection. I've a LOT of reading to do. Thanks!

:nonono:

Peace

edit - christianised or not! ;)

[DraoinanDuanaire]

It's obviously not ancient, but as others have noted, from the "Wiccanized" Carmina Gadelica (which isn't so much Gadelica after Wiccanization).

Wiccanizing the material sets my teeth on edge.

[Kern]

Thanks for the link and info Morgandria...I didnt think it sounded like an ancient Celtic belief or code.
Throws in trash.......

[Dave the Druid]

I concur,

Wiccanized anything really frosts my lizard, no matter what it is but especially when applied to Druid concepts, generalization here I've seen it before and it sets me off.

and breathe.......

The concept of a 'Celtic commandment' is anathetical to me. There are too many different types of us to sit under an umbrella like this.

Sorry, I've been out of it for a while, the bug you see and the meds aren't doing what they are supposed to.

Commandment smacks of law to me and being the givers of Brehon Law it strikes me that this is a bit out there.

but thats my opinion and I could be wrong

[blackroseivy]

It's a lovely verse, but unless you can understand Ancient Gaelic & do the research, I think it's kinda hard to come up with a concept like this that really fits...

[John_Mischief]

Thanks for the link and info Morgandria...I didnt think it sounded like an ancient Celtic belief or code.
Throws in trash.......

My favorite "paganizing" of the Carmina Gadelica is by Brenden Myers. He only does a selection though. Some of them actually are just copied straight from it and don't need any changes.

You can find them here (http://www.wildideas.net/cathbad/pagan/carmina.html)

[Ron]

LOL. It's sort of hilarious that anyone could ever believe that was "Ancient Celtic Oral Tradition". Not to mention the fact that the transcript is written without pride (i.e. capitals - HELLO!!!)

Although it's nice to Paganize the Carmina Gadelica, I really don't have much interest in such a thing. I would much rather that if one has something to say, that they write it as their own proper work - and, in this instance, write essays upon essays on why they have chosen to change the original text in that fashion. But that's just me.

I laugh in pity at anyone who puts "Ancient Celtic Oral Tradition" and what Kern posted above, in the same affimative sentence.

:)
rhys,
who is having a rant - it's good to vent
and who is stealing KellyP's signature style.

[skilly-nilly]

My favorite "paganizing" of the Carmina Gadelica is by Brenden Myers. He only does a selection though. Some of them actually are just copied straight from it and don't need any changes.

You can find them here (http://www.wildideas.net/cathbad/pagan/carmina.html)

That's really nice! I find 'Paganizing' much more acceptable when the changes are identified up front. As a believer in Use-Magic, I generally prefer to keep the traditional format of older stuff, or make mininal changes. The Wiccanization that started the thread is soooo warped out of shape that it's a joke to call it the Carmina Gadelica at all.
The site you point to is really good in that all of the changes are explicated in the intro and the least overtly Xian selections are used. And it doesn't lumber; I am a story-teller and trained in recitation---when you slam 'Lord and Lady' in the place of 'God' it just doesn't work! :atantrum:

I also find 'wiccanizing' Celtic-format prayers/invocations/etc akward and irritating. None of the concepts of dualistic über-god/dess, triune Goddess sets, 4pack of elemental directions, nor rede works with the concepts that the originals are set into--it would be better to just start from scratch!

Grrrrr...I googled up Mike Nichols' writings to see if I could reference what was posted back to the original Carmina Gadelica, but I see that he doesn't even leave the number system of the original intact...grrrrrr

[Sonic Seamus]

paganizing.....plagerizing. :hmmmmm:

[Phi]

Go thou to the deep wood


The birds will guide you.

Soft mosses will be your kneeling pillow.

Take thy flute, thy harp or yet still, thy voice with thee.

Listen well to the wood and the water.

Peer through the tall trees at the sky.

Hear the songs and learn their meanings.

Play or sing, and in this find commandment, assurance, prayer and bliss.

[Twig]

Go thou to the deep wood


The birds will guide you.

Soft mosses will be your kneeling pillow.

Take thy flute, thy harp or yet still, thy voice with thee.

Listen well to the wood and the water.

Peer through the tall trees at the sky.

Hear the songs and learn their meanings.

Play or sing, and in this find commandment, assurance, prayer and
bliss.

:fpeek: That looks familiar..... but where? Is this your Imbas my Sister? Cause I'd like to use it .

Peace,
Twig

[Phi]

:fpeek: That looks familiar..... but where? Is this your Imbas my Sister? Cause I'd like to use it .

Peace,
TwigI suppose so, my Imbas, my poetry and my way of communicating with the spirit(s) of the trees, birds, waters, sky, and receiving in return the Oran Mor.

I was delighted read about it after I had been experiencing it.

Thank you for your appreciation and, Twig, feel free to use it in any way that might be of help to others.