Pagan Blog Project – T: Taliesin the Bard

For the letter T the choice for me is obvious, the Welsh god and patron of poets, Taliesin. I am not going retell his story as it is all over the internet for those who wish to read it.

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/t/taliesin.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/society/myths_taliesin.shtml

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/mab/mab32.htm

I have reread the stories I have of Taliesin in preparation for this piece and it has been an amazing enlightening experience. I am on a personal journey of life changing proportions and I have been struggling to come to terms with it on a spiritual level. Throughout his writing Taliesin talks of changing, often on a grand scale, but taking away the epic proportions that storytellers employ he is talking of going with the way his life is flowing rather than against the current. Four short lines really sum it all up for me and they are:

Then I was for nine months
In the womb of the hag Caridwen;
I was originally little Gwion,
And at length I am Taliesin.

I was born the child of my parents and they raised me to the best of their ability. In doing so they influenced my thinking and placed expectations of adulthood on me. However adulthood is when we are evolving into our own being, no longer the child of our parents and it is when that own being is not in agreement with the expectations we were raised with the internal warfare hits. I am no longer the child of my parents, I am my own individual self and that is how it is meant to be. It is not going make the journey any easier but I think it is going to be easier to live with it now. This is the reason I see Taliesin as my patron god as when I need it most his words speak to me so clearly, whether it is to confirm I am doing the right thing or to kick my ass, often both. Once again he has come through when I need it most – Thank you Taliesin!

Be true to self for the truth of self cannot be denied.

© J Farmer 2013

Shamanism

Ancient archaeological evidence has been found throughout Europe that points to shamanic activity. It is more than likely the shaman played an important role in ancient tribal life even if the belief systems of our Palaeolithic and Mesolithic ancestors were not entirely shamanic.

A shaman is a spiritual leader within a tribal society fulfilling numerous functions within the tribe. The roles of the shaman include:

• Priest;


• Mystic;


• Counsellor;


• Interpreter of spirits;


• Healer;


• Magician

A shaman oversees the rites of passage from birth through death and may also foresee the future.

The ways of a shaman are secretive, therefore the gods of the shaman are not always generally known to the community. These gods are often totemic taking the forms found in nature such as stones, plants, animals, humans and spirits. The powers of the shaman are elemental and are those of the earth, air, water and fire.

Shamans also gather secret and magical knowledge from the hidden realms of their familiar spirits. Using ecstatic practices the shaman can transport to these magical otherworlds where they encounter the powerful energies of spiritual forces that reside there.

Ecstasy is an altered state of awareness where the individual often feels they transcend themselves. Carl Jung states that it is the realization that ‘he is of the same essence as the universe, and his own mid-point is its centre’.

The calling to a shamanic path often results from deep transformative experiences such as:

• Traumatic incidences (near-death, lucid dreams, visions);


• A close relationship with nature;


• Natural psychic, magical or healing abilities;


• Understanding the underlying spiritual energies in nature;


• Intuitive messages;


• Causing change through unseen or magical means.

We all have elements of the shaman as that is what has called us to whatever path we follow. Indeed the characteristics often cross over. It is quite clear a close relationship with nature would also involve an understanding of nature’s spiritual energies and harnessing them for healing and even magical purposes.





© J Farmer 2013