Celtic Women's Spirituality: Accessing the Cauldron of Life - Edain McCoy 1998
The Art of Ritual Drama: Re-discovering Celtic Mythic Teachings
No, the spelling of re-discovery is not a typo. Many feminist writers have adopted he practice of breaking apart common words at unusual places to emphasize the deeper meanings within them. In this case, our goal is literally to discover again, or re-discover, the mythic mysteries that have been left within such easy reach, yet often go unrealized.
How To Learn from the Celtic Myths
Myths are living things, ever-evolving with the people who read and retell them. Many of them are pure fantasy, and others contain elements of historical truth blended with fantasy and spiritual teachings.
All religions are based on mythologies that tell us about the nature of our deities, the origins of the universe, our place within it, and how and when we can expect it will end. Within that framework it is easy to see how the myths have evolved over time to shove out the feminine aspects. It is the job of women’s spirituality to restore those aspects to their rightful place, alongside that of the male creator deity.
So just how much change has occurred over time in the Celtic myths? That is hard to say for sure, but certain delineations are clear. Welsh mythologist Sir John Rhys wrote at the turn of the century that any mythology is much more ancient than the oldest written verses that first cod ified it.118 Certainly it is a given that in virtually all ancient societies, the orig inal creation myth involved either a male and a female deity, or a woman alone.119 Egocentric or not, people all insist that we are created in the image of the deities. But it is women who have the wombs. Women give birth. Therefore female deities—Goddesses—give birth to creation. This is not to take away from the masculine contribution—it takes one of each gender to create new life—but since the male God has been touted for several millennia as the sole arbiter of creation, we do no one injustice by strongly asserting the feminist viewpoint here.
The nature of Celtic deities and their relationships with one another are also telling. The Celts did not view their deities as being all powerful knowing. They had many human qualities, including common character flaws such as jealousy and anger. They were revered for the powers. they represented, their mastery over certain elements, or their connection with either the Oth erworld or a specific aspect of nature. Most of the time the words God and Goddess do not even appear in mythic texts. This is just as well, since the Irish words for the deities imply a lesser status for the feminine divine. The Irish word for Goddess is Bandia, meaning “woman God.” (Ban = woman, Dia = God) Yet the word for God is simply Dia, not Feardia, which would be “man God.” This implies that a God stands alone, but a Goddess must have her title qualified. In Wales the linguistic prejudice is lessened with the word Dew meaning God, and Dewies meaning Goddess. The addition of the feminine ending is much more in keeping with the English words and is less offensive to the feminist mind.
Ironically, the best guidepost we have for learning to read between the lines in myths is in the Book of Genesis in the Judeo Christian old priests (the kohanim) began fiddling with the creation myths, they got in a rush and made a few oversights. The text concerning the creation of human ity translates into “And in his image he created them, male and female they created them” (emphasis mine).
Ah ha! They created them in their image-male and female. A very telling slip of the old quill pen. Like most ancient cultures, the early Hebrews also had a Goddess, a feminine half of the universal divine, known as the Shek inah. Sadly, the legends surrounding her have been so downplayed that she is little more than a caricature of a Goddess today, honored on Friday nights as the “sabbath bride” who brings peace to the sabbath day rather than as a di vine presence in her own right.
When reading Celtic myths we need to be aware of places where the extant story does not fit in with the known patterns of old Pagan cultures. The monks who transcribed the Celtic myths were writing in a later period (800—1400 C.E.), at a time when the oral legends had already evolved under patriarchy. It is likely they wrote the myths very much the way they heard them at the time, though there are some clear interpolations of Christian doc trine in many of them. Read critically-good advice no matter what subject you choose to study.
The Sacred Art of Ritual Drama
One of the best ways to work with myth hands on Ritual drama is the art of using live theater as an inherent part of spiritual rit uals. This practice is as ancient as humanity, and is currently finding a great revival in modem Paganism.
The oldest roots of modem theater can be found in the religious rites of the long past. The earliest acting roles were taken by shamans, who would adorn themselves in animal skins and mimic a successful hunt on behalf of their tribes. In ancient Greece, where modem theater is said to have begun, all dramas were ritual in nature. Their main purpose was to point out how humanity was nothing more than a plaything of the deities. At the climax of every pro duction, an actor portraying a deity would be lowered from the heavens to wisely put right all that had gone wrong during the course of the play. So widespread was this dramatic structure that even today it bears a name: deus ex machina, or “God from a machine.”
In ancient Rome and Greece, ritual drama was employed in the temples to reenact the springtime rebirth of Kore/Persephone, who had spent the previous six months in the underworld. In Egypt, the life cycles of many deities were honored in sacred drama, most notably the resurrection of the death God Osiris. In east Asia today, many spiritual dramas are used both in and out of temples. The Passion Plays of Easter, depicting the death and resurrection of Jesus, are direct descendants of the ancient ritual drama.
Ritual drama does not appear to have had a strong Celtic following, but my Celtic coven used to create quite elaborate ritual dramas, all to good affect. Once we began working with these on a regular basis and had produced a repertoire of both semi freeform ment of invocation, and suddenly our dramas were not just for offering honor or praise to the deities, but they were learning experiences as well.
Another benefit of ritual drama is the way it allows us to incorporate desir able archetypes into our personalities as we act out their mythic themes. In the safety of an all female feminine figures and play “superheroes,” as our brothers did while growing up. By using this role playing in a ritual setting, and by teaching it to the young girls in our care, we can see to it that tomorrow’s women grow up accepting these strong feminine archetypes as integral parts of their total being. This is especially important for women who have not felt they had the freedom to express themselves in heroic roles—usually true for the majority of today’s adult women. This lack is seen most vividly in adolescence, a period during which developmental psychologists say female self esteem take a dramatic plunge.
Properly defined, invocation is a theurgical art, the art of drawing the essence of a deity into the physical self. The widely practiced ritual of Draw ing Down the Moon, in which a priestess takes on the persona of the mother Goddess during the full moon, is a good example of a modern usage of invo cation.120 I once was of the belief that only women should invoke female deities and men invoke male deities, but I learned some years ago how limiting this is. We all possess the strengths of the other gender within us and, just like we have to acknowledge all aspects of the inner Triple Goddess to be whole, we also have to acknowledge our gender opposite
One of the greatest eye openers how quickly and clearly it showed us which deities shared compatible ener gies, which worked well together, which clashed, which were not so powerful as we had been led to believe, which are not comfortable with humans, and which were just not interested in being part of us. It was a profound learning experience, one that I still employ in solitary practice.
Yes, a solitary can work ritual drama almost as well as a group. What you lose out on is some of the interaction of energies you get when an entire group has taken the time to ritually invoke individual deities one at a time. But, in some ways, all the players are still present. Recall when you were a child, play acting alone in your room or backyard. You were literally in another world at least as far as your mind was concerned. All around you were other charac ters with whom you interacted. At the time you were playing they were all very real to you. So deep into your own character were you that, if you were interrupted to come in to lunch, very often you did not hear your mundane name being called. You might even have rushed breathlessly around telling your caregiver all about your recent adventure.
The key to successful solitary ritual drama is to recapture that youthful excitement and lose yourself in the inner world that you create within your circle, just as the child you once were could do so easily. This can be done either physically or through guided meditation (see Appendix E).121 Which method works best for you will depend on your prevailing mood and your skill level in eyes-open altered state of consciousness work. Some solitaries do better to keep their eyes closed and work solely on the inner plane rather than try and engage in physical action that, admittedly, can be jarring.
Guidelines for Creating Ritual Dramas
Treat all ritual drama as a sacred rite. Cast your circle, call your quarters, and honor your deities (see Appendix C). This is especially advised if you will be invoking divine energies rather than just “acting” them out. The divine is sacred and requires sacred space. During invocation you will be opening yourself up to allow outside energies to merge with your own, and you will want to be absolutely sure the area around you is friendly only to the highest spiritual beings. It has been shown that negative or lower level spirits cannot enter space where the spiritual vibrations are at a high level. The two are just not compatible. Anger, illness, or negative intent can cause the vibrational level of your sacred space to drop, which is why a circle should only be cast after you are purified in mind and body and are focused solely on the purpose of your ritual.
If you are in a group, decide well ahead of time if you want to invoke deities or not. Some people are uncomfortable with this process, and it should not be required for anyone. The ritual will work as well without invocation, though you will miss out on some deeper interaction between deities.
There are numerous ways to invoke a deity,122 and you may need to experiment both to find the one that works best for you and to build the relationship with the divine that allows full merging of energies. Three of the methods you can use to begin your experimentation are:
Directing a Wand or Blade to the Point of Origin
This is the same method usually used for Drawing Down the Moon, in which a projective ritual tool is aimed at the place where the Goddess is imagined to be. The energy is invited into the tool, then transferred through visualization and will into the body via a chakra point such as the forehead, solar plexus, or navel.
Mental Merging
This method involves the eyes-closed visualization of the Goddess coming toward you from the Otherworld. When you are face to face, turn your back to the Goddess and allow her to step into your physical self.
Drawing the Energy Up or Down
While standing straight, visualize the energy of the Goddess as dwelling either in the upperworld directly above you or the underworld directly below you. Visualize a beam of pure light energy coming from that place and entering you, engulfing you with its power. Invite the Goddess along that beam of light and into yourself.
Groups often like to have one or more persons assist the one who is invoking, either by drawing in the energy through their own tools or by verbally directing the course of the merging visualizations.
For best results, whether you are alone or with a group, make sure to pre-plan certain aspects of your ritual drama. You do not have to follow a blow-by-blow script but you do have to have some markers for what you will be doing. If people are wondering what they are supposed to do next, they will not be participating in a spiritual rite as much as trying to “upstage” others.
If you are in a group, give everyone who will be present a part and decide who will lead the drama. Call this person the director if you like; she will be the one who keeps things going, cues the actors for their parts, and gets things back on track after they have taken off on tangents.
Both solitary and group ritual dramas should allow for tangents. This is not a stage play, where the floor beneath you is marked with tape to lead your every step. There are no drama critics around the circle. You should certainly allow for flexibility and spontaneity, for this is when you are most likely to learn how the deities interact with one another. These tangents will happen most often when you are in a group and have invoked a number of deities. They are real beings, not stage characters, and they will not hesitate to take things in a new direction if they feel it is needed.
It is most important to carefully choose the myth you wish to work with. In a ritually cast circle, all energies are naturally magnified, and you don’t want a random negative aspect creating havoc within your circle. If you are in a group, you all need to agree beforehand on which version of the myth you want to work with: old, new, revisionist, or some other text. This is why some preplanning is necessary—to keep each individual from trying to force her own interpretation of the myth to come into the foreground.
Some of the myths that make good beginning ritual dramas for Celtic women are those surrounding Brighid (the creation of keening), Blodeuwedd (her trickery of Llew and her transformation into an owl), and Rhiannon (her being accused of killing her son, and her punishment as servant outside the gates of her husband’s kingdom) and in the heroic tales of warriors Boudicca (who fought and won against the Romans). These tales are easy to find in almost any book on Celtic myths or folklore. (See the Bibliography for some specific titles.) You might want to look into several of these to compare versions and interpretations.
If no one wishes to take on a male role, you should feel free to rewrite the myths or arrange the scenes so that all women get female parts. Talk about the events in which men participated, rather than acting them out, and you may find that the feminine viewpoint on them becomes much clearer.
Allow your feminine intuition to guide your ritual dramas. Recall once more your inner child, who could practice this art so well. When you work alone you will find this easy, but it can also be achieved in group efforts. When I was thirteen I often played at dramas with three best girlfriends. Many of these were based on our personal fantasies and dreams for the future, or involved either famous actors or local boys on whom we had crushes. Sometimes we used the dramas to deal with problems at school that seemed insurmountable. Often the dramas showed us solutions we might not otherwise have found. We knew our basic storyline beforehand, and we allowed our inner selves to guide the direction of what became very complex “soap operas.” So vivid and real did these become that when I look back on them today, I can recall entire sequences, and admit to having trouble separating the three of us from the many imaginary figures who populated our dramas.
When your ritual drama is complete, release the invoked energy by reversing the process you used to invoke. It is best to use the same process coming and going to help keep the conscious mind, which loves logic and often resists the spiritual, happy with the process. After the invoked energy is released, you may dismiss the quarters and close the circle.
118. Celtic Folklore: Welsh and Manx (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1901).
119. VonFranz, Marie-Louise. Creation Myths (Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 1995; originally published 1972).
120. For a detailed ritual script of a Drawing Down the Moon ritual, please see my earlier work, Lady of the Night: A Handbook of Moon Magick and Ritual (St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn, 1995).
121. I refer you to my earlier work, Celtic Myth & Magick, which gives detailed instructions for creating guided meditations with divine archetypes, and provides three pre-written paths with which you can begin to experiment.
122. I wrote in detail about both invocation and evocation (the art of inviting the presence of the divine without bringing it within you) in Celtic Myth & Magick.