A Circle of Stones: Journeys and Meditations for Modern Celts - Erynn Rowan Laurie 1995

Bile

Tall and strong as the pale-white birch is Bile, roots in the Land but reaching to the Sky. Bile stands at the gates of Life and Death, welcoming us home as we leave our bodies in the material realm. He is our guardian and our guide through the House of Donn to the Otherworld realm beyond. We meet him at the place where Land, Sea and Sky meet as one, on the silver sand under the moon of midnight, dwelling within the mists.

In fial fortail, arcech fintóir,

In slíab dergóir,

In dorr bítnes dronga,

Don chlár chathbath.

(Irish source: O'Curry, Eugene, Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History, 1878.)

The munificent lord of every success,

The mountain of red gold.

The tree which wards the multitudes

Off the death-battle plain.

in FEE-al FOR-tal, AR-kek FIN-door

in SHLEE-av DEH-rug-or

in door BEED-nesh DRON-ga

don klar KAHTH-vahth

Moving Meditations on Bile

Plant a tree that is appropriate to your local ecology

Study Celtic Otherworld beliefs

Make a will

Find your own sacred grove

Read and meditate on the processes of dying, death and grief

Do daily devotionals to Bile or your personal God

Do a devotional to a different Celtic God each week

Learn about Celtic tree lore

Create an altar for your ancestors

Affirmation for Bile

Today I see the Gods in nature: sacred trees, holy springs, beauty in the cycle of the seasons.