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

Glossary

Aisling (ASH-ling, mod. Irish; AHSH-ling, OI and mod. Scottish): Dream, vision. Received inspiration from the realm of Endless Sky.

Bealtaine (BELL-tehn, OI): The Celtic spring festival. The name means “bright fire.”

Bile (BILL-ah): The God of death and the ancestors. Husband of Danu, and ancestor of Gods and mortals. A sacred tree.

Boann (BO-an): The Goddess of the Boyne river and of cattle. She guards the Well of Wisdom in the Otherworld.

Coire Ansic (KOR-a AHN-shik): The un-dry cauldron, the Cauldron of Daghda. This was the ever-full cauldron of plenty.

Daghda. (DAHG-da): The “Good God” of the Irish. God of magic and druidry.

Eponymous: “Name-giving,” one who gives their name to something.

Fionn's Window: An ogham glyph consisting of five concentric circles that have the ogham letters arranged around them. Found in the Book of Ballymote, a 14th century Irish manuscript.

Geas (guess or gayss): A form of ritual binding found in many Irish tales.

House of Donn: The Otherworld place where the spirits of the dead go.

Imbas: Sacred inspiration, poetic frenzy. It was envisioned as fire arising from the Well of Wisdom.

Immram: Sea voyage. A journey through the realm of Eternal Sea. Plural form is Immrama.

Lia Fáil (LEE-a fohl): The Stone of Fal. One of the four great treasures of the Tuatha de Danann.

Liminal: At the edge, boundary or border of something. A place in between two states or places.

Lugh (loo): The God of crafts and arts. Champion and war-leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

Manannán (MAHN-a-nahn): The Celtic God of the sea, mists and journeys.

Nuadha (NOO-a-tha): King of the Tuatha de Danann. A manifestation of the wounded king, his arm was lost in battle and replaced with a silver arm.

Ogham/Ogam (OG-am or OH-am): An Irish alphabet.

Samhain (SOW-an): The Celtic feast of the new year. A time of remembering the ancestors. The name means “summer's end.”

Taliesin: A Welsh bard and magician.

Triskele: A triple spiral. This motif is found throughout the Celtic world and originates in the neolithic era.