celtic

Recently my faekin discord removed a user.  I am not going to link to their callout post, nor reveal their name or contact details because I do not want to escalate the situation even further, nor do I want to boost the signal of their own post.   Ultimately the booting was not because of the views they had, but of the demands they made of the person that eventually booted them, and if that person wants to comment I will allow them to reblog/respond to this post about it.  Debate about these matters is definitely permitted on the server.

I will instead talk about the crux of the argument that took place, which is going to be mostly about Celtic cultural erasure, about spirit animal bonds, and in general about the ethics of a culture claiming a spiritual concept as exclusively their own.  I will also disclose immediately that I am of over 80% celtic blood and very involved with my culture as well.

The subject of spirit animals and spirit animal bonds is a touchy subject for me because the Celtic practice and relationship with animal spirits has been practically erased from history to the point where we are not even allowed to talk about it for fear of backlash.  I usually just let this go on Tumblr because I know I can’t fight the tide, but the fact is, brace your triggers please, Celtic Animism was and is a real thing.

The Celtic people recognized the spiritual nature, of nature and revered it.   The druids represent the pinnacle of this practice and belief system, the study and practice of natural magic and communion with the spirits.  Whether or not they could actually transform into their spirit animals is left up to the readers’ opinion, but the Druids were effectively the spiritual leaders of our overall belief system common to the Celtic people.

We worshipped the Old Gods.   Not Zeus and the Greek/Roman gods, those were the gods of our oppressors.   Not YHVH and the Elohimic, those were the divinities of those who came to erase our culture.  To us, their gods were newbs.  I speak of ones like Cernunnos, Annwn, Phliedas (I hope I spelt your name right), ones that were around before anyone put a pen down to write the book of Genesis.   And our ways were a walk with nature, and with the Fae, the fae were as real to the Celts as the Sun and stars and elements, as nature itself, as any living thing or being around us.

I still walk with those gods.   And I walk with them knowing who and what I am and who and what is around me and who and what is part of me.

And we had spirit animals, and we still do.   This might be hard to hear in the world of Tumblr and the politics of appropriation and what is considered the acceptable narrative here, but every time I hear that narrative that spirit animals belong exclusively to another culture, it makes me want to claw my own eyes out.

When someone asserts that things that are part of my culture can no longer be accessed by me because it is theirs now, I feel that this is wrong.  It is specifically offensive to Celts who have been working with and having bonds with animal spirits since before Christ was squeezed out.

Neither I, or any other Celtic person, nor anyone else that I can think of, is denying anyone of any other culture, their relationship with nature and with its spirits.  But when the inverse becomes true ad I am told that I have “guides” and not “animal spirits” even though my experiences are directly contrary to this (I will only get specific if asked), then I feel that my own culture is being disrespected, and being erased due to another culture denying part of my own to claim it as their own.

Telling us Celts that we do not have spirit animals pisses on the graves and funeral pyres of every single one of us that did, it attempts to invalidate the practice of Druidry and Celtic Animism in its entirety, it pisses all over the beliefs of the Celtic people tracing back, not just past the time of Christ but before the time of the Elohimic era, and reaching towards the beginning of the Holocene era itself.

I did not do that to this person that is “calling me out”.  They did this to me.   I let it go unanswered on Tumblr because I cannot fight the tide of the acceptable narrative about it, but in my own space, I cannot let it stand.  And every one of you who allow this narrative to continue have contributed your parts in erasing Druidry and Celtic culture.   We have never asked anyone else to give up this part of their culture for our sake, but we should not be asked to either.  

The person calling me out tried to start a conversation about who’s culture was more abused and violated, who’s culture was violated for longer, and other such arguments, and then complained about feeling triggered and unsafe when the debate was not going their way.   But me, I didn’t WANT this.   I didn’t want to have a culture war take place on my server.   I merely wanted him to meet my culture half way on a cultural aspect we shared.   We could have shared our experiences about it, and discovered what was different and the same between our experiences, and understood our cultures better.   This is what I wanted.

I believe that this is all I can say about the matter, and I have wrote this mostly so that the accusations made will not stand alone and people can understand why I have been hurt by the things that were said to me and the total disregard for my own Celtic culture or the things we suffered through over the last 2000 years.  I want to use this in conclusion to invite other faekin to my server and the link will follow, but I would indeed suggest that if you are one of those who believe that some cultures have the right to claim exclusive right to spiritual and magickal ideas to the exclusion of other cultures that share those ideas, that this server may not be right for you.

http://discord.gg/3DmDBzh

Posted by Alynna

Wtf are you at saying you’re a Fae? Also St Patrick’s day isn’t a saints day celebration anymore, we put the holiday together to bring the Irish people overseas together and celebrate their history on a holiday most would already know as a feast day, no one bloody celebrates it to honour that Pagan killing bastard. Christ, full blooded Irish me hole, you don’t even know the history?? Get to therapy and into a history class.

I know the history better than you believe I do, apparently, and honestly I don’t know what to do with this post, since its less of a comment and an ask and more of an attack, however I was expecting one eventually.  You really should read some more about “The Troubles” and what those conflicts were born out of.  I have.  If you lived through them, then I am glad you are OK.

I’m also glad we see eye to eye about who St. Patrick really was at least.  It would be nice if everyone would start calling this day “Feast day” instead of St Patricks day, and it would be nice if everyone else who isn’t Irish would stop honoring him every time this day of year.   It makes one think about what is really being celebrated on that day, does it not?

 I think we may agree on more than you believe we do.  I will be celebrating our history, just not the history created by St. Patrick.  I will be celebrating who we really are.  How about you?

Also as a final note, yes, I am saying i’m Fae.  And it really affects me none whether you believe it or not.  But at the very least you shouldn’t level attacks at me over it.

Posted by Alynna

Reading tumblr lately reminds me of all the horrible things St Patricks day represents.   I still wear green on that day for my own sense of racial pride, but to reiterate points of my last post, Celebrating St. Patrick is akin to … a conquered race celebrating its oppressors.

I’d like to cite specific examples but to do so would probably cause half my followers to leave, and the rest of Tumblr to hate on me.  The fact is I’ve become afraid to speak on Tumblr for the most part, but today, since i’m feeling so fearful and disheartened about this, i’ll speak just to get it out.

I’ve heard the quote “The Irish were oppressed and they don’t complain about it” alot lately, particularly along my dash.  But I think the main reason we don’t complain about it is because noone gives a shit.  We would receive nothing but derision and ridicule for doing so, because we’re considered “white” now.

People say “How come I didn’t hear about the potato blight in school, or about how the British came and took all the rest of the food during the famine?” or about the culture that existed before St. Patrick?  This is because of systematic erasure of the things that happened to the Irish, mostly conducted by Catholicism in the early part and by the British later on.  But it was also overshadowed by arguably worse things happening to other races later on.

The fact is, that we had a culture that was systematically erased, we were once Celtic, but St. Patrick and the Catholic church came in with food and stuff during our hard times (there were famines all through Europe between 400-800 AD and Ireland has always had it hard growing things) and honestly bought their way into converting the populace… this would lead later on to wars between Catholics and Protestants, and then more recently, to terrorism, most of which is over now, but none which would have happened if we stayed with the Old Gods to begin with.   It was partially our fault, too.  We should have died with our culture intact rather than submit to St. Patrick and the Catholics.   But it’s far too late to change that now..

I don’t know what it is I want to say here.  I had alot more to say but I’m afraid of offending folks by saying it.  I just, it makes me frightened to see how attitudes have evolved here, where it has somehow become OK to hate someone, even to say they should die, because they are considered to be part of a privileged social group.   I’m even afraid to name specifics.  We can’t talk about the oppression and abuse a race suffered because they are now considered privileged.  I know where that road leads.   Actually I don’t think this post is going to help me feel any better about what is happening.   I think i’ll end this post now.

Posted by Alynna