No Matter
Try Again
Fail Again
Fail Better
Beckett

Happy Celtic New Year!

This is Geo Trevarthen's Celtic Shamanism newsletter. You're getting it because you or someone else signed up on my website www.celticshamanism.com. To unsubscribe just reply to this email with 'unsubscribe' in the header.

What is the greatest thing you can imagine doing or being? Now is the time to do it. Samhain is the Celtic New Year, the time to turn over a fresh leaf, to plant a seed to gestate and manifest fully at Beltane, the start of the light half of the year.

In ancient times the dates of festivals would not have been as fixed as they are today. They would have been on or around a date. If rain was an ill omen for a festival, you can bet they wouldn't do it on a rainy day. Similarly the nearest full moon (or dark or new moon) might feel the appropriate time for a festival.

The Celtic year begins at Samhain, the start of the dark half of the year, because everything begins in the dark, from seeds in the earth to children in the womb. This is the time to bring what you want into being, to bring the you that you want into being.

It begins with reflection. Who do you really want to be? What were your fantasies as a child of who you'd grow up into? Are there selves you've killed off over the years? Can you revive and reclaim them?

Killing isn't too strong a word. A few months back I woke up from the horrid nightmare that I'd murdered a woman and buried her near my house. For the first time ever, after waking, it took me over an hour to convince myself I hadn't actually done it. I journeyed about it and Lugh told me that it was an aspect of myself, a part of my own soul that I was in the process of doing in. I needed to reclaim and revive her.

I find the Druidic maxim "Love God, Be Brave and do no Evil" very useful when thinking about aspects of changing the self. It's one of the few concrete teachings from a couple of thousand years ago in druidic tradition that we know because it came to us through one of the classical authors.

Because Celtic tradition is Panentheistic, experiencing God manifest in all creation as well as transcendent in the Síd or Spirit World, loving God is also loving all being — and that includes you. Before change you have to accept or at least see the 'suchness' of who you are now. You have to give yourself a stable footing from which to embark on change, a place to put the lever. It's like renovating a house, even if it's a wreck you'd have to start by saying — 'well the foundation is solid and that wall hasn't fallen down yet.' Start by deciding what about you is 'solid' and positive, then go from there.

Be brave: Bravery is the vital virtue without which we can manifest none of the others. Everything depends on it. It's also one thing you can always do. Remember, bravery isn't being fearless, it's being uncompelled by fear.

Do no evil: Refrain from what is wrong. Easier said than done. In Neil Douglas Klotz' work with the Aramaic words of Christ he speaks of evil as being that which is unripe or inappropriate, not evil in an demonic sort of way. Being our true selves is often as much about what we avoid as what we do. For example, I recently saw a wonderful herbalist, Nik Imrye, who took me off wheat and drinks like wine and cider. I was a bit sceptical at first, but damn if he wasn't right. I feel worlds better. Now, I shan't go the rest of my life without a glass of champagne — this is Geo here — but I can certainly commit to it being a very occasional treat if it means that I will wake in the morning feeling like my best self, and see that self looking back at me in the mirror.

Of course, to do no evil is also to do good, because sometimes failing to act when we should is where evil comes in. You must act like the self you want to be, even if at first it's only play acting. In his book 'Fighting to Win,' David Rogers describes speaking with people about what they can't do. For example, one person might think they can't ask a girl out on a date, they stumble over their words or get embarrassed. He then asks them how they'd like to do it. Almost invariably, they immediately do exactly what they have just told him they can't do. Mr Awkward becomes Mr Smooth.

Here are two suggestions for Samhain 'Be all you can Be' rituals. My Grandmother and Mother have always said that what you do on New Years Day you do the rest of the year — one reason to be sure to eat well and include all the activities you want to find yourself engaged in over the coming year. As David pointed out to me just now (with his Megalithic calendrical expertise — he's a prehistoric archaeologist) the solar Samhain is around November 4th, and the November full moon is on the 2nd, so go with what feels right to you.

One is super simple — get two candles, one is your getting rid of candle, one is your manifesting candle. Choose colours that resonate with their functions for you. Spend some time in prayer or meditation, and / or calling on your spirit helpers, then write down one thing to get rid of and burn it in the appropriate candle to get rid of it. (Of course, don't do this to a representation of some other person — we're just talking qualities of the self here!)

Then write down something you want to manifest and burn it in the second candle with the idea of releasing it into manifestation.

Another idea is to cast a 'glamour.' The oldest meaning of the word is a spell or enchantment. Light a few candles and sit in front of a nice mirror, one you really like. As you look at yourself, look with affection but simultaneously picture yourself being everything you ever wanted. Put on some really uplifting music — your best self music. (I'm loving Dreadzone's Second Light right now.)

Here's one phrasing you can use, or make variants to reflect what each of the elements represent to you, you put your name at the end. (This is a variant I've done of a nice one of Edain McCoy's via Sarah Ban Breathnach's Romancing the Ordinary)

By the power of fire be magical (your name)
By the power of water be beautiful / handsome (")
By the power of earth be all that you are (")
By the power of air be all that you wish to be (")
By the power of the God/dess so mote it be,
(you can put your chosen theophany above)
Blessed be, three times three,
As was, as is and as will be.

When you've done you might want to reflect on some 'I ams' like my great, great (and then some) Uncle Amergin did when he and the rest of the Milesians landed in Ireland. In his famous 'rún,' (pronounced rune, a word that can mean mystery, desire, beloved or a sacred poem or incantation) he says, "I am a wild boar in valour, I am a salmon in water, I am a lake in the plain...I am the point of the lance in battle, I am the God who brings fire to the mind."

Come up with some affirmations, some 'I ams' relevant to your own aspirations. They don't have to be 'lofty' or ostensibly spiritual. The other day David came up with, "I am a week in Provence, I am a bottle of Cava, I am a well tuned Mercedes..." Now you don't have to go that far towards the mundane and Mammon either, but you get the idea.

This is about who you want to be, not anyone else's idea of who you should be.  Isn't it time you fully became that person? As Nietzsche said, live as if the day is here.

It is.

Have a wonderful Samhain!

Le Beannachdan,
With Blessings,

Geo

NEWS AND EVENTS

I'm currently collaborating with Bill Manley, Senior Curator of Egyptian texts at National Museums Scotland. He's doing the first complete catalogue and translation of the surviving coffins of the pharaohs of Egypt, including the Tutankhamun texts. Here's the description of a concert we're doing March 8th 2010.

Songs for Coming Out in Daylight

Dr Bill Manley and Dr Geo Athena Trevarthen
The title of this performance is based on the ancient name for the group of Egyptian spells now known as The Book of the Dead. This will be the first time a selection of these spells has been sung publicly in Egyptian for some two-thousand years. For the Ancient Egyptians death meant release into serenity and understanding: the last of life's challenges that allow our human selves to transform and grow. The Egyptian word 'duat,' usually translated as 'underworld,' actually means 'the state of adoration': the afterlife is an ennobled state of spiritual being, that of the gods. The spells in the layers of nested coffins of king Tutankhamun (died c. 1322 BCE) describe a birthing process, in which outermost values give way to deeper insights within, while the process of creation is reversed and the king becomes one with his Creator. The spell inside the pharaoh's celebrated gold mask, placed over his face for eternity, reveals a vision of creation to one who is "perfect of sight". Tonight's performance begins with an explanatory discussion by Dr Bill Manley, moving on to the music, based on his transliterations of the Tutankhamun spells, composed in collaboration with Dr Geo Trevarthen. We will also be led in participatory chant to deepen our experience of the power of these sacred texts.

I am really excited about this project and there will be a CD in conjunction with it so I'll keep everyone informed.

I've also gotten involved with a new organisation called Awakening Scotland. Their web site is http://www.awakeningscotland.com/. From the site:

"Awakening Scotland" has been created as a vehicle for wisdom, light and to support the awakening of all beings in Scotland. The intention is for those already involved in this within themselves, and with others, to now come together to create this awakening on a wider scale.

Awakening is a beautiful word, as it is something occurring now, unfolding as conscious realisation, and we are all party to this whether we live as enlightened masters or plumbers - regardless of our beliefs or conditionings we all have the key to wisdom in our hearts and our unique voices to be heard.

Geo