The initial paragraphs raise the question of whether questions of appropriation might ultimately involve questions of attribution of the numinous properties of a place and/or phenomenon.
Yes, a lovely read this Easter morning, and a well that I have a soft spot for, particularly since its history and origin are fated to always remain a mystery. How... comforting !
It's lovely to be able to take a break from the onrolling grind of trying to DIS-COVER our origins.
I went to an exhibition about British and Irish "Big Houses" with my grandfather a long time ago and boy did he hate those places. It is hard for me to understand his view but he saw them only as symbols of oppression and exploitation. His family had lived in the shadow of one of them. I suppose that is the feeling which motivated the people who burned them down.
The idea that some places are holy is important. We are I think moving away from that idea that the world is just inert stuff. We can begin to recognise that culture and psychology are inadequate anthropomorphic explanations. We can really say this is beautiful, this is scary, this is awe inspiring, this place is holy without meaning that it is all in the eye of the beholder. The world suddenly becomes a richer and far more interesting place.
Thank you for this, Paul! I’m in Sicily at the moment and tried to express a similar sentiment about the “Temple of Diana” in Cefalu - with somewhat less eloquence and brevity… The megalithic structure here features a similar basin draining into a grotto carved into the rock of the hillside. Very little research is available on the site, which remains “sacred” by dint of the thin veil and the impulse to curiosity many visitors feel.
A lovely read on this Easter morning. Having just returned from my first visit to Iona I’m particularly interested in your exploration of ‘thin places’.
I completely agree with your opening section, of course. In many places, Christians (usually directly disobeying their priests and bishops) continued to honor the old agreements the pagans had made with the spirits of place.
And of course, there were multiple waves of purifiers who would destroy those sites to uproot these continuations. The fact that puritan iconoclasts targeted holy wells and standing stones is extremely important for understanding how capitalism and our “machine age” came about, though of course they were hardly the first.
I have a radical proposition for you, which is the unstated core of my argument about religion and the machine. You get to be the first person to hear it.
By continuing those agreements (though often begrudgingly at best) the Church (both Orthodox and Catholic) kept the relationship between humans and the spirits stable for centuries. The Reformation in Europe was the end of that stability: the church self-purged in response to the reformers’ accusations, both sides abandoning those agreements.
What came next was the age we are in now, the capitalist/secular/machine era, and it was born from the end of those agreements and man’s belief he could master all of nature (and its spirits and forces).
A Christianity that re-establishes those agreements could help stabilize the world, which is why I respect your work so much as a pagan. Also, you’ll have much of Christianity itself against you in this work, or at least the Christianity of the last four hundred years, the one that has named all spirits as evil…
Anthropology seems to tell us that concern for continuity is a human condition. Can I add that when it comes to recognition and belief, respect also has been a hallmark? (See also Ryd's comment.)
I know one putative bullaun in Northumberland, England, although it is cracked now. It sits on high ground alongside pre-historic ramparts and a scatter of much older rock-art. I have wondered what it would look like filled under a high summer moon.
PS I had warts covering my hands charmed away when I was 6 by a nurse in the early NHS. Smile.
Looking at the pictures of the bullauns, I as struck by the similarity of a stone I brought back from Japan with a small hollow for collecting water. I am soothed by looking at that small pool of water, the source of life. Off topic but in response to "It’s intriguing to think that these beautiful natural landscapes which appear so lonely to us were occupied hundreds – perhaps thousands – of years ago. It’s likely that they have changed very little over all that time," I recommend 2 excellent books. One is Topsoil and Civilization (Carter and Dale), the other is Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations (Montgomery). The above show how soil erosion has drastically changed many landscapes and affected the course of human history. As a small sheep farmer, soil and water are near and dear to me.
Ahhh you reached county cork ! And I must go see that little well.
On Castlefreke itself …. An interesting english woman called Mary carbery married into the family at the end of the 19 th century and was well known for being a kind and lovely person… she wrote a diary after being widowed which I found very illuminating and members of her family were well Known eccentrics . https://roaringwaterjournal.com/tag/lady-mary-carbery/
Thank you 🙏 what a lovely read this Easter 🐣 morning, like a gift .
The initial paragraphs raise the question of whether questions of appropriation might ultimately involve questions of attribution of the numinous properties of a place and/or phenomenon.
A wart healing well! How precise!
Yes, a lovely read this Easter morning, and a well that I have a soft spot for, particularly since its history and origin are fated to always remain a mystery. How... comforting !
It's lovely to be able to take a break from the onrolling grind of trying to DIS-COVER our origins.
Thank you, Paul.
I went to an exhibition about British and Irish "Big Houses" with my grandfather a long time ago and boy did he hate those places. It is hard for me to understand his view but he saw them only as symbols of oppression and exploitation. His family had lived in the shadow of one of them. I suppose that is the feeling which motivated the people who burned them down.
What an amazing journey to a wart well! It bears a strong resemblance to the American folk remedy for warts, 'Stumpwater'...
https://kentuckwitch.tumblr.com/post/173315217549/day-212-healing-with-stumpwater
The idea that some places are holy is important. We are I think moving away from that idea that the world is just inert stuff. We can begin to recognise that culture and psychology are inadequate anthropomorphic explanations. We can really say this is beautiful, this is scary, this is awe inspiring, this place is holy without meaning that it is all in the eye of the beholder. The world suddenly becomes a richer and far more interesting place.
Thank you for this, Paul! I’m in Sicily at the moment and tried to express a similar sentiment about the “Temple of Diana” in Cefalu - with somewhat less eloquence and brevity… The megalithic structure here features a similar basin draining into a grotto carved into the rock of the hillside. Very little research is available on the site, which remains “sacred” by dint of the thin veil and the impulse to curiosity many visitors feel.
A lovely read on this Easter morning. Having just returned from my first visit to Iona I’m particularly interested in your exploration of ‘thin places’.
I completely agree with your opening section, of course. In many places, Christians (usually directly disobeying their priests and bishops) continued to honor the old agreements the pagans had made with the spirits of place.
And of course, there were multiple waves of purifiers who would destroy those sites to uproot these continuations. The fact that puritan iconoclasts targeted holy wells and standing stones is extremely important for understanding how capitalism and our “machine age” came about, though of course they were hardly the first.
I have a radical proposition for you, which is the unstated core of my argument about religion and the machine. You get to be the first person to hear it.
By continuing those agreements (though often begrudgingly at best) the Church (both Orthodox and Catholic) kept the relationship between humans and the spirits stable for centuries. The Reformation in Europe was the end of that stability: the church self-purged in response to the reformers’ accusations, both sides abandoning those agreements.
What came next was the age we are in now, the capitalist/secular/machine era, and it was born from the end of those agreements and man’s belief he could master all of nature (and its spirits and forces).
A Christianity that re-establishes those agreements could help stabilize the world, which is why I respect your work so much as a pagan. Also, you’ll have much of Christianity itself against you in this work, or at least the Christianity of the last four hundred years, the one that has named all spirits as evil…
Anthropology seems to tell us that concern for continuity is a human condition. Can I add that when it comes to recognition and belief, respect also has been a hallmark? (See also Ryd's comment.)
I know one putative bullaun in Northumberland, England, although it is cracked now. It sits on high ground alongside pre-historic ramparts and a scatter of much older rock-art. I have wondered what it would look like filled under a high summer moon.
PS I had warts covering my hands charmed away when I was 6 by a nurse in the early NHS. Smile.
Yes times ten thousand! Continuity is the key word. There are holy places, or where the veil between kairos and chronos is thin.
Looking at the pictures of the bullauns, I as struck by the similarity of a stone I brought back from Japan with a small hollow for collecting water. I am soothed by looking at that small pool of water, the source of life. Off topic but in response to "It’s intriguing to think that these beautiful natural landscapes which appear so lonely to us were occupied hundreds – perhaps thousands – of years ago. It’s likely that they have changed very little over all that time," I recommend 2 excellent books. One is Topsoil and Civilization (Carter and Dale), the other is Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations (Montgomery). The above show how soil erosion has drastically changed many landscapes and affected the course of human history. As a small sheep farmer, soil and water are near and dear to me.
Have a peaceful Easter!
Ahhh you reached county cork ! And I must go see that little well.
On Castlefreke itself …. An interesting english woman called Mary carbery married into the family at the end of the 19 th century and was well known for being a kind and lovely person… she wrote a diary after being widowed which I found very illuminating and members of her family were well Known eccentrics . https://roaringwaterjournal.com/tag/lady-mary-carbery/
"They are thin places."
I like that description. It would be hard to explain to someone what 'thin places' are.