From the Celts, for the season

The new bird seed created a festival at the feeder today! Chickadee-dee-dee. Digging out from a couple of feet of snow, with wind chills below zero,  it’s a treat to support these friends of the air in a small way.  

This Irish poem, from the 9th Century AD, carries the intimacy the natural world and the seasons on its wings.  Before technology and instant expectations, the Celtic people looked to the land and the animals to renew their energy and for spiritual guidance. We have little of their music and art today. People of action and deep connection, the Celts did not have written language for a thousand years. 

There’s nothing more true than the companionship of our animal friends this time of year … teachers of the best kind, they show us by example how to be graceful in all the seasons of our lives.  Enjoy the season of ice and hug your horses!  

I have news for you:
The stag bells, winter snows,
summer has gone.
Wind high and cold,
the sun low short its course,
the sea running high.
Deep red the bracken, its shape is lost;
the wild goose has raised its accustomed cry.
Cold has seized the birds’ wings;
season of ice, this is my news.

Ireland, 9th century A.D.

Tags: 9th Century, Celtic, elk, poetry, snow, Winter solstice