houndofbel

[houndofbel]

Broke up with my partner of 7 years and disbanded my GW2 guild over almost ten. Today has been a hard day. If anyone could put in a good word with the dewoi, I would really appreciate that.

[houndofbel]

I'm fully aware of Gallo-Roman Polytheism, but is there a Gallo-Hellenic form as well? Are there any resources out there for it? Or anything to help someone interested in syncrenicing the two practices to get started?

Both in historical cases and modern ones you'll find many examples of Gallo-Hellenism.

There were two major historical examples of this, with the Greeks who settled Massalia, modern day Marseille in southern France, and also Gauls who settled in central Anatolia.

In fact, it was the Greeks who settled in Massalia and heavily traded upriver that caused many tribes to shift from the older versions of continental Celtic to a Gaulish overculture, picking up stuff like afterlife concepts from the Greeks, the oldest Gaulish inscription I think is written in Greek script as well.

Here's a video that discusses Gallo-Med syncretism in general, with a strong emphasis on the trade area of Massalia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TtEjV8Bicw

You can check out the god inscriptions in southern Gaul here: https://riig.huma-num.fr/browse.html?collection=RIIG

Here's an article on the different Zeuses that appear among the Galatians: https://houseofsecrets.org/the-galatian-zeuses

If you're old enough to join our discord server, there are many Gallo-Hellenism syncretics you can learn from as well, with many PDFs on the subject that can be shared more easily.

Hopefully that all made sense and didn't come out a load of gibberish!

[houndofbel]

None other than Morpheus Ravenna is the first presenter revealed! Catch Morpheus at the Comreton Calleios online convention, May 27th-28th 2023.

Register for free via our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/Toutagalation

[houndofbel]

Starry Serpent by TamberElla

[houndofbel]

Gaulish helmets came in all sorts of fearsome shapes and sizes, with intimidating horns, the long curved necks of geese, and also… this????

Which one are you wearing? ���

[houndofbel]

We’re doing a giveaway on our Twitter if you want to head over and check that out!

[houndofbel]

The stats are in & neatly organized 🥳 Learn about the 2021 Gaulpol community by checking out the newest post on our website.

[houndofbel]

Great Mother Bear,

Protector of the wild,

Mentor of my Spirit,

Hear my prayer.

Allow me to see through your eyes,

All that lives within the woodlands,

I honor the natural world within and without,

Guide me, oh Bear of the skies.

Release from me all expectation,

Open me to the wonder of your path,

So I may partake in your abundant harvest,

And I may honor you in my spiritual elevation.

So mote it be

[houndofbel]

I’m going to look at what limited resources I have but if anyone works with Nodens I would love some tips and insight into him. I’m new to trying to work with or even just venerate deities, I wasn’t even good at it when I was Christian lol.

[houndofbel]

Did some massive reformatting.

[houndofbel]

Gauls on Discooooord

The Gaulchat community discord server just went through a lengthy facelift! List of changes: -Reorganization of categories for easier navigation -Moved francophone channel closer to top -Established gaulpol-101 and arts-culture-blogs forum channels for simple topic navigation. -Re-introduced a single history channel. -Re-introduced Archivist role to view contents of retired channels. -Introduced regional chats & subchats for localization + formation of local Gaulish groups -Renamed Senobessus Segomari simply "Senobessus", while Segomaros established it, it doesn't belong to anyone and remains an amazing basic framework for Gaulpols, both beginner and established. -Rewrote the read-first server guide to reflect changes and be more inclusive of those less familiar with Discord https://discord.gg/Qs7kfQKE Join it if you want, or don’t. I’m not your dad!

[houndofbel]

Intro post!

I am a genderfluid sorcerer, artist, Celtic polytheist spiritworker, and writer. My preferred pronouns are sí/hir (pronounced like she/her.)

I’m a dedicant of the Morrígan, with a practice rooted in animism, folk magic, and Celtic polytheism. I use the term “Celtic polytheism” carefully - Celtic is a language family and designates not a unified culture, pantheon or spiritual system, but a very broad family of cultures which share some linguistic, cultural and historical links. I use the broad term Celtic polytheist because the gods and spirits I am in relationship with include a mix of Irish, Brittonic, and Gaulish beings, and I braid together elements of practice drawn from all these origins in my practice.

I love monsters, Otherworldly creatures, haunted places and hidden lore. A lifelong polytheist, my childhood spiritual experiences were in a yogic tradition rooted in Hinduism. I found my home in European witchcraft traditions, beginning with training and initiation in the Anderson Feri tradition, and then settling into devotional Celtic polytheism and the magical arts. I co-founded and serve as a priest in the Coru Cathubodua Priesthood.

I write about tattooing, art and creativity, witchcraft and sorcery, polytheism and animism, and the intersections of all these interests. My first book, The Book of the Great Queen: The Many Faces of the Morrigan from Ancient Legends to Modern Devotions, was published 2015 through Concrescent Press. My next book, The Magic of the Otherworld: Modern Sorcery from the Wellspring of Celtic Traditions, is coming 2023 through Llewellyn.

I live in Huchiun/Lisjan Ohlone territory, aka the East Bay area of California, with my spouse Brennos, a haunted cat, and an adorable Corgi. I make my living as a tattoo artist, with a passion for ritual tattoos and design inspired by ancient art. I also create devotional artworks and sorcerous crafts in a variety of media. When I’m is not creating, I also practice medieval armored combat and am very fond of spears. I strive to bring a queer, feminist, anti-racist, and decolonizing ethos to everything I do.

I’m new to Tumblr and finding my way around. Hoping to meet and get to know folks with shared interests, fellow polytheists, artists, folklorists, and folks I can learn from.

[houndofbel]

Hey! I saw you responded to some asks and I thought I'd give it a try myself (it's ok if you don't answer though).

I was just wondering what are your thoughts on Lugus? do you have any experiences with him? What does he represent?

Hey there! Thank you so much.

This is a great question. I've personally had minimal interactions with Lugus myself, but I've seen many examples of others' interactions with Him, so brief warning it's a lot of gnosis mixed in.

He's a warband leader, and feels like a younger generation of god compared to the more primal beings like Taranos and Belinos, Lugus is instead a god of culture, a god of the people. His association with the Irish god Lugh has brought in the aspect of being the many-skilled, and while historically that seemed to be focused on His marital ability, in Gaulpol there are many other martial and gods of war yet no true patron of the arts so instead Lugus is often seen in that role, as the "renaissance man" among the gods, skilled in many crafts and art.

To me, He represents the new generation that surpasses the old, not in spite of them, but because of them. He represents the flexibility, adaptability, the ability to learn, grow, and to hone our bodies and minds as humans.

[houndofbel]

I didn't want to bother you, but since you said to another anon you're glad to receive asks, I guess I'll jump in :D!

I'm a bit of a newbie, and from what I've seen, there seem to be a lot of controversy about which god was the main god of war/Martian-ish god. Any insight? Also, do you have anything in store about Taranis 👀?

Thank you so much for your blog!

Hey, awesome!

There is no concept of a main god of war or a centralized pantheon in Gaulish Polytheism , which can be complicated when approaching Gaulpol initially from the lens of another polytheistic tradition where those things do exist.

Gaul was not a centralized region, people, religion, culture, language, none of that, we're dealing with an umbrella term for many different nations and tribes over a massive period of time where populations shifted and so many different outside variables have introduced the people, language, religion, and culture. There is no hard line where Gaulish religion starts or ends, geographically or chronologically, no strict definition defines Gaul or Gaulish Polytheism.

As a result, especially in a region where warfare between tribes was a typical endeavor, either as contests of champions or full-scale conflict, war deities played a massive amount in daily life. You'll have gods with war aspects but also were known for a variety of things as well. Camulos is a war god, but also a protector of tribal boundaries. Brigantia also has strong war associations but also is associated with the hearth. Every Toutatis, tribal god of a nation\people who associated themselves with a common origin, would also serve as their personal war deity as well.

The gods of Gaul fit far less in stereotypical roles seen in the more popular polytheistic traditions and often personal relationships are further emphasized when looking for a deity to ask for assistance or invoke in ritual for a specific reason.

Hopefully this all makes sense, I feel like I ranted a bit.

As far as Taranis, check out SR's Taranos page if you've not already https://followersofthewheel.org/taranos/

Not necessary planning any new article or presentation on Him in the short term. We've just released a big comparative mythology video regarding Taranos as a bull who slays a dragon which can be found on the Touta Galation youtube. But Taranis is pretty popular so there's always more reconstruction and revivalism being done regarding His cultus.

[houndofbel]

I know Venus was worshipped in Gallo roman times, but is there a Gaulish who god can be associated with love and/or sex?

This is a great question! I've not gotten any asks in a bit so this makes me quite happy.

This topic came up in Gaulchat not too recently so I'll mention everyone's ideas as well. While Venus was worshipped in Gaul, there wasn't a Gallo-Roman sync that appeared but there are a few candidates as far as love goddess goes:

-Rosmerta, the great provider (for attraction/long-lasting love, gnosis)

-Epona (for commitment, marriage, gnosis)

-At least one person syncs Venus with Nementona

-Whichever deity is closest to you makes a great candidate for many endeavors

-Linguistically, the Matres (great mothers of) Lubicae might be associated with affection/love

-Venus is often a Mars pairing, and Mars is synced with a good chunk of Gaulish gods, so the divine pairings between a Gaulish war god and a goddess could also be excellent candidates, there's a great presentation on divine pairing in Gaulpol that can be found on the Toutâ Galatian YouTube channel.

As far as the sex aspect, again there isn't an easy answer. Warriors in Gaul were known to freely love among their fellows, so this might also point to that Gaulish Mars-Venus pairing again.

I'll update this post if anything further insight is shared with me. There's often no easy answer with Gaulpol but instead you have a huge flexibility so you can adapt what fits into your praxis. Let me know if you have any further questions ^^

[houndofbel]

Abusive spiritual leaders will be like, "I never told anyone they had to do this!" when they spent years making people believe they'd be on the side of All Evil and that Horrible Things Would Happen To Them if they did literally anything else.