6th April 2024

In between making my patchwork squares, and thoroughly enjoying it I take a break and read my latest book 'Thursbitch' by Alan Garner.  Garner is thought of as a children's writer but many of his later books are well written literature with an air of mystery around them.  Of course he brings 'the stones' into it, he comes from Cheshire and this latest book explores the geographical naming of a prehistoric track in Cheshire.  He does this through two points in history.  The first is an old tale of a packhorse man who froze to death on the Pennines.  The other path is through a modern couple who walk the hills, though the wife is seriously ill.

A moment of clarity came when reading about a ceremony, was it prehistoric? I am not sure but it was a frightening gathering.  A head is taken from a cave, the head is called Crom.  Stone heads figure quite often up North.  Of course the head is the seat of wisdom, and probably sticking the head of your enemy in battle on a pole, signifies good defeat.

But, and believe this or not.  Have you heard of a Cailleach - the old Celtic hag that has powers.  Well it is said that there is one shrine to her down a deep valley in Scotland.  Her shieling is called Tigh Na Bodach at Glen Lyon and it takes several hours of walking to get there.  But every year the stones that represent the family are moved out of their shieling home between Beltane and Samhain and then moved back for the winter.  You can read the story here.

So just sometimes stories of magic do exist, though it is rumoured that the gamekeepers on the estate move the stones.  There are some 'Easter Island' stone effigies in Ireland as well, slightly outside the Celtic era.

Crom Cruach: According to an Irish dinsenchas ("place-lore") poem in the 12th century Book of Leinster, Crom Cruach's cult image, consisting of a gold figure surrounded by twelve stone figures, stood on Magh Slécht ("the plain of prostration") (pronounced Moy Shlokht) in County Cavan, and was propitiated with first-born sacrifice in exchange for good yields of milk and grain. Crom Cruach is described as a wizened god, hidden by mists, and is said to have been worshipped since the time of Érimón. An early High King, Tigernmas, along with three quarters of his army, is said to have died while worshipping Crom on Samhain eve, but worship continued until the cult image was destroyed by St. Patrick with a sledgehammer.

Interesting that Crom Cruach was surrounded by twelve stones because it is said that Tigh Na Bodach had at one stage twelve stones. There is a wiki here on him but follow through to Crom Dubh

references:

Eight-Foot-Tall, 1,600-Year-Old Statue of Pagan Deity Found in Ireland | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine

A You Tube video on the god Crom

Crom Dubh