I am a Norse-Gael, and honor both pantheons. It is a tricky
journey, but worth it.
Clearly there are many things that work well together:
the concept of a pantheon of deities, ancestors (very loosely defined), and
land spirits; the concept of leaving offerings to one or all of the above, and
in special days to do so; the importance of oaths and frith in norse approaches
are found in clan and tuat loyalties in Gaelic society.
Both Norse and Gaelic paganism embrace the concept of a
holy tree at the center of the homestead (bile in Irish, Warden Tree in Norse.) We have such a tree, and are
forbidden to harm it in any way, even to the extent of picking off leaves or
trimming healthy branches. We often have guests in the summer, and we sit, eat,
and drink under that tree. The limbs are so huge that they form a canopy over
us, touching the ground in several places. We do not trim these; rather, we ask
people to walk around the lower branches. We accommodate our own actions to the
tree, rather than the other way around.
This is directly associated with our faith. It is also a cultural way of life in Ireland,
Scotland, and Norway, as Warden Trees continue to exist on Norse farms, even
those owned by agnostics and christians, to the present day.
There are, however, serious cosmological differences,
that some may be able to creatively reconcile, or not:
The Norse have a very detailed and complex structure of
worlds (Jotenheim, Asgard, Alfheim, etc), while the Gaels simply see This World
and Otherworld. Now, I understand the Gaelic Otherworld may be similarly
divided (Tir nan Og, etc), but it is not clearly defined as in Norse lore.
The Aesir act in Midgard in very limited ways and the only
connection between the two is Bifrost. In Gaelic paganachd, "liminal
spaces" connecting the realms invite interaction on a daily basis, and are
everywhere: seashores, mounaintops, caves, ponds, springs, wells, even property
lines.
Norse time is linear, with a beginning and an end: It stared
with Ginnungagap, it ends at Ragnarok. Baldur, who was killed, remains in Hel
in the meantime. For the Gael, there is no beginning of time (no creation
story) and no end of the world - simply endless cycles without beginning or
end. Gods that "die" reappear in subsequent lore, or continue to be
accessed through their dwelling in the Otherworld.
Norse fate is strongly influenced by the weaving of the
Norns, that even the gods can't readily change; the Gaels have much less of a
sense of your fate being determined...unless The Morrigan takes an interest in
you :-) The Norse approach seems more rigid to me.
Sacrifices to Norse gods (blots) normally involve leaving the
blood for the deities and consuming the offered meat. In Gaelic paganchd, one
never consumes a food offering: the entire offering is left for those to whom
it is being offered.
Magic, for the Norse, was largely a female work, even though
Odin practiced in his endless thirst for wisdom. Among Gaels, there was no such
gender division, and males described as Druids regularly engage in magic arts.
There is a clear delineation of "who is what" in
Norse lore: Thor is a God, Njord is a Vanir, Aegir is a Jotunn, Brynhild is a
Valkyrie, and Sigurd is a Mortal. in Gaelic lore, there is whole ton of grey;
strict lines between deities, great warrior-heroes, and many characters are
often not clear.
Norse gods exist in a vast "world above" (Asgard,
Vanaheim), unconnected to place; Gaelic gods are associated with specific
pieces of earth: Irish tutelary gods rule over specific landscapes, estates,
ponds mountains etc, and were not divorced from the earth, but intimately
connected with small pieces of it.
The differences are not necessarily irreconcilable, but there
are differences, and in a personal practice, it takes a bit of work to decide
how to weave them together into a coherent system.
Or, you decide they are not meant to be reconciled, and
"live in the grey."
Now, as for Scottish Paganachd
Scottish is particularly difficult; there really are no
books devoted solely to Scottish Paganachd yet.
Scottish paganism is itself a collision and syncretism of the Brythonic
traditions of the Picts, the Irish traditions imported with the Kingdom of DalRiata,
and the influence of the Norse in the Viking Age at the same time that Christian
missionaries were at work.
I would check out the blog at tairis.co.uk/ as a good
starting place.
Invest in some of the Pagan Portal books on individual
deities, such as An Cailleach, Brigid, Manannan Mac Lir, The Morrigan, etc.
Morgan Daimler, though she embraces modern concept, is exceptional at
collecting and presenting lore in a fairly unbiased fashion. As Irish lore is Scottish lore due to the
cross-pollination of the Kingdom of Dal Riada, they are worth a read. Even more important, get a copy of Thomas Kinsella's translation of The Tain. The Tain bo Cuailgne, or Cattle Raid of Cooley, is the Gaelic equivalent of the Norse Poetic Edda...and some of the action takes place in Scotland.
In Scotland, An
Cailleach is KEY, and the book by Rachel Patterson is the best
I've found. In addition, do a web search
on Tigh nan Bodach, a shrine to An Cailleach near Loch Lyon.
Get ahold of the Carmina Gadelica by Alexander Carmichael.
Its a collection of oral prayers from the Hebrides in the 1800s and is
saturated in christian references, BUT it gives insight into the remaining pagan
thought patterns, and includes many prayers involving Brigid.
Check out Scottish folklore books , and if you are so
inclined, historic clan folklore of specific clans and history if you are
connected with such a clan. While many folktales are late (1600s on), and all
have morphed with storyteller's flourishes with time, some reach far back.
Tales I found particularly helpful: Assipattle, Golden Cradle of the Picts, the
Cam Ruadh, and two crossovers with Norse lore: Lady Odivere in the Orkneys and
the Origin of Midges in Applecross, where the Norse Jotun Thrym is a key
character.
Scottish folklore books:
1) Daniel
Allisons 'Scottish Myths and Legends" is a great start. I am actually in
contact with him, and have provided him with some source material :-)
2) There
is a version of the Irish Fionn McCool saga involving Grainne and Diarmid. In
the Irish version, they flee to Scotland, but somehow end up back in Ireland.
In the Scottish version, their death is in Scotland (Perthshire.) Allison's
book "Finn & The Fianna" would be best.
3) The
Anthology of Scottish Folktales by History Press
4) Perthshire
Folk Tales by Lindsey Gibb and C.A. Hope.
5) Tales
of the Seal People by Duncan Williamson. You will find some cross-over and
retelling of some stories in these first four books, but the variances are
fascinating, and speak to their nature as oral history.
6) Glen
of the Fairies (Antony Mackenzie Smith - expensive! $600! I found mine in a
second hand shop for $25!)
7) Folklore
of the Scottish Highlands, Anne Ross. Most of what she covers is late (1700s
on), and some deals with later christian accusations of witchraft and later
developments, but her focus on
"Second Sight" is instructive.
8) The
Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies by Roert Kirk (Intro by Lang).
The intro is longer than the original book(!) and somewhat cynical and not
useful...but Kirk was a pastor who collected stories about fairies and brownies
in the 1600s. Again, like most Scottish lore, you are 'investigating' and
peeling apart an onion.
9) Highland Myths and Legends, George W MacPherson. A good sample of different subject matters, with an emphasis on the Isle of Skye. Worth getting, although MacPherson has a peculiar obsession with introducing "Amazons" into Sgathach's fighting forces, which is not attested to in any other lore.
10) Tiel's Saga, by Thom Simmons, examines five fairly well-known Scottish folklore tales and researches the syncretism of Norse and Gaelic cultures evident in those tales.
For Pictish sources...Look up news reports on the Rhynie
Man, an archaeological find in Aberdeenshire, which suggests possible
connections between the Picts and continental celts (the god Esus) and who
seems to also appear on a stone in Caithness.
Also, "Pagan Symbols of the Picts and "A New History of the
Picts" by Stuart McHardy are worth a read.
That should be enough to get you started
