Reconciling Norse and Gaelic approaches...and where to start in Scotland?!

 

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