As we approach Samhain our thoughts turn to the darker half of the year. What are we going into the dark with? What unanswerable questions? What insurmountable grief? What irreconcilable polarities are we bringing into the dark? Samhain is a time to ritualize this aspect of our spiritual journeys.

In this episode Rue and Mica discuss the history and practice of grieving traditions in Ireland and Scotland. Until their suppression by colonialism, Gaelic communal grieving rituals were profoundly important in helping our ancestors to heal from both personal losses and from the collective traumas of colonialism and capitalism. Why were the traditions of keening and lamenting outlawed or marginalized? What powers do they hold? How can re-engaging with these traditions help us heal from our own traumas and develop greater emotional resilience in the face of constant capitalist-colonial catastrophe?

Check out Rue's upcoming workshops: https://queerdirections.com/

Check out Mica's upcoming class on Samhain and Ancestral Healing in the Context of Settler Colonialism: https://vcih.square.site/product/gaelic-healing-traditions-samhain-and-the-politics-of-ancestral-reconnection/54?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false

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In part two of our chat with Sean Fitzgerald, we discuss how we might engage in reclaiming Irish spiritualities and folk custom without getting trapped in purity politics, the importance of gaining consent from lineage holders who protect sacred sites, grappling with our own colonial behavior and resisting the urge to claim innocence, what differentiates the New Age from the post-New-Age in regards to taking responsibility for our harmful behavior, the historical hybridity and cultural fluidity of our Irish ancestors, and much more.

Follow Sean Fitzgerald on Instagram at @seanfitzgeraldart.

If you enjoy our podcast please like and subscribe. Also consider supporting us on Patreon. Your small monthly contribution helps us pay for the expenses associated with this podcast, and you'll get exclusive benefits. Learn more here: www.patreon.com/airmidsalmanac. A third of the profits go to a LGBTQ and/or BIPOC-led organization doing decolonial healing work. Right now we are partnering with Kunsi Keya Tamakoce of Huntington, so-called-Vermont (Abenaki Territory). Kunsi Keya provides a pathway for Native women from Lakota and other nations to come and reconnect to traditional lifeways. Learn more at: www.kunsikeya.org

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In this episode Kenzie and Mica chat with Sean Fitzgerald, Irish artist, writer, and co-founder of Airmid's Journal. Sean tells a version of the tale of Balor of the Evil Eye local to Torey Island (with an unexpectedly queer plot twist!), and we hear how the landscape is an intimate part of this epic story at the heart of the Moytura saga. We then talk about how fairy belief practiced in Ireland differs from what is discussed on the internet, the consequences of internet appropriation of living folk customs, the importance of teaching the myths and cultural reclamation through re-storying the land, the problems with New Age universalism and unethical behavior in sacred sites, the importance of asking awkward questions in the process of decolonization, the misappropriation and cooptation of myths, history, and sacred rites by fascists and the right wing, and a few bouts of fairy wafting. ;)

Follow Sean Fitzgerald on Instagram at @seanfitzgeraldart.

This first hour is part 1 of our discussion. Part 2 will be available immediately to our patrons on Patreon, but for those who are not patrons we will publish part 2 for free on this podcast in two weeks time.

If you enjoy our podcast please like and subscribe. Also consider supporting us on Patreon. Your small monthly contribution helps us pay for the expenses associated with this podcast, and you'll get exclusive benefits. Learn more here: www.patreon.com/airmidsalmanac. A third of the profits go to a LGBTQ and/or BIPOC-led organization doing decolonial healing work. Right now we are partnering with Kunsi Keya Tamakoce of Huntington, so-called-Vermont (Abenaki Territory). Kunsi Keya provides a pathway for Native women from Lakota and other nations to come and reconnect to traditional lifeways. Learn more at: www.kunsikeya.org

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.