Tuesday 21 March 2017

Deep Waters, Mystical Portals

Look down and soar; dive deep and soar higher. This is Kim sharing her own profound experience of Irish sacred wells. They draw her back every May and she renews and replenishes herself from their ancient and eternal energies.
This is a post in honor of World Water Day that all our readers may partake of these profound energies that water is imbued with. Over to Kim Raikes.



These wells in Ireland remind us of the sacred properties of water in many ways.


St Patrick's Well, Carlanstown, Ireland - photo sourced from Internet

St Patrick's Well in Carlanstown is a visible reminder of the ways in which the early Celts saw the Irish landscape as dotted with portals to the Otherworld.  The Otherworld was their way of describing the realm beyond our earthly world, a realm which is the home of the gods, and the spirits of our loved ones who have passed on.  This idea lent itself well to the incoming Christian belief in heaven.



 Mary’s Well, Rosserk, Ireland - photo by Kim Raikes

Mary's Well in Rosserk is a visible reminder of the miraculous powers associated with water in Irish wells.  Trees which grow up beside or in these wells are also portals.  In the case of the Rosserk well, the tree, which is over 200 years old, has rooted itself in the roof of the well, and there are literally no signs of its roots.  You can look inside the well house and also outside, and see no way in which the tree survives; yet records of the tree’s existence go back to the 1800’s.



Holy Well with underground channel, Kylemore, Ireland - photo by Kim Raikes



The holy well with the underground channel in Kylemore continues the theme of portals to the underworld, because its rivulet disappears.  You can hear its waters as their course trickles downward under your feet, yet you can’t see it or touch it; the only evidence of it is the hole through which it dives downward into the earth, and its sound.


St. Brigid’s well, Liscannor, Ireland - photo by Kim Raikes

And St Brigid's Well in Liscannor is a marvelous reminder of the ways in which the early Celtic and Christian themes merged.  Brigid, a triple goddess in Celtic lore, was a healer.  And St. Brigid in early Irish Christianity was a saint who grew up in a Celtic household, and healed.  So this particular well has been famed for 1600 years as a healing source, and its entryway is lined with artifacts, letters, and thank yous from persons all over the world.

A final note:  According to Celtic lore, the Salmon of Knowledge swims between all these wells in Ireland, and unites its waters.  Many Celtic legends speak of the efforts to capture this salmon and learn all Truth (much like the Tree in the Old Testament account of the Garden of Eden).  

The Salmon’s power is the power of inspiration, wisdom, and communication.

... Kim Raikes


2 comments:

  1. This is one of the most interesting blog i ever read. I didnt know about so many wells and places. I legit want to travel now. The history is so rich so interesting. I love it

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    1. You will travel. We will travel together. Thank you for commenting

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