Fragment 38

I have said for a myth to be powerful it must work on many levels. So I am going to try to write a "Fragment" (I had too much material so it is going to be 2 Fragments) that shall work on many levels, or at least serve multiple purposes. This "Fragment" and the next "Fragment" are going to be centered around two books. This "Fragment" shall be centered around "Celtic Myths and Legends" by T.W. Rolleston. In "Fragment 39" I shall continue with "The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries" by W.Y. Evans -Wentz. I read reprints of both books. Originally both books were published in the year 1911. I must say that it is a joy to read the scholarly literature from this era, as opposed to our era. Unlike today, "cooking the books" was an unforgivable sin in scholarship and science. In today's world lying, deception, and making things up to drive a bias are seen as praise worthy and are given awards. The best modern example is Nikole Hanna-Jones. Who has received awards, and praise for her bias driven work, where she lies, suppresses evidence, and just makes things up. Back to our subject. In this Fragment and the next Fragment, I want to make connections between ancient Celtic mythology, and the modern U.F.O. folklore.(Flying Saucers) This will include sightings of Flying Saucers, contacts with supposed aliens, and the Men In Black (MIB). I also want to pay tribute to two men who both played the part of Remarkable Men in my life. They are my beloved Uncle George Polydoros who saw a Flying Saucer, and my friend John Garner, the only person I ever knew who met one of the Fairy-Folk. I shall begin with my beloved Uncle. Before recounting his encounter with the Flying Saucer, let me tell the reader about my Remarkable Uncle. He had a big influence on my life. He was my Hierophant into forbidden knowledge. He introduced me to Charles Fort, Edgar Cayce, U.F.O. literature, and introduced me and lent me O. Spengler's book "The Decline of the West". It was Spengler that got me interested in philosophy. My Uncle was open minded, and always sceptical of accepted knowledge or narrative. His knowledge was vast, but not deep. George Polydoros is one of the few people I look forward to meeting in my next life. So now to the story of George and the Flying Saucer. In the late 1940s George had a job unloading trucks in downtown Los Angeles. One day he was on the loading dock and looked up, and saw a Giant Top slowly moving across the sky. He could see the Top very well because it was low and slow. George then went to his supervisor and pointed out the object. And he got a reply that deserves to be immortalized. The supervisor told him "I don't pay you to look at Flying Saucers, I pay you to unload trucks!" George's encounter was both a good and life changing experience. He would fondly retell it to anyone who was interested. As the U.F.O. researcher Jaques Vallee pointed out that for a technological age, we are creating a lot of folklore. So let us turn to the first book "Celtic Myths and Legends" by Rolleston. I want to add that I read these books in the order I am reviewing them. The first book is on ancient Celtic myths, and legends. I read the Dover reprint, this copy has all the wonderful illustrations, which add to the book's appeal. It is also evident that Rolleston loves the subject matter, which makes this book ageless, it shall never be dated. Let us begin with the ancient Celtic gods and goddesses, which are called "The People of Dana" or "The Children of Dana". The Celtic terminology would be "Tuatha De Danaan". The Goddess Dana is the Great Mother Goddess in Celtic mythology, she later came to called "Bridget". These are the Gods and Goddesses that the ancient Druids worshipped. The Celtic gods and goddesses are comparable to the Pantheon of the Greeks and Romans. These are the gods and goddesses that degenerated into the fairies and leprechauns of folklore. Rolleston goes on to discuss the two main cycles of Celtic myth: the Ultonian cycle, and the Ossianic cycle. The Ultonian cycle centers around the exploits of the greatest Celtic hero Cuchulainn. Cuchulainn was of course part god, much like most of the hero's of ancient Greece and Roman mythology. So let us start to make some connections with my previous "Fragments" . Cuchulainn possessed Berserker magic, he could transform in battle. Let us go to a quote from Rolleston: "Cuchulainn who it must be remembered was at ordinary times a slight unimposing figure through in battle he dilated in size and underwent fearful distortion, symbolic of Berserker fury..." Let us go to another quote from Rolleston: "He became a fearsome multiform creature such as never was known before. Every particle of him quivered like a bulrush in a running stream. His calves and knees to the back, and the muscles of his neck stood out like the head of ayoung child. One eye was engulfed deep in his head, the other protruded, his mouth met his ears, foam poured from his jaws like fleece of a three year old wether. The beats of his heart sounded like the roars of a lion as he rushes on his prey. A light blazed above his head, and his hair became tangled as it had been branches of a red thorn bush." The description goes on, but I am sure the reader gets the idea. First, let me point out that "red" is always the color associated with magic and the Fairy-Folk. Celtic mythology is full of red bulls, red dogs, and other red magical creatures from Fairyland. The other point is for readers of my other "Fragments", they should be reminded of Audie Murphy. Murphy was also of slight and unimposing stature. He stood five feet five inches tall, but in battle became a superman. I am sure if the enemy soldiers that faced Murphy in battle would have given Murphy a similar description. This ability to summon the Berserker fury also explains how a boat load of raiders could defeat, and subdue larger populations. The Fairy-Folk or "Sidhe" in Celtic pronounced "Shee" have quite a lot in common with modern U.F. O. encounters, and the M.I.B. Encounters with the Fairy-Folk like the encounters with the supposed aliens or M.I.B. can be either good or bad. It seems like the entities of Flying Saucer myths the Fairy-Folk often play the part of trickster. Rolleston makes the point that deception and illusion seem to be the main powers or weapons of the Fairy-Folk. Even though they are thought to have great power, it never seems to manifest. This parallels the entities associated with Flying Saucer mythology, even though they are supposed to have advanced technology superior to anything we possess they seem to rely on trickery and illusion. In many Celtic myths humans visit Fairyland. And again we observe parallels with U.F.O. and MIB encounters. There is a time lapse or time loss. A few weeks in Fairyland can be centuries in our time. Fairyland is often spoken of as the Land of Youth, those that visit Fairyland describe the shining beauty of its inhabitants. Again we have parallels with Flying Saucer mythology. The contactee ("contactee'' is the term for those who have positive encounters with the aliens "abductee" is the term for those that have negative experiences with the aliens) W. Darenberger claims he was taken to another planet, where the inhabitants were peace loving nudists living in a forested place. Aside from the nudity this could be a description of Fairyland. People who have talked with the MIBs often remark on their strange sing-song voice. Fairies are also said to have silver tongues. Not an exact parallel, but both point to a strangeness in the voice of these entities. Let us go back to the time lapse or time loss that those who encounter Fairies or aliens often suffer from. The most famous time lapse in Celtic mythology is in the tale of Ossian. Ossian had a Fairy lover, who took him to Fairyland. Ossian journeyed to Fairyland on a Great White Horse that galloped over sea waves. After what Ossian estimated was three weeks in Fairyland, he wished to visit his friends and family back in Ireland. He returned the same way on the Great White Horse. He was warned not to dismount or touch the ground. Ossian found that he had not been gone for three weeks, but three hundred years. He also remarks that the present humans were much smaller, and more feeble than in his time. As he travelled around Ireland looking for something familiar, he happened on to a group of men trying to move a boulder, and having no effect. Ossian takes pity on the men and decides to help them as he reaches over to move the boulder his saddle straps break and he falls to the ground. Immediately he ages,and becomes shrivelled and feeble. The men decide to take him to St. Patrick. Ossian has some theological debates with St. Patrick,but more importantly he relates the the deeds of his Father Finn and his league. This is supposedly how the Ossianic cycle of myths came to be recorded. Next "Fragment" we shall continue with Evans-Wentz.