Happy Thanksgiving! To recognize this day, I thought I would share a few sayings and blessings from my book, The Roots of Irish Wisdom. Many Irish hang a St. Brigid’s cross over their fireplace and say a blessing like this over it. May the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost be on this cross…
Author: Cindy Thomson
Following the Path: From Ireland to the Soul
I think a lot of people would agree that life’s a journey. From the cradle to the grave, the life we live leads us onward, and if we believe in following Christ, it leads us to a greater reward. Perhaps that is why when I was in Ireland I kept snapping photographs of paths, gateways…
Irish Blessings
I collected some Irish blessings for a workshop once. They are too good not to share (Right? Blessings should be shared!) so I thought I’d post some here for you. If you’re crafty and you make something from them, please share! You’ll find even more in this book: May love and laughter light your days,and…
High Crosses at Clonmacnoise
I would love to have seen what these looked like originally, but thankfully there is enough preserved that we can get an idea. At Clonmacnoise the original high crosses from the site were placed inside the visitor’s center in 1991 for safe keeping. Replicas (and pretty good ones, in my unprofessional opinion) have replaced them…
The Irish Storyteller: The Clever Daughter
I love a good Irish storyteller. Have you listened? I think you’ll enjoy this!
Sean Nos–Old Style Singing
Several years ago I got to know Mike O’Laughlin from the Irish Roots Cafe. Mike publishes Irish genealogy books and resources, and he’s a wealth of information. His podcasts are always interesting as well. But lately Mike’s taken up a hobby, Sean-nós, or old style Irish singing. I love that style, especially done in English so…
The Longing of the Celtic Soul
From my book, Celtic Wisdom: All souls, not only the Celtic soul, are restless. The Irish monks became wanderers precisely because of this longing to find their hearts’ desire. Originally an eighth-century Irish prayer, they hymn Be Thou My Vision beautifully expresses the Celtic soul’s longing for God: Scroll to the bottom to hear Roma Downey’s…
A Prayer for Grace
from the Carmina Gadelica I AM bending my knee In the eye of the Father who created me, In the eye of the Son who died for me, In the eye of the Spirit who cleansed me, In love and desire. Pour down upon us from heaven The rich blessing of Thy forgiveness; Thou…
As the Season Changes
It’s now the dark half of the year. Time to light some candles, brew a cup of tea, and snuggle up in front of the fire. I shall miss the beautiful fall colors. While the trees were putting on a spectacular show I remarked to my husband that we had to enjoy them now, and…
Music Review: Winterfold
I like listening to instrumental music while I write, and I’ve found Jeff Johnson and Brian Dunning’s work to be among the best–gentle, inspiring, and decidedly Celtic. I posted an interview with Jeff Johnson earlier. Back when the interview first ran he asked if I’d like to review his latest CD. Of course I said, “Yes,…
