Human sacrifice! Worse - BABY sacrifice!!
Seriously, this tends to be the first headline you get when you look at Crom Cruach. I got a hint of this last year, when I looked at Crom Dubh, but nothing like what's out there for Crom Cruach.
But how real is this? How major a role did human sacrifice play in Crom Cruach's worship?
What can we say for definite about this pre-TDD Irish deity? And what can we only wonder about?
Join me as I explore the lore and stores and manuscripts surrounding this enigmatic-at-best deity and see where we end up!!
Why take this course?
Have you an interest in some of the lesser known deities of the Irish lore? Are you interested in deities connected in whatever way with the modern festival of Lúnasa or harvests in general?
Do you want to have a look at how tales can be misrepresented in modern stories, games and other media so that a deity's image (for want of a better word) can be manipulated and adjusted to suit?
Well, Crom Cruach fits these bills and then some. We'll be looking at the lore we have, whether from ancient manuscripts or the wonderful resource that is duchas.ie and seeing what we can learn from it!
Example Curriculum
Meet your teacher!
Órlagh is an Irish Pagan Catholic, working most of the time with Irish Brigid, but sure the rest of the family drop in as they wish, as well. Órlagh works with energy, whether reiki, reflexology or her own Brigidine practices. She has a strong interest in the Irish language, speaking it, using it, learning more of it and considers it a vital part of an Irish Pagan practice (or indeed any interest in getting to know Ireland in general!) She can be found at www.mybrigidsforge.com or in the Brigid’s Forge facebook group.
