You’ve probably heard in history classes that religious sites tend to be built on top of each other over time. There is an element of sacred space and land that people try to honor through this practice. However, there is also an aspect of “stamping out” an old tradition in favor of the new. Alternately, it may also be a strategic way to help new converts transition to the new faith more comfortably as they would at least be worshipping on the same site as before.
This tradition was particularly strong in Ireland when Christian churches were built on sacred lands of the pagan Celts. That’s what happened when Ardclinis Church and Graveyard was built on the coast of Northern Ireland. The hillside had already been recognized as an important spiritual site for the pagans, so a church was built on location.
But what happens when the Christian churches fall into decay? Well, as roofs collapse and the meadows grow up through the cracks between stones, other species return as well: pagans and fairys.
Here is a picture of the current pagan Fairy tree where people have attached a personal token and “wished” for something to happen: (with local travel guide, ‘Wee Jim’)
Apparently, the women I’m traveling with got sucked backed to their pagan (my wife prefers to call it “Earth-honoring”) roots and can be seen here walking around the fairy tree three times. A sort of ode to pagan wishing tradition, or in my words, “Christian women behaving badly.”
We learned that the Fairy tree is a hawthorn tree that has grown up in the old graveyard. The hawthorn plays a role in Irish folklore as a place where fairies or “wee folk” gather. Some believe Christ’s crown of thorns was made from a hawthorn and that this link to Christianity gave the tree healing powers. Hawthorns live for over 400 years and have medicinal qualities for cardiac and digestive problems.
So, whatever you believe about the hawthorn may inform what these Christian women were doing. Honoring a link to Christ? Solving a medical problem? Celebrating the ocean breeze and view under fluttering ribbons in a beautiful tree as a beautiful way to embody prayer? Or wishing with fairies? I’ll let you decide.
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