The Enchanted Deer

The mighty Finn Mac Cumhaill, the leader of Fianna, spent many days roaming Ireland, hunting with his men and his pack of hounds. They were expert hunters and warriors, and never failed to run down and catch their prey. One day, while hunting, Fianna and their hounds come across a doe in the forest and chased her down, but they could not catch her. She outrun the pack as if possessed special powers. Eventually, the doe leads Finn Mac Cumhaill to magical Hill of Allen, where the hounds catch up with her, but curiously refuse to harm the doe. Finn recognises her as a special creature and returns to his camp, the doe follows him.

When they reach camp, the doe is given shelter. Later that night Finn retires to his room and a beautiful woman, richly dressed, enters and speaks. She tells him that she is the doe, and that her name is Sadb, that she had been cruelly enchanted by an evil druid, but the spell ended when she entered the Fianna camp.

Finn falls in love with Sadb, and they are married. Soon after, she expecting a child, but it is time for Finn to return to his travelling with the Fianna. When he leaves, Sadb turns back into a doe. When the birth is near, Sadb travels across Ireland to find Finn and gives birth to a baby boy, a human, but leaves him under a rowan tree for his father to find. Sadb knows she's unable to raise him as long as she is in deer form. Finn soon discovers baby boy under a tree and instantly knows that it is his son and names him Oisín, which means ‘little deer’ in Irish.

Finn raises Oisín until he is seven years old, at which time Fianna have to go to war and Oisín is sent to live with foster parents. But Oisín longs to travel with Fianna again, and when he becomes a teenager, he begs his father and Fianna to let him go with them. Oisín is given tests and many challenges to determine if he is ready to become a warrior with Fianna. He must run through dense forests without disturbing a hair on his head, pluck a thorn from his foot while sprinting, and run under a branch no taller than his knees. During these challenges, Fianna chases Oisín and buries him up to his waist in sand throwing spears at him. Oisín passes the tests Fianna sets him, and he goes on to become a great warrior and a leader of one of the bands of Fianna. He becomes famous, a great hunter, and known as a kind hearted man who carries out good deeds for his people and answers their needs.

WRITTEN SOURCE HERE  Image Source on Pinterest boards HERE

Artist: Stephen Reid - 

Finn heard far off the first notes of the fairy harp

The Legend of Fionn MacCumhaill

The giant Fionn MacCumhaill was the leader of the ancient Fianna warriors in Ireland. He features in Irish, Scottish and Manx cycles of mythology. He was a soldier, known by his nickname Fionn or Finn (meaning “fair-haired”).  The Irish tales link him with skirmishes and brave deeds in Leinster and Ulster.

Cumhaill married Muirenn, daughter of Tadg and granddaughter of Nuada of the Silver Hand. Cumhaill was the father of Finn. Muirenn, or Muirne as she known in English narratives, was the Danann daughter of Tadg and granddaughter of Nuada of the Silver Hand. She was often called "Muirne of the White Neck". Nuada - King of Erin (Ireland) and leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Nuada had being called the son of the goddess Danu. Usually Nuada had also being called the son of Echtach and the grandson of Etarlaim. Though he had also being named as one of seven sons of Ethliu. This would make him the brother of Dagda, Dian Cécht, Goibhniu, Credne, Luchta and Lug Mac Cein. He was either married to Macha or Nemain, or even both. These two women were both associated with Morrígan (Morrigan).

During the first battle of Moytura (Magh Tuiredh), the Dananns defeated the Firbolgs, killing Mac Erc, king of the Firbolgs. However, Nuada lost his right hand in the fighting. The people had a law that stated the mutilation of his hand prevented Nuada from ruling Ireland as their king. So the Dananns chose Bres as their king. However, Bres' rule was so harsh that the Dananns felt oppressed.

Dian Cécht (Dian Cecht) was the great physician, who had replaced Nuada's hand with magical silver hand. Nuada became known as Nuada Airgedlámh (Nuada of the Silver Hand). With a new hand, the Dananns willingly accepted Nuada as king, and had Bres stepped down from the throne. Bres however reconquered Ireland, aided by his grandfather Balor, the Fomorian leaders.

The Dananns then had to suffer from oppression from the Fomorian overlord, until the arrival of Lugh, son of Cian (Kian). Lugh sided with Nuada, and in the second battle of Moytura (Magh Tuiredh). During the battle, Balor killed Nuada. The Fomorians were defeated when Lugh killed Balor with his sling. Nuada was said to be father of Murna of the White Neck, mother of the hero Finn MacCumhaill. The Welsh equivalent of Nuada was either Nudd Llaw Ereint or Lludd Llaw Ereint, which is "Llud the Silver Hand".

Legend claims Finn lived on the North Antrim coast where he looked across the Irish sea to Staffa, where his adversary, Benandonner lived. The reasons for the quarrel are unknown but Fionn and Benandonner may have been competing over a giantess who lived on Staffa. The rivals shouted belligerent wagers, always challenging the other to a fight, but unable to stage a physical confrontation as no boat was strong enough to carry either giant.

Determined to meet and beat Benandonner, Fionn spent a week building a bridge from Ireland to Staffa. He did not stop working for six days and when he laid the final stones, Fionn fell asleep on the causeway. The thundering footsteps pounding on the causeway awoke Fionn who saw the giant Benandonner approaching. When Fionn saw that Benandonner was almost twice his own size, Fionn raced home to Oonagh, his wife. Oonagh wrapped Fionn up in blankets as if he was a baby and left him to sleep in a large cradle by the fireside. When Oonagh welcomed Benandonner into her home, she explained that Fionn would arrive soon and that Benandonner could wait by the fireside, as long as he did not awake the sleeping infant. When Bendandonner saw the huge size of Fionn’s child, he could only imagine the size of the baby’s father. A fearful Benandonner ran back to Staffa, tearing up the causeway to prevent Fionn from following.

The Tuatha Dé Danann~John Duncan's Riders of the Sidhe (1911)

Adulthood:
Every year for 23 years at Samhain, a fire-breathing man of the Sidhe, Aillen, would lull the men of Tara to sleep with his music before burning the palace to the ground, and the Fianna, led by Goll mac Morna, were powerless to prevent it. Fionn arrived at Tara, armed with his father's crane-skin bag of magical weapons. He kept himself awake by touching the point of his magically red-hot spear to his forehead. The pain kept Fionn awake, allowing him to pursue and kill Aillen with the same spear. After that his heritage was recognised and he was given command of the Fianna: Goll willingly stepped aside, and became a loyal follower of Fionn, although in some stories their alliance is uneasy. Fionn demanded compensation for his father's death from Tadg, threatening war or single combat against him if he refused. Tadg offered him his home, the hill of Allen, as compensation, which Fionn accepted.

Aillen - Called "the burner", he is a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann who resides in Mag Mell, the underworld. Áillen was also a popular personal name in ancient Ireland and was used by several personages. The fertility goddess Áine is also sometimes known by this name.

The Giants Causeway ~ 

The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is also known as Clochán an Aifir or Clochán na bhFomhórach in Irish.

The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven or eight sides. The tallest are about 12 metres (39 ft) high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 metres (92 ft) thick in places.Around 50 to 60 million years ago, during the Paleocene Epoch, Antrim was subject to intense volcanic activity, when highly fluid molten basalt intruded through chalk beds to form an extensive lava plateau.The Paleocene Epoch brackets two major events in Earth's history. It started with the mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous.  This was a time marked by the demise of non-avian dinosaurs, giant marine reptiles and much other fauna and flora. The die-off of the dinosaurs left unfilled ecological niches worldwide. It ended with the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum. This was a geologically brief (~0.2 million year) interval characterized by extreme changes in climate and carbon cycling.

According to legend, the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant. The story goes that the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool), from the Fenian Cycle of Gaelic mythology, was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two giants could meet.

In overall Irish mythology, Fionn mac Cumhaill is not a giant but a hero with supernatural abilities. In Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (1888) it is noted that, over time, "the pagan gods of Ireland [...] grew smaller and smaller in the popular imagination, until they turned into the fairies; the pagan heroes grew bigger and bigger, until they turned into the giants".

There are no surviving pre-Christian stories about the Giant's Causeway, but it may have originally been associated with the Fomorians (Fomhóraigh); the Irish name Clochán na bhFomhóraigh or Clochán na bhFomhórach means "stepping stones of the Fomhóraigh". The Fomhóraigh are a race of supernatural beings in Irish mythology who were sometimes described as giants and who may have originally been part of a pre-Christian pantheon.

The Fomorians (Old Irish: Fomoire, Modern Irish: Fomhóraigh) are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. They are often portrayed as hostile and monstrous beings who come from the sea or underground. Later, they were portrayed as giants and sea raiders. They are enemies of Ireland's first settlers and opponents of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the other supernatural race in Irish mythology

The Hill of Allen (Cnoc Alúine in Modern Irish, earlier Cnoc Almaine; also Hill of Almu) is a volcanic hill situated in the west of County Kildare, Ireland, beside the village of Allen. According to Irish Mythology it was the seat of the hunter-warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill and the Fianna. The site is currently part-owned by Roadstone Dublin Ltd. and extensive quarrying has noticeably changed the profile of the hill.

The hill is situated at the easternmost point of the Bog of Allen and it is from this hill that the bog gets its name. According to legend, Fionn mac Cumhaill had a fortress on the hill and used the surrounding flatlands as training grounds for his warriors. In 722 the Battle of Allen was fought between the Leinstermen (Laigin), led by Murchad mac Brain Mut (King of Leinster), and the forces of Fergal mac Máele Dúin (High King of Ireland) in close proximity to the hill.

In 1859 Sir Gerard George Aylmer, the 9th Baronet of Donadea began building a circular tower on the top of the hill, which was completed in 1863. The tower was a folly and the names of the workmen are inscribed on the steps.

During the construction of the tower, a large coffin containing human bones was unearthed which were said to be those of Fionn mac Cumhaill. These were re-interred under the site.

Fianna ~ In early Ireland, fianna (singular fian) were small, semi-independent warrior bands who lived apart from society in the forests as mercenaries, bandits and hunters, but could be called upon by kings in times of war. The fianna were kind of like outlaws, the bad boys of Irish mythology, but of course, they were useful to the king when war broke out. They appear in Irish mythology, most notably in the stories of the Fenian Cycle, where they are led by Fionn mac Cumhaill. Reading Gods and Fighting Men by Lady Gregory is a good way to get to know these warriors and their stories.They are based on historical bands of landless young men in early medieval Ireland known as kerns.

Membership to the fianna was subject to rigorous tests that proved supernatural prowess in fighting as well as an exceptional skill with words. In one such test the applicant would stand in a waist-deep hole armed with a shield while nine warriors threw spears at him; if he was wounded, he failed. In another his hair would be braided, and he would be pursued through the forest; he would fail if he was caught, if a branch cracked under his feet, or if the braids in his hair were disturbed. He would have to be able to leap over a branch the height of his forehead, pass under one as low as his knee, and pull a thorn from his foot without slowing down. He also needed to be a skilled poet.
More Links:
Fianna 
Salmon of Knowledge - The Salmon of Knowledge (Irish: bradán feasa) is a creature figuring in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. (It is sometimes identified with Fintan mac Bóchra, who was known as "The Wise" and was once transformed into a salmon). In Welsh mythology, the story of how the poet Taliesin received his wisdom follows a similar pattern.
History of the Irish Wolfhound - "If it had emanated from under a gooseberry bush, I should not love and admire it less; and I could not love and admire it more if it traced its pedigree from the Hound that issued from the ark."
Annals of the Four Masters - The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland (Irish: Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the Annals of the Four Masters (Annála na gCeithre Máistrí) are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,242 years after creation to AD 1616.

Love and light,

Trace

xoxo

On my bucket list

Moonlight Riding

Fancy a completely magical evening. There is something very satisfying and exhilarating being out on a horse in the dark on the beach whilst the town is sleeping. Because we have to obey the moon and the tides we are often riding as late as midnight. We ride with lights down to the beach but then turn them off to let our horse and our own night vision kick in. It’s often brighter than you imagine with the full moon reflecting off the water on the beach. When we get back to the yard we have a hot chocolate and put the horses back to bed. This ride is only for very experienced riders and only 2 riders per moon.

Many years ago, I rode freely, bareback, on a horse in the Jamaican sea. It was an incredible feeling, one which I'll never forget. I held onto the mane (no reins/saddle) as the force of the water lifted my legs from the horse as it swam. It was the most freeing, alive feeling that I've ever experienced. I was in another time/place where anything became possible. I imagined this was how it felt to live in days of no cars, no urban cities, where life was about soaking in all of the beauty around us. It truly felt sacred and was my inspiration for parts of a book that I will be writing called 'The Butterfly Bridge'. 

Below is information from the Cornish site that offers horse riding in the sea and delicious moonlight rides. Website HERE

 

Swimming Horse

Swimming with horses is a unique and unusual experience, at once exciting, beautiful, mystical, therapeutic and fun.

The Cornwall Swimming Horses live as a herd in the beautiful rambling fields and woodlands that overlook Mounts Bay and surround ‘The Peep Out Stables’. We swim in the sea from the beach at Long Rock with the iconic and stunning St Michael’s Mount as the backdrop.

Who is it for?
Beginners, speak of the sheer enjoyment of riding a horse without the fear of falling off. Falling off in the sea is just another way to have fun and build confidence. Experienced riders have been amazed at the behaviour and manners of our ‘Swimming Horses’ as they ride bareback to the beach. They enjoy the swimming then move on to circus-style antics, standing on horseback, riding two horses at a time, with the sea as their safety net.  Special needs riders and those suffering with long term illnesses, have benefited from the therapeutic impact of swimming alongside these amazing sentient animals. We can tailor the experience to be as gentle as required. Families can take advantage of our Family Friendly Swims. This provides 2 horses for 4 people and the whole family get to share their swimming horses, sometimes riding 2 up in the sea, sometimes having fun with tail towing.

The ‘Swimming with Horses’ experience is also a winner for special occasions. Last year we had 2 proposals on horseback, many a young girls dream birthday present, surprise anniversary events and a 70th Birthday celebration swim.
What Happens?
During the booking process, we find out what riding abilities you have and what sort of swim you are after. Once you arrive at The Peep Out, we get to chat more and really tailor the swim to your needs.
The whole experience takes 2 to 3hrs and begins at The Peep Out Yard in Ludgvan. Here you  meet with the CSH team and the Swimming Horses and we chat to ensure we know exactly what kind of experience you are after. CSH gives bareback safety briefing.
You are then introduced to the horse we think most suits you and are given an initial assessment session in the sand school. This is a bareback assessment. Novices will be led.  At the end of this session you can elect to meet your horse down at the beach, if you prefer to swim only. But the bareback ride is such an integral part of the whole experience that all of our clients so far have elected to ride down.
We then head out bareback to the beach. Every rider, regardless of experience will be accompanied by their own CSH handler. On arrival at the beach, your handler takes your mount. CSH gives their horse swimming safety briefing.
You then remove your helmet and footwear and go into the sea separately from your horse. Your handler then brings your horse into the sea. Once the horse is deep enough you re-mount.  We play in the shallows at first until all are acclimatised and settled. Then individuals are led out into deeper water one at a time to experience their first swim. No two swims are then the same. We develop the swim according to the riders abilities, weather and sea conditions, and what feels right on the day to provide the best possible experience.

Or you can teach your own horse to swim with you in the sea.

From the website:
Meet with us in the Peep Out yard. You then tack your horse with one of our specially made Swim Bridles with snap easy safety reins and bareback pad. You then ride your own horse to the beach accompanied by Cornwall Swimming Horse trainer Chris and another swimming horse handler riding one of our swimming horse veterans. This ride settles everyone down and gets the horses used to each others company.
On arriving at the beach, your horse will be led by Chris, who follows an experienced Cornwall Swimming Horse, into the sea, and starts to relax your horse with no pressure of a rider. Depending on how your horse settles the training continues as shown in ‘Training a Swimming Horse’.
As soon as your horse is comfortable, (this may happen in a single session or your horse may need 2 or 3 short sessions,) Chris works with you to develop swimming with your own horse.

Love and light,

Trace

xoxo

Ludovico Einaudi - I Giorni

Alan Watts - Give it away and it will come back

Enra " pleiades "

Star of the Sea ~ The Ocean Star

Varda Elentári [ˈvarda elenˈtaːri] is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. She appears in Tolkien's Silmarillion as one of the Valar (powers) of Middle Earth. The longest sample of the Sindarin language published by Tolkien is addressed to her.

"O stars that in the Sunless Year
With shining hand by her were sown,
In Windy fields now bright and clear
We see your silver blossom blown!"

― Hymn to Elbereth

 

Elves love and revere her most of all the Valar, and they call upon her in their hours of deepest darkness. Her handmaiden is Ilmarë, a Chief of the Maiar.

Varda knows all the regions of Eä. She rejoices in light and was said to be too beautiful for words. Within her face radiated the light of Ilúvatar. She appeared in shining white fana in visions to the Elves of Middle-earth, and thus was called Fanuilos (Snow-white).

Varda is one of the Valar, the pantheon or Gods in the legendarium. She is the greatest of the Valar, being associated with light, she is central to the dualism of light and darkness in Tolkien's cosmology.

Varda with the dews from the vats of Telperion she made the brightest stars in the heavens, most significantly the Valacirca, The Sickle of the Valar (The Big Dipper) and Menelmacar (Orion).

She resided with her husband Manwë, with whom she shared a complementary power. When they were together, Manwë "sees further than all other eyes, through mists, and through darkness, and over the leagues of the sea" and Varda "hears more clearly than all other ears the sound of voices that cry from east to west". When the evil Vala Melkor first began to create his discord, Varda saw his true nature and rejected him. Melkor feared and hated Varda the most out of the Valar because he greatly desired to possess light.

Tolkien's work often repeats characters in "doubles" in different settings or ages. Thus, Varda's Marian characteristics are repeated in Melian (an angelic being of a lower order), Galadriel (a queen of the high elves) and again in "a more homey way" in Goldberry.

 

Like most of the legendarium's characters, Varda has a different name in each of Tolkien's invented languages. Her Quenya name Varda means "sublime" or "lofty", from Primitive Quenya barádâ (root barád-, whence also Noldorin brennil "lady", brand, brann "lofty, noble fine"). The corresponding Noldorin form is Berethil, Breðil (Primitive Quenya Barathī). Telerin Baradis, from a related stem barathî (while the expected cognate form would have been Barada). The Adûnaic reflex of the name is Avradî.

 

When invoked by Elves, she is more commonly addressed by epithets reflecting her role in making the stars, as "Star-queen" and "Star-kindler", in Quenya Elentári and Tintallë, and in Sindarin Elbereth and Gilthoniel, respectively. Another Sindarin epithet is Fanuilos "Ever-white". In the English text, she is also addressed by the epithets The Kindler, Lady of the Stars, Queen of the Stars, Snow-white, ostensibly translations of her Elvish names.
Source: HERE and HERE

Manwë
Manwë was the King of the Valar, husband of Varda Elentári, was conceived in the thought of Iluvatar as a brother of Melkor, and King of Arda. He lived atop Mount Taniquetil, the highest mountain of the world, in the halls of Ilmarin, in the realm of Valinor. The winds, airs and birds were his servants, and he was lord of air, the wind, and clouds in Arda. He was the noblest and greatest in the authority of the Valar, and only less powerful than Melkor.
More HERE

In Tolkien's early Qenya, Vard- was a root referring to royalty. Related words were vardar "king" and vardo "prince"; they do not appear in the later inception of Quenya.

The Valar, being divine beings below the ultimate Creator, Ilúvatar, are thought of as being the Middle-earth equivalent of saints and angels; it has therefore been suggested that Varda, in her role as the most loved and prayed-to Vala, may be an equivalent of the Virgin Mary in Tolkien's own Catholic faith. Another suggestion is the goddess of wisdom, Sophia, also associated with the stars.

A Elbereth Gilthoniel is an Elvish hymn to Varda (Elbereth) in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
There are three versions of this iambic tetrameter hymn, the first of which being the largest portion of Sindarin found in the novel:

A Elbereth Gilthoniel	O Elbereth Starkindler,
silivren penna míriel	white-glittering, slanting down sparkling like a jewel,
o menel aglar elenath!	the glory of the starry host!
Na-chaered palan-díriel	Having gazed far away
o galadhremmin ennorath,	from the tree-woven lands of Middle-earth,
Fanuilos, le linnathon	to thee, Everwhite, I will sing,
nef aear, sí nef aearon!	on this side of the Sea, here on this side of the Ocean![1]
A Elbereth Gilthoniel	O Elbereth Starkindler,
o menel palan-diriel,	from heaven gazing afar,
le nallon sí di'nguruthos!	to thee I cry now beneath the shadow of death!
A tiro nin, Fanuilos!	O look towards me, Everwhite!

In Peter Jackson's films The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first few lines of the poem can be heard in the movie soundtrack when Frodo Baggins, or Bilbo Baggins', respectively, enter Rivendell.

In Tolkien's legendarium, Varda, also known as Elbereth, is one of the Valar and the highest of the "guardians". Peter Kreeft sees her as one of the clearest reflections of Roman Catholic Marian devotion in Tolkien's work. In A Elbereth Gilthoniel, Marjorie Burns sees an echo of the Marian hymn, Hail Queen of Heaven, the Ocean Star.

Ave Maris Stella (Latin, "Hail Star of the Sea") is a plainsong Vespers hymn to Mary from about the eighth century. The melody is found in the Irish plainsong "Gabhaim Molta Bríde", a piece in praise of St. Bridget. The popular modern hymn Hail Queen of Heaven, the Ocean Star, is loosely based on this plainsong original.

The Latin text of the hymn as authorised for use in the Liturgy of the Hours of the Roman Rite (ordinary form) is the following:

Ave, maris stella, Dei mater alma, atque semper virgo, felix cœli porta.	Hail, star of the sea, Nurturing Mother of God, And ever Virgin Happy gate of Heaven.
Sumens illud «Ave» Gabrielis ore, funda nos in pace, mutans Evæ nomen.	Receiving that "Ave" (hail) From the mouth of Gabriel, Establish us in peace, Transforming the name of "Eva" (Eve).
Solve vincla reis, profer lumen cæcis, mala nostra pelle, bona cuncta posce.	Loosen the chains of the guilty, Send forth light to the blind, Our evil do thou dispel, Entreat (for us) all good things.
Monstra te esse matrem, sumat per te precem qui pro nobis natus tulit esse tuus.	Show thyself to be a Mother: Through thee may he receive prayer Who, being born for us, Undertook to be thine own.
Virgo singularis, inter omnes mitis, nos culpis solutos mites fac et castos.	O unique Virgin, Meek above all others, Make us, set free from (our) sins, Meek and chaste.
Vitam præsta puram, iter para tutum, ut videntes Jesum semper collætemur.	Bestow a pure life, Prepare a safe way: That seeing Jesus, We may ever rejoice.
Sit laus Deo Patri, summo Christo decus, Spiritui Sancto tribus honor unus. Amen.	Praise be to God the Father, To the Most High Christ (be) glory, To the Holy Spirit (Be) honour, to the Three equally. Amen

 

The words Star of the Sea are a translation of the Latin title Stella Maris. Our Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The title was used to emphasize Mary's role as a sign of hope and as a guiding star

Stella Maris "sea-star" is a name of α Ursae Minoris or Polaris, the "guiding star" (also "lodestar", "ship star", "steering star", etc.) because it has been used for celestial navigation at sea since antiquity. 

Sailing the Universe by Christian Schloe

In English-speaking nations, a professional space traveller is called an astronaut. The term derives from the Greek words ástron (ἄστρον), meaning "star", and nautes (ναύτης), meaning "sailor". 

 The first known use of the term "astronaut" in the modern sense was by Neil R. Jones in his short story "The Death's Head Meteor" in 1930. The word itself had been known earlier. 

Art by Anjo for Chris Bluetit Stylist

Cosmic Ocean/Sea

For reaching this meaning the Hebrew name Miryam had to go through a series of transformations: in Judeo-Aramaic it became Maryām, and this form was rendered in Greek as Mariam (Μαριάμ) or Maria. Mariam, in Hebrew, can have the meaning of "drop of the sea" if understood as "mar-yam": מר mar is a rare biblical word for "drop" (Isaiah 40:15 is the only instance in the Hebrew Bible where it takes this meaning), and yam means "sea". St Jerome adopted this interpretation and translated the name into Latin as Stilla Maris, "drop of the sea", but at some later stage a copyist transcribed this into Stella Maris, "star of the sea", and this transcription error became widespread. Another opinion states that Jerome himself interpreted the name as meaning "star of the sea" or Stella Maris, by relating it to a Hebrew word for star, מאור (ma'or), from the verb אור ('or), to be light or shine.

Read more HERE and HERE.

Stars in the Cosmic Ocean/Sea

New Space Theory: Universe is 'Liquid', Claim Scientists ~

The universe should be regarded as a liquid 'superfluid', claim scientists seeking to discover the fundamental nature of space.  "If spacetime is a fluid, then according to our calculations it must necessarily be a superfluid. This means that its viscosity value is extremely low, close to zero." More HERE and HERE Dark Fluid HERE Liquid Universe - Space Documentary Video HERE

'Superfluid' Sea

Eärendil the Mariner (pronounced [ɛaˈrɛndil]) is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is depicted in The Silmarillion, as a child of Men and Elves and a great seafarer who, on his brow, carried the morning star across the sky.

Eärendil means 'Lover of the Sea' in Tolkien's invented language of Quenya. However, Tolkien borrowed the name from Old English literature.

Evening Star ~ The planet Venus when it appears in the west (evening sky), after sunset. The ancient Greeks gave it the name Hesperus. Less commonly, the planet Mercury when it appears in the west (evening sky) after sunset. Venus is the only planet in the Solar System that is named after a female figure. Cytherean is an adjective meaning pertaining to Cythera (Greek Κύθηρα, also transliterated Kythera or Kithira). It is also an adjective meaning pertaining to the planet Venus.

Morning Star ~ Mythology/theology

Phosphorus (morning star), the Morning Star in Greek mythology

Morning Star, one of the Zorya (gods in Slavic mythology)

The Latin name of the Morning Star ("Lucifer") has been given to Satan in some Christian theology. Lucifer is referred to as Son of the Morning in the bible (Isaiah 14:12).

Jesus is described as "the bright morning star" in in the bible (Revelation 22:16)

John the Baptist, called a "bright morning star" in Eastern Orthodox Church hymnnology

Mary the mother of Jesus, called "morning star" in the Litany of Loreto

In Greek mythology, Hesperus (Ancient Greek: Ἓσπερος Hesperos) is the Evening Star, the planet Venus in the evening. He is the son of the dawn goddess Eos (Roman Aurora) and is the half-brother of her other son, Phosphorus (also called Eosphorus; the "Morning Star"). Hesperus' Roman equivalent is Vesper (cf. "evening", "supper", "evening star", "west"). Hesperus' father was Cephalus, a mortal, while Phosphorus' was the star god Astraios.

Morning star, a name for the star Sirius, which appears in the sky just before sunrise during the Dog Days. The expression "dog days" refers to the hot, sultry days of summer, originally in areas around the Mediterranean Sea, and as the expression fit, to other areas, especially in the Northern Hemisphere.

Hesperus as Personification of the Evening Star by Anton Raphael Mengs (1765).

 His name is sometimes conflated with the names for his brother, the personification of the planet as the "morning star" Eosphorus (GreekἘωσφόρος, "bearer of dawn") or Phosphorus (Ancient Greek: "bearer of light", often translated as "Lucifer" in Latin), since they are all personifications of the same planet Venus. "Heosphoros" in the Greek Septuagint and "Lucifer" in Jerome's Latin Vulgate were used to translate the Hebrew "Helel" (Venus as the brilliant, bright or shining one), "son of Shahar (god) (Dawn)" in the Hebrew version of Isaiah 14:12.

Middle-earth star map

When named thus by the ancient Greeks, it was thought that Eosphorus (Venus in the morning) and Hesperos (Venus in the evening) were two different celestial objects.The Greeks later accepted the Babylonian view that the two were the same, and the Babylonian identification of the planets with the great gods, and dedicated the "wandering star" (planet) to Aphrodite (Roman Venus), as the equivalent of Ishtar.

"The Voyage of Eärendel"

There is a poem by Tolkien dated to 1914 entitled "The Voyage of Eärendel the Evening Star" (published in The Book of Lost Tales 2 267–269). (Old Norse Aurvandill, Lombardic Auriwandalo).

 The Old Norse together with the Anglo-Saxon evidence point to an astronomical myth, the name referring to a star, or a group of stars, and the Anglo-Saxon in particular points to the morning star as the herald of the rising Sun (in Crist Christianized to refer to John the Baptist).

Flammifer. 2016

Tolkien was particularly inspired by the lines in the Crist written by Cynewulf:

éala éarendel engla beorhtast / ofer middangeard monnum sended

"Hail Earendel, brightest of angels, over Middle-earth to men sent" 

which can be taken as the inspiration not only for the role of Eärendil in Tolkien's work but also for the term Middle-earth (translating Middangeard) for the inhabitable lands (c.f. Midgard).

The first line is paralleled by Frodo Baggins' exclamation in The Two Towers, Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima, which in Tolkien's invented language of Quenya means, "Hail Eärendil, brightest of stars." Frodo's exclamation was in reference to the 'Star-glass' (the light of a star trapped within the Star-glass) he carried, which contained the light of Eärendil's star, the Silmaril.

Eärendil story HERE

Peredhil of Middle Earth- of Earendil and Elwing

Sindria

The Sindria shine as brightly as stars, very much like the imagery of Galadriel from the LOTR films. Their hair is silver-white, with soft lilac eyes reflecting the cosmos, all knowing, endless. They are elementals that can take form but still remain slightly transparent, not flesh, as such. It's as if flesh is unable to contain such brightness. 

The Sindria were inspired from many different sources: Angels, Goddesses, Mythology, Spirits. I created them as the earliest beings and the guardians of universal life thereafter. Souls in their purest form, light, from which we all derive. 

 

In my first manuscript, there was a much longer scene with characters Bethany and Jonathan. He talks from a scientific viewpoint, which I was advised to leave out, too complicated. I've included a couple of excerpts removed from the early draft below. 

‘Where does their belief system stem from?’

‘From truth, the cycle of life – your form dies and recycles back into matter. The soul however never dies. It is the true self, enabling the cycle of rebirth. There is no past, present or future. Every form contains energy – for everything that is alive is energy and exists without time. Do you understand Bea?’

‘I think so.’ 

‘The Sindria realm is one of energy?’

‘Yes. Have you heard of near death experiences?’

 ‘People say they see a white light.’

‘Yes, a tunnel of pure light, the opposite of matter, the energy leaving the body. The soul is merely returning home. It is the point of division in which the true self departs from its vessel before the resting period prior to rebirth. This is the basis of belief for the Heaven Stone Order, ensuring the soul’s journey is as it should be in keeping of the universal balance. Human physics states that our Universe appears to be full of matter rather than antimatter, yet at the time of creation, they were equal in part. Where did the anti-matter go they ask? This is referred to as the baryon asymmetry problem in physics, Baryogenesis. However, they must remember Bethany that the cycle of life does in fact still contain equal amounts of both, of everything although not in the way they think. The black hole, dark energy, dark matter, the big bang, creation of life is not just a scientific route, it is a spiritual one. One without the other cannot exist. The unseen universal language is written everywhere around us, within us… we are but children learning to read.’

‘I saw something about anti-matter and matter unable be forced together. It destroys itself...’

‘Yes, if forced. But I speak of a marrying at the time of creation, the rebirth of energy, a time when both existed as one. In death, the two separate until a new marry made. The two halves of each create a whole that in turn creates life, new energy. It is a unique blending of biological and spiritual uniting.’

 ‘It’s quite a lot to take in.’

He laughed. ‘I don’t mean to over complicate, but it is quite difficult to separate the complexities of the Heaven Stone teachings into one simple explanation.’

 

The"Evening Star", visible after sunset

The "Morning Star", visible before sunrise.

 

The more I read of Tolkien's earlier world, the more I appreciate his connection to deeper thinking. I wonder how often he pondered on the meaning of life while gazing up at the stars.

"'Ilúvatar was the first beginning, and beyond that no wisdom of the Valar or of Eldar or of Men can go.'
'Who was Ilúvatar?' asked Eriol. 'Was he of the Gods?'
'Nay,' said Rúmil, 'that he was not, for he made them. Ilúvatar is the Lord for Always who dwells beyond the world; who made it and is not of it nor in it, but loves it.' "

― The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "The Music of the Ainur"

Eru Ilúvatar or The One is the single omniscient and omnipotent creator. He has been existing eternally in the Timeless Halls and possesses the Flame Imperishable in his spirit which kindles existence from nothingness.

Love and light,

Trace

xoxo