The Druids of ancient times had no illusions about the stability of our planet, or about the other planets in our solar system. They had inherited knowledge of earlier catastrophic happenings, and this led them to believe that the earth would be destroyed by fire and water. But they always preached that the universe and the souls of those living in it are indestructible. In the legendary voyage of Snedgus and McRiagla there is an island with two lakes, one of fire and the other one of water.

In the Mythological cycle we are told that the world will end when the sun and moon will be mixed together. The Sorcerer Mathgen promised to cast the mountains of Ireland on the Fomoire, and that the lakes and islands of Ireland would be hidden from the Fomoire, and that the Druid Figol would cause three showers of fire to fall upon the faces of the enemy and that Dagda, Lug and Ogma spent seven years making weapons and preparing for battle in the heavens.In the Cattle Raid of Cooley the transmitted memories of terrestrial catastrophes were left unmodified by the monk chroniclers, when Sualtaim, who was Cuchulains father, was told about his son fighting against the odds and when he heard the noise of the battle, he called out:"This is from afar. Is it the sky that cracks or the sea that ebbs or the earth that splits or is it the distress of my son against the Foray of Cuailgne".When he got to his son Cuchulain told him to go to the Ulstermen and tell them to protect their cattle. When Sualtaim reached Emain he told the Ulstermen and their King Conor..."Men are slain, women are carried off, cattle are driven away, O Ulstermen." King Conor replied "A little too loud is that cry, for the sky is above us, the earth beneath us, and the sea all around us, but unless the sky with its showers of stars fall upon the surface of the earth or unless the ground burst open in an earthquake, or unless the fish abounding blue bordered sea come over the surface of the earth, I shall bring back every cow to its byre and enclosure, every woman to her own abode and dwelling, after victory in battle and combat and conquest." What I always find interesting is the thought that he would retrieve the cattle first, and the women second.

When Queen Meave had got the Brown Bull of Cooley and was on her way home, she sent MacRoth, her chief messenger to check if the Ulstermen were following them over the plains of Meath. When MacRoth returned to Queen Meave he reported the following..."Not long was he there when he heard a noise and a tumult and a clamour. It seemed to him almost as if the sky had fallen onto the surface of the earth, or as if the fish abounding blue bordered sea had swept across the face of the world, or as if the earth had split in an earthquake, or as if the trees of the forest had all fallen into each others forks and bifurcations and branches. However the wild beasts were hunted across the plain in such numbers that the surface of the plain of Meath was not visible beneath them". This occurred over 100 years before the birth of Christ. The story was transmitted orally (like so many others) in the strict Celtic Bardic Tradition before being written down by unknown monks.

Ptolemy's biography of Alexander the Great tells us about a meeting of a Celtic Prince with Alexander on the lower Danube in 335 BC. Alexander was only 21 years of age and was publicly establishing the river as the northern boundary of Greece. Alexander called for the allegiance of all the peoples south of the Danube. We have one story about a Celtic Prince who came to see Alexander. Only two sentences have survived on record. Alexander put the following question -"Tell me O Prince, what is it that you and your people fear most?"The reply holds race memories of cataclysms and shows the courage of the Celtic race. The Celtic Prince replies...."Only that the heavens might fall on our heads".

In the legendary account of the Destruction of Da Dergas Hostel, which is in Glenasmole, we have an account of the death of Conaire King of Ireland, whose rule was good and reign peaceful. He was returning from a visit to Munster where he had settled a quarrel between two foster brothers of his and he stayed over at Da Dergas hostel. This hostel was always open with food and lodging free to those upon the Kings business. Conaire was given a welcome and Da Derga himself prepared the feast. During the feast an earthquake shook the building "So that the weapons fell from their racks" . King Conaire cried out aloud -"I do not know what it is unless it be that the earth has been rent, or that the Leviathan encircling the earth is striking with its tail to overturn the world, or the boat of the sons of Donn Desa that has come to land".

Now the Leviation was a comet, which in ancient times was known as a fiery dragon. Norse legend tells of three comets, a serpent, a wolf, and a dog. In the book of Job this Leviathan is referred to as the apostate dragon. Con Connor reckons to have found the site of Da Dergas Hostel. Using dowsing rods on the potential site, which was narrowed down after much research, we actually came across the crack left by the earthquake all those years ago. It is about six to eight feet wide, travels about north - south for hundreds of steps, and the now grassed over crack is clearly visible as a linear depression. Further south is a well-known standing stone alignment, which we believe to be annotating the earth fracture. The highest point has a bullaun stone, which is a huge boulder lying on its side with a 16 inch wide depression or bowl carved into it. Part of the story of the Destruction of Da Dergas hostel tells us that the hostel was visible from the sea, and this means that the sea was also visible from the Hostel. Standing beside the bullaun stone there is an incredible panoramic view to Tara and Newgrange but also to the sea at Howth. One of the four Royal roads to Tara came from Da Dergas Hostel in Glenasmole, and it seems perfectly appropriate that Tara could be seen from the Hostel. Glenasmole has long been thought of as the Valley of the Thrushes, but a friend Thomas Maher, an Irish scholar, has brought us a proper translation as the 'glen of the burnt out ruins'. From this site you can also see the cairns on Tallaght and Saggart hills. HAG has gone to this site on a HAG day out and the dowsing effects over this crack are quite powerful.

Our ancestors worshipped the external forces and factors that affected their lives. To them the earth did not shake by chance. Their challenge was to discover what caused these dreadful happenings, and to do this they watched the heavens. In the Senchus Mor, we learn that seven divisions of the firmament above the earth were recognized, consisting of the moon, mercury, venus, the sun, mars, jupiter and saturn. About the stars they believed " as a shell is about an egg, the firmament is about the earth. They believed that the twelve constellations represented the year and that the sun runs through one each month. They believed that the earth was enclosed by a solid sky, outside of which was the Gods. The sun, moon, the planets and the stars were associated with these Gods. Celtic belief is that horses draw the chariot of the sun across the sky into the other world, to rest and then return in the morning. Comets were seen as the armies of the Gods. Today's popular hobby of astrology has its origins in this memory, and from this the factual science of astronomy was born. But predictions from observations in the heavens were not confined to just our ancient ancestors....."For behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven....." Malachi,c.iv,v.1. "And there appeared another wonder in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his head. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth." Book of Revelation, c.xii, 3and 4. "..... lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood...and the stars of heaven fell upon the earth ... and ... people hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains... Book of Revelation, c. vi.

Not far south of Glenasmole is the Scalp, a mountain I have yet to climb. The steep west side is covered with thousands of great granite boulders which do not just sit on this mountain but are in fact embedded into it. P.A. O Suiochan in his book 'Ireland, A journey into lost time', sees this as mute but remarkable evidence of a massive cataclysm. Bray head is similar. Now this is the east side of Ireland, and the stones are embedded on the west side of the mountains, only the blue bordered sea could do such an incredible feat.Seven thousand years ago, a warm stable climate predominated and blue skies were the norm in this beautiful land. Professor Murphy of the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies tells us that the seas around the south and west of Ireland were virtually stormless. We also know that the rise in sea level was completed by about 5,500 years ago. This is also about the time that Newgrange was abandoned. Whatever disaster caused this, we have no Irish records, but we do have the Mayan Prophecies.

The 'Mayan' third age lasted from 7,000 BC to 3100 BC. They left the forest and rebuilt their world. They were farmers and ate tzinlocoacoc that is similar to almond paste as distinct to the wild fruits of the previous age. This was the age of fire. The Mayan Prophecies tells us that the third age ended about 3,100 BC or (5,100 years ago) when excessive UV was hitting the earth, consequently threatening human survival. The survivors of the third age then moved to the high plateau at Teothuacan. The third age ended when an increase in solar radiation led to a loss of fertility in people. The Irish Quartz age (our final passage cairn building age) ended about 5,000 or 5,500 years ago. When we study with this as a filter we can see the various effects of UV in different zones. The Mayan Prophecies by Maurice Cotteral and Adrian Gilbert shows the UV burn zone as 20 degrees north and south of the equator. Ireland is at 50 degrees north of the equator, over thirty degrees above the burn zone. The effect at Irelands latitude was dense cloud cover, permanent rain, flooding, and deluge. The transpiration cycle, the cycle of rain and rainmaking, tells us of an equal and opposite reaction with the sun on the sea making hot 'steam' and then the cold and heavy clouds falling as rain only to start all over again. When the burn zone was hot, there was very wet conditions elsewhere. This is when Irelands bogs began to expand and grow at an alarming rate, and at this time the ancient Irish lived and farmed and had their temples on top of mountains. It just got too wet. Permanent rain! Imagine it!When we examine the known dwellings of that time we quickly see that they were laid out compactly but not lived in all day by a family as today.

The people of the Irish Quartz Age were an outdoor race meaning that their huts were for sleeping and their world was nature. This cloud cover would act as a quality UV filter. It would also prevent proper harvests and procreation. The ability to construct so many huge stone temples was and is today dependant on abundance. With permanent rain this abundance began to fail, and solar engineering magic and weather modifying just could not stop the change. The men, women and children of the Irish Quartz Age emigrated. They went to Europe and then to Egypt, and came back to Ireland as the Celtic Civilization. When they returned they never went back to live on top of the mountains, but instead settled on the mountain slopes and the hilltops There was a major volcanic eruption at Thera (Santorini) beside the island of Crete in the Mediterranean sea, which was the capitol of the Minoan Empire. This eruption was a major break in the earths surface, bigger that Krakatoa and St. Helens. The movement of the earth's surface was cataclysmic and it happened over only a few days or weeks. Once it was over, it is believed that it just closed up again. It is conceivable that the force of that eruption could actually punch a hole through our atmosphere, possibly allowing the cosmic cold to enter our atmosphere, or maybe the dust and debris thrown into our upper atmosphere created weather conditions that blocked the suns rays from entering the zone 30 to 50 degrees north of the equator. The Minoan culture had links with Ireland before and after Thera erupted. The bull cult, the art, the dress style, the laws and so on, are all very Irish. It is possible that the Minoans had emigrated from Ireland about 5,500 years ago, bringing with them the wisdom of the ancient Irish stone age. But they came home and this we have on record.

In the Irish book of Invasions there is a poem which has no name, but we have the name of its author, Roigne Rosgadach, son of Ugoine Mor, whose other son Mal, was then the monarch of Ireland. It is an account of the travels of a Celtic tribe or clan named the Gathelians, and it tells of their departure from Scythia to Egypt and from there to Spain and then from Spain to Ireland. The story goes that Mal requested from Roigne detailed information on the origins of the his people and as always this was given in verse.
O worthy son of Ugoine dust know who invaded Eirin. In remarkable journeyings the Gael reached Scythia
Then departed to Shinar from thence to Egypt. In the reign of Pharoe Cincheris who drowned with his hosts In the waters of the Rea Sea.
Prospering there, Nuil married Scota daughter of the Pharoe
Who bore our great ancestor from whom the Gael are named
Named also Scoti his mothers name.
Later a war was fought between the clans of Nuil and Neonbail Their Decendants.
Refloir son of Neman was slain by Gollam who fled to Egypt
In the reign of Pharoe Nectenibus decendant of Scota.
They journeyed through Africa.
Of their descent Fenius Farsaid was eminent.
Their descendants reached Spain.
Ilith begat strong children Donn, Aireach, Aimergin, Eber, Ir and Copla, Ereamon and Aranan, Eight Descendants of Gollam begat by noble Milidh
Whose name they took Mir Milidh
Their childrens children from Spain to Erin sailed
And took possession of he land dividing it among twelve chiefs.
The truth of this is found in our historical records. This is the story of the coming of the Milesians to Ireland, and it clearly tells us of continual emigration for survival. This 'emigrate to survive plan' was true on the other side of the Atlantic as well, as the Hopi Creation myth tells us -
"Now the people began their migrations. Each group became a clan, some of them followed certain signs, some followed stars. They left their writing on the rocks, and every so often they stopped and built villages. But they never stayed long before moving on once more. Their guides were the sun, the moon, the stars, and their maize. If they reached places where the maize failed to grow, they knew that they had come too far and they turned back"
Our armchair romantic perspective lets us fantasize about the wanderlust of our ancestors, when in fact the reality was failing harvests, failing birth rates, and their inherited memories of natures abundance, i.e. when the Gods smiled upon us. In the last two thousand years we have tried to dominate nature and to the profit of a minority we have succeeded, but there are huge famines happen all the time and the majority of the world seems to be in panic for our future survival. We can blame the marketing overlords who create unreal desires, or the church, which does not cater to our modern spiritual needs, or the corrupt politicians who squander our limited resources, but until we ourselves take full responsibility for our own futures - we will always be in confusion.

Our ancestors took full responsibility for their futures and they physically moved on, today it seems that we must take full responsibility for our future and mentally move on.

Much has been written about Newgrange, mostly highly academic, sometimes completely ridiculous, but it all stems from the fascination that everybody who visits the place automatically gets. The first written records of Newgrange are in the earliest Irish prose stories, the Mythological Cycle. Written in medieval times by the monks, they are in fact much older. They are about the Tuatha De Danann, the earliest known native Irish Gods. They are disguised as a supernatural race of wizards and magicians. They descended from the sky in a metal ship in the northwest and inhabited Ireland long before the Bronze Age. They are "The Lords of Light" that live in the great mound at Newgrange. The ancient name for Newgrange is Bru Na Boinne, and in the translation of this name is the first major clue to the wonders of their magic. Na Boinne means the river Boyne, and Bru means an otherworld palace or festive hall, existing in an eternal timeless realm of the supernatural and not as a place of human habitation. This is the land of the Gods, a place of continual party where no one ever dies. It is written that the Bru had three fruit trees that were always in fruit, and an inexhaustable cauldron from which no company went away unsatisfied. Today we would call this the land of milk and honey. The first to live at this Bru was Elcmar, who was married to Boand, the divinised personification of the river Boyne. Not much is known about Elcmar, but the Boyne has magical and mystical attributes. The source of the Boyne is described as the well of Segais, an Otherworld Well regarded as being the origin of all wisdom and occult knowledge. This well is surrounded by hazel trees whose nuts drop into its water, forming na bolcca immaiss or bubbles of mystic inspiration. Either once a year, or once in every seven years, these pass into the river Boyne. The next occupant of the Bru is Dagda. We know lots about Dagda, the good god. He is the all powerful and omniscient and most prominent of the ancient native Irish gods. Also known as Ruad Ro-fhessa, the Lord of Great Knowledge. He is a sky god, and a god of the sun. Dagda lives in the Bru and has carnal union with Boand by using his mastery over time. Elcmar is sent on an errand for one day, which really becomes a period of nine months.

During this time Oengus is conceived and born. He is called Mac ind Oc, meaning the youthful one by his mother who says: Young is the son who was begotten at the break of day and born betwixt it and evening. Oengus is regarded as a personification of the day, and he is born on the start of the shortest day at Newgrange. Newgrange is also known as Bru Mac ind Oc, or the Bru of Oengus. Now the story of his birth moves on to adulthood when he requests a Bru of his own. Dagda says, " I have none for thee", Oengus replies" Thou let me be granted a day and a night in thine own dwelling ". When Dagda informs him " thou hast consumed thy time", Oengus says, "It is clear that night and day are the whole world, and it is that which has been given to me". From then on it is Oengus who dwells in the mound at the bend in the Boyne.A major poem about the Brú and Oengus by George Russel has Aengus himself talk about the past days of glory at the Brú while also implying its present state as a catastrophe. A Dream of Angus Oge, George Russel 1897
"As he spoke, he paused before a great mound grown over with trees, and around it silver clear in the moonlight were immense stones piled, the remains of an original circle, and there was a dark low narrow entrance leading within- He took Con by the hand and in an instant they were standing in a lofty, cross shaped cave, built roughly of huge stones. "This was my place. In days past many a one plucked here the purple flower of magic and the fruit of the tree of life . . ."And even as he spoke, a light began to glow and to pervade the cave, and to obliterate the stone walls and the antique hieroglyphics engraven thereon, and to melt the earthen floor into itself like a fiery sun suddenly uprisen within the world, and there was everywhere a wandering ecstasy of sound; light and sound were one; light had a voice... " I am Aengus, men call me young. I am the sunlight in the heart, the moonlight in the mind; I am the the light at the end of every dream... I will make you immortal; for my palace opens into the Gardens of the Sun".
In the Fenian cycle, the latest tradition in literature, Oengus reappears when Finn Mc Coole describes the mound as the house of Oengus, which cannot be burned or destroyed as long as Oengus is alive. The famous love story of Diarmaid and Graine also connect to the Bru when Diarmaid is dying, partly because of Finn McCoole, and Finn says, " Let us leave this tulach for fear that Oengus and the Tuatha De Danann may catch us". Finn then brings Diarmaid to Newgrange in order to " put aerial life into him so that he will talk to me every day".

This story has many of the magical components of the Egyptian story of Isis bringing Osiris back to life in the great pyramid. Many other similar links between the Egyptian magical tales and the older Irish magical tales exist which suggests that the magical and astronomical skills of the Egyptians had their origin in Ireland. The very curious tale of the high King, Conn, and the Ri Raith (Royal Fortress) at Tara entitled "The magical stone of Tara" states; -

One evening Conn of the hundred battles repaired at sunrise to the Ri Raith at Tara, accompanied by his three Druids, Mael, Bloc and Bluicne, and his three poets, Ethain, Cord and Cesare; for he was accustomed every day to repair to this place with the same company, for the purpose of watching the stars, that no hostile aerial beings should descend upon Ireland unknown to him. While standing in the usual place one morning, Conn happened to tread on a stone, and immediately the stone shrieked under his feet so as to be heard all over Tara and throughout all East Meath. Conn then asked the Druids why the stone had shrieked, what its name was and what it said. Fifty three days later they answered; - Fal is the name of the stone, and it comes from the Island of Fal.

This is the Lia Fal, the stone of destiny, which was brought to Ireland by the Tuatha De Dannan, and this stone is still within the Royal Fortress at Tara, although it is no longer beside the passage cairn, it is only 400 yards from its original site (there is a story that the real Lia Fail is under the coronation seat at Westminster). Here we have a King making astronomical observations, and declaring his interest in " hostile aerial beings" at a temple that was at that time thousands of years old. The cairn at Tara is even today brilliantly illuminated at the time of two important Celtic festivals; Samhain in early November and Imbolc in early February.

Today's Irish Druids can have no illusions about the stability of our planet, or about the other planets in our solar system. We have the old Druids knowledge of actual impending catastrophic happenings - that the earth would be destroyed by fire and water. We have modern ecological and environmental awareness of the global weather patterns collapsing. The fire of the internal combustion engine has consumed nearly all the fossil oxygen in our atmosphere. Commercial deforestation has destroyed the air and water cycles in ways that will take many thousands of years to self-repair. These modern looming catastrophes are denied by the governments of the money lenders but even the dogs in the street know its bad and that it's getting worse. But today's Celtic Druids know that the Universe and the souls of those living in it are indestructible - so we live in the here and now - just as our ancestors did.