Liminal

I was writing an entry in my Spanish language blog, about a great fusion group called Salsa Celtica, that by the way, is highly recommended for those who like either salsa or celtic music, or both. But I’m not going to repeat the same that I posted there. However the topic of the syncretism, fusion, cross-over, and many other names came to my mind.

How can we define ourselves? Is definition by itself a way to put boundaries to our experiences or a way to state that you are part of something? Mixing over everything is good?

Well, it’s very complex to answer this questions with a single yes or no, as most of thing in life they are full of colours, and not only black or white. We need some definition, some stability in our lives. For some is the need to know who they friends are, for others, know that the person you love, loves you back and is that there’s a commitment in there. For others is religion, work, sport, etc.

But having a wider spectrum than the majority of people is really to not be defined? For example, I’m following a spiritual path that even when is mainly based on celtic spirituality, it also have something of eclectic paganism and I even incorporate the Christians roots of my childhood. That, I assure you, in not drifting in the limbo between all this, I have very clear what I believe and what I don’t, I have very clear what it’s really rooted in the past and what is a modern interpretation, however, I don’t need to totally reject the ethics and even some of the spirituality that shape me as a boy and a teenager; nor I reject that some modern interpretations of ancient lore has value; I just make a great effort to don’t loose of my sight the main tree of my grove, the one on which I’m centred, the celtic reconstructionism.

But whilst examining my life I saw that pattern repeated in several points of my life: I can write with my right and my left hand. I love music cross-overs and fusions, to explore into different rhythms, melodies, styles. My favourite time of the day are sunrises and sunsets. I fancy both women and men. I’m an engineer who loves spiritual thinking and philosophy. All that elements of my particular life make me think about the concept of liminal spaces in the celtic myths.

The liminal spaces where the most sacred ones, they were the times and places where magic was more powerful; they were entrances to the other world, and sources of wisdom. There was an important colour for them, nglas, which was between our grey, blue and green. It had, or represent at least, the three realms of which this world was made, Samhain and Beltaine were taken as liminal day between the dark and the bright side of the year. etc. There are a lot of references in literature and myths.

The question is why? what are the attributes of those places moments... are they important because they are not defined, because they are open to more possibilities? or are they defined in their own nature but not by our standards?

We live in a world where everything tends to be dualistic, you are with me or against me, you are good or evil. And by those standards, yes people like me, moments like those, places like that, are undefined. But I really thing that they are not, that what we need is a wider spectrum of definitions, a perception that life is not a simple as black and white, and then realise that the beauty, the power of the concept of liminal is that its definition is to itself and not to exterior forces. Just look around you, do you see a static and perfectly defined nature, or do you see a diversity of colours, smells, tastes, shapes and sounds.

Don't be afraid if reality is not simple and flat, that is what it makes it so beautiful, that is not.

The great Argentinean writer, Borges, in a short story, that some could classify as “Magic Realism” (what a lovely literary term, isn’t it?) defined the maximum expression of Liminal that as the Aleph "The only place on earth where all places are -- seen from every angle, each standing clear, without any confusion or blending”.

So it’s not to be undefined, is a definition beyond boundaries.

What I Have learn...

I’m in my second week in my new work, getting back to the UK after for months, now for a long term staying. How much? I really don’t know but it’s going to be some years. Las year I begun what you could call a “life changing journey” starting with my site assignation at Tampico, Mexico; the first time I was really living by my own, away from friends, family and my home city. Then the big step, go to Britain to begin the MSc. A new country, a new culture.

During that year I was fortunate enough to travel around several countries, so I met different people, weathers architectures, etc. a lot of changes, a lot of new stuff, very difficult to assimilate in that short time.

What I have learned from that year? Well first of all, as you can witness from this blog, it was a very interesting journey from the spiritual point of view, a journey of self discovering, of discovering the ancient lore of this land, and of the nature itself; also a journey to realize that indeed there’s only one truth, but there are many many forms to reach that truth, or at least try to reach it. Many paths, many different beings apart of we humans. It was and still is, since I have a lot to learn from this land, and I mean from Britannia herself; a exciting and extraordinary experience.

On the other hand it was also a journey to know human kind. I was fortunate enough to meet people from across the globe, form Europe, Asia, Africa, America … I think I just missed to knew people from Oceania to say I know people from the five continents. That has being marvelous, so different countries, customs, histories and stories to tell. However to be exposed to that so varieties of cultures, give me the change to know human as a whole, and realize that even when the differences exist, they are minor, and that everybody is just human

On Sussex I was very lucky to know people from so different countries as Vietnam, Germany, India or Kenya. But I could learn that the things that united us were more than the ones that separate us. We all share the same fears, the same dreams, the same happiness and sadness about things. We are all one big culture that has to be called humanity.

But I also learn that we give excessive importance to try to state clearly what make us different. Yes, there are differences, but they are just superficial. That was very evident to me on this first visit to Chile, a country far away, geographically speaking from my Own; but very close in terms of culture, customs, etc. However their inhabitants try hard to make it note that they are so different from their neighbors, even when they are not.

Now, in this work, this new town, I can very easely make a list of the differences from my previous work; you know the quality of life and all that stuff. But still is a country like my own, a country populated by human beings. Some people realize that some time ago, so I’m going to quote Carl Sagan on this:

An extraterrestrial visitor examining the difference among human societies would find those differences trivial compared to the similarities. Our lives, our past and our future are tied to the sun, the moon and the stars…We humans have seen the atoms which constitute all of nature and the forces that sculpted this work…and we, who embody the local eyes and ears and thoughts and feelings of the cosmos, have begun to wonder about our origins…star stuff contemplating the stars, organized collections of ten billion billion billion atoms, contemplating the evolution of nature, tracing that long path by which it arrived at consciousness here on the planet earth…Our loyalties are to the species and the to the planet. Our obligation to survive and flourish is owed now just to ourselves but also to that cosmos ancient and vast from which we spring. We are on Species. We are start stuff harvesting starlight.


We have to look for the common good before selfish interests, but not in the nationalism point of view, but in a planetary one, we must know that we all are one society, and have one planet, and unless we try to work together and stop seeing the other as weird, different and therefore dangerous and frightening, we are going to blow off all this!

I also learn the meaning of a cosmopolitan city, and that doesn’t mean a big and populated city, it means several cultures, religions, sexual preferences, tastes, etc. living together in harmony (or trying to) by tolerance and good living.

That I think was the main learning of this year, of course there was also a big change in the emotional/sentimental point of view, but that is no topic for a public blog LOL

So here I am, in a new adventure, a lot of challenges, a lot of opportunities and of course a lot of fears, but above all that, a lot of dreams to make true.

So, as a citizen of the world, I’m beginning this new journey of life, independence, dreams. Wish me luck!

Ord Brighideach

Today I start a commitment, one I have tought about it, and take in the form of a gaesa. This will be a new step in my journey, one I'm happy to take. Fate has drive me to this new path, and I accept it in joy. I join the Ord Brighideach, and today as part of the Mistletoe-Cill Drualus, I have take the 14th shift, that starts today at sun set.

Here my oath, speaked loudly to the winds, written loudly in this place in no place, but present every where

Bright Brighid hear my prayer
I make my oath to you this day

As I light this flame to honour you
As I light this flame inside of me
May your light be within my life
Day by day, night by night

May your fire forge my will and my strength
May your fire heal my body and my heart
May you fire inspire my soul and my mind

I will keep your fire inside my soul
I will light you fire every twenty days
I will keep your light in my life

I make this oath to comply with my gaesa
To honour my commitment, to honour my word

No fire, no sun, no moon shall burn me,
No lake, no water, nor sea shall drown me,
No arrow of fairy nor dart of fay shall wound me,

No sickness will hurt me, no despair will bit me
So under the protection of Brighid I am

So under the oath of Brighid I will be

Your flame present in the earth below us
Your flame present in the sea aroud us
Your flame present in the sky above us

Bride above me
Bride around me
Bride below me
Bride infront of me
Bride on my back

May you be blessed always

The mexican view of the Death

Mexican culture, the child of two great cultures, the indigenous culture of the american natives and the european culture of the Spaniards. This new culture, product of a clash of worlds, of the iron sword and the obsidian mallet, the one from I came. Has a very unique form to see death.

To the inhabitant of New York, Paris, or London death is a word that is never uttered because it burns the lips. The Mexican, on the other hand, frequents it, mocks it, caresses it, sleeps with it, entertains it, it is one of his favourite playthings and his most enduring love. It is true that in his attitude there is perhaps the same fear that others also have, but at least he does not hide this fear nor does he hide death; he contemplates her face to face with impatience, with contempt, with irony: 'If they're going to kill me tomorrow, let them kill me for once and for all'.'; Octavio Paz on The Labyrinth of Solitude (1959)

Now, being near to the day of the death, and the same time the celtic new year, to different practices and rituals, that were united, ironically by the one Church that tried to eliminate them because of being pagan traditions, walk together this date.

This small video shows this, in a small wink.

Samhain Shona Duit!!

As many of you may know for me on personal level, and for my cultural background Samhain, the Day of the Death, the Celtic New Year, is a very important day, and the Ancestor Altar is a must !


Even when a proper altar according to our costumes shall be of nine levels, for space issues I only made it of three.

1) The ground level represents the duality live-death. There are Cempaxóchitl (Tagetes erecta) petals and a live one, to symbolize this.



2) The first level represents the spiritual journey through live and death, also the walk to the Mictlan , here are various elements (I explain them later) of the spiritual path


3) The second level represents the actual place where the spirit remains, the end of the journey. Here is the offer to the ancestors themselves, and five candles to bring them light and peace in the five directions.

Also, I make the altar to honour my three levels of ancestors.

1) The three celtic realms are represented by a seagull feather (sky) a stone from Brighton's seafront (earth) and a shell (sea), and a candelabra with three candles each to iluminate each realm; there are also five oghams representing the five directions. This represent my spiritual ancestors, my celtic spirituality. All this can be encounter on the first level of the altar

2) Theres also a piramid representing the sun piramid on Teotihaucan, and a image of Coatlicue, the mother goddess, as well as the colours, the sugar and chocolate skulls, as well as the sugar grave yards and the cempaxóchitl petals, all this to honour my cultural ancestors and at the same time the ancestors of the land. This can be encounter on the three levels.

3) There are photographs of the ones who departure earlier (my grandfathers) to honour my blood-line ancestors. You may notice there are some Christian crosses around, since my ancestors where Catholic, I feel very appropiate to honour their faith in the altar, and also because Christianism is part of my own background; but even if I had nothing to do with that faith, it make sense to me to honour the faith of my grand and grand grand fathers. This can be encounter on the second level.

Finally, this altar is not ended, on the night of 31th of october until the night of november 2nd, there has to be put there food and drinks. To wellcome the ancestors who will come to the festivity. I do not put that earlier most of all to ensure the food don't get on bad state. This will be put on the ground level.

I will post pictures of the altar on 1st of november, after my ceremony.

Hope you enjoy this pictures.

Happy Samhain (samhain shona duit)