The Manor of Tara
“Taking this idealized portrait of early Ireland as a mental map, we see particular Buada or ‘excellences’ associated with each of the four directions as well as the sacred center. The purpose of the Manor of Tara ritual is to invoke these excellences...”
Image by Nemoi.
Reorienting Toward Sacred Space
In the “Loop of Brigid” series (published on Patheos) I covered some of the same material found here in different words.
A medieval Irish text called “The Settling of the Manor of Tara” describes a cosmology based on the ancient five provinces of Ireland – Leinster in the east, Munster in the south, Connacht in the west, Ulster in the north, and Meath in the center. Irish monks used this conception of sacred space in their method of prayer, by praying in the Orans position while facing the east, the south, the west, the north, and finally the center.
The eastern quarter is the quarter of Plenty. As it says in “The Settling of the Manor of Tara,” the characteristics of the eastern quarter are assigned to the province of Leinster:
‘Her prosperity then,’ said he, ‘and her supplies, her bee-hives, her contests, her feats of arms, her householders, her nobles, her wonders, her good custom, her good manners, her splendour, her abundance, her dignity, her strength, her wealth, her householding, her many arts, her accoutrements, her many treasures, her satin, her serge, her silks, her cloths, her green spotted cloth, her hospitality, from the eastern part in the east.’
The southern quarter is the quarter of Music and the province of Munster, along with:
‘Her waterfalls, her fairs, her nobles, her reavers, her knowledge, her subtlety, her musicianship, her melody, her minstrelsy, her wisdom, her honour, her music, her learning, her teaching, her warriorship, her fidchell playing, her vehemence, her fierceness, her poetical art, her advocacy, her modesty, her code, her retinue, her fertility, from the southern part in the south.’
The western quarter is the quarter of Wisdom and the province of Connacht, with:
'Her learning, her foundation, her teaching, her alliance, her judgement, her chronicles, her counsels, her stories, her histories, her science, her comeliness, her eloquence, her beauty, her modesty, her bounty, her abundance, her wealth - from the western part in the west.’
The northern quarter is the quarter of Battle and the province of Ulster, with:
‘Her battles, also,’ said he, ‘and her contentions, her hardihood, her rough places, her strifes, her haughtiness, her unprofitableness, her pride, her captures, her assaults, her hardness, her wars, her conflicts, From the northern part in the north.’
The sacred center is the place of the Sovereignty and the province of Meath, with:
‘Her kings, moreover, her stewards, her dignity, her primacy, her stability, her establishments, her supports, her destructions, her warriorship, her charioteership, her soldiery, her principality, her high-kingship, her ollaveship, her mead, her bounty, her ale, her renown, her great fame, her prosperity, from the centre position.’
In the “Settling of the Manor of Tara,” this entire sequence is summarized by the phrase, “knowledge in the west, battle in the north, prosperity in the east, music in the south, kingship in the center,” according to the R.I. Best translation. In the original Irish, this reads, “Íaruss fis. tuadus cath. airthis bláth. teissus séis. fortius flaith.”
The Manor of Tara
Taking this idealized portrait of early Ireland as a mental map, we see particular Buada or “excellences” associated with each of the four directions as well as the sacred center. The purpose of the Manor of Tara ritual is to invoke these excellences – the Plenty or Bláth of the east, the Music or Séis of the south, the Wisdom or Fios of the west, the Battle or Cath of the north, and the Sovereignty or Flaith of the center – not literal authority in this case, but self-confidence, self-control, and spiritual integrity.
The goal, as with the other practices in this series, is to overcome our alienation from the world we live in and to restore our friendship with the spiritual powers – in this case, by orienting ourselves spiritually in physical space.
Facing the east, raise both arms to about the height of your face, elbows bent, and fists clenched in what I call the “Dagda” posture.
Breathe in while performing this gesture and then breathe out while crossing both arms across the chest with palms open in what I call the “Donn” posture.
With each in-breath, mentally focus on the word Bláth. This word is used in the text to mean plenty or prosperity, but its literal meaning is flowering or blooming. With each out breath, visualize images of flowering, blooming, or blossoming flowers and plants. Repeat for one, three, or nine complete breaths.
Do the same at the southern quarter with the word Séis, the literal meaning of which is “song.” With every out breath, vividly imagine the most beautiful singing or music, the music of the Sídh.
Do the same at the western quarter with the word Fios. With every out breath, visualize images of learning and knowledge – especially the knowledge of the ancestors.
Do the same at the northern quarter with the word Cath. With every out breath, visualize images of courage and victory, or of mental toughness and endurance.
Returning to the eastern quarter, do the same with the word Flaith. With every out breath, visualize images of Sovereignty such as Queen Medb or King Cormac from Irish lore.
You can also perform this exercise while focusing on only one of the five directions when you have need of that particular excellence – for instance, you can sit facing the north and meditating on the word Cath to invoke courage and toughness in a “battle” situation, or you can sit at the south and meditate on Séis to access creativity.
Christopher Scott Thompson
Photo by Tam Hutchinson.
is an anarchist, martial arts instructor, devotee of Brighid and Macha, and a wandering exile roaming the earth.
