The gate of the year

The tomb and sacred well of Saint Gobnait, Ballyvourney, County Cork, Ireland.
The burial place is made by a group of stones, surmounted on top by a large slab with several engraved crosses. The stone surrounding it show cup-like cavities, known as bullaun (“bowl”, “container”), employed during folk practices to leave pebbles as votive offerings, but also as curses against someone. On the tomb are visible several offerings let by worshippers that reach this holy place in pilgrimage. The water of the well is regarded even today to possess magical and therapeutic qualities.
Sacred wells and springs were widespread in pre-Christian England and Ireland. In the Canon issued from the Second Council of Arles (around 452) it is declared that “If in the territory of a bishop infidels light torches or venerate trees, fountains, or stones, and he neglects to abolish this usage, he must know that he is guilty of sacrilege ” (Bord 1985, p. 31). Notwithstanding the hostile attitude of the Church, however, several of these folk practices survived and were at last absorbed into the Christian cult itself, associated with the veneration of Saints or of the Virgin Mary.

[Images: http://www.technogypsie.com/science/?p=1819]




Female Symbols

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The tomb and sacred well of Saint Gobnait, Ballyvourney, County Cork, Ireland. The burial place is made by a group of stones, surmounted on top by a large slab with several engraved crosses. The stone surrounding it show cup-like cavities, known as bullaun (“bowl”, “container”), employed during folk practices to leave pebbles as votive offerings, but also as curses against someone. On the tomb are visible several offerings let by worshippers that reach this holy place in pilgrimage. The water of the well is regarded even today to possess magical and therapeutic qualities. Sacred wells and springs were widespread in pre-Christian England and Ireland. In the Canon issued from the Second Council of Arles (around 452) it is declared that “If in the territory of a bishop infidels light torches or venerate trees, fountains, or stones, and he neglects to abolish this usage, he must know that he is guilty of sacrilege ” (Bord 1985, p. 31). Notwithstanding the hostile attitude of the Church, however, several of these folk practices survived and were at last absorbed into the Christian cult itself, associated with the veneration of Saints or of the Virgin Mary. [Images: http://www.technogypsie.com/science/?p=1819]