Creating Rituals Inspired By Mythological Stories

The history of the world is vast; there have been many different cultures and civilisations, each with their own practices and beliefs. Many of these ancient cultures celebrated and worshipped Gods, Goddesses, and spirits, and even though much has been lost to history, we still have a wealth of stories and tales of these mythological beings. Even today, a lot of modern pagans still honour the deities and spirits that our ancestors did, for a variety of different reasons.

There are plenty of examples throughout history where worshippers would act out tales of their Gods and Goddesses as part of a worship to them, or take aspects of those stories and include them in rituals. So how can we use these mythological stories to help create our own rituals? And why would we want to?

First, we need to consider why these tales were created. There are many different theories that have been put forward by various academics and scholars. They served as ‘warnings’ to humanity, of what would happen if they defied the Gods or the status quo, or if they sought power and wealth which could be seen as a direct challenge to the status of the Gods. They provided comfort and hope, provided legitimacy to those deities or spirits, and provided a code of conduct by which to live (either through inspiring good behaviour or punishing bad behaviour). They could also provide ordinary citizens with a way to feel connected with these beings, or to strengthen their connection and honour them in hope that the deity or spirit in question would bless the devotee with what they needed. So consider what you personally would hope to get out of such an approach - is it to show your devotion to that deity, or is there something specific you would like to request from them such as a physical something (like a new job), or a particular trait (such as confidence), or anything else?

It is worth noting that as many of these stories were seen to be cautionary tales, not all of them have a happy ending. However, this doesn’t mean that there is nothing that can’t be taken from them. Take for example, the Irish tale of the children of Lir. Bobd Derg was elected to be the King of the Tuatha de Danann, much to the chagrin of Lir who felt that he should have been King. Lir refused to acknowledge Derg as King, but when Lir’s wife died, Derg offered one of his daughter’s as a wife to help sway Lir in his favour. Lir agreed, and took Aoibh as his wife.

Together they had four children, but after the birth of the last two (twins), Aoibh died. Derg offered another one of his daughters, to which Lir again agreed, and married Aoife, who became stepmother to the children. However, she grew jealous of the love that Lir had for his children, and sought to kill them. Unfortunately for Aoife, no-one would help her, so instead she turned them into swans. This wasn’t a permanent change, and they could return to their human form after 900 years. At the end of the story the swans return to land and turn back into their human form; however, they are 900 years old and so die almost immediately of old age. Whilst on the one hand this seems like a dark tale of death and revenge, it could also be seen as one of freedom; the children finally regain their human form and are free from their curse that had been placed upon them, at peace at last.

For the purposes of this blog post, let’s take the tale of the Irish God Nuada. He was a King and a warrior, and a great deity to call upon for those who need help with their leadership. In one tale, the Tuatha were at war with the Fir Bolg for control of Ireland. As the battle raged, the Fir Blog champion Sreng cut off Nuada’s arm at the shoulder. Despite his wound, Nuada survived, and the Tuatha won the war with the Fir Bolg all but vanquished. The Tuatha offered Sreng a quarter of Ireland for his remaining people, which he accepted, and the war was over.

Losing his arm meant that Nuada was no longer eligible for Kingship, as Tuatha tradition dictated that their King must be physically perfect. He was replaced by Bres, a half-Fomorian Prince who was known for his beauty and intellect. The Fomorians were ‘mythological’ enemies of Ireland, (in the same way that the Titans were to the Greek Gods), and his oppressive rule did not sit well with the Tuatha. During this time Nuada had his lost arm replaced by a silver one by the physician Dian Cecht and the wright Creidhne (and later with a new arm of flesh and blood by Dian Cecht's daughter Airmid and son Miach). Thus, Bres was removed from Kingship after seven years, and Nuada once again sat on the throne and continued to rule for another twenty years.

Bres, accompanied by the Fomorian known as Balor of the Evil Eye attempted to claim back the throne and more war and oppression followed. When Lugh joined Nuada’s court, he realized that this youth could lead the Tuatha against the Fomorians and so stood down in favour of Lough. The second battle of Mag Tuired followed, during which Nuada was killed and beheaded by Balor. Lugh avenged him by killing Balor and leading the Tuatha to victory.

Although Nuada died in the final battle, we see several instances of great leadership within this tale. First, after losing the battle and Kingship, he did not give up, and resolved the issues that prevented him from being King (having a new arm attached). He also recognised that Lugh would be a better leader for his people, so actively gave up the Kingship to him for the good of his people. He exhibits strength and bravery in situations where he could (and would) risk injury and death to protect his people. If strength, leadership, and resolve were qualities you were looking to obtain, this would be a great tale to use.

So how exactly could you incorporate this into a ritual? There are several ways in which you could do so. First, you could find a copy of the tale, or you could write your own adaptation or poem of the events and recite as a part of your ritual. Or you could act it out! This may be difficult depending on the tale, but can work solo - even better if you have a group or coven that could act it out. Or you could use dolls or puppets to act out the tale you have chosen.

If you are a creative sort, you could paint a picture, write a piece of music, or even create an embroidery depicting the events of the tale. Or you could think more symbolically; perhaps, using the example above, you could focus on the aspect of Nuada giving up something (Kingship) for the good of his people. Perhaps one way in which you could become a better leader is by giving up the need to always be correct, which affects your ability to take criticism. You could pledge to ‘sacrifice’ this, as Nuada sacrificed the throne, by writing it on a write a piece of music, or even create an embroidery depicting the events of the tale. Or you could think more symbolically; perhaps, using the example above, you could focus on the aspect of Nuada giving up something (Kingship) for the good of his people. Perhaps one way in which you could become a better leader is by giving up the need to always be correct, which affects your ability to take criticism. You could pledge to ‘sacrifice’ this, as Nuada sacrificed the throne, by writing it on a piece of paper and burning it. Or, as Nuada gained his new arm and was eligible for Kingship again, you could find a silver coin and ask Nuada to help you find what it is you seek to become a better leader, and then carry the coin with you.

There are many ways that the stories of the past can help in giving us what we need to shape our futures. Next time you are thinking of performing a ritual, see if there is anything in these ancient myths you can use within your own workings to help you find what it is you seek, or even simply to honour the deity you have chosen to work with.