Megalithic Tour 2010

Ballymeanoch IV

This is a photograph, the first of hundreds, which I took on my tour of the north-west of Scotland with Megalithic Tours. I hope to process all my photographs soon and publish an account of my experiences at the various sites here on these pages.

I truly enjoyed my time with the group and in Scotland and I hope to return many times to Scotland, and, gods willing, move there permanently. I feel so much more connected in Scotland, without even trying, and the pull is strong.

I made a few offerings as discreetly as I could, and I believe they were well received. Certainly, the tour went without a hitch, despite weather forecasts threatening the crossing to Lewis. I would have been disappointed indeed had I not seen Calanais again.

So, back in the south-east of England again, but aready thinking of next year's journey north.

Trip to the Outer Hebrides

I am in a bit of a bind. I had pre-booked, and paid for a trip to the Outer Hebrides with Megalithic Tours for August this year. Then one of my close family members decides to have a "secret wedding" in September and they tell me so that I can arrange to attend the celebrations in Australia.

Wonderful.

Except ... I don't have enough holiday time left with work to travel to Australia and back, and the tour company had already booked and paid for the tour the week before I needed to cancel. I desperately need just one person to book a place on the Hebridean and Highlands tour in August. Unfortunately, it appears that bookings are down this year, so I am doing my utmost to promote the company, Megalithic Tours and the tours, wherein passengers visit ancient, mystical and historical sites.

I travelled with Megalithic Tours just last year, to the Orkney and Shetland islands and it was a fabulous trip. There is only ever 11 people travelling on the bus, the accommodation was marvellous and Neil, the guide, made everything go so smoothly and he was very flexible, allowing for the interests of the passengers. I simply cannot recommend Megalithic Tours enough, and that is why I had pre-booked this year's tour on the last day of our trip. I intend to travel with Megalithic Tours for the next couple of years as its exactly what I want in a tour - interesting, fun, reasonably priced (very good value for money), and easy. Its just a shame I have to bow out of this year's trip (and I was sooo looking forward to it).

So, if you know of anyone who might be interested, particularly in the Hebridean and Highlands tour in August, please, please recommend Megalithic Tours to them. Neil is always happy to answer any questions.

Portable Gods

I've seen some interesting questions recently about the use of imported gods in lands where there is already a native tradition. There was some suggestion that the ideas about gods that can transcend place, be exported or borrowed was wholly Christian.

Throughout history people have taken their gods with them whenever they've travelled. Certainly, the Christians are well known for doing this, but what about the norse gods, who appeared to have travelled far and wide, too? In Iceland they seemed to take a firm grip, and they even influenced some of the natives of England and Scotland.

And what about the acquisition of new gods? Didn't the Romans sometimes adopt the local gods when they travelled to new lands in order to gain favour for their endeavours, even incorporating some into their personal pantheon? And wasn't it the Romans who first equated the Greeks gods with their own? I understood archaeology had borne out examples of similar practices here in the British Isles and throughout the former Roman empire. Is it solely a Christian idea: travelling gods?

So, when the Europeans left for America and the other new worlds, did their gods go with them? Or, were they booted back by the local deities? I just wonder, because there are so many modern pagans in the new worlds working with the gods of their ancestral countries. Are they deluding themselves? Are they working with their ancestral gods or the native ones in disguise? Do the gods really travel? Or are they firmly fixed to the landscape?

There was also some question as to the gods recognising those living in foreign lands, mainly why the gods would even bother to acknowledge the descendants of their people, several generations removed? But, if the gods have travelled to new worlds, surely they would be able to identify the descendants of their homelands through the ancestors, who could guide them to their own? Or, do the gods ignore those who would connect with them away from their natural landscape altogether?

I would be interested to read the thoughts of others on these points. As someone who was born in one of the new worlds, I am not sure I could have connected to my gods except on their home ground.