A SHRINE TO ESUS
During the first stages of frenzy, a glut of |
Esus is nothing so simple as a god of trees or animals. No; He is a god of sacrifice, of magic. At the boundary of land, sea, and sky, Esus destroys the willow, the pervasive connection through the realms--standing at water, growing of land, reaching to the sky--with his ax. Opposite him, three egrets stand atop a bull. Where is the importance here? Egrets could be sacrificed, but birds are also important to augury, the divination-by-nature system of the druids. And the bull? A Gaulish sacrifice, well-documented. Lucan says that He was sacrificed to by hanging human sacrifices from trees, and impaling the sacrifice against them.
Esus is a god of shadowed places, yes, but also of places god-lit. His is the flash of inspiration, the bloody moment of release, the damp soil underfoot, the birds carrying messages to holy men, the unclear omen. He is a god of discomfort, of destroying comfort zones and revealing uncomfortable truths. He is a liminal god, reaching across land, sea, and sky to perform the role of destroyer. And He is the god of ritual, profane and arcane, making spiritual works possible.
Esus is a god of shadowed places, yes, but also of places god-lit. His is the flash of inspiration, the bloody moment of release, the damp soil underfoot, the birds carrying messages to holy men, the unclear omen. He is a god of discomfort, of destroying comfort zones and revealing uncomfortable truths. He is a liminal god, reaching across land, sea, and sky to perform the role of destroyer. And He is the god of ritual, profane and arcane, making spiritual works possible.
Poem is "The Other Stars" by Rachel Wetzsteon.
The above information is based in speculation, not archaeological fact.
The above information is based in speculation, not archaeological fact.