8 Quotes by Christine Irving

Such faith does not begin with creed , it rises from a soil where roots run centuries deep and water seeps to surface demanding neither firm belief nor promise to moisten a dry spirit’s thirst .

But whatever outcome I desired , evil or beneficent , the formula remained identical , unchanged . Thus my faith in gods and demons cracked . All the world’s wishes cannot make it whole .

from chapter on knotwork: We are creatures , tucked into empty space , encompassed by a pattern , caught amidst life’s twist and coil who rarely fathom its design . Our oldest wisdom , buried deep in shadow , manifests unconsciously in knots of story , poetry and song .

Ancient Irish based its Ogham alphabet on structures and names of trees . Vertical and slanted lines resembling trunks and limbs formed runes symbolizing the phonetic beginnings of the names for Ireland’s most sacred trees .

Of all the trees in Ireland the yew commands most awe , venerable and terrible they witness human flaw .

It takes a poet to re - member grief , humiliation , rage and ecstasy , to mine her own sweet soul and ravaged heart a thousand times to forge a wonder tale so true each listener will know just how and why they too might choose to dare , flee , love , or lie .

But the oldest spirit of the land , pre - dating domestication , more ancient than the Mothers , is Cailleach , the wild elemental feminine , wisest of wise , guardian of every tribe .

The Irish I meet are generous of spirit in the way of rooted people who live where they belong .