Tales of a Technogypsie

The Whitby Abbey* Abbey Lane, Whitby, North Yorkshire – YO22 4JT * I have always been drawn to the iconography of the Gothic Abbey atop the hills of Whitby, England. It is that vaguely interwoven backdrop of the gothic culture that is drawn to this city that once was home to Bram Stoker and the [...]

The Hill of Uisneach / Cnoc Uisnigh or Ushnagh, in the heart of County Westmeath, is a 182 meter high sacred hill that was once considered to be the absolute center of Ireland. Located along the northern side of R390, and 8 kilometers east of Ballymore, next to the village of Loughanavally – it is [...]

Viking Art/Rune Stone, Borre Viking Marked, Borre, Norway The Viking Art StoneBorrehaugene National Park, Borre, Norway In the Borrehaugene National Park lies a modern artistic replication of a Viking runic stone as one walks towards the grave mounds. The Park is home to the largest number of burial mounds from the Viking age – which [...]

Ossian’s Grave * Cloghbrack * Cushendall * Northern Ireland * The fabled site of where the wandering poet, bard, and seer “Oisin” is believed to be buried. Atop a hill overlooking the valley and down into the Glen as well as over the Channel to be able to see Scotland on a clear day, the [...]

The largest town in Anglesey of North Wales is Holyhead (i/ˈhɒlɪhɛd/ hol-i-hed; Welsh: Caergybi [kɑːɨrˈɡəbi]) which means The Town of Cybi. With a population of just over 11,000, this city is most famous for being the major port adjacent to the Irish sea where many ferries come in from Ireland. It was once a Holy [...]

Tuggeranong Homestead * Tuggeranong, Canberra, Australia Capital Territory, Australia * http://www.tuggeranonghomestead.com.au/ * My last day in Tuggeranong just outside of Canberra, before packing up for the plane to Brisbane, we ventured down the street to get a peek at the Tuggeranong Homestead. Unfortunately, due to being Easter weekend, I didn’t get a chance to visit [...]

Werribee Park – Mansion and Rose Gardens * Official web site * K Road (Gate 2) * Werribee * Victoria, Australia * 3030 * Telephone: 13 1963 * Email: bookingswerribee@parks.vic.gov.au * Disatisfied with our beach trip, we wandered over to Werribee Park – and while caught an hour or so of wandering around in the [...]

Cornwall Witchcraft Excavations 2011, a set on Flickr. Via Flickr: Assisting with the Saveok Water Archaeology Fieldschool for the summer of 2011. Photos from my time there – June 1st through August 16th, 2011. www.archaeologyonline.org

American StonehengeMaryhill, Washington * Contact: Maryhill Museum of Art * 35 Maryhill Museum Drive * Goldendale, Washington 98620 * 509-773-3733 * American has several stonehenges – replicas of the infamous original from the British Isles. The American Stonehenge at Maryhill is one of the most popular sitting atop a lonely bluff overlooking the town of [...]

Leadville, Colorado One of Colorado’s most famous historical mining towns. It was a town that brought many settlers to the area. It was rich in history and minerals with a colorful history outlining the Wild wild west. The city is a statutory city and county seat in Lake County Colorado. Elevation is 10,152 feet and [...]

Brighid’s Flame* Kildare, Ireland * For well over 1,000 years, if not 2,000 years or more, the sacred fire of the Goddess Brigid (now St. Brigid of Ireland) has existed and kept holy / sacred by her followers, priestesses, and/or members of her Order. In Ancient times, the Priestesses of Brighid kept her flame eternally [...]

Kildare, Ireland Kildare, Ireland* http://www.kildare.ie/ * http://www.kildaretown.ie/ * The visit I took in July to Kildare was one of the most sacred pilgrimmages I’ve made in my life. The Goddess Brigid has been my Matron and principle Deity since 1990 (20 years). I sought out Brighid’s flame, her holy wells, and to see the town [...]

Hellfire Club Tour – Dublin, Ireland* http://www.hiddendublinwalks.com/ghost-tour-dublin.php I really wanted to experience this ghost tour – but unfortunately Hidden Dublin Walks cancelled the tour sometime between me waiting at the Brazenhead and the 20 minutes it took for a representative to show up to tell me it was cancelled. So its on my list of [...]

St. Patrick’s Cathedral * Saint Patrick’s Cathedral Saint Patrick’s Close, Dublin 8, Ireland * http://www.stpatrickscathedral.ie * In the Medieval District of Dublin lies one of Dublin’s most famous churches also known as The National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of Saint Patrick, Dublin or “Árd Eaglais Naomh Pádraig”. The Church was founded in 1191 C.E. and [...]

Medieval District Dublin, Ireland The walled district of Dublin that contains Christ Church, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublinia Medieval Museum, The Brazenhead Pub, and many other landmarks is known as the “Medieval District”. As Dublin can trace its origins back beyond a 1,000 years with a good part of Ireland’s historical cultural, educational, and industrial activities [...]

St. Michan’s Church of Ireland and it’s Mummies* Church Street * Dublin, Ireland * Hours: Nov-Feb: Mon-Fri 12:30-2:30pm, Sat 10am-1pm * Admission: Free to Church; Guided tour: €3.50 adults, €3 seniors and students, €2.50 children under 12 * A little hidden secret to Dublin tourism is St. Michan’s Church. St. Michan’s was named after a [...]

St. Mary’s Abbey Dublin, Ireland St. Mary’s Church On the corner of St. Jervis and Mary Street, St. Mary’s Church of Ireland was one of Ireland’s earliest examples of a galleried church. It was built in the early 18th century, boasting of the Renatus Harris organ and spectacular stained glass windows. As it fell in [...]

Hore AbbeyCashel, Ireland Just 1 km down from the Rock of Cashel is the Hore Abbey, a ruined Cistercian monastery on the Tipperary plains in Southern Ireland. The name for the abbey comes from the term “iubhair” meaning “Yew Tree”. The Abbey was given to the Cistercians by the Benedictines from Archbishop David MacCearbhaill in [...]

Rock of Cashel Rock of Cashel* Cashel, Ireland * On the Tipperary plains atop the town of Cashel sits the infamous fortress, the Rock of Cashel. Mythically it was believed to have originated in the Devil’s Bit mountain that is 30 km north of the town when St. Patrick banished Satan from a cave, resulting [...]

Blarney Castle* http://www.blarneycastle.ie * Blarney, Ireland * 021-438 5252 * The Blarney Castle and its estate is an amazing magical playground of myths and legends, faeries, and fantastical beliefs. Even the grounds in its gardens have their attractions and history, as small caves and structures in the Rock Close garden may have neolithic habitation possibilities, [...]

Rock Close Rock Close* Blarney Castle, Blarney, Ireland * www.blarneycastle.ie * A mystical portal in the heart of the castle grounds of Blarney where faeries dance, Witches’ bless and answer wishes, Druids weave magick, stone monuments made, and magic is alive. The Rock Close garden is not only a site of myths and legends, but [...]

Druids Cave:* The Rock Close * Blarney Castle, Blarney, Ireland * http://www.blarneycastle.ie * Right next to the Witch’s Stone and Kitchen is the Druid’s Circle and Sacrificial Altar that is believed to be a traditional Celtic stone circle that was once used by Druids who practiced on the grounds long ago. The Senior Druid Priest [...]

Witches Kitchen* Rock Close * Blarney Castle, Blarney, Ireland * http://www.blarneycastle.ie * In the enchanted grounds of Rock Close in the fabled lands of Blarney Castle is the infamous Kitchen of the Blarney Witch. Atop her wishing steps is her kitchen. Offset from the kitchen is her stone. Apparently by legend she is bound and [...]

Wishing Steps Wishing Steps* Rock Close * Blarney Castle, Blarney, Ireland * http://www.blarneycastle.ie * Onwards with the quest for charms and blessings, just after kissing the legendary Blarney stone for the gift of gab we were onwards to visit the wiley old witch of Blarney for a endowment of wishes. The witch requires the wisher [...]

Badger Cave * Blarney Castle, Blarney, Ireland * http://www.blarneycastle.ie * A feature of the Blarney Castle are the caves below the fortress called “Badger Cave”. This was the escape route used by the guard when Cromwell’s general Lord Broghill besieged the castle and fired down from Card Hill above the lake and broke through the [...]

Legend of the Blarney StoneBlarney Castle, Blarney, Co. Cork, Ireland * Phone: 00 353 21 4385252 * http://www.blarneycastle.ie/ One of Ireland’s most valuable and mesmerizing mythical collections is the infamous Blarney Stone. Called “Cloch na Blarnan” in Irish, it is the legendary stone for the gift of gab. “Blarney” means “Clever, Flattering, or coaxing talk”. [...]