Poetry

“Poetry has been at the core of the visionary experience from earliest times, creating the bridge of metaphor between daily life and the experiences that flow out of the Otherworld. The Celtic poet was much more than a versifier: he could be the interpreter of dreams, the envisioner of prophecy, the diviner who sought answers and guidance to dark matters that the ordinary intellect could not decode. Reaching into the far recesses of the visionary darkness, the poet sought out answers, poems and divinations.

The power of the poet’s word was legendary, for he could make a satire if his fee had been unlawfully withheld, or if his person had been subjected to insult or dishonour. But his prime function was to uphold honour by means of praise, or the recitation of ancestral wisdom.”

– Caitlín Matthews