This was an uninterrupted sleep night, from about 10:00 pm on through to first light at 5:55 am. There were significant times of being half awake, but no fully awake time, and no trips to the bathroom. There were at least two episodes of strong and complex dreams, both before first light.
Large, Complex House
This dream is too faint for me to describe in any detail. It takes place in a large, complex, two story house. The other people involved were much like my friends Connie and Stew Edwards, and in the dream everyone was aged in their 30s. The dream was long and complex, but I can't recall any of the action in sufficient detail to write it down.
Morrígan Stew
Not long before bedtime, I had been reading the book A Practical Guide to Pagan Priesthood by Rev. Lora O'Brien, in particular the section on Devotion to Deity. She writes the section from her perspective as a devotee of the Morrígan, with whom she communicates pretty regularly.
Current scholarly opinion is that the name translates to "Ghost Queen", but the translation "Great Queen" (spelled Mórrígan in Middle Irish), is still often used, and that spelling is used by Rev. O'Brien.
In this dream I was contemplating the relationship between Rev. O'Brien and the Morrígan. Suddenly, a recipe appeared, both as a finished stew and as visualization of the ingredients. The main ingredients were:
- Beef: Shown was a large hunk of beef, very dark in color. Clearly it had been roasted over coals, then to be cut up for the stew.
- Turnips: These would be White Turnips. Rutabagas, now called "Turnip" in Ireland did not exist in Pagan times. Carrots and Potatoes had not yet come to Ireland.
- Salt & Broth: The broth in the finished stew was very dark, from the roasting of the Beef, and, during the dream, I was thinking of Red Wine. Upon waking, I had my doubts about that, but found that the Irish in Pagan times, and for quite a while after, were great wine drinkers, importing wine in large quantity. Actually making wine in Ireland is very recent.
- Herbs: Some herbs may have been included, but they were not specified. Mints and Nettles were available in Ireland in Pagan times. Rosemary, thyme, and sage are doubtful. Most spices did not reach Ireland until Medieval times.
So, my thoughts are this stew could have been served at events honoring the Morrígan. It is my intention to write up and test this recipe, and include it in the Clovegarden pages.