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Druido
Druido
In the Hebrides, every fire was put out for the Beltane
and cattle were driven "dessil" or sunward around it to
"keep of murrain" (a disease of these animals). There, each
man would take home new fire to kindle his hearth. In
Ireland, the festive-fires were still being lighted in
nineteen twenty-one, but on June twenty-third,
Midsummer's Eve, rather than at the Beltane. With torches
from the common fire, crofters drew "the sacred circle of
fire" around the growing crops, "to ensure both its
protection and its fruitfulness." Through the dying embers,
cattle were driven "for their blessing". MacManus notes,
"These fires were are assuredly of pagan origin marking a
great sun-feast, on that day when the sun-god was supposed
to be longest above the horizon."
OL, OOL, drink, drinking, OIr. oul, drinking from the root po,
to drink, the Lat. poto, and the Eng. potable, drinkable, same
as Eng. ale, A drink taken at religious festivals and as a
prelude to battle. See next entry.