Could the stone pillar at the hill of Tara in Ireland be an ancient lingam of the Dagda? The evidence may surprise you…
The Lia Fáil has stood on the hill of Tara in Co, Meath, Ireland for thousands of years dating back to 3000-2000 BC. It is the location of which High Kings of Ireland were coronated and where sacred assemblies took place often for the dispensation of the Brehon law. The standing stone called, Lia Fáil, in Goidelc means “Stone of Destiny” or “Speaking stone” because it would cry out only when a true king was inaugurated. According to legend, all of the kings of Ireland were crowned on the stone up to Muirchertach mac Ercae, c. 500 AD.
Within the Goidelc texts ( Old Irish ) we see an even deeper purpose of the Lia Fáil and its associations with the God Dagda. The Dagda, is the Father of the Gods in Celtic Fis ( Celtic Veda ), and is called the high King that sits at the hill of Tara. In fact, there are many instances in which Tara is mentioned a spiritual place of importance with regards to the Druids and the Gods. But aside from what we have in extant Irish lore, and archaeology itself, it is not known clearly in detail what the stone and its fixture really represents.
When we look to the Vedic religion and modern hindu practices, we see similar pillars in use for the God Shiva although the oldest Shiva Lingam is 1st-3rd century BC. The Shiva lingam and the Lia Fáil in fact look strikingly similar, rounded off at the top and appropriate for ancient libations. The Shiva lingam represents many deep cosmic truths of the universe and in simple concepts can be understood as the relationship and unification of Shiv-Shakti, the Masculine-Feminine principle that makes the created universe possible. On the hill of Tara, we see the stone penetrating the Earth “mother” in an act of cosmic creation. This resonates with the Celtic tradition of coronation where the Goddess of the land would be symbolically married to the High King.
Just as Shiva is considered the supreme personality of creation in some schools of thought, The supreme personality or high king in the Celtic cosmology would be Dagda, as it is written in Lebor Gabála Érenn, “The Dagda, chief of the Tuatha Dé Danann, held the sovereignty of Ireland, and his dwelling was at Tara, where the kings sat.” Morrígan his wife, would be the “shakti”, the primordial womb of darkness and creation. From a break down of their names, we know they are the primordial forces: Morrígan literally means “Great Queen”, and OllAthair, one of the Dagda’s epithets means “Great Father”.
Offerings dairy offerings
The beauty of Folklore and countryside customs is that they often preserve very very ancient traditions that were left ignored by the church. In these traditions certain customs of leaving offerings for the Sidhe, and other entities could insure protection, blessing, and fertility for herds and crops. The following accounts from 19th century folklore researchers show that Celtic peoples in the countryside offered, milk, butter, cream among other foods:
Jeremiah Curtin, Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland (1890) notes:
“It is customary in many districts to pour milk on a large stone or heap of stones, or leave butter there, as a tribute to the sídhe, or to ensure the health of cattle and the fertility of the fields.”
Milk offerings to holy wells
In W.B. Yeats’ Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (1888), he notes wells with druidic or saintly associations where people left milk, butter, or cream:“At certain holy wells, especially those dedicated to saints of ancient lineage, the peasants still leave milk in a little cup, in hope of blessings on the cattle, or a cure for a child sick with fever.”
In Curtin (1890), there is a pattern described where:“The well-dwelling spirits are to be propitiated. People leave milk and sometimes eggs or butter, speaking to the well as to a living being.”
Croker also mentions that leaving milk at wells was considered a purification act—often poured over the stone rim or into the water:“The offering of milk was believed to cleanse the place and invite blessings; the spirits drank invisibly, and none but the holy could see the act fulfilled.”
Similarities with lingam worship
Offerings of milk are a major part of the worship of the Shiva as it is one of the first of 7 substances that are poured over the Linga itself. Unfortunately there are no records of milk being poured over the Lia Fáil itself, but given that folk customs of Ireland do pour milk on stones at faery mounds, it is likely that in ancient history milk was also poured over the Lia Fáil and perhaps other substances such as water, butter, honey. It was perhaps adorned with flowers and other things at coronations and occassions as is done to the Shiva Linga in daily worship.
Some other symbolic meanings to the the Lia Fáil that the Shiva Linga is understood to be could be the formless absolute (Brahman) Or Brigantios in Gaulish – where the liṅga is a symbol of the unmanifest, beyond name and form; The axis Mundi / Cosmic Pillar (Skambha) – representing the center of the universe, linking heaven, earth, and the underworld ( a triad of realms ), and as in Vedic parallels, the cosmic tree (aśvattha) or pillar (stambha) which would be the Celtic Oak.