When the Tides Rise
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When the Tides Rise
The Story of Cessair, from Ireland's Book of Invasions
This week on KnotWork Storytelling, we begin at the beginning. Or, we begin with a beginning that was offered right in the middle of the story in order to fit the beginnings expected of the time.
Cessair is said to lead the first “invasion” of Ireland in the Lebor Gabála Érenn, the Book of Invasions.
(Certainly I am not the first to wonder at how a country that was so scarred by British colonization over the last several centuries has invasion stories rather than creation stories from the very beginning. This deserves a lot more contemplation, but for now… wow, this little island has some super tricky karma baked into its limestone.)
The story has it that Cessair was Noah’s granddaughter but there wasn’t room for herself, her father, or her mother on the boat.
Some sources suggest that Cessair was an ancient goddess who was swept into a Christianized narrative. More frequently, you’ll read that the early clergy crafted a story of Noah’s wayward granddaughter landing on Irish shores because they sought to establish a biblical pedigree for their land and its people.
With this in mind, my retelling of this story leans heavily on the idea that the winners get to tell the story and those with the best PR operation tend to win.
When I set out to retell this story, I honestly didn’t know what I was getting into. There’s just so much to explore here, and seeing as the story isn’t particularly well-known, particularly outside of Ireland, there’s enough to do simply to lay out the bones of the narrative and offer some motivation and reflection. I intend to keep working with this story and letting it work on me because I don’t think it’s one that can be summed up in a 30 minute conversation or in a single article.
When you listen to this week’s story, I invite you to tune into…
Ecological catastrophe and/or the wrath of an angry Father God
A heroine who exists outside the patriarchy and thrives in a community that exists outside the expectations of the time.
The tradition of the Irish welcome, the fáilte, extended to for the very first time
The presence of a shape-shifting immortal, Fintan Mac Bochra, who re-emerges to whisper in the ear of Irish kings five thousand years later.
A cameo of Ireland’s first trinity - Éire, Banba, and Fodla (Note: weaving these three goddesses of Irish sovereignty into the story in this way is my invention. Some versions have it that Banba was a companion to Cessair, which just further complicates the knots of narrative between pre-Christian and Christian strands.)
A failed first start that made way for an eventual flourishing. Spoiler alert: Cessair and her companions do not survive, so Ireland’s first invasion was just a dry run. Sorry, terrible pun. Couldn’t resist.
In the comments, I would love to hear what other “big ideas” leap out at you.
The conversation that follows the story, featuring Carmen Shreffler of
, takes us into questions like What stories get told and passed on? What makes a myth “real”? Who are the “winners of culture”? Which parts of civilization, culture are we meant to rewrite and rewild? Rather than tearing down the master’s house, what if we are meant to build a new boat? Is technology, including artificial intelligence “the next flood”?We pull the story into the present moment and discuss:
The power of sharing your unique story and art and bringing it through your unique lens in this age of ChatGPT and AI, as entrepreneurs and creatives
The way we look at business is like how we look at our gardens. Ecological consciousness, applied to business and marketing, but also to the very practical way we live upon the earth, like choosing plants that are truly helpful for butterflies
The work of Mary Reynolds, a “recovering landscape designer,” and author of We Are the Ark. Her work of Acts of Restorative Kindness in order to live in relationship with the earth.
Carmen’s guiding principle, a quote from Gurudev Shri Amritji: “We exist in perpetual creative response.” We remain open minded and open to the moment without judgment and move forward from that place.