Читать книгу 366 Celt: A Year and A Day of Celtic Wisdom and Lore - Carl McColman - Страница 17

The Irish word for sovereignty is flaitheas. It is related to flaithiúil, a lovely word that means “generous.” To understand the Celtic concept of sovereignty, consider how generosity can be related to it. The goddess of Sovereignty is, in essence, a generous, abundant, and nurturing spirit. The hag by the well was perfectly willing to share of her water. All she asked in return was one loving kiss.

As most people understand it today, sovereignty is not so much a topic related to generosity, but rather has to do with dominion (lordship). The sovereign is the lord, the one who gets to make all the rules and tell everyone else what to do. But that is hardly a Celtic understanding of the concept. Sovereignty in the Celtic world is the spirit of authentic freedom, which extends not only to the political freedom that an independent state enjoys, but also the empowered ability to relate to others out of a profound inner-directed liberty. This includes, of course, the power to be giving (generous) as circumstances dictate. The goddess can only be giving because she is free. This is a point well worth considering. Perhaps we can only be free to the extent that we are generous.