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<\/a><\/p>\nHow we know about the Otherworld<\/h1>\n
It\u2019s interesting that this comes up just as I\u2019ve been listing to Y Mabinogi<\/em><\/a>. The first story of the first branch of The Mabinogi<\/em> tells how Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed finds his way into Annwfn, the Celtic Otherworld. Pwyll is hunting, gets separated from his party, and ends up with a first-hand experience of the Otherworld and its king.<\/p>\n Much of what we know about the Otherworld comes from the stories of our ancestors. Now, we live in a society where a substantial number of people read the Bible as though it was a history book. Pagans of all people should not fall into that fallacy. But that doesn\u2019t mean we should go 180 degrees in the other direction and assume these stories are complete works of fiction. Rather, they are myths that tell the stories of the Otherworldly experiences of our ancestors.<\/p>\n We can have our own experiences of the Otherworld. After years of telling people to never expect to see something that\u2019s impossible, I saw something that was impossible<\/a>\u2026 or so some would say. I\u2019m still unsure if I saw an Otherworldly creature in this world, a this-world creature between the worlds, or a glimpse into the Otherworld. I just know I saw something that should not exist, but there it was.<\/p>\n We can experience the Otherworld through dreams and journeying<\/a>, including journeying in ritual. We can visit the Land of the Dead (to a certain extent, for a short time) and see it for ourselves. Then when we make that journey a final time, we will not be afraid, because we will know where we\u2019re going.<\/p>\n It is highly likely that the classic stories of our ancestors have similar origins to our own stories. They\u2019re reports of what someone in ancient Wales (in this case) saw, heard, felt, and did. Have the stories been dramatized? Almost certainly. Have they been enhanced? Probably. Is there wisdom in them anyway? Absolutely. They are myths \u2013 stories that communicate timeless meaning and values.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t fall into the trap of the biblical literalists, who insist that all stories are either perfect transcripts of exactly what happened or they\u2019re meaningless. Religion is not just mythology<\/a>, but mythology is an important part of religion.<\/p>\n The Celtic Otherworld is no Christian Heaven \u2013 it is not a land of peace and perfection. Arawn, King of Annwfn, needs Pwyll\u2019s help to defeat a rival king. Pwyll does so with one blow of his sword, then refuses to perform the coup de gr\u00e2ce<\/em> and end his suffering. The Otherworld is much like our own, only more<\/em>.<\/p>\n Are the various Otherworlds, Underworlds, and Afterlifes different cultures\u2019 impressions of one wider reality? Are they different sections of one great Otherworld? Or are there multiple Otherworlds for multiple cultures and religions? I don\u2019t know. As a polytheist who takes religious differences seriously, I lean toward different Otherworlds\u2026 though I suspect they \u2013 and we \u2013 are all connected at some incomprehensibly high level. In this world we are all different people in different lands, but we share the same planet.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s not pretend we know more than we do. But let\u2019s also not dismiss what we do know, especially what we can know from our own first-hand experiences.<\/p>\n When we look into the Otherworld we see strange things. Not perfect things, but things that are more<\/em> than they are here.<\/p>\n We see our ancestors, not wasted on their deathbeds as we last saw them but whole and healthy. We see heroes, filled not with perfection but with honor and valor. We see Gods, the mightiest of beings, who are filled with virtue. We see mystery and magic.<\/p>\n We see relationships that do not die, cauldrons that are never empty, and warriors that are committed to justice. We see things as they could be here.<\/p>\n And just as important, when we look into the Otherworld there are things we do not<\/em> see: smart phones and the sweatshops that build them. Strip mines, fracking wells, and crude oil pipelines. McDonalds, McMansions, and non-stop advertising.<\/p>\n Sometimes we\u2019re intrigued by the Otherworld because we have an Otherworldly experience. Sometimes it\u2019s because we\u2019re missing something here that we can find there. And other times there is something here we desperately want to get away from, even if we can\u2019t always put our finger on exactly what that is.<\/p>\n A mild experience of the Otherworld will change you in a mild way. You become intrigued, you think about what happened and what it means, and you wonder how you can repeat the experience. Your world is ever so slightly more<\/em> than it was before.<\/p>\n Of course, not everyone reacts positively to an Otherworldly experience. When challenged with something they\u2019ve always been told isn\u2019t possible, some people double down on skepticism and materialism. They rationalize their experience away, and insist that other peoples\u2019 experiences aren\u2019t real either.<\/p>\n A major experience of the Otherworld will change you in a major way. What you\u2019ve been told all your life doesn\u2019t matter anymore \u2013 what you\u2019ve seen can\u2019t be unseen. You still don\u2019t know exactly what the Otherworld is and you still don\u2019t know exactly what its residents want with you, but you have no doubt it\u2019s all real \u2013 and it matters. Now you no longer fear death, because you know it\u2019s just a portal into the next world. Now you\u2019re immune to advertising (or at least, you can see through it) \u2013 a car is a way to get you where you need to go, not a statement of your worth as a person. Your priorities are changed.<\/p>\n Again, though, not everyone reacts positively. The implications of a real Otherworld, real Gods, and real spirits can be scary. Not just in a \u201cthis can\u2019t be possible\u201d sense but also in the sense of \u201cwhat does this Battle Goddess want from me and what might She do if I fail?\u201d Or sometimes, \u201cif this is real then parts of the scary religion of my childhood might be real too\u201d (parts of it are and parts of it aren\u2019t<\/a> \u2013 you have to figure out which is which).<\/p>\n \u201cMad, dead, or a poet\u201d aren\u2019t just pretty words. A massive first-hand experience of the Otherworld will send some people over the edge.<\/p>\nWhat we know about the Otherworld<\/h1>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nNot perfect, but more<\/em><\/h1>\n
The Otherworld changes you<\/h1>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nBut we still live most of our lives in this world<\/h1>\n