The Well of Inspiration as Sovereignty Myth and Moral Code

	Myths are the lifeblood that hold a people together.  One does
not have to look far in our world, largely devoid of modern myth, to
understand how important this can be.  Joseph Campbell understood
this, perhaps better than anyone else in our time.  So did the Celts.
	Campbell is quick to point out two primary things about the
exploration of myth: 1)that we need to understand recurring symbology
not only as it represents our collective unconscious, but also as it
represents the distinct needs of disparate cultures and, therefore,
defines them,1 2)that our exploration should be not only an academic
experience, but also an intensely personal one.  Otherwise, why read
myths at all?
	This being taken into account, I have chosen to explore the myth
of the Well of Inspiration on two levels.  First, in an effort to
understand �the myths transparent to their universal meaning, their
meaning transparent to its mysterious source,�  I have attempted to
adopt the same sense of wonder as the Celts by exploring the
symbology which they held inherent in certain of the symbols of this
myth.  Then I have explored these symbols using Campbell�s
Commandments, which I believe will be self-explanatory to the reader
as one goes along.
	Through this method of exploration, I hope to prove that the Well
of Inspiration as a myth provides insight not only into the Celtic ideal of
sovereignty, but also provides somewhat of a moral code, informing
us as to what aspects of life they held most dear.  I also hope to show
that the story of the Tuatha De Danaan is not so much a tale of
immigration and war as it is an allegory of the coming of knowledge to
the Celtic tribes of Ireland.

	And the three things they put above all others were the plough
and the sun and the hazel-tree, so that it was said in the time to come
that Ireland was divided between those three, Coil the hazel, and
Cecht the plough, and Grian the sun.
And they had a well below the sea where the nine hazels of wisdom
were growing; that is, the hazels of inspiration and of the knowledge of
poetry. And their leaves and their blossoms would break out in the
same hour, and would fall on the well in a shower that raised a purple
wave. And then the five salmon that were waiting there would eat the
nuts, and their colour would come out in the red spots of their skin,
and any person that would eat one of those salmon would know all
wisdom and all poetry. And there were seven streams of wisdom that
sprang from that well and turned back to it again; and the people of
many arts have all drank from that well.

	The three things which the Tuatha De Danaan put above all
others were the plough and the sun and the hazel-tree.  What do
these symbols mean?  In order to put them in proper perspective, we
must do as instructed by Campbell and �resacralize the secular�.  In
other words, we must ask ourselves:  when is a plough more than just
a plough;  the sun more than just a blazing ball of light in the sky;  a
hazel-tree not just a tree?  If we combine this with his tenth
commandment, that �Literalism kills;  Imagination quickens,� then we
immediately come to the following conclusion:  nothing is ever just a
thing.  Everything has a deeper meaning to the believer of the myth. 
This will be very important to keep in mind s we continue.  Therefore,
one may easily surmise (with a bit of tinkering with comparative
symbology) that the plough represents the Land (therefore, home,
sustenance, etc.);  the sun represents God, Spirit, the Life-force
(hence, the story of Lugh, which might be compared with the traditions
of Mithraism, with which it combined with the coming of the Romans); 
the hazel-tree represents inspiration and knowledge (compare with
Norse Mythology, where it is sacred to Thor and also regarded as
such and with Greco-Roman Myth where it is associated with
Mercury/Hermes, god of intellect;  also, frequently, where Imbas or
poetic frenzy is mentioned in Celtic lore, so is the hazel).  Therefore,
the three things which the Tuatha De Danaan put above all others
were the Land, the Life-force/Spirit, and Wisdom.
	This concept of three being the source of all becomes integral
when exploring the imagery of the Well of Inspiration, as the number
nine figures so prominently here.  Nine is perhaps the most commonly
recurring symbol throughout Celtic lore.  Nine as sacred number is
based upon the principle of three as source of all.  Simple
mathematics informs us that three times three is nine.  When we
return once again to Campbell�s concept of resacralizing the sacred
and put this together with his urge to follow patterns, we may arrive at
the understanding that since three to the Celtic mind was the perfect
number, then three threes was complete perfection.  Nine is the most
complete number;  a state of perfection.
	Nine hazel trees surround the Well of Inspiration.  Over and over
in Celtic lore, we find the hazel associated with wisdom, knowledge,
and inspiration.  We find this paralleled in Norse and Greco-Roman
myth as well.  As we have already established, this leads us to the
conclusion that the hazel-tree represented to the Celts the Tree of
Knowledge.  Here, in a grove of nine, we have one of the three most
sacred things of the Tuatha De Danaan in perfect number--three times
three.
	A perfect grove of the Tree of Knowledge around a sacred
well--wells have always been important in Celtic lore, but why?  In the
words of Mircea Eliade: �water symbolizes the whole of potentiality; it
is fons et origo, the source of all possible existence.�  To put this
another way, water is a living thing;  a source of creative continuity
(compare with the concept of the Eternal Now discussed by Matthew
Fox, Meister Eckhart, and even the Australian Aborigines).  Therefore,
the well is the source of living water--a symbol of generation,
purification, and the matrix of life itself, not unlike the cauldron.  This
symbology is cross-cultural.  Wells are also associated with healing,
thanks to this generative and purifying power.  So, we have a perfect
grove of the Tree of Knowledge around a healing source, showing us
that knowledge and/or wisdom to the Tuatha De Danaan and the Celts
was a heal-all;  a necessity for solving all the problems of life.  It is
also important to note here that wells, not unlike the seashore or
lakeshore, were viewed as places of the �in-between�:  doorways to
the Otherworld.  This gives us the understanding that to have true
knowledge, one must live in and understand both worlds, the physical
and the spiritual (as in the Hermetic �As Above, So Below�).
	Within the well swim five salmon.  It was believed by the Celts
that the salmon was the oldest of all animals.  It is interesting to note
that they chose a fish to hold this esteemed place.  As an animal
spending its entire life in the water, which we have already identified
as being generative, purifying, and the source of life, the salmon
becomes identified as a generative, and, therefore, creative creature. 
Like the hazel, the salmon is continually associated with Imbas in
Celtic lore (we find further references in the story of Fionn Mac
Cumhaill, and even in the Welsh tale of Gwion Bach).  It may be taken
from this symbolism that, as the salmon eat the hazel-nuts, they
become a sacred source not only of knowledge, wisdom, and
inspiration, but also of creativity itself.
	Finally, we are told that seven streams flow forth from the sacred
well and that all learned folk receive their talents by drinking from
these.  Once again, water is an important symbol of the generative
principle.  But there is more here.  First, the seven streams may be
associated with the seven rivers of Ireland.  This is important to
understand, since myths are stories which connect a people, and
people come together to form civilizations.  Every great civilization in
the history of the world has grown up around a river or river system
(the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia;  the Nile in Egypt;  the
Indus and Ganges in India;  the Tiber in Rome).  This sets up for us
the symbol of the Well of Inspiration as cradle of civilization--out of
great wisdom and learning, great people are built.  An alternate view
of this may be found in the wisdom tale of Cormac�s Adventures in the
Land of Promise in which the same well is described as having only
five streams which flow out of it.  These are explained by Manannan
Mac Lir as representing the five sense through which knowledge is
obtained.2  In other words, knowledge is obtained through experience. 
One might also draw a connection between the number five in this
wisdom tale and the number of salmon swimming in the well.
	There is one other symbol in this myth which we must not
overlook, as it becomes very important in the final argument that this
is a Myth of Sovereignty.  That symbol is color.  Two colors are
mentioned:  purple and red.  Both have long been associated with
kingship.  Red, it is important to note, is also the color of blood, which
is representative of the Life-force, and is a color of the Otherworld
(rowan--which has red berries--and red ribbon are attributed with the
ability to protect against faeries;  the hounds and cattle of the faeries
may be identified by their red ears).  Therefore, as well as being a
source of wisdom and inspiration, the Well of Inspiration also holds
the ability to give one the qualities necessary for the right to rule;  the
right of Sovereignty.
	Now that we understand the individual symbols of this myth, we
may finally explore its deeper meaning as it relates to the Celtic
mindset and, in particular to the Tuatha De Danaan.  If wells have
healing attributes, as we have established, then one may conclude
that in this myth knowledge and inspiration are symbolized as healing
(in fact, the ultimate �heal-all�, if you will), therefore, since this well is
attributed as belonging to the Tuatha De Danaan, the Tuatha De
Danaan become the healers of the Land (a very important part of the
Celtic notion of Sovereignty, as referenced in the tale of Nuada of the
Silverhand).  However, in other versions of this myth and even in other
myths which expound upon it, we are told that this well, also known as
the Well of Segais or Connla�s Well,3 has always been in Ireland, so
we may need to switch our perspectives a bit on what the coming of
the Tuatha De Danaan to Ireland actually implies.  Perhaps we should
view the arrival of the Tuatha De Danaan not so much as a great
immigration, but as an explanation of the changing face of the land
and its people, representing the coming of knowledge.  In this vein,
the Firbolgs represent man in his natural �un-learned� state (warlike; 
solving problems through actions rather than words or intellect)
whereas the Tuatha De Danaan represent the knowledgeable,
�learned� human, attempting to solve problems in more �educated�
ways (such as diplomacy, as when Nuada sends his poets to again
bargain for peace, even when the meeting between Streng, the Firbolg
champion, and Bres, their own, has failed).  Therefore, when the
Tuatha De Danaan defeat Eochaid and his Firbolg army and Nuada
takes the throne at Teamhair, we have a statement of what is
necessary for Sovereignty:  knowledge, wisdom, and inspiration.
	As demonstrated throughout history, most successful
civilizations are comprised of people who attempt to emulate their
ruler.  This being the case, the Well of Inspiration as Myth of
Sovereignty becomes the source of a moral code for the early Celts. 
Thus:  one should strive to be creative (therefore giving back to the
people) and filled with knowledge, wisdom, and inspiration (as without
these, creativity is as empty as the salmon if they do not feed on the
hazel nuts), which, in turn, will heal the Land (through products of
man�s creation, such as the plough) and maintain the Life-force (as
depicted in the rise and set of the sun).