ABOUT THE ORAN MOR (GREAT SONG)
by contemplativeinquiry
In my last post, I presented my Amazon review of Jason Kirkey’s The Salmon in the Spring prefaced by his view of the Oran Mor (Great Song), itself somewhat indebted to earlier work by Frank MacKeown. This followed on from my recent reading of a post involving the Oran Mor by Alison Leigh Lily at Q&A: What is the Song of the World, which I picked up through a reblog on Joanna van der Hoeven’s Down the Forest Path, and reblogged myself on https://contemplativeinquiry.wordpress.com/2015/4/2/ . Kirkey essentially sees the Oran Mor as something like the Divine Ground, or the Tao of Chinese mystical philosophy, something that includes all beings whether they be mountains, salmon, humans, midges, wolfhounds, gods or sidhe.
Soon after I read the book I discussed my take on the Oran Mor in a local radio interview, which can now be found in the OBOD website on http://www.druidry.org/druid-way/other-paths/druidry-dharma/. Those interested can scroll down to AUDIO Druidry & Buddhism Stroud FM 141210.mp3. At that time I was more involved in Buddhism than I am now, but generally I still stand by the things I said.
Concerning the Oran Mor, I focused on implications for the personal spiritual path rather than wider issues of cosmology. I suggested that we are invited to do three things:
- Learn to hear the Song. This is another way of talking about re-enchantment, the beginning of the conscious journey in paths like Druidry.
- Find our unique note, or sound, and sing it. Whilst each note is meaningless, indeed impossible, without the Song, the Song is itself dependent on our individual contributions.
- Learn to hear the silence behind and within the Song. For without that the Song, in our perception can become just a noise, even if a beautiful one. To awakening to a full awareness and appreciation of the Song, we need the dimension of silence and stillness as well as sound.
I have noticed one strange thing. When interviewed for Stroud FM (and about half-way through the piece), I confidently attributed these last sentiments to Jason Kirkey. But I’ve looked through the book again and I can’t find them there. So it seems to have been my way of inwardly digesting his book and in a sense the emergence of my own note in relation to the Oran Mor itself as concept, image and inspiration. Still, a mystery, and quite startling when I listened to the interview and then went through the text again. My self-image is one of being careful with attributions and acknowledgements. Perhaps that’s why I felt such a strong energetic pull when the Oran Mor was brought to my attention again.
contemplativeinquiry 
I really love the Oran Mor, I read about it in Frank MacEowen’s book The Celtic Way of Seeing, which really made me fall in love with my Celtic sensibility. Living in Australia I tend to be just ‘overly sensitive’, but I find these writers speak to my soul. Then I read Jason Kirkey’s The Salmon in the Spring which beautifully elaborates on MacEowen’s rather nascent ideas. I find their take on the Celtic spirit wheel, based on the Settling of the Manor of Tara story, rather fascinating also. I use it in my ritual work. Thanks for your post, I think it’s timely for me to revisit the Oran Mor 🙂
Thank you for this. I like your reference to their Celtic Spirit Wheel and using it in ritual work. When I first engaged with these books, I didn’t go down that road because of a perceived clash with the ritual work I was doing. More recently I’ve been very minimalist about ritual and now I wonder about looking at it again. Your comment is a valuable prompt!
The 3 implications that you identify as part of the personal path are wonderfully to the core of what we need as individual spirutal beings.
Listening for the silence behind the Song resonates the loudest for me (or it is the one of which I have most need). And of course, this is why the “contemplation” of druidry strikes such a beautiful chord too: when you pare away the noise, the Song remains, like an echo of creation. The silence of the forest enables us to hear the real world.
Yes. I love your words “the Song remains, like an echo of creation. The silence of the forest enables us to hear the real world.”