I was sitting on the couch, staring out the window like a confused werewolf.

It was late.

I was wired.

My anxiety was high for no clear reason.

Work was fine.

Nothing dramatic had happened.

Yet my mind was racing, and my body felt like it had mainlined three double espressos.

I glanced out the window and saw it.

Big, bright, full moon.

My first thought was, “Great, now I’m one of those people. Next, I’ll be howling in the backyard.”

But I couldn’t shake it.

I started noticing a pattern.

A few times a month, when my anxiety spiked, sleep got weird.

My thoughts went sideways.

And more often than not, it lined up with… you guessed it… the moon.

Now, to be clear, I’m an analytical guy.

I’m not blaming every bad day on the moon like it’s some cosmic customer service department.

But ancient cultures paid a lot of attention to lunar cycles for a reason.

They tracked planting, harvesting, and even rituals based on what the moon was doing.

So I got curious.

What if, instead of pretending the moon doesn’t affect me at all, I experimented with working with it?

That led me to a simple practice I still use today:

Lunar intention‑setting for anxiety.

Here’s how it works.

The new moon is about beginnings.

Darkness and quiet.

A reset point.

During the new moon, I sit down with my journal and ask one question:

What anxiety pattern am I ready to work on this month?

Not all of them.

Just one.

I write it down, clearly and honestly.

Then I set a simple intention like:

“This month, I’m learning to soften my anxiety around social plans.”

“This month, I’m working with my fear of making mistakes at work.”

I keep it focused.

One theme.

One anxiety.

Then, as the moon waxes (grows), I take small actions that support that intention.

Maybe I practice a breathing exercise before social events.

Maybe I use grounding before a meeting.

The point is, I’m not “waiting to feel ready.”

I’m moving with the growing light.

When the full moon hits, I check in:

How did the month go?

Where did anxiety still grab me by the throat?

Where did I handle it better than usual?

I write it all down.

No judgment.

Just data.

Finally, as the moon wanes (shrinks), I focus on release.

I ask:

What old belief or story about this anxiety am I ready to let go of?

Then I write that story on a small piece of paper, read it out loud, and either tear it up or burn it safely in a fireproof container.

Simple, physical, symbolic.

And surprisingly powerful.

Is the moon “making” my anxiety worse or better?

I have no idea.

But giving my anxiety a monthly rhythm, a beginning, a middle, and an end, has been huge.

Instead of feeling like my anxiety is an endless, chaotic storm, I have a cycle.

A container.

A way to say, “Okay, this is what I’m working on this month.”

Ancient people used the moon to mark sacred time.

You and I can use it to mark intentional time, the time when we choose to engage with our anxiety instead of just enduring it.

Want More Practices Like This?

If this kind of inner exploration speaks to you — practical spirituality, ancient wisdom, and real tools for navigating anxiety — then you’ll probably love something I’ve been building quietly in the background.

It’s called The Mike Guarneri Letter.

It’s a monthly, old‑school PHYSICAL newsletter printed on high‑quality paper with a hole‑punched design.

Every issue explores ancient wisdom, forgotten practices, and modern science in a way that helps you move from the shadows into the full light of possibility.

Not quick‑fix nonsense.

Not recycled Instagram advice.

Real frameworks.

Timeless ideas.

Unconventional approaches that actually help you see yourself differently.

For a limited time, you can try it for free.

You just cover $9.95 for materials and processing.

You’ll also get five free gifts delivered immediately.

They’re yours to keep even if you don’t continue.

(As an accountant, I appreciate a good deal.)

After the trial, it’s $48/month.

If you want a guide to a new perspective — one rooted in ancient insight and practical tools — you can start your trial here:

The Mike Guarneri Letter

Disclaimer: The content of this post is not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you are suffering from severe anxiety or depression, please contact a licensed medical professional.

I was sitting at my kitchen table, staring at a single tarot card as if it had just insulted me.

I had pulled it on a whim after a rough week. My anxiety was in full force.

Tight chest. Racing thoughts. The usual.

I shuffled the deck, cut it, and one card slid out on its own.

It was The Moon.

If you know even a little tarot, you know The Moon is not the “everything is fine” card.

It’s about confusion, fear, doubt, and the things hiding just below the surface.

In other words, it was a perfect mirror for my anxious brain.

I’ll admit it, my first reaction was annoyance. I wanted something encouraging. Something that said, “Mike, it’s all good.”

Instead, The Moon looked back at me like, Yeah, we need to talk.

So I did something different.

Instead of Googling card meanings or trying to “decode” it, I asked one simple question:

What part of my anxiety are you asking me to look at today?

Then I picked up a pen.

Tarot (or oracle cards) can be an incredible reflection tool for anxiety.

Not because the cards predict the future, but because they give your mind a safe, structured way to pull up what’s already inside you.

With The Moon in front of me, I started writing.

What am I actually afraid of right now?

Where am I confused?

What story is my anxiety telling me that might not be true?

Within ten minutes, things that had felt like a vague storm cloud turned into clear sentences on paper.

Old fears about failure. Worries about letting people down. The pressure to “have it all together” all the time.

Nothing on that card told me anything I didn’t already know.

But it gave me permission to see it.

That’s the power of using tarot or oracle cards when you’re anxious.

You’re not handing your life over to a deck.

You’re using images and archetypes as prompts to have an honest conversation with yourself.

Here’s a simple way to try it:

• Pick one card — tarot or oracle, whatever you’re comfortable with. Look at the image.

• Notice what jumps out first. Then ask:

• What part of my anxiety does this card remind me of?

• What is this card asking me to face that I’ve been avoiding?

• What support or shift does this card suggest?

• Write your answers down. No censoring. No judging. Just honesty.

To be clear, this is not about fortune‑telling. This is about self‑awareness.

The card is a mirror. Your anxiety shows up in the reflection.

When you start doing this regularly, patterns appear.

You see the same fears repeat. You see where your anxiety exaggerates things. You see where your intuition has been whispering the truth while anxiety has been yelling over it.

Want More Practices Like This?

If this kind of inner exploration speaks to you — practical spirituality, ancient wisdom, and real tools for navigating anxiety — then you’ll probably love something I’ve been building quietly in the background.

It’s called The Mike Guarneri Letter.

It’s a monthly, old‑school PHYSICAL newsletter printed on high‑quality paper with a hole‑punched design.

Every issue explores ancient wisdom, forgotten practices, and modern science in a way that helps you move from the shadows into the full light of possibility.

Not quick‑fix nonsense.

Not recycled Instagram advice.

Real frameworks.

Timeless ideas.

Unconventional approaches that actually help you see yourself differently.

For a limited time, you can try it for free.

You just cover $9.95 for materials and processing.

You’ll also get five free gifts delivered immediately.

They’re yours to keep even if you don’t continue.

(As an accountant, I appreciate a good deal.)

After the trial, it’s $48/month.

If you want a guide to a new perspective — one rooted in ancient insight and practical tools — you can start your trial here:

The Mike Guarneri Letter

Disclaimer: The content of this post is not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you are suffering from severe anxiety or depression, please contact a licensed medical professional.

Have you ever had anxiety so loud that even your thoughts feel noisy?

One night, my mind felt like a radio locked between stations.

Static everywhere.

I tried reading.

I tried scrolling (terrible idea).

I even tried staring at the wall like a budget monk.

Nothing.

Then I remembered something from my research that I had mostly brushed off.

Sound.

Ancient traditions have used sound for centuries to shift mental states.

Chants.

Drums.

Bells.

Simple tones.

They understood something we often forget: your nervous system listens to rhythm.

So I decided to run a small experiment.

I grabbed a cheap singing bowl I had bought on a whim.

(At the time, it was basically desk decoration.)

I sat down, took a breath, and struck it.

The sound rang out, long and clear.

I followed it with my attention until it faded.

Then I hit it again.

Same thing.

Sound, follow, fade.

About three minutes in, I noticed something.

My chest wasn’t tight anymore.

My thoughts had slowed down.

Not perfectly quiet — but instead of fifty anxious thoughts at once, there were three or four.

Manageable.

I’m not saying the bowl “healed” my anxiety.

That would be nonsense.

But the combination of steady sound and focused attention gave my nervous system something simple to hold onto.

It pulled me out of the mental noise and into one clear line.

Sound has become one of my favorite anxiety interrupters.

You don’t need fancy tools.

Here are a few simple options:

• A steady drum track or soft rhythm on YouTube.

• A short mantra spoken out loud, on repeat.

• A chime, bell, or even a glass tapped gently with a spoon.

Pick one sound.

Stay with it.

Follow it like a thread.

Here’s a basic way to try this:

• Sit somewhere you won’t be interrupted for five minutes.

• Choose your sound: bell, bowl, simple mantra, or gentle drum.

• Close your eyes.

• Each time the sound happens, follow it with your attention until it fades.

• Come back to the sound when your mind wanders to anxious thoughts.

That’s it.

No drama, just repetition.

What’s really going on here?

Your brain loves patterns.

Anxiety is a pattern of threat.

Sound gives your brain a different pattern to lock onto.

A steady, predictable rhythm says, “Nothing is attacking us right now.”

Over time, your body believes it.

To be clear, this is supplemental.

It doesn’t replace your therapist, your medication, or any professional care.

But as part of your toolkit, sound can be a powerful ally.

Want More Practices Like This?

If this kind of inner exploration speaks to you — practical spirituality, ancient wisdom, and real tools for navigating anxiety — then you’ll probably love something I’ve been building quietly in the background.

It’s called The Mike Guarneri Letter.

It’s a monthly, old‑school PHYSICAL newsletter printed on high‑quality paper with a hole‑punched design.

Every issue explores ancient wisdom, forgotten practices, and modern science in a way that helps you move from the shadows into the full light of possibility.

Not quick‑fix nonsense.

Not recycled Instagram advice.

Real frameworks.

Timeless ideas.

Unconventional approaches that actually help you see yourself differently.

For a limited time, you can try it for free.

You just cover $9.95 for materials and processing.

You’ll also get five free gifts delivered immediately.

They’re yours to keep even if you don’t continue.

(As an accountant, I appreciate a good deal.)

After the trial, it’s $48/month.

If you want a guide to a new perspective — one rooted in ancient insight and practical tools — you can start your trial here:

The Mike Guarneri Letter

Disclaimer: The content of this post is not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you are suffering from severe anxiety or depression, please contact a licensed medical professional.

There I was, hunched over my desk, drawing what looked like a logo for a very confused alien company.

It was a simple shape.

A few lines and a couple of curves.

Nothing fancy.

But my hand was shaking while I drew it.

My anxiety had been loud that week.

Loud in that “something bad is coming” kind of way.

You know exactly what I mean.

I had tried breathing. I had journaled.

It helped, but my mind still felt like a buzzing beehive.

So I tried something I once would’ve rolled my eyes at.

Sigil magic

If you’ve never heard of it, sigil work is an old occult practice where you take a clear intention, turn it into a symbol, and then “charge” that symbol with your focus.

In plain English: you make a tiny piece of art that stands for something you want to feel or become.

I know — it sounds a little out there.

But stay with me.

Here’s what I did.

I started with a simple sentence:

“I am calm and steady in my body.”

Then I crossed out all the repeating letters.

I took the remaining ones and played with them.

Twisted them.

Overlapped them.

Turned them into lines and curves until they no longer looked like letters at all.

What I ended up with was this odd, personal symbol.

It didn’t mean anything to anyone else.

But to me, it meant “calm and steady.”

Then I did something very important.

I sat quietly, held the drawing in my hands, and imagined what “calm and steady” actually felt like in my body.

Heavy legs and soft shoulders.

Easy breath and clear head.

I held onto that feeling for a few minutes as I looked at the sigil.

For once, my mind focused on one thing instead of fifty.

Over the next week, every time my anxiety flared, I pulled out that little symbol.

I looked at it, took a few breaths, and remembered the feeling I had attached to it.

Slowly, my brain learned a new association:

“This shape = we’re safe now.”

To be clear, the symbol itself is not magic.

The “magic” is your nervous system learning a new link between a visual cue and a calm state.

You are training your brain with an image instead of just words.

That’s why sigils can be so powerful for anxiety.

Anxiety loves repeating scary images in your mind.

Sigil work lets you give your mind a new image on purpose.

If you want to try it, here’s a simple version:

• Write one short sentence about how you want to feel.

• Example: “I move through today with quiet confidence.”

• Cross out repeating letters. Keep what’s left.

• Turn those letters into a symbol.

• Play with them.

• Rotate them.

• Stack them.

• It doesn’t have to look “pretty.”

• It just has to feel like yours.

• Sit with the symbol for a few minutes.

• Breathe slowly. Imagine the state you want. Let your body feel it.

• Keep the sigil where you’ll see it when anxiety spikes — wallet, lock screen, journal, your Anxiety Box card, wherever.

Over time, the symbol may become a fast track to that calmer state.

A little anchor in the middle of the storm.

Want More Practices Like This?

If this kind of inner exploration speaks to you—practical spirituality, ancient wisdom, and real tools for navigating anxiety—then you’ll probably love something I’ve been quietly building in the background.

It’s called The Mike Guarneri Letter.

It’s a monthly, old‑school PHYSICAL newsletter printed on high‑quality paper with a hole‑punched design.

Every issue explores ancient wisdom, forgotten practices, and modern science in ways that help you move from the shadows into the full light of possibility.

Not quick‑fix nonsense.

Not recycled Instagram advice.

Real frameworks.

Timeless ideas.

Unconventional approaches that actually help you see yourself differently.

For a limited time, you can try it for free.

You just cover $9.95 for materials and processing.

You’ll also get five free gifts delivered immediately.

They’re yours to keep even if you don’t continue.

(As an accountant, I appreciate a good deal.)

After the trial, it’s $48/month.

If you want a guide to a new perspective — one rooted in ancient insight and practical tools — you can start your trial here:

The Mike Guarneri Letter

Disclaimer: The content of this post is not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you are suffering from severe anxiety or depression, please contact a licensed medical professional.

I remember sitting across from my therapist when she asked me a question that caught me off guard.

“What happens to your body when anxiety hits?”

I told her everything.

Heart racing.

Shallow breathing.

Tight chest.

Sweating.

The whole package.

She nodded and said something I’ll never forget.

“Your body knows how to fix this. You just have to teach it how.”

That line changed everything for me.

It’s what led me to pranayama, an age‑old yogic breathing practice that’s been passed down for generations.

And I’m telling you, it works.

Anxiety hijacks your nervous system.

Your body goes straight into fight‑or‑flight, and once it’s there, your mind follows.

You can’t think your way out of it.

You have to breathe your way out of it.

Pranayama isn’t just deep breathing.

It’s intentional breathing.

It uses your breath to calm your nervous system and bring your body back online.

The Technique That Changed Everything

The simplest pranayama technique is called Nadi Shodhana, or alternate nostril breathing.

It sounds strange, I know.

But the science is solid.

Breathing through one nostril at a time activates different parts of your nervous system. You’re literally retraining how your body responds to stress.1

Here’s how to do it:

• Sit comfortably.

• Close your right nostril with your thumb.

• Breathe in slowly through your left nostril for a count of four.

• Close your left nostril with your finger.

• Breathe out through your right nostril for a count of four.

• Then breathe in through your right nostril.

• Close it.

• Breathe out through the left.

That’s one round.

Do ten rounds.

The first time I tried this, I felt the difference immediately.

My heart rate dropped, and my mind cleared.

I went from panicked to present in about two minutes.

I started doing this every morning.

Then I used it when anxiety crept in during the day.

Within a week, my body began to recognize the pattern.

When I started this breathing practice, my nervous system already knew what was coming.

It began to relax before I even finished the first round.

To be clear, this isn’t magic.

It’s physiology.

Your nervous system has two modes: sympathetic (fight‑or‑flight) and parasympathetic (rest‑and‑digest).

Pranayama activates your parasympathetic system.

It tells your body: You’re safe. You can relax.

Once your body believes that, your mind follows.

Why This Matters for High‑Functioning, Analytical Seekers

If you’re someone who thinks deeply, questions everything, and still wrestles with anxiety that hits out of nowhere, this practice gives you something rare.

A way to regulate your body without abandoning your intelligence or your skepticism.

It’s practical spirituality.

Ancient wisdom meeting modern physiology.

A tool you can use anywhere.

And it works.

Want More Practices Like This?

If this kind of work speaks to you—practical spirituality, ancient wisdom, and real tools for navigating anxiety—then you’ll probably love something I’ve been building quietly in the background.

It’s called The Mike Guarneri Letter.

It’s a monthly, old‑school PHYSICAL newsletter printed on high‑quality paper with a hole‑punched design.

Every issue explores ancient wisdom, forgotten practices, and modern science in ways that help you move from the shadows into the full light of possibility.

Not quick‑fix nonsense.

Not recycled Instagram advice.

Real frameworks.

Timeless ideas.

Unconventional approaches that actually help you see yourself differently.

For a limited time, you can try it for free.

You just cover $9.95 for materials and processing.

You’ll also get five free gifts delivered immediately.

They’re yours to keep even if you don’t continue.

(As an accountant, I appreciate a good deal.)

After the trial, it’s $48/month.

If you want a guide to a new perspective—one rooted in ancient insight and practical tools—you can start your trial here:

The Mike Guarneri Letter

Disclaimer: The content of this post is not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you are suffering from severe anxiety or depression, please contact a licensed medical professional.

1 Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) is a pranayama technique from Hatha Yoga. Research shows it activates the parasympathetic nervous system and reduces anxiety. See: Labhasetwar, P., et al. (2013). “Effect of Nadi Shodhana Pranayama on anxiety and blood pressure in patients with anxiety disorder.”Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 57(2), 115-121.

2 The vagus nerve, which controls parasympathetic activation, responds to specific breathing patterns. See: Porges, S. W. (2011).The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation. W.W. Norton & Company.

I was sitting in my car in the parking lot, hands shaking on the steering wheel.

It was a Tuesday morning.

I had to go into the office.

Simple enough, right?

Except my anxiety had other plans.

It was screaming at me.

Don’t go in.

Something bad will happen.

You can’t handle this.

I sat there for ten minutes, just listening to that voice.

Then something shifted.

I stopped fighting it and started asking it questions instead.

What are you protecting me from?

What do you think will happen?

What are you really afraid of?

The answers surprised me.

My anxiety wasn’t trying to destroy me.

It was trying to protect me.

It just didn’t know how anymore.

It was stuck in old patterns, old fears, old stories that weren’t even true.

That moment cracked something open for me.

It’s what led me into shadow work—a practice that sounds intense (and honestly, it is), but it changed how I relate to my anxiety completely.

What Shadow Work Really Is

Shadow work is simple in concept but powerful in practice.

It’s the idea that we all have parts of ourselves we don’t want to look at.

Fear. Shame. Anger. Weakness.

We push these things down, ignore them, pretend they don’t exist.

But they don’t disappear. They just hide in the shadows, and from there, they run our lives.

Anxiety loves the shadows. It thrives there.

Shadow work brings those hidden parts into the light.

Not to judge them or fix them, but to understand them.

To listen to what they’re trying to tell you.

And if you’re someone who’s analytical, high‑functioning, and spiritually curious—but still dealing with anxiety that hits out of nowhere—this practice lands differently.

It gives you a way to explore your inner world without abandoning your intelligence or your skepticism.

How to Start Shadow Work (The Simple Version)

Here’s a straightforward way to begin:

• Find a quiet space.

• Grab a journal.

• Ask yourself one question: What does my anxiety want me to know?

Then write.

Don’t think.

Don’t edit.

Just let it flow.

Write what your anxiety is saying, what it’s afraid of, what it needs from you.

You might be surprised.

Your anxiety might tell you it needs rest.

Or boundaries.

Or permission to be human.

Or it might reveal something you’ve been avoiding for years.

The magic isn’t in the answer.

The magic is in the asking.

The moment you stop running from your anxiety and start listening to it, everything changes.

What Happened When I Tried This

I did this exercise for weeks.

Every time anxiety showed up, I’d journal about it.

I’d ask it questions.

I’d listen.

And slowly, my relationship with my anxiety began to transform.

It stopped being my enemy and became something I could actually work with.

To be clear, this isn’t therapy.

But it’s therapeutic.

It’s a way of looking inward and getting curious about what’s really going on beneath the surface.

If you’ve read Anxiety Alchemy, you know that transformation happens when you engage with your anxiety, not when you run from it.

Shadow work is one of the most powerful ways to do that engagement.

Want to Go Deeper Into This Kind of Work?

If this kind of inner exploration speaks to you—practical spirituality, ancient wisdom, and real tools for navigating anxiety—then you’ll probably love something I’ve been building quietly in the background.

It’s called The Mike Guarneri Letter.

It’s a monthly, old‑school PHYSICAL newsletter printed on high‑quality paper with a hole‑punched design.

Every issue explores ancient wisdom, forgotten practices, and modern science in a way that helps you move from the shadows into the full light of possibility.

Not quick‑fix nonsense.

Not recycled Instagram advice.

Real frameworks.

Timeless ideas.

Unconventional approaches that actually help you see yourself differently.

For a limited time, you can try it for free.

You just cover $9.95 for materials and processing.

You’ll also get five free gifts delivered immediately.

They’re yours to keep even if you don’t continue. (As an accountant, I appreciate a good deal.)

After the trial, it’s $48/month.

If you want a guide to a new perspective—one rooted in ancient insight and practical tools—you can start your trial here:

The Mike Guarneri Letter

Disclaimer: The content of this post is not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you are suffering from severe anxiety or depression, please contact a licensed medical professional.

There I was, at 2 AM, staring at the ceiling again.

My heart was racing.

My mind would not stop.

I had been lying there for hours, and sleep felt impossible.

Sound familiar?

I remember thinking that night: There has to be another way.

I tried the standard stuff.

Medications.

Therapy.

Both helped, but neither got me where I really wanted to be.

I was still stuck in this loop of anxiety that kept coming back, no matter what I did.

So I started looking deeper.

Way deeper.

I discovered that ancient cultures had figured something out that we have mostly forgotten.

They understood anxiety differently than we do today.

They had practices, real, practical techniques, that worked with your mind and body in ways modern medicine sometimes misses.

And if you are the kind of person who wants something practical (not just a nice idea), this matters.

One of those practices changed everything for me.

It is called grounding, and it has been used for a very long time across different cultures.

It is not just about putting your feet on the earth. (Though that helps.)

It is about reconnecting with something stable when your anxiety is pulling you in a hundred directions.

What grounding does

When anxiety hits, your nervous system goes into overdrive.

Your mind spins.

Your body tenses up.

You can feel disconnected from reality, like you are floating in panic.

Grounding brings you back and anchors you.

The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding practice

The practice is simple.

Find five things you can see right now. Really look at them.

Then four things you can touch. Feel the texture.

Three things you can hear.

Two things you can smell.

One thing you can taste.

It is designed to pull your attention out of your anxious thoughts and into the present moment.

Into the place where you are actually safe.

I started doing this when anxiety crept in.

At first, I was skeptical. (I admit it, I am an analytical person.)

But after a few weeks of practicing, something shifted.

My anxiety did not disappear.

But my relationship with it began to change.

I was not drowning in it anymore.

I was observing it.

Managing it.

To be clear, this is not a cure-all.

But it is a tool.

And when you have the right tools, anxiety becomes something you can work with.

Not something that works against you.

A gentle next step

The insights that elevate your spirituality and free you from anxiety are not hidden in a sea of “quick-fix” ads.

They are rooted in ancient and occult wisdom, carried forward through modern practices that support personal insight and inner development.

That is what we explore each month in The Mike Guarneri Letter, my old-school physical newsletter on ancient wisdom, forgotten practices, and modern science.

Each issue is printed on high-quality paper and has a hole-punched design for convenience.

You can get a limited-time free trial. You just cover $9.95 for materials and processing.

When you start your trial, you also receive five free gifts immediately. They are yours to keep no matter what, even if you decide it is not for you. (I was once an accountant, so I know a good deal when I see one.)

After the trial, it is $48 per month to continue receiving it. If you want to try it, start here:

The Mike Guarneri Letter

Disclaimer: The content of this post is not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you are suffering from severe anxiety or depression, please contact a licensed medical professional.

Did you ever think that you knew everything about everything?

When I was a teenager, I sure did. What teenager doesn’t think they are always right? Ahh, the traits of adolescence.

My problem was that my innate skills of analysis and logic were pretty advanced for an obnoxious teenager like I was. So even if I were completely wrong, I would expertly manipulate the illogical to seem logical and correct. If I didn’t win the argument, I would at least so confuse the other person that our discussion would end in a draw, regardless that I was wrong.

These abilities greatly added to my ego and led me to the conclusion that I was indeed the great wise adolescent. It was improbable that I could ever be wrong.

I was the wise superhero known as “Ana-logical Man!”

No other superhero could match me!

Batman. No problem. I could easily defeat him, wielding my powers of analysis and logic. He would be running home crying to Wayne Manor.

Obviously, now I know better than teenage Mike. In all fairness, teenage Mike was very analytical and logical. However, he had not yet refined or learned to control those skills.

A question to ponder, can a teenager be wise?

I think it depends on the definition of wisdom that you are using.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Celtic Triads. I encourage you to check out that newsletter if you have not yet done so.

“Each Triad generally consists of a subject and then three attributes of the subject. Although a few of the Celtic Triads I skimmed through seemed a bit antiquated, I suspect much wisdom is contained within the hundreds that are known. Perhaps, some Triads may prove helpful with mental health issues. Stay tuned.

In addition to wisdom, the Celtic Triads may provide an opportunity for deep self-reflection.”1

For example, I provided the following Triad and an analysis of how it applies to me.

There are three foundations of wisdom: discretion in learning, memory in retaining, and eloquence in telling.

I think the only foundation that Ana-logical Man had was a memory in retaining. Especially of late, I have been working diligently to improve my discretion in learning and eloquence in telling—a true work in process.

The other day I was flipping through the first few lessons of the Bardic course of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD). One of the first Celtic Triads they presented is an excellent follow-up to the Triad from a few weeks ago.

Three followers of wisdom: imagination, purpose and endeavor.

OBOD’s brief analysis of this Triad is as follows:

"As wisdom grows in your heart, so too do your powers of imagination, your sense of purpose and mission in the world, and your ability to work hard to achieve your goals."2

I certainly believe that wisdom is growing in my heart, so let’s dive into the followers of wisdom.

Powers of Imagination:

Over the last year or so, I have been learning about many things, such as ancients, Druids, Celts, Pagans, ogham, philosophy, history, religion, productivity, etc. The things that I learned and analyzed have definitely increased my imagination. And that imagination has manifested itself in the form of this newsletter and my YouTube channel and Podcast.

But most of all, my imagination convinced me to pursue my theory of ancient Druid, Celtic, and Pagan ways and practices providing some natural relief to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

Sense of Purpose and Mission in the World:

Clearly, my growing wisdom has shown me that my purpose and mission in this world is to research and find the previously mentioned old ways and practices that may be useful for mental health treatment.

Due to this sense of purpose, I quit my full-time job and dedicated myself to learning, researching, and sharing with you via this newsletter and my YouTube/Podcast.

Endeavor:

Well, I am indeed working hard to achieve my goals. My endeavor is this journey to past ways and practices for the benefit of mental health.

My Conclusion:

As I continue to improve my foundations of wisdom, I am indeed experiencing the three followers of wisdom!

Maybe the writers of these old Celtic Triads really knew what was going on… I know that I said in my first newsletter about Celtic Triads that some seem outdated, but maybe I was wrong. I just skimmed them without doing any deep dive.

These first two Triads I have written about have withstood the test of time.

I encourage you to do some self-exploration with the Celtic Triads.

That is all I have to say today, except for “Long live Ana-logical Man!”

I have a favor to ask!

Many people read my newsletter, but very few click the like button.

So I humbly request that if you like a particular newsletter issue, please click the like button (the little heart).

More likes translate to more exposure for this newsletter and my research.

Don’t Forget About My Upcoming Interview…

Paraic Donoghue - January 2023 - (Interview Temporarily Postponed From December)

Paraic is a native Irish language speaker. He was raised on the Connemara Gaeltacht in County Galway, Ireland. Paraic is committed to the preservation and growth of the Irish language, along with the culture that is inextricably linked to it. He currently provides private Irish language lessons to students all over the world.

We will be discussing what it was like growing up and living on the Gaeltacht, his views on the Irish language and its importance, and the customs and traditions of his Gaeltacht that may have derived from the time of the Celts or earlier.

The interview will be published on my YouTube channel and Podcast approximately one-week post-interview.

Have a great weekend!

My name is Mike, and I am a skeptic and recovering accountant just starting to make my way through the world of the Druids, Celts, and Pagans.

Join me on my journey as I use an analytic eye to extract what I believe to be golden nuggets of truth from these fascinating topics. My goal is to find valuable ways, practices, and insights to make your life better today.

If my content speaks to you, please subscribe to my newsletter! Also, feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think. I am here to serve what I hope will be a great community of curious and like-minded individuals.

“May the Road Rise to Meet You!”

With a skeptical mind and an analytical eye,

Mike Guarneri

(the former Ana-logical Man who is now trying to earn his Beard of Wisdom!)

My Links:

Podcast Platforms:

P.S. - I publish a new newsletter every Friday. Please be sure to subscribe. My past newsletters can also be found at mikeguarneri.com.

P.P.S. - Any links above to products on Amazon.com are affiliate links. Making a purchase via an affiliate link will cost you nothing additional, but Amazon will give me a small commission.

P.P.P.S. - If you enjoyed reading this piece, I’d like to ask a favor of you. For an extended limited time, I will be conducting 1-on-1 Zoom calls with select members of my SubStack subscribers.

Think of this call as a Discovery Call. The goal is to discover your vision, goals, and challenges as they may relate to the Celtic way of life, druidism, and pagan practices. This call will be beneficial to both of us.

My goal with these calls is to discover a common thread so that I can best add value and serve you. It will help me focus my content and research to ensure I cater to your true vision and goals.

These 1-on-1 calls are free, of course. And everything you share on the call will be private between you and me.

If you’re interested or want to introduce yourself and say hi, I’d love to hear from you.

You can reach me directly via e-mail at mike@guarneriny.com.

1

Guarneri, Mike. “The Secrets Of The Celtic Triads.” Accessed January 13, 2023.

Mike Guarneri

The Secrets Of The Celtic Triads

To begin this week’s newsletter, I will start with a reading from the Book of Armaments, Chapter 4, Verses 16-20: “Then did he raise on high the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, saying, “Bless this, O Lord, that with it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy.” And the people did rejoice and did feast upon the lambs and toads and tree-sloth…

Read more

3 years ago · 4 likes · Mike Guarneri

So, it’s Friday. The first business week of the new year draws to a close. I hope everybody had a great start to the year!

Unfortunately, I have had a rough start to the new year.

The top-level summary is that I am suffering from spinal stenosis. Unfortunately, it has had a very negative effect on my life.

Also, we had a pipe leaking into our basement ceiling. It is now fixed, but we need to replace some sheetrock in the basement ceiling. And we have to spackle and repaint one of the bathrooms.

Anyway, that is my sob story start of the new year! It can only get better from here. Right?

Ok, let’s get to it! Today I want to discuss the Lost Island and the Lost City of Atlantis.

Is Atlantis real? If so, did it ever exist? Is it somewhere at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, or is it completely gone?

Who were the Atlanteans? Were they space aliens, as some conspiracy theories suggest?

Were they Druids?

In one of my early newsletters, I wrote about a claim by author Barry Cunliffe from his book, “Druids: A Very Short Introduction.” Cunliffe claims that the Druids existed long before the Celtic tribes arrived on the scene. This is something I believe to be true. Some refer to these pre-Celtic Druids as Proto Druids.

So, if we believe that the Druids existed before Celtic times, where did they come from?

Now we get to the fun part. Numerous theories claim that the Druids were inhabitants of the Lost Island and City of Atlantis. Over time, these theories have been considered anywhere from the ravings of lunatics to real possibilities.

I will share two derivations of a particular story:

• The oceans rose when the ice sheets of the last ice age began melting. The rising water ended up flooding and wiping out many areas, including Atlantis. Druids were among the inhabitants of Atlantis. However, the Druids knew what was going on and left Atlantis. They sailed east to Ireland and West to North America.

• In Atlantis, there were Druids and an evil version of the Druids. The evil Druids practiced black magic, infuriating mother nature and causing her to flood Atlantis completely. Like the first story, the Druids knew what was happening and sailed east and west before the island was flooded.

They are entertaining tales but not much more.

However, Keystone University in Ireland has put forth a fascinating theory.

The university admits that its theory contains circumstantial evidence which needs to be proven. Also, science will have to progress further in order to do so.

Keystone University posits that the island of Ireland itself, is the Lost Island of Atlantis and that Cerne in Mauritania, Africa is the Lost City of Atlantis.

The following is from Keystone University’s “Atlantis Ireland” presentation.

Greek Mythology:

According to Greek mythology, Atlas was the first king of the Island of Atlantis and the first king of Mauritania. The Atlas Mountains in Africa were named for him and the Atlantic Ocean.

Aristotle:

Beyond the Pillars of Heracles (Straits of Gibraltar) are two island. Albion and Ierne. Both are beyond the Celtae.

Albion is Britain. The white island (cliffs of dover are white).

Ierne is Ireland. The sacred island.

Celtae is France.

Plato:

The Greek philosopher Plato wrote a bit about Atlantis. Exactly where he obtained his information is not known.

Atlantis was an island in the Atlantic Ocean with a central plain surrounded by mountains.

Ireland meets this description by Plato. Keystone researched the 50 largest islands in the world, and Ireland is the only one that meets the description.

Atlantis has many hot and cold springs.

Ireland has twenty-seven know warm springs and thousands of cold springs (holy wells).

Atlantis was oblong and 3,000 stadia in one direction and 2,000 in the other direction.

A stadia is a unit of measurement. Ireland matches these dimension to within one percent!

In the center of the island there is a plain surrounded by mountains. It is said to be the fairest of all plains and very fertile.

Ireland meets this description.

Atlantis could produce two crops per year.

Due to the temperate climate from the gulf stream, Ireland in fact does produce two crops per year.

At the capital of the Island of Atlantis, there is a circular temple to Posiedon with a strange barbaric appearance measuring half a stadia wide.

This would probably be Newgrange. It meets the description and measurements. Some consider Newgrange to be the oldest temple in the world.

The temple is located fifty stadia from the sea.

The Boyne Valley, where Newgrange is located, is fifty stadia from the sea.

Atlantis was the way to other islands, and from those islands you might pass through the whole of the opposite continent.

Keystone believe that what Plato is describing is sailing from Ireland to Iceland to Greenland, and finally to North America. This would probably have been the best way at the time.

Atlantis Ireland was virtually destroyed by a great disaster causing a great flood (tsunami). Only a few survived.

Keystone believes this disaster was caused by a fragment of a comet hitting at the location of the Puerto Rico Trench, causing a great tsunami that washed over Ireland. Note Plato’s use of the word “disaster.” In Greek it means bad or evil star. Perhaps a comet could be considered a bad or evil star.

Given the above, I think Keystone University gives us a theory worth considering. And if they are correct, it is not a difficult leap to believe that Druids of times long prior to the Celts were inhabitants of Atlantis (Ireland).

What do you think?

Note that Plato presents similar information regarding Atlantis City, which Keystone believes to be the city of Cerne in Africa. That is beyond my scope at the moment, so I will not be writing about it.

Update:

Now that we are into the new year, I am making plans regarding my research and content production.

Here are some of my thought and plans so far:

• This weekly newsletter will continue.

• Perhaps at some point, I will create an offshoot of this newsletter with additional content like behind the scenes, my ramblings, seeing how I do my research and experiments, etc. The content will likely be provided using some combination of a newsletter, YouTube, and my Podcast.

• YouTube channel and Podcast - I plan to release new content at least twice per month. Content will be interviews, my thoughts about my research and experiments, and other fun and interesting stuff. Who knows, maybe even bardic musical performances by yours truly. If you like my newsletter content, please head over to my YouTube channel and subscribe!

• I am thinking of starting a Book Club on Zoom. I would pick a newbie-accessible book in my subject area to read. We would meet on Zoom maybe every couple of weeks, and I would moderate the discussion. Please e-mail me if you are interested in the book club idea at mike@guarneriny.com.

• My first top-secret conclusions regarding how the old ways and practices may naturally provide some relief to mental health issues are progressing. I am still experimenting and have a bit more to figure out. I will stay at it!

• In a matter of months, I hope to truly blow your mind with my first researched and tested formula to successfully apply old ways and practices to help with anxiety and depression.

• As I continue to research, learn, and critically analyze, more and more material is being generated for an eventual book. If you had asked me six months ago if I would ever write a book, I would have said no way! But here I am researching and writing as if I am a “real” author…

That’s about it for now!

I have a favor to ask!

Many people read my newsletter, but very few click the like button.

So I humbly request that if you like a particular newsletter issue, please click the like button (the little heart).

More likes translate to more exposure for this newsletter and my research.

Don’t Forget About My Upcoming Interview…

Paraic Donoghue - January 2023 - (Interview Temporarily Postponed From December)

Paraic is a native Irish language speaker. He was raised on the Connemara Gaeltacht in County Galway, Ireland. Paraic is committed to the preservation and growth of the Irish language, along with the culture that is inextricably linked to it. He currently provides private Irish language lessons to students all over the world.

We will be discussing what it was like growing up and living on the Gaeltacht, his views on the Irish language and its importance, and the customs and traditions of his Gaeltacht that may have derived from the time of the Celts or earlier.

The interview will be published on my YouTube channel and Podcast approximately one-week post-interview.

Have a great weekend!

My name is Mike, and I am a skeptic and recovering accountant just starting to make my way through the world of the Druids, Celts, and Pagans.

Join me on my journey as I use an analytic eye to extract what I believe to be golden nuggets of truth from these fascinating topics. My goal is to find valuable ways, practices, and insights to make your life better today.

If my content speaks to you, please subscribe to my newsletter! Also, feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think. I am here to serve what I hope will be a great community of curious and like-minded individuals.

“May the Road Rise to Meet You!”

With a skeptical mind and an analytical eye,

Mike Guarneri

My Links:

Podcast Platforms:

P.S. - I publish a new newsletter every Friday. Please be sure to subscribe. My past newsletters can also be found at mikeguarneri.com.

P.P.S. - Any links above to products on Amazon.com are affiliate links. Making a purchase via an affiliate link will cost you nothing additional, but Amazon will give me a small commission.

P.P.P.S. - If you enjoyed reading this piece, I’d like to ask a favor of you. For an extended limited time, I will be conducting 1-on-1 Zoom calls with select members of my SubStack subscribers.

Think of this call as a Discovery Call. The goal is to discover your vision, goals, and challenges as they may relate to the Celtic way of life, druidism, and pagan practices. This call will be beneficial to both of us.

My goal with these calls is to discover a common thread so that I can best add value and serve you. It will help me focus my content and research to ensure I cater to your true vision and goals.

These 1-on-1 calls are free, of course. And everything you share on the call will be private between you and me.

If you’re interested or want to introduce yourself and say hi, I’d love to hear from you.

You can reach me directly via e-mail at mike@guarneriny.com.

Well, here we are again at the end of another year! I hope it has been a great one for you!

What does the New Year really mean anyway? Nothing actually happens when the clock turns to a new year. I believe most thoughts we have around starting a new year relate to ourselves and our perception of the world around us.

Some thoughts that pop into my mind for me:

• A figurative chance to start afresh.

• An excuse to make lifestyle changes (i.e., losing weight, spending more time with the family, etc.)

• Another year wiser.

• Another year closer to retirement.

• Another year of college bills.

• A great time to review the prior twelve months and set goals and plans for the next twelve (I will be doing my annual review and planning over the next few days.)

• Another year older!

Speaking of another year older, I just mentioned to my wife last night that it is a good thing that I don’t age an additional year every time I celebrate a new year. Otherwise, it would get really old super fast!

You see, I currently celebrate four new years during each twelve-month period!

First, in the upper left, we have the “Regular” new year celebrated on January 1st as per the Gregorian calendar. (Photo by cottonbro).

The photo on the top right represents the “Chinese” new year. I celebrate this new year out of respect for my wife and children. My wife is from Taiwan, and my children are, accordingly, half Taiwanese. Chinese New Year is celebrated for about two weeks starting sometime in January or February. In 2023, it begins on January 22nd. The upcoming new year will be the year of the rabbit. (Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash).

The bottom left photo represents the Jewish New Year which is called Rosh Hashana. As my mother’s family is Jewish, this is a holiday I also “celebrate” out of respect for my family. These days, celebrating is mainly limited to a giant e-mail chain of mutual well-wishing with extended cousins and other family members. Rosh Hashana is celebrated in September or October and lasts for two days. In 2023, it will begin at sundown on September 15th. (Photo by Joey Dean on Unsplash).

And finally, the bottom right is the most recent addition to my celebratory list, Samhain. This is the Celtic / Pagan new year. I have discussed Samhain in more detail in previous newsletters. It is typically celebrated each year on the night of October 31st through the next day. (Photo by tengyart on Unsplash).

So, as I said, it is a good thing I don’t age a year for every new year’s celebration!

Philip Carr-Gomm Interview

If you have not done so already, please check out my interview with Philip. He is really a great interviewee!

If you enjoy watching this interview, please click on the YouTube link. This will take you to YouTube, where you can like this video and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Also, note that this interview can be listened to on all major podcast platforms. See the below links.

Don’t Forget About My Upcoming Interview…

Paraic Donoghue - January 2023 - (Interview Temporarily Postponed From December)

Paraic is a native Irish language speaker. He was raised on the Connemara Gaeltacht in County Galway, Ireland. Paraic is committed to the preservation and growth of the Irish language, along with the culture that is inextricably linked to it. He currently provides private Irish language lessons to students all over the world.

We will be discussing what it was like growing up and living on the Gaeltacht, his views on the Irish language and its importance, and the customs and traditions of his Gaeltacht that may have derived from the time of the Celts or earlier.

The interview will be published on my YouTube channel and Podcast approximately one-week post-interview.

Have a great weekend, and Have a Happy and Healthy New Year!

My name is Mike, and I am a skeptic and recovering accountant just starting to make my way through the world of the Druids, Celts, and Pagans.

Join me on my journey as I use an analytic eye to extract what I believe to be golden nuggets of truth from these fascinating topics. My goal is to find valuable ways, practices, and insights to make your life better today.

If my content speaks to you, please subscribe to my newsletter! Also, feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think. I am here to serve what I hope will be a great community of curious and like-minded individuals.

“May the Road Rise to Meet You!”

With a skeptical mind and an analytical eye,

Mike Guarneri

My Links:

Podcast Platforms:

P.S. - I publish a new newsletter every Friday. Please be sure to subscribe. My past newsletters can also be found at mikeguarneri.com.

P.P.S. - Any links above to products on Amazon.com are affiliate links. Making a purchase via an affiliate link will cost you nothing additional, but Amazon will give me a small commission.

P.P.P.S. - If you enjoyed reading this piece, I’d like to ask a favor of you. For a limited time, I will be conducting 1-on-1 Zoom calls with select members of my SubStack subscribers.

Think of this call as a Discovery Call. The goal is to discover your vision, goals, and challenges as they may relate to the Celtic way of life, druidism, and pagan practices. This call will be beneficial to both of us.

My goal with these calls is to discover a common thread so that I can best add value and serve you. It will help me focus my content and research to ensure I cater to your true vision and goals.

These 1-on-1 calls are free, of course. And everything you share on the call will be private between you and me.

If you’re interested or want to introduce yourself and say hi, I’d love to hear from you.

You can reach me directly via e-mail at mike@guarneriny.com.

To begin this week’s newsletter, I will start with a reading from the Book of Armaments, Chapter 4, Verses 16-20:

“Then did he raise on high the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, saying, “Bless this, O Lord, that with it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy.” And the people did rejoice and did feast upon the lambs and toads and tree-sloths and fruit-bats and orangutans and breakfast cereals …

Now did the Lord say, “First thou pullest the Holy Pin. Then thou must count to three. Three shall be the number of the counting and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither shalt thou count two, excepting that thou then proceedeth to three. Five is right out.

Once the number three, being the number of the counting, be reached, then lobbest thou the Holy Hand Grenade in the direction of thine foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.””1

Amen!

What can I say about the number three? Well, too much to write about in this newsletter. Throughout history, the number three has had great significance to many cultures, religions, spiritualities, esoteric systems, etc.

Just for fun, I did a quick three-minute (pun intended) brainstorm of three in my life or whatever popped into my mind. Here we go:

• Morning, afternoon, and evening.

• Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

• Three kids.

• Past, present, and future.

• Three Amigos.

• Three Musketeers.

• Three Mile Island.

• Three-day weekends.

• The Three Bears.

• The Three Little Pigs.

• Birth, life, and death.

• Three points on a triangle.

• Three aunts and three uncles.

• My kids currently attend three schools.

• Three months in a quarter.

Anyway, you get the idea. I suspect there are probably more things in our lives related to the number three than we realize.

What are the threes in your life?

I previously mentioned the number three as it relates to religion. Here are a few that popped into my head regarding Christianity:

• The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

• The Three Wise Men.

• Jesus was resurrected on the third day.

The number three also plays a part in Celtic culture.

• The Three Realms.

• An Trì Naomh (Gods, un-Gods, and Ancestors)

• In Irish mythology, many times, events happen in threes.

• The Irish Triquetra and Triskele.

• And so on.

While studying the Bardic Level course materials from the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD), I learned about the “Celtic Triads.”

The Celtic Triads are mainly derived from Welsh and Irish traditions. They were likely passed down verbally until they were eventually committed to writing spread across multiple texts. Over the years, these Triads have been collected from their various sources and translated.

Each Triad generally consists of a subject and then three attributes of the subject. Although a few of the Celtic Triads I skimmed through seemed a bit antiquated, I suspect much wisdom is contained within the hundreds that are known. Perhaps, some Triads may prove helpful with mental health issues. Stay tuned.

In addition to wisdom, the Celtic Triads may provide an opportunity for deep self-reflection.

Here is an example of one of the Celtic Triads:

There are three foundations of wisdom: discretion in learning, memory in retaining, and eloquence in telling.

This Triad is especially important to me as I try to become a wise sage. I already have the beard; now I just need the wisdom!

After thinking about this Triad, I have determined that I still have a lot of work to do, but I am heading in the correct direction toward my quest for wisdom. Right or wrong, I feel I need wisdom in my research to determine if the old ways and practices can naturally provide some relief to mental health issues.

Let’s take a look at my shortcomings and bright spots in my search for wisdom:

Discretion in Learning:

This is a huge weakness for me! I love learning all sorts of information. I have more books than I can read in my remaining years. And that is not counting other sources of learning such as online classes, videos, etc.

I am on the right track in trying to institute discretion in learning. I have been putting aside books that catch my interest but probably have no practical use in my research. This is very difficult for me. My mind says it is the right thing to do, but my anxiety says, “what if somehow there is some earth-shattering nugget that I can apply to my research or that will change my life?”

Even within the sphere of Ancients, Druids, Celts, and Pagans, I have a hard time putting aside some books that have a very low chance of impacting my research.

I must work to be selective with my learning and accept that I cannot learn everything I wish.

Memory in Retaining:

I have always had an excellent memory. However, as I age and my brain becomes overloaded, I must be able to remember the important information that I have learned and be able to connect it together.

Back in the days of the oral tradition, it was probably literally retaining in their physical memory everything they learned. But fortunately for me, I think this Triad has stood the test of time.

I interpret this as not necessarily retaining information in my physical memory but retaining the learned knowledge in a system that is easily retrievable, connectable, and promotes my own thoughts and conclusions.

This comes down to the sophisticated note-taking system I am utilizing, which checks all the boxes. So, I am clearly on a good path with this foundation of wisdom. Hopefully, it will become a juggernaut as I build my knowledge.

Eloquence in Telling:

Back when knowledge was transmitted orally, there needed to be eloquence in telling. How could the elder pass down wisdom to the younger if there was not?

The wise person needs to effectively communicate their knowledge and understanding.

This is another foundation of the Wisdom Triad I have been practicing. I have been communicating knowledge and my thoughts and feelings to you weekly. I am not a writer by nature, but I try to be as eloquent as possible. I feel that my writing has improved over time since my first newsletter. I hope you agree! I will keep at it…

As I continue to build out my YouTube channel and Podcast, I hope to practice and improve my verbal eloquence in telling.

So, this was a beneficial exercise. I learned the three foundations of wisdom as per the Celtic Wisdom Triad. I analyzed the logic of it and its application to today’s world. And lastly, I applied it to myself as an exercise of self-reflection. As a result, I determined that I must continue to work through some deficiencies, but I am definitely on the right track to attaining wisdom and earning my beard.

Don’t Forget About My Upcoming Interview…

Paraic Donoghue - January 2023 - (Interview Temporarily Postponed)

Paraic is a native Irish language speaker. He was raised on the Connemara Gaeltacht in County Galway, Ireland. Paraic is committed to the preservation and growth of the Irish language, along with the culture that is inextricably linked to it. He currently provides private Irish language lessons to students all over the world.

We will be discussing what it was like growing up and living on the Gaeltacht, his views on the Irish language and its importance, and the customs and traditions of his Gaeltacht that may have derived from the time of the Celts or earlier.

The interview will be published on my YouTube channel and Podcast approximately one-week post-interview.

Have a great weekend and Happy Holidays!

My name is Mike, and I am a skeptic and recovering accountant just starting to make my way through the world of the Druids, Celts, and Pagans.

Join me on my journey as I use an analytic eye to extract what I believe to be golden nuggets of truth from these fascinating topics. My goal is to find valuable ways, practices, and insights to make your life better today.

If my content speaks to you, please subscribe to my newsletter! Also, feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think. I am here to serve what I hope will be a great community of curious and like-minded individuals.

“May the Road Rise to Meet You!”

With a skeptical mind and an analytical eye,

Mike Guarneri

My Links:

Podcast Platforms:

P.S. - I publish a new newsletter every Friday. Please be sure to subscribe. My past newsletters can also be found at mikeguarneri.com.

P.P.S. - Any links above to products on Amazon.com are affiliate links. Making a purchase via an affiliate link will cost you nothing additional, but Amazon will give me a small commission.

P.P.P.S. - If you enjoyed reading this piece, I’d like to ask a favor of you. For a limited time, I will be conducting 1-on-1 Zoom calls with select members of my SubStack subscribers.

Think of this call as a Discovery Call. The goal is to discover your vision, goals, and challenges as they may relate to the Celtic way of life, druidism, and pagan practices. This call will be beneficial to both of us.

My goal with these calls is to discover a common thread so that I can best add value and serve you. It will help me focus my content and research to ensure I cater to your true vision and goals.

These 1-on-1 calls are free, of course. And everything you share on the call will be private between you and me.

If you’re interested or want to introduce yourself and say hi, I’d love to hear from you.

You can reach me directly via email at mike@guarneriny.com.

My interview with Philip Carr-Gomm is live on YouTube and all major podcast platforms, as indicated below!

It was a great interview! If you enjoy it, please be sure to click the like and subscribe buttons!!!

**END TRANSMISSION**

“It all started with a big bang!” No, not the theory explaining how everything came to be. I am referring to the CBS television sitcom, the “Big Bang Theory.”

The show is long over but is still aired in syndication. It chronicles the humorous goings-on of four young scientists. Have you ever watched the show?

My whole family gets a kick out of the “Big Bang Theory” (“BBT going forward.”) I particularly like it because the science speak reminds me of my cousin, Leon Lederman.

Leon was a real scientist, an experimental physicist (like the character Leonard in the show.)

Among other things, Leon discovered the Muon Neutrino, the neutrino beam method, and the bottom quark. In 1988, he was named a Nobel Laurette for physics.

Other terms occasionally spoken on the “BBT” are the Higgs Boson Particle and its nickname, the “God Particle.” Leon coined the nickname the “God Particle” and has a layperson’s science book with that phrase in the title, “The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is The Question?”

So now that we have established why I like the “BBT” television show, let’s discuss the characters. By far, my family’s favorite character is Sheldon Cooper. He is a super genius, but that extra genius comes with a dose of eccentricity and inflexibility that frequently gets in his way.

We love Sheldon so much that we named our golden doodle Sheldon.

Sheldon the dog reminds us a lot of Sheldon Cooper. On the show, Sheldon is very possessive of his spot on the couch. He scientifically chose it based on various factors, such as airflow, proximity to heat and the television, etc. Well, Sheldon the dog is the same way; he has his spot on the living room couch bumper. He gets mad and “nudges” people when they sit in his spot. It is a well-selected spot. Large enough to stretch out, with a window to look out, sun shining in for sun naps, and a perfect place to see most of the first floor (including the front door and dining room.)

Sheldon the dog also has other quirks along the lines of Sheldon Cooper. For example, he won’t eat his dog food if he can see the bottom of his bowl, and his water bowl cannot be next to his food bowl.

So, I hope the above has entertained you. But I guess by now, you are wondering what this has to do with anything. I’m getting there…

In one of the holiday episodes, Leonard and Penny decorate a Christmas tree. Although Sheldon had no interest in helping, he asked to hang his Isaac Newton ornament. During this exchange, Sheldon points out to Leonard and Penny that they are decorating a Saturnalia tree, not a Christmas tree.

Sheldon goes on to explain that the decorated tree originated from the Roman Pagan mid-winter festival of Saturnalia.

As with many other things, the growing Church “borrowed” or “adopted” numerous pagan holidays, sacred sites, deities (as saints), etc. Mid-winter festivals surrounding the winter solstice are no exception.

As Mélusine Draco states in his book “Have a Cool Yule: How-to Survive (and Enjoy) the Mid-Winter Festival,”

“This, these academic sources tell us, Winter Solstice or Mid-Winter Festival as our ancestors would have called it, is the most magical and mystical time of the year and should be celebrated as such with all the pagan gusto we can summon. It is an ancient fire festival that heralds the shortest day of the year; an astronomical turning of the tide to annouce the rebirth of the sun and the promise of warmth returning to the land.”1

Many winter holiday traditions come from the Yule period, usually from December 25th to January 6th or December 24th to January 5th. I will not list them out here, as it is easy enough for you to Google. But I will provide one example. On December 19th, the Romans celebrated Sigillaria. This was a day to exchange presents.2 Does this sound familiar? The one thing that sets Sigillaria apart is that the gifts did not suggest a social status. Often given were pottery or wax figurines called sigillaria.3

However, I would like to tell you about the previously mentioned ancient Roman Festival of Saturnalia. What is known of it has been pieced together by people more intelligent than I.

Saturnalia was celebrated starting on December 17th and lasting some days that have not been definitively determined. Saturnalia consisted of role reversal. Slave servants became the aristocracy and vice versa. The regular everyday Romans became Senators and ran the government, and vice versa. Activities that were outlawed or frowned upon were allowed. There was much partying and drunkenness.4 It was Romans Gone Wild!

The craziest part of Saturnalia is that one person (I guess in an area) was chosen to be in complete charge of the Saturnalia lunacy. For their trouble, this person was sacrificed at the end of the festival. Crazy stuff!

Anyway, don’t forget that the Winter Solstice is next Wednesday, December 21st. Maybe give a moment’s thought to your ancestors, wherever they were and what possible Winter festival they may have celebrated.

I hope everyone has a great holiday, whichever one it may be that you celebrate!

Don’t Forget About My Upcoming Interview…

Paraic Donoghue - December 19th/20th

Paraic is a native Irish language speaker. He was raised on the Connemara Gaeltacht in County Galway, Ireland. Paraic is committed to the preservation and growth of the Irish language, along with the culture that is inextricably linked to it. He currently provides private Irish language lessons to students all over the world.

We will be discussing what it was like growing up and living on the Gaeltacht, his views on the Irish language and its importance, and the customs and traditions of his Gaeltacht that may have derived from the time of the Celts or earlier.

The interview will be published on my YouTube channel and Podcast approximately one-week post-interview.

Have a great weekend!

My name is Mike, and I am a skeptic and recovering accountant just starting to make my way through the world of the Druids, Celts, and Pagans.

Join me on my journey as I use an analytic eye to extract what I believe to be golden nuggets of truth from these fascinating topics. My goal is to find valuable ways, practices, and insights to make your life better today.

If my content speaks to you, please subscribe to my newsletter! Also, feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think. I am here to serve what I hope will be a great community of curious and like-minded individuals.

“May the Road Rise to Meet You!”

With a skeptical mind and an analytical eye,

Mike Guarneri

My Links:

Podcast Platforms:

P.S. - I publish a new newsletter every Friday. Please be sure to subscribe. My past newsletters can also be found at mikeguarneri.com.

P.P.S. - Any links above to products on Amazon.com are affiliate links. Making a purchase via an affiliate link will cost you nothing additional, but Amazon will give me a small commission.

P.P.P.S. - If you enjoyed reading this piece, I’d like to ask a favor of you. For a limited time, I will be conducting 1-on-1 Zoom calls with select members of my SubStack subscribers.

Think of this call as a Discovery Call. The goal is to discover your vision, goals, and challenges as they may relate to the Celtic way of life, druidism, and pagan practices. This call will be beneficial to both of us.

My goal with these calls is to discover a common thread so that I can best add value and serve you. It will help me focus my content and research to ensure I cater to your true vision and goals.

These 1-on-1 calls are free, of course. And everything you share on the call will be private between you and me.

If you’re interested or want to introduce yourself and say hi, I’d love to hear from you.

You can reach me directly via email at mike@guarneriny.com.

Do you know what’s in your subconscious? Is it your repressed memories, thoughts, and ideas related to yourself? Perhaps it contains a restrained potential for significant mind expansion?

I don’t know what is in my subconscious, but I suspect some pretty bizarre things. My therapist theorizes that my problem with getting restful sleep is due to anxiety created by my subconscious.

There are so many theories about what the subconscious is and does, including from Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. There may never be, at least in our lifetimes, a proper understanding of the subconscious mind.

Freud theorized that the subconscious is exclusive to each person and based on what that person believes and experiences.

I do not believe this is the case. As if I have any qualifications to say that. Can you envision the great debate, Mike vs Sigmund?!

For the longest time, not having done any research, I felt that it made some sort of sense that part of our subconscious is inherited. We inherit traits we can consciously see, like physical traits and mannerisms, diseases, etc. Why wouldn’t we inherit aspects of the subconscious as well?

In the early stages of my research, I was brainstorming why I felt most at peace and comfortable in Ireland. Don’t get me wrong, Ireland is a wonderful and beautiful place, but there had to be more. I have visited many other great places over the years, but none gave me the special feeling of Ireland.

I am sure respect for history and those who have come before (like my Irish ancestors) plays some small part. But, I think it is the people that are the overwhelming factor. Yes, the Irish people, in general, are fantastic and extremely friendly, especially if you have the time for a very long chat.

However, that is not what I mean. It is just the vibe of the people. I feel like they don’t know that they know something. It seems to me that numerous practices and beliefs, large and small, seem to be done out of habit, out of tradition, as if something from the past is hardwired in them. I view it as “spiritual DNA.”

Little did I know that psychologist Carl Jung believed something similar. He called it the collective unconscious.

Britannica defines “collective unconscious” as a:

“term introduced by psychiatrist Carl Jung to represent a form of the unconscious (that part of the mind containing memories and impulses of which the individual is not aware) common to mankind as a whole and originating in the inherited structure of the brain. It is distinct from the personal unconscious, which arises from the experience of the individual.”

While researching Druidry, I noticed that most reputable sources indicate that there is very little known about the Proto and Celtic Druids. This is because they had an oral tradition, with nothing written down. All we are left with is third-party biased sources, archaeological evidence, etc.

This fact is accurate but can be considered what we consciously know about the Druids. What about subconsciously?

In his book “The Druid Mysteries: Ancient Wisdom for the 21st Century,” Philip Carr-Gomm believes that “spiritual inheritance” is one of the ways Druidry survived for approximately one thousand years between the extinction of the Druid religion and its revival during the renaissance.

Carr-Gomm states that:

“Druidism as a religion was extinguished, its ideas and inspiration lived on in the cultural and spiritual inheritance of successive generations, encoded in the old tales, in folklore and the landscape itself.”1

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of speaking with Mr. Carr-Gomm. This is one of the topics that we discussed. See below for information regarding this interview.

This idea of a “spiritual inheritance” is very interesting, and I hope to research it further.

Updates:

Philip Carr-Gomm

As mentioned, I had the great honor of interviewing Philip Carr-Gomm this week. It was a fantastic interview, and we discussed several interesting topics.

I want to thank Philip for his generosity with his time and for sharing his knowledge.

The interview should be available for you to watch or listen to soon. I will announce its availability via a newsletter, but if you want to access it as soon as it is published, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the little bell to receive updates.

In addition, this interview will also be available via Podcast on the platforms shown at the end of the newsletter.

Podcasts

I am happy to announce that my Podcast, called “A Skeptic’s Journey,” is now available on most major platforms, except for Google, which is still processing.

Currently, there is only a brief welcome Podcast posted. However, in the future, it will have interviews (including Philip Carr-Gomm), research updates, stories and mythology, my ramblings, etc.

Please note that although my Podcast is available on most major platforms, it may not show up listed on the platforms for a few days to a week. However, the links below will take you directly to the Podcast.

Don’t Forget About My Upcoming Interview…

Paraic Donoghue - December 19th/20th

Paraic is a native Irish language speaker. He was raised on the Connemara Gaeltacht in County Galway, Ireland. Paraic is committed to the preservation and growth of the Irish language, along with the culture that is inextricably linked to it. He currently provides private Irish language lessons to students all over the world.

We will be discussing what it was like growing up and living on the Gaeltacht, his views on the Irish language and its importance, and the customs and traditions of his Gaeltacht that may have derived from the time of the Celts or earlier.

The interview will be published on my YouTube channel and Podcast approximately one-week post-interview.

Have a great weekend!

My name is Mike, and I am a skeptic and recovering accountant just starting to make my way through the world of the Druids, Celts, and Pagans.

Join me on my journey as I use an analytic eye to extract what I believe to be golden nuggets of truth from these fascinating topics. My goal is to find valuable ways, practices, and insights to make your life better today.

If my content speaks to you, please subscribe to my newsletter! Also, feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think. I am here to serve what I hope will be a great community of curious and like-minded individuals.

“May the Road Rise to Meet You!”

With a skeptical mind and an analytical eye,

Mike Guarneri

My Links:

Podcast Platforms:

P.S. - I publish a new newsletter every Friday. Please be sure to subscribe. My past newsletters can also be found at mikeguarneri.com.

P.P.S. - Any links above to products on Amazon.com are affiliate links. Making a purchase via an affiliate link will cost you nothing additional, but Amazon will give me a small commission.

P.P.P.S. - If you enjoyed reading this piece, I’d like to ask a favor of you. For a limited time, I will be conducting 1-on-1 Zoom calls with select members of my SubStack subscribers.

Think of this call as a Discovery Call. The goal is to discover your vision, goals, and challenges as they may relate to the Celtic way of life, druidism, and pagan practices. This call will be beneficial to both of us.

My goal with these calls is to discover a common thread so that I can best add value and serve you. It will help me focus my content and research to ensure I cater to your true vision and goals.

These 1-on-1 calls are free, of course. And everything you share on the call will be private between you and me.

If you’re interested or want to introduce yourself and say hi, I’d love to hear from you.

You can reach me directly via email at mike@guarneriny.com.

It’s Friday, December 2, 2022. Do you know where your imagination is?

My imagination has been lost for quite a while, but perhaps I found it recently.

By imagination, I mean actual imagination. I have a bad habit of conflating imagination with creativity. There are probably many other people that do the same.

This quote from Ann Pendleton-Julian and John Seely Brown puts the difference between creativity and imagination in good context:

“Creative activity aims to do something purposeful. The imagination is something that emerges. While creativity works towards products that exist in the real world and have real-world purpose, the product of the imagination is the "imagined object"; it is the image itself. That image comes with meaning, but any purpose it contains is that which one to rise from it as it intersects with other cognitive processes.”1

So my imagination is missing, but my creativity is front and center. Unfortunately, I don’t always have the skills to implement or express my creativity properly.

The loss of my imagination happened over a long period. It worked full force when I was young (during elementary school). For example, I would go out to play with my friends, and we would make up our own stories for the games we were playing. We played cops and robbers, spies, detectives, army, astronauts, etc. Our stories would just emerge as we played; nothing was planned.

Even when I was alone, imagination would rule. I had a bunch of Star Wars action figures. I vividly remember playing with them for an entire day and having them act out stories on the fly as I was playing.

While in middle/high school, my imagination started to disappear. There was so much real stuff going on that my imagination became unimportant.

All was not lost in high school, though. I imagined some of my “favorite” teachers disappeared in sinister ways.

There was one time when my imagination became a reality. I was supposed to take the 1989 New State Regents chemistry exam. I was an excellent student, but I struggled tremendously with chemistry. I knew I would pass the exam but not do very well. With college applications only a few months away, I didn’t want to hurt my GPA. All sorts of imagined scenarios to avoid this exam swirled in my head.

I must have imagined intensely because the morning of the exam, I woke up to find the answers for the chemistry Regents published on the front page of the New York Post.

The Chemistry Regents was therefore canceled!!!

By the time of college and the pursuit of my career, my imagination pretty much disappeared. However, I mentioned at the beginning of this newsletter that I may have recently found it.

Let me explain…

If you are a regular reader of my newsletter, you are probably aware that I started a six-month class called Ogham Journeys. It is offered by Lora O’Brien of the Ogham Academy and the Irish Pagan School.

This was the first week, and the topic was a general introduction to the Ogham writing system. Each week of the course includes a “Journey” to the Irish otherworld to develop a better understanding and a deeper relationship with the Ogham.

I completed the first journey yesterday. It was to visit the Spirt of Ogham.

In last week’s newsletter, I wrote about a Journey I did regarding Fionn’s Window. This was a free class from Lora O’Brien. In that newsletter, I expressed my well-founded skepticism.

The big question - Are journeying experiences real or imagination?

I will not write about my journeys in every newsletter, but I feel this was an interesting and thought-provoking journey.

Note that before you continue reading, this journey log is pretty long.

So here we go…

Journey to the Spirit of Ogham (or the Center of Mike’s Imagination):

Please note that Lora’s Journeying Method is proprietary, so I will not describe it here, only what I saw and did on my journey. If you are interested in trying a journey, Lora has some free beach journeys at the Irish Pagan School.

Given the above, I will start my story as I come out of the darkness to the divide between the two worlds.

I crossed through the doorway separating darkness and light. I was then on a dirt path in a wooded area.

Following the path down in elevation, I arrived at a beach. It reminded me of St. Finian’s Beach in Ireland. I visited this beach twice in real life.

Two things happened as I walked down the beach toward a boat. The vegetation turned tropical, and my body felt very heavy. Every step was like walking with weights attached to my legs.

I finally arrived at the boat. It was a sailboat, large enough for four or five people. The boat was made out of long medium-brown wooden planks. It had two beige sails.

Due to the weight of my limbs, it was challenging to raise my hand to touch the boat. When I finally did, I could feel the wood's roughness and the boat's solid structural integrity.

After touching the boat, my body no longer felt weighted down. I climbed aboard the boat and took my seat for the voyage to see the Spirit of Ogham.

Once the boat left the shore, I noticed that I could not move my limbs at all. Also, my body seemed to be rocking sideways. I was able to move my head and look around, though.

The boat’s sails went fully up, and it picked up speed. I saw islands pass by on the boat's sides, but they were blurred.

Eventually, we slowed down as we approached an island. It seemed tropical. The water was a very clear blue, the beach was beautiful, and they were tropical trees and vegetation past the sand. Strangely, the sky in the distance was orange, building to bright red.

At the beach, my limbs were released, and I could move freely. Walking along the beach, I saw a stone path and followed it.

After following the path through the tropical environment for a bit, it turned into a deciduous forest. I continued walking the stone path through the woods toward the island's center.

I entered a tropical garden when I thought I was almost there. It was beautiful, as would be expected, but it was a bit humid.

At the center of the garden was some sort of fountain. On the other side of the fountain, I could see a gate leading out of the garden. I went through the gate, and things changed. The environment was now predominantly stone, although there were some trees and bushes.

In the distance, I could see a large circular stone structure with a metal gate in front.

I continued on the stone path to the gate. I tried to pull it open, but no luck. Then I attempted to push it in, but still nothing. As I stood there wondering, the gate opened by itself.

Going through the gate, I entered the circular structure. It was huge. At the opposite end from me, there was what looked to be a tiny castle.

In the center was an obelisk that looked kind of like a much smaller version of the Washington Monument. Ogham inscriptions were on it, but I could not determine what ones they might be. I did not touch this standing stone.

Looking around, everything else was barren. The walls were just blank stone; there were no decorations. It gave a very cold and clinical feeling. Speaking of cold, it was very chilly since coming inside this circular structure.

While standing there waiting and hoping something would happen, I kept examining the Ogham inscriptions on the obelisk but still could not determine what they were.

At some point, everything lit up with a very soft golden-yellow color which warmed the room. Suddenly, the stone walls were covered with symbols carved into them. I saw Ogham letters, Ogham-like letters, and all sorts of symbols that I didn’t recognize. I thought I even saw Chinese characters, but I can’t be sure.

Then an entity appeared before me, standing next to the obelisk.

It seemed human in form, except it was ghost-like. It was grayscale and had some sort of aura around it. The entity was wearing a long robe and had long facial hair. For some reason, I could not see it above its eye level.

I began speaking with the entity but not using my voice. I was communicating in words but not making any sounds.

The entity did not introduce itself, but I assume it was the Spirit of Ogham. I tried to ask for its name but was unable to for some reason.

Instead of calling it “the entity,” I will call it “the Spirit of Ogham” or “SOO” going forward.

SOO said it wanted me to commit to learning the true meaning and energy of the Ogham. Then the obelisk came off the ground a few feet, and there was a dark hole in the ground where it had stood.

All of a sudden, my head was in the dark hole. SOO said I need to learn what is beneath the surface and what is in the darkness. Then I was out of the hole, back in my original position. The obelisk slowly came down back on top of the hole.

The Spirit of Ogham then asked me if I would make this commitment.

I agreed, and then a calm warmth inside and out came over me. It isn't easy to describe. The best I can come up with is that it was like a warm energy hug.

Then I said thank you and goodbye in Irish, which SOO seemed to appreciate.

The Spirit of Ogham then slowly faded into nothingness. I turned to look at the walls, and they reverted to plain stone, no more symbols. The warm glow disappeared, and the room was chilly again.

I walked out of the circular stone building through the gate which again opened for me, and I headed back to the tropical garden.

I went through the garden without looking at any of its contents. As I entered the deciduous forest, I realized that I felt energized and eager but also confused about everything that had just happened and what I was supposed to do.

Before I knew it, I was back on the beach, not even realizing I had moved from deciduous to tropical.

I returned to the boat, climbed aboard, and took my seat. Once again, I was unable to move my limbs. The boat left the beach shore.

It was pretty much the same trip except in reverse.

When I arrived back on my “home beach,” my limbs were released, and I disembarked from the boat. I thanked the boat, not knowing who else to thank.

As soon as I got off the boat, heaviness overtook me again. Before I began my heavy trudging slog back to the dirt path, I looked towards the horizon. It was broken! There were cracks across the horizon, and it was shifted out of place, so the horizon didn’t line up correctly.

This alarmed me, so I headed back to the path as quickly as my heaviness would allow. As I arrived at the path, which was to the right of me, I noticed everything straight ahead, and to the left were different shades of blue.

I made my way back up the dirt path speedily, as I was released from my beach weight when I stepped onto the path.

The gate out was ahead, and the door to darkness was slightly further behind it. I went through the gate and back into the darkness.

The procedures to return to my real-life consciousness were completed, and I was back sitting at my desk.

After the journey, I felt happy and a bit wound up, but otherwise, fine. Also, I noticed that my bad back didn’t hurt after sitting in my desk chair for over two hours. It continued to feel a bit better for a few hours after that.

Now I feel very enthusiastic about learning the Ogham and can’t wait to learn what will happen next on my Ogham Journey, real or imaginary.

I quickly wrote down everything about the experience that I could remember, which was quite a bit. Then again, how do I know that there wasn’t much more that I didn’t remember?

These are my thoughts after documenting the journey:

• How could this journey not have been my imagination? Such a story…

• How could it have been my imagination? Could my long-lost imagination have returned with a huge bang?

• Assuming journeying is real, how could a newbie like me have such an elaborate experience on my second journey?

• Is it possible that some of it was actual journeying and some my imagination?

Many people are all over the internet sharing their successful journey experiences.

Do they have a shared delusion?

Are they part of a meditation conspiracy?

Do people have that much free time to make up and write fake journey experiences?

Or is it possible that journeying, or some aspects of it, are real?

So, at the end of the day, I don’t know if my journey experience resulted from my long-lost imagination, actual journeying, or a combination of both.

I will keep practicing and experimenting to see what I find.

It is too soon to tell if there is anything within the Ogham or the practice of journeying that can help provide some relief to mental health challenges.

However, I do believe there may be something here. I felt a bit better after I concluded this journey. It was only my second journey, so perhaps there is a better and/or longer-lasting effect from journeying regularly.

Who knows? Maybe there is even a way to release anxiety, stress, etc.. while journeying so that it is reduced in real life.

It is very important to note that I am still highly skeptical regarding the legitimacy of journeying. So far, my experiences have raised more questions than answers provided.

However, if the journeying practice helps, it doesn’t matter whether it is a legitimate ancient spiritual practice or just imagination.

If it works, do it!

Don’t Forget About My Upcoming Interviews…

Philip Carr-Gomm - December 6th

Philip was the Chosen Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD) for 30+ years. In addition to his work with OBOD, Philip is also a psychotherapist, author, and teacher, among other things.

Paraic Donoghue - December 19th/20th

Paraic is a native Irish language speaker. He was raised on the Connemara Gaeltacht in County Galway, Ireland. Paraic is committed to the preservation and growth of the Irish language, along with the culture that is inextricably linked to it. He currently provides private Irish language lessons to students all over the world.

We will be discussing what it was like growing up and living on the Gaeltacht, his views on the Irish language and its importance, and the customs and traditions of his Gaeltacht that may have derived from the time of the Celts or earlier.

Both will be published on my YouTube channel and Podcast approximately one-week post-interview.

Have a great weekend!

My name is Mike, and I am a skeptic and recovering accountant just starting to make my way through the world of the Druids, Celts, and Pagans.

Join me on my journey as I use an analytic eye to extract what I believe to be golden nuggets of truth from these fascinating topics. My goal is to find valuable ways, practices, and insights to make your life better today.

If my content speaks to you, please subscribe to my newsletter! Also, feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think. I am here to serve what I hope will be a great community of curious and like-minded individuals.

“May the Road Rise to Meet You!”

With a skeptical mind and an analytical eye,

Mike Guarneri

My Links:

P.S. - I publish a new newsletter every Friday. Please be sure to subscribe. My past newsletters can also be found at mikeguarneri.com.

P.P.S. - I am in no way affiliated with Lora O’Brien, the Ogham Academy, or the Irish Pagan School

P.P.P.S. - If you enjoyed reading this piece, I'd like to ask a favor of you. For a limited time, I will be conducting 1-on-1 Zoom calls with select members of my SubStack subscribers.

Think of this call as a Discovery Call. The goal is to discover your vision, goals, and challenges as they may relate to the Celtic way of life, druidism, and pagan practices. This call will be beneficial to both of us.

My goal with these calls is to discover a common thread so that I can best add value and serve you. It will help me focus my content and research to ensure I cater to your true vision and goals.

These 1-on-1 calls are free, of course. And everything you share on the call will be private between you and me.

If you're interested or want to introduce yourself and say hi, I'd love to hear from you.

You can reach me directly via email at mike@guarneriny.com.

Do you meditate? I never did and thought for the longest time that it was complete nonsense. I tried to do it once in a while, but the instruction I had almost always started with “clear your head, get rid of all your thoughts…”

I could not wrap my brain around the concept of clearing my head. It just does not seem possible to me.

About a year and a half ago, after suffering my major anxiety and depression episodes, I decided to give meditation a try again. This time I took my therapist’s recommendation and tried the Calm app. Surprisingly, I was able to do it, and it did help me a bit with calming my mind.

The difference was that there was no instruction to “clear your mind…” The beginner classes were more like focusing on your breathing. If you get distracted, let whatever that distraction is float out of your mind like a balloon and gently transition back to focusing on your breathing. This made so much more sense to me!

I also like that Calm has meditations for all different topics. Besides the beginning classes, I like the mental health mediations (anxiety, depression, etc.) and the sleep meditations and stories.

Before I continue, this is not an advertisement for Calm. I am a happy paying subscriber and have absolutely no affiliation with Calm.

The one thing I have noticed about meditation is that it could take several months of regular practice to obtain the full benefits. Also, if I stop, I am starting from the beginning in building up that benefit.

That has been my problem lately, consistency. I intend to get back into the habit of meditating every day, possibly multiple times. I will need to do regular meditations starting next week anyway.

If you remember, from my past newsletter about Ogham, I mentioned that I was looking forward to taking a six-month intensive Ogham class. Well, that class starts next week!

Every Ogham fea (letter) gets an entire week of the curriculum devoted to it. There are also review weeks built into the program as well. As part of the intensive study of each fea, there will be a special meditation. These meditations are called “journeys.” They are supposed to transport you to the Irish otherworld. Please don’t quote me on this because I am not 100% sure, but the process seems to be to withdraw inside yourself and release your consciousness to go on the journey.

I am highly skeptical of the legitimacy of these journeys. How could I not be? However, people worldwide claim success with journeying and experiencing excellent results. Unless there is a worldwide delusion of the people going on journeys, I feel there must be some sort of real aspect or positive result. So I will try journeying with an open but skeptical mind.

Last Sunday, the instructor of my Ogham Journeys class, Lora O’Brien, gave a free live online class on Fionn’s Window.

I won’t pretend to explain Fionn’s Window. I am just learning about it myself. However, you can see the different feda on each concentric line.

During this class on Sunday, we did a guided meditation journey to a beach where Fionn’s Window was drawn in the sand. We were supposed to look in the center of the wheel on the sand, observe what Ogham fea we saw, and try to remember it. We tried to note what else we saw and felt along the way there and back.

So my first issue with the journey was that I was not relaxed and probably not as receptive as I would have liked for this experience.

My next issue was that I didn’t know how one could separate an authentic experience from their imagination. The guided part of the journey was descriptive enough that I could see imagination taking over.

I tried to “experience” the walk to the beach and back but struggled a bit and couldn’t say if what I saw was my imagination or the actual journey controlling what I was experiencing.

Once I reached the wheel in the sand, I definitely felt different. I had a warm but very heavy feeling. It was as if I had weights attached to my body. In the center of the circle, I saw nothing for a while but then saw what looked to be an ogham fea. I have no idea whether this was in any way real. It is certainly possible, if not likely, that it was my imagination. Maybe I felt warm because the heat kicked on in the house. Perhaps I felt the weight from sitting in my chair for a while and feeling sleepy.

After the journey was over, we were instructed to write down how we felt, what we saw, and other impressions, but most of all, what fea we saw in the center of the wheel. After going to look up the fea I saw, I determined that it was not an actual fea. It was definitely Ogham-like, but not an actual one.

Other people reported seeing a fea, multiple feada, or none at all.

I am curious about the multiple reports coming into the class chat of people experiencing different colors. Interestingly, some people had the same experience. Knowing about the color experience, I wonder if I will see colors on my next journey. I can’t imagine the power of suggestion not having some sort of influence.

Lora did make a point of the fact that these journeys are like building muscles. The more work you put in and the more repetitions you do, the more progress and success you will have with journeying to the Irish Otherworld.

I will see and report back. Stay tuned.

Quick Updates:

I am reading Philip Carr-Gomm’s book “The Druid Mysteries” and working through the OBOD Bardic course to prepare for my upcoming interview with Philip.

The book seems to be very “Drubie” accessible. Yes, I have created a new word to represent a druid newbie.

Video editing - I never realized how much goes into it. I am enjoying learning about it, and it will be a very useful skill. Unfortunately, it is holding me up with YouTube and Podcast content.

In the interest of providing my subscribers and supporters with the content they are most interested in, I present you with the following poll:

Don’t Forget About My Upcoming Interviews…

Philip Carr-Gomm - December 6th

Philip was the Chosen Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD) for 30+ years. In addition to his work with OBOD, Philip is also a psychotherapist, author, and teacher, among other things.

Paraic Donoghue - December 19th/20th

Paraic is a native Irish language speaker. He was raised on the Connemara Gaeltacht in County Galway, Ireland. Paraic is committed to the preservation and growth of the Irish language, along with the culture that is inextricably linked to it. He currently provides private Irish language lessons to students all over the world.

We will be discussing what it was like growing up and living on the Gaeltacht, his views on the Irish language and its importance, and the customs and traditions of his Gaeltacht that may have derived from the time of the Celts or earlier.

Both will be published on my YouTube channel and Podcast approximately one-week post-interview.

I hope everybody who celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday had a great day!

Have a great weekend!

My name is Mike, and I am a skeptic and recovering accountant just starting to make my way through the world of the Druids, Celts, and Pagans.

Join me on my journey as I use an analytic eye to extract what I believe to be golden nuggets of truth from these fascinating topics. My goal is to find valuable ways, practices, and insights to make your life better today.

If my content speaks to you, please subscribe to my newsletter! Also, feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think. I am here to serve what I hope will be a great community of curious and like-minded individuals.

“May the Road Rise to Meet You!”

With a skeptical mind and an analytical eye,

Mike Guarneri

My Links:

P.S. - I publish a new newsletter every Friday. Please be sure to subscribe. My past newsletters can also be found at mikeguarneri.com.

P.P.S. - If you enjoyed reading this piece, I'd like to ask a favor of you. For a limited time, I will be conducting 1-on-1 Zoom calls with select members of my SubStack subscribers.

Think of this call as a Discovery Call. The goal is to discover your vision, goals, and challenges as they may relate to the Celtic way of life, druidism, and pagan practices. This call will be beneficial to both of us.

My goal with these calls is to discover a common thread so that I can best add value and serve you. It will help me focus my content and research to ensure I cater to your true vision and goals.

These 1-on-1 calls are free, of course. And everything you share on the call will be private between you and me.

If you're interested or want to introduce yourself and say hi, I'd love to hear from you.

You can reach me directly via email at mike@guarneriny.com.

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays! It’s not because of the great feast, nor because it is a time to give thanks (an area I often fail to do adequately). To me, Thanksgiving is a day of rest and family time.

When I was little, Thanksgiving was the next best thing to Christmas. I was up early enough to eat my breakfast while watching Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York City. I might have done other things after breakfast, but I never strayed from the television and the parade.

Then around noon, it was off to my aunt’s house for Thanksgiving dinner and family time (actually, it was my great aunt). This was the proceedings of Thanksgiving Day for many years. I quite enjoyed it.

My aunt was a cross between a boisterously funny aunt and a loving grandmother. So any time spent at her house was always enjoyable. For a little kid, it was quite literally an arcade. My uncle was in the video game machine business. And I don’t mean Wii, X-Box, or the like. His video games were those big standalone video games. Even though he kindly brought what he thought was the best game into the house from the cold garage for me, I was happy to play in the cold garage.

It was a time to see my older cousins and extended family. Thanksgiving football always brings back the echoes of my uncle yelling at the television during the Dallas Cowboys game. He liked Dallas and always had a wager on the game.

As I got into my teens, I would sleep through the parade and barely wake up in time to go to my aunt’s house. There was a string of years in my teens when I went to my aunt’s for Thanksgiving, equipped with headphones and things to do because my somewhat obnoxious teen self could not be bothered with all these annoying relatives. Of course, now I regret missing out on that family interaction.

When my aunt passed, as well as other usual Thanksgiving attendees, my mother took over cooking for and hosting Thanksgiving. Although not the same, it was still a special time. Now my wife and my inlaws were a welcomed part of our celebration.

After a while, we felt it was too much to ask my mother to host Thanksgiving. So, we took over hosting Thanksgiving, with my wonderful wife cooking dinner along with contributions from my mother. Once we started to have kids, it became even more convenient for us to play the host.

Now I enjoy a day of rest and family time! I still watch the Macy’s Parade if I can, but I sometimes get distracted by other things. However, the family usually watches the National Dog Show after the parade and before the guests arrive. I get a kick out of one of the television hosts, John O’Hurley. You may know him as J. Peterman from the sitcom “Seinfeld.”

Thanksgiving has become ingrained in our culture. Currently, there are numerous different views of Thanksgiving and possible historical and cultural issues surrounding it. I try to focus on the fact that Thanksgiving is a day of thanks. There are plenty of other days in the year to debate about it.

In my elementary school, a big deal was made out of Thanksgiving. I remember the “Big Thanksgiving Project,” culminating in a mini play of the first Thanksgiving. Half of us were pilgrims, and half were Native Americans.

We had to make our costumes out of paper grocery bags and construction paper. Teachers cut head holes and arm holes out of the paper bags, and then the kids decorated them accordingly with construction paper, crayons, etc. We also made hats out of construction paper. Does anybody out there in my age range remember this activity?

So this mini play we performed was based on a familiar story of the “First Thanksgiving” in Plymouth, MA. The Native Americans and the Pilgrims met after the harvest and had a three-day feast. Both sides got along swell with each other.

Then there is the derivation where the Pilgrims were starving, and the Native Americans came along and shared their food, creating a feast. There are also more negative tales, such as the Pilgrims killing the Native American and stealing their food.

We may never know what really happened in Plymouth between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Native Americans in 1621. However, depending on your definition of “Thanksgiving,” the first Thanksgiving in America was actually in 1619 in Virginia at what is now known as the Berkeley Plantation.

After landing at their destination on the James River, the settlers were obligated by their charter to have a religious celebration immediately. Their charter stated, “…that the day of our ship’s arrival at the place assigned for plantation in the land of Virginia shall be kept yearly and perpetually holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God.”

Quick Recommendation - Visit Berkeley Plantation at Harrison’s Landing if you can. There is lots of fascinating history there. I discovered it while researching my great, great grandfather’s service in the Irish Brigade, which was encamped there for a few months during the Civil War.

It should be noted that in our current times, Thanksgiving is not unique to the U.S. Thanksgiving or a similar version of it is celebrated in Canada, Brazil, Grenada, Liberia, Netherlands, Philippines, Rwanda, St. Lucia, Germany, Japan, and the U.K.

But what is Thanksgiving at its heart? In its most basic form, it seems to me to be a day to celebrate and give thanks for the harvest. Yes, we have associated other reflective and commercial aspects to it, but in effect is a harvest festival for crops we did not grow nor harvest. A big shout out to the farmers, food packagers, and shippers that make our Thanksgiving feasts possible.

Hmm, why does this sound familiar? Anybody?

If your answer is something to the effect of “Hey Mike, in your Samhain newsletter, you told us about pagan harvest festivals,” then you are correct!

Yes, all types of pagan groups have celebrated harvests with feasts and festivals for thousands of years before the first presidential pardon of a turkey.

One of our symbols of Thanksgiving is the cornucopia, symbolizing the plentifulness of the harvest. Interestingly, the Roman pagans also used the cornucopia in relation to their harvest festival celebrating their harvest goddess Ceres.

In addition to Samhain, the Celtic pagans also have the harvest festival of Lughnasadh (Aug 1st) to celebrate the season's first harvest.

Another similarity between Celtic harvest festivals and our Thanksgiving is the playing of sports and contests. We watch NFL football or have a pickup football game at a local park, while perhaps the ancient Celts had a hurling match. Hurling dates back to over 3,000 years ago.

Although our modern Thanksgiving has no roots or direct connection to the pagan harvest festivals, keep in mind that by celebrating Thanksgiving next week, you are perpetuating the tradition of giving thanks that goes far back in history.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who will be celebrating on Thursday!

Updates:

It will be a few more days to a week before some content is posted on my YouTube channel. I demand that I do things correctly and do them well (or at least the best I can.) As such, I am delaying the content until I can properly edit and produce the footage. I underestimated how much is involved with video editing.

Similarly, my Podcast will be slightly delayed. Content should be published around the same time as the YouTube content.

Don’t Forget About My Upcoming Interviews…

Philip Carr-Gomm - December 6th

Philip was the Chosen Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD) for 30+ years. In addition to his work with OBOD, Philip is also a psychotherapist, author, and teacher, among other things.

Paraic Donoghue - December 19th/20th

Paraic is a native Irish language speaker. He was raised on the Connemara Gaeltacht in County Galway, Ireland. Paraic is committed to the preservation and growth of the Irish language, along with the culture that is inextricably linked to it. He currently provides private Irish language lessons to students all over the world.

We will be discussing what it was like growing up and living on the Gaeltacht, his views on the Irish language and its importance, and the customs and traditions of his Gaeltacht that may have derived from the time of the Celts or earlier.

Both will be published on my YouTube channel and Podcast approximately one-week post-interview.

***Special Opportunity***

If you enjoyed reading this piece, I'd like to ask a favor of you. For a limited time, I will be conducting 1-on-1 Zoom calls with select members of my SubStack subscribers.

Think of this call as a Discovery Call. The goal is to discover your vision, goals, and challenges as they may relate to the Celtic way of life, druidism, and pagan practices. This call will be beneficial to both of us.

My goal with these calls is to discover a common thread so that I can best add value and serve you. It will help me focus my content and research to ensure I cater to your true vision and goals.

These 1-on-1 calls are free, of course. And everything you share on the call will be private between you and me.

If you're interested or want to introduce yourself and say hi, I'd love to hear from you.

You can reach me directly via email at mike@guarneriny.com.

***End of Special Opportunity***

Have a great weekend!

My name is Mike, and I am a skeptic and recovering accountant just starting to make my way through the world of the Druids, Celts, and Pagans.

Join me on my journey as I use an analytic eye to extract what I believe to be golden nuggets of truth from these fascinating topics. My goal is to find valuable ways, practices, and insights to make your life better today.

If my content speaks to you, please subscribe to my newsletter! Also, feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think. I am here to serve what I hope will be a great community of curious and like-minded individuals.

“May the Road Rise to Meet You!”

With a skeptical mind and an analytical eye,

Mike Guarneri

P.S. - I publish a new newsletter every Friday. Please be sure to subscribe. My past newsletters can also be found at mikeguarneri.com.

My Links:

Guitars are my favorite musical instrument. I don’t know why. Perhaps it is because I grew up in the 1980s - the heyday of heavy metal and hard rock bands.

It was the era of electric guitar masters shredding on cool-looking guitars. They were so good that you would forget that many were effectively dressed in Halloween costumes. Perhaps that image of the long-haired lead guitarist performing a jaw-dropping solo is ingrained in my brain.

I have been taking private guitar lessons for quite a while, and I am happy to call my teacher a friend.

I bet you are wondering what type of music I play… I started with the electric guitar, playing heavy metal/hard rock. Then I switched to electric blues. Acoustic fingerstyle blues followed that. And now I am playing acoustic fingerstyle Irish music.

Throughout my lessons over the years, my teacher brought up in jest (I think) that I shouldn’t practice playing the guitar.

Now, this is counterintuitive. One would think that more practice leads to better guitar playing. In my case, the opposite seems true.

Being very busy, I struggle to find time to practice. Playing is entertainment to me, a fun hobby. I, unfortunately, have to give practicing a lower priority. Also, we sometimes go through stretches of canceled lessons. Either my teacher has a conflicting gig, or I have something going on.

Then practicing becomes out of sight, out of mind. If I am not going to have a lesson, practicing is even lower on my priority list.

In the beginning, whenever we resumed after a canceled lesson(s) and/or I didn’t have time to practice, I expected that I would play awfully. But something strange happened. After warming up for a few minutes, I would play even better than in my previous lesson. Song passages that I was struggling with were suddenly sounding much better.

To this day, I don’t know why this phenomenon happens. The less I practice, it seems, the better I get. The more I practice, I either play the same or slightly better.

So the question is, what would you do in this situation?

Would you find the time to practice regularly? Or would you not worry about practicing except when it is convenient?

Would you do what works for you, even though you don’t understand why it is happening and is counterintuitive?

Or do you ignore this phenomenon because it may not make sense to you and/or some scientist hasn’t said, “Yes, this scientifically makes sense because of …”?

My answer is that I play when convenient (because I like playing), but I do not get stressed because I will likely improve to some extent if I don’t play.

I do what works!

But what works for me will not necessarily work for everyone. That is why it is essential to have an open mind and be willing to experiment with different things.

The theory of doing what works also applies to Druidry, the Celts, and Paganism.

If a particular Pagan practice was benign but helped relieve your anxiety, would you not use it just because it is Pagan and our modern scientists have not yet given their approval? Or would you use it and suffer less?

I have been learning about the modern Druidy organizations currently operating. Here is an interesting example regarding doing what works as it pertains to Druidry.

Druidry “Group A” is one of the largest modern Druidry groups in the world. Its membership spans the globe. It was founded over 50 years ago and has a well-established curriculum for its members.

Group A is a neo-Druidry group. They state outright that very little is known about the ancient Druids. Their curriculum and practices have the best intentions and are in what they believe to be the spirit of the ancient druids.

I believe some aspects are not necessarily in the spirit of the ancient Druids, such as being open to all religions or having no religion at all. It is commonly accepted knowledge that the ancient Druids were pagans.

Druidry “Group B” is a smaller modern Druidry organization, but it is well known nonetheless. It appears that their membership is primarily U.S. based. Group B is very established but has not existed nearly as long as Group A. Group B’s member curriculum is more of an outline/task list for the members to complete. I believe help is available if needed, but it is a scholarly self-study program.

Group B is a reconstructionist group. This means they claim to limit their organization’s practices to what is known about the ancient Druids. For example, they only allow pagans as members since that was what the original Druids were.

Unless I am misunderstanding something, I have a hard time believing that everything they do is historically fact-based, or there wouldn’t be much there. There are definitely aspects that have been “filled in.” One example is their rituals. There is no knowledge of the rituals of the ancient Druids.

The above is merely background information regarding two of the modern Druidry groups. I am not opining as to which group is better.

However, I believe both groups are excellent. They both act with good intentions, mostly in the spirit of the ancient Druids and with the goal of making life better. Many people are members of both groups.

Important - If you are interested in exploring organized Druidry groups, please beware. Any group claiming lineage from the ancient Druids, having some sort of mandate, or that has some mystical leader is very harmful and is acting with ulterior motives. Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding Druidry groups.

So, where am I going with this? Some people refuse to consider anything from Group A because they are not a reconstructionist organization (meaning “not real” to them). There is no doubt that Group A is trying to act within the spirit of the ancient Druids. However, they definitely do include some material from other spiritual practice categories. This is all done with the welfare of their members and the world in mind.

Should we not accept practices from Group A because they may not be actual ancient Druid practices?

In fairness, some aspects of Group B are also not reconstructions of the ancient practices.

I believe in doing what works for you as long as there is no apparent negative impact.

I am going through Group A’s coursework. If I find something that works for me, I will use it. I don’t care whether people say it is not ancient Druidry or has not been scientifically proven.

I believe there is not one perfect path.

Exploration with an open mind is likely the road to inner peace, well-being, and happiness.

The aggregation of the best practices that work for you from various places, cultures, periods, systems, etc., is what you actually might be looking for; what you need, whether you know it or not.

This is one of the reasons why I am intent on exploring the possibility of ancient practices positively impacting mental health.

To conclude, do what works for you!

Updates:

My new YouTube channel and Podcast will be making their debuts soon. Probably within the next week or so, I will have some content published.

Both the Youtube channel and the Podcast are named A Skeptic’s Journey.

There will be a link to my YouTube channel at the bottom of each newsletter.

My podcasts will be available on all your favorite services:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Amazon Music / Audible

Pocket Casts

iHeart Radio

Stitcher

RadioPublic

Overcast

Castbox

**SUPER FANTASTIC PROGRAMMING UPDATE!**

The first two interviews for my YouTube channel and Podcast are now scheduled.

Philip Carr-Gomm - December 6th

Philip was the Chosen Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD) for 30+ years. In addition to his work with OBOD, Philip is also a psychotherapist, author, and teacher, among other things.

Paraic Donoghue - December 19th/20th

Paraic is a native Irish language speaker. He was raised on the Connemara Gaeltacht in County Galway, Ireland. Paraic is committed to the preservation and growth of the Irish language, along with the culture that is inextricably linked to it. He currently provides private Irish language lessons to students all over the world.

We will be discussing what it was like growing up and living on the Gaeltacht, his views on the Irish language and its importance, and the customs and traditions of his Gaeltacht that may have derived from the time of the Celts or earlier.

I am honored that these two outstanding people will take time out of their busy schedules to chat with me.

Be sure not to miss these special interviews!

Both will be published on my YouTube channel and Podcast approximately one-week post interview.

***Special Opportunity***

If you enjoyed reading this piece, I'd like to ask a favor of you. For a limited time, I will be conducting 1-on-1 Zoom calls with select members of my SubStack subscribers.

Think of this call as a Discovery Call. The goal is to discover your vision, goals, and challenges as they may relate to the Celtic way of life, druidism, and pagan practices. This call will be beneficial to both of us.

My goal with these calls is to discover a common thread so that I can best add value and serve you. It will help me focus my content and research to ensure I cater to your true vision and goals.

These 1-on-1 calls are free, of course. And everything you share on the call will be private between you and me.

If you're interested or want to introduce yourself and say hi, I'd love to hear from you.

You can reach me directly via email at mike@guarneriny.com.

***End of Special Opportunity***

Have a great weekend!

My name is Mike, and I am a skeptic and recovering accountant just starting to make my way through the world of the Druids, Celts, and Pagans.

Join me on my journey as I use an analytic eye to extract what I believe to be golden nuggets of truth from these fascinating topics. My goal is to find valuable ways, practices, and insights to make your life better today.

If my content speaks to you, please subscribe to my newsletter! Also, feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think. I am here to serve what I hope will be a great community of curious and like-minded individuals.

“May the Road Rise to Meet You!”

With a skeptical mind and an analytical eye,

Mike Guarneri

P.S. - I release a new newsletter every Friday. Please be sure to subscribe. My past newsletters can also be found at mikeguarneri.com.

P.P.S. - Today is Veterans Day in the U.S. A great big THANK YOU to all veterans for their service to the country!

My Links:

“Mike, why do your newsletters start with a story?”

One of my Irish family ancestry lines consisted of great poets who may have been bards going back to the time of the Celts. Many of them were poets of various royal courts across Ireland. A number of them were the “Ard Ollamh” (Chief Poet) of Ireland.

So in the tradition of my ancestors, I am determined to become a great storyteller.

After responding to the above question, guess what? No story today…

Today is a follow-up to my newsletter from a couple of weeks ago regarding altars. If you missed it, here is the link, “Approaching the Altar.”

True to my word, I have put together an altar over the last couple of weeks. I don’t know if I would call it an actual pagan altar because I have no items related to gods or deities. One step at a time for me. Since altars are very personal and can vary drastically, I want to use, test, and observe what I have. Then I can slowly add additional items, including perhaps a god from the Celtic pantheon.

Here is my altar! (Please excuse the photography. I am learning how to use a new mobile phone hand gimbal.)

Drum roll, please….!!

Now, let’s go through the contents of my altar.

The altar cloth is a Celtic pattern with a Celtic triquetra in the center.

I purchased the wooden two-level altar from a seller on Etsy. It probably would have cost me a lot more money, time, and a few fingers if I had tried to make it myself.

The book in front of the altar is the history of the O’Daly family, including lots of poetry. These are the same ancestors I mentioned above that were poets.

Now let’s go from left to right on the table and first level.

1st Regiment, Irish Brigade Flag. This flag represents the battle colors carried by the 69th New York State Volunteers, Irish Brigade, during the American Civil War. My great, great-grandfather served in the 69th. He was wounded and partially crippled during the Battle of Fredericksburg.

I feel a powerful connection to my great, great-grandfather. Since there are no known photos of him, he is represented on my altar by his Regiment’s flag.

Next on the first level is a piece of Irish turf on a burning stone. Unlike what I initially thought years ago, Irish turf is not a piece of Irish grass. It is peat harvested from bogs in Ireland. One of its uses is fuel for heating. Many Irish households burn turf in their fireplaces instead of wood.

In the first plastic container are a few pieces of white sage.

The Rocky Mountain Druid states, “Sage can drive away negativity, tensions, disturbances, and misfortune. It is symbolic of immortality and wisdom. Sage attracts money and manifests wishes. It also raises one’s spirit. Sage is an herb of Venus and Jupiter and is excellent for Samhain, consecration, and purification.”

Right next to the sage is wormwood.

The Rock Mountain Druid says, “The scent of wormwood is said to increase psychic powers. Wormwood is a tree of Venus and is great to use at Samhain.”

Behind the sage and wormwood is a photo of my paternal grandparents. Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away before I was born. *Remember, a feature of altars is ancestor veneration*.

To the right of the sage and wormwood is fumitory.

As per the Rocky Mountain Druid, “Fumitory is an herb of Saturn and is an excellent herb for Samhain. Burn fumitory to exorcise unwanted spirits.”

To the right of the fumitory on the first level (center of the first level) is a small offering bowl containing different colored glass beads.

Moving to the right, still on the first level, we have hazel.

The Rocky Mountain Druid states, “Hazel is a tree of wisdom, inspiration, and poetry… Hazel is an excellent herb for Samhain and divination. Hazel is an herb of Mercury. The Salmon of Knowledge lives in a well surrounded by nine hazel trees. Nuts to fall from these trees are said to bestow great knowledge. A knowledge so great that only the Salmon of Knowledge is permitted to eat them. Not even gods and goddesses are allowed.”

White oak is the last of the herbs, on the far right of the first level.

As per the Rocky Mountain Druid, “Oak trees symbolize fertility, abundance, longevity, healing, strength, protection, and raising spiritual awareness while remaining grounded in the material plane… Oak is a tree of the sun and Jupiter, is sacred to both the Dadga & Brighid, is one of the sacred Ogham trees, and is a great herb to use during Samhain, Lughnasadh, purification, and consecration.”

On the table, on the far right, is a mason jar with a turf incense. It is made by grounding up turf (like the piece I previously showed) and then rolling it onto sticks to make incense. I used to have a monthly subscription to receive turf incense. In the below photo, you can also see my great-grandfather’s pen behind the candle.

Behind the white oak and the candle on the first level is a photo of my maternal grandparents. This photo was taken shortly before my grandfather left for World War II. He was an Army Air Force medic in the South Pacific.

In the center of the second level, I have artificial heather. Every altar needs flowers, after all. So I thought the easiest thing would be fake flowers. Why heather? I like it; the fields of heather I saw in Ireland were amazing.

The last two items. On either side of the heather are photos of two sets of my great-grandparents.

Lastly, I should mention that there are also four tea candles on the altar. What’s an altar without fire?

Here is one last look at my whole altar.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the tour of my first altar! I look forward to using it and experimenting.

So, what do you think of my first altar?

Let me know in the comments. Keep in mind this is a work in progress.

***Special Opportunity***

If you enjoyed reading this piece, I'd like to ask a favor of you. For a limited time, I will be conducting 1-on-1 Zoom calls with select members of my SubStack subscribers.

Think of this call as a Discovery Call. The goal is to discover your vision, goals, and challenges as they may relate to the Celtic way of life, druidism, and pagan practices. This call will be beneficial to both of us.

My goal with these calls is to discover a common thread so that I can best add value and serve you. It will help me focus my content and research to ensure I cater to your true vision and goals.

These 1-on-1 calls are free, of course. And everything you share on the call will be private between you and me.

If you're interested or want to introduce yourself and say hi, I'd love to hear from you.

You can reach me directly via email at mike@guarneriny.com.

***End of Special Opportunity***

Have a great weekend!

My name is Mike, and I am a skeptic and recovering accountant just starting to make my way through the world of the Druids, Celts, and Pagans.

Join me on my journey as I use an analytic eye to extract what I believe to be golden nuggets of truth from these fascinating topics. My goal is to find valuable ways, practices, and insights to make your life better today.

If my content speaks to you, please subscribe to my newsletter! Also, feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think. I am here to serve what I hope will be a great community of curious and like-minded individuals.

“May the Road Rise to Meet You!”

With a skeptical mind and an analytical eye,

Mike Guarneri

P.S. - I release a new newsletter every Friday. Please be sure to subscribe. My past newsletters can also be found at mikeguarneri.com.

Halloween is a descendant of the Celtic Pagan holiday of Samhain.

When I was a little kid, I absolutely loved Halloween. Why wouldn’t I? I got to wear cool costumes, I went trick-or-treating in both my and nearby neighborhoods, and I had a great time with my friends.

Most years, my Mom would make me handmade Halloween costumes. They were great! However, being a little kid, I easily fell for the commercialization of the holiday and peer pressure. Despite my Mom’s incredible costumes, I only wanted one of those cheap plastic store-bought costumes that many kids had.

For anybody unfamiliar with these, each costume came in a cardboard box and consisted of a cheap face mask and a one or two-piece plastic costume. If you were lucky, your costume came with a couple of accessories. They were complete crap, but boy, did I want them. What kid doesn’t want to wear a colored plastic garbage bag?

Although my Mom caved a couple of times and bought me plastic bag costumes to wear, I was much better off with the great homemade ones. Sorry, Mom!

I remember in third grade when three kids came to school wearing the exact same plastic Spiderman costume. Boy, were they embarrassed. It was pretty funny because one kid was tall, one average height, and one short. We knew them as Big, Little, and Small Spiderman for the rest of the school year.

When I returned home at the end of Halloween night, I barely had enough energy to go through my candy haul. This was always done with Mom and Dad for safety reasons. Any candy that I didn’t want was claimed by Mom, Dad, or Grandma.

Those were the days…

Then at around ten years of age, my feelings toward Halloween began to change. I didn’t care about trick or treating. I lost interest in wearing costumes; after all, it was just for little kids.

I also learned about and started receiving this great thing called allowance. The wonder of it all! Money that was mine to spend as I chose. I quickly realized I could spend allowance money to buy the candy I wanted! I didn’t have to wear a costume and walk around the neighborhood for hours to get candy, not of my choosing. And best of all, I could buy my candy any time of the year.

Then there was the Halloween vandalism. I hated the vandalism and the fear of being egged on my way to or from school. Between the eggs and the shaving cream, the morning of each November 1st, it looked outside like a giant lemon meringue pie exploded. Surprisingly, there was never much toilet papering done in my neighborhood.

Of course, I softened on Halloween a bit once I had kids. It made the kids happy, so it made me happy.

Halloween has its roots in the ancient Celtic Pagan holiday of Samhain. As Halloween has become commercialized and taken on a life of its own, many people are attempting to bring back Samhain.

So, first of all, Samhain is frequently mispronounced. It is not pronounced “Sam-Hayn.”

Samhain is an Irish word. In Irish, the letter combination “mh” makes either a “w” or “v” sound. In the case of Samhain, it is a “w” sound.

The correct pronunciation of Samhain is “Sow-In.” The sow is as in a pig.

Here are some quick facts and interesting things about the Samhain holiday:

It is generally celebrated from sundown on October 31st to sundown on November 1st. This is not necessarily the actual date. Samhain is considered the current year's end and the new year's start.

There are different theories as to when the actual Celts celebrated Samhain. One view is that they celebrated it after finishing the last harvest of the year. Another is that they celebrated it at the exact astrological cross-quarter (the midpoint between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice). These theories could result in Samhain being on a date different from October 31st to November 1st.

Lora O’Brien from the Irish Pagan School (www.irishpaganschool.com) celebrates for an entire month, from dark moon to dark moon. Lora also makes an interesting point that Samhain is also the name of the month of November in Irish, so another idea is to celebrate the entire month of November.

Samhain is the most important of the four fire festivals. It is a time when it is believed that the veil between the worlds is the thinnest.

Some important aspects of fire related to Samhain are:

- Bonfires are lit for ancestors, as well as fire lamps to light the way for deceased ancestors crossing the veil to find their way to their families.

- Hearths were allowed to burn out and then be lit again from a new communal fire.

Samhain is also a time of deep reflection and divination. It is thought that more accurate divination results would occur because the veil between worlds is at its thinnest.

Family is a significant aspect of Samhain. Feasts would be enjoyed as people tried to finish up food that could not be preserved. It would also likely be the last opportunity to eat fresh food. There would also be “Dummy Suppers” to honor the deceased ancestors. Food would be set out for their ancestors’ spirits to eat if they visited.

People dressed up in costumes to scare off any fairies, sprites, or the like that crossed over the veil. This is likely the root of wearing costumes on Halloween.

And lastly, turnips were cut open and cleaned out. Then a lump of lit coal was put inside, effectively making a turnip lantern. This is where we get our pumpkin jack-o-lanterns. Since turnips were not as plentiful in North America, the tradition was changed to use pumpkins.

The above is but a very brief introduction to the holiday of Samhain.

I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and safe Halloween/Samhain!

***Special Opportunity***

If you enjoyed reading this piece, I'd like to ask a favor of you. For a limited time, I will be conducting 1-on-1 Zoom calls with select members of my SubStack subscribers.

Think of this call as a Discovery Call. The goal is to discover your vision, your goals, and your challenges, as they may relate to the Celtic way of life, Druidism, and Pagan practices. This call will be beneficial to both of us.

My goal with these calls is to discover a common thread so that I can best add value and serve you. It will help me focus my content to ensure I cater to your true vision and goals.

These 1-on-1 calls are free, of course. And everything you share on the call will be private between you and me.

If you're interested or just want to introduce yourself and say hi, I'd love to hear from you.

You can reach me directly via email, mike@guarneriny.com.

***End of Special Opportunity***

Have a great weekend!

My name is Mike, and I am a skeptic and recovering accountant just starting to make my way through the world of the Druids, Celts, and Pagans.

Join me on my journey as I use an analytic eye to extract what I believe to be golden nuggets of truth from these fascinating topics. My goal is to find valuable ways, practices, and insights to make your life better today.

If my content speaks to you, please subscribe to my newsletter! Also, feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think. I am here to serve what I hope will be a great community of curious and like-minded individuals.

“May the Road Rise to Meet You!”

With a skeptical mind and an analytical eye,

Mike Guarneri

P.S. - I release a new newsletter every Friday. Please be sure to subscribe. My past newsletters can also be found at mikeguarneri.com.

P.P.S. - Title Photo by Guido Jansen on Unsplash.

P.P.P.S. - I am hard at work on several projects, which I can’t wait to share with you! Announcements will be made over the coming weeks, so be sure not to miss an issue of my newsletter!

Good morning, afternoon, or evening (where ever you are located),

It has been a crazy busy week since the last newsletter.

It started on Saturday morning when I attended a dedication of new headstones at a local cemetery. After painstaking research and red tape, my Camp of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War hosted this event.

Some very hard-working and tenacious Camp members tracked down all the Civil War soldiers buried in the cemetery and noted that four had no headstones or markings whatsoever. It turned out that these unmarked graves were located in a Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) plot, along with other soldiers. In the GAR plot, they also found one Spanish American War veteran and one World War I veteran in unmarked graves.

The Camp started with beautifying the plot. Interpretive signs were installed, and a tree was planted. Then those tenacious members waded through a sea of red tape and successfully applied to the Veteran Administration for headstones for these six all-but-forgotten soldiers.

The headstones were installed leading to the special ceremony on Saturday. There was a bagpiper, a bugler, a parade of various people in Civil War uniforms and other period clothing, and local politicians. And as usual, there was a favorite of mine, the gun salute.

Here are a handful of photos of the event:

I am very proud of the work done by the Camp to honor and remember these veterans. Also, I am very thankful to the members who contributed significant time and effort to make this a reality.

Anyway, after starting the newsletter week on a high note, things just got busier.

There was just so much work and many appointments. I have not slept well all week, losing time each day to shake off the cobwebs. Of course, to top things off, yesterday, I aggravated my back condition. But as ever, I will survive.

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Show:

What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word altar? For me, what pops into my head are images from movies and television shows. Druids, pagan priests, cult leaders, monsters, and the like making sacrifices (animal and human) while chanting some evil incantation.

I wonder how Hollywood got these ideas. Perhaps just creative folks perverting history and making up stuff. In fact, those visions that pop into my head are all untrue representations. Yes, animal and human sacrifices took place at/on altars, but they were not necessarily intended to be brutal acts. From my research so far, it seems that it was primarily done respectfully and solemnly. Although I have been unable to confirm it so far, I wouldn’t be surprised if people volunteered to be sacrificed.

Julius Caesar and his fellow Romans outlawed the practice of human sacrifice. They viewed it as barbaric and evil. The Romans vilified the Celt’s practice of human sacrifice in their quest to conquer them.

It is good to know that complete hypocrisy existed at least as far back as the Romans. I am not sure what the difference is between Celtic human sacrifice and Roman gladiator fights to the death and feeding people to lions. At least the Celts were doing it for what they deemed a legitimate purpose, while the Romans were doing it for entertainment (as far as I know).

The second thought that pops into my mind from the word altar is the altar in the Catholic church I attended long ago. I vividly remember the altar up in front, effectively guarded by the altar boys. They were typically the well-behaved kids in religion class, unlike me. Honestly, I think a bunch of the boys that volunteered/requested to be altar boys only did it for the trip to the Great Adventure amusement park.

I remember approaching the altar at my confirmation for my first holy communion. I was so curious and a bit excited while waiting in line. Once I received my communion wafer, I was sure that the priest accidentally gave me the wrong thing, maybe a piece of cardboard from the box. But I soon realized that it was the communion wafer that tasted so bad and was hard to swallow.

Approaching the altar every time, I hoped the priest would share the wine on the altar. I didn’t care about it being a wine or not; I just needed something to wash down the communion wafer. There is probably some reason why the communion wafer is the way it is. I am just ignorant as to it.

I am now learning that there is a lot more to altars. It seems to me that personal pagan altars can be used flexibly and for a purpose meaningful to the owner.

Some examples of items commonly found on pagan altars are candles, offering bowl(s), flowers, statues or drawings of gods and deities, photos of ancestors and family, precious trinkets and mementos, crystals, things that remind you of who you are and where you come from, etc.

Here is an example of a pagan altar.

So if I am going to truly understand and go all in with my research, it makes sense to put together my own altar. Creating an altar is a pagan way, and my purpose is to look at and test such practices as they may pertain to improving mental health. Please bear in mind that altars are not solely for religious purposes.

I am not the most creative nor the best at building things, so this task has just as much chance of being a complete failure as it has of being a success. I am both nervous and excited about building my altar.

My plan is to work on my altar for the next couple of weeks and then present it to you in a future newsletter.

Lastly, I will let you in on a little secret; I already have a theory about why the process of building and using an altar may be beneficial to mental health. I will test things out and see if I am correct.

Have a great weekend!

My name is Mike, and I am a skeptic and recovering accountant just starting to make my way through the world of the Druids, Celts, and Pagans.

Join me on my journey as I use an analytic eye to extract what I believe to be golden nuggets of truth from these fascinating topics. My goal is to find valuable ways, practices, and insights to make your life better today.

If my content speaks to you, please subscribe to my newsletter! Also, feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think. I am here to serve what I hope will be a great community of curious and like-minded individuals.

“May the Road Rise to Meet You!”

With a skeptical mind and an analytical eye,

Mike Guarneri

P.S. - I release a new newsletter every Friday. Please be sure to subscribe. The past newsletters can also be found at mikeguarneri.com.

P.P.S. - This week, I started work on a secret side project. Look for an announcement in the coming weeks.