March 4, 2021

The Light Of Ancient Wisdom

Birds, cats, and a man with a Fu Manchu mustache. The carved faces over the door of this church near Corofin in County Clare tell an intriguing story. If only we could read it.

Yet the stone heads are only one aspect of the mystery that surrounds this site. While the story of the heads remains elusive, we do know that there are influences of gnostics, Egyptian Coptic Christians, and Desert Fathers & Mothers present here. Even the name of this place, Dysert O’Dea or Díseart Uí Dheá in Irish, is an indication of that influence. Díseart, being the word for hermitage, begs a question of whether it would be more accurate to name those early gnostic hermits Díseart Fathers & Mothers.

Beyond the stone faces and the name, there’s the building’s orientation. It’s sited on an energy line that runs through the center of the church, a line so powerful that a large Celtic Cross was placed on that line in a nearby field long after the church was built. And while the other mystic influences seem today decorative remnants of another time, this energy line is still potent and powerful. And yes, there is a story.

Beannacht,
Judith – judith@stonefires.com