Faery Gold
The Tylwyth Teg Files: Example 4
Gabriel Carrillo's BloodRose Handouts
Background
Gabriel Carrillo, also known in the past by his SCA name Caradoc Ap Cador, is a longstanding elder of the Faery Tradition, having been initiated by Victor Anderson in the early 1970's. Later, He began the Korythalia/BloodRose school of Faery, for which he developed appropriate handouts that were for the eyes of his students only. BloodRose eventually dissolved, though Gabriel continues teaching to this day.
At the end of the 1990's, a web site appeared on GeoCities duplicating Gabriel's work, originally without giving him any credit for his authorship. Despite protests from Gabriel himself and numerous other Faeries, the material remains. This is the only published source of this material, and therefore widely accessible. The form of this material on the YTT site reflects the wording used on that other site, which comes directly from Gabriel's early work.
In private correspondence with Gabriel, shared publically on various lists, Robert Wynne of YTT in the UK claims that Anna Korn and Gabriel and NROOGD (!?), among others, plagiarized his father's original work, work he claims was produced in 1992. There are many who can attest that Gabriel authored this material well before this date - this fact is widely known by Faeries all over California and across the country.
The site on Geocities that is the likely source of this material on the YTT site is located at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/5569. The deity and guardian material we shall examine is at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/5569/faeguardians.html
As of 6 Aug 2001, the plagiarized version is near the bottom of http://www.tylwythteg.com/bos039234/bos22.html. Note that this page is very long. The examples below are just a sampling. There is much more plagiarism of BloodRose and other Faery liturgy on their site, including original poetry belonging to the estate of well-known Faerie Shaman Gwydion Pendderwen of Annwfn.
This is a clear theft of the Faery Tradition/BloodRose "look and feel" for commercial gain, as many of these BOS pages are intended for YTT's paying "students". Apple won this one against Xerox, but not against Microsoft, so who knows what could happen.
The Comparisons
YTT:
"THE SKY GODDESS
Her name is Arianrhod. She is called the Blue Virgin of the Outer Darkness. She is the whole Universe, created and un-created, before and after. She is the great infinite one who divided herself and brought forth light. The Star Goddess appears as a beautiful woman with great wings, her whole body Dark Blue, her hair sprinkled with a million stars. She is seated on a throne of amber with a silver egg in her lap, surrounded by a halo of blue flames. Her emblem is a serpent with its tail in its mouth."
ORIGINAL at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/5569/faedeity1.html:
"The Star Goddess
Foremost among the deities of Feri is the Star Goddess who is the Source of All. She is not purely feminine, but is pansexual, and all the Feri deities are aspects of Her. She is called by many names....
So that we may get to know Her better, visualize Her as: A completely black lionness-headed woman with great wings, her hair sprinkled with a million stars. She is seated on a throne of onyx with a silver egg in her lap. She is surrounded by a halo of blue flames.
She does not take only this one form, however.
We may feel her within ourselves by visualizing her symbol, an orobouros, that is, a serpent with its tail in its mouth."
YTT:
"THE HARVEST LORD Twr (Welsh for tower) is the Corn King. He is the spirit of Summer, a spirit of Light and Heat in its aspect of nourishing and energizing life. He is the son and lover of the Earth Mother. The Harvest Lord appears as a stag-headed man. His body is completely golden: skin, hair, eyes, and horns. His neck is wreathed with a garland of summer flowers and green leaves about the neck. His emblem is a golden sun."
ORIGINAL at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/5569/faedeity4.html:
"The Harvest Lord
He is the Spirit of Light and Heat, the ripeness of Summer, and the fullness of Manhood. There is nothing androgynous about him. He is often considered the consort of and parallel of the goddess Mari. At the same time, He, too, is a reflection in a dark mirror of the Star Goddess. *
Twr (Welsh) = tower = oak .... [other names edited out of respect]
He is visualized as a man with the head of a horned stag, although he may also have the head of an antelope or another horned animal common to one's region. He is entirely golden, in shades of gold, his body, his hair, his horns. About his neck is a garland of beautiful colored flowers and fresh green leaves.
His symbol is the Sun."
YTT:
AMAETHEON, THE GUARDIAN OF THE EAST represents the power of knowledge. He appears standing before the rising sun. His body is transparent golden yellow, his eyes are two very bright light-blue stars, and he has great wings colored pale violet. His right hand holds a wand of sapphire, bound with gold at the top and silver at the bottom.ORIGINAL at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/5569/faeguardian1.html:
"Star Finder represents the power of Knowledge. He appears before the rising sun. His body is transparent golden yellow, his eyes are two very bright light blue stars, and he has great wings colored pale violet. In his right hand he holds a rod of sapphire, bound with gold at the top and silver at the bottom.
The invocation above is often used in semi-public Feri rituals. It, the visualisation, and the meditations below were developed in part by Gabriel, the founder of the Blood Rose school of Feri."
YTT:
"BOREAS, THE GUARDIAN OF THE NORTH WIND represents the power of Wisdom. He appears as a jet-black goat with silver horns and golden eyes, in a cave deep in Earth at midnight, surrounded by a halo of flickering blue fire. His left hoof rests upon a perfect cube of green stone on which is engraved a pentacle."
[Note: "Boreas" is not even a Welsh name... it is GREEK!"]
ORIGINAL at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/5569/faeguardian4.html:
"The Guardian of the North is called Black Mother, and wields the power of Wisdom. She appears as a jet-black goat with silver horns and golden eyes, suckling a thousand children, in a cave deep in the Earth at midnight, surrounded by a halo of flickering blue fire. Her left hoof rests upon a perfect cube of green stone on which is engraved a pentacle."
YTT:
"TALIESIN, GUARDIAN OF THE UNDERWORLD The Guardian of the Underworld appears as a great fish which is normally a Salmon, coiled in a circle, with dark-brown scales flecked with green and blue iridescence, carrying a burning ember in its mouth. This is also Taliesin, of the Shining Brow, chief Bard of the Isle of Britain; he is companion to those who choose the narrow path of understanding through the highest elemental contacts."
ORIGINAL at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/5569/faeguardian5-6-7.html#6:
"The Guardian of the Nadir (below) is called The Fire in the Earth, and wields the power of Pure Consciousness. This guardian appears as a great fish coiled in a circle, with dark brown scales flecked with green and blue iridescence, carrying a burning ember in its mouth."