TEACH EALLIUS SWEAT LODGE HEALING

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AN TEACH EALLIUS / THE SWEAT LODGE

Teach Eallius or Sweat Houses have been in existence in Ireland for hundreds of years. Sadly the use of theses has declined over the years and the wisdom once shared in this way has also faded with the passing of time. 

Today most of them lie in ruins in different parts of Ireland .One such house has been restored and can be found on the road to Tuam in Co Galway. Its a mile from Barndergon the left hand side of the road into Tuam. This structure was built into the side of a well. Apparently these Sweat Houses existed everywhere around Ireland a long time ago but as time has passe their use has ceased.

Many of theses houses were either a round or oval shape. The one in Tuam is about five feet high and about ten feet square with a five foot high door just two foot wide. Most were set beside a sacred well and were reported to hold a cure for various ailments including Rheumatism and other aches and pains. Interestingly enough most of the wells still exist today and locals still claim they have the cure. Many of these wells are known as Brigit's Well honoring the Goddess and a deep connection of honoring the Celtic Goddess of the land.

The cure implied the the well could heal people who bathed in its waters. I wonder how many had sweat houses attached to them at one time to assist in the healing process.It is believed that sweat houses were found in most parts of Ireland as were our sacred stone circles. 

There are a number of references to Sweat Houses in the Royal Society of  Antiquarians of Ireland and in the Ulster Journal of Archaeology. The records between these two two references show Sweat Houses in Counties Derry, Cavan, Tyrone, Fermanagh,  Ratlin Island,  Ballyshannon,  Sligo Inishmurray, Lough Allen and Slieve Iariann. 

Apparently the way they heated these was to light a fire inside the house.There shape was mostly beehive with a vent at the top to allow the smoke to release. When the flagstones in the floor and the walls soaked up the heat the person would enter the house and pour water on the flagstones to create a steam effect. This is of course only what we imagine they would have done as the practice has long gone from our memories over the centuries.

When we look to the First Nations people of America and compare our Sweat Houses with the  inipi  lodge tradition of the lakota we see a similarity between the inipi  Sweat Lodge Ceremony and our ancient Teach Eallius / Sweat House and also the Tipi and Crannog both round and meeting in a point  in the centre. I suspect there is a more spiritual aspect to these structures than we have been led to believe. It makes me wonder if all our wells  had Sweat Houses attached to them at one time to assist in the Spiritual healing and welfare of the communities living there..

WHAT IS A LODGE

The first nations people of America believe that the  Lodge is a living sacred presence ,a reflection of all creation and so should be respected as such.The Sacred way of the Lodge and its power to instill balance and purification can be experienced and explored. The Lodge is a living creation manifested through prayer and ceremony by the Lodge keeper long before a ceremony begins. It is a reflection of all creation and thus an image of the Creator an image of wholeness/holiness. Although we live within creation itself while or holy- the human being has forgotten this and suffers greatly from feelings of separation loneliness fear guilt depression and many other forms of disconnection/disease.

Because the Lodge is holy and also alive, it accepts us inside its holiness and offers us a way, a path to become whole, to remember what we have forgotten. Because the lodge is holy it offers a very deep experience. It offers physical  mental emotional and spiritual experience all in the same moment - a whole or holy experience. 

Ceremony is the Lodges way of communicating with us to bring us even closer to our own holiness, In its own likeness,the ceremonies of the Lodge are also holy or whole prayerful mixtures of earth air fore and water. All provided from the Creator through Mother Earth. 

ONE CREATOR.MANY PATHS;

It is important to understand that there are many paths that lead to the same place ...A very old wise and holy woman of the Tslingit First Nations people ,Grandma Annie Ned ,once said) All we need to do is pray for a path to be open the  and these things  healing and teachings will come to us from the life around us , It has always been so. When we build Lodge We are gathering from around us all that the Creator has provided to create the Ceremony Stones, Water, Willow, Fire and Earth. Each of us is encouraged to find a path that works for us. We may find this through the Lodge, or we may find another path that brings us to the same place.

THE LODGE AND LIFE:

The Lodge is a living sacred presence ,a reflection of all creation and so should be respected as such.The Sacred way of the Lodge and its power to instill balance and purification can be experienced and explored .The Lodge experience is an essential part of any initiates healing journey on the path to soul Illumination and self empowerment. If we manage to find our path through the Lodge we are encouraged to see the Lodge as a source of beginnings,rather than a source of everything we will need on our journey. That is why there is a door into the Lodge that opens up to life, Invites us in, but also encourages us to go out again and live in the mystery. It is important for us to remember that wisdom is a combination of teachings and experience.

For the experience of the Lodge to become real for us. It must be lived. Two hands teaching and experience clasped together make a prayer. Walk in Beauty always.. Art Stephenson, Canada.