Beauty As A Spiritual Virtue

Beauty is ultimately a touchy, touchy subject with most... A lesson I learned the hardest way possible last year after I asked the Celtic Polytheist community on Tumblr about a trend that I had noticed in the stories and in my research.

It should go without saying that this blog is about me and my research- and as a result, anything written on the Virtues is applicable only to that; hard be it from me to tell others how to live their own lives.

While studying several of the myths I began to notice a trend… That trend was that the focal character’s beauty was almost always mentioned as a significant point. Not only was it significant, though, it was emphasized and focused on in many cases.

Having noticed this trend the question I posed to the community was relatively simple: Was “Beauty” in these instances an allegory for something else- beauty of Character or some other abstract concept, perhaps… Or was is a direct reference to actual, physical appearance and the social Beauty Standards of Early Ireland?

After a short while, A. of GtGP chimed in and confirmed that it was, in fact, a trend focused on physical appearance specifically. They then went on to say they viewed it as abelist and didn’t believe it had a continued place in modern polytheistic faith systems- saying, specifically:

Vanity and ableism. It’s a value I don’t like to say has a place as a virtue today, though it was certainly one in the past

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the last time I heard such a thing; one user reblogged the conversation to add:

Even though the historical definition was a physical one, times change! This isn’t a 100% reconstructionist thing we’ve got going on […] The best thing I think to do, is too look at the values that are at the core, the essence I suppose, of the lore. While at the time the definition would have been physical beauty, we can 100% say ‘well, with our personal values and such, inner beauty/self love would make sense as a modern analog.

They then went on to assert that “Self Love” was a perfectly acceptable substitution for Beauty as a virtue- or at least was an acceptable way in which the modern polytheist could redefine it; another user said something very similar later on- stating:

I should note that none of us are starting our own fiefdoms or kingdoms, and so our physical looks have absolutely nothing to do with other people’s perception of us.

I heard the same sentiment from various users at different points; the post would fall dormant for a bit, and another user would pick it up and reiterate roughly the same viewpoint before the post disappeared again waiting to resurface.

I've disagreed with these statements from the beginning. 

I feel Beauty does have a place in modern Polytheism… More than that, I don’t think turning it into “Self Love” or “Body Positivity”, in and of itself, is an accurate method of modernizing it. Instead, I feel the continued emphasis on physical appearance in association with beauty is integral to reconstructing and modernizing the virtue within a modern reconstruction of the faith.

I’ve found that people don’t tend to care for my disagreement much, especially on Tumblr. Beauty, as I found out, is a highly polarizing subject even in a religion that clearly lists it as a virtue; after disagreeing I was called everything from Classist to Abelist, and even outright Transphobic, for daring to think Beauty mattered- let alone had a viable place in Modern Spirituality.... And no, the irony of saying those things to an impoverished, disabled, neuroatypical person- and multifaceted member of the MOGAI community- is far from being lost on me. 

But even now, the reason for my disagreement remains the same:

Lore and custom clearly say so.

To me, what lore says unequivocally trumps modern opinions and Personal Gnosis– and that applies not only to the Gods and how they’re portrayed, but also to things like our doctrine, our virtues, and our spiritual values… Things which, regardless of whether we want to acknowledge it or not, make up the very foundation of our religion. And if you want to create (or even reconstruct) a legitimate religion, anyways, and not just some half-assed, self aggrandizing “spirituality” with a dash of Deity Worship on the side? You have to pay attention to that.

But why retain the emphasis on physical Beauty, specifically? Why keep such a spiritual Virtue around- let alone continue allowing it to focus on our physical appearance? Why not redefine it as a more abstract concept of beauty instead- like “beauty of character”, “self love”, or “body positivity”? 

Because ultimately it makes no damned sense to.

As someone had originally said early on in the discussion: “The best thing to do is too look at the values that are at the core; the essence of the lore”… And while they may want to bury their head in the sand about it, it doesn’t change the reality that physical beauty was that essence; in absolutely all cases that I’ve found the reference to Beauty within the lore, physical Beauty was the central focus- and there was no substitute. That matters- or, at least, it should when you're a Reconstructionist and not just a Revivalist.

When you begin to look at Early Irish Culture, the fact of the matter is that the Early Irish placed great emphasis on Physical Beauty and wholeness as they defined it. This is something which is glaringly evident in so many stories- especially if you know anything about the Beauty ideals of the Early Irish. And it's important to know what those were when you're deconstructing the lore.

Perhaps the most notable trend that's often the most relevant to us in lore (or at least appears the most often for us), however, is how the loss of position or status often occurs alongside the loss of Beauty or "Wholeness of Body". Coming to mind here as the perfect example which really exemplifies this, and which most should reasonably be familiar, is, of course, the story of how Nuada- as a result of losing his hand to Sreng during The First Battle of Magh Tuiredh– lost his kingship.

Initially Dian Cécht managed to replace this with a Silver Hand fashioned by Goibhniu- and, as a result, Nuada actually regained his kingship temporarily; even though he was still considered blemished, with the silver hand he was at least whole in a way that allowed him to regain the throne according to the virtues and laws.

He was, of course, overthrown shortly afterwards by a bitter Bres- this time with the help of the Fomorians. And after Miach, son of Dian Cécht, restored Nuada’s real hand, he had the full support of the Tuatha Dé. And wouldn’t you know, he regained his kingship (yet again) during The Second Battle of Magh Tuiredh.

While the story of Nuada is fascinating to say the least, however? His story isn’t one I find particularly relevant to the argument (at least, not right now; we'll get to that). But the importance of Beauty in general isn’t just found in Nuada’s story. Another example comes from the Fled Bricrend– where the first portion of Emer’s speech mentions it quite clearly:

I am the standard of Women in figure, in grace, and in wisdom; none my equal in beauty, for I am the picture of Graces- myself Noble and Goodly, my eyes like a jewel that flash; figure of Grace or beauty [..]

Not only does it mention Beauty, however… It repeats it and it emphasizes it- making it almost the focal point of her initial qualifications when arguing why she should be the first of the women allowed into the Dining Hall. And as for whether or not proclamations of one’s beauty like this are a form of “bragging” or “Vanity”? I don’t actually think that was the intent behind them at all.

Irish Poetic and Spoken Magic is interesting in that most examples we have use forceful proclamations of one’s virtues, skills, and talents (such as those made by Emer and the other Women) to… Well… In essence make those proclamations true. And The Rosc: Spoken Spells in Druidic Magic provides plenty of examples that are incredibly similar to some of the speeches given in Fled Bricrend (though none could be considered exact analogues). Because of that, I think there’s a very real possibility that such proclamations may have actually been a form of Poetic or Spoken Magic- not examples of "vain bragging".

A related trend that I noticed in other areas, too, was that this Beauty- spelled or otherwise- could be the deciding factor of their win against an opponent or enemy. One such example is found in the Táin Bó Cúailnge when Cu Chulainn is forced to fight several champions of Medb’s army; once again, The Rosc notes:

Each single combat, then, includes a series of conversations in which the themes of courage, generosity, loyalty, and beauty are reinforced. Cu Chulainn prevails in each melee because his foes slip up or are found lacking in one or more of these qualities. Cu Chulainn’s only match is his life-long friend Ferdia, who is fighting with Medb’s army. But the two warriors had previously sworn to each other not to ever clash—an oath Ferdia would break […]

Again, and again, and again it is evident in the descriptions of the characters and the repetitious mention of their “Beauty of form” or “Beauty of Face”… But Lore isn’t the only place such assertions are found. It’s hard to ignore them unless you’re willfully choosing to do so.

Lore isn't the only example we have to pull from, either. Indeed, this emphasis is also found outside of lore as well- most notably in the Value Texts; while there’s no singular Value Text, it’s still found in several (a good list of which appears on Tairis’ website)- either being indirectly alluded to, or overtly stated. In fact, this theme is so prominent that (according to The Rosc):

Historian Cahill points out that Irish narratives prominently sustain four major themes that shaped the Irish culture: Courage, generosity, loyalty, and beauty.

Even Daimler herself– well heralded in the Gaelic Polytheist community as a primary source for modern reconstructionism- notes that mentions of beauty often focuses on their appearance (particularly in their adherence to Irish standards of Beauty).

Ultimately we know beyond any shadow of a doubt that beauty (by Irish standards) was highly important to the Early Irish at least in two regards: Physical Beauty, and Wholeness of Being (being without defect). And because it was important to the Culture, I feel that it must likewise become important to us as people seeking to reconstruct and practice their cultural faith system.

I don’t feel you can accurately claim to be an adherent of a faith if you’re picking and choosing which bits of those you’re following. And although so many people refuse to recognize it, the faith’s Virtues are incomplete without its inclusion in the modern virtue system… And without retaining its original emphasis on physical beauty specifically? The value itself means nothing in the end.

On To Part Two