Cior & Cal

The Gods of Life & Death

Overview

"I love you from Cior to Cal."

— Caillte to Pip on many occasions

Cior and Cal may be the gods of life and death respectively, but they are far more than that. Together, they were the masterminds behind the birth of Èirigh itself, and for that, they have been called the Parents of Earth, the Architects, and many other names. Cior loves Cal, and Cal loves Cior, and their eternal courtship is the foundation of All Things.

Summary

At the dawning of time, there was nothing but the light above and the darkness below. The light was Cior, and Cior was beautiful. The dark was Cal, and Cal was humble, for how could darkness be worthy of such stunning light as Cior? For the time that time itself forgot, these spirits watched one another, each trapped forever in their lonely planes above and below. But though they were bound to their planes, eternally separated, doomed to live forever alone and always apart, Cior and Cal grew to love one another.

Cal loved Cior for their glorious light, their abundant passions, and their endless kindness. Cior loved Cal for their stark darkness, their fierceness, and their stunning empathy. As this love and yearning grew, the light and darkness reached for one another, until at last they touched, and that touch exploded into a formless void of possibilities.

Though the void kept them apart, they loved the void and its possibilities, because the void allowed them to express the love they bore for one another. Together, they took a void and created a world, dreaming of a day where they would walk the earth together, hand in hand.

For the love of Cal, Cior birthed the great mountains Sliabh and Cruach, breathed the light of Tine into existence, and wove Ciumhne and Fòmhar from the same skein of life. All this Cal did to ease Cior's loneliness in the land above.

For the love of Cior, Cal spilled their blood to bring Raidhse into being, crashed the newly born clouds together and made Scrios, and threw their eye into the skies to stand guard over all as Fìrinne. All this Cior did to ensure Cal would never be alone in the darkness below.

For the love of one another, Cior and Cal bound the lesser gods they had birthed to the earth of their creation. For only one night each year, on the night of the Festival of Samhain, Cior and Cal forge a path to one another from the bounty of these lesser gods. It is their holy embrace on this night that bore mankind, and from their yearly embrace that the spirit of love comes.

by Berlian Khatulistiwa on Unsplash

See Also

Worship and Ritual

It is said that the act of loving itself is worship to Cior and Cal, and it is out of respect for their eternal separation that intimate relations should be saved until marriage. The practice of Handfasting is said to come from Cior's love of weaving.

Conversely, many that choose Cior and Cal as their patron god pledge themselves to a life of celibacy as a form of worship, in honor of their eternal separation. When one survives a near death experience, it is often said that Cal deemed them as too precious a gift to accept, and these individuals frequently pledge themselves to the service of the gods, striving to make the world they created a better place.

To die for love is seen as the most valiant death of all, and many believe that to die in such a manner ensures that you will be reunited in the land above after death.