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Thanks Ragtimelil, The recent discussion in the forum inspired me to write this. I used these years ago when I wanted to expand my meditation into manifestation meditation.

I love this concept, thanks for bringing it to the forefront. :)K

No, I meant the game itself.

3/3

Geal's name translates as 'white'. She remained the Maiden throughout. No chance of the Sutherland men following her to even make it to first base, as it were! So she switches to targeting the Prince of Loch Aber instead.

Remember that she and Critheanach are fundamentally the same Goddess of (Sutherland) Sovereignty in different aspects. Even when she starts killing people, she never starts wearing black That would indicate that she's now the Crone and that the Prince has lost.

Instead, she tries disguise, in a very similar vein to Ragnell with Gawain. This whole section is about whether this new Lord could choose wisely, even when faced with the darker side of the country. Could he still identify the correct Goddess? Or, could he still make the right choices for Sutherland, despite being from Loch Aber?

Yes! He can! So he enters the third and last stage of his test. (Us Celts love the number three. Look how many times that turns up, as three or multiples of three, in this story. That alone indicates a mystical significance! And amusingly, it's taken me three posts to interpret this.)

This is the Druidic initiation phase, where he ends up in the ocean, plunging his javelin into the 'red spot' of the whale. How very phallic is that? :p

It doesn't tell us what color Critheanach's clothes were post-whale, but I imagine that they would either be entirely red (Mother - claimed!) or entirely green (Sovereignty - claimed!).

Geal, still representing rival claims to the land from Sutherland men, is defeated. She was 'trying on the clothes' (aiming for kingship), but it's now completely over. She's put in a boat and sent West.

West was Tir nA Og, or the land of the dead. The Sovereignty dreams of the Sutherland men are dead.

But remember that Geal, Donn and Critheanach were always the same person, same Goddess. All that's happened by the end is that they've merged back into the single aspect, as they have a successful claimant for the kingship of the land.

I hope that made sense!

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We know that there was a war involved here because the 'fairy' is Baobh. She was part of the Morrighan. She's a War Goddess.

Geal and Donn are representing the men of Sutherland. They are their chance to gain the kingdom. Critheanach is the 'reserve' force, if you like. She comes in to test the men too, when none have emerged with sufficient clout to take the kingdom. The only contender is the 'foreigner', ie the bloke from the neighboring region.

Can he turn her from Maiden to Mother? Can he get her to stop wearing so much white and start with more reds and purples? Can he claim her in green? In short, does he have what it takes to become Lord of Sutherland?

When he grabs her shoe, he's taken a very domestic, Earthly symbol from the divine Goddess aspect. He's tried to pull her down to Earth, ie he's staked his claim to the land.

(See also the story of Rhiannon, in the Welsh legends, and watch how Pwyll had to chase her white horse too. Another Celtic Sovereignty story.)

Now he just has to persuade everyone. He tours around talking with the people, but the balance isn't tipped until he's identified the Goddess of Sovereignty. That's represented by matching the shoe. In reality, it would be talking to enough people that he's been accepted.

The death of Donn is basically putting down all Sutherland male opposition. They have lost Sovereignty there. Donn was never turned from brown to green. They had the soil, but not the divine spark to make it fertile. (Her name translates as 'brown', but Don (aka Dee) is also a Brythonic Mother Goddess. Her name survives in Aberdeen, the River Dee, Devon and many other placenames in Britain besides.)

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Dire wolves? I'm looking forward to reading that article!

Ok, now I'm rested and back, here is what I just read up there. Yes, it is the Scottish Cinderella, but scratch the surface and you're looking at a Sovereignty story.

Geal, Donn and Critheanach are actually different aspects of the same Sovereignty Goddess. They are one - the Three-in-One or the Triple Goddess - and all of their actions in this story were to test the new ruler.

You can tell it in the very distinct colors used for Critheanach's dress. All of those whites and reds indicate the Maiden through to the Mother. Green equates Sovereignty, alongside the purple, which is both the red of the Mother in a different hue and the heather, so more Sovereignty.

The story is set in Chataibh, which is the old Gaelic for Sutherland. The 'triplets' are the daughters of its current Lord. (I suspect that in the eldest telling of all, they were his sisters, as the kingdom passed through to the eldest son of the eldest sister in Celtic society. It had to be changed to daughters, when the system became more Anglocized.)

The Prince is from Loch Aber, which is the old Gaelic for Lochaber, which borders Sutherland.

The men of Sutherland desperately want to marry the daughter, because that would place them in control of their own land. But an external force has entered the fray. In order for sovereignty to pass to him, he has to satisfy the Goddess of Sovereignty.

In logging in, you mean the Runescape Official Forums right?

What a great idea to make your own chips!

Just so happened to read your latest comment here right when you posted it. I guess I made good timing.

Your comment raises a question. Just exactly how many Jagex Moderators have left the company over the past year?

Regarding Fargrist, I actually talked straight to him in his topic 'Tick Tock Jagex' before his tragic ban from the forums. He was very knowledgeable in what he was saying and I find it to be a terrible shame that he is no longer able to comment. Which makes my stance all the more harder to stand on because I gave him elaborate responses, in which he replied to me directly. Exchanging conversation, so to speak.

But this also brings about past experiences that include Forum Moderators getting unfair punishment from the Jagex Moderators. Jiblix as you recall, was banned from the forums for revealing advertisement bots in virtually all the Free-to-Play worlds. It seems a bit strange to think about this because it happened well before Squeal of Fortune came out. Jiblix also happened to be a Forum Moderator, and with his ban came the stripping of his title.

Ken Genosis, a former F2P Forum Moderator well known for his fair treatment of others, was stripped of his title for explaining his disgust for the removal of F2P from the Hiscores. Again, another decision on Jagex's part that raises some questions.

Selling out is only courtesy of the corporate world, right?

Great article. That's useful for me. :)

I shop at farm stands and farmers markets as much as I can, but they are not cheap. I also like the local organic grocer - not cheap either. If I had to feed a family, I certainly couldn't shop there. I will be looking into this.

Same here, although I've gotten better with debating in person. When those debates turn ugly, I tend to lose myself.

I can't say it's every single person on the new lot. But the people making the decisions are most certainly the people who don't know their arses from their elbows.

The reviews on Glassdoor state about miscommunication between development teams and upper management. I'm fairly confident that there are still some talented people working at Jagex, but so far have been unable to hone their skills. It's likely the direction is pointing towards senior managers and other staff who hold a higher position in the company.

About a month after you posted this article, I quickly noticed that the micro-transaction updates always come out on time. Other things, such as Evolution of Combat, are well behind schedule.

I must even state that this year's Halloween event is nothing more than a desperate attempt for cash. Free-to-Players can only obtain the cape out of the full set. Getting the rest of the items requires a membership and a payment to Solomon's General Store.

Weren't holidays supposed to be targeted to everyone, regardless of membership status?

I question why Jagex still keeps their title 'The No. 1 Free Online Multiplayer Game', despite their actions doing the opposite of what is to be expected.

I used to meditate and it just made me so much calm and at peace. I think I will begin again using this guide. Thanks for the inspiration!