Tallen Cyenns, Tales Of The Salmon Of Knowledge And The Hazel Tree

Tallen Cyenns was born under a Full Hazel Moon during the ninth month of the Celtic Calendar, which would be the eighth month of the Gregorian Calendar. The Hazel Moon was known to the Celts as "Coll", which some have said translates to "the life force inside you". This is the time of year when the nuts from the Hazel trees are appearing which are an early part of the harvest. Hazelnuts are also associated with wisdom and protection. The Hazel tree is so important to Celtic mythology it is said that anyone who cuts it down could be sentenced to death. It is often associated in Celtic lore with sacred wells and magical springs containing the Salmon of Knowledge. The Hazel tree's powers of wisdom were so great, that some people would carry a wand made of hazel wood when they had to settle an argument or to administer the law.

The salmon was one of the Celts most sacred creatures. Since being associated with the Hazel tree, the salmon was said to had the meaning of wisdom and esoteric knowledge. The Celts believed that eating salmon would give a person great wisdom and the ability to see the future. When a salmon would appear, the Celts believed it mean a person had an increased ability to sense changes in the environment. A salmon's appearance would also mean that a person needed to look at where they had been or where they were thinking of going, the past and the future. Persistence would bring success in one's life.

The Salmon of Knowledge is a creature figuring in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. The Salmon figures prominently in "The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn", which recounts the early adventures of Fionn mac Cumhaill. According to the story, an ordinary salmon ate nine hazelnuts that fell into the Well of Wisdom from nine hazel trees that surrounded the well. By this act, the salmon gained all the world's knowledge. Moreover, the first person to eat of its flesh would, in turn, gain this knowledge. The poet Finn Eces spent seven years fishing for this salmon. One day Finn Eces caught the salmon Fintan and gave the fish to Fionn, his servant and son of Cumhaill, with instructions not to eat it. Fionn cooked the salmon, turning it over and over, but when Fionn touched the fish with his thumb to see if it was cooked, he burnt his finger on a drop of hot cooking fish fat.

Fionn sucked on his burned finger to ease the pain. Little did Fionn know that all of Fintan's wisdom had been concentrated into that one drop of fish fat. When he brought the cooked meal to Finn Eces, his master saw that the boy's eyes shone with a previously unseen wisdom. Finn Eces asked Fionn if he had eaten any of the salmon. Answering no, the boy explained what had happened. Finn Eces realized that Fionn had received the wisdom of the salmon, so gave him the rest of the fish to eat. Fionn ate the salmon and in so doing gained all the knowledge of the world. Throughout the rest of his life, Fionn could draw upon this knowledge merely by biting his thumb. The deep knowledge and wisdom gained from Fintan, the Salmon of Knowledge, allowed Fionn to become the leader of the Fianna, the famed heroes of Irish myth.

An individual born under under the Hazel Moon are said to be clever and detailed-oriented, often analyzing every situation and planning things out far in advance. They are great communicators both in writing and when speaking. Those born under the Full Moon are very honest with a tendency to be blunt at times. Tallen's lifelong friend, John FitzStephen, often talked about Tallen's analytical skills, his honesty and bluntness as well as his gifted ability in the written and spoken forms of communications. While he was never officially appointed by a Celtic Chieftain as one, there were others that thought Tallen would make a great "Seanchaí". A seanchaí is a bearer of "old lore" or a traditional Irish storyteller or historian. In the ancient Celtic culture, the history and laws of the people were not written down but memorized in long lyric poems which were recited by bards in a tradition echoed by the seanchaithe.

Seanchaithe were servants to the chiefs of the tribe and kept track of important information for their clan. They were very well respected in their clan. The seanchaithe made use of a range of storytelling conventions, styles of speech and gestures that were peculiar to the Irish folk tradition and characterized them as practitioners of their art. Some seanchaithe however were not part of a clan, some were itinerants, traveling from one community to another offering their skills in exchange for food and temporary shelter. Others were members of a settled community and might be termed "village storytellers" who told their stories and tales at ceremonies and community events, similar to the servant Seanchaithe.

Tallen was also known to be a "protector", after all he did honorably serve in the military for a number of years and had also worked additional years doing constabulary duties. John FitzStephen recalled a story of Tallen's bravery, much like that of Fionn mac Cumhaill the mythical hunter-warrior of Irish mythology. Although never officially confirmed through military records, this incident took place when John, Tallen and some of their companions who were all experienced young horseman. There came a time for them to be called upon to go on a scouting mission during one of the battles they were in. For several days torrential rain had fallen and as they were moving down a storm struck road in the forest they ran upon some of their opponents that were also on horseback. Being outnumbered, Tallen and his friends turned their horses to make their escape and were quickly pursued.

They ran their horses into a mire and the horses fell and they were surrounded and thought to be captured at the moment. The leader of the opposing force immediately took their weapons and requested their headgear. It was told that Tallen being young and daring replied, "Damn you, if you think you can take my headgear, try it, and someone will meet their fate from the grip of my bare-hands". The other Soldiers began laughing at hearing the young "up-start" speaking like this and their leader replied "I like your spiritedness, you may keep your headgear". This moment turned out to be just the distraction needed to keep Tallen and his companions from actually being captured, for it was during this time when some reinforcements arrived and ended up capturing the opponents. Whether the story was factual Tallen did indeed end up wearing that headgear long after the his time served.

John also always enjoyed the tales of some of Tallen's more unusual dreams, some of which were of a dark and ominous nature and were often thought to be visions from a much distant future or perhaps even times passed. At the very least it was thought that perhaps some of Tallen's dreams were to be used as a guide for making it through the every day life of the present times. Even those dreams which were more lighthearted and seemed to be fun and entertaining. At times John would also recall Tallen's love of music and often wondered about some of the strange tunes he talked about had been found in those unusual dreams he had or perhaps Tallen had actually traveled to the future. Because some of the musical instruments he mentioned were not of the kind used in their times. Over the many years he had served in those constabulary duties was when others within the district he patrolled learned he could be trusted. As a matter of fact throughout his life people from all walks would come to him for advice or to simply have long, meaningful, engaging and interesting conversations, knowing that he would never divulge any secrets or tell anything of confident in nature told to him.

It was because of things like this in Tallen's life that others also felt that he should have been a "Brehon". Brehons of ancient Ireland were wise individuals who memorized and applied the laws to settle disputes among members of an extended family. They were part of the system of Early Irish law, which was also simply called "Brehon law" who acted as judges with arbitration, mediative and judicial role in Gaelic culture. Could some of Tallen's positive personal character traits be linked to his occasional eating of salmon croquettes and hazelnuts? Although as far as those edible nuts goes, he actually preferred pecans and peanuts. Some of you here may recall that in the place of Tallen's birth there were stories long told about about a very unusual statue that was erected to honor an agricultural pest which led the locals to grow peanuts. Perhaps this is the reason that one of his favorite foods was a food paste or spread made from ground dry-roasted peanuts.

“Celtic tradition shows that Ireland's rivers are believed to be sourced from an unknown place located in the Otherworld. There, along the banks of the waters, is a Hazel tree that overgrows it. As those kernels of wisdom fall into the water they are eaten and carried downstream by the salmon as it swims from that Otherworld into this ordinary world. Anyone who shall feast upon that salmon will gain esoteric knowledge thus becoming wiser." - attributed to Tallen Cyenns