Sunwise, sunward or deasil (sometimes spelled ''deosil''), are terms meaning to go clockwise or in the direction of the sun, as seen from the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

. The opposite term is ''

widdershins Widdershins (sometimes withershins, widershins or widderschynnes) is a term meaning to go counter-clockwise, anti-clockwise, or lefthandwise, or to walk around an object by always keeping it on the left. Literally, it means to take a course opp ...

'' ( Middle Low German), or ''tuathal'' (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

). In

Scottish culture The culture of Scotland includes Scots law, its distinct legal system, financial institutions, sports in Scotland, sports, literature of Scotland, literature, art of Scotland, art, music of Scotland, music, media of Scotland, media, cuisine of ...

, this turning direction is also considered auspicious, while the converse is true for counter-clockwise motion.

Irish culture

During the days of

Gaelic Ireland Gaelic Ireland () was the Gaelic political and social order, and associated culture, that existed in Ireland from the late Prehistory of Ireland, prehistoric era until the 17th century. It comprised the whole island before Anglo-Norman invasi ...

and of the Irish clans, the Psalter known as was used as both a rallying cry and protector in battle by the Chiefs of Clan O'Donnell. Before a battle it was customary for a chosen monk or holy man (usually attached to the Clan McGroarty and who was in a state of grace) to wear the Cathach and the cumdach, or book shrine, around his neck and then walk three times sunwise around the warriors of Clan O'Donnell.Stokes, Roy. ''A Bibliographical Companion''. Scarecrow Press, 2011. , p. 80 According to

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

Kevin Danaher, on St. John's Eve in

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

and Connaught, it was customary to light a

bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used for waste disposal or as part of a religious feast, such as Saint John's Eve. Etymology The earliest attestations date to the late 15th century, with the Catholicon Anglicum spelling i ...

at sunset and to walk sunwise around the fire while praying the

rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

. Those who could not afford a rosary would keep tally by holding a small pebble during each prayer and throwing it into the bonfire as each prayer was completed. Similar praying of the

or other similar prayers while walking sunwise around

Christian pilgrimage Christianity has a strong tradition of pilgrimages, both to sites relevant to the New Testament narrative (especially in the Holy Land) and to sites associated with later saints or miracles. History Christian pilgrimages were first made to sit ...

shrines or

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...

s is also traditional in Irish culture during pattern days.Haggerty, Bridget. "Pattern Day in Old Ireland", Irish Culture and Customs
/ref>

Scottish culture

This is descriptive of the ceremony observed by the druids, of walking round their temples by the south, in the course of their directions, always keeping their temples on their right. This course (''diasil'' or ''deiseal'') was deemed propitious, while the contrary course is perceived as fatal, or at least unpropitious. From this ancient superstition are derived several Gaelic customs which were still observed around the turn of the twentieth century, such as drinking over the left thumb, as Toland expresses it, or according to the course of the sun. Similarly to the pre-battle use of the Cathach of St. Columba in

, the Brecbannoch of St Columba, a reliquary containing the partial human remains of the Saint, was traditionally carried three times sunwise around Scottish armies before they gave battle. The most famous example of this was during the Scottish Wars of Independence, shortly before the Scots under

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

faced the English army at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

Martin Martin Martin Martin (Scottish Gaelic: Màrtainn MacGilleMhàrtainn) (–9 October 1718) was a Scotland, Scottish writer best known for his work ''A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland (Martin), A Description of the Western Islands of Scotlan ...

says: The use of the sunwise circle was also traditional in the Highlands during

s in honour of St Máel Ruba, particularly to the shrine where he is said to have established a hermitage upon Isle Maree.Houlbrook, Cari. "The wishing-tree of Loch Maree", Welcome Collection, 23 July 2024
/ref>

"Deosil" and other spellings

Wicca Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...

uses the spelling ''deosil'', which violates the Gaelic orthography principle that a consonant must be surrounded by either broad vowels (a, o, u) or slender vowels (e, i). The ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'' gives precedence to the spelling "deasil", which violates the same principle, but acknowledges "deiseal", "deisal", and "deisul" as well.

Other cultures

This distinction exists in traditional Tibetan religion.

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Arunachal Prades ...

s go round their shrines sunwise, but followers of Bonpo go widdershins. The former consider Bonpo to be merely a perversion of their practice, but Bonpo adherents claim that their religion, as the indigenous one of Tibet, was doing this prior to the arrival of Buddhism in the country. The Hindu ''

pradakshina Parikrama or Pradakshina is clockwise circumambulation of sacred entities, and the path along which this is performed, as practiced in the Indic religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. In Buddhism, it refers only to the path alon ...

'', the auspicious circumambulation of a temple, is also made clockwise.

References

Sources