"Woe to the coward that ever was born,
That did not draw the sword before he blew
the horn."
___ traditional Scots rhyme
There are many stories concerning giants (or King Arthur and his knights) sleeping under a hill. The sleepers are really guardians who should not be woken until there is a great and national need. A fool-hardy man discovers their sleeping place, usually when seeking buried treasure that is supposed to be lying with the sleepers. Greed takes him in, but the sight of the awesome warriors and their gear, confusion grips him. He blows the horn to wake them but fails to draw the sword that lies nearby to indicate the real urgency of his need. The sleepers stir and ask, 'Is it time?' The foolish man has nothing to say for himself, and is indicted with the rhyme above. He is never able to find the cavern again.
In every country, there is a similar tale of sleepers whose purpose is to be the vanguard of defense in national crisis - ancestral or otherworldly sleepers who are contracted to be guardians and protectors of the land. They should not be woken unless we really neede them. Those who invoke the sleepers out of greed or curiosity get neither gold nor knowledge. This applies also to those whose spiritual practice is entirely self-serving, who undergo a kind of metaphysical assult course wherein all traditions are ransacked for their spiritual treasures in order to provide soul-credits at the finish line.
There are many aspects of ancient traditions that are in a period of sleep, retreat, or transformation - aspects that are best left sleeping now. Not only atavistic and barbarous practices that are no longer a part of our world, but also deep and abiding truths that will one day awaken and come to aid of those in centuries yet to dawn.
"Who are the abiding sleepers in your tradition? Meditate upon the purpose of their sleep."
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]
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