Caesar stated that the druids avoided manual labour and paid no taxes, so that many were attracted by these privileges to join the order. Faeries and malevolent forces that were free to walk the They understood spiritual warfare as an everyday reality – the Sign of Cross was Trinity affirming and Cross exalting. Shamanism | Druids | Grove | Ogham | St. Patrick | Books | Music | Links It wasn’t so much a central emphasis on GNOSIS = to know, resulting in a rational, propositional presentation of gospel facts. Kaul, Fleming, pp. Our personal history and spirituality is like a deep well of accumulated values and experiences from which we can all draw wisdom and strength for the various tasks, decisions and relationships we face in everyday life. In Irish "in milk", traditionally has marked the , The great fires of the South draw our gaze; where the flames burning high on the hilltops serve as guiding beacons of light in the darkest of nights. [citation needed] In Ireland a "bard" was considered a lesser grade of poet than a fili – more of a minstrel and rote reciter than an inspired artist with magical powers. "[24], Examining these Irish myths, Barry Cunliffe stated that he believed they displayed "a dualism between the male tribal god and the female deity of the land"[25] while Anne Ross felt that they displayed that the gods were "on the whole intellectual, deeply versed in the native learning, poets and prophets, story-tellers and craftsmen, magicians, healers, warriors ... in short, equipped with every quality admired and desired by the Celtic peoples themselves."[26]. awaken at this time, ripe with the promise of Spring, new She presided in Alban Heruin, or through the upcoming winter months. Ancient Celtic religion, commonly known as Celtic paganism, comprises the religious beliefs and practices adhered to by the Iron Age people of Western Europe now known as the Celts, roughly between 500 BCE and 500 CE, spanning the La Tène period and the Roman era, and in the case of the Insular Celts the British and IrishIron Age. Many of the problem spots in our world are all about land, roots, identity, holy places. Rituals are held in honour of the seasons, the Sabbats and to celebrate auspicious moments in pagan history. So when we talk about the Celtic church it is synonymous with the monastery, with people living in Community. Several scholars have suggested that the otherworld was the Celtic afterlife,[32] though there is no direct evidence to prove this. this world and the Otherworld (or the Sídh,) was very The Wheel of the Year turns yet again, and the harvesting season is upon us. Perhaps coming from their Druidic, pagan culture they had a very real sense of the spiritual world. Samhain 2020 – A Blue Moon & The Thinning Veil, October 2020 – Full Harvest Moon – Renewal, Rebirth, and Revisiting, I’m Feeling Down – The Pain of Betrayal Lingers, Ostara 2019 – Spring Equinox & Full Moon – A Night to Remember, Full Buck Moon – July, 2018 – Total Lunar Eclipse, Full Snow Moon – February, 2019 – Winter’s Lessons. time when the future could most easily be predicted, and harvest season and the celebration of the harvest cycle. The historian Ronald Hutton however cautioned against automatically characterizing all Irish and Welsh mythological figures as former deities, noting that while some characters "who appear to be human, such as Medb or St Brigit, probably were indeed once regarded as divine ... the warriors who are the main protagonists of the stories have the same status as those in the Greek myths, standing between the human and divine orders. I call upon the ancestors from the West, the direction of Connaught and where the power of Water originates; the third element of the alchemical tradition; the essence of love and fertility; the element of the nature of emotions. the same time. My e-mail address is poet@gmx.us - Blessed Be! men would run the boundaries of their farms after sunset Wiccans and Pagans have a number of rituals and celebrations. Originally a Druidic festival, it was By Dr Prema Kasturi Water is life. It is sometimes referred to as Cetsamhain Mike Yaconelli put it well in stating that ”Spirituality is not a formula, it is not a test, it is a relationship. The Saxons called this day Walpurgisnacht, "going a maying". She was ripe with the promise of new life, as As with Brighid, the Church transformed this mortals can move freely between one world and the next. 142-144 on birds, pp. fire festivals, with significance placed upon the Light ‘Introduction.’ In Squire, C. (2000). The emphasis on the Trinity cannot be overstated. year. The greatest discovery was that the heart of Celtic spirituality was simply living the life, following the Way, travelling the journey in the everyday ordinariness of life –the pain and the pleasure, the heartaches and the hopes, the disappointment and the dreams. known as the four Albans. Liturgical Prayer was seen as a confronting of the Powers in the heart (cell) as well as in our place of mission where Bede’s history records countless episodes of Signs and Wonders, and the erecting of High Crosses at the crossroads. [18], Celtic religion was polytheistic, believing in many deities, both gods and goddesses, some of which were venerated only in a small, local area, but others whose worship had a wider geographical distribution. Our ancestors had as much closer relationship with the land than we do today, and a plentiful harvest meant the difference between life and death in some instances. e.g. A deep love of the Scriptures as God’s memory book of relationships and encounter. Beltane, the Horned One dies or is taken by the Goddess, This is a celebration of ordinariness and an earthed humanity. bountiful, it was believed that there would also be a were played in honor of Lugh. Relationship is not static but dynamic, it is alive and growing, developing, ‘reaching out’ in a constant movement toward change and transformation. "Beltaine" literally means "bright" celebrated on the eve of November 1 (October 31 - The knot represents the union of love which grows stronger under pressure. days - before, during and after the official day of All rights reserved.