Friday, 22. February 2008
The Celts
Even today, very little is known about the mysterious, elusive culture of the Celtic peoples.

In the same way as all other cultures, the lifestyle of the Celts influenced the structure and beliefs of their religion, known as Druidism. When Anglesey was settled by the Celts in about 100 BC, it became the centre of this religion. It consisted of Pagan beliefs in deities of the Earth, spirits of the woodland, sun gods, as well as elves and demons.

The supreme god of the Celts was Lug, who gave his name to this city of Lyons ("Lugundum" in Latin). Taranis, or Dagada as he was known in Ireland, was the god of the spiritual world. Ogomis, the god of warriors and kingship, was said to have a face which smiled to the right but glowered on the left. Fertility gods and goddesses were abound in Celtic tradition, including Cernunos the Antlered, who was also the god of the untamed forces of nature, and Bridget, the patroness of fire. He was often depicted as being surrounded by deer, serpents and other woodland creatures. A number of animals were seen as sacred by the Celts, including the wild boar. In Gaul, the hunting and killing of the boar stood for the mortal running the spiritual to ground.

Read here a very good short article to the Celts by Megan Balanck.


Here is a nice introduction into the Celtic Pagan Culture. (11:25)




You may also like about the ancient Celts:

OBOD: The Order of Bards, Ovates, & Druids
UK Druidry organization.

Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship
The Irish words, pronounced "arn ree-ocht fane", mean "Our Own Druidism", and that´s just what ADF is - a completely independent tradition of Neopagan Druidism.

Guide to the Druids and Celtic Spirituality
The Druids emerged from the ancient Celtic tribes, at a time when the people had to live close to nature to survive.

Society of Celtic Shamans
Teaching and more from this group of Celtic Shamans.

CELT, the Corpus of Electronic Texts
A scholarly and very comprehensive archive of Celtic texts.


Online Books:

The Religion of the Ancient Celts by J. A. MacCulloch (1911)
This is an authoritative study of ancient Celtic religion, including extensive material on what is actually known about the Druids.

Survivals in Belief Among the Celts by George Henderson (1911)
An extensive review of evidence of pre-Christian beliefs in Celtic culture.

Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions by James Bonwick (1894)
This book reflects a scholarly perspective on the Druids. It ties together many strands of mythology and anthroplogy to shed light on Irish Paganism.

Celtic Myth and Legend by Charles Squire (1905)
A comprehensive treatment of Irish, Welsh, and British mythology, from the ancient pagan pantheons up to the Arthurian legends.
Category: Myths & Sagas Category: Religion & Early Cultures




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