Celtic History and its Effect on Modern Paganism
I swear by the gods by whom my people swear
-Ancient Irish Rubric-
A Brief History on the Celts
The appearance of the Celts has been a topic of discussion, or argument, amongst scholars for many years. Most agree, however, the first recorded time period was around 800 bce. Although some will insist the Celts have been around since well before.
In either case, Celtic peoples were leaders in the art of forage. The Iron Age was of extreme advantage to the Celts who's warrior personalities caused them to create many powerful weapons that would prove imposing to the Romans. The swords were much longer and heavier than the Romans', the shields stronger with an incredible display of artwork.
Caesar wrote of many encounters with the Celts, mostly with a biased tongue, but since much of what we know of the Celts, other than archeological, is what the Romans and the Christians scribed. Caesar and Posidonius were most famous for their tales of the Celts. One such tale described a horrible shout that came from the Celtic warriors during battle that took the Roman soldiers by surprise and scared them right out of their sandals.
There was also reports that the Celts fought naked, without fear, and without armor. Allusions have been made to the fact their nakedness in battle was a form of supernatural protection and that many of the young warriors were trained in the magickal arts. This ritual of warring in the nude continued to be practiced by the Scottish highland clans during the times of William Wallace.
Celtic woman were held in high regard. Though there were no recorded women that became kings but there were women who were rulers, such as Aife and Maeve of Ireland. Many women were trained as warriors and fought alongside the men.
Celtic Beliefs and Practices
According to archeological and written history, there is strong evidence from the Celtic burial grounds that the belief in fear of death. It was believed atonement for sin was carried out in the next life in punishment, but there is little evidence supporting the belief in sin by the Celts. The Druids had a definite view in the after-life, that the soul passed on from this life to the next.
Further archeological evidence showed a ritual practice of dedications were made to Roman gods along side with the Celtic deities. Since the Roman's literary work describes these practices, we have an accurate list of Celtic Gods & Goddesses by name. There was little evidence, however, of one common God or Goddess among the Celtic people. Lugh, perhaps the best known throughout the continent in Britain and Ireland of that period.
Other well known gods were Epona, or the 'horse goddess'. Normally pictured with a woman on horseback, occasionally accompanied by a foal, Epona represented fertility, abundance, the Earth and animals. Apparently she was the only Goddess that was honored by the Romans as well as the Celts. Many other Goddesses were shown in the form
the Mother, or the Matronae pictured normally as a triad (mother,maiden,crone) and frequently carrying infants, baskets of fruit and cornucopiae.
Some of the Goddesses were depicted as consorts of the Gods, such as Rosmerta, who accompanied Mercury, or Nantosuelta accompanied by Sucellos - Many of which are pictured on a number of monuments especially in Gaul.
One of the most common Gods in Celtic and Gaulic history was depicted as a bull. One such example is a carving on the face of an altar found in Paris. A bull with three horns or cranes against a backdrop of a tree with spreading branches. The bull symbology is also very strong in literature such as the Tain Bo Cualnge and other various Irish writings. The bull represented strength and virility, but as now is known, the bull was not exclusive to the Celtic beliefs.
reincarnation was a tenet of their religion, which led to a lack of fear of death. It was believed atonement for sin was carried out in the next life in punishment, but there is little evidence supporting the belief in sin by the Celts. The Druids had a definite view inthe after-life, that the soul passed on from this life to the next.
Further archeological evidence showed a ritual practice of dedications were made to Roman gods along side with the Celtic deities. Since the Roman's literary work describes these practices, we have an accurate list of Celtic Gods & Goddesses by name. There was little evidence, however, of one common God or Goddess among the Celtic people. Lugh, perhaps the best known throughout the continent in Britain and Ireland of that period.
Other well known gods were Epona, or the 'horse goddess'. Normally pictured with a woman on horseback, occasionally accompanied by a foal, Epona represented fertility, abundance, the Earth and animals. Apparently she was the only Goddess that was honored by the Romans as well as the Celts. Many other Goddesses were shown in the form the Mother, or the Matronae pictured normally as a triad (mother,maiden,crone) and frequently carrying infants, baskets of fruit and cornucopiae.
Some of the Goddesses were depicted as consorts of the Gods, such as Rosmerta, who accompanied Mercury, or Nantosuelta accompanied by Sucellos - Many of which are pictured on a number of monuments especially in Gaul.
One of the most common Gods in Celtic and Gaulic history was depicted as a bull. One such example is a carving on the face of an altar found in Paris. A bull with three horns or cranes against a backdrop of a tree with spreading branches. The bull symbology is also very strong in literature such as the Tain Bo Cualnge and other various Irish writings. The bull represented strength and virility, but as now is known, the bull was not exclusive to the Celtic beliefs.
Wicca is a rapidly growing religious movement, which is a modern day version of ancient religious precepts that far predates both Judaism and Christianity, and whose basic tenets and beliefs go back to the earliest days of humanity.
From the time religious thought was first conceived, early humanity was fascinated with the concept of female power, as only women had the ability to reproduce.
Before men realized their role in reproduction, ancient societies were largely matriarchal, based on the awe that men held towards women, who were seen as the life-givers of the fledging human race. As a result, early human spirituality revered an all-female conception of Deity, a Goddess, which represented fertility to the nascent human species. Many early paintings, carvings and statues depict this early Mother Goddess, which includes a bloated womb and enlarged breasts, obviously in honor of women's ability to reproduce humanity, and intended for use in fertility rites. Women also had the important role of educating the children, forming the rudiments of language, leading the tribe's religious rites and probably formulating the early cultural mores and taboos of these early, pre-industrial gentile societies. As a result, the Mother Goddess came to embody intellect and the arts as well.
Since the men were considered more expendable, they were relegated to the important but extremely dangerous task of hunting. They would often wear animal skin with antlers or stag horns on top to get close to a herd of bison or antelope. This led to the eventual creation of a male aspect of Deity, the God of the Hunt. He was depicted as having horns and hooves (and sometimes other animal characteristics, such as a tail), to exemplify his connection with nature, and was modeled on the appearance of the disguised hunters. This image of the Horned God was later severely bastardized by the or 'Satan.'
When horticulture and later, agriculture, eventually supplanted hunting as the main form of sustenance for the tribe, the God of the Hunt became the God of Agriculture, and the image of the Green Man, visually represented as a male face in the form of foliage, came into being in some societies (and remains a fairly familiar image in the British Isles to this day), and the replacement of antler and stag horns with goat horns came to personify the God. This later led to such god-forms as the Greco-Roman Pan (and his horde of satyr brethren) and the Celtic Cernnunos.
Still, the female Goddess was held in higher prominence than the God. During these early days of humanity, it is believed by modern archeologists that many rituals were performed to the Mother Goddess, primarily to insure the fertility of the tribe's women and possibly also to heal the sick, and the God was probably called upon in these rituals to increase the abundance of game for the hunters and to increase the success of the hunt itself (early cave paintings by Cro-Magnon tribes clearly depict the hunting rituals, showing the tribe members dancing while dressed in animal skins, the leader or "high priest" of the ritual disguised in fur and horns to play the role of the Horned God). Later, the God was probably called upon ritually to insure a good and healthy crop for the tribe. These early exercises in what is today referred to as magick greatly evolved in scope and purpose over time, and early societies eventually developed rituals designed to utilize the energy inherent in nature into granting people whatever they desired, personally as well as collectively for the entire community or tribe. In its earliest days, people utilized magickal ritual for primarily communal purposes, beginning with, for example, a good supply of game for the hunt (as described above) and, after the agricultural",1]);//-->Roman Catholic Church into the evil entity known as the Devil,
or 'Satan.'
When horticulture and later, agriculture, eventually supplanted hunting as the main form of sustenance for the tribe, the God of the Hunt became the God of Agriculture, and the image of the Green Man, visually represented as a male face in the form of foliage, came into being in some societies (and remains a fairly familiar image in the British Isles to this day), and the replacement of antler and stag horns with goat horns came to personify the God. This later led to such god-forms as the Greco-Roman Pan (and his horde of satyr brethren) and the Celtic Cernnunos.
Still, the female Goddess was held in higher prominence than the God. During these early days of humanity, it is believed by modern archeologists that many rituals were performed to the Mother Goddess, primarily to insure the fertility of the tribe's women and possibly also to heal the sick, and the God was probably called upon in these rituals to increase the abundance of game for the hunters and to increase the success of the hunt itself (early cave paintings by Cro-Magnon tribes clearly depict the hunting rituals, showing the tribe members dancing while dressed in animal skins, the leader
or "high priest" of the ritual disguised in fur and horns to play
the role of the Horned God). Later, the God was probably called upon ritually to insure a good and healthy crop for the tribe. These early exercises in what is today referred to as magick greatly evolved in scope and purpose over time, and early societies eventually developed rituals designed to utilize the energy inherent in nature into granting people whatever they desired, personally as well as collectively for the entire community or tribe. In its earliest days, people utilized magickal ritual for primarily communal purposes, beginning with, for example, a good supply of game for the hunt (as described above) and, after the agricultural passed, and human society became more and more complex, the original monotheistic Goddess, and the latter duotheistic reverence of the Goddess and God, were sub-divided into numerous different deities, both female and male, all of which represented a different culturally significant aspect of the society's lives and ethics (i.e., a god/dess of wisdom, love, combat, writing, etc.), and thus religious structure became more polytheistic.
The early simple folk magick would eventually evolve into more complex rituals for personal use, for individuals to gain things such as health, love and material wealth, finally becoming what we know today as Witchcraft, Ceremonial Magick and many other forms. When the primitive communistic societies were eventually replaced by private property and class-divided societies, men slowly began to seize power, particularly after learning of their role in reproduction.
However, the early Pagan religions still reigned supreme in these new economies, and the Goddess and God were given many personalities comprising numerous different aspects of each society. Thus, as described above, the Goddess and God were subdivided into different pantheons of lesser gods and goddesses that embodied various aspects
that were culturally significant to a given society. For example, each society had a god/goddess of war, of love, of
agriculture, of prosperity and commerce, of the sea, of death, etc. The richest pantheons belong to the Greeks/Romans, Norse/Germanic, Celtic, Egyptians, Native Americans, Japanese, Africans, and many others. Several of these pantheons of gods and goddesses are still revered today by various Pagan religions (the subject of these beings being real entities or merely metaphorical subdivisions of the Goddess and God will be the focus of another section).
Many of these societies, particularly the Celtics and Norse, held ",1]);//-->revolution, for favorable crop in the planting seasons. As time passed, and human society became more and more complex, the original monotheistic Goddess, and the latter duotheistic reverence of the Goddess and God, were sub-divided into numerous different deities, both female and male, all of which represented a different culturally significant aspect of the society's lives and ethics (i.e., a god/dess of wisdom, love, combat, writing, etc.), and thus religious structure became more polytheistic.
The early simple folk magick would eventually evolve into more complex rituals for personal use, for individuals to gain things such as health, love and material wealth, finally becoming what we know today as Witchcraft, Ceremonial Magick and many other forms. When the primitive communistic societies were eventually replaced by private property and class-divided societies, men slowly began to seize power, particularly after learning of their role in reproduction.
However, the early Pagan religions still reigned supreme in these new economies, and the Goddess and God were given many personalities comprising numerous different aspects of each society. Thus, as described above, the Goddess and God were subdivided into different pantheons of lesser gods and goddesses that embodied various aspects
that were culturally significant to a given society. For example, each society had a god/goddess of war, of love, of agriculture, of prosperity and commerce, of the sea, of death, etc. The richest pantheons belong to the Greeks/Romans, Norse/Germanic, Celtic, Egyptians, Native Americans, Japanese, Africans, and many others. Several of these pantheons of gods and goddesses are still revered today by various Pagan religions (the subject of these beings being real entities or merely metaphorical subdivisions of the Goddess and God will be the focus of another section).
Many of these societies, particularly the Celtics and Norse, held much importance as the male deities. However, towards the end of the Roman Empire, the monotheistic, patriarchal religious tendency known as Christianity began, and it grew from a relatively small group of religious rebels led by the great prophet Jesus Christ into a huge political power base. This new religion worshipped an all male personification of a single Deity, and it eventually fully established the patriarchal society that we still see (albeit to an increasingly lesser degree) today.
[Note on Monotheism: The concept of monotheism wasn't new during the twilight years of the Roman Empire, but was first envisioned much earlier by the Egyptian pharaoh Achnaton (also sometimes referred to as Amenhotep IV in the history books) during the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, and he called this single all-male conception of Deity Aton. This began the original mistake of monotheism, the ousting of the female aspect of Deity from the consciousness of its followers, and
made the social concept of a patriarchy far more acceptable to its adherents; it rejected the concept of duotheism, which would have given equal respect to the female aspect of divinity. It should be noted that it's very curious that neither Achnaton nor Christ envisioned a gender neutral conception of a single Deity (as a few open-minded Christians are slowly beginning to do today), which would have prevented a huge amount of the social strife and disempowerment that women have suffered from in the following centuries up to the present day. The worship of Aton eventually fell out of favor in Egypt, and a return to polytheism was instituted. Most major re-evaluations of religious thought, as well as the
creation of new and radical religions, occur during times of social, economic and political turmoil, such as when a particularly powerful nation-state or socio-economic order is dying out. Egypt wasn't in ",1]);//-->women in high regard in society and their goddesses had every bit as much importance as the male deities. However, towards the end of the Roman Empire, the monotheistic, patriarchal religious tendency known as Christianity began, and it grew from a relatively small group of religious rebels led by thegreat prophet Jesus Christ into a huge political power base. This
new religion worshipped an all male personification of a single
Deity, and it eventually fully established the patriarchal society that we still see (albeit to an increasingly lesser degree) today.
