Most of the new age cults or pretend covens or whatever you like to call them copy from Wicca traditions that was basically made up in the by two people 20th century cobbled together from various regional traditions. There is a desire for people of European decent to be in touch with or understanding our ancient Celtic roots.
If we was right now transported to our Celtic roots over 2000 years ago . We would be living in this below.
Ironic as in the united states many Indian settlements was in similar stages of evolution. transitioning from hunter gathers to more fixed farming communities. Christianity absorbed those Indian cultures or destroyed them like the pagan cultures in Europe.
Life was hell of lot different 2000 years ago. if you survived to 40 you was old you was old. Life was hard and brutal. Celtic mythology evolved over time from India as the culture evolved westwards spreading into northern and western Europe. This was thousands of years before Christianity or other major monolithic religions existed.
With the main influence of the iron age and earlier bronze age. Most of society was loosely based on clan ship that evolved into petty chiffon. . Spirituality was very different from Christianity. Christianity was male dominated religion. In the iron age earth religion was in essence a female dominated religion based on earlier tradition of hunter gathers and early farmers. Child birth because of high mortality rate was crucial for survival. That is why fertility was so important in lives of ancient people. life and death was everywhere and part of life.
Pagan ideas on fertility lingered longer into the gradual process of of full Christianity. you can see in 5-6th century churches in Ireland fertility figures, built into the walls of the church. Women would venerate it to pray for fertility and trouble free child birth.
These pagan fertility symbols can be found all over ancient churches in Ireland.
For Celtic pagans There was no concept of heaven or hell. God or the devil did not exist. Life and death was in eternal balance that danced with the seasons. Good and evil heaven and hell That was a Christian concept to control people. Early Celtic people believed in the eternal journey Birth death and rebirth for spirit.
Their creation spirit was Danu the great earth mother. Mother of all mothers personified as the earth itself. Then came the personification of Cernunnos the hunter and Cernunna the gatherer the children of Danu who personified fertility whose descendants was the Tuath Dé Danann. Here is two oldest images below of the deities.
There is little known about Cernunna the gather. this one is in church in Ireland. she is depicted wearing rams horns.
Here is Roman version of Cernunnos the hunter usually depicted with dear antlers. It should be noted both pf those names various depending on the region. As there was a multitude of Celtic languages. As you can see the artist have torcs hanging off his antlers. It is very easy to see this pagan god being twisted into the perception of the devil.
Cernunnos and Cernunna represents the eternal dance of love desire and sexuality through seasons from spring to start of winter. They symbolically died in the winter until the spring. As plants and animals start breeding and the land comes back to life with fertility again.
The early Celts was named differently in different regions. In Ireland it was tradition though the people called Mileasian who originated from the Celtic north Spain replacing the bronze age people before them.
It was time of hunter and gathering and was transiting into early farming and cattle raising. Forests in Europe was giving way to farm land. The need of society evolved in veneration of seasons and motions of the sun moon and stars. Told people when to hunt what, when to plant when to harvest. That is when henge circles began to appear. Some times great festivals was held during various solaces and equinoxes.
Used to track the celestial motions of the sun and moon. this role among other things fell to what the Romans called the Druids to tracked time motions of stars. knowing when to plant and what animal or plant was in season. They in effect was largely female with males that administered roles in Celtic society.
When Christianity started to take hold first through the Roman empire it spread to the outer reaches of Europe. there was blood letting on both sides of religious divide. Celtic was a warrior culture loosely connected by inter Waring tribal clans. Heat hunting was source of power influence power and intimidation.
But by the Early Middle Ages (800–1000), faiths referred to as pagan had mostly disappeared in the West through a mixture of peaceful conversion, natural religious change, persecution, and the military conquest of pagan peoples; the Christianization of Lithuania in the 15th century is typically considered to mark the end of pagan Europe. But traditions still lingers on in small pockets and can still be found today.
From the middle ages the pagan religion was demonized into our public perception of witchcraft or devil worship. Devil worship is people who hate Christianity. They believe in devil. Pagans do not. But like Christianity paganism splinted in weird and wacky ways of briefs.
Positive re enforced by horror moves and ghost movies we see today. And the actions of the loony left. Thousands of people was burned at the stake Europe for witchcraft and even a few hung in United States as well and many others in South America also.
So became the long process of demonizing practices not condoned by the church. Even today church and state have powerful relationship. Since liberalization of beliefs in the 1960s imposed by the church over the centuries, some have vain tried to reconnect to their cultural roots.
Most academics however believe there no direct cultural tradition had survived from the iron ages. But one professor in Ireland begs to differ? It been alleged there was still traces of Cernunnos worship going on in the remotest corners of western Ireland.
It has been alleged there is a secretive fertility sect called the Iníonacha Cernunnos that has been passed down from mother to daughter. it flew under the radar of catholic church for 1500 years surviving witch hunts famine and wars and depopulation. It is claimed they have most the direct link going back thousands of years before Christianity.
Most of the inner circle of the Iníonacha Cernunnos are of child bearing age as some as Fertility hits there peak they leave circle. others take their place all bound by secrecy. Their secret rituals, virtually naked or what they call sky clad in most of ceremonies some time painted depending ritual. Lessor rituals there are 12 moon rituals being naked is veneration in humiliation in front of forces of nature representing rebirth as child when born is not clothed for there is no sin in nakedness. They venerate most of all Danu that can be see as triple goddess of the thee stages of life a young girl a women and old women.
They have open relationships. As they do not have the social restrictions posed on them by Christianity. None of them out side their sacred beliefs you would ever know they was involved in the Iníonacha Cernunnos? They look like everyday people. They have houses, jobs have business, cars and most are extrodinary successful. But indescribably secretive.
It was ingrained into them from the discrimination persecution over 2000 odd years. This professor was given unique insight into oral traditions in a sole book that was written in 1800. Of history. Every generation tried to invoke a personification in 2000 year they succeeded only 4 or 5 times. Last one was in 17th century. It is a process of changing a male and female into personification of Cernunnos and Cernunna over 12 month cycle process. This professor was allowed to study some of their beliefs.
Their spirituality is the belief in birth, death and rebirth in a endless cycle of seasons with the sun and moon and stars. With every thing deemed sacred to be venerated in personified form. For the them there is no god or devil. No heaven or hell, Just the endless journey in life following cycle of seasons. As the symbol below the three journey of life in birth, death and rebirth. Symbol found in burial tombs dating back into the iron age and beyond.
Christianity absorbed much of pagan calendar traditions and renamed them into christian ones. In ancient Ireland, the Celtic Year was dominated by the four key festivals of Samhain, Beltane, Imbolg and Lughnasadh. The winter half of the year began with the feast of Samhain which was on 01 November and marked the end of harvest – it was a forerunner of Halloween.
So in some respects it silly how paganism and the image of paganism is seen today. in fact paganism. The term, pagans witches are all derogatory names of ancient customs. Women the gatherers had extensive knowledge of herbs became vilified as threat to power of the Christian male priests over the power of the people.
Yet people still dress up. Some more serious than others to look like witches or pagans they only contributing to a stereotype. People think or call themselves druids today are not.
The Irish word for druid is draoi, and the plural is draoi the. Draoi can also mean magician, wizard, or diviner. Druids were a prominent part of the Celtic priesthood and were featured in many medieval christian Irish and Scottish sources.
They were respected members of society, known for their supernatural powers and ability to perform divination. Druids were also scientists, doctors, historians, and cultural and political ambassadors. They were responsible for preserving religious traditions and protecting the arts.
Druids were suppressed in Gaul by the Romans under Tiberius, and probably in Britain a little later. In Ireland, they lost their priestly functions after Christianity came to Ireland, but survived as poets, historians, and judges. The word “druid” likely means “knower of the oak”. Druids often convened in oak groves to conduct official druidic business.
Even so many would be druids who calls themselves a druid today are nothing like druid in the iron age. As you see at Stonehenge every equinox and summer Solace. It not what they would looked like.
In ancient times they in very important ceremonial festivals had Torc as symbol of authority. a garland of flowers in their heads had part of their bodies painted in blue dye with birth symbol on their fore head and symbol of triple spirals on the chest. In some of their ceremonial practices had powerful hallucinogenic to convene with the forces of nature.
But the every day appearance you would not know them to be any different to anyone else at the time. Here is reconstructed Scottish druid made from skull found below. Done by forensic archeologists.
So modern druids and witches dressed in outrageous or robes robes of the modesty of Christianity are not really practicing the ancient traditions? But mixed mash of concepts believed to be true. most from writings of Gerald Gardiner.
It is as funny as stereotyping ALL Frenchmen with stripped shirt, black beret with a ring a onions hanging off him. Or America Indians wearing warpaint feathers today. Or Scots man wearing kilt bag pipes, etc to go shopping at wall mart? er.. Okay Okay I admit you might see them at wall mart.
Much of pagan traditions was absorbed into Christianity.
Even us in the next month we will be actually celebrating a pagan tradition call yule better known as Christmas. Putting up a christmas tree.
It is A pagan ceremony and kissing under mistletoe another pagan ceremony. So many aspects of our Pagan cultural heritage still exists and we do not even know it?
Crow
Great report !!
