Did The Celts Genuinely Possess Mystic Powers?

The Celtic pantheon, a vast group of over 400 gods and goddesses, was not merely a proliferation of local gods but also involved mystic rituals involving hallucinogens and votive offerings of both animal and human sacrifice. The Tuath Dé Danann, a race of people with supernatural abilities, were worshipped by the ancient Celtic tribes. Their names and attributes varied, and they tended to understand mystical beings like Fae, Giants, and Shapeshifters.

Celtic paganism was one of a larger group of polytheistic Indo-European religions of Iron Age Europe. The ancient Celts were animists, honoring the forces of nature and seeing the world as inhabited by many spirits. Druidry, one of the first known spiritual practices in Britain, and druids existed in Celtic societies elsewhere in Europe. Some of the earliest Celtic Christians lived as hermits, shunning community involvement in favor of finding total spirituality.

Druids were known for their great wisdom and knowledge of traditions, managing religious rituals, interpreting events of nature, and divined the future. This chapter examines the claims for an indigenous Celtic shamanism, drawing upon sources both ancient and modern, literary and historical. Belief in immortal soul and reincarnation was also held by most Pagans, the Inuit, and many Indigenous North and South Indigenous peoples.

Did the Celts believe in God?

Celtic religion was polytheistic, with over two hundred deities known, some of which were venerated in specific regions or tribes. The Celtic peoples had a father god, often a god of the tribe and the dead, and a mother goddess associated with land, earth, and fertility. The mother goddess could also take the form of a war goddess as protectress of her tribe and its land.

A male celestial god, identified with Taranis, was associated with thunder, the wheel, and the bull. Celtic healing deities were often associated with sacred springs, such as Sirona and Borvo. Other pan-regional deities include Cernunnos, Epona, Maponos, Belenos, Ogmios, and Sucellos. Some deities were seen as threefold, such as the Three Mothers.

Greco-Roman writers, such as Julius Caesar, did not record the native Celtic names of the deities but referred to them by their apparent Roman or Greek equivalents. He declared that Mercury, the Roman god of trade, was the most widely venerated Gaulish god, while Apollo, Minerva, Mars, and Jupiter were also worshipped. Caesar likened the Gauls to a god of the dead and underworld, Dīs Pater.

Were the Druids killed off?

The Druids were a learned class among ancient Celts who served as priests, teachers, and judges. Their earliest known records date back to the 3rd century BC. According to Julius Caesar, there were two groups of men in Gaul, the Druids and the noblemen (equites). The Druids took charge of public and private sacrifices, judged quarrels, and decreed penalties. They were known for their eloquence and sometimes resorted to armed violence.

The Druids assembled annually at a sacred place in the Carnutes territory, where all legal disputes were submitted to their judgment. They abstained from warfare and paid no tribute. Many joined the order voluntarily or were sent by their families. They studied ancient verse, natural philosophy, astronomy, and the lore of the gods, spending up to 20 years in training.

The Druids believed that the soul was immortal and passed at death from one person to another. They were known for their abstinence from warfare and paid no tribute.

Did the Celtics have gods?

The ancient Celtic pantheon consisted of over 400 gods and goddesses, representing various aspects of life, from rivers to warfare. These gods were not universally worshipped across Iron Age Europe, often limited to specific regions or areas. The Celtic pantheon’s study is complicated by the lack of written records produced by the Celts, often with only a single surviving inscription. The Celts often assigned all-encompassing powers and attributes to their gods, making them difficult to categorize.

However, by combining secondary accounts, early Christian writings, Celtic artefacts, and archaeological investigations, a reasonable picture of the vast number of deities the ancient Celts worshipped can be built.

Celtic votive inscriptions from the Roman period often name a Celtic god with a Roman equivalent, known as the interpretatio romana. This practice is restricted to major deities or those with multiple or significant inscriptions. For example, Abnoba, a hunting goddess venerated in the Black Forest region in southeast Germany, is sometimes associated with the Roman huntress goddess Diana.

Were all Celts pagans?

The Gauls, who were once Celtic pagans, gradually converted to Christianity from the third century onwards. After the end of Roman rule in Britain, Anglo-Saxon paganism replaced Celtic paganism in much of what became England. The Celtic populations of Britain and Ireland also gradually converted to Christianity from the fifth century onwards. Celtic paganism left a legacy in many Celtic nations, influenced mythology, and served as the basis for a new religious movement, Celtic neopaganism.

Some figures from medieval Irish mythology are believed to be versions of earlier deities. Various Neopagan groups, including Reconstructionists and New Age, eclectic groups, take inspiration from Celtic mythology and iconography, with Neo-Druidry being the most notable.

Did the Celts believe in spirits?

The ancient Celts believed in the existence of many spirits and divine beings in their environment, and humans could establish a rapport with these beings. Ritual practice in Celtic societies maintained a balance between gods, spirits, and humans, harnessing supernatural forces for the benefit of the community. The Celtic religion perceived the supernatural as integral to the material world, instilling spirits in every mountain, river, spring, marsh, tree, and rocky outcrop.

The Celtic society was predominantly rural, with the close link with the natural world reflected in the religious systems of Celtic Europe during the late 1st millennium BCE and early 1st millennium CE. Local spirits were honored, including those of both wild and cultivated landscapes and their inhabitants. The list of Celtic deities derived from local inscriptions can sometimes be lengthy.

The ancient Celts venerated the spirits who inhabited local mountains, forests, and springs, with certain animals seen as messengers of the spirits or gods. Sanctuaries were sacred spaces separated from the ordinary world, often in natural locations like springs, sacred groves, or lakes. Topographical features were honored as the abodes of powerful spirits or deities, with geographical features named for tutelary deities. Offerings of jewelry, weapons, or foodstuffs were placed in offering pits and bodies of water dedicated to these beings, linking the donor to the place and spirits in a concrete way.

Did the Celts have Druids?

Druids were high-ranking priests in ancient Celtic cultures who served as religious leaders, legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals, and political advisors. They left no written accounts and were believed to be literate but prevented by doctrine from recording their knowledge in written form. Their beliefs and practices are attested in some detail by their contemporaries from other cultures, such as the Romans and the Greeks.

The earliest known references to the druids date back to the 4th century BC, with the oldest detailed description coming from Julius Caesar’s Commentarii de Bello Gallico. The druid orders were suppressed by the Roman government after the Roman invasion of Gaul and disappeared from the written record by the 2nd century. In about 750 AD, the word druid appeared in a poem by Blathmac, who wrote about Jesus as “better than a prophet, more knowledgeable than every druid, a king who was a bishop and a complete sage”.

Druids often appear in Irish mythology and later Christian legends, such as the “Táin Bó Cúailnge”. In the 18th and 19th centuries, fraternal and neopagan groups were founded based on ideas about the ancient druids, leading to the formation of Neo-Druidism.

What is the difference between celtics and druids?

The Druids were an educated class of the Celtic people, originating from beyond the Caspian Sea and residing in various European regions. They were intellectuals, including philosophers, judges, historians, doctors, astronomers, and astrologers. Druids studied verse, philosophy, mythology, and astronomy, and some spent up to 20 years in training. Modern Druid organizations, believed to have originated in England in the 18th century, continue to research the beliefs and practices of the ancient Druids, as much information about them had been lost over time.

Are Celtics spiritual?

The early Christian Celts believed in the divine presence in nature and maintained spiritual practices such as prayer, meditation, and caring for those in need. They saw the Spirit’s presence in all experiences and were skilled at seeking encounters with God in all aspects of life. The Celts believed that men and women can inspire, lead, and participate in community and spiritual practice. They had a tradition of cultivating soul-friends who took caring responsibility for assisting in the development of a spiritual life well lived.

Many of these practices were lost in Western cultures, but they are crucial in modern times where community is divided, the earth is damaged, and the search for ultimate meaning is strong worldwide. The Celtic Christian way offers a way to reconnect with who we truly are and who we can always become.

Did the Celtics have shamans?

Shamanism, a contemporary spiritual practice, has gained popularity over the past two decades but has faced controversy. There is no historical evidence that individuals recognizable as shamans existed among Celtic tribes or Druid groups. However, folklorists and historians have noted similarities between elements of Celtic mythology, tradition, fairy tales, and art and practices traditionally identified as shamanic. These Celtic elements closely resemble what anthropologist Michael Harner has identified as common or nearly universal elements of indigenous shamanism.

These Celtic elements do not necessarily belong to a specific Celtic tribe or Druid group. The term “shamanism” is not a religion but rather a term referring to ancient techniques for altering consciousness to accomplish spiritual purposes.

Do Celtic druids still exist?

In the late 18th century, modern Druids developed fraternal organizations modeled on Freemasonry, using the British Druids and Bards as symbols of the indigenous spirituality of Prehistoric Britain. Some groups were purely fraternal and cultural, while others merged with contemporary movements like the physical culture movement and naturism. Some modern druid groups adopted methodologies similar to Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism since the 1980s to create a more historically accurate practice.

By 2020, modern Druidry had spread to 34 nations, six continents, and 17 diverse biomes. The importance of Celtic language and culture varied depending on the individual Druid’s physical and cultural environments. By 2020, roughly 92 of world Druids were living outside the British Isles. The population of Druids residing in anglophone nations was estimated at 59, 299. However, the current global population is likely to exceed this number, as many countries with resident Druids do not allow for the existence of Druidry within their census instruments.

Pagan faith surveys may also undercount Druids, as only 63 of world Druids identify with either Pagan or Heathen categories. Additionally, 74 of world Druids report significant privacy and safety concerns due to discrimination and persecution within their local communities.

What are Celtic witches called?

Cailleach, also known as Cailleach Bheara, Bronach, Mish, and Mal, are figures within Celtic mythology who are associated with the dark seasons. In contrast, Brigit, the goddess of light, is associated with the light seasons.