Celtic History and Beliefs

Most knowledge of the religion and mythologies of the Celtic people comes from three different areas in Europe; Gaul (modern day France), Wales, and Ireland. The Celts of Gaul and Wales were influenced by Greco Roman tradition before the rise of Christianity, but the Celts of Ireland maintained their cultural integrity until close to 500 AD, and it is there where the pagan Celtic mythology has been best preserved.

However, the Celts regarded their laws, genealogies, and spiritual disciplines as sacred, and required them to be handed down orally. Druids, the high priests of the Celts, would spend at least twenty years learning the traditions and oral lessons. The native lore of Wales and Ireland are the oldest outside of classical sources, and contain a wealth of pre-Christian myth and practices. Other fragmentary texts transcribed during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries provide us with ancient legends and heroic tales, but they are influenced by the times of the scribes. Archaeological evidence also provides us with more clues to Celtic history.

Although the Celts occupied vast areas of western and central Europe during the last half of the first millenium BC , and although they were composed of many different races and tribes, they had a uniform religious belief that we can call 'Celtic Religion'. They also had a common language, P-Celtic spoken in Gaul and Britain, and Q-Celtic spoken in Ireland. The Celts were highly religious and ritualistic. Each tribe or clan would have its own names for a particular god or goddess, which accounts for the great diversity of names in Celtic mythology. Also, sacred things were often referred to in a roundabout way, because the Celts believed that it was dangerous to name a sacred thing by its correct name.

Celtic religion featured many strong female deities. The Mother Goddess of the Celts was often seen as a warrior, fighting with weapons and telling the hero secrets of warfare. The number three was sacred to the Celts. Deities were sometimes portrayed in groups of three or as having three heads or faces. In some tales, the deities or semi-divine heroes are described as being one of three people of the same name, or as having been born three times in succession.

The Celts had a strong belief in the afterlife, demonstrated by both the literary and archaeological sources. Caesar tells us that the Celts believed in an ancestor god who he identified with Disapater, the Roman god of the dead. Diodorus Siculus tells us that the Celts perceived men's souls to be immortal and that after a number of years they would live again inhabiting a new body. Their elaborate burials, under a mound, in a wooden chamber usually made of oak, furnished with highly decorated weapons, food, drink, and personal ornaments point to powerful beliefs about the nature of life after death. The bodies of the wealthy dead were laid out, burnt or unburnt, on four-wheeled wagons in the earliest of Celtic peoples, and later in lighter, two wheeled wagons.

The Welsh Otherworld was called Annwn or Annwfn and was described as a place of pleasure and plenty with meat, drink, gold and jewels in abundance. Annwn is is also associated with a magical cauldron, a vessel of regeneration and fertility. The Irish Otherworld is similar to Annwn, a place of happiness, harmony and plenty. It was known as Tir na n'Og (the "Land of the Forever Young"). It was believed that the living could have contact with the spirits of the Otherworld at Samhain, a time when the veil between the living and the dead was very thin and spirits and humans could move into each others worlds.

Traditional Sabbats observed by the Celts (Dates are approximate):

Samhain (31 October)
Samhain was the eve of the Celtic New year, a mysterious time when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was very thin. This was the time when the cattle were slaughtered as it was not possible to feed the entire herd throughout the winter months. The meat would be salted and preserved against the coming lean time. The rituals of Samhain were concerned with the dead, divination and story telling.

Imbolg (2 February)
Imbolg means "in the belly" and it represents the quickening of the year and the first stirrings of Spring. This festival brings to an end the rule of the Cailleach in her guise as crone which began at Samhain and sees her transformed into a young and fruitful goddess, often identified as Brid.

Beltane (1 May)
Beltane marked the beginning of the summer months and was thus the counterpart of Samhain. At this time of year the cattle were driven out into the summer pasture as the fear of bad weather was safely over and the livestock could be fattened up without worry of wolves. This was the time when the tribe would begin to leave its winter quarters and go visiting, attend fairs and feasts and gather news.

Lughnasadh (1 August)
Lughnasadh means the "commemoration of Lugh", a fire and light god who was the leader of the Tuatha De Danann. Lughnasadh was a particularly important fire festival whose duration was for two weeks before and two weeks after the actual festival day.