Since settling there millenia ago, the Celtic peoples of the British Isles have experienced repeated invasions. During that time, Christianity also arrived and changed the Celtic religion, melding old beliefs with the new. Under these pressures, Celtic culture dimmed but was not extinguished: modern times have now seen stirrings of a revival. Descendants of Celtic peoples from Scotland, Ireland, and Wales are now reclaiming Celtic traditions as their own. There is even a new term, Celticity, to define the essence of all things Celtic. A primary facet of that Celticity was their religion, nature-worship.
Celtic Religion was Pagan
Although Celtic nature-worship has been clearly established, other details remain obscure. In The Celts, Nora Chadwick, a Celtic expert, explains how the pre-Christian Celts did not commit their ritual lore to writing. When the Roman conquerors wrote about Celtic beliefs and practices, it was through the lens of their own pantheon of gods. Later still when the monks recorded Celtic myths and rites, Christian influence was growing. Without the primary source of Celtic records, Nora Chadwick concludes, “The mythology and religion of the Celts are difficult to interpret.”
But enough is known to state that prior to the coming of Christianity, the Celtic religion was pagan. The term pagan means “identifying divinity or spirituality in nature.”
Celtic Spirituality was Shamanistic
Shamanism is a worldwide practice in which the spirit world of psychic beings and the natural world of physical beings form an interwoven whole. Certain individuals are chosen to travel between these two spheres. In the case of the Celts, these were the Druids.
Caitlin and John Matthews, in The Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom: the Celtic Shaman’s Sourcebook, state that shamanism includes spirit-journeys, healing, divination and prophecy, and communion with ancestors. They state, “All these are part of the Celtic tradition; some are still operative today, while others are fragmented or dormant.” The current Celtic revival, although focusing on cultural aspects, does include renewed interest in Celtic shamanism, as seen by the attention of New Agers.
Little Mention of Celtic Gods
According to Nora Chadwick, the classical Greek and Roman writers who first encountered Celtic peoples made scant reference to Celtic gods. What was written, as for example by Julius Caesar, described the Celtic gods most commonly worshipped, but saw them in terms of Roman deities.
However, classical records did describe the sanctuaries of the Celts: Nora Chadwick states, “These were found frequently in sacred woods and near lakes, including, it would seem, what are now bogs and swamps. It has been shown that life in towns or cities was foreign to Celtic tradition, and some of the sanctuaries of the Celt reflect a ritual preoccupation with the natural environment.”
In other words, the Celts worshipped in natural temples, not man-made ones—very different from the ways of the Romans. Nora Chadwick further tells of sacred woods and groves used by the Celts: “Our evidence suggests that throughout Celtic lands many sanctuaries were located in woodlands.”
In Celtic Mythology, Trees were Sacred
The Celts, like all ancient peoples, relied on plants in daily life for food, medicine, and tools. Further, they especially relied on trees for shelter and fuel. Among the indispensable trees and shrubs used by the Celts were oak, yew, ash, elder, holly, hawthorn, briar, birch, rowan and hazel, each with its associated folklore and sacred powers.
But beyond mere reliance, the Celts revered the trees which then covered the British Isles in vast thick forests. In Celtic mythology, trees are personified with qualities both good and evil. Caitlin and John Matthews state, “Among the Celts, trees were always considered to be sacred and were recognized as repositories of memory, lore and the presence of spirit-beings.”
New Age Divination Uses the Celtic Tree Alphabet
In this way, the Celtic love of nature was bound up in the plants and trees they used and lived amongst. There was no separation of healing, ritual, or practical usage in terms of these plants. This can be seen in the unique way the Celts incorporated trees into their written language. Ogham, the ancient “Celtic Tree Alphabet” has the name of a sacred tree ascribed to each letter.
The origins of this alphabet are mysterious. Some theories posit that Ogham was developed in the early centuries of Christianity by Druids in order to have a secret alphabet, not understood by invaders. Other theories hold that the alphabet was developed in the sixth century BC and transmitted orally or carved into wood; therefore, traces have been lost. Ogham inscriptions carved into stone, however, are found at sites in Ireland, Wales, and Scotland dating to the fifth or sixth centuries AD.
There is a secret quality to Ogham that Caitlin and John Matthews describe: “Not only were the individual letters associated with various trees (the best-known type of Ogam) but also with objects, people and places. Thus by referring to any of these groupings, or by making signals to their brethren, the shaman-poets could pass on a whole array of information and knowledge.”
New Age devotees have taken up Ogham with enthusiasm, and use it for the purpose of divination.
The Celtic World, Old and New, is a Natural One
The Celtic peoples incorporated their strong bonds with nature into every element of their lives, especially their religion. Celtic mythology tells tales of woodland sanctuaries and sacred trees which were the store of knowledge for the Druid shaman on his vision quest. Did he ever foresee the revival of Celtic traditions that is happening today? It is not just New Age enthusiasts and academia studying Celtic identity, but Celtic descendants around the world also want to grasp Celticity—the essence of all things Celtic.
To read about the Celtic resurgence, see the article The Celtic World: From Druid Priests to Modern Gaelic Festivals.
References:
Chadwick, Nora, The Celts, London: Penguin Books, 1971.
Matthews, Caitlin and John, The Encyclopaedia of Celtic Wisdom: the Celtic Shaman’s Sourcebook, Shaftesbury, UK: Element Books Limited, 1994.
Jen L. Jones - Based in Canada, Jones writes on human rights, history,and the natural world. She focuses also on Turkish and Scottish travel and ...
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