Celtic witches and Elfs. Druids origin

Witches: The Legacy of the Druidesses

After the downfall of traditional Druidism, the myth of the witch became even more popular. The myth of witch cults had existed during the time of Celtic Paganism, but its source lied more with the Pagan rituals and traditions of sorcery. After Christianity became the main religion on the British Isles witches became synonymous with the work of the devil. Ellis, a Celtic Scholar believes that "female druids have become reduced in [old Celtic] stories to witch-like figures" (Ellis, Celtic Women, p.221) since the onset of Christianity.

Origin : Elves were a very mysterious race from the beginning of time. Later they became supernatural beings, mainly shaped as humans. They were worshipped in trees, mountains and waterfalls.



Description : Elves vary in size from 4'10" and 5'8". However, according to their delicate bodies they seem much taller than they really are. Often male and female elves are hard to discern, at first glance. Both sexes usually have big, expressive eyes (in the most splendid colors). They wear their hair uncut and open, have graceful, fragile features and are of extraordinary beauty. Male elves also don't have any beard growth. Very typical for elves are their pointed ears, and high cheekbones. In modern descriptions, elves are either light or dark, the light elves having starlike eyes, faces brighter than the sun, and golden-colored hair; the dark elves are pitch black and have sometimes fluorescent eyes, this quality being indicative of their dealing with black magic. Both are attractive, in appearance at least. Elves prefer greens and greenish-greys while dark elves prefer blacks, dark grey, and sometimes silver.

Species: Dark or light, the elfic race is rarely seen and if so, elves only appear on certain times and on special places in the untouched nature. During the course of time elves moved to other places in the world and in many tribes their spiritual shape was lost completely and elves changed to beings consisting of blood and flesh. The light elves are a peaceful, nature-loving who love beautiful things and often try themselves in the arts of drawing and music. The black or dark elves are also called "Drow". Beautiful, agile, proud, dexterous and extremely deadly, they are the Drow, Elves of the underground. Very few is know about them.

Powers: In comparison to humans elves are stronger in spirit and in limb and have an exceptional constitution and endurance. When they grow older they seldom get weaker, instead they become wiser and even more fair. Elven senses, especially of hearing and sight, are much keener and intense than those of Men and are highly resitant to extremes of temperatures and also have several natural defenses against magical influences. The long life-spans of elves may be accounted to one of the main reasons that elves are very calm and patient in all their actions.

Even if some elves are said to be immortal, elves of all other tribes die a natural death after long lives. The amount of years elves live indeed varies enormously, ranging from 100 years to over 1000. It is also known that very often elves end their lives of their own will when they see a necessity to do so or if they think that their life's goal has been reached. Of course elves may also die when they are wounded severely, but in general elves heal very fast when they are tended to quickly. Death on the other hand is nothing an elf fears. The fact of death is interpreted by the elves as a return to nature.

Lore: Elves live in forests while dark elves live in deep underground caves. In spring they are viewed celebrating the blossoms and during the summer they swim in the rivers with their friends ondines. Elves usually settle in dense forests or at wooded lakes and lead quiet lives without interfering directly in other races activities and struggle for domination.

King Arthur - The Myth

King Arthur, the Myth
by David Nash Ford


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Some people believe that King Arthur is so inextricably tied up in Celtic Mythology that he must, in origin, have been, not a man at all, but a god.

Like so many other characters featured in the Mabinogion, Arthur in his earliest form, appears almost entirely mythical. He and his companions have superhuman strength and abilities, and consort with giants and other mythological creatures.

In the early Welsh poem "Preiddeu Annwfn", Arthur visits the Celtic Underworld, Annwfn, and his adventures closely parallel those of the cauldron-seeking god, Bran the Blessed. Even in Geoffrey of Monmouth's "History of the Kings of Britain," and Sir Thomas Malory's "Le Morte D'Arthur," upon being fatally wounded in battle, Arthur is carried to the mystical Avalon, apparently the Underworld home of the Celtic god, Afallach. Many legends around the country attest to Arthur's immortality. He is said to be sleeping in one of numerous caves waiting to return and lead his people.

The name Arthur itself appears to derive from the Celtic word Art, meaning "bear". Could Arthur, like so many other Celtic gods, be merely a personification of the many reverred animals of the wild? Later to become humanized like Loucetios, one of several Celtic deities known to be able to transform themselves into birds or beasts of the forest. Many such gods had stellar associations and the constellation of Ursa Major or the Great Bear is sometimes known as Arthur's Wain even today.

Celtic Festival

The Celtic year was divided into two halves, the dark and the light. Samhain was the beginning of the dark half, with its counterpart, Beltane beginning the light half. Between these two 'doors' or portals fell Imbolc, on February 1, and Lughnasadh or Lammas, celebrated on August 1, quartering the Celtic year. These quarters were again divided by the solstices and equinoxes, which were known as the four Albans.

Samhain

Our modern celebration of Halloween is a descendent of the ancient Celtic festival called "Samhain;" meaning Summer's End. Samhain was the first day of winter, and the end of one pastoral year. It was the time when the night became longer than the day, the last apples were picked, and the year began again with its dark winter half. Also called Samhiunn or Hallowe'en, this festival is sometimes called Trinoux Samonia or "Three Nights of the End of Summer."

Originally a Druidic festival, it was celebrated on the eve of November 1 (October 31 - technically, either date is appropriate as the Celts measured the day from sunset to sunset.) It is balanced by Beltane (or Bealtaine, Beltaine) which signals the start of summer, 6 months later. The ancient Celts probably held them exactly mid-way between an equinox (when day and night were equal) and the following solstice (when the nighttime was shortest or longest).

In ancient times all of the fires of Ireland were extinguished and relighted from the one great fire kindled by the King's chief Druid, on the hill of Tlachtga. Members of each family would light torches to carry back and rekindle their own hearth-fires, which were then kept burning the rest of the year. The assemblies of the five Irish provinces at Tara Hill, the seat of the Irish king, took place at Samhain. These gatherings were celebrated with horse races, fairs, markets, assembly rites, political discussions, and ritual mourning for the passage of summer.

Samhain is a time when the veil between this world and the Otherworld (or the Sídh,) was very thin, and divine beings, the spirits of the dead, and mortals can move freely between one world and the next. In some Celtic traditions, most notably the Scottish Highlands, young men would run the boundaries of their farms after sunset with blazing torches to protect the family from the Faeries and malevolent forces that were free to walk the land at night, causing mischief. Samhain was seen as a time when the future could most easily be predicted, and was a favored time among Druids for ritual fortune-telling.

As in other major Celtic Festivals, Samhain was a gateway, a celebration of the transition from one season and another. In Celtic mythology, at the heart of every gateway is a paradox. The threshold is literally between two worlds but is, in itself, in neither and in both at the same time. Thus Samhain belonged to both Summer and Winter...and to neither. It was the gateway to the winter, and a magical time of passage between the seasons.

As in many pastoral societies, winter was regarded with a mixture of anticipation and dread. Samhain was the last gasp of summer... a time of uninhibited feasting, dancing and celebration. It was a time of release; a time to let go of all unwanted baggage, fears and attitudes, just as the trees let go of their leaves. So the lives of men parallel the sacred cycles of nature.


'Winter Solstice,' by Courtney Davis
Imbolc

Imbolc, which literally means "in milk", traditionally has marked the lactation period of ewes and cows. Ewes are unable to produce milk until after they bear their young, which occurs at this time. Since milk was very important to the basic survival of the tribes, this was a time of great joy. It meant that the end of a long winter was in sight, and green pastures were only a few months away.

During the Imbolc ritual it was customary to pour milk (or cream) onto the earth. This was done in thanksgiving, as an offering of nurturing, and to assist in the return of fertility and generosity of the earth to its people (the return of Spring). Imbolc was celebrated in honor of Brighid or Brid (pronounced breed), also known as Brigid, Brigit, or Bride, in her maiden aspect. Brighid is the daughter of Dagda.

Imbolc was the second of the four great fire festivals, with significance placed upon the Light of fire. At Imbolc, Brighid was pregnant with the seed of the Sun. She was ripe with the promise of new life, as the seeds of the earth deep within its soil begin to awaken at this time, ripe with the promise of Spring, new life for the planet. Thus Inbolc was a time of awakening, promise and hope for the coming spring.

Beltane

Beltane, the third of the two Celtic fire festivals, was a celebration of the return of life and fertility to the world, and was celebrated on or around April 30. It is sometimes referred to as Cetsamhain which means "opposite Samhain." Beltane was the last of the three spring fertility festivals, and the second major Celtic festival. Beltane, and its counterpart Samhain, divide the year into its two primary seasons, Winter and Summer.

In ancient Celtic communities, the festival went by many names: Beltaine in Ireland, Bealtunn in Scotland, Shenn do Boaldyn on the Isle of Man and Galan Mae in Wales. The Saxons called this day Walpurgisnacht, the night of Walpurga, goddess of May. As with Brighid, the Church transformed this goddess into St. Walpurga and attached a similar legend to her origin. Also known as May Eve, this festival marked the beginning of Summer and the pastoral growing season.

The word "Beltaine" literally means "bright" or "brilliant fire," and refers to the bonfire lit by a presiding Druid in honor of the proto-Celtic god variously known as Bel, Beli, Balar, Balor or Belenus. It has been suggested that Bel is the Brythonic Celt equivalent to the Goidelic Celt god Cernunnos.

At Beltane, the Horned One dies or is taken by the Goddess, only to be reborn as her son. He then reclaims his role as consort and impregnates the Goddess, sparking his own rebirth. Other beliefs tell of the Summer God being released from captivity, or the Summer Maiden wooed away from her Earth-giant father. The Hawthorne (Huathe) tree represents the giant and sometimes this wood is used for the Maypole.

Beltane joyfully heralded the arrival of Summer in its full glory. It was believed that if you bathed in the dew of Beltane morn, your beauty would flourish throughout the year.

On the eve of Beltane the Celts build two large fires, created from the nine sacred woods, in honor of Summer. The tribal herds were ritually driven between them, so as to purify and protect them in the upcoming year. The fires celebrate the return of life and fruitfulness to the earth. Celebration included frolicking throughout the countryside, dancing the Maypole, leaping over fires, and "going a maying". It was customary for young lovers to spend the night in the forest.

Beltane was the time of sensuality revitalized, the reawakening of the earth and all of her children. It was the time when tribal people celebrated with joy the vivid colors and vibrant scents of the season, tingling summer breezes, and the rapture of summer after a long dormant winter. It was customary that Handfastings, for a year and a day, take place at this time.

On May Eve people would tear branches from a Hawthorn tree and decorate the outside of their homes. The Hawthorn, or Whitethorn, is the tree of hope, pleasure, and protection. The strong taboo on breaking Hawthorne branches or bringing them into the home was traditionally lifted on May Eve.

Another custom was to leap over the Beltane bonfire. Young people jumped the fire for luck in finding a spouse, travelers jumped the fire to ensure a safe journey, and pregnant women jumped the fire to assure an easy delivery.

In Irish mythology, the great undertakings of the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians – the original supernatural inhabitants of Eiru and their human conquerors, respectively – began at Beltane. The Milesians were led by Amairgen White Knee, son of Mil, often reputed to be the first Druid.

Lughnasadh

Lughnasadh was the first in the trilogy of harvest festivals. It marked the beginning of the harvest season, and the decline of Summer into Winter. Traditionally called Lammas from the Saxon word Hlaf-mass, the Feast of Bread, festivities and rituals typically centered around the assurance of a bountiful harvest season and the celebration of the harvest cycle. A bountiful harvest ensured the safe passage of the tribe through the upcoming winter months. The gathering of bilberries was an ancient practice that symbolized the success of the Lughnasadh rituals. If the bilberries were bountiful, it was believed that there would also be a plentiful harvest.

Lughnasadh was celebrated to honor Lugh, the Irish God. Lugh, God of All Skills, is known as the "Bright or Shining One", He is associated with both the Sun and agricultural fertility. Lleu, Lugh's equivalent in Britain and Wales, is the son of Arianrhod, Goddess of the Stars and Reincarnation. Games of athletic prowess were played in honor of Lugh. They were said to be funeral games for Lugh or, in some traditions, his foster mother Tailtiu who died while preparing the fields for planting. Many grains, seeds, herbs and fruits were harvested and dried at this time.

Death and rebirth were part of the cycle that Lugh journeyed through in his mating with the Goddess, during the waning year. The Goddess oversaw the festival in her Triple guise as Macha. She presided in her warrior aspect, the crow who sits on the battlefields awaiting the dead. She was the Crone, Maiden and Mother, Anu, Banba, and Macha, who conveyed the dead into the realm of the deceased. In Irish myth, Macha was forced, while heavy with child, to race against the King of Ulster's horses. She won the race and gave birth to twins, and cursed the men of Ulster with the pain of labor when they most needed their strength.


Celtic Festivals

Brigid, Celtic Goddess
of Fire

Brigid, the Celtic goddess of fire (the forge and the hearth), poetry, healing, childbirth, and unity, is celebrated in many European countries. She is known by many names, including that of Saint Brigid who is, perhaps, the most powerful religious figure in Irish history.

Here we will relate the myths of the goddess Brigid. The legends of Saint Brigid are equally compelling, and you can use this link to read them. Brigid's role as an ancient Triple Goddess and the issue of whether or not Saint Brigid was actually a mortal women can be found in:

Danu is the oldest Celtic goddess.

In Celtic mythology, she was the great mother goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann (The Tribes of Danu). Few stories about Danu have survived, and yet the reverence in which she was held still remains. Her influence spread far across the British Isles and Europe, where the Danube River was named for her. Danu is a goddess both famous and obscure. Famous, because her name appears in so many place names and texts. Obscure, because no image or narrative of her survives.


Danu, also known as Anu, Dana and Don, is the earth mother, the power that is in the land, never to be overcome by mortals. Danu, which means "swift flowing" in Irish, is the goddess of rivers and wells, and also of prosperity, plenty, magic and wisdom. Depending on the source, she has been called the mother, wife or daughter of The Dagda.

Cernunnos - God of Home, Produce and Fertility

Cernunnos (also Cernenus[1] and Cern) is a Celtic god whose representations were widespread in the ancient Celtic lands of western Europe. Cernunnos is associated with horned male animals, especially stags and the ram-horned snake; this and other attributes associate him with produce and fertility

A druid was a member of the priestly and learned class active in Gaul, and perhaps in Celtic culture more generally, during the final centuries BCE. They were suppressed by the Roman government from the 1st century CE and disappeared from the written record by the 2nd century, although there may have been later survivals in Britain and Ireland.

Tuatha Dé Danann - Celtic mythology

Tuatha Dé Danann
Celtic mythology


The Tuatha Dé Danann ("peoples of the goddess Danu", Modern Irish pronunciation: [t̪ˠuːəhə dʲeː d̪ˠan̪ˠən̪ˠ], Old Irish: [t̪uːaθa d̪ʲeː d̪an̪an̪]) are a race of people in Irish mythology. In the invasions tradition which begins with the Lebor Gabála Érenn, they are the fifth group to settle Ireland, conquering the island from the Fir Bolg.

The Tuatha Dé Danann are thought to derive from the pre-Christian deities of Ireland. When the surviving stories were written, Ireland had been Christian for centuries, and the Tuatha Dé were represented as mortal kings, queens and heroes of the distant past; however there are many clues to their former divine status. A poem in the Book of Leinster lists many of the Tuatha Dé, but ends "Although [the author] enumerates them, he does not worship them." Goibniu, Creidhne and Luchta are referred to as Trí Dé Dána ("three gods of craftsmanship"), and the Dagda's name is interpreted in medieval texts as "the good god." Even after they are displaced as the rulers of Ireland, characters such as Lugh, the Morrígan, Aengus and Manannán mac Lir appear in stories set centuries later, showing all the signs of immortality. They also have many parallels across the Celtic world: Nuada is cognate with the British god Nodens; Lugh is a reflex of the pan-Celtic deity Lugus; Tuireann is related to the Gaulish Taranis; Ogma to Ogmios; the Badb to Catubodua.

The Morrigan (also known as the Morrigu)

was the shape-shifting Celtic Goddess of War, Fate and Death. She also presided over rivers, lakes and fresh water, in addition to being the patroness of revenge, night, magic, prophecy, priestesses and witches.
Her name is interpreted in various forms..."Great Queen," "Phantom Queen" or "Queen of Demons." She was said to hover over battlefields in the form of a raven or hooded crow and frequently foretold or influenced the outcome of the fray. The Morrigan was often depicted as a triune goddess whose other aspects were manifested in the Goddess Badb (meaning "Vulture" or "Venomous") and the Goddess Nemain (meaning "Frenzy" or "Fury"). The Morrigan was one of the Tuatha De Danaan ("People of the Goddess Danu") and she aided in the defeat of the Firbolgs at the First Battle of Magh Tuireadh and the Fomorii at the Second Battle of Mag Tured.

Celtic Mythology

celtic mythology

Known as the Keltoi to the Greeks, and the Galli to the Romans, the peoples north of the Alps were of little initial interest in the ancient world. Then in the fourth century BC the great Celtic migrations from Central Europe pushed out in earnest, and overran the illustrious ancient civilisations on the mediterranean. In 390 BC the Celts became the only ancient civiliation to ever capture Rome; a century later they sacked prestigious Delphi of the Greeks. The Celts had arrived in the history books.

Unfortunately, there is little we can guage of their history from their own perspective, but we have many clues, through the historical sources and especially archaeological excavations. For a start, the Celts were a mixture of over 40 tribes who generally shared customs and beliefs, who pushed from central Europe and north into Britain, west into Spain, south into Turkey, but came up against the ever more closely migrating Germanic peoples in the West. Eventually Celtica became trapped in the vice of Roman imperialism and Germanic expansion, and gave way to one and then the other over time.


The Celtic peoples became absorbed, first by Rome, then by the Germans. But it was the literate Christian monks who followed again from Rome, after the Germanic conquests, who eventually began to take enough of an interest in recording local ideas. And so in the last quarters of the remaining Celtic languages, and over the following centuries, some small part of their rich tradition was finally put into writing.