Celtic Lore

Celtic Tree of Life

 

l love the Celtic folklore and Myths.
The Arthurian Tales, The Mabinogion, the Pagan and Druidic Customs and Rites and of course The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
It has always been one of my favorite escapes - reading about those long ago times. The next few days of posts will be about this culture and the various Goddesses that were revered.
The fact that their society was matriarchal certainly is appealing to me. Children took their mother's name and daughters inherited her possessions. A mother gave her child a secret name with the first breast milk; the secret name was carefully guarded so it could not be used in spells and curses. Virginity was not prized; twice the dowry was given for  a women with children. Abortion and choice or change of mate were a women's right.


The Celts were religious or what we would call spiritual today. They believed in reincarnation and transmigration of the soul. They honored Nature and their rites and rituals revolved around the Wheel of the Year. Their pantheon held a great number of female deities of primary importance - Mother Goddesses, Warrior Goddesses, Guardian Goddesses. They also had the concept of the triple Goddess, three aspects of a single deity, such as Maiden, Mother and Crone. These aspects were represented by the Irish Celts by Anu or Danu as the Maiden, Badb as the Mother, and Macha as the Crone. To the Celts of Wales the Maiden was Blodeuwedd, Arianrhod the Mother, and Cerridwen the Crone. There were other triplicities of the Goddess in other times.


The Celts first appeared in history in about the ninth century BC. They came from the east spreading across what is now Asia Minor and Europe and eventually settling in are we now call The British Isles. They excelled as craftsman in metal work,  as builders of roads, as experts in agriculture and animal husbandry. They were first and foremost warriors, often hiring themselves out as mercenaries to anyone who could afford their price. Among the Celts women warriors were held in high regard and were as good warriors as the men. One of the Celts most famous Women Warriors was Boudicca, who was a Queen, a mother and a wife who led an army against the Roman Occupiers.


More Tomorrow...




Jai Mata Di