[10] there is also some evidence that ancient celts sacrificed humans, and some greco-roman sources claim the gauls sacrificed criminals by burning them in a wicker man. the celtic populations of britain and ireland gradually converted to christianity from the fifth century onward. [20] there are also the coins of the roman provinces in the celtic lands of gaul, raetia, noricum, and britannia. whether or not this is true, as the classical peoples grew in influence over the celtic cultures, it encouraged the depiction of deities in human forms, and they appear to move from a more animistic-based faith to a more romanised polytheistic view. [35] the druids, the celtic learned classes that included members of the clergy, were said by caesar to have believed in reincarnation and transmigration of the soul along with astronomy and the nature and power of the gods. at niederzier in the rhineland for example, a post that excavators believed had religious significance had a bowl buried next to it in which was contained forty-five coins, two torcs and an armlet, all made of gold, and similar deposits have been uncovered elsewhere in celtic europe.
[51] irish mythology describes the tarbfeis (bull feast), a shamanistic ritual in which a bull would be sacrificed and a seer would sleep in the bull’s hide to have a vision of the future king. [61][62] the iconography of the human head is believed by many archaeologists and historians to have played a significant part in celtic religion. they were also magicians, as irish magic is intrinsically connected to poetry, and the satire of a gifted poet was a serious curse upon the one being satirised. in the 1st century ce, the latin author lucan referred to “bards” as the national poets or minstrels of gaul and britain. several celtic celebrations have been practised in some form since ancient times, such as the beltane festival[89] and the killorglin puck fair (which seems to be a survival of lughnasadh). these groups range from the reconstructionists, who work to practise ancient celtic religion with as much accuracy as possible; to new age, eclectic groups who take some of their inspiration from celtic mythology and iconography, the most notable of which is neo-druidry.
irish mythology tells of a magical fish, a salmon, that swam in the sacred boyne river and held the key to wisdom. the fish is a common motif in pre-christian celtic art and may have supplied the model for the christian symbol for christ, the son of god, whose human incarnation and teachings linked earthly beings with the afterlife or heaven. to be forbidden a part in sacrificial rites was to lose any chance of favor from the gods.
celts believed in immortality and in a world inhabited by the gods and the fortunate dead. celts celebrated the turning of the seasons with rituals for summer and winter solstice and spring and autumn equinox. brighid or caeridwen is the goddess of poetry, learning, knowledge and inspiration who gave birth to the celebrated bard, taliesen. classroom is the educational resource for people of all ages.
ancient celtic religion, commonly known as celtic paganism, was the religion of the ancient celtic peoples of europe. because the ancient celts did not have the pre-christian celts had a close affinity with the natural world, seeing spiritual forces in trees, lakes, stones, unusual land formations, the ancient celts attempted to use their knowledge of the natural world and their relationship with the earth in an effort to gain understanding, celtic religion books, celtic religion books, celtic paganism, celtic magic rituals, celtic pagan gods.
like shamanism, the celtic cosmology consisted of three parts: firstly, the heavenly realm inhabited by the gods and goddesses; secondly, the what we nowadays refer to as the ‘celtic’ culture was a central part of irish life. this included laws, language and religion. the ancient irish the druids, the early celtic priesthood, taught the doctrine of transmigration of souls and discussed the nature and power of the gods. the irish believed in an, celtic rituals, how to become a celtic pagan, modern celtic religion, celtic religion facts, celtic religion symbols, irish celtic traditions, scottish celtic religion, irish paganism, celtic polytheism, modern celtic paganism.
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