Celtic Paganism

What is Paganism

Before we start the subject of the Celtic culture and mythology we should first define just what paganism is.

Paganism, as defined by dictionary.com is:

  1. Pagan spirit or attitude in religious or moral questions.
  2. the beliefs or practices of pagans.
  3. the state of being a pagan.

Conversely, it defines a Pagan as:

  1. one of a people or community observing a polytheistic religion, as the ancient Romans and Greeks.
  2. a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim.
  3. an irreligious or hedonistic person.
  4. pertaining to the worship or worshipers of any religion that is neither Christian, Jewish, nor Muslim.
  5. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of pagans.
  6. irreligious or hedonistic.

So I guess that leaves one definition:

Neopaganism
–noun
a 20th-century revival of interest in the worship of nature, fertility, etc., as represented by various deities.

A pagan, by the dictionaries definition, covers the whole of all religions not in the Judeo/Christian/Islam/Muslim theologies. Up to and including Atheist, Satanists, and Buddhists. Generally though, when we refer to Pagans or Paganism, we are actually using the Neo-Pagan definition.

Those Pesky Pagans

We've looked at the literal definitions, now on to understanding what the modern Pagan movement actually is. It is not like Charmed or Witches of Eastwick. There is no flying on your broom or magic carpet over the moonlit landscape(though many of us try). Paganism is the modern revival of polytheistic religions, and in some cases the worship of nature in various forms, (i.e. Gaia, Mother Nature, The Green Man) as embodied by the Old Gods of various cultures. In other cases it is the revival of the old religions, with less of a focus on nature. Paganism is a broad sweeping term that lumps all of these religions in to one happy category, something we humans take great pleasure in doing.

As one pagan said, from the now defunct AOL Paganism message boards, there are as many forms of Paganism as there are Pagans (though his next comment was about hitting pagans with sticks). The Neo-Pagan movement started in England in the 1950's, where Gerald Gardener and his group of close friends and associates created Wicca. As Wicca was growing and spreading, another group of College students in Minnesota formed the Reformed Druids of North America. There were many other "Pagan" religions that popped up around the same time, but I'm not familiar with them. Nor do I have the webspace or time to give a comprehensive history lesson on the roots and growth of modern paganism, so I'll try to keep a complicated subject simple.

Wicca had a strong impact on how we worshiped and gathered. Secrecy was preached and practiced due to fears (rightfully so in some cases) that society would take a violent and somewhat skewed view of what was worshiped and practiced. For some, it was close, but not exactly what they were looking for. Many modern forms of Paganism took what worked from Wicca, and added their own spin. Others, like Modern Druidry, just scrapped the whole thing and started over. But like any broad religious group, the concepts and forms of worship within the Neo-Pagan religions allow a Pagan visitor to most circles or groves to be able to walk in and barely miss a beat. At this point, I would like to address the view that modern Paganism practices Magic. Some pagans do practice magic, in its many forms. But it is not the embodiment of our various religions, and in no way is it a requirement.

Now that I've wandered nicely off subject, we'll move to my beliefs as an Eclectic Celtic Pagan.

You're a what?

Earlier I mentioned that I am an Eclectic Celtic Pagan. All that means is that my religious beliefs follow what little we know about the ancient Celts and their mythology, while not limiting myself to "one" specific group within the breadth of the Celtic Pantheon. I worship the old gods, celebrate the old holidays (which coincide with many of Wicca's holidays) and do my best to piece what I can together. All this is done with the knowledge that most of the old lore died with the Druids, leaving only bits and pieces of oral heritage that Christian monks faithfully recorded and then altered to thier viewpoint. I was not (until I joined the ADF, and then OMS after) officially a member of any organization, so I took the label "Eclectic" and enjoyed the freedom it allowed.

On to the Celts! The term Celtic, unlike other cultural labels, only refers to the group of languages (i.e. Gaelic, Welsh, Manx) of the ancient Celtic Peoples. Really, there were a broad group of cultures that make up those people, and many different countries. The majority of my worship centers around the Irish Pantheon, especially the Tuatha De Dannan (many of whom became saints, St. Brigid is a fine example of this). I will attempt to throw some stories up at one point or another, but there are many resources up that have done much better than I have the time to. So, here are a few ;)

Timeless Mythology
A wonderful collection of Celtic Mythology, including the Britonic.
Land, Sea, and Sky
A great collection of Lore, research, and general information on Ancient Celtic culture and Reconstruction of it.
The Witches Tutorial
A collection of Essays, by both Pagan adults and Teens, and many tutorials. The site is currently maintained by my wife.

There are many more informational resources on the web, and in books. I will post my recommendations at the next opportunity, as well as other Essays, so sit tight! If you have suggestions, or you would like me to link to your site, please contact me via email at Ferrets Glen Webmaster.

You're so normal, How did you become Pagan?

The short answer is: I was never normal as Judeo-Christian society sees it. My mother taught me early on the difference between perception, and reality. So, your perception is one of normalcy. To me I am normal. To most of American society, I am far from it, and so are my Brothers and Sisters in the Pagan Community. The long answer is a fun story, so I'll tell it.

As a teenager, I was your atypical gamer. I went to school, played Dungeons and Dragons, had a 24 hour a week Tomiki Aikido habit, was learning to play guitar, and spent a lot of time with my parents in the woods. By a lot of time, I mean that I hiked a good portion of the Olympic Mountains of Washington State, as well as a bit of the Cascades. My parents were Earth Conscious, salt of the earth people who grew up poor and had a great many ugly experiences with religion and their respective churches. So the end result was my father was a nonpracticing Mormon, and my mother was agnostic. My mom insisted we be raised outside of church, and so my Brother and I only ever set foot in one voluntarily (that was only a couple of times, I assure you).

At the age of 13, I was incredibly active in Martial Arts, and being the sort that I am, was invited to the advanced classes here and there. One of those nights I was walking home (it was a much different world then) and my path took me through the local park. It was summer, and so twilight was just about to end. I walked straight through the ranks of what I later learned would be the local demonology cult close to the park exit, and was made slightly uncomfortable by their stares. I was used to being stared at (I was a muscular geek, people couldn't figure it out) so I just shrugged it off and kept on home. A few days later, I awoke about 3 am, and was unable to move, and felt that something was crawling in to me. Some say it was night terrors or night paralysis, I call B.S. on that. I spent about an hour fighting that thing out, and when I felt it leave, I could move again. So, the next question is, what does that have to do with anything? I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

That whole event confused me enough that I talked to my mother about it. At that point in her life, conversations like that made her uncomfortable, so I let it slide with the normal "here, have some food". A few days later, a friend of mine (yep, another D&D geek) called me and asked me if I wanted to come over. I grumbled something, and he asked "what if I told you magic was real"? I don't remember hanging up the phone, and I'm pretty sure I didn't. He had picked up a Scott Cunningham book: Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water, and we commenced to devouring it, then practicing it. We found books on psychic self defense, and anything else we could for that time period (Llewellyn press has a habit of recalling the good books). One of the books, a D.J. Conway book called ironically Celtic Magic, instantly caught my attention (I would like to point out the Honesty of this statement. I would no longer be caught dead with this book on my shelf). I read it so much it fell apart and I paid another 15 dollars for a new one. Years later I would realize that book was a Form Book (Read Celtic Magic, then Norse magic, they were written from a standard template) and that the Historical information was mostly false, but the practical techniques and methods of worship on the Sabbaths were close enough. During that whole process, my thinking changed, and so did the way I perceived, and what most of Society sees as paranormal, or just plain disbelieves, became a natural, everyday part of my life. Nature became much more important, and the gods found me. In the years after, I became good friends with a former Demonologist. My experience in his eyes was probably real, but his reality is not mine, so he couldn't say for sure. Yeah, that was an odd conversation looking back on it.

So lastly, what became of my parents? Well, they are both active members of the Rainbow Tribes (Native American Spirituality), my mother is currently certified as: An Animal Behaviorist, Reiki level 5, A Certified Herbalist (through who I don't know, but she's always been handy with the Teas and Tinctures). Like me, their path found them.

Initially, when I started down this path, I was uneasy telling this story. Mostly because the usual reaction was: Um, yeah.....about those Seahawks. After a while, I stopped caring. It was a cusp in my life, and helped lead me to where I am today. Think what you want, but that's how it went down! To finish: I was always Pagan, I just never knew the name for it.

Books for the Bibliophiles, Links for the Webaholics

So here we are, about to practice my list tags (yeah, I'm a geek). My library isn't small, but you want only the best! So for the Celticy Pagany types, here's a good list of good reads straight from my bookshelf and a couple of required reading lists that changed over the years.

More to come later, but It's off to bed soon. So Merry Part, and May you never thirst!