What is Celtic Paganism? And how do I learn it?
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- Опубліковано 4 сер 2024
- Going for the most basic question here. It comes up a lot.
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Chapters
0:00 Intro
3:16 Druidry
3:57 Polytheism
4:27 Reconstructionism
5:30 Wicca
5:49 Witchcraft
6:05 Ask good questions
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I'm glad I found this video as it helps dispel many of the ideas we tend to have when talking about the 'Celtic peoples'. There was no universal religion or belief system, nor a tongue each tribe could easily understand. But while I can't say I'm a reconstructionist, I'm also not someone who blindly flaunts an ideal of Celtic culture and civilisation. As much as I'd like to follow exactly what my ancestors believed and practised, that's next to impossible. As such, I feel more lost in the modern world than I probably would have in the ancient world. I want to feel closer to my ancestors, to the proper Celtic traditions, but for a number of years, it's felt pointless to do so given how little information exists regarding their beliefs and religion. In any case, thank you for making this video! I've subscribed!
This video is only looking at modern Paganism, though. And I think it would be a mistake to look at that, which is in an anarchic state, and then to assume that the religion of ancient Celtic-speaking people was necessarily in an anarchic state. The fact is that we don't know. I think we can be reasonably certain that it wasn't monolithic - but we don't know what the diversity looked like at all.
Thank you so much for this video. I am a few years old pagan but I am actively researching Norse and Celtic paganism because of ancestry in both of those places and cultures. I didn't think there was much on Norse paganism until I tried to learn about Celtic paganism and there was even less. I loved your advice for learning, which I had already started doing on my own. It's nice to see that another person thought it was a good direction to go.
I'm glad it was helpful. Thanks for commenting!
Yes it is a rabbit hole before you know it.
This has been the most helpful video I have come across at the very least. You have concisely communicated what a combination of books merely insinuate.
Oh, good! I'm pleased to hear it was helpful.
another incredible video, great content.
Aw, thanks!
Ugh the misconception that the Celts built Stonehenge is so widespread…it’s frustrating
Very thorough and informative, without being "gate-keepy"! I am very excited to go through the rest of your videos!
Thank you! Nice things to hear, and it's what I'm aiming for. I hope you enjoy my channel. There's quite a lot to binge on! Please let me know what you think of other videos.
Thank you for this informative video!
You're very welcome.
thank you for sharing your knowledge 💜
You're very welcome. Sometimes, it's good to remember that some people would appreciate it if I start at the beginning!
Thank you so very much for this extraordinarily informative video. Also, your use of elephants throughout the video was cute. I'm interested in Celtic Paganism with a focus on the Morrigan, Flidas, Cernunos and Oghma.
You're very welcome.
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I am beginning my journey into paganism. I have trying to learn about Scottish Polytheitic. More I research, more confused I get. I was raised Baptist and became Catholic 9 yrs ago.
Hi Douglas! Scottish polytheism is very hard to understand from the outside. I've been meaning to do a video on this, so thanks for the reminder. In the meantime, here's something I wrote, which I hope will help. www.godeeper.info/blog/the-question-of-scottish-deities
Kris, your content here has proven so helpful and I genuinely appreciate it. I would venture to ask how you feel about approaching two Celtic cultures, with a form of worship? An example is, that I live in America and am a classic example of an American with heritage from Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and Gaul (specifically Normandy / Jersey Isle). My affinity always circles around Ireland and Wales, I just can't get enough of the history, folklore, and myths.
That said, there are times I feel torn by wanting to work with Welsh deities and Irish deities. Do you believe this can be problematic?
No. I think there is far too much made of any likely issues. What is important is that you come to understand the two cultures as related yet having many differences. For example, the Britons had to deal with two quite oppressive invasions early on - the Romans followed by the Saxons. The Irish didn't, and so their native culture had more time and space to flower unhindered. Looking at the modern era - Ireland continued as a Catholic nation, with all the folk Catholic/maybe pre-Christian syncretism that allows for. Wales strongly embraced Protestantism in the 19th century, which wasn't so good for preserving its folklore (although quite a bit was collected before it was too late) but it created a great deal of cultural pride and bolstered the language.
Having lived in southern Scotland for a long time, which is a place where there is an older layer of Brythonic culture, overlaid by later Gaelic culture, it's very natural to me to honour some deities from both cultures.
I'm interested in learning about the practices and philosophy of Paganism of Pre-Roman and Roman central Britain (northern Britannia) and the goddess Brigantia. I'd really appreciate some pointers on where to start.
Brigantia is the main deity of focus and the names of other deities aren't too difficult to find. But the practical and philosophical side is much less clear. How is a shrine set up? How do I worship? What is the relationship of humans and gods? What is the philosophical worldview of the religion?
We don't really have clear answers to those questions, I'm afraid. It's not too difficult to research how Roman religion was practiced, but there is no reason to assume that Celtic people under Roman occupation wanted to follow suit.
As I say in this video, we are really in an era of reviving Celtic religion in the here and now. I don't personally see an advantage in trying to reconstruct the past, although not everyone agrees with me!
im so new and ive been drawn to celtic culture, im more of eclectic and i was drawn to danu and the core beliefs for celtic paganism that view nature as sacred and i was first drawn to gaia a greek deity but that is all ive been drawn to in terms of other pantheons
Apparently, there's recent research showing that modern Irish are not Celts after all. In fact, the Celtic peoples may not have made it to Ireland in any significant numbers.
For me, 'Celtic' is a cultural and linguistic term. The Irish speak/spoke a Celtic language, and share many cultural traits with other Celtic-speakers.
@@KrisHughes it may be that labeling such things as "Celtic" is a misnomer, and they might more accurately be called "Irish"...{but perhaps that's my ancestral self-aggrandizement kicking in, lol}.
@@profbri.02 "Celtic" is a perfectly valid umbrella term for languages and culture that do/recently did speak them. That said, using a more specific term where one can is also a good thing.
I think the study found that the Irish get most of their ancestry from pre-Celtic peoples but also carry a significant component from the Celts that migrated there in the early Iron Age from France/central Europe. There was a modest but noticeable genetic shift during that time.
@@skellagyook i thought they'd concluded that the migrating Celts did not reaxh rbe island in significant numbers at all..? I'll have to read the primary source.
Aren't there also newer archeological sites with various "Celtic" cultural/artistic evidence, but long before the eastern Celts were supposed to have reached that far west? I think the suggestion is that it is possible that those things that serve as indicators of "Celtic-ness" may have actually originated in the Irish Isles and gradually moved east as opposed to moving west from the eastern Celtic populations...
so my lineage is Lithuanian, Irish, Scottish, and German... would it be acceptable to mix things for my pagan views?
I know there isn't much difference but I'm extremely interested in Celtic, Nordic, and Germanic paganism since most of my heritage is from those regions
That's a question you have to answer for yourself.
There are huge differences. @@miriamlaw1928
If I may interject a personal observation. Before I define 'Celtic' anything, I clear my mind of modern-day boundaries as found on a map. I go back to a time when geographical were barely observed. Then, I account for overlaps of culture as they transition from one to another. Plus, the "Irish" hogging up all the celtic always bothered me, just kidding. It probably has more to do with tourism than anything. Again, it's a joke. Thank you for indulging me.
A friend is researching whether some druidic medical knowledge may have survived amongst the body of lore held by the renowned Meddygon Myddfai (the Doctors of Myddfai), S. Wales. Impossible to prove, I guess. But not impossible. Medical knowledge answers such basic needs in society that it's the kind of tradition that might survive over the centuries, despite huge changes in culture and religion.
I don't know if we're even sure that the Druids had much medical knowledge. I'm trying to think of any mentions that they did. I'd have to do some digging on that to be sure. The physicians of Myddfai might be a place to look, I suppose, if they did.
How about how plants that were used traditionally in religious aspects or witchy lores. I have been trying to connect the dots with some plants that grow here that are similar to plants that grew in the landscape of my ancestors.. if you have a video on this forgive me for not finding it. I have read some about brambles ( we call them, blackberries, dewberries, or black raspberries depending on the type) and i have read about th blackthorne trees which photos of are gorgeous. We do have thorn trees here too but i have never seen a blackthorne 😔 and mistltoe ( recent family lore says we shoot it out of the tree tops to harvest). If you know any links i would greatly apprecate it. It is hard to find authentic information and not some new age woowoo stuff that has no roots to said information. Thank you in advance! Hope you have a blessed day🌄
Well, like I said in the video, I don't know much about witchcraft. I do know about medical herbalism, but there are far better people than me to teach it. If you are interested in that side of things I can recommend the work of David Hoffmann - there's a playlist here: ua-cam.com/play/PLvCdDm0wPhA3PEQTLP8O0ChNNUrBToqnE.html
Thank you!
What do you know of Cernnunos? In Greek mythology he was known as pan but originally he was a Gaulish god associated with the wild places of the earth.
As I understand it, Cernunnos and Pan are not the same deity. I wouldn't assume that because two deities both have some kind of horns that they are the same. Cernunnos is certainly Gaulish, but any notions about his associations are pretty speculative. We know more about Pan, simply because the Greeks wrote things about him, whereas we have nothing from the Celtic people beyond a few images.
@@KrisHughes ok I wasn’t suggesting they were the same god it’s quite well known that sometimes Greeks/rRomans and other pre Christian people often adopted gods and ideas from other peoples they were in contact with my suggestion was more along the lines of pan being the Greeks interpretation of this deity or at least created their own one inspired by the concept.
@@Alasdair37448 Pan originally evolved in Arcadia - considered as a "rural backwater" of Greece at the time. And he is seen as goat-like, whereas Cernunnos has antlers, usually, and the whole ram-headed snake and torc thing going on. I'm just not convinced that there is any ancient cross-influence between them. But I can't prove it either way, obviously.
@@KrisHughes ok thx see I’m learning I’m not afraid to admit when I’m wrong. In fact being wrong opens up new opportunities to learn thank you for sharing your knowledge with me.
@@Alasdair37448 I feel the same way. I've taken a couple of videos down, over the years, because I got things wrong. And I've learned some useful things here in the comments section, too!
I thought Welsh as a language was Brythonic not Celtic?
Brythonic and Goidelic are the two branches of Celtic language.
@@KrisHughes Ah okay thank you!
you’re so beautiful!
helloooo, I’m sure you won’t see this but if you haven’t already, could you make a video about your practices and beliefs as a pagan, I know it’s a large term but I’m starting to explore that religion more so I was just wondering
Hiya! My own practices are just that. My own. I can't claim that I do things "the right way", and I mostly don't feel drawn to the idea of sharing that much about my personal practices with the general public. I'm sorry, I know that's not much help!
Celts had no association with the word DRUID. Druid itself came from a Latin word 'druidēs ' ... (Plural not sex ) Druid was used by later Christian scribes... The origin of the word is unclear. Many academics believe it has a connection to the old iIrish word for Oak Tree 'Doire.' So called Celtic people were not Druids at all. The word was used by later Romanic Christian scribes as a derogative term for a sorcerer or Magician to coincide with The Bible verse - Exodus 22:18 The one about not suffering a sorcerer alive... This again is a problem with Neo new age Druids. They should not be using the word.Druid. .. Druid is a word of cultural and historic oppression ...The correct terminology is Dre. All the terms of the festivals have become annglicised... The term Beltane is another good example of how a word has become anglo-modified from Beltaine or Belltaine .. Tine is irish for fire...The other is Scottish...Again it may have a similarity but they are very much two distinct culture.. so to spell it correctly is important to cultural history.... so you can see how Anglo-modificaton is already destroying the roots of Celt history...Let alone thousands of years of history being melted together before anything Celt came along...I believe there is no such thing as Celtic Paganism in a true sense,
Perhaps there never was and never can be a 'true' Celtic religion, then -- especially considering the various tribes and peoples never called themselves 'Celts' at all.