Celts

Celts expressed their spiritual devotion to the Natural World and reverence for creation through individuals (Bards, Ovates, Druids), places (Mounds, Wells, Groves, Trees, Stonehenges)... . Rivers, springs, and wells were were believed to possess both magical and curative powers. Fairies, Mineral Spirits, Tree Spirits, Leprecauns... honoured the land with their presence. Nature was filled with the divinine and purposeful elementals of fire, earth, air, and water. The Celtic world was very much a live one.

The Bards and Druids were the keepers and tellers of special metaphysical knowledge which they nurtured over the years by embroiding it into their artwork, mythology, songs, and stories. The most honored and revered amongst the storytellers were those who told the longest and most intricate tales. The hall mark of Celtic tales was their usage of symbols, totems, drumms, ecstatic dance, pilgrimages, healings, oracles, shamanic trances, vision quests... .

Three was a Celtic holy number which had many different meanings and representations: the three realms of land, sea, and sky; the Three Kindreds (ancestors, fairies, Gods and Goddesses); the triplicity of the mother goddess with their three different aspects of the maternal role.

The druids were very important in Iron Age society but we know very little about them. They were the priests, clan elders, the advisors, astronomers, diviners, judges, healers, historians, musicians, philosophers, and shamans of the Celtic tribes responsible for all sorts of religious ceremonies. They were educated and powerful members of the tribe and were well respected by the other Celts.

AWEN

Aw- (flowing) an -en (spirit) has always been translated as: muse; genius; poetic frenzy; and more importantly inspiration. Inspiration has always been the \"holy grail\" to the Druidic way of life and considered as being \"food and drink\" (ecstasy for the spirit, strength for the body, courage to the heart, room for knowledge, growth for wisdom...) for the soul. It is a flowing spirit, a kind of life essence, a source of spiritual strength, prophetic insight and poetic inspiration.



In a Welsh poem a small child \"Little Innocent\" drinks thre drops from a brew (Awen) made by the Goddess Ceridwen (crooked woman). As a result the child recieved the three basic instances of Druidic practise: poetry (bardic), prophecy (oviate), and shape-shifting (druidic). Awen is very much an active power of creation, described by the Irish as being like a fire in the head, or by the Welsh as a liquid, or is refered to the fundamentals of life. Awen is tangiable Force, it is there for the picking. In modern day thinking Inspiration has become a matter of chance, something beyond our control.

Awen can be found in many world cultures eg. the Hindu Shakti, called the Great Mother of the Universe, and the Christian Holy Spirit called the Mother of All Living. It is considered as the energy through which the universe is created.

\"The Sioux call this force Wakan; it exists everywhere in the universe, but only manifests itself in extraordinary phenomena (such as the sun, the moon, thunder, wind, etc.) and in strong personalities\"