Paganism

Through-out Millennia, thousands upon thousands of

religions have been created and all put accordingly under
one category: paganism. For many the term paganism
means heathen or ones who worship evil, although that is
not the case. The religions under the term we might add are
in fact most of the oldest that archeologists have
documented to have existed, all outdating Christianity,
Judaism, Muslim, Islam and many others. Perhaps the only
reasons for many to consider paganism "evil", is most likely
because under their own religion, whichever it might be, it is
forbidden or blasphemy to actually consider it possible.
Although there are large accounts of paganism we have only
chosen a selected few that are most commonly known to the
modern world.

Celticism Roman
Druidis Greek Starting
m with
Celticism and
Druidism would be the most simple considering they
are closely related knowing most of their rituals,
deities, and geographical locations are the same.

Basic beliefs of the religions:

Usually whichever god/goddess you worshipped

would give an inkling as to what you did with your
life. Example, say you were agriculturally driven
(farmer) then the most likely god/goddess you would
worship would be Amaethon, Essus, etc. This much
being said, ultimately the belief of this religion was
pointed towards the conditions of the land and or the
interests of the individual.

Gods/goddesses:

Amaethon- As a god of Agriculture, he is associated

with plowing and husbandry.

Arawn- Is god of the underworld Annwfn, is

mentioned when king Arthur raided pwyell's realm
under the rule of Arawn to seize his magic cauldron.

Bran the blessed- A god of prophecy, often seen as

a crow or raven; also known for being a god of arts,
war, the sun, music and writing.

Dylan- God of the sea

Esus- God of agriculture and war

LLud- god of the sky

Oghma- god of eloquence, was said

to have introduced writing and made
the magic sword: orna.

Agrona- goddess of slaughter

Arianrhood- goddess of the dawn living in the
palace of the sky (Aurora Borealis)

Cerridwen- grain goddess and goddess of

inspiration

Epona- goddess of horses and horsemen

Morrigan- A war goddess, she was usually looked

upon as the maiden, mother and crone. She is also
considered the moon goddess as well as of fate and
death.

These deities
are to name a
few although it
is a given fact
that there are
scores of gods
and goddesses
known to the
Celtic and
druidic beliefs.
All of these
Deities had a known purpose and their followers
would fall under different categories such as:
farmers, warriors, butchers, nobles, scribes etc.

Place of origin :

Druids: For the Druids, they were hypothesized to

have begun about 6000 years before Christ (6000
BCE), although there is no obvious evidence as to
which time frame they occupied, different forms of
evidence such as Stonehenge (being used by the
Druids) and others have co-me to the surface and
modern Archeologists are persistently trying to
discover more. The Druids were believed to have
occupied mainly the British isles although further
proof could say otherwise.

Celtics: Believed to have started circa 4000 BCE,

were widely geographically situated consisting of the
British isles, continental Europe, Rome, Greece, etc.
Before the creation of Christianity, The Celtic religion
prospered quickly.

Leader? Sacred text?:

Due to the widespread of these two religions, no

particular leader could be designated, and as far a
sacred texts are concerned; both religions travelled
orally from person to person. Great battles were told
of and different aspects of each story would
continually change, resulting in a different story
being told every time it was told.

Festivals/Celebrations:

Beltane: Beltane was a festival held on the first of

May to celebrate the three-fold goddess energies. In
other words, in hopes of fertility and longevity (from
maiden to mother).
FIRE FESTIVALS:

Imbolic: Coincided with the start of the lambing

season (Easter mimicked this celebration)

Lammas: August first, festival of the first fruits (when

mother turns to crone)

Ostara: Celebrating the spring equinox (night and

day are in balance)

Samhain: The Celtic new year, in remembrance for

the dead and bonfires were lit to encourage the sun
to return. (Halloween comes from this festival)

Yule: Is the shortest day of the year and is celebrated

for the winter solstice. Celtic tradition states that the
oak king (rebirth) overthrows the holy king (death)
because the sun will wax after the winter solstice.
(Christmas has now replaced Yule predominantly)

Symbols

• Three is a very important number in Celtic

traditions. The Triquetra represents the threefold nature of the
Goddess as virgin, mother and crone. It symbolizes life,
death, and rebirth and the three forces of nature: earth, air,
and water. The inner three circles represent the female
element and fertility.
 Predating Christianity, the Celtic cross is a
symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the
intersection. A standing Celtic cross, made of stone and often
richly ornamented, is called a high cross or Irish Cross. The most
famous standing crosses are the Cross of Kells found in County
Meath, Ireland; the Ardboe Auld Cross in Ardboe, County Tyrone,
Northern Ireland; the crosses at Monasterboice, County Louth,
Ireland; and the Cross of the Scriptures, Clonmacnoise, Ireland.