|
|
|
The Celtic world was alive with the vibrancy and the glittering glories of hosts of Fairies; of the elemental beings of fire, earth, air, and water; of the holy divinity of the land, the sea, and the sky. The Natural World Landscape abounded with Fairy Mounds, the Wee Folk, Mineral Spirits, Hollow Hills, Leprechauns, Animal Spirits, Holy Wells, Sacred Lakes, Tree Spirits, and the Sidhe. The ancient Celts were devoted to maintaining their spiritual balance and sacred connectivity with the "Natural World" by treating all things hallowed with the respect and reverence they deserved. The living waters of rivers, springs, and wells were venerated because they were believed to have both magical and curative powers.
Celtic spiritual
traditions included deeply held beliefs in an afterlife, fairy mounds,
immortality, magic, nature spirits, and supernatural and mythical beings and
monsters who made their home in the Otherworld.
The boundaries between this world and the Otherworld were adaptable, fluidic, and malleable. All mortals had the ability or aptitude to cross over the thresholds between lands and realms and to travel back and forth between them. During Beltaine and Samhain the boundaries betwixt and between worlds disappeared for a time, for a spell. All trees were sacred to the Celts because they were imbued with the holiness of Tree Spirits, one of the many spiritual kindred sharing the planet with humans. Their leafy tops moved with the currents of the sky winds and their roots burrowed deep into the moist nourishment of the earth. They had their heads in the clouds but their feet were planted firmly on the ground. The Tree of Life was a symbol ladened with many sacred meanings to the Celts and acted as a visual portal key opening doorways to hidden knowledge and ancient genetic memories. Each year most trees lived a condensed lifetime over cyclic seasons that fostered continued growth through periods of dormancy, renewal, growth, and decay from full blossom growth, to golden leaf days, to icy stillness, to budding rebirth once again... Continue on
|
|
|