Celtic Immortality
editThe Celtic people were one of the first in Europe to develop a philosophy of the soul. The Celtic conceptualization of the soul is often compared to the Pythagoreans Transmigration of Souls and debates over the relationship between the two, and questions as to whether the origins are from the Pythagoreans or Druids, are ongoing. The belief was that there are two realms and that life was continuous insofar as death is a soul's transition from one realm to another; from this life to the Otherworld and vice versa.[1]
Ever-Living Ones is another name for the Tuatha De Danaan immortals or the 'Gods' of Celtic Mythology. Ever- Living in the Celtic tradition refers to a genealogical or collective immortality. Gods in the Celtic view were not creators as in other religious concepts, but rather, the ancestors, heroes, and exemplars for the people and their religious beliefs.[2] There is no known Celtic creation story at this time. Immortals are not portrayed as infallible or immune to suffering or death because they are the ordinary human ancestors of the people; to convey and capture human lessons, the immortals are embodiments of humanity and mortality. Ever-Living Ones then refers to the figures in bardic song or poetry that are passed on through the generations.[1]
Another way to view this belief is that the Gods or immortals of the Celts are literary archetypes. The behaviours and actions of the immortals are used as examples of the culturally typical human struggles, though the actions would be exaggerated through the use of magic or immortal powers. The Celts believed that it was profane to commit knowledge to writing because of the sacred and divine potency and power of Words. The Druid priests spent their lives learning and committing their knowledge to memory. Life and Truth are equated with words and remembering; the memory of a person or peoples that continues in this realm beyond the individual's death is their immortality.[3] Ever-Living Ones is another way of saying Ever-Remembered Ones.
Celtic Esoteric Doctrine of Rebirth
editW.Y. Evan- Wentz earned his doctorate in Natural Science and Comparative Religion at Oxford University with his study on The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. In this study, he discusses the Celtic Esoteric Doctrine of Rebirth, that is the Celtic mystic's beliefs relating to the Otherworld and Immortality. The belief is that the universe is divided into two parts: the world of the visible and the invisible, which is the Otherworld or Fairyland. In this doctrine, a fairy is essentially an intelligent being, either embodied as a human in the visible world or else in the Otherworld. There is a hierarchy of intelligent beings ranging from subhuman to superhuman. Subhuman refers to beings that have never been embodied in the visible world. Between subhuman and superhuman are the souls of the dead, those who once lived in the visible world and are now in the Otherworld. The Tuatha De Danaan, are the superhuman being closest to Gods.[2]
Druids and the Cult of the Dead
editAnother theory of Celtic paganism that proposes a direct relationship between Druidism and the Ancient Egyptian Cult of the Dead. It is proposed that the Cult of the Dead originates as a Cabirian cult in Spain some 20,000 plus years ago which over time spreads taking their beliefs and customs south to Egypt and north to Britain. Druid immortality of the soul is not a metempsychosis, like in the Pythagorean view because the reincarnated soul returns not as a transmigrated form, but with a recognisable identity. Rebirth occurs after a prolonged existence in the Otherworld. Each incarnation of the soul has the same soul identity and that identity would be maintained in the Otherworld.[4] The Gods of Celtic Mythology would not return to the visible world often if at all.
The Druids celebrated death as birth because they believed that the dead were reborn in the Otherworld[3]
Metamorphoses of Immortals
editThe death of a God or immortal in Celtic Mythology functioned as a means of explaining concepts that were too abstract or complex to understand. Divine transformation in the cosmos was reenacted by the Celts in the form of ritual sacrifice.[5]
From the Nineteenth-Century English translation of Celtic Mythology, The Ever-Living Ones is term used in God's and Fighting Men[7] Part I. The Gods and Book IV. of Lady Gregory's Complete Irish Mythology[6]
Part I. The Gods
editLady Gregory gives no account as to why she chooses the title 'The Gods' for the first chapter of her translations.
Aine
Midhir and Etain is the story of King's daughter who is transformed into a swan.
Manannan "the Proud"
Bran is the Celtic God associated with regeneration and the Cauldron of Rebirth. In this story, he meets Manannan and is sent to the Land of Women. It is thought that Bran was adopted by the Celts from the Welsh tradition. He is named as one of the "Three- Blessed Kings" in the Welsh Triads. He is the son of the Sea God Llyr. As well, in Welsh Mythology, specifically in the cycle called The Mabinogion, Bran is not featured as a God but as an ancient King of Britain.
Cormac is the grandson of Conn
References
edit- ^ a b Ellis, Peter Berresford (1992). Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. London: Constable and Company Limited. ISBN 0-09-471390-1.
- ^ a b Evans-Wentz, W.Y. (2002). The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. London: Dover Publications Inc. ISBN 978-0-486-42522-1.
- ^ a b Berresford Ellis, Peter (2002). The Druids. London: Constable & Robinson Ltd. ISBN 1-84119-468-9.
- ^ Spence, Lewis (1998). Mysteries of Celtic Britain. Bristol: Parragon. ISBN 0-75252-682-0.
- ^ Markale, Jean (1993). The Celts: Uncovering the Mythic and Historic Origins of Western Culture. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions International. ISBN 0-89281-413-6.
- ^ a b Gregory, Lady Isabella Augusta (1994). Complete Irish Mythology. London: The Slaney Press. ISBN 1-85152-680-3.
- ^ Gregory, Lady Augusta Gregory (2009). Gods and Fighting Men:The Story of the Tuatha De Danaan and of the Fianna of Ireland. ReadaClassic.com. ISBN 9781611041347.
- ^ Gregory, Lady Augusta (1904). "Gods and Fighting Men". Internet Sacred Texts Archive. John B. Hare. Retrieved 28/11/2016.
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