The various deities, natural energies and Gods and Goddesses would have served various purposes. Firstly they would have given the community a sense of identity and a moral compass. They were often involved in stories concerning the choosing of kings or queens and fate or righteousness in general. They would have been there to defend their people from outside threats or be bartered with to provide a means of natural fecundity throughout the landscape. They were models for warriors and inspired strength as well as loyalty. Finally, they would have helped provide or represent generalized material and societal needs from herbs and trees or elements of the natural landscape to desirable traits such as combat skills, or fertility concerning reproduction, not just of humans but animals or crops as well.  

While it is speculative, we know that Celtic culture maintained close ties to that which could be considered a wider and larger encompassing Native Indo-European spiritual as well as societal belief structure. Many scholars feel that Celtic nations would have believed in some sort of cosmogony and cosmology similar to that of Nordic cultures. If we were to piece together a ‘pan’ Indo-European spiritual belief system, it would undoubtedly include a ‘world tree’ whereby the tree ran through the middle of the earth’s axis linking the three realms of earth, sea and sky together and this is why the earth’s tree is sometimes called the axis mundi today which is a common phrase with Latin roots in Greco-Roman astronomy. These realms that were linked would have naturally had much overlap and been interconnected both in their function but also there would have been overlap in the characters related to these various realms.

Ancestral worship may have strongly come into play and some ancestors may have been elevated to seemingly God or Goddess status, in conjunction with more primordial nature based beings. This may be why there is a lot of ambiguity in regards to Irish myths and legends and it’s unclear whether characters such as Medb were based on a real person or a sovereignty goddess alone or were both. It’s possible that huge characters were born, became very powerful and impacted their societies enough to where they were considered a reincarnation of a deity, such as where Cú Chulainn was considered a reincarnation of Lugh. As already mentioned, the people of the Tuatha Dé Danann, were said to be of Danu, ‘the folk of the goddess Danu’ and possibly the river Danube itself.

From that lens, the Tuatha Dé Danann may have at one time, been a group of traveling emigrants from the Eurasian steppes, hypothetically the horse worshiping, ax wielding agriculturists known as the Yamnaya people who would become the Neolithic monument builders. Not coincidentally, many of these structures are related to the Tuatha Dé Danann such as Brú na Bóinne being the house of the Dagda and his son Óengus as well as his mother Bóinn being related to the creation of the nearby River Boyne. These were places related with funeral rites which may have genuinely been the final resting places of real and powerful kings, queens and druids. Groups within the Irish myths such as the Fir Bolg take on a mythical nature but in essence could simply be a reference to a genuine group of people from a historical perspective with a mix of Christian embellishment thrown in. Similarly, Jesus himself was considered to be both human, but also divine and of an Otherworldly, powerful and liminal nature.  

The sky realm was generally considered to be the heavenly world above which included the starscape and divine beings, possibly again, ancestors, who concerned themselves with the manner of humans and might be bothered to entertain us or our requests given the right circumstances. In Irish tradition, these sky beings who arrived to the island on ‘sky ships’ would have undoubtedly been the Tuatha Dé Danann, and definitely characters such as The Morrígan and Manannán mac Lir, guardians of the Otherworld. However, they evolved to become known as the Aos Sí, Aes Síde or Sídhe in Old Irish and sedd in Welsh. They were often considered to be ‘not wholly good and not wholly bad’ in later folklore and living oral legend. As they evolved to become the ‘faeries’ or fair folk, they were variously known as the Sióg in Irish, Síth in Scots Gaelic and the Tylwyth Teg in Welsh.

As mentioned, there is an essence of fate they typically were known to concern themselves with whereby you were or are to be careful in your interactions for they could easily cause you trouble. They may challenge us equally as much as they might help us and often, you’d never know which was which. This is especially relevant in regards to the sovereignty goddess in various forms and especially The Morrígan and Cailleach. Often challenges are blessings in disguise but they’re not necessarily things we’d have chosen purposefully under the best circumstances. In essence, we are to be careful, humble and respectful in our ​​interactions lest we may be thrown some curveball to quickly set our ego in order. The Gods and Goddesses are variously described as being very fair, goodlooking, magical, wise, skilled and powerful. They were and are in many ways very similar to humans in size and stature but also their interests include similar things ranging from music, poetry, feasting and drinking to competing against one another in various games, battles or competitions. With all of this said, it is still somewhat of a mystery of exactly who the Sídhe are, as they may be more akin to primordial land energies that go beyond the Gods and Goddesses of the mythological tales. Possibly they are one in the same or simply inhabit the same Otherworld and so are related and historically grouped together in some capacity but nonetheless were or are unique entities. 

The next realm was the sea or Underworld, dark and chaotic places not well understood that could be dangerous but nonetheless were also often wellsprings of sustenance and fertility, such as rivers. Fish were naturally a huge staple in the diet of the Atlantic seaboard and representative of great knowledge and naturally, of equal nutritive benefit. Here already we encounter much overlap as Manannán mac Lir was considered the guardian of the sea and both the Underworld here and the spiritual or celestial Otherworld. However, other more contentious or trickster characters such as the Fomorians or later, leprechauns were also considered to have come out of the sea.

Naturally, many rivers, wells or lakes would have been associated with a Goddess of healing and had a more positive connotation. So again, it can’t be overstated, there is overlap and ambiguity throughout these layers of divine or earthly energies and beings. There was and is a healthy fear and respect of the power they garnered or represented, especially in characters such as the Cailleach. Finally, we had the realm of earth which was also considered mysterious but fertile and often feminine in nature. This was the realm most heavily associated with humans and there was relevance placed on balance of all realms, especially, balance with humans in their interactions with these worlds, the elements and the earth or nature itself. This was also why the king, subject king or possibly queen, ‘married’ the land and this practice was carried out from Ireland to Gaul at one time and again, may have had roots in a more Native Indo-European culture. It can’t be overstated that the relationship most Celtic peoples had with the Otherworld was integral to their tribal wellbeing. Wherever they resided, the arguable number one concern would have been how do we live in harmony with the sacred energies (natural as well as Gods and Goddesses) of this space, both physically visible and invisible in the Otherworld?

Along with these three realms, it was thought the earth could be divided into four parts and the directions of north, east, south and west were recognized. The original sun cross which was supplanted by Christianity may have been a remnant of this belief in the earth being separated into four sections or four directions with the circle also being of a sacred symbology possibly regarding the sun or moon. In Ireland, there were originally four main provinces reminiscent of this cross with a fifth being in the center and the seat of the one High King, in County Meath. Fascinatingly, Uisneach is nearly exactly the center of Ireland within nearly a kilometer but this was discovered long before modern technology would have given us a more precise means to know this. In Irish tradition, sacred symbological items were brought to Ireland by Druids from four mythical cities in the ‘northern islands’ which some scholars assert is referencing this reverence of four realms of the earth or directions.

The Lia Fáil coronation stone was brought from Falias by the poet Morfessa. Lugh’s Spear was brought from Gorias by the poet Esras. Nuada’s sword was brought from Findias by the poet Uiscias. Finally, the Dagda’s cauldron was brought from Murias by the poet Semias. Similarly to this, in Welsh tradition there were the Tri Thlws ar Ddeg Ynys Prydain,“Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain”, thirteen being another seemingly divine number. There was also of course the well known sword Excalibur held and gifted by the divine Otherworldly Lady of the Lake in the Matter of Britain, written between the 10th and 15th centuries. Speculatively, the cauldron and stone were representative of feminine energies, transformative and oracular while the sword and spear were seen as more masculine, piercing and focused. That is of course entirely conjecture but there is an element of balance here where in all aspects of Celtic culture, we see the idea of balance as important. This idea is not as pronounced as say the ‘yin and yang’ belief in Chinese tradition but it is there nonetheless, especially embedded within the fire festivals, the idea of reciprocity with the landscape and offerings made to the Gods and Goddesses or land spirits among many other idealisms regarding balance as being integral.

There was an overall sense of a reverence for that which was ‘liminal’ or in other words ambiguous, nuanced, mysterious and occurring in the middle or acting as a bridge of a particular natural phenomenon. For example, dusk and dawn, the areas where water meets land, or Neolithic structures possibly interpreted as doorways to the Otherworld may have been considered quite magical as were the liminal days marking seasonal changes known as the ancient fire festivals that are still celebrated today. These are quite well known as Samhain, Imbolc, Bealtaine and Lughnasadh. Not only were unique days and places considered liminal but people themselves could be liminal as well and individuals that were connected to the Otherworld, matters of the spirit or possibly the Sídhe themselves and not necessarily by way of asking for it. These gifts may have been culturally and communally recognized by way of natural inclination and abilities such as having the gift of ‘sight’ and being a seer in some capacity whether by being able to locate missing people, predict events, communicate with the deceased or with the Gods and Goddesses themselves.

These would have naturally been the Druids but also later, the herbal healers, Irish faerie doctors and bean or fear feasas, ‘wise women and men’. Faerie doctors in particular were said to be skilled in diverting the negative powers or ailments caused by the faeries and they were taught this ancestral knowledge often through interactions with the Otherworld. Circles of trees, plants or mushrooms were and are still sometimes called “fairy rings” and are also thought to be particularly liminal or magical and not to be disturbed. Even doorways of the home were recognized for their liminality as it marked the boundary between the family within and the world without. It was often an old Irish custom to say a blessing at the door when entering someone’s house. In fact, one of the means of divination in Scotland even into recent times was to stand with bare feet and eyes closed in one’s doorway of their home. The seer would place both hands on the sides of the door while they prayed and asked to be given sight into the Otherworld. Afterwhich, they would open their eyes and interpret what was seen directly in front of them as to the answer to their question or whatever it was they were seeking.¹ 

Certain natural sites were of spiritual and sacred importance often in relation to their prominence in the landscape. These would have been in large part, particular hills, trees and bodies of water and again, possibly Neolithic sacred sites. These spaces may have been considered meeting places between the worlds, this world and the Otherworld, or a means of connecting to something more divine in the local environment. It’s often thought that Native belief wouldn’t necessarily have given human form to their Gods and Goddesses at all and there was an interesting quote regarding this belief made by Greek historian Diodorus Siculus in the 1st century BCE when he said… “Brennus, the king of the Gauls, found no dedications of gold or silver when he entered a temple. All that he found were images of stone and wood. He laughed at them to think that men, believing that gods have human form, should set up their images in wood and stone.
”²

While it can’t be overstated that the idea of worshiping an ‘earth goddess’ is incredibly limiting, it’s understandable why this belief in some ways reminds us of this type of worship. The important difference is that instead of one homogenous deity, it presents itself in varied and nuanced form over the landscape and manifests in individual Gods or Goddesses. For example, one particular river at a time, one well or one particular hill would have been associated with someone specific and there would have likely been a story related to that site’s creation regarding that prominent figure. Sometimes it would have been a story simply related to the area or even the God or Goddess’s death. The most well known example of this is again, as mentioned, the story of the Goddess Bóinn or Boann when she created the River Boyne. 

The story goes as told in the Dindshenchas that she created the River Boyne in County Meath that is just next to Newgrange. She was forbidden by her husband, Nechtan, to approach the magical Well of Segais, also known as Connla’s Well. This well was surrounded, it was told, by nine magic hazel-trees which symbolized great knowledge and wisdom. Bóinn challenged the well’s power by walking around it An taobh tuathail, counterclockwise which was considered bad luck. The waters quickly surged up violently and rushed down to the sea creating the river and carrying Bóinn with it. Bóinn was said to lose an arm, leg and an eye and ultimately her life. In another variation of the story, she was merely trying to wash in the well after laying with the Dagda.

There is powerful symbolism in this story as well as similar ones regarding self sacrifice such as the story of Macha dying after giving birth and cursing the men of Ulster or Tailtiu dying from exhaustion after clearing the Plain of Óenach Tailten for farming. In Bóinn’s case specifically, many scholars surmise the story highlights the idea that she rather have had knowledge or followed her own path and suffer the consequences than have neither of these things. If we’re following our own self driven destiny or going against the grain and bad things beset us, there is the hope at least that our sacrifice would have been worthy or amounted to something that would have inspired others or been seen as life giving, in this case, the river Bóinn itself. These stories could be in some ways representative of the classic martyr or hero story and the very real impact that one person can have but they’re told in a unique way that is culturally specific.  

The land was often representative of the sovereign feminine and sustenance while other aspects of growth or skills were representative of masculine energies although there is huge overlap here and in reality neither feminine or masculine energies, Gods or Goddesses can be boxed as lines were frequently blurred in roles and function. The earth, the soil itself and water were often seen as manifestations of the feminine possibly because they were integral to creation, sustenance and to healing which harkens us to the manner in which women mysteriously created and sustained life through childbirth and breastfeeding. The soil was and is a rich fertile mystery that absorbs and transmutes.

Seeds penetrating the soil could arguably be compared to the act of conception. Water in particular has many seemingly magical qualities both based in the physical nature of water but also spiritual experiences surrounding our interactions with it. Given our absolute dependence on water, it was possibly seen in some ways as direct sustenance from the earth in a similar way as babies rely on their mother’s breast milk. From this comparison, we might speculatively understand why rivers or bodies of water were often representative of various feminine energies and Goddesses. We have further proof of the way that the feminine was integral to Native belief in the evidence left from place names. Prominent mountains in the landscape were often named after breasts or nipples in both Ireland and Scotland such as the Paps of Anu in County Kerry, Ireland or the  Paps of Fife in Fife, Scotland, paps being the word for breasts. 

The prominence of water in Irish healing tradition in particular cannot be overstated as it was and is currently, immense. Healing baths would have first and foremost been given and recommended. These are mentioned in various mythical tales, most notably regarding the Cét-chath Maige Tuired, First Battle of Moytura where soldiers were brought back from near death after being given a healing bath. This idea of a healing bath after battle is also speculatively displayed on the Gundestrup Cauldron. Cú Chulainn was said in folk legend to take a bath in meadowsweet to heal his wounds and a bath with bone marrow was used to heal Cethern in the Táin Bó Cúailnge.³ As already mentioned, the Neolithic fulacht fiadh dot the Irish and British landscape that would have likely had a double usage of being used to boil meat but also to take a bath. There are also remnants of a cold water swimming tradition by way of an Irish oral tradition coupled with use of the Tigh ‘n alluis, sweat house. It was said that after people sat in the sweat houses for approximately an hour, they would jump into a nearby pool of cool water or the sea and then back into the sweat house until their ailments felt better which were usually generalized illness, chills, sore eyes or rheumatic disorders.^4,5 Kelp may have also been burned inside to aid in healing, particularly complexion and skin conditions. 

Well water was considered incredibly healing both to drink as well as put on the skin, most commonly to improve complexion or to speed the healing of wounds. However, it was cited in folk belief to heal a many number of things such as blindness.⁶ Usually, before taking any of the water you would have walked around the well deiseal, clockwise three times and similarly may have done this around a particularly sacred or large tree as well for good luck.^7,8 Morning dew was also cited as healing where you would run through it, drink it or simply collect it. In some accounts, it was believed that by eating the dew off the grass, a cow’s milk supply would increase.^9,10

The dew on the morning of Imbolc or Bealtaine was especially potent.^11,12 The brat Bride or Brighde which was a cloak, was put out on the latch of the door, window sill or nearby hedge to be blessed by Brigid herself on Imbolc eve.^13,14 and then the cloak or sometimes strip of smaller cloth could be used to wrap around sick members of the family or laid across their forehead for the rest of the year to aid in healing. Fire naturally played as large of a role in various ways as water, particularly when it came to cooking and for warmth but also the symbolism of fire being representative of poetic inspiration and use during the fire festivals. Similarly to water, fire was thought to have a healing and cleansing nature as well when used wisely and especially when burning specific sacred wood or herbs. This belief continues into the present as even Lady Wilde mentioned that “Fire and Holy Water they hold to be sacred, and are powerful: and the best safeguard against all things evil…” We will touch more deeply on both of these elements in later sections of sacred belief. 

Natural events, natural cycles, moon cycles and much more that could be observed in the natural world were to be minded and recognized as well as the elements and weather in general. It would have been considered lucky or unlucky to do certain things on certain days or times. This is echoed even from the Gaulish Coligny Calendar where certain days and months were considered, MAT and ANM or matus and anmatus, ‘complete or incomplete’, ‘auspicious or inauspicious’ and possibly most straightforward ‘good or bad’ to conduct business. The Coligny calendar was a lunar calendar and significant in affirming that the Celtic nations were said to measure and start their days by nights instead of mornings.¹⁵ The Druids of Gaul were said to pick certain herbs such as mistletoe “only on the fifth day of the moon”.¹⁶

There was common ritual significance in when business or certain daily habits were to be completed based on the moon, and this was seemingly as true in the ancient world as it has been into more recent times as much folklore from the entirety of the isles distinctly surrounds auspicious and appropriate times to do something, whatever that activity was.¹⁷ Additionally, they may have still interpreted the moon as an autonomous being whereby it was addressed in a manner you would a person, for women would curtsy or men would bow during a new moon even into the early 1900’s.¹⁸ According to Greek historian Polybius in the 2nd century BCE, a Gaulish army turned completely around and went home after a lunar eclipse and interpreted this as a negative sign and bad luck to continue onward.¹⁹ Ancient and Native folk belief the world over undoubtedly surrounded much of what came to be known as superstition but in reality these beliefs are simply a means of creating, for better or worse, deeper meaning with the world around us. There is a mysterious power in affirmations and the placebo effect to where when we truly believe something, it can easily shape ourselves, our choices and ultimately the outcome of our lives. 

Another major facet of their belief system was as mentioned, that of reciprocity with the Gods and Goddesses but also the environmental landscape in general. You essentially needed to give something in order to get something and to some extent this could be considered a sacrifice or more accurately ascribed, a transfer or balancing of energy. It can arguably be observed in nature that often we need to give something in order to create something else as nature is always pulling down and rebuilding from a material and physical perspective. We see this belief echoed in the large amount of ritual offerings left in and around sacred sites or waterways. There were three main types of offerings that were commonly left asking for reciprocity energetically. Firstly, they may have left carved body parts or imagery that was in need of healing.²⁰ They may have also left coinage (only in Europe and Britain), jewelry as well as household goods. Finally, they typically left weapons and often bent or destroyed them to some extent, lending to a ritual significance in this act or it may have been simply to avoid the object from being stolen so that the offering stayed in place.

From an archeological perspective, many of these items have been found in places such as various bogs and wells in Ireland and Scotland, and lakes such as that of Llyn Cerrig Bach on the isle of Anglesey and rivers such as the River Thames. Right into the present, offerings are still left to appease the Sídhe in Ireland and Scotland, particularly bread, butter or alcohol. In fact, 2,000 year-old bog butter was found in Emlagh Bog, County Meath thought to possibly be ritually placed there as an offering so this is likely an incredibly old practice. Large vases of wine from Gaul have been discovered with their open tops sliced off even though this didn’t need to be done to access the wine, alluding to being used as a ritual offering. There is an interplay and overlap here within the idealisms of offerings, sacrifices and reciprocity. Another related tradition regarding transferring energy was prominent in both the Irish and Scottish healing tradition whereby as mentioned, faerie doctors had magical skills in which they would ‘transfer’ an illness to an animal, the family horse or dog or even a bird outside. Sometimes the animal was said to be sick for a day or said to have passed away but most often, it was simply believed they could handle the illness as it didn’t bother them like it would have a human. 

Animals were undoubtedly thought to intermingle with the sacredness of the land and were also revered in their own ways. They may have even been seen as allies, helpers or in essence, power animals. This belief is echoed in the fact that Scottish clans were often represented by an animal with qualities they believed they exemplified or that related to an important story of their ancestors. In Irish tradition, a similar idealism that affected leaders was the geis or geasa. This was a rule put upon someone, usually by a Druid to where they couldn’t for example hunt wild boar lest they be killed by one which invariably happened to the fearless Fianna warrior Diarmuid O’Duibhne in the tale of Diarmuid and Gráinne. Various animals were also commonly displayed not only on art and standards, but their clothing, weapons, helmets, instruments, hair pieces, jewelry and likely on themselves in tattoos. Again, this was speculatively to manifest in themselves whatever qualities they believed the animal had or that they wished to have, possibly as a means of ritual protection or connection to a specific God or Goddess. There is an underlying recognition and respect that is naturally present not only in the ancient world but today when we display animals we connect to. 

The boar, stag, horse or bird were very common representations of the Otherworld or were guides themselves. Birds in particular were very connected to the Otherworld as they were a part of the ‘sky realm’. Celtiberians believed that the souls of the dead went straight to the Otherworld once eaten by vultures possibly due to this association.²¹ Animals in mythology were frequently written in as shape shifters and certainly some animals were identified as being a God or Goddess incarnate visiting from the Otherworld. The Morrígan is quite famously the most renowned shapeshifter of all as she was said to turn into a crow or a wolf at will. There are also the many conriocht or werewolf stories very prevalent in Irish folk legend.²² In one recent folk story, a wolf curiously changed into a snail.²³ Other various characters in myths such as those we’ve already mentioned, particularly Suibhne mac Colmáin but also Mis, took on a part human, part beast appearance in consequence of being driven mad by grief and anger and in some contexts this was known as a gealt. There were also horror stories of the súmaire, vampire or deamhan, demons, that inspired the likes of people such as Irish writer Bram Stoker and his writings of Dracula where people changed into a creature that was more or less half alive and half dead. Two of the most famous stories are that of the vampire dwarf Abhartach and vampiress, Dearg Dur. 

Dearg Dur or Dearg Due’s name means ‘red thirst or bloodsucker’. Her legend begins in County Waterford where she was said to have lived and been a beautiful young woman. She was the chieftain’s daughter who fell deeply in love with a poor farm laborer. They were absolutely mad about each other and made great plans to marry, have children and live happily although this love was forbidden and her dreams, torn away. Her father arranged for her to be married to a renowned cruel neighboring chieftain in exchange for more land and riches. The girl was soon married away and unsurprisingly, treated horrendously. She was tortured and locked away in a prison like chamber to where she starved herself as a way to escape her living hell. She died alone with only thoughts of her lost love and vowing to have vengeance. So it was, that on the year anniversary of her death, she arose from the grave out of the sheer anger still dwelling within her soul and body. She ran straight to her father’s house where he lay sleeping, touched his lips to his and sucked the life right out of him. Then she made her way to her callous husband’s house and did the same to him; however, she was so angry by that time that she drew not only his breath but every ounce of blood out of his body. This awoke a thirst in her like she had never known, a thirst for more blood and in an anguished, deranged and monstrous state she began terrorizing the countryside, preying on young men, luring them with seduction to their deaths and would continue to do so the same day every year. The remains of Dearg Dur are buried in Waterford near Stronbow’s Tree in a local churchyard where it is said that rocks are placed so that she will not rise again and prey on the innocent. Locals continue to add stones when they visit to this day. 

Animals that were white were considered extra sacred or of a divine nature, a faerie or Sídhe disguised in deer form. These various tales regarding shapeshifters were passed on in folk legend right into the recent present, particularly in regards to the adventures of Fionn Mac Cumhaill whereby he was threatened by an old hag that shapeshifted from a white deer in order to verbally and physically reprimand him for killing her children.²⁴ It was mentioned by Greek historian Plutarch in the 1st century that Gaulish leader Sertorius received a white doe as a gift and declared that it must have been a gift of their Goddess Diana. He alleged that she revealed many hidden things to him through the doe although it was believed by Plutarch to have been a form of manipulation but naturally, this will remain unclear.²⁵

There is also a well known story regarding white deer and the Irish Saint Gobnait and although Christian, has a remnant of prior symbolism not only in regards to the white deer but the number nine which was said to represent wisdom in Druid tradition. The story goes that ​​St Gobnait lived in the sixth century in the north of Ireland. One day she had a vision and in that vision she was told by God to journey south and where she met nine white deer was where she was to build her church. So, naturally she did as she was commanded and upon her journey came across various numbers of white deer but pressed onward until she met nine white deer total. Here she settled in Ballyvourney, County Cork and built her famous church along with her famous and sacred well that was given her namesake.²⁶ White deer may have also been thought to have been ghosts but still holding an Otherworldly representation.²⁷ 

This shapeshifting ability was mentioned in regards to reincarnations but also it was mentioned in historical references when humans were said to be able to shapeshift in real time through natural and magical capabilities. This was known variously in Scots Gaelic as the Fath-fith or Fith-fath which was the occult power where men and women were either made invisible or transformed into animals, sometimes voluntary and sometimes involuntary.^28,29,30 Witches in particular, were commonly thought to be able to turn into cats or rabbits.^31,32 There was also the phenomenon of the Cat-sith, fairy cat or the Cu-sith, fairy dog, cats and dogs of the spirit-world both in Ireland and Scotland which were usually black and considered a bad omen.³³ These last two folk beliefs are possibly where the overarching belief of black cats not only having nine lives and being the familiars of witches originated from but also of them being bad luck due to this association and their coloring. It genuinely astounds me that this fragment of folk tradition survives to this day even in distant places of the diaspora in America, Canada and Australia whereby a black cat crossing your path as you’re driving was said to be bad luck and possibly cause an accident.³⁴ 

Not only did people, animals and landscapes have spirit but trees, plants, objects and weapons may have had a spirit as well. It was understood that everything, even reworked materials by humans, still maintained their energy or could at minimum be imbued with energy. One of the most famous examples of an object having energy is that of Lugh’s spear named Ar-éadbair, the ‘slaughterer’³⁵ which took on a bloodthirsty life of its own after it had an incantation put on it which made it always hit its mark as well as to return to Lugh. In a later version of the story, it was said that it needed to be kept in a pot of water lest it would continue igniting in flames, battle ready.³⁶ In the mythical tales, various remnants of these beliefs are found. It may have also been believed that the soul often changed form in many consecutive lives into various natural objects or animals but the spirit remained unchanged and this is most classically highlighted frequently in Irish myth in general but also in the beautiful poem of the most famous Irish bard, Amergin… 

“I am the wind on the sea; I am the wave of the sea; I am the bull of seven battles; I am the eagle on the rock; I am a flash from the sun; I am the most beautiful of plants; I am a strong wild boar; I am a salmon in the water; I am a lake in the plain; I am the word of knowledge; I am the head of the spear in battle; I am the god that puts fire in the head; Who spreads light in the gathering on the hills? Who can tell the ages of the moon? Who can tell the place where the sun rests?” 

Amergin, Irish Druid of the Tuatha Dé Danann, from ‘Gods and Fighting Men’ by Lady Gregory

A great example of trees having an autonomous energy was told in the tale of the Irish King Labhraí Loingseach. It was said that he had ears like a donkey of which he was very ashamed of, for kings were supposed to be very handsome and unblemished. He used his hair as well as his crown to cover his deformity. He concealed this by having the barber who cut his hair put to death afterwards so as to keep his secret. One day a young boy came to cut his hair and because he was an only child and his mother, a widow, begged the king to spare his life, he decided not to kill him. However, he made him swear to keep his secret or he would indeed be killed. The boy swore to secrecy but eventually became very ill with the weight of this knowledge. A Druid visited him to diagnose his illness, and declared that he was holding a secret and he must tell it but not to a person so as not to break his promise, so he instructed him to “go to a neighboring wood, and, when he came to a meeting of four roads, to turn upon the right hand, and the first tree that he came to, to apply his lips close to it and whisper the secret”. He did as he was instructed, and ended up whispering his secret to a lovely willow tree and felt much better for it. As fate would have it, the king’s harper Craftine needed a new harp and happened upon the tree that the young boy told his secret to. It was cut down and made into a new harp to which the musician was asked to play as soon as it was ready. The moment the harper began playing, the harp declared “Labhraí Loingseach has donkey ears!” Craftine took this as a message by the Gods, who were offended at the king’s cruelty for putting so many young and innocent men to death. The king was stunned but decided to come clean and showed the entire court his donkey ears. He was well loved enough of a king that nobody minded and no more barbers were killed in the kingdom.³⁷ 

The important aspect of this story is of the tree relaying the message given to it and that it was autonomous enough to play the secret told to it but also this was interpreted as a message from the Gods. Naturally, as with all humans, there would have been an innate connection as well with surrounding plant life. Trees were likely considered sacred to some extent and clearly had immense meaning and significance from a survival perspective but also held deep spiritual meaning. Druids were said to keep sacred space and worship among trees as well as treat them as ancestors or oracles which we will explore further along. This is most clearly exhibited in that many Christian figures are on record cutting down famous and well known trees and either suffering the consequences for doing so, bartering with Natives in order for trees to be left standing or avoiding cutting them down all together in fear of the consequences.³⁸ This all points again to a general Native belief in animism and the free exchange of energy into various forms at least from a physical standpoint as well as the belief in reincarnation and the existence of autonomous energy forms. 

The Otherworld was considered a parallel world to our own where we could actively visit through meditation, ecstatic trance and journeying, especially during liminal times as well as possibly while at liminal or sacred spaces. Certain foods may have also facilitated journeying to the Otherworld such as certain magical mushrooms, although this is speculative but also certain herbs, alcohol, salmon, hazelnuts or apples. Various methods to induce trance have also been recorded using music, darkness or chewing on raw meat. The Otherworld was both the world of the dead and of the Gods and Goddesses. It was a place of great beauty, and dreamlike where there was very little grief and only abundance and various splendors to be enjoyed. This was variously called in Old Irish, Tír na nÓg, ‘Land of the Young’, Tír Tairngire, ‘Land of Promise’, Tír fo Thuinn, ‘Land under the Wave’ or Emain Ablach, ‘Isle of Apple Trees’ among other names. A few of the most famous tales regarding Tír na nÓg is the tale of Oisín and Niamh, Oisín in Tír na nÓg, Cormac’s Adventure in the Land of Promise and The Pursuit of the Gilla Decair and his Horse. In Welsh tradition, the Otherworld was known as Annwfn, Annwn, “Un-World’ or Avalon, ‘Place of Divine Apple Trees’. 

One of the most famous of these journeys is highlighted in the Welsh poem Preiddiau Annwfn “The Spoils of Otherworld,” dating between the 8th and 10th century, where Arthur goes on a quest to rescue a prisoner in the Otherworld. Typically, this journey in Old Irish was called an echtrae, adventure or an immram or immrama, a voyage and on these, many would have baili or enchanted visions. People of the human world typically reached the Otherworld through mounds, caves, mist, being underwater or traveling by sea for three days. Often they returned with newfound knowledge, understanding or gifts that aided their human kin or they stayed in the Otherworld thereafter and were possibly considered to have died essentially. Characters in the mythical tales sometimes took ‘fairy wives’ with magical abilities, skills and power. They often lended some gifts to their husbands in various ways that aided in their winning of a battle or conflict. Characters were variously given the advice not to step on the land in the Otherworld if you were traveling by boat or to eat or drink anything, lest you might be stuck there forever. 

As mentioned, one of the most famous Irish tales regarding the Otherworld is that of Echtrae Cormaic or ‘Cormac’s Adventure in the Land of Promise’. Cormac was a famous Irish king and thought to be highly accomplished or fitting for the role as he was consistently heralded in Old Irish literature and reigned around the 3rd century. In this famous tale he was led to the Otherworld and in essence had a long journey where he learned many lessons through his interactions with “Manannán, son of Lir, King of Tír na nÓg”. In the end he learned a great deal about the appreciation regarding his family but also was given a magical branch that had nine apples of red gold and a magical cup thereafter known as ‘Cormac’s cup’. The branch could sway people’s mood or induce sleep while the cup was used to judge if someone was telling the truth or lying, however it disappeared upon Cormac’s passing which was foretold by Manannán. One of the most lovely statements made was regarding the Well of Knowledge where nine hazel trees grew around and sacred salmon swam whom contained great wisdom, where Manannán said “And the well you saw is the Well of Knowledge, and the streams are the five streams (five senses) through which all knowledge goes. And no one will have knowledge who does not drink a draught out of the well itself or out of the streams. And the people of many arts are those who drink from them all.” Many families purportedly received gifts from the Otherworld in real time and not just in the mythical tales. Sometimes this was an object such as a blanket or flag but also could be a talent such as their healing or musical abilities. A beautiful tale of a more modern Druid character was preserved in the text of the Translations in Verse From Admired Compositions of the Ancient Celtic Bards published in 1843 by Robert Munro that went as follows…

‘The Isle of Heroes’ 

“In former days there lived in Skerr, a Druid of high renown. The blast of wind waiting for his commands at the gate; he rode the tempest and the troubled wave offered itself as a pillow for his repose. His eye followed the sun by day; his thoughts traveled from star to star in the season of night. He thirsted after things unseen, he sighed over the narrow circle which surrounded his days. He often sat in silence beneath the sound of his groves; and he blamed the careless billows that rolled between him and the green “Isle of the West”.

One day as he sat pensive upon a rock, a storm arose on the sea; a cloud, under whose squally skirts the foaming waters complained, rushed suddenly into the bay. From its dark bosom issued forth a boat; its white sails went to the wind; around were a hundred moving oars; but it was void of mariners; itself seeming to live and move. An unusual terror seized the aged Druid. He heard a voice though he saw no human form. “Arise! Behold the boat of the heroes, arise and see the green isle of those who have passed away!” He felt a strange force on his limbs; he saw no person but he moved to the boat. Stepping into it, he exclaimed, “My foot in the barge of beauty; strange it would be if my heart were sad!” The wind immediately changed, in the bosom of the cloud he sailed away. Seven days gleamed faintly round him; seven nights added their gloom to his darkness. His ears were stunned with shrill voices. The dull murmur of winds passed him on either side. He slept not, yet his eyes were not heavy; he ate not, yet he was not hungry. 

On the eighth day the waves swelled into mountains, the boat rolled violently from side to side, the darkness thickened around him when a thousand voices at once cried aloud, “The isle, the isle!” The billows opened wide before him; the calm land of the departed rushed in light of his eyes. It was not a light that dazzled, but a pure, discriminating and placid light which called forth every object to view in its most pefect form. The isle spread large before him, like a pleasing dream of the soul; where distance fades not on the sight, where nearness fatigues not the eye. It had its gently sloping hills of green; nor did they wholly want their clouds; but the clouds were bright and transparent and each involved in its bosom the sources of a stream; a beauteous stream, which wandering down the steep, was like the faint notes of the half touched harp to the distant ear.

The valleys were open and free to the ocean; trees loaded with leaves, which scarcely waved to the light breeze, were scattered on the green declivities and rising grounds. The rude winds walked not on the mountains; no storm took its course through the sky. All was calm and bright. He hastened not the west for repose; nor was he seen to rise from the east. He sits in his mid-day height, and looks obliquely on the noble isle. In each valley is its slow-moving stream. The pure waters swell over its banks, yet abstain from the fields. The showers disturb them not; nor are they lessened by the heat of the sun. On the rising hill are the halls of the departed, the high roofed dwellings of the bards of old.”

---

The soul or consciousness of humans and animals upon death was thought to be reborn into the Otherworld and you lived there until you died there, again, to be reborn in this world. Thus, dying was always seen as being born and like Egyptians, Neolithic culture as well as their descendent Celtic nations typically buried many of their dead with items to take with them in their next life. If they didn’t bury the items, they may have burned them in a huge fire. It was also claimed that many family members would commonly, in their great passion and grief, throw themselves on the funeral pyre committing suicide truly believing they would be joining their deceased loved one shortly thereafter in the Otherworld. Of course, funerary traditions changed subtly through the millennia from the Urnfield culture onward. They did not necessarily believe in punishment after death but rather in some sort of balance or that you could bring both bad ill and good on yourself or your family that would somehow continue onward. It was believed that even debts could be paid in the afterlife.³⁹ Related to this, they were also said to write letters to the deceased relative and throw it into the pyre so that it may be read in the Otherworld.⁴⁰ Enough stock was placed in reincarnation at minimum that suicide was seemingly common when given a good enough reason for it such as defeat in battle. This was also speculatively perceived as the better outcome than slavery or torture of the enemy. Gaulish leader Brennus and Briton Boudicca famously committed suicide after defeat by the Romans.⁴¹ Caesar confirmed that the Druids believed strongly in reincarnation but believed this to have been merely a means of rousing soldiers to battle although that is highly doubtful.⁴² The Druids were also said to be prominent teachers or followers of Pythagoreanism which was a system that fully promoted the belief in reincarnation as well.⁴³ Strabo alluded that to the Celtic peoples, the soul, like the universe was indestructible but that at some point fire and water would or could overwhelm them.⁴⁴

We know the various mounds and cairns were somehow related to death and rebirth just given the sheer amount of bodies and remains that have been uncovered during excavations of these sites as well as the ones that still remain buried underneath them today. As already mentioned they were often associated with a particular person or royal family that was said to have resided or been buried there.

Although naturally, this association may have come much later, it can’t be discounted that this site’s original meaning may not have been lost. Many sites have evidence of being in use from the Neolithic all the way to written record such as the hillfort and royal residence of Emain Macha. Curiously, some places are associated with the same person such as Medb has multiple cairns related to her or claimed to have been where she is buried. The Mound of Hostages itself on the Hill of Tara was thought to be the final resting place of well over 500 people. Full bodies have been recovered as well as sprinkled ashes or pots that held ashes. It was a somewhat common practice in the ancient world to sleep next to their relatives or renowned individual’s graves and likely in this case, the mounds themselves in hopes their relatives would visit them in their dreams as a form of interacting and gleaning knowledge from an ancestral oracle. Even today, naturally many of us would be very grateful and actively seek a visit from a deceased relative in our dreamscapes. Many of these sacred sites or Neolithic tombs are said to have what is known in the Welsh language as nwyfre, a strong life-force or entry point into the Otherworld and a sacred unique energy. 

In early Irish literature, it’s alluded to the belief that a great ocean separated our world from the Otherworld. As mentioned, many characters were taken away by the Sídhe or fairies on boats this way, sometimes returning and sometimes, never to be seen again. Time was said to pass there slowly while on earth it went by more quickly. A few months in the Otherworld may have been lifetimes in the human world. This belief of an Otherworldly ocean is also echoed in stories of “ferrymen” that you needed to pay so they would take you across water to your final destination. Just as recently as the early 1900’s, Alexander Carmichael tells of people in Scotland still having a customary practice regarding the belief in an afterlife and taking objects with them and that…“It was customary to place a wax candle, a gold coin, a hammer, and a pair of scales with the body in the grave. The candle was to light the pilgrim across the black river of death; the coin to pay the services of the ferryman; the hammer to knock at the door of heaven; and the scales to weigh the soul.”⁴⁵ Water again had a sacred symbolism even in its very concrete representation of the Otherworld and countless Sídhe type characters from selkies to kelpies to leprechauns were said to have lived in or near water. 

Caesar confirmed another belief regarding death and time when he said… “All the Gauls assert that they are descended from the god Dis (a god of death, darkness and the underworld), and say that this tradition has been handed down by the Druids. For that reason they compute the divisions of every season, not by the number of days, but of nights; they keep birthdays and the beginnings of months and years in such an order that the day follows the night.”⁴⁵ Dis was the Roman version of the god of the Underworld or wild nature, which may have been the God Cernunnos in Gaul and in Irish tradition may have been the god Dagda or Donn, the ‘dark one’. Interestingly, one of the westernmost islands off of Ireland in County Kerry is called Tech Dhuinn, ‘the House of Donn’ and likely not a coincidence that it is on the far edges of the vast Atlantic ocean.^46,47 What is also interesting in this regard is that the West coast of Ireland was often associated with the Otherworld as an access point, especially during sunset. This may have been due to the liminality of the setting sun or that again, the day was thought to begin with night. Even in later Irish folklore, when someone was dying it was sometimes said, they were taken to be with Donn and in County Limerick, they were often specifically brought to a hill after death called Cnoc Fírinne, where a man named Donn Fírinne was said to dwell.⁴⁸ Many scholars believe there may be a missing ancestral origin or cosmological story concerning the coupling of the Goddess Danu and God Donn or he may have even been an aspect of another God such as the Dagda or Manannán mac Lir. This would have been a similar function as for example Badb was to the Morrígan. Manannán mac Lir is already in most ways considered to be one of the first ancestors of Ireland and God of the dead as well as guardian to the Otherworld.  

There is an interesting story connected with the area regarding Donn as well that is worth recanting in full…

“Four miles south west of Croom is the historic hill of Knockfierna (Cnoc Fírinne) or “Truthful Hill” ie of truthful prediction, as it serves as a weather guide to the people within view of it, who can predict with a certainty whether the day will be wet or dry by the appearance of the summit in the morning. On the summit of the hill is Donn’s Cave and cairn. Donn was one of the eight sons of Milesuis, Chief of the Milesians, who when the Milesians attempted to land at Kenmare from Spain, over a thousand years before the Christian era, was drowned with two of his brothers by a magic wave caused by the spells of the De Dananns. But, for Doon, it was only the changing of an earthly mode of existence for a much more pleasant one on his airy palace on the top of Knockfierna, as the renowned King of the Munster fairies. From here he ruled over the great plain of the County Limerick, where many legends of him linger among the peasantry. From here, also, he had a good view of Knockaine, where Aine ruled as Queen of the Munster fairies. There seems to be no record or legend of any disagreement between them, possibly Doon was discreet enough to know that it would not be to his advantage to interfrere with hera fact which Oliol Olum of Bruree learned to his cost by having one of his ears bitten off by her in a scuffle, Oliol having killed her father. Oliol was afterwards known as “? Ear”. It was at the Mouth of The Shannon that Doon was drowned, his ship being dashed to pieces on the rocks and all on board perishing. It was then the custom in ancient Ireland on the death of a Chieftain or leader, to bury the body on the top of a prominent hill and to raise a cairn over the grave. So that the history of Donn’s burial on the top of Knockfierna appears to be correct, the cairn on top at the present day being pointed out by many as marking his last resting place. The hill was a favourite rendezvous for Finn MacCool and his Fianna and was the Fairy Palace of the Quicken Tree (Mountain Ash). It is 950 feet in height.”⁵⁰

From all of this we can gather that people were very connected spiritually to the land they resided on. There was great reverence for the land, waterways and animals and these would have been looked after and cared for with respect and an understanding that all of these aspects of the natural world were sacred in their own unique way. Even feared energies were respected and minded for what they were similarly to how ferocious or cunning animals were revered and displayed with pride. There was a deep understanding that when we took care of the land, it took care of us. There was an understanding that energy was constantly shifting, all things could have an energy or what we would call today, a consciousness and the soul continued on after physical death. There was an unseen Otherworld all around us only separated by a thin veil that became even thinner depending on the time of year, especially during Samhain or Bealtaine. Finally, our relationship with the Otherworld was integral to our societal wellbeing, success and sustenance.

---

References

1. Carmichael, Alexander. Carmina Gadelica Vol 2. Edinburgh, 1900. Pg. 158. 

2. Diodorus Siculus. Library of History (Books III – VIII), trans. C. H. Oldfather. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1935.

3. Kinsella, Thomas. The Táin.  London, New York, Oxford U.P., 1970. pg. 212. 

4. Wood-Martin, W.G. Pagan Ireland: An Archaeological Sketch. Longmans, Green and Co. 1895. pg. 197. 

5. Gage, Catharin. A History of the Island of Rathlin. 1851.

6. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0021, Page 0176 (well, blindness)

7. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0225, Page 210 (well water)

8. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0626, Page 248 (well water)

9. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0455, Page 069 (dew)

10. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0673, Page 154 (dew)

11. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0403, Page 208 (dew, Bealtaine)

12. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0295, Page 238 (dew, Bealtaine)

13. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0647, Page 330 (brat)

14. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0356, Page 223 (brat)

15. Koch, John. Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC CLIO, 2006. pg. 464. 

16. Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, trans. John Bostock and H. T. Riley. London: Henry Bohn, 1855. 

“The mistletoe, however, is but rarely found upon the oak; and when found, is gathered with rites replete with religious awe. This is done more particularly on the fifth day of the moon, the day which is the beginning of their months and years, as also of their time cycles, which, with them, are only thirty years. This day they select because the moon, though not yet in the middle of her course, has already considerable power and influence; and they call mistletoe by a name which signifies, in their language, the all-healing.”

17. Carmichael, Alexander. Carmina Gaelica Vol. 3. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1940. pg. 279.  

“The new moon was propitious for clipping hair, for cutting peats, for reaping corn,for shearing sheep, and for many things of that nature. Upon seeing the new moon a person puts the right hand round the left foot and makes the cross of Christ upon his palm with the spittle of his mouth, saying— In some districts old and young kept a coin in their pocket to hail ‘ rloghainn na h-oidhche,’ the queen of the night. The coin was called ‘ peighinn pisich,’ propitious penny, and was turned thrice in the pocket when the new moon was seen. Any journey or undertaking was hurried on or delayed in order to beunder the influences of the moon—to the highest hill or knoll near them to look for ‘ eiteag nan reul ‘ or ‘ rloghainnnah-oidhche.’”

18. Carmichael, Alexander. Carmina Gaelica Vol. 1. Edinburgh, 1900. pg. 1

“When they first see the new moon they make their obeisance to it as to a great chief. The women curtsy gracefully and the men bow low, raising their bonnets reverently. The bow of the men is peculiar, partaking somewhat of the curtsey of the women, the left knee being bent and the right drawn forward towards the middle of the left leg in a curious but not inelegant manner. This fragment of moon-worship is now a matter of custom rather than of belief, although it exists over the whole British Isles… In Cornwall the people nod to the new moon and turn silver in their pockets. In Edinburgh cultured men and women turn the rings on their fingers and make their wishes. A young English lady told the writer that she had always been in the habit of bowing to the new moon, till she had been bribed out of it by her father, a clergyman, putting money in her pocket lest her lunar worship should compromise him with his bishop. She naively confessed, however, that among the free mountains of Loch Etive she reverted to the good customs of her fathers, from which she derived great satisfaction!” 

19. Histories. Polybius. Evelyn S. Shuckburgh. translator. London, New York. Macmillan. 1889. Reprint Bloomington 1962. 

“While Attalus was encamped on the Macistus an eclipse of the moon took place, which the Galli took to be an unfavourable sign; and they were also wearied of moving about with their wives, and children, who followed in the carts. Accordingly they refused to march on. Attains, being afraid of the treachery of his hirelings, and, unlike the king of Egypt, too scrupulous to destroy the people whom he had himself invited into Asia, left them on the Hellespont, with fair promises.”

20. Cunliffe, Barry. The Celtic World. McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1979. pg. 90.

21. Rankin, David. Celts and the Classical World. London: Routledge, 1987. Pg. 169. 

22.Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0103, Page 348

23. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0809, Page 03

24. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0905, Page 287

25. Plutarch. Plutarch’s Lives. with an English Translation by. Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1919. 8. 

“Sertorius accepted it, and at the moment felt only the ordinary pleasure in a gift; but in time, after he had made the animal so tame and gentle that it obeyed his call, accompanied him on his walks, and did not mind the crowds and all the uproar of camp life, he gradually tried to give the doe a religious importance by declaring that she was a gift of Diana, and solemnly alleged that she revealed many hidden things to him, knowing that the Barbarians were naturally an easy prey to superstition.”

26. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0364, Page 241

27. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0572, Page 182

28. Carmichael, Alexander. Carmina Gadelica Vol. 2 ,pg. 22. 

29. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0146, Page 210

30. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0751, Page 058

31. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0704, Page 557

32. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1032, Page 051

32. Carmichael, Alexander. Carmina Gadelica Vol 2, pg. 257.

34. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0661, Page 211

35. Macalister ed. tr. Lebor Gabála Érenn, ¶319, Poem LXV, 1941. Pg. 282–291.

36.  Joyce, P. W., tr. “The Fate of the Children of Turenn; or, The Quest for the Eric-Fine”, Old Celtic Romances (3rd ed., 1907) (reprint 1920) 1827–1914. Pg. 58.

37. O’Connor, Dermond trans. Keating’s General History of Ireland. James Duffy, Wellington Quay: Dublin. 1861. pg. 191. 

38. Storl, Wolf. The Untold Story of Healing. North Atlantic Books, 2017. Pg. 17 – 18.

39. Maximus, Valerius. 

“One of their dogmas has come to common knowledge, namely, that souls are eternal and that there is another life in the infernal regions, and this has been permitted manifestly because it makes the multitude readier for war. And it is for this reason too that they burn or bury with their dead, things appropriate to them in life, and that in times past they even used to defer the completion of business and the payment of debts until their arrival in another world. Indeed, there were some of them who flung themselves willingly on the funeral piles of their relatives in order to share the new life with them.”

40. Diodorus Siculus. Library of History (Books III – VIII), trans. C. H. Oldfather. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1935. 

“…for the belief of Pythagoras prevails among them, that the souls of men are immortal and that after a prescribed number of years they commence upon a new life, the soul entering into another body. Consequently, we are told, at the funerals of their dead some cast letters upon the pyre which they have written to their deceased kinsmen, as if the dead would be able to read these letters.”

41. Diodorus Siculus. Library of History (Books III – VIII), trans. C. H. Oldfather. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1935. 

“Weighed down and close to death, he assembled his host there and spoke to the Gauls. He advised them to kill him and all the wounded, to burn their wagons, and to return home free of burdens; he advised them also to make Akichorios king. Then, after drinking deeply of undiluted wine, Brennus slew himself. “

42. Caesar’s Gallic War, trans. W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn. 1st Edition. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1869. 

“They wish to inculcate this as one of their leading tenets, that souls do not become extinct, but pass after death from one body to another, and they think that men by this tenet are in a great degree excited to valor, the fear of death being disregarded.”

43.  Ammianus Marcellinus, trans. John C. Rolfe. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1935-1940. 

“The druids, being loftier than the rest in intellect, and bound together in fraternal organizations, as the authority of Pythagoras determined, were elevated by their investigation of obscure and profound subjects, and scorning all things human, pronounced the soul immortal. […]”

44. The Geography of Strabo, ed. and trans. H. C. Hamilton and W. Falconer. London: George Bell & Sons, 1903.

 “Both the druids and others assert that both the soul and the world are indestructible, but that sometimes fire and sometimes water have overwhelmed them.”

44. Carmichael, Alexander. Carmina Gaelic Vol 2. Edinburgh, 1900. Pg. 238. 

45. Carmichael, Alexander. Carmina Gaelic Vol 2. Edinburgh, 1900. Pg. 238. 

46. Caesar’s Gallic War, trans. W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn. 1st Edition. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1869.

47. “Tech Duinn”. The Metrical Dindshenchas. Story 113.

48. Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition. Prentice Hall Press. 1991. Pg. 165–166, 154.

49. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0499, Page 242. 

50. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0525, Page 084

---