The Celts

The Celts were a Pagan people. Their lands sprawled from Gaul to Ireland to Britain and into Northern and Southern Italy. The “Celtic civilization emerged around 700 BCE” (Jones 79). The Celtic culture eventually began to bump heads with Rome. Although the Romans and the Celts both shared Pagan roots, the Celts differed from Romans and Grecians. The Celts “were slaves to superstition…and believed that in order to preserve their own lives in battle they must sacrifice an equal number of others” (Jones 84). At a time when Rome had outlawed human sacrifices, the Celts believed they must sacrifice humans to preserve themselves in battle. Sacrificing humans is one of the many traits that made the Romans view the Celts as barbarians.

The Celts had no written language. What we know of the Celts comes from Roman historians. With no written language, the spoken word was treasured among the Celts. Because of this, Bards (singers/ poets) were very important in Celtic society. It seems that the Celts had three branches of office for men to obtain. These positions are Bards, Vates and Druids. The “Bards were singers and poets, the Vates were seers and scientist, and the Druids were scientists and moral philosophers, the judges and arbitrators of both private and public disputes” (Jones 84). Druids also taught “the immortality of the soul; Caesar had mentioned that they taught that the soul would pass into another body after death” (Jones 85). The druids were also present in human sacrifices. In the essays of Strabo he states:

The heads of enemies held in high repute they used to embalm in cedar oil and exhibit to strangers, and they would not deign to give them back even for a ransom of an equal weight of gold…The used to strike a human being, whom they had devoted to death, in the back with as saber, and then divine from his death-struggle. But they would not sacrifice without the Druids. We are told of still other kinds of human sacrifices; for example, they would shoot victims to death with arrows, or impale them in temples or having devised a colossus of straw and wood, throw into the colossus cattle and wild animals of all sorts and human beings, and make a burnt-offering of the whole thing.

Human sacrifices were done in the wilderness. Much like the early Roman culture, the Celts worshiped outdoors - they did not posses temples that housed their gods. Nature plays a pivotal role in pagan faiths. Tree groves served as temples instead of elaborate buildings. “These groves were dread places, held in great awe and approached only by the priesthood” (Jones 81). Besides groves and trees, “wells were also sacred, often associated with healing… (Also) each well was associated with a particular deity” (Jones 83).

Although women were not given priestly positions in the Celtic culture, they worshiped deities and followed female rulers. “Tacitus…reported that the Celts made no diction between male and female rulers” (Jones 85). Although the Celts were loyal to their leaders, both male and female, they “seem to have been devoted to individual achievement and prowess, rather than to collective pursuits such as nationalism” (Jones 86).

Joseph

Sacred Tree

The world's oldest recorded tree is a 9,550 year old spruce in the Dalarna province of Sweden. The breath taking imagery of a giant tree that can out live empires may be the reason behind its importance in religion.

There are common themes in many religious texts and ceremonies. One of these commonalities takes the form of a tree. Images of trees are often seen in modern religion and ancient mythologies.
• The golden fleece hangs from a tree
• Odin hangs himself from a tree to learn rune magic
• The Norse world is pierced by a tree
• The forbidden fruit of the bible hangs from a tree
• The Buddha reached enlightenment while sitting under a tree

Trees are often the backdrop of a story. Trees are the object form which a coveted item hangs from or the starting point for enlightenment as in the case of Odin and the Buddha.

In Greek mythology, Trees are featured in many stories and they also represent the gods themselves. In Greece, “each deity had her or his own tree, e.g. Zeus, the oak; Aphrodite, the myrtle; Hera, the willow; and Dionysus, the vine” (Jones 20). Trees were viewed as sacred to the Greeks. They were used as items of worship before “the times of build temples and images” (Jones 20). A tree or a tree branch, say from an oak, could be viewed to be more sacred than any other image of Zeus.

Many temples in Greece often had trees at their center. “No temple was dedicated unless there was a holy tree associated with it” (Jones 20). But before temples were built, tradition states that “Greeks started religion by fencing off groves of trees” (Jones 20). Also, temples were often built from the trees associated with the god housed in the temple, like “the first temple of Apollo at Delphi was a hut made of laurel trees” (Jones 20).

Nature was a pivotal part of early Greek religion. The gods formed the Earth around the Greeks and in return the Greeks worshiped nature. The gods themselves were represented by something as simple as a tree branch. Before the Greeks built massive structures and elaborate temples, they simply had open air fenced off groves.


Jones, Prudence. History of pagan Europe. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1999.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416104320.htm

Oh Great Spirit I hear you calling me

Recently on my journey into mystery, I attended the Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church in Costa Mesa. The Universalist church identifies with no specific religion. Their website states: “individual Unitarian Universalists may also identify as Atheist, Agnostic, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Humanist, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, or with other philosophical or religious traditions.” They encourage seeking truth. Upon entering their facility I was warmly greeted and made to feel welcome. I immediately noticed that the walls were white. There were no religious iconographies or pictures. The only symbol on the wall was a chalice and a flame which is the church symbol.

Songs were a large part of the service.

The opening song was titled “Spirit.” The song was chanted without accompanying music. The words were simple and repeated over and over again:

“Oh Great Spirit I hear you calling me, I will answer you.”

A pull-down screen on the main wall of the church cycled images of nature such as waterfalls and forest during the singing of “Spirit.”

Once the song had ended, the ceremony of lighting the chalice began.

Chalice Lighting:

“We are here to abet creation and to witness to it, to notice each other’s beautiful face and complex nature so that creation need not play to an empty house.” –Annie Dillard

Although the OCUUC does not identify with traditional religions, they still have traditions of their own. Each service contains the lighting and extinguishing of the chalice ritual.

After the chalice was lit the service began. The day I visited was not an ordinary service. There was a guest speaker. Her sermon was a mixture of speaking and singing songs.

These issues seemed to be important to the sermon:

• Community; community seems to be more important than individuality.
• Environment; the focus of the entire service was the environment. And that our environmental issues are rooted in spiritual crisis due to our misinterpretation of our surroundings and the mentalities that science and individuality bring us.
• Love; “Love is the spirit of this church, and service is its law. To dwell together in peace; to seek truth in love; and to help one another this we affirm together.”

-Song entitled Universe’s Love: ‘Divine reflection of the Universes love’

The service ended with the extinguishing of the chalice.

“We extinguish our chalice, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we carry in our heart until we are together again”- Elizabeth Selle Jones

Other commonalities the OCUUC shares with traditional churches are tithing. The OCUUC passed around a tithing plate, but the difference seemed to exist within the service announcement. The daily handout provided information of where the money would be spent each month; usually a chosen charity. Another interesting part of the service was sharing time. A member of the congregation could write down on a piece of paper either a success or struggle they have and the congregation would either share in their delight or sympathies. This re-affirmed the aspects of community which is very important to the OCUUC. The congregation and the community of the church are very pro-active. They hold weekly meetings providing different services for the church members and the surrounding community. Some of these events include the meeting of the Knitwits (knitting club), first-aid classes, flu vaccine clinics, food drives, a women’s circle and tarot card readings.

Was ist Äufklarung?

Webesters online dictionary defines enlightenment as such:

Main Entry: en·light·en·ment
Pronunciation: \in-ˈlī-tən-mənt, en-\
Function: noun
Date: 1654
1 : the act or means of enlightening : the state of being enlightened

2 capitalized : a philosophic movement of the 18th century marked by a rejection of traditional social, religious, and political ideas and an emphasis on rationalism —used with the

3 Buddhism : a final blessed state marked by the absence of desire or suffering

The word Enlightenment is associated with the philosophical, artistic and scientific movement that took place during the 1700s. The enlightenment philosophers and thinkers worked to resist and reconstruct traditional ideas of society and religion. Although enlightenment worked to combat religious ideals with rationalism, many of the concepts of this period are mirrored in the ancient religion of Buddhism. Immanuel Kant in his essay Was ist Äufklarung? Written in 1784, attempts to explain the workings of Enlightenment. Kant states that “Enlightenment is man’s release from his self-incurred tutelage. Tutelage is man’s inability to make use of his understanding without direction from another.” The path to enlightenment starts with a release. Those who seek to be enlightened must shed their desires to be led. According to the Dhammapada (a collection of Buddhist texts that is traditionally thought to be the words of Buddha) Enlightenment is “Better than power over all earth, better than going to heaven and better than dominion over the worlds is the joy of a man who enters the river of life that leads to NIRVANA" (Dhammapada 13, 178). When a person frees them self from their “tutelage” and begins to think freely, they enter into a life that is free and filled with joy. But there are road-blocks on the journey to enlightenment. We our are own worst enemies. Our own “laziness and cowardice are the reasons why so great a portion of mankind, after nature has long since discharged them from external direction…remains under lifelong tutelage, and why it is so easy for other to set themselves up as their guardians” (Kant). Laziness keeps our minds stagnate. Our ability to be free thinkers is curbed by our ability to be ruled. Society nurtures our laziness by stunting our growth. “If a man when young and strong does not arise and strive when he should…and thus sinks into laziness and lack of determination, he will never find the path of wisdom.” (Dhammapada 20, 280). During our youth it is important to build the work ethic needed to grow mentally as adults. If we do not possess the drive to think freely it only becomes harder with age. Kant says “if I have a book which understands for me, a pastor who has a conscious for me, a physician who decides my diet, and so forth, I need not trouble myself. I need not think, if I can only pay- others will easily undertake the irksome work for me.” Even during the 18th century, man was provided by the world around him. In our day and age everything is a button-click away. Problems can be solved by taking a pill or consulting a life-coach. These conveniences can be great, but when they become our only source of action then our ability to become enlightened has vanished. The distractions of life leave us pacified. There are no big questions we need to answer because scientists, priests, teachers, doctors, ect. will take care of everything for us. We as a society rely on the Ethos (authority) of others instead of doing our own soul searching, our own research and “it is from not awakening to this truth…from not penetrating it, that this generation has become tangled like a ball of thread, covered as with a blight, twisted like a rope of grass, and cannot win release from sorrow” (Campbell 276). We must untangle ourselves from society's restraints and free our minds as much as we possibly can from the conditioning of our surroundings and “have courage to use your own reason! – (for) that is the motto of enlightenment” (Kant).

Voodoo

Wade Davis: a Harvard scientist, witnesses first-hand a Haitian voodoo ritual:

The person leading the ritual is known as a mambo. There is a long ritual of drawing symbols on the ground and offering libations to the gods. Once the ceremony begins, drums are played and the libations are consumed by women referred to as “initiates.”

“The mambo next poured a container of water to the cardinal points, and then poured libations to the center post of the peristyle, the axis along with the spirits were to enter.” (Davis 47)
The drums and dancing are used to summon the voodoo gods into the ritual. The dancing lasts about forty minutes, according to Davis, until “the woman’s violence ceased; slowly she lifted her face to the sky. She had been mounted by the divine horseman; she has become the spirit. The Loa, the spirit that the ceremony had been invoking, had arrived.” (Davis 49)
The young woman was now possessed by the Loa. Davis was awe struck by what he witnessed next. The girls expressed their new god-like abilities by engaging in inhuman acts.

“The initiate, a diminutive woman, tor about the peristyle, lifting large men off the ground to swing them about like children. She grabbed a glass and tore into it with her teeth, swallowing small bits and spitting the rest onto the ground. At one point the mambo brought her a live dove; this the hounsis sacrificed by breaking its wings, then tearing the neck apart with her teeth.” (Davis 49)

The room was sheer chaos; the women were deep in a trance tearing apart the room.
“Then as suddenly as the spirits had arrived, they left…as the others carried their exhausted bodies back into the temple I glanced…back across the table of guests. Some began nervously to applaud, others looked confused and uncertain.” (Davis 49) The experience was like nothing Wade Davis had ever witnessed in all of his travels in South America. The Haitian culture and view of religion is much different then our own. Haitian practices are a strange mixture of Christian rituals infused with African spirituality and magic. “As the Haitians say, ‘the Catholic goes to church to speak about god, the voudounist dances in the hounfour to become God.” (Davis 73)

Davis, Wade. The Serpent And The Rainbow. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1985. Print.

Today

Today is Wednesday, just a normal day of the week to you and me. Today is another work day, school day or hopefully a day off. These descriptions of Wednesday are mundane and routine but it once held greater meaning.

To the old pagan tribes of Europe the very land they lived on was created by the god Odin. Odin not only forged and shaped the Earth with his hands but he fathered many of the key gods that the different tribes worshiped. Because of this, he was known as the all father. Odin had many names: Wotan, Woden, Aldaföðr and Fimbultýr to name a few. Odin “was the personification of the air, the god of the universal wisdom and victory…and the eldest and chief among them he occupied the highest seat in Asgard” (16). Odin was feared and loved by all the ancient tribes. He was wise and a warrior. Those who worshiped Odin could look to him as an example. Odin possessed the traits that all Vikings wished to obtain. But Odin is also “supposed to have given his followers a code of laws where by to govern their conduct, in a poem called Havamal” (41).

“At home let a man be cheerful,
And toward a guest liberal;
Of wise conduct he should be,
Of good memory and ready speech;
If much knowledge he desires,
He must often talk on what is good.”

Because Odin provided his people with so much, they chose to honor him “The first toast at every festival was drunk in his honor” (41). Odin would be remembered and was believed to be present at parties and festivals. He would also be remembered during the week. In fact “one day in every week was held sacred to him, and from his Saxon name, Woden, was called Woden’s day, whence the English word Wednesday has been derived” (41). Happy Woden’s Day!

Guerber, Helene A. Myths Of The Norsemen. New York: Dover, 1992.