Celtic Pagan Paths?

[Wooden Star]

Can someone help me with names of Celtic Pagan religions? Or would someone who follows the Celtic Pantheon just be a Celtic Pagan? I am drawn to Celtic Paganism so much and reading an article on the site tonight, I got a sort of sign. It just sort of clicked together while reading a sentence. I am not into recon and am having trouble finding paths other than Druidry. This could be because it's late and my brain is fried though, haha.

Thanks

[asdfghjkl]

Can someone help me with names of Celtic Pagan religions? Or would someone who follows the Celtic Pantheon just be a Celtic Pagan? I am drawn to Celtic Paganism so much and reading an article on the site tonight, I got a sort of sign. It just sort of clicked together while reading a sentence. I am not into recon and am having trouble finding paths other than Druidry. This could be because it's late and my brain is fried though, haha.

Thanks

The reason is probably that (to my knowledge) aside from recon and Druidry, there really are no set "paths", other than celtic influenced Wicca. (Which 75% of druidry seems to be.) If you don't want to reconstruct, you might be stuck with making it up as you go along, celtic eclectic-style. Sorry I couldn't be any more help.

[Rhyshadow]

Can someone help me with names of Celtic Pagan religions? Or would someone who follows the Celtic Pantheon just be a Celtic Pagan? I am drawn to Celtic Paganism so much and reading an article on the site tonight, I got a sort of sign. It just sort of clicked together while reading a sentence. I am not into recon and am having trouble finding paths other than Druidry. This could be because it's late and my brain is fried though, haha.

Thanks

 

The reason is probably that (to my knowledge) aside from recon and Druidry, there really are no set "paths", other than celtic influenced Wicca. (Which 75% of druidry seems to be.) If you don't want to reconstruct, you might be stuck with making it up as you go along, celtic eclectic-style. Sorry I couldn't be any more help.

 
Another thing to think of is which pantheon to work with; the three major ones of which there is quite a bit of information on are Irish, Scot and Welsh.  While they are very similar, there are differences.

Also look to Recon for ideas for practices, even if you don't go full Recon you can get quite a bit of information from those as well

[NibbleKat]

Another thing to think of is which pantheon to work with; the three major ones of which there is quite a bit of information on are Irish, Scot and Welsh.  While they are very similar, there are differences.

Also look to Recon for ideas for practices, even if you don't go full Recon you can get quite a bit of information from those as well

 
And don't forget, the Celts were not just the Insular ones-- there are tons of deities from the Continent.  Lots and lots, even though there is less information about them.  I, for instance, follow two Gallic goddesses.

[MattyG]

Can someone help me with names of Celtic Pagan religions? Or would someone who follows the Celtic Pantheon just be a Celtic Pagan? I am drawn to Celtic Paganism so much and reading an article on the site tonight, I got a sort of sign. It just sort of clicked together while reading a sentence. I am not into recon and am having trouble finding paths other than Druidry. This could be because it's late and my brain is fried though, haha.

Thanks

 
Just wondering, if you don't want Reconstructionism or Druidry, do you have some idea what you want? Do you want something between the two, or something entirely different? What exactly are you looking for, if you can say?

[Wooden Star]

Just wondering, if you don't want Reconstructionism or Druidry, do you have some idea what you want? Do you want something between the two, or something entirely different? What exactly are you looking for, if you can say?

 
It's not that I'm NOT interested in Druidry, I'm still looking into it but it seems to be the only one I can find that isn't recon. I'm not sure what I'm looking for, this is all really new to me. What I read about recon on the articles on here it seems very rigid and I'm pretty flexible and eclectic in general.

[Wooden Star]

Another thing to think of is which pantheon to work with; the three major ones of which there is quite a bit of information on are Irish, Scot and Welsh.  While they are very similar, there are differences.

Also look to Recon for ideas for practices, even if you don't go full Recon you can get quite a bit of information from those as well

 

Thank you, I've been looking at http://www.godchecker.com and I just like the Celtic Gods in general so far.

[MattyG]

It's not that I'm NOT interested in Druidry, I'm still looking into it but it seems to be the only one I can find that isn't recon. I'm not sure what I'm looking for, this is all really new to me. What I read about recon on the articles on here it seems very rigid and I'm pretty flexible and eclectic in general.

 
Ok Well, I'm fairly Reconstructionist myself and can't say much about Druidry. As a Reconstructionist, we are fairly opposed to the kinds of eclecticism found in Wicca, where you just take a bunch of different gods and theologies from different cultures and say that they're all part of one system (sorry if I'm being to general about Wicca here), but Reconstructionism doesn't forbid the worship of outside gods or the use of other theologies. We just usually request that you worship gods of other cultures in their own culture's context (so use Nordic ritual and prayer when you want to worship Thor, Hellenic ritual if you want to worship Demeter, etc). You can also adopt theologies from other cultures, so long as you don't claim that Karma or Valhalla are Celtic beliefs. It's mostly about respecting the history and culture that formed your beliefs. However, I definitely understand if a Reconstructionist path doesn't work for you. Make sure you explore as many faiths and religions as you can to find what works for you. Good luck

[NibbleKat]

Thank you, I've been looking at http://www.godchecker.com and I just like the Celtic Gods in general so far.

 
Ugh, godchecker. X_X

[Rhyshadow]

Ugh, godchecker. X_X

 
Ya, try Encyclopedia Mythica instead
http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/celtic/articles.html

Then, go and read the specific stories out on CELT - these are translations of all the old myths
http://www.ucc.ie/celt/publishd.html

[Aster Breo]

Can someone help me with names of Celtic Pagan religions?

There are a few practices that people have developed for themselves or their own groups, but they are usually highly specific to the individual or group.  (Like my own path, for example, which is focused on Brighid.)  So, you're not going to find a lot of info on established Celtic religions, other than druidry and Celtic recon.

Therefore, I'd strongly recommend that you start researching Celtic mythology, deities, history, and religion in earnest so you can figure out what works for you.  And I'll warn you now, this is something that takes time.

I'd suggest starting with the CR FAQ (http://www.paganachd.com/faq/), even though you're not attracted to recon, because it has some great basic info on Celtic spirituality.  It also has an excellent reading list, which will help you find the best books to start with.  And, while there are some good resources online (see below), much of what is online is useless.  For now, stick to websites that are recommended by someone you trust, and focus on the books you find on the major reading lists.

That said, definitely check out Tairis (http://www.tairis.co.uk/), which is a fantastic blog and treasure trove of info on Celtic religious practice written by a longtime TC member, Seren.

Another good online resource is the Imbas website (http://www.imbas.org/).  The Imbas organization has been defunct for quite a while, but the website has some good articles.

One other excellent online resource for Celtic religion is the online book, _Land, Sea and Sky_ (http://homepage.eircom.net/~shae/), which has a good (albeit dated) reading list in addition to great material in its own chapters.

For basic info on Celtic deities and for texts of the mythologies, check out the Mary Jones site (http://www.maryjones.us/).

You can also find many of the important texts at Sacred Texts (http://www.sacred-texts.com/) and CELT (http://143.239.128.67/celt/index.html).  (I think CELT is just Irish texts.)

You should also check out our Celtic polytheism SIG (called Hazel & Oak).  Several of the older threads include info on other resources that might be helpful for you.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, following a Celtic spiritual path takes a lot of work.  There isn't much left to help us understand how the ancient Celts worshiped, so there isn't really a clearly defined religion, like Christianity, f'ex.  You have to figure it out for yourself as you go along.

So, honestly, the best thing for you to do is start reading and see where it takes you.

I hope this helps.

~ Aster

[Finn]

Ugh, godchecker. X_X

 
Godchecker is hysterical!

But yes, don't use it as a primary source of information. :p

[NibbleKat]

Ya, try Encyclopedia Mythica instead
http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/celtic/articles.html

Then, go and read the specific stories out on CELT - these are translations of all the old myths
http://www.ucc.ie/celt/publishd.html

Mythica is a little better, but still pretty sparse. X_X  Good for finding SOME of the deities, though! Which is a good start.

[MattyG]

Mythica is a little better, but still pretty sparse. X_X  Good for finding SOME of the deities, though! Which is a good start.

 
And I know this isn't necessarily the best suggestion, but Wikipedia was really useful for me finding out more information about the different deities. As long as you go in knowing that the articles can be incomplete or misleading, it's a good way to make connections and find links to their sources. Also, I follow an Irish path, but I find it useful to get an understanding of how the gods may have manifested in other Celtic cultures (Lugh, Llew, Lugus, etc.), and Wikipedia makes it pretty easy to find those connections.

[IceAngie]

Ugh, godchecker. X_X

 
But Godchecker is FUN! XD