Wanting help to understand celtic pagan tradition.

[Phouka]

I am not trying to be difficult and I really want to understand, but how do you know that was Macha? Could it be a vision of a different spirit? And if it is Macha does she indicate why she wants to be her priest?

 
I am an Irish pagan and all my gods are either insular or continental Celts. I chose to be dedicated to the Warrior (general term, not specific) 15 years ago. Warriors are not only physical fighters, they can be internal fighters too. I had a lot of work/fighting to do taking back my life and to stop letting my past rule who and what I was.

I've been and Irish pagan for 40 years and for the most part of my life, Epona was my goddess. She told me her name when I turned 18. She is a sovereign goddess, but also a 'mother goddess' as she protects the land. She helped me keep my sanity. The night before I dedicated to the Warrior aspect and let go the Maiden aspect, Macha came to me as I said before, bloody and armed to the teeth. She could have been the Morrighan or Nemain or Badh, but her energy wasn't right. I'd felt the energy of the goddesses of the Morrighan before and I recognized Macha's energy.

I was not happy to be claimed by her, and for 15 years I've fought not only my past but her demands that I hurry up and get on to what SHE wanted me to do.

Is it real? Who knows. Half the time I think I'm nuts and it's the bipolar that's doing all this. The other half of the time I am absolutely positive that Macha not only exists, but she demands I become her priset. But now, after my ordination in public, for me, Macha is my god and I am her priest. Hopefully the first but not the last to take on the weapons of inner war.

Why does she want me to be her priest? Because she's coming back into the human world. There are people who are looking for something more. She chose me because I've dealt with my demons and have reclaimed my soul. She wants every person who comes to her to learn how to deal with their inner demons and survive stronger, more alive and braver than they were. She wants me to sift her worshipers to find others who wish for a place in the her clergy. They may become my students.  I need to minister to the community the best I can. It's because of Macha that I, at 59, enrolled in college and took Psychology as my major. It will help me help my community.

I hope I answered all your questions. But remember this is mainly UPG (unverified personal gnosis).

Phouka

[DryadsRevenge]

Participating in this forum has had a significant affect on how I view what I believe in. More than anything else I have critically looked at what I believe in and in the process lost much of the certainty I thought I had (not necessarily bad). The problem is you can sometimes get lost when you question every thing and need to start over so I reconsidered everything and feel I best identify with a Celtic paganism even thought that is still a diverse group. I have learned that to general a subject does not work well wanted I wanted to present some of the things I have come across with respect for Celtic paganism and see what others in the forum know or think (again I know there is still much variation but I wanted to start somewhere).  

I would really like to know how others in the form know or think about some aspects of Celtic paganism. The gods and goddesses of the Celtic (here I mainly mean Irish because we have more information about them) seem more connected with the land with a large variation between different tribe tribes who honored them. How does this relationship with the land affect the way we see the Celtic Gods and Goddesses as compared to other patterns - Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Christian?

 

Well from my perspective and albeit, limited experience, this is the path that I am mainly attracted to at the moment. My research has looked into various texts, the mabinogi, meditations on, and other various contemporary works, and through all of my reading I really do have to say that it seems as though the Gods & Goddesses are seen in more of a more human form. Their ruling attributes, associations and skills, all seem to be of human and very earth based actions. With many Gods & Goddesses having a craft that we would apply to a human. Is it therefore a stretch to conclude that the Celtic divinity, is in fact an outward projection of our own divinity??

If we take the Irish Celts for example. The book "The battle of Moytura" by Steve Blamires, tells us that the "tu'atha De" or people of Danu, were not so much worshiping in the sense that we do today but merely studying the techniques and seeking to emulate and instill knowledge with their powers. It is interesting to note however, that the Tu'atha De have, through the first and second battle of Moytura, gained in essence their humanity by dis-associating themselves with the otherworld. It seems clear through my meditations and readings that, the Celts(Specifically the Irish Celts,) viewed their worship much the same way as we would view introspection.
 That said, this is the way in which I would worship or work with a deity.

I suppose in a round about sort of way, what i'm trying to say is that it all boils down to whichever you see fit, a figurehead of power is a great thing, able to make keen our dull observation, but to truly delve into the mindset of an Ancient Celt or Gaul, We must refine our ideas continuously, shifting from what we know, to how we feel, and balancing the two.

It's simple enough to read and apply, but surely it's better to read, apply, re-read, and apply differently? Would you guys not agree?

[ethelwulf]

Well from my perspective and albeit, limited experience, this is the path that I am mainly attracted to at the moment. My research has looked into various texts, the mabinogi, meditations on, and other various contemporary works, and through all of my reading I really do have to say that it seems as though the Gods & Goddesses are seen in more of a more human form. Their ruling attributes, associations and skills, all seem to be of human and very earth based actions. With many Gods & Goddesses having a craft that we would apply to a human. Is it therefore a stretch to conclude that the Celtic divinity, is in fact an outward projection of our own divinity??

If we take the Irish Celts for example. The book "The battle of Moytura" by Steve Blamires, tells us that the "tu'atha De" or people of Danu, were not so much worshiping in the sense that we do today but merely studying the techniques and seeking to emulate and instill knowledge with their powers. It is interesting to note however, that the Tu'atha De have, through the first and second battle of Moytura, gained in essence their humanity by dis-associating themselves with the otherworld. It seems clear through my meditations and readings that, the Celts(Specifically the Irish Celts,) viewed their worship much the same way as we would view introspection.
 That said, this is the way in which I would worship or work with a deity.

I suppose in a round about sort of way, what i'm trying to say is that it all boils down to whichever you see fit, a figurehead of power is a great thing, able to make keen our dull observation, but to truly delve into the mindset of an Ancient Celt or Gaul, We must refine our ideas continuously, shifting from what we know, to how we feel, and balancing the two.

It's simple enough to read and apply, but surely it's better to read, apply, re-read, and apply differently? Would you guys not agree?

 
I really liked you answer. Despite the literature being written by Christian monks, I think they only superficially altered the stories as the wrote down Irelands oral traditions. One of the first things that struck me was how different they were from the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. They were much more human like with less defined rolls when compared to the Greeks/Romans especially when we find they are defeated by those who became the ancestors of the Irish people. Also to me they are more clearly associated with the Earth.