Long before the arrival of the Abrahamic religions, the people of the British Isles honored the Gods, Goddesses, and spirits tied to the land, the seasons, and the cycles of life and death. This is not to say that they viewed the deities in the modernist manner of seeing them as simply archetypes representing nature. Nor did our ancestors see the Gods and Goddesses as manifestations of the ancestors. Each deity was a unique and autonomous being with their own personality, will, and domain of influence. Gods and Goddesses are not universal abstractions but specific, real presences who could be called upon for aid, guidance, or blessings.
The gods are deeply intertwined with the cycles of the natural world. Their roles reflect their participation in and governance of these processes:
The Morrigan: Associated with life’s transitions, sovereignty, and the boundaries between life and death. She plays a vital role in ensuring the continuation of cycles, especially during times of change or crisis.
The Dagda: Represents abundance, fertility, and the forces that sustain life. His cauldron symbolizes endless renewal, and his club embodies both creation and destruction, emphasizing balance within the cycles.
Some may argue that The Morrigan and The Dagda are strictly Irish deities because we only know of them from the Irish myths. While it is true that we know them primarily from the Irish mythology, it is also true that the Anglo-Saxons, Romans, and Christians all destroyed much of the records of Keltic Britain, including much of Irish mythology. What we have preserved in Irish mythology is merely the tip of the iceberg. With a deafening lack of information about deities for the rest of the British Isles, it is not a stretch to consider them primordial deities for all of the British Isles. When we consider that the Tuatha Dé Danann arrived in Ireland from another place, this gives even more evidence that they are the primordial deities for all the Keltic people in the British Isles.
Myths of the gods are not distant, fantastical stories but expressions of their ongoing actions within the world. The gods are active participants in the lives of their people, guiding the seasons, protecting communities, and ensuring harmony between humans and the natural world.
The gods are both protectors and partners of humanity. Their favor can be sought through devotion, offerings, and ritual, and they play active roles in guiding and sustaining their people. It is for this reason that, though many will dislike this statement, the Gods and Goddesses are more likely to engage with someone who descends from the part of the world they are sovereign over. It makes little sense for someone descended from the Picts to worship Xiwangmu, as she is unlikely to respond to their requests for the simple fact that she does not know them.
Nature Spirits as Part of the Divine Order
The land itself is sacred, inhabited by spirits that are as real and vital as the gods.
These spirits govern specific locations—rivers, hills, groves, and stones—and have distinct personalities and powers.
Nature spirits require offerings and respect to maintain balance and ensure harmony with the human world.
Humans and spirits are in a symbiotic relationship, and neglecting or offending them could disrupt natural cycles, leading to misfortune.
Because of the destruction wrought by Christianity over the past 1500 years it is easy to simply decide that anything that the Christians do is automatically wrong and thus to be rejected. However, this is a very bad way to approach the situation. One must keep in mind that Christianity is a shapeshifting religion, if one can even call it a religion. It takes on many of the attributes of the lands it wants to conquer.
The idea of Yahweh, a.k.a. God the Father was shaped by interactions with the Greeks and the Romans, and modeled, in some ways, after Zeus. Likewise, the early Christians took on attributes of the spiritual traditions of the Northern Europeans in an attempt to ease the process of destroying our old religion and installing their new religion.
In other words, just because the Abrahamic religions claim to believe in a God who is an actual deity, this does not, in any way, change the fact that our ancestors were hard polytheists and worshiped Gods and Goddesses they knew were real deities.
Unlike the Abrahamic view, The Keltic worldview sees time as sicklical, with no definitive beginning or end, and this shaped how our ancestors related to the divine. The gods, goddesses, and nature spirits are timeless and ever-present, participating in and guiding the rhythms of nature and human life. Rather than existing outside the cycles of life, they were intimately connected to and embodied within them.
The gods, goddesses, and spirits of the British Isles are not abstract ideas but living entities participating in the eternal cycles of time. Through their relationships with these divine beings, the Kelts maintained harmony with the natural world, ensuring the continuation of life’s rhythms. For modern seekers, honoring the gods as real and distinct beings is the proper way to maintain a true connection to our ancestors.
Stones and Shadows explores the ancient cultural and spiritual traditions of the British Isles and their connections across the ancient landscape. If you enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up, share it with others who might find it interesting, and don’t forget to subscribe for more content like this. Hit the notification bell so you never miss an update.