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The Druidic storyteller, the Seannachaidh, was a popular fixture around the fire especially during the wintertime. Since daylight hours were scarce that time of year and families spent a lot of time around the light and the warmth of the hearth. The hearth became a gathering place where the Seannachaidh burning with the fires of inspiration would tell the stories of the people. The most honored and revered of the storytellers were those who told the longest and most intricate tales. Many of the Druidic Celtic tales about Druidic Animal Totems and Power Animals involved stories about humans, Goddesses and Gods shapeshifting into the likeness of animals and birds, including that of Seagulls and Swans. Animal Totems that recurred frequently in Druidic Storytelling were Bear, Boar, Cow, Horse, Hound, Mare, Raven, Salmon, Otter, Owl, Pig, Seagull, Stag, and Swan.
The pure inspirational
wisdoms and the joyful magnificence of the Natural World were embodied in the
Salmon Animal Totem, who acquired knowledge about everything by feeding on Rowan
Berries. By partaking of the essential magic of the Salmon, the Druidic Celt
gained mystical learning, magical understanding, and sublime expressive
abilities in the creative arts of drama, poetry, prose, and song.
The lasting beauty and noble carriage of the Mare stood for the possibility of joyful revival and renewed wholeness. The Mare was an Animal Totem lamppost, shining healing hope into the darkness of hurtful abandonment, traumatic betrayal, dangerous indignities, and hurtful wounds. The Druidic Celts carved a larger than life White Mare into the hillside overlooking the green of the countryside above Uffington in Wessex, England, as a powerful totemic sign of hopeful renewal of home and hearth. Both the Cow and the Hound were Sacred to the Goddess. The Cow was a source of nurturing prosperity. For the Druidic Celt, the Cow was symbolic of compassionate hospitality, generosity of spirit, receptive giving, rightful ownership, and fair entitlement. The Hound signified devoted companionship and kind thoughtfulness, especially in regard to the deepest longings and needful wishes of the human spirit. Often linked with the restorative and regenerative aspects of the Otherworld, as a consistently faithful and supportive companion, Hound conveyed healing through loving attentiveness, trustworthy intimacy and reassuring vigilant consistency.
Bear as an Animal Totem
connotated being vigilant in protecting family belongings, conserving the
beneficial communal kinfolk resources, and ensuing that the rights of others
were upheld. Possessing great strength coupled with great endurance, Bears
hibernated for months during the wintertime, making them a Power Totem for safe
and productive Dreaming...
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