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Located in remote hillside glades or ancient wooded landscapes, the numinous potency of Holy Wells inspired pilgrimages and journeying. Imbued with an atmosphere of soothing stillness, their waters were filled with nurturing healing graciousness and compassionate personal consideration. There were thousands upon thousands of Holy Wells that were integral to the hallowed tapestry of the Celtic Druidic landscape. Believed to be the dwelling abodes of Mother Goddesses, devotees regularly travelled to Holy Wells to request that blessings be bestowed upon them and their kinfolk. The faithful often tossed coins, jewelry and other valuable objects into the restorative waters, as a token of their esteem for the Goddesses and as a form of thanks-giving. They also tied pieces of cloth, strands of beads, and items of a symbolic nature, like farm boots or baby rattles, to nearby bushes, shrubs, and trees.
As they weathered the
cyclical seasons, they functioned as tangible tokens and friendly reminders of
their prayers, supplications. and wishes. All trees were sacred to the Celts
because they were imbued with the holiness of Tree Spirits, one of the many
spiritual kindred sharing the planet with humans.
Their leafy tops moved with the currents of the sky winds and their roots burrowed deep into the moist nourishment of the earth. They had their heads in the clouds but their feet were planted firmly on the ground. The Tree of Life was a symbol ladened with many sacred meanings to the Celts and acted as a visual portal key opening doorways to hidden knowledge and ancient genetic memories. The forest was a sacred place filled with holy wells, wooded sanctuaries, and shrines. Each year most trees lived a condensed lifetime over cyclic seasons that fostered continued growth through periods of dormancy, renewal, growth, and decay from full blossom growth, to golden leaf days, to icy stillness, to budding rebirth once again. Sun Wheels were worn as protective amulets and healing talismans by the Celts. They symbolized the sensual solace of bountifully fruitful fecundity and the heartening warmth of productively crucial comfort shedding their illuminating light into the cold disappointing darkness of shadowed chaos and the sorrow provoking cruelty of ominous passages. The brilliance of the Sun dispelled illusory confusions and banished bindings by shining solar radiance into the murky corners of the soul. The sunshine of cheery mindfulness transformed stagnant areas of persistent pain and skulking sorrow into renewed hope and reinvigorated trust.
Small clay Goddess votives,
decorated with Sun Wheels, were offered prayerfully at curative springs, holy
shrines, and sacred lakes. The figurines were also buried with the dead to help
them navigate the mysterious journey to the Otherworld.
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