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The Celts belonged to complex and variegated social groupings that ranged from large, loose confederations of tribes to small, compact tribal units. If you had asked any of the ancient Druidic Celts who they were or what they were called, they would have responded with the name of their tribe; rather than, any of the names (like Galatac, Keltoi, or Celtac) given to them by classical Mediterranean writers. Although they had a written language, the Celts rarely used it, preferring instead to pass on their beliefs, knowledge, and wisdom through the time honored method of their oral traditions. The honored and revered Storytellers, the Seannachaidhs, were a popular fixture around the fire, especially those who told the longest and most intricate tales during the wintertime.
Since daylight hours were
scarce that time of year and families spent a lot of time around the light and
warmth of the hearths, they became gatherings places, where the Seannachaidhs,
who burned with the fires of inspiration, would tell the stories of the people.
The Natural World inspired the imaginations and enlivened their art and storytelling of the Druidic Celts. To be gifted with Awen, /|\, was to know, love, and preserve truth with appreciative nurturing commitment. Awen represented the three worlds; mind, body, and spirit; sea, land, and sky. Awen also symbolized inspired creativity, spiritual healing, attunement with the Nature Spirits, the skills of divination and prophecy, and the fluidic flow of the spiritual life force. All of the animals, forests, lakes, mountains, rivers, and trees were blessed and holy to the Celts and worthy of their utmost reverence. The Druidic Bards were inspired by the spirit of Awen. As guardians of the sacredness of the Word, keepers of the ritual memories, and poetic warders of the tribe, the bards were musical dream weavers, creativity seers, sacred storytellers, and divinity diviners.
Bards were voice spinners,
singing word magic into being. The songs of the bards renewed the land as they
walked the Earth journeying to sacred sites where the ancient spirit of holiness
lingered still... Continue on
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