Celtic paganism

Celtic paganism
Family	Indigenous / Celtic
Origin region	Celtic-speaking regions of Europe and the Atlantic world
Founding period	Iron Age and Roman periods; modern revival from the 18th century onward
Estimated adherents	Historical traditions with modern reconstructionist and neo-pagan forms.

Celtic paganism is celtic paganism refers to the pre-Christian religious traditions of Celtic-speaking peoples and later modern movements inspired by Celtic myth, sacred landscapes, seasonal festivals, and druidic imagery.

Overview

Celtic paganism is known through archaeology, classical sources, medieval Irish and Welsh literature, inscriptions, folklore, and modern reconstruction. Ancient practice varied widely by region. Modern Celtic pagan traditions may emphasize gods, ancestors, spirits of place, seasonal cycles, poetry, and ecological spirituality.

Key beliefs

• Regional gods and goddesses associated with sovereignty, healing, war, craft, rivers, animals, and land
• Sacred landscapes including groves, wells, rivers, hills, and boundary places
• Heroic and mythic narratives preserved in later literature
• Cycles of life, death, sovereignty, and seasonal change
• Ancestral memory and local tradition

Practices

• Seasonal rites
• Offerings at sacred places
• Poetry, storytelling, music, and ritual speech
• Divination and omen reading in some modern traditions
• Ancestor and land-spirit veneration

Places of worship

• Sacred grove
• Holy well
• Hill or outdoor sanctuary
• Home altar
• Modern druid circle

Sacred texts

• Irish mythological cycles
• Welsh Mabinogi
• Classical accounts of Gauls and Britons
• Inscriptions and folklore collections

Holidays and observances

• Samhain
• Imbolc
• Beltane
• Lughnasadh
• Solstice and equinox rites in some modern groups

Branches and related traditions

• Druidry - Modern spiritual and religious movements inspired by druidic tradition.
• Celtic Reconstructionism - A modern effort to reconstruct Celtic polytheistic practice.
• Modern Paganism - A broad family of contemporary pagan movements.

See also

• Religion
• Theology
• Philosophy of religion
• New Religious Movements
• Indigenous and Traditional Religions