ASHE - Australasian School of Human Ecology...

.....because we are human

Celtic Spituality

Don't you think it quite extraordinary that Ireland, a nation of about 4m people, has given birth to over 70m people world-wide who identify as 'Irish'. What is it that binds and defines this culture? * It is totally open (and thus also exploited by crass commercialism)

* It is connected to the earth (hence the frequent joining of Irish and Indigenous as in the case, for instance, of Aboriginal people in Australia with names like:
Aborginal Magistrate, Pat O'Shea; Elder, Lluija O'Donaghue; local Kumbaigeri elder, Mick Buchannan.

* It knows its extended family by name and relation
* It celebrates life with music, and death with wake
* It seeks Liberation and attacks no-one less it be in self-defense
* It holds a dreaming as insubstantial as Ancient Greece, a place of the spirit, an Ireland of the Heart and Mind.
* It cherishes knowledge and scholarship.

Life is not so cruel that it leaves us without guidance. Consider the air we breathe. It is exactly 21% oxygen. Not 19% in which we would suffocate; not 25% in which everything would become flammable. Life itself maintains 21% oxygen in our atmosphere.

So too with our inner life. Life does not leave us without resources and guidance. One of the main forms of assistance comes in the form of ancient spirituality such as that practiced by Celtic Peoples prior to the Invasion by Rome in the 5th Century.

(...Under the standard of Mary who they seem to have just as quickly forgotten when the conquering was complete: AtTara at that fateful hour/ (Patrick) place all heaven with its Power/ and the snow with its whiteness/and the cliffs with their steepness/ the rocks with their hardness....They cheated you see. Patrick invoked these images for what we might term "political spin". As soon as the serpent (ancient container of earth knowledge as in Hypocratic Standard, the Caduceus) was banished (i.e. old knowledge of Matrona and sky god) the Roman Church resorted to unilateral control starting with a quick official relegation of the Mother Mary, to merely a Blessed (who required Her Son to physically lift Her into heaven). Rome forgot about the grass with its sweetness; the thighs with their mystery; and did what Rome did, develop strictly controlled celibate monasteries which gave us the Book Of Kells.

In this essay I wish to explore in simple terms the basis of this practice. It is rising in consciousness because we have need of it. (Those familiar with, for instance Bréhon Law will understand that the topic could become very arcane and difficult and while I wish to take pains in being scholarly and accurate I do want to use simple language).

First and foremost the Celts lived within a Matristic organisation. This means that the Feminine was viewed as central to all life. All life emerges from the Feminine. This is not to say it was Matriarchal although certain inheritances were indeed passed through the female lineage. So in Celtic life the Feminine principle was cherished and honoured as the font of life. This aspect is shown more generally in early European cultures by the use of red ochre around domicile entrances. That is, such entrances were coloured with red ochre to symbolise the Feminine Principle. An important aspect of this Principle is that it is reciprocal, a feature grossly lacking in today’s Corporatised world where most transactions are uni-lateral. Also this Principle is based on nourishment and care, features again not apparent in today’s culture wherein large and complex eco-systems are "Man – aged" not "Nourished or Cared For".

The second great understanding was that rebirth or reincarnation was seen as obvious. Thus the Romans discovered to their horror that Celts were not afraid to die and this made them a fearsome foe as is seen in the Celtic occupation of both Rome and Athens. (As an aside the early Christians also believed in re-incarnation which again was a thorn to the Romans who could not instil obedience by punishment. Rome was taken aback by the willingness of early Christians to become martyrs. This practice was removed in the 3rd century by Constantine).

Celtic Spirituality recognised the Cycle of Nature. Thus a full moon was balanced by no moon; summer’s warmth by winter’s coolness; life by death. Thus the four elements were in continual cycle. Air, Earth, Water and Fire. Sunrise, Sunset, Noon and Midnight. Samhain, Beltinne, Lughnasadh and Imbolc. So we see in a 9th century manuscript, "I have walked through the Samhain fire, I have stood in the wind on the mountaintop, I have dwelt in the dark places of the Earth, and sailed upon the western Sea." Also we see it in a Scottish Prayer of thanksgiving, "I praise God who gave me Seven senses made of the Four Elements to guide me in the world: Instinct, Feeling, Speech, Taste, Sight, Smell and Hearing". And also in the great invocation, "Fire of the Heart, Water of Life, Air of the Senses, Earth of the Bone, Give us strength."

What then was the goal of Celtic Spirituality? It was to become free of the need to be reborn (reincarnated). And how was this achieved? By developing unity, or non resistance, with the elements. This is a grand insight because today we recognise that we actually are already dwelling in Unity Consciousness but are held back by our own resistance. (see e.g. ‘No Boundary’ Ken Wilber, 1981 Shambala).

We cling, or become attached as the Buddhists would say, to matters of materialism which include our pride, self aggrandisement, and greed.

The history of the early settlement of Eire is well documented elsewhere (Leabhar Gabhaea – The Book Of Invasions) but what I wish to draw attention to here comes from the misty early dreaming time when Bith after being refused a place in Noah’s Ark (he was a son of Noah not mentioned in the Bible) set sail with Ladrak and Fintan along with 51 women. After seven years of sailing they reached Eire but after dividing the land and the women, all were destroyed by the Flood with the exception of Fintan. He survived for over 5,000 years by learning to shape shift into a Salmon, an Eagle and a Hawk. He gained enormous knowledge which he passed on to those who came 300 years after Bith.

In the second Invasion, Patholon (a distant relative of Fintan) a descendent of Noah’s son, Japheth, the traditional ancestor of Europeans, arrived in Eire with 24 couples. Alas for him a plague killed all the descendents with the exception of Tuan who was left to wander Eire for over 20 years. He grew old but learned to shape shift into a Stag, a Boar, an Eagle and finally a Salmon (ancient symbol of Christ consciousness).
In the fourth Invasion (the third does not concern us here) the Children of the Earth Goddess, Danu, arrived from the "Northern Isles". The source of the Tuath de Danaan in the ‘Northern Isles’ is important because from these Isles the Tuath brought the great gifts of the Stone of Destiny (Lia Fáil) from Falias; the Invincible Sword from Gorias; the magic Spear from Finias and the Unemptying Cauldron from Murias (like Australia’s magic pudding the Cauldron would feed whoever was present). Also they were semi godlike beings who carried the Celtic gifts of Music and Craft (see e.g. gold filigree work from La Táine Period).

In the final Invasion (this was well before the Invasion of the Elizabethans under Cromwell) the Milesians (sons of Mil) fought the Tauth at the Battle of Moytraya and the outcome was that the Milesians (modern Irish) would rule the Visible World and the Tuath the Invisible World. Today we might say the world of consensus reality and the world of non-consensus reality (the Nagual of Don Juan in Castenada’s novels). Thus from the outset of modern Ireland there was an understanding of non-consensus reality, a matter only now being investigated by western psychology.
The purpose of relating these little bits of pre-history is to draw attention to the themes of shape-shifting and knowledge of the world gained over thousands of years.

Thus Celtic Spirituality was imbued with a deep understanding of the forces of nature, the elements. It is those same forces to which we now have to learn non resistance in order to escape the cycle of rebirth.
This sounds all very well and good but what does it mean in practical terms. How do you and I learn non resistance to the Elements? Our lives in modern cities, governed by human constructs (laws, customs and materialism), are so cut off from the Elements. When it is hot we can turn on air conditioning. When it is cold we can switch on a heater. When events are threatened by rain we can cover a stadium with a moveable roof. When we are hungry we can go to the supermarket. So how can we find a practical way to open up to the Elements?

The answer is not complex and is remarkably like the gospels of the Essenes uncovered in 1948 at the Dead Sea. You may read Szekely’s translation of these Gospels or simply follow what is now written.

First is the Mother, Matrona, the Goddess who gives birth to all life. Her Elements (which we could name electro-magnetic phenomena in modern speak) are:

The Sun, the Rain, the Air, Joy, Life Force, the Earth which gives us body and food, and the Eternal Mother.

So in order to become without resistance we must direct our attention to these Elements. We can wake up and watch the Sun rise, silently praising it for its warmth and life force without which nothing on Earth can survive. We can treat Water as a sacrament treating it as Holy and Sacred (are you aware that less than 1% of the Earth’s fresh water is available for our (human) consumption?). We can breathe deeply and practice what in Sanskrit is known as Pranayama (ki, chi, ka…). We can adapt our attitude to find Joy in each day, in simple things, a rainbow, a newborn child, the jewel of a raindrop caught o a leaf, the majesty of a storm (which to the ancient Celts represented a passing life). We can honour Life-force in the birthing of a baby or the growth into youth. We can do so much to return the Earth beneath our feet to something Holy and Sacred, not a resource for humans to exploit unilaterally without giving back. Even in a high rise apartment we can place a pot plant on the balcony and let it remind us of the Force which permits all growth. And finally we can notice that the only Commandment which was not changed into a negative is the fourth: Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother. Our earthly mother represents to us the Goddess. She is as close as we can come to the Goddess while on earth so while she is alive take pains to honour your Mother, not just on Mothers’ Day but always in your thoughts and deeds. Mother’s often enjoy simple attentions; flowers, a sweet note of thanks, spending time sharing stories. When you do this with your Earthly Mother you are honouring the Great Mother.

I remember our struggle as students of Zen when the Abbot would come out and say. ‘Oh what a beautiful day!" We struggled because sometimes the day was grey, overcast, cold, rainy, stormy, or bleak. And so we wondered how our teacher could say this was such a beautiful day. After much hard work we slowly came to realise that everyday is beautiful when one remembers the purpose of Life. For then even on the most dark of days there is still our life, our consciousness, ensoulment. So we came to also see that everyday is beautiful because we are alive and able to develop in consciousness.

Then comes the Male Principle and with it The Father. The elements of the Father are;

Power, Love, Wisdom, Eternal Life, Work, Peace and our Heavenly Father (Great Spirit without Whom nothing can be fertilised and born).

These are more abstract than the Elements of the Mother but with care we can inculcate observance into our daily life. We can be careful not to abuse Power (all too common today) but to use it for the benefit of others. We can develop and practice Love with an attitude of respect for all sentient beings and life forms as well as that human form of love which takes so many aspects (brotherly, love of child, love of opposite sex, love of humanity). As the Nazarene said, "Love one another AS yourself!"

Wisdom is often hard won requiring maturity, patience and life experience. So when we are younger we can seek elders and heed their advice, we can seek from the great texts and poetry, and we can honour Wisdom by not complaining, but by acceptance and learning from our experience.

Eternal Life is a hard concept today. It sounds so Biblical so Religious. To understand Eternal we have to let go of our dimension of time. Eternity is impossible to visualise because we are trapped in sequential time. it is hard for us to realise 'timelessness'. The closest most people come is in sexual orgasm where briefly there is the experience of no-time.

Work is perhaps the easiest to understand yet how many today hate their jobs and do them for money. Work is a Sacrament. In Sanskrit there is a proverb "the highest form of Prayer is Work". Learn to work without reward and you will discover a great secret and your work will be profitable and sustaining. People who avoid work tend to die early. Those who live longest are often the hardest workers, like my 99 year old friend who gets up at dawn and works his farm everyday. He is the most joyous man I know.
If you truly express yourself in work then all else will follow, income and satisfaction. Conversely if you work for money then you may end up miserable and dissatisfied.

Peace is so wanted on Earth today. The world is divided by struggle, war, and resistance. We cannot of ourselves change this but we can seek Peace in our own life. Peace is the outcome of inner work. When we genuinely process our prejudices and fears then we achieve Peace. When we investigate our dislike of our brother or sister then we achieve Peace. When we seek to harm no-one and no life form, then we can be at Peace.

And finally Our Heavenly Father, the Great Spirit, the Creator (provider of fertilisation to the Feminine). In every culture there is recognition of the Great Male Principle, the Holy Phallus. So these traditions can guide us in how to honour this in our life. We start with honouring our earthly father who is (quite possibly) the closest we come to experiencing the Great Spirit on Earth. And what does every earthly father want (as does the Heavenly Father)? Our love, our affection, our regard, our respect. Only our father can give us Approval and so only the Great Spirit can give us the ultimate approval, entrance back to the oneness form which we emerged. Some have said , "but my father’s an alcoholic/ a gambler/ a womaniser….why should I honour him?" The answer is simple and best put by the Buddhists; that alcoholism, that gambling, that womanising is also Bodhi!

And now I leave you with an ancient Celtic prayer:

"May the All be with us,
May the All comfort us,
May the All be with us, Now and forever.
Help us in our work,
Guide us in our dreams,
Keep us safe In times of danger".
Peace be with you.
Yours in the glory of our lives,

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