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Who were the Celts?

The Celts were a confederation of tribes who appeared in Central Asia as early as the second millennium BCE and gradually spread west into Europe and eventually Ireland and the British Isles. Recent scholarship suggests they may have spread eastward as well into the area of China. In their heyday (5th to 1st centuries BCE) they were the dominant people of northern and western Europe. They were a complex, independent people known for prowess in battle, skill in crafts and sophistication in learning. The structure of Celtic society avoided a reliance on a centralized monarchy, preferring to focus on the small tribal unit; however, there was always extensive interaction between tribes which was strengthened by marriage ties and times of coming together for trade and celebration. In times of need, many tribes might band together to oppose a common enemy or go in search of new lands to settle.

Absolutely! For centuries Celtic tribes were the dominant residents of most of Europe and there are many people on the Continent today who consider themselves "Celtic." Please see the map here for the areas of Celtic settlement and tribal territories in Continental Europe.

Many people today assume there are only the "Six Nations" of the Celts: Welsh, Scots, Irish, Cornish, Manx and Bretagne (Brittany). This is, however, not the case and a little searching will find people acknowledging the Celts as ancestors from Turkey all the way to Spain and throughout Europe.

Celtic spirituality is a generic term—there is no pan-Celtic "bible" or written body of teachings and there was no Celtic "religion" or "church" until the coming of Christianity. The Druids, who were the spiritual authorities of the Celts (among other things) did not commit their teachings to writing, so it is impossible to know for certain what their beliefs were. It is, however, possible to deduce that these beliefs were based on a reverence for the Land, the Ancestors, and plants, trees and animals and the spirits they embody. The soul was believed to be immortal and to live on in successive lives after the death of the body (which explained for ancient writers the Celtic warriors' ferocity in battle and indifference to death). There was no concept of "heaven" or "hell," only different states of existence in the Otherworld.

Celtic spirituality today is seen in a number of different forms, from the distinctive flavor of "Celtic" Christianity to the numerous pagan groups that base their beliefs and practices on Celtic culture and deities. While some of these groups have only a superficial connection to Celtic culture, others are sincerely striving to honor their Ancestors by bringing the best of the past forward into the modern era.

What gods and goddesses were worshipped by the Celts?

The Celts, being a diverse, widely-distributed, tribal-based culture, did not worship a common pantheon of deities. Celts, as part of their spirituality, were very receptive to the immediate area where they were living and would therefore accord reverence and respect to the spirit of the land who was invariably seen as female and the bestower of the right to rule the land.  Though the name by which this spirit was called differed from tribe to tribe and place to place, the concept is today known as the Goddess Sovereignty.  Other spirits of whatever prominent features existed nearby, such as a mountain or a lake would also be accorded reverence.  From what can be deduced by archeological evidence, this included the giving of offerings of weapons, jewelry and other valuable items into a hole or well in the ground or else thrown into a body of water. The Celts viewed their deities as friends and/or family members who were approachable rather than to be feared and appeased with gifts.  When the early Celts first encountered anthropomorphic deities (at Delphi in 278 BCE), they apparently found the concept intensely amusing, but over a period of time contact with Greek and Roman culture resulted in certain Celtic deities such as Lugh and Bride achieving a prominent influence across a broad range of territory. There was, however, never a "Celtic Pantheon" with inter-familial relationships and hierarchy in the sense of the Greek, Roman or Norse pantheons.

There is no evidence whatsoever that human sacrifice was universally practiced or accepted as a commonplace by any Celtic tribe. The sources for the practice of human sacrifice among the Celts comes almost entirely from non-Celtic writers (some of whom are quoting one another unattributed) and must be viewed with suspicion as supporting the writer's personal agenda. This is most notable in the case of Julius Caesar, who as a general seeking to subdue the Celts, had every motivation to depict them as savage barbarians. Debate on this subject, however, continues to this day in academic circles, mostly centering around the significance (or lack thereof) of what little archeological evidence of human sacrifice exists.

Certainly the warrior occupied a prominent and revered position in Celtic society, but not for the sake of bloodthirstiness or savagery. The Celts lived in a world where the survival of the tribe depended on the strength and skill of its fighters. The Celtic warrior was expected to strive for ideals of courage, skill with weapons and personal honor, not simply the ability to wreak havoc and slaughter. In return, the tribe honored the successful warrior with tales and songs of his deeds, and with gestures such as the "Champion's Portion," where the best cut of meat at the feast would be accorded to the finest, most honorable warrior in the hall, even above the king. There is also some evidence that women fought alongside the men: the Irish hero Cu Cuchulainn learned much of his craft as a warrior from a renown woman warrior named Scathach.

The Druids are most commonly described as the priest class of Celtic culture, yet this distorts their actual role.  The Celts saw spirituality as a validating force in all aspects of the life of the tribe, so that Druids were also philosophers, advisers, judges and occasionally warriors and presided over the choosing of a king and his union to the Land as Sovereignty. They were loremasters, scholars, poets, keepers of records and seers who were familiar with trance techniques and vision questing and magic. Although it has been claimed that Druids were exclusively male, this is not supported by the historical record.

The answer, unfortunately, is "no," at least as far as can be determined by current scholarship.  Although Druidic teachings were carried forward after the advent of Christianity and survive today, much else was lost or discarded as being incompatible with the new religion, so that calling anyone a hereditary Druid is fraught with peril.  Although a number of modern organizations and groups claim to be survivors of the ancient Druids, there is in fact no reliable evidence that this is true and the more honest members admit it readily.  Any individual group or individual vehemently claiming otherwise will probably prove to be a charlatan attempting to dupe the naïve.

Wicca—which although in its more original forms contains much that is spiritually valid—is a recently invented religion. All claims that it is the ancient non-Christian country religion of Britain have not held up under the scrutiny of scholarship. Old Gerald Gardiner was much influenced by both Freemasonry and the Golden Dawn lore he gained through his association with Aleister Crowley as well as the writings of Charles Leland's "Aradia—Queen of the Witches." The Druidic revival, which began in the early 18th century, had an intense relationship to early Freemasonry which had developed a generation or so earlier and though it took much inspiration from latent Welsh nationalism under Iolo Morganwg, it nonetheless remains a modern confection with only a dim, poignant reaching for the truly ancient Celtic past.

 What Druidic organizations exist today?

The most prominent modern Druidic organizations are OBOD, RDNA, ADF and the Henge of Keltria.

OBOD can trace its roots back to the early 18th century, but has truly hit its stride since the 1960s. It is British/Insular in focus, but continues to grow by its willingness to shed its questionable early sources and reach back to the Celtic past.

RNDA (Reformed Druids of North America) began as a college rebellion against enforced worship but evolved over time into a genuine spirituality. It has, however, a very Zen-disassociative flavor that is not entirely Celtic and is difficult for many to grasp.

ADF was formed in the 1980s by Isaac Bonewits (who was previously a member of RDNA). He viewed himself as bringing forward an ancient concept into modern times as a corrective for what was wrong with mainstream religion and is heavily based upon Wicca rather than anything supposedly "Druidic."  There was an emphasis on conducting public rituals, having groves participate in community service projects and establishing a hierarchical priesthood to provide an alternative to Christianity.

The Henge of Keltria was formed by senior members of ADF who disagreed with Isaac Bonewits' broad, eclectic view of Druidry, feeling instead that Druidry could not exist outside a Celtic frame of reference.  Its rituals, nonetheless, are strongly based on Wicca and its membership has remained small.

ã  Dana Felber 2002, 2005