Celtic Neopaganism

Celtic Neopaganism refers to Neopagan movements based on Celtic polytheism.

Types of Celtic Neopaganism

• Neo-druidism, grew out of the Celtic revival in 18th century Romanticism.
• Gorsedd Beirdd Ynys Prydain (1792), based on Druidic ritual but also containing Christian elements.
• The Druid Order (c. 1910, but claiming origins as early as 1717).
• Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD, 1964).
• Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF, 1983).
• Celtic Wicca, loose syncretism of Wicca with aspects of Celtic mythology; the mainstream Wiccan "Wheel of the Year" syncretizes Celtic and Germanic festivals and Wicca itself syncretizes aspects of many different religions and cultures.
• Church of the Universal Bond.
• Reformed Druids of North America.
• "Celtic Neoshamanism", based on Michael Harner's controversial "Core Shamanism", focused on particular ideas of the "Otherworld"; proponents include John and Caitlin Matthews.^[1]
• Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism (CR), Celtic Polytheistic reconstructionism, who claim to form a more historically accurate and authentic tradition, claim to originate in the 1990s.

Celtic Shamanism

An assumption that the ancient religious practices of the peoples of the British Isles mirror those of contemporary Native peoples of America and Australia underlies the popularity of Celtic Shamanism, with its related books, training courses and Druidic Sweat Lodges.^[2] An underlying assumption found amongst both scholars and neopagans is that shamanism is the most ancient and universal form of religious behaviour. This subsequently leads to the identification of shamanistic elements in early Irish tales such as Buile Suibhne and the stories Finn MacCool. Thus myth and legend are interpreted as evidence that contemporary Celtic shamanism is revitalising an ancient spiritual discipline, rather than historical or archeological evidece.^[3]

Organizations

• The Druid Network is a British Druidic order and the first contemporary Pagan organisation in the United Kingdom to be given charitable recognition in the UK.^[4]

See also

• List of Neopagan movements
• Stonehenge Free Festival
• Neopaganism in the United Kingdom
• Neopaganism in the United States

References

Further reading

• Adler, Margot (1979) Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today.
• Bonewits, Isaac (2006) Bonewits's Essential Guide to Druidism. New York, Kensington Publishing Group ISBN 0-8065-2710-2 Chapter 9: "Celtic Reconstructionists and other Nondruidic Druids".
• Kondratiev, Alexei (1998) The Apple Branch: A Path to Celtic Ritual. San Francisco, Collins. ISBN 1-898256-42-X (1st edition), ISBN 0-806-52502-9 (2nd edition) [also reprinted without revision under the title Celtic Rituals].
• Laurie, Erynn Rowan (1995) A Circle of Stones: Journeys and Meditations for Modern Celts. Chicago, Eschaton. ISBN 1-57353-106-5.
• NicDhàna, Kathryn Price; Erynn Rowan Laurie, C. Lee Vermeers, Kym Lambert ní Dhoireann, et al. (2007) The CR FAQ - An Introduction to Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism. River House Publishing. ISBN 978-0-6151-5800-6.

External links

• Celtic Neopaganism at the Open Directory Project