Cult Accessories CT054
Celtic Tomes
This chapter covers Temples, Altars, Images, Symbols, and the Cult of Weapons of the Ancient Celts.
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Festivals CT053
Celtic Tomes
The Celtic year was not at first regulated by the solstices and equinoxes, but by some method connected with agriculture or with the seasons.
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Tabu CT052
Celtic Tomes
The Irish geis, pl. geasa, which may be rendered by Tabu, had two senses. It meant something which must not be done for fear of disastrous consequences, and also an obligation to do something commanded by another.
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Sacrifice and Prayer CT051
Celtic Tomes
The Celts offered human victims on the principle of a life for a life, or to propitiate the gods, or in order to divine the future from the entrails of the victim. We shall examine the Celtic custom of human sacrifice from these points of view first.
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Cosmogony CT050
Celtic Tomes
The Celts may have possessed the Heaven and Earth myth, but all trace of it has perished. There are, however, remnants of myths showing how the sky is supported by trees, a mountain, or by pillars.
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Animal Worship CT049
Celtic Tomes
Animal worship pure and simple had declined among the Celts of historic times, and animals were now regarded mainly as symbols or attributes of divinities.
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Tree and Plant Worship CT048
Celtic Tomes
The Celts had their own cult of trees, but they adopted local cults. This chapter also details how the Celts made their sacred places in dark groves, the trees being hung with offerings or with the heads of victims.
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River and Well Worship CT047
Celtic Tomes
Among the Celts the testimony of contemporary witnesses, inscriptions, votive offerings, and survivals, shows the importance of the cult of waters and of water divinities. This chapter also details the many fairies and folklore creatures associated with water.
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Primitive Nature Worship CT046
Celtic Tomes
McCulloch talks about animism, where everything was a person and the greater objects of nature were worshiped for themselves alone.
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The Cult of the Dead CT045
Celtic Tomes
The custom of burying grave-goods with the dead and other grave customs is the subject of this chapter. McCulloch also talks about the role of fairies and the festival of Samhain.
info_outlineMidsummer Eve to Hallowe'en
British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)
Book 3 Chapter 3
by
Wirt Sikes
All about Midsummer Eve and the Beltane Fires that precede it leading up to Hallowe'en. Sikes tells us about the Three Nights for Spirits that occur at Halloween - a time at which ghosts and fairies walk abroad. He also talks about bobbing for apples and the Fourth of July celebrations in the States, Guy Fawkes' Night and how important it is that it never be forgotten.
- Midsummer Eve 0:56
- The Druidic Ceremonies at Pontypridd 1:56
- The Snake Stone 3:40
- Beltane Fires 4:32
- Fourth of July Fires in America 4:42
- St. Ulric's Day 6:10
- Carrying Cynog 6:44
- Marketing on Tombstones 8:06
- The First Night of Winter 8:28
- The Three Nights for Spirits 8:40
- The Tale of Thomas Williams the Preacher 9:30
- All Hallows Eve Festivities 10:22
- Running through Fire 11:17
- Quaint Border Rhymes 12:03
- The Puzzling Jug 12:58
- Bobbing for Apples 14:08
- The Fiery Features of Guy Fawkes' Day 15:12
- St. Clement's Day 16:35
- Stripping the Carpenter 16:59
Names Used in this Section
All proper names, and words in Welsh or other languages, are recorded here in the show-notes and we've done our best to get the pronunciations right for you.
Pontypridd
Beltane
St. Ulric
Cynog
Thomas Williams
Guy Fawkes
St. Clement
St. John's Eve
Myfyr Morganwg
Kali
Belenian
Geleiniau Nadroedd
Sun-god Beal
Barnabe Googe
Naogeorgius
'Wheresoever Huldryche hath his place, the people there brings in
Both carpes and pykes, and mullets fat, his fauour here to win.'
Brychan Brycheiniog
Defynog
Nos Calan Gauaf
Nos Cyn Gauaf
Teir Nos Ysprydnos
Mary
'Wissel wassel, bread and possel,
Cwrw da, plas yma'
Twco am falau
crwc
gwyntyn
Bishop Sanderson
Moloch
Pembrokeshire
British Goblins can be found on Archive.org
You can find out more about Wirt Sikes on Wikipedia.
Try the Celtic Myth Podshow for the Tales and Stories of the Ancient Celts at http://celticmythpodshow.com or on Apple Podcasts.
Our theme music is "Gander at the Pratie Hole" by Sláinte. You can find their music on the Free Music Archive.