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_outlineThe Powers of Bells
British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)
Book 3 Chapter 6
by
Wirt Sikes
In this chapter, we learn that the sound of Brass bells can break enchantments, how they could exorcise spirits and even foretell storms. Sikes also tells us the story of how a stolen Church Bell was carried home to Wales by a very determined horse.
- Base of the Primeval Mythology 0:54
- Bells and their Ghosts 1:36
- The Bell that committed Murder and was damned for it 3:55
- The Occult Powers of Bells 7:32
- Their Work as Detectives, Doctors, etc. 9:43
- Legend of the Bell of Rhayader 11:24
- St. Illtyd's Wonderful Bell 14:20
- The Golden Bell of Llandaff 14:32
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.
Rhayader
St. Illtyd
Llandaff
Mississipi
Aberdovey
Crumlyn
Langorse Pool, Breconshire
Trefethin
St. Cadoc
Llewellyn ap Iorweth, Lord of Caerleo
Caerleon, Monmouthshire
Bangu
Llanfair Duffryn Clwyd
Pembrokeshire
St. Paul's
Cromwellian
St. David's
Ramsey Sound
Glamorgan
River Taf
Llantwit Major
King Arthur
St. Oudoceus
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.