Celtic Tomes
This chapter covers Temples, Altars, Images, Symbols, and the Cult of Weapons of the Ancient Celts.
info_outline Festivals CT053Celtic 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.
info_outline Tabu CT052Celtic 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.
info_outline Sacrifice and Prayer CT051Celtic 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.
info_outline Cosmogony CT050Celtic 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.
info_outline Animal Worship CT049Celtic 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.
info_outline Tree and Plant Worship CT048Celtic 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.
info_outline River and Well Worship CT047Celtic 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.
info_outline Primitive Nature Worship CT046Celtic Tomes
McCulloch talks about animism, where everything was a person and the greater objects of nature were worshiped for themselves alone.
info_outline The Cult of the Dead CT045Celtic 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_outlineFairy Rings
British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)
Book 1 Chapter 8
by
Wirt Sikes
Fairy Rings and other fascinating things about Welsh Fairies, including the language of the Tylwyth teg, the Horse in Welsh Folklore, Fairy Cattle, the flying faires of Bedwellty, the fairy sheep at Cae'r Cefn and more about the Prophet Jones and his Works.
Running Order:
- Section 1 0:50
- Fairy Rings 1:16
- Section 2 2:29
- The Prophet Jones and his Works 2:30
- Section 3 5:10
- Fairies and Oak Trees 5:30
- Section 4 7:20
- The mysterious language of the Tylwyth Teg 7:22
- Section 5 8:35
- The Horse in Welsh Folklore 8:40
- Equestrian Fairies 9:08
- The Horse in Welsh Folklore 8:40
- Section 6 10:04
- Fairy cattle, Sheep, Swine, etc. 10:08
- The flying faires of Bedwellty 11:28
- Fairy cattle, Sheep, Swine, etc. 10:08
- Section 7 12:48
- The fairy sheepfold at Cae'r Cefn 12:51
- The fairy sheepfold at Cae'r Cefn 12:51
- Section 8 15:46
- Another story by the Prophet Jones 15:48
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 pronounciations right for you.
- Prophet Jones
- Tylwyth Teg
- Bedwellty
- Cae'r Cefn
- Peterstone-super-Ely
- Edmund Jones 'of the Tranch'
- Monmouthshire
- Ebenezer Chapel, Pontypool
- Aberystruth, Trevecca
- Monmouth
- Newport
- (Thomas) Keightly
- Edward Jones
- Croker
- Sadducees
- William Jenkins
- Trefethin church, in Monmouthshire
- Brenhin-bren
- Thomas William Edmund, of Hafodafel
- Ni chytunant hwy mwy na Bendith eu Mammau (They will no more agree than the fairies)
- Elidurus
- Giraldus
- Llanarmon
- dor dorum
- halgein dorum
- dwr
- halen
- thorum
- dyro i mi
- dyro i mi ddwr
- dyro i mi halen
- Mary Lwyds
- Vale of Neath
- Glamorgan
- Merthyr
- Aberdare
- Teirnyon
- Ychain Banog
- St. Melangell
- Gwraig Annwn
- Cefn Rhychdir
- Rev. Roger Rogers
- Lewis Thomas Jenkin
- Elizabeth David
- Edmund Roger
- Y Weirglodd Fawr Dafolog
- Hafodafel
- Pen-y-Llwyn
- Master Neddy Jones
British Goblins can be found on Sacred Texts.
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.