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_outlineThe Spirit World
British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)
Book 2 Chapter 1
by
Wirt Sikes
In this episode, we look at the similarities between Welsh Ghosts and American Spiritualism, as well as how the ghosts can be classified. Sikes tells us the story of Lady Stradling's ghost, the legend of Catrin Gwynn, the story of the Haunted Bridge and Cadogan's ghost. He finishes the episode by discussing the laws of the Welsh Spirit-World and how the duties that cause ghosts to walk once more upon the earth.
Running Order:
- Section 1 1:15
- Modern Superstition regarding Ghosts 1:50
- American 'Spiritualism' 4:21
- Section 2 7:17
- Welsh Beliefs 7:21
- Section 3 10:22
- Classification of Welsh Ghosts 10:26
- Section 4 11:30
- Departed Mortals 11:33
- Haunted Houses 12:42
- Lady Stradling's Ghost 14:28
- Section 5 15:42
- The Haunted Bridge 15:46
- The Legend of Catrin Gwyn 16:38
- The Haunted Bridge 15:46
- Section 6 18:07
- Didactic Purpose in Cambrian Apparitions 18:12
- An Insulted Corpse 18:22
- Didactic Purpose in Cambrian Apparitions 18:12
- Section 7 19:59
- Duty-performing Ghosts 20:04
- Section 8 23:45
- Laws of the Spirit-World 23:50
- Cadogan's Ghosts 25:28
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.
Pope
Miranda
Lady Stradling
Catrin Gwyn
Coblynau
(Thomas) Cadogan
Newburyport, Mass.
New Bedford
Cambridge
Hardvard College
Prophet Jones
Monmouthshire
Sadducees
Wesley & Luther
Arsinoe (umlaut) of Herodotus
Ebbw Vale, Glamorganshire
Duffryn House, Cardiff
Sir Thomas Button
St. Donat's Castle
Pont Cwnca Bach, Yscanhir, Carmethenshire
Rheidol
Yn enw y daioni, peidiwch (in the name of heaven, sir, don't go!)
White Catti of the Grove Cave
Machynleth
Gelli Gogo
Tregaron, Cardiganshire
Mrs. Morgan of Newport
Hob y deri dando
Ystur-mant
Noe, Pembrokeshire
Walter John Harry
Ebwy Fawr
Morgan Lewis
Llanvihangel Llantarnam
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.