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_outlineFamiliar Spirits
British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)
Book 2 Chapter 5
by
Wirt Sikes
Familiar Spirits are known to often throw stones, especially when at Preachers trying to exorcise them! We also hear about the familiar spirits of Magicians and others who deal in the Black Arts. Sikes tells us the legend of the Lady of the Wood, and how she bewitched those around her with illusions. The Devil himself can be seen as a form of familiar, and can transform himself into a huge black mastiff, a black calf or even a round bowl! Finally, we learn how to both summon and exorcise familiars, and how the terrible tailor of Glanbran was asked to summon the Devil.
Running Order:
- Familiar Spirits 0:55
- The Famous Sprite of Trwym Farm 2:10
- Was it a Fairy? 6:40
- The Familiar Spirits of Magicians 7:35
- Sir David Llwyd's Demon 7:43
- Familiar Spirits in Female Form 10:26
- The Legend of the Lady of the Wood 13:40
- The Devil as a Familiar Spirit 21:15
- His Disguises in this Character 22:41
- Summoning and Exorcising Familiars 26:12
- Jenkin the Pemrokeshire Schoolmaster 26:50
- The Terrible Tailor of Glanbran 29:00
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.
Trwym Farm
Sir David Llwyd
Pemrokeshire
Glanbran
diawl
Job John Harry
Mynyydyslwyn
Pwca'r Trwyn
Ellylldan
Thomas Evans
Pwll y Gasseg
Morris Roberts
William Reilly
Blanch y Byd
Dos yn iach ('fare thee well')
Crumlyn
Abercarne
Californian
Bwbach
Cardiganshire
Oxford
Rev. Mr. Thomas Lewis, Landdw & Tolachdy
Radnorshire
'Tafl gerrig o'r afon' (throw stones out of the river)
River Wye
Giraldus
Caerleon, Monmouthshire
Melerius
Lower Gwent
Iolo MSS
Einion
Gwalchmai
Treveilir
Angharad
Kent
Monmouthshire
Maenol
Gorwenydd
Gwyn
Nudd
Ednyved Vychan
Gruddydd ab yr Ynad Coch
cythraul
dera
diafol
Hermes
Vavasor Powell
Pemrokeshire
Narberth
Henry Llewellyn
Ystrad Defoc
Glamorganshire
Marquis of Bute
William Jones
Risca village
Merthyr Tydfil
John Jenkin
Glanbran, Carmarthenshire
Mr. Gwynne
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.