Too many names! [druid festivals and deities]

[Erithan]

Greetings all,

A question...

Throughout the reading I have done of late I have noticed that there are many differences in how the names of both the observed holidays/festivals of Druids and the Deities are spelled.

I have found this to be a little confusing, for as someone new to Druidry, I am trying to 'put everything in its place' as it were, and having the names change every time I read them somewhere new can get confusing :o

So, my question would be - What are the most common spellings of the names of the holidays and deities in the Celtic (esp. Irish) tradition of Druidry?

Many thanks in advance :)

Erithan :)

[mol]

Do the Druidic holidays correspond with the Old Religions (or what people call the old religion) Sabbats?

[Twig]

Great questions! Yes the 8 "Grove festivals" or holidays are on the same dates as the old religion. Heck, druids ARE the old religion!;) But, that brings up a debate.

While the Fire festivals are performed at the equinoxes and solstices, the high holiday dates of Samhain, Imbolc, Beltain and Mabon have split camps as to when they should be observed. Some will argue that they are moon festivals [to balance out the 4 sun festivals]and therefore, should be observed on the closest full moon to dates given. The "old religion school" maintains it purely solar and celebrates them accordingly i.e. the first day of the seasons.

I and most others I know of celebrate them according to the suns movements. This makes sense to me because of the nomadic nature of herders and the farmers crops being the main focus of these rituals.

The names I use are the common pagan names. Others use different names so call them by whatever makes you feel comfortable, the Gods hear you by whatever name you use. :D

The following link can give you dates and more info but, I bet you can find it here in Mysticwicks just as easy! :)

http://www.wicca.com/celtic/akasha/holindex.htm

Peace,
Twig

[Twig]

Erithan my Brother. In reponse to your query on the deities of the druids.

Being they were a tribal people, the Gods that the people prayed to are MANY. The link I'm giving here contains an impressive list of the Gods and Goddesses with their region of influence [Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Briton,et al ]

http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/tammuz69/home/Index/History/Celtic_Deity.html

Good luck in your search! We are with you.

Peace,
Twig :elf:

[bansidhe]

didnt many of the tribes have gods whose names were "too sacred to pronounce" ? just thought id throw that in to make it difficult! :)
blessings, bans

[Mairwen]

I know at least one famtrad who sees Rhiannon as a tribal deitic title, as her name translates to "Great Queen", while Epona is the Goddess-embodied.

[Maggie]

Originally posted by Erithan
Greetings all,

A question...

Throughout the reading I have done of late I have noticed that there are many differences in how the names of both the observed holidays/festivals of Druids and the Deities are spelled.

I have found this to be a little confusing, for as someone new to Druidry, I am trying to 'put everything in its place' as it were, and having the names change every time I read them somewhere new can get confusing :o

So, my question would be - What are the most common spellings of the names of the holidays and deities in the Celtic (esp. Irish) tradition of Druidry?

Many thanks in advance :)

Erithan :)

The resident egghead chimes in--the ivory tower has been looking elsewhere for a few days......sorry!

First--while the seven nations are all considered Celtic, their own languages have at least spelling differences that are reflected in the holiday names, and Welsh is not Gaelic, for instance. *Most* of what you might see is Irish, that seems to be the most popular these days. Also, some authors seem to have different methods of transliteration from the languages to English that give slightly different English spellings. For the four major festivals, Samhain, Imbolc, Beltaine (Bealtaine) and Lughnasadh seem to be the most common. I haven't found much consensus on the equinoxes and soltices, it seems to depend on what tradition is being followed.

Again, with the dieties, it depends somewhat on which of the nations you're speaking of. Celtic religions tended to have local/geographical dieties--while there were some important ones like the Dagda and Lugh, etc, there wasn't a formal pantheon like the Roman and Greek pantheons. And again, what language is being translated by whom makes a difference.

Regards,

Maggie

[Maggie]

Originally posted by bansidhe
didnt many of the tribes have gods whose names were "too sacred to pronounce" ? just thought id throw that in to make it difficult! :)
blessings, bans

Never heard that one, it's interesting. Where did you see it?

Maggie (the insatiable information gatherer)

[bansidhe]

to be honest maggie i cannot remember where i read that....
man, thats going to annoy me all night now till i get home and find it.....

[Maggie]

Originally posted by bansidhe
to be honest maggie i cannot remember where i read that....
man, thats going to annoy me all night now till i get home and find it.....

It's gonna annoy us both---I'm really curious! :D

Maggie

[bansidhe]

dont worry maggie...im still lookin' !!!!!:mad: im pretty sure it might have been in one of my celtic spirituality books or summat, i ll have to go through them again asap ! it shouldnt take long, i dont have as many tomes of knowledge as i would like ! 8O and i know the feeling, i am unbelieveably curious sometimes! lol.
blessings,
bans.