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Celtic Spirituality and Druidism The Celts were a group of tribes originating in southwest Germany. In the 5th and 6th centuries B.C., the Celts spread over much of Europe. This was during the Iron Age (which followed the Bronze Age), and the Celt raiders were successful because of their use of iron weapons. Eventually, the Celts were able to reach Asia Minor (Turkey), Macedonia, Italy, Spain, France and the British Isles, and spread their culture, which included the use of iron, the creation of ornamental art and establishment of an elaborate system of folklore. By the 1st century A.D., the Celts were confined mostly to the British Isles and France, where they were subject to Roman rule. (If you have ever read Asterix comics, you were reading about Celts.) Within Celtic clans, there were priests called druids, and today, there are people who use the traditions of the Celts and their druids as the basis for modern spiritual movements. Such movements stress the importance of nature and sacred places (stone circles and so on). They also recognize a large number of gods, goddesses, saints and heroes, and value the many Celtic-derived myths. These modern-day Celts consider it important to acquire skills such as art, crafts, writing, music and healing, and they expect people to be able to study and teach themselves. Web:
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Goddess Spirituality Many of the world's religions are controlled by men. This, of course, is no accident. Throughout much of history, society has been controlled by men. However, in the last century, women in many countries have achieved more and more power. At the same time, many spiritual women have articulated a desire for a religion in which the basic ideas are derived from female traditions. For example, mainstream monotheistic religions attest to the existence of a God who is definitely a "he". The Goddess movement celebrates the divine image (the idea of God) as being female. This movement is not an organized religion with a specific dogma, although there are various Goddess-oriented groups. Goddess spirituality is, rather, an ever-growing collection of spiritual practices based on goddesses and grounded in a female approach to worship, philosophy, art and culture. Web:
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Native American Religions For centuries, tribes of aboriginal people lived over much of the North American continent. They developed a great variety of religious practices based on the land, natural phenomena (such as the sun, moon and weather), the animals they lived with and hunted, and a reverence for the wisdom of their elders and ancestors. The religions were often shamanic, based on the special powers of their leaders to understand the spirits of nature. Today, these religions are honored by many of the descendants of these aboriginal peoples, the Native Americans (American Indians), as well as other people who value the ceremonies, rituals, prayers and legends. Web:
Paganism The word pagan comes from the Latin "paganus", which means "a country dweller". The modern-day paganism movement is composed of a large variety of nature-based religions and belief systems. Paganism has no central dogma. Rather, Pagans celebrate various gods and goddesses (either one or many), nature, and the cycles of the sun and moon. One advantage to being a pagan is that you have a great deal of freedom in how you express your spiritual beliefs. One serious disadvantage, however, is that you don't get to wear uncomfortable clothes, sit in church, and listen to someone tell you what to think. Web:
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Satanism Discover what Satanists feel are the misconceptions about their beliefs. See what Satanism means and discuss how Satanists feel it relates to Christianity. Other topics include music, books, and news items. Web:
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Shamanism Among tribal peoples, a shaman is a spiritual leader -- usually a healer -- who has a mystical connection to the spirit world. Delve into the natural, spiritual practices of the shaman. Discover the range of the shamanic experience, which includes such activities as drumming, vision quests, and visiting sacred sites, all of which are used to put someone into an ecstatic trance. Web:
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Thelema Thelema is a Greek word meaning "will" or "intention". However, Thelema is also the name of a spiritual philosophy that has been evolving over the last few hundred years. The basic tenet of Thelema is "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." The earliest mention of Thelema was in the 16th century. However, the philosophy began to evolve rapidly in the early 1900s when a British occultist named Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) wrote The Book of the Law. Crowley spent the rest of his life developing the philosophy of Thelema as it related to The Book of the Law. (Historical note: Crowley wrote this book at the urging of his wife who, it is said, was pestered by the Egyptian god Horus to get Crowley's attention while he and his wife were on their honeymoon in Egypt.) The basic idea is that "...each person has the right to fulfill themselves through whatever beliefs and actions are best suited to them (so long as they do not interfere with the will of others), and only they themselves are qualified to determine what these are." Web:
Wicca Wicca is a neo-pagan religion that is more focused and ritualistic than traditional paganism. The Wiccan tradition is to worship a god and goddess (not necessarily in that order) or perhaps multiple deities. Wiccans are tuned into nature, cycles and life events, and perform magick rituals to mark the passing of holidays or special events. Web:
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