The Sacred Flame
By: Aisling Bronach of House Shadow Drake
The religious practices and belief structures commonly observed today by those
claiming to follow the ways of the ancient Irish peoples are largely inaccurate for
the most part.
There are many diverse groups, each with individual characteristics. Many of
these include: Celtic shamans, Druidic reformation organizations, Wiccans, and
Neo-Pagans. Many of these groups are lunar oriented in their beliefs, and revere
both the male and female aspects that are found within nature. They often celebrate
are eight basic sabbats, or holy days, which follow both solar and lunar
associations. These high holy days are situated around a wheel of the year that
revolves around the cycling of the harvest season. Although there is historical
basis for these festivals, they did not always appear together in the same culture.
Many times only the lunar or the solar celebrations would be exhibited at any given
locale.
Today, many of those who claim to practice ancient Irish religion are following
a modern religion known widely as Wicca that was set down by Gerald Gardner. The
validity of the claims suggested by Gardner to authenticate this religion as a
direct continuation of pre-Christian European religion have been suspected of being
highly fraudulent. If an analysis is made of the elements contained within his
rituals, it can be found that they greatly resemble something akin to ancient
Grecian religious ceremonies combined with Eastern philosophy and not those of
Western Europe as he claimed.
The amount of information which exists concerning Druidism is very
scant at this
point in time. Many people claiming to have a hereditary line that goes
back over
2,000 years have written books trying to convince the public of the
authenticity of
these claims. Most are found to contain such inaccuracies that the
possibility for
any truth would be marginal at best. This is largely because the Irish
term for the
word Druid specified to a person of mystical knowledge and not to a
religion-political order as was found on the mainland. Thus, the
actually meaning
of the word is changed. Coupled with a fraudulent text on Druidism
which was
published in the 1700's by a man by the name of Iolo Morgannwg, that
most modern sects of Druidism have based the majority of their
information from, the existence of any form of Druidism is skeptical at
best.
In America, many people have written books on the traditions that have resulted from the writings of Gerald
Gardner. By picking up a book, many people feel that they can learn about the worship of the Celtic gods by
inserting the name of a member of the Celtic pantheon into a pre-made ritual that
can be fitted for almost any
religion or culture.
Much of the information regarding early Irish religion has thus been distorted
by the public eye because of the widespread of this misleading information.
In regards to the recognition of St. Brigit, which are perhaps the best known
continuation of Irish beliefs in modern society, a few years ago the Catholic
church decanonized her. However, many areas within Ireland and across the world
still continue to recognize her as a saint regardless of the current mandates.
