Welcome to r/CelticPaganism! We are an inclusive subreddit devoted to pagans who follow the modern religions revived, reconstructed, or inspired by the spiritual traditions of the pre-Christian British Isles, Ireland, and parts of Western Europe.

This thread is a space for:

• Introductions!
• Beginner or getting started questions!
• Help with signs, dreams and other interpretations!
• Chatting about things that would otherwise be off-topic or do not warrant a full post.

If you would like to share images in this thread, please use imgur to upload your photos and then share the link!

For general Paganism discussion take a look at r/paganism. For meet-ups and personals, visit r/PaganR4R and r/PaganPenPals.

Make sure to also check out our newest subreddit, r/TheGreatQueen, for followers and devotees of the Morrigan, as well as those who are curious!

Hi,

As I'm slowly becoming disillusioned with Islam, and the Abrahamic faiths in general; I am tentatively thinking of becoming a Celtic pagan. I've prayed to Manannán mac Lir (the god I feel most drawn to) several times, and made an offering once, though the situation I am in isn't particularly conducive to set up an alter or anything. I'm wondering what steps I might want to take to become more established, to develop more of a relationship with the Tuatha Dé Danann, in general and Manannán in particular. I thought perhaps joining a community of some sort might be the next step. I just wanted to ask here, --and I'll be repoasting this in the relevant subreddits as well--, how do druid groves function? That is to say, as a general rule, are they only for established practitioners who have taken the proper training to attend, or are they welcoming of potential converts? I live in NY, and an ADF grove is the only group I know of remotely connected to Celtic paganism. Should I try to join, or find some other group, or try to continue solitary?

Thanks

I'm making an alter for Aengus and I'm scouring the internet trying to find some old images of what they may have depicted him as back when people were originally worshiping him. I know a lot of our info comes from monks recording these practices but I can find any images from them either. Does anyone know of any resources or images that aren't super modern? All i can find is either AI photos or the image below. Is there anything older?

https://preview.redd.it/hjttg6vck24e1.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a54e9a5863565393cb2f65a784f7d77f1b45fe4

Hello! I’m very new to paganism and decided to pursue a more Celtic approach (ancestral reasons). I decided to start working with one God first to kind of dip my toes in, and chose Cernunnos. However, I am also incredibly fascinated by the Fae/ Faerie Folk, and have always felt a natural draw towards them. I was wondering where a good place to start would be should I choose to work with them? Is it particularly dangerous/not very beginner friendly? How can I protect myself/my fiancé from causing any disrespect? Does anyone have any specific book recommendations for research? Any beginner spells/rituals you would suggest?

How can you be certain paganism isn’t false or the Celtic version or whatever version? Let me know your experiences in the comments. Thank you I’m new to this.

I’m interested in moss agate and some website which I’m not sure of the reliability of told me it was a stone used by druids. I’d like more information from a more reliable source so I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction? Also does anyone know of any stones that definitely have been associated with Celtic paganism? If any? If you couldn’t already tell I’m pretty new to this lol. Thanks in advance for any wisdom/advice you can provide.

Edit: Thank you for all the wisdom everyone! It’s very validating to know I can take my practice in any direction that feels right to me! I just really want to make sure I’m proceeding respectfully. Many thanks again!

Greetings! I'm a norse pagan heathen who's felt a pull towards one celtic God in particular. Since I mostly work with the norse I'm not as well knowledged in the celtic path and I was wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction. I've been thinking about the goddess artio a lot and I have decided I want to add her into my personal praxis, I've been trying to find trustworthy resources to research her more.

Many thanks 😊

So I've always been a fan of the occult, I've always been interested in tarot and nature. My partner's family is Irish Catholic, and he enjoys the religion but doesn't necessarily believe in it like others in his family do. He supports me in all of my odd knick knacks, my 8+ tarot decks, candles, sage, all the things. I was always told my family came from Ireland at some point, and did trace back at least one line from there so far, and I've been working on learning Gaeilge in order to teach my child about their heritage as well.

Anyway, this is going to sound silly probably, but I've always been prone to very poor mental health even since I was a toddler. I'm getting new glasses soon and I have the option to engrave 15 characters into it, and I think I want to put some form of Gaelic spell or ward for protection or good fortune or something, but I'm afraid of putting something incorrectly like you see with so many Asian font tattoos as well as I can't find anything short enough to fit. Any suggestions?? Worst case I suppose I'll just put my last name and the year for if I lose them, but as uncommon as the language is, especially in the US, I imagine it wouldn't be difficult to identify my glasses with an inscription on Irish Gaelic.

Edit: I should have mentioned that I'm new to this in a sense of wanting to finally get fully into it, rather than dabbling as more of a hobby. My ex was weird about my cards and things, and my mom's family are very Christian and very insane (ex. My grandma thinks McDonald's stopped selling biscuits and gravy because the sausage was made of people and also that the earth is flat, as well as did a 180 on supportive my brother being trans to suddenly waking up one day and shaming him, etc and they're all kinda like that) so I never felt safe to pursue Paganism before if that makes sense.

I've heard quite a few myths since I was young, of stuff from pre Christian wales and I was wondering because wales was pagan does wales and our myths and legends do they play part in Paganism as whole?

I'm not pagan myself as you may tell, just a question though

A little bit ago I started feeling very called to the Morrigan so I began doing some work to attempt to understand and connect more. I have spent a lot of time researching as well as setting up an altar for her and spending time there. But as I've been giving offerings and attempting these things I feel like they are instead getting further away? I no longer can sense any presence or see any signs and I am confused as to what this means. Any advice?

I've felt drawn to this figure lately, I love nature and have pretty animistic views, is he a deity, or more of a symbol for nature? There's something about him that feels very mysterious to me. Any information you guys have is welcome, cheers

Hey y'all, so I'm trying to do a daily devotional thing throughout the week and one of the days includes caileach. I haven't been able to find much on her and how to worship her/ offerings, unfortunately. So if any of you have any information, I would love to hear it

Hey guys! I need ideas for offerings for Olloudius. I am new to the path but I want to start giving offerings and I felt Olloudius is a good start. Thanks for any ideas!

Hi! I was if anyone in this community has worked with Rhiannon, I was wondering if you could tell me some interactions you've had with her, how it was like to work with her, and the signs you got from her? I think she might be calling out to me :)!

On one hand, according to the well accepted Kurgan Hypothesis, the precursors to the Celts (who also spread to India) were a violent warrior culture who very well may have introduced the idea of patriarchy to Eurasia and destroyed many earlier egalitarian societies by killing and subjugating them.

On the other hand, the Druids as a reflection of the Brahmin in India were the 'intellectual' class of this stratified society (or the Druids are the descendants of such a class). But in contrast to the Kurgan invaders, the Druids seem to be peacemakers and we know that Celtic culture prior to Christianization was much more egalitarian than the one that replaced it. We often held positions of high authority.

There is also the aspect of religion in that Celtic culture seems to venerate Goddesses to a higher degree than other Kurgan cultures that attempted to replace goddesses with any kind of authority with with male counterparts.

So far in my research, I haven't found a satisfactory answer to this apparent paradox.

I'm looking for good resources - transcribed and translated tablets, etc. Ideally a book or a study.

Greetings everyone. I am working on a sacred embroidery piece that is dedicated to Brigid. I have been researching symbols for her and I am a bit confused. I have seen both the Oak and the Birch associated as correspondences. I wanted to make sure that this is the case before I finalize my design. Specifically I have seen the Silver Birch as a correspondence. As far as I can tell if the aspect is St. Brigid, it’s nearly always Oak. If it’s her goddess form, both Oak and Birch have been mentioned. I look forward to what clarification you all can provide. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

god of thunder and weather

In my case the Great Song and aspects created modernly about this and more. It’s important to me but I don’t pretend to come from different origins.

I was wondering if we have any water gods or goddesses from Scotland that are prominant?

Hi! I just wanted to introduce myself and ask questions on Celtic paganism. Ever since I was little I’ve always felt a connection with nature that I cannot explain, but I’ve also always felt I was being not necessarily watched but always looked after or protected by something otherworldly. Or maybe watched, who knows in this day and age anything is possible.

I’ve grown up Southern Baptist/Methodist my entire life but I’ve always been fascinated in Celtic and Norse paganism and never really fit in at church or with my family. Maybe I can find some friends on here! I live in Eastern Tennessee so hopefully there are people who live in my area who know what they are talking about.

Anyways, my main questions include:

1.) How do I get into Celtic Paganism outside of research?

2.) What herbs, crystals, or other materials do I need in order to become a Celtic pagan?

3.) Do I need a journal, altar, certain candles?

4.) Should I choose a deity or God/Goddess to worship or do they come to me? How do I know if one is calling to look

5.) Do I need certain sigils, signs, runes?

I basically have no idea what I am doing but any advice is always helpful!

I found this book in a charity shop. And I'm wondering if it's a valid source on uk folklore? It was only £1, so l bought it. But I'm quite new to British and Celtic folklore and don't want to be consuming misinformation. What l've heard of the green man so far is quite new agey, but I might be wrong.

What is one of the best ways to connect with Fladias she has visited me tonight and I wanted to communicate with her back

Hello everyone! I am trying to think of ideas for a gift for my friend for her upcoming birthday. She practices Celtic Paganism and she worships the deity The Morrigan. I would like to give her a homemade gift because I think that that would be much more meaningful than a store-bought gift, so I was thinking of sewing an altar cloth for her altar. However, I am a Christian and my knowledge of Celtic Paganism is quite limited, but I want to be as respectful as possible so I wanted to come on here and ask some questions (I would ask my friend, but I don't want to give away the surprise!)

• First of all, is that okay to sew an altar cloth as a gift or would that go against any sort of rules or practices in the religion? For example, I've heard that some pagans who use tarot cards believe that a deck should be gifted to you instead of procured on your own (which I could be totally wrong about that, and I apologize if that is incorrect!). Are there any sort of similar guidelines when it comes to obtaining an altar cloth?
• Should the altar cloth be made of a certain type of fabric?
• Should there be any sort of design elements included in the cloth?
• Should it be in a certain shape? Like, in a circle or rectangle or square? Or does it just depend on the shape of the table on which the altar sits?
• Do I need to do anything while I'm making the cloth? Do I need to say a prayer or light a candle or anything like that?
• And probably most importantly, is it okay for me, a non-Pagan, to give a Pagan practitioner a gift such as this? Or would that be considered insensitive? The last thing I want to do is engage in any form of appropriation or disrespect toward the religion but I want to give my friend a gift that would be really meaningful to her. And if this is an insensitive thing to do, what might be some better alternative gifts to get for her?

Also, I just want to say that I apologize for my ignorance on the subject. And if I have offended anyone with any of these questions I apologize and please feel free to call me out on it so that I can do better in the future. I greatly appreciate any help or insight anyone on here is willing to offer! Thank you very much!

I have always felt a deep connection to the time of Halloween. I usually determine how the rest of my year will go on October 13th every year, if it’s a good day it will be a good year. I also have always honored Halloween as the Celtic holiday of dead. I’ve always believed the veil is thinnest between us and the other world on 10/31 and 11/1. I’ve had a lot of things I thought were superstitions, but could perhaps have just been genuine interest or a pull to this.

The reason I’m posting this is that I lost a very important human last year. I wanted to do whatever I could to maybe be near her. So, this year I laid out my first altar on Samhain. I read a lot of online articles about what is done and what isn’t. So I laid out my ritual cloth and covered it with pictures of my aunt, things I inherited from her, my crystals that are meant to care for grief and protection. However, I also knew that the veil lets through evil spirits too if you don’t protect yourself. I had no turnips or masks. So, I grabbed my gargoyle, which I always have facing my door to prevent evil spirits from crossing our door. I also left out my crystal holder, which has Medusa carved into the top. I hoped that would be ok in a pinch. Attached I’ve posted my cobbled together altar!

I also had my apple out and tons of candles lit. Two I carved my lost one’s names in. Then based on what I read about lighting your flames from the embers of the great fires for a fortunate year, I was again in a pinch. So, I used my candle I burn everyday. After sitting with it for a bit, talking to my aunt, remembering her laugh and the way she used to call my name it was beautiful. Then I tried to improvise lighting this candle from the “embers”, so I raised the tiny tea light I had carved my Aunt’s name into to my full sized candle and the flame on it jumped so tall. Taller than I’ve ever seen a tea light burn. It lit my candle I burn every day and I felt so close to her. I felt like she had been able to cross to me and make sure my improvised Celtic Pagan-esque (Baby at this) was, in my mind, successful. She had offered me her flame and maybe a fortunate year.

I think this is something that resonates with me. I am a fallen Catholic, youth Episcopalian, high school pressure to be Lutheran. I’ve been to a lot of these churches. I have tried their way and it doesn’t work. I’ve never felt connected to some man in the sky supervising me. I felt connected this way though. I felt everything you’re supposed to feel in church.

As I mentioned I am a brand new, totally newcomer, I’ve only just felt the call. Am I supposed to feel a connection to a person in the sky? Can anyone help with books I should read? People I should research? Anywhere Celtic Paganism is well documented? Anyone who has time - what was it like when you first felt this? Did you? Or have you always known?

Thank you all very much!

if Áine is a goddess of love and joy, is there an opposite deity who deals with sadness and self-hatred? i ask for healing purposes—i feel like i need to face certain things instead of running away from them.

Hi all! I was wondering if anyone has a good calendar of the major (or all major and minor) holidays/festivals and celebrations in Celtic paganism? I’m having a hard time keeping track of everything so a website or even a subscribed calendar i can add to my phone would be so helpful. Even a literal list of dates and titles would be helpful. I hope this isn’t too much of an ask. I’m new to this path and one of my points of anxiety is missing a holiday I’m supposed to know about.

I did my first samhain ritual this year with some family and friends. It was amazing, i got to speak with my grandpa and see my childhood cats :)