This is primarily a book about sacred relationships—of connecting and aligning oneself to the archetypes, trees, plants, and animals of the Celtic traditions. Celtic magic may be intimately linked with your own sense of ancestry as an ethereal web connecting you to a culture that continues to thrive to this day. Your reasons for choosing to purchase this book may well mirror my reasons for wanting to write it: to connect to the powerful undercurrent of the Celtic spirit.
Celtic magic transforms the magician; I was transformed by the process of aligning myself with this magical current—a current that spans 3,000 years, from the dawning of the Iron Age through the coming of the Romans and to the height of the Medieval renaissance. It is this current of magic that I present to you in the pages that follow—true magic experienced by a magician of the Celtic tradition. The magic is tried and tested. I do not offer a random series of magical practices but true practical magic born from the cauldron of the Celts. It has worked for me and for a number of others over the years, and it will work for you.
The magical discourse presented in this book has not arisen from the need to “pad out” a book, and I hope that you will sense that as you read. In a manner, this is my own Book of Shadows or grimoire; a collection of magic that I have used over the years, it is a reflection of my understanding of what magic is and how and why we use it. But there is more to this book than a presentation of magical actions. My hope is that this book and the magic it contains will transform you—will move you closer to the continuum of the Celts and cause you to become a practical Celtic magician. My hope is to offer you insights into my practice so that you may glean the importance of being in close relationship with the powerful forces of Celtica.
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Vocationally my path is that of Druidry, but contrary to popular belief, Druids also practice magic. My training is steeped in both Druidry and what the English-speaking world would classify as Witchcraft; my spirituality combines the cultural philosophy and worldview of Druidry with the practical aspects of folk magic and Witchcraft. With that in mind, this book is suitable for witches, Wiccans, Druids, and Pagans alike. While the rituals presented here are different from common Pagan practice, they are not included just to appear different or quirky; they are actual rituals utilized by several groups of people and have been formulated to evoke the Celtic worldview.
Celtic Defined
The term Celtic refers to a cultural tribal group defined by their use of language who spanned parts of Northern Europe and in particular the regions of Gaul (modern-day France and Belgium), the British Isles, and Ireland—where they continue to exist to this day. Identified by their use of art, social organization, and mythology, their influence has been long lasting and a subject of study for centuries. There are two primary streams of Celtic culture, each defined by its use of language. The first is designated the term Q Celtic and refers to the Goidelic or Gaelic languages—Scots Gaelic, Irish Gaelic, and Manx. The second stream is designated the term P Celtic and refers to the Brythonic or Brittonic languages, which survive in the form of Breton, Cornish, and Welsh.
It is important to note that the term Celtic does not refer to a bloodline but rather to a cultural line; it is this freedom of movement that enables the Celtic spirit to migrate and settle in other lands. The Celtic culture seems to have condensed in the island regions of northwest Europe, which are also the regions most replete with Celtic myth and lore. This may well indicate that the Celtic culture imprinted itself on earlier traditions, where the designers of the stone monuments and their priests evolved to become the Druids of the Celtic era.
To many the Celts are a people of long ago, lost to us by the chasm of time. But the Celts are still here: they exist as the people and descendants of the six primary Celtic nations of Brittany, Cornwall, Wales, the Isle of Man, Scotland, and Ireland. Celtic identity, however, is a fluid affair whereby millions of individuals worldwide identify themselves or aspects of their ancestry, whether genetically or spiritually, as being inherently Celtic.
I use the term Celtica throughout this book to refer to the connective spirit and the commonality of mythology and traditions that glue the current six Celtic nations to each other and to the people who align themselves with it. I suggest that Celtic magic is mythocentric, which is the defining factor that sets it apart from other magical systems. This mythocentric quality brings to Celtic magic a pantheon of gods and goddesses, demigods and demigoddesses, and their mysteries.
The pantheon, myths, and magic that I present in this book are rooted in the British Celtic tradition as preserved in the Welsh. This may be new to you, for the majority of books that focus on Celtic magic and spirituality tend to concentrate on the Irish material. While that tradition bears a striking semblance to the British mythological sagas, and many of its deities share similar names and legends, it is outside my area of expertise. It is for this reason that this book will not feature or discuss Irish Celtic, with the exception of the discourse on the ogam divination system.
Myth and legend speak of deep mystery and the secret teachings of an ancient priesthood. Celtic magic gives us the privilege of skimming its surface of mythology if we so wish, touching the fronds of its power and swimming with it for a while, or we may choose to dive into the depths of its cauldron of wisdom and become fully immersed in a magical tradition that spans thousands of years, where we may become priests in service to Celtica. The beauty of Celtic magic lies in its flexibility and its vibrant river of continuation that streams from the past, carving a channel into the future.
The Tree of Tradition:
Branches of the Mabinogi
Magic was commonplace in the mythologies of the Celts; the majority of deities and other characters we meet in the chronicles either possessed magical abilities and attributions or frequently used magic for a specific purpose. Spellcasting, conjuration, invocation, and the use of magical tools and paraphernalia are common themes within Celtic mythology and lore.
These traits can be seen demonstrated in the Celtic legendary collection known commonly as the Mabinogi or the Mabinogion. These tales will feature heavily throughout this work, for in it we find references to the pantheon of Celtic deities. We are introduced to the semi-divine children of the gods and goddesses, and we capture a glimpse of pre-Christian belief structures within them. The Mabinogi collection is presented as complete tales in the White Book of Rhydderch (1325) and the Red Book of Hergest (1375); fragments of the tales occur in earlier manuscripts, and it is generally accepted that they contain themes that are significantly older. 1 Aspects of the Mabinogi saga are mentioned in the works of Taliesin, which are set in the time of King Maelgwn of Gwynedd in the sixth century and recorded by Gildas in his De Excidio Britanniae.
While the latest manuscripts are medieval, academic studies suggest that the tales existed in the vernacular for centuries prior to their being penned by the medieval scribes. 2 To paraphrase the medievalist Will Parker, it is a truism that more or less every single aspect and theme within the Mabinogi has its roots in the pre-Christian past. 3 The Mabinogi collection contains eleven native tales that have been recorded by the Welsh; however, only four are identified as containing the term Mabinogi. These are called the four branches of the Mabinogi. These important, multilayered tales can be used as keys to access the profound mysteries of the Celts.
This book will serve to guide you into the tumultuous currents of the Mabinogi and offer you a clarity of practice that can accentuate and color your own traditions. I will examine many of the archetypes that I have met along my own journey into the heart of Celtica and on sojourns to the Celtic otherworld. I do this by means of introduction to enable you to sense the magic that hides beneath the words of the Mabinogi, which the Celtic scholar Dr. Brynley Roberts describes as
remnants of the Brythonic mythology and the beliefs of the Britons in the otherworld—Annwn—and they are concerned with gods and men; they consist of characters from the pantheon of Celtic Britain who form the heroes of the four branches. 4
In order for much that follows to be of benefit to you, the Mabinogi should be essential reading. Online versions are plentiful, and there are dozens of printed editions available at most booksellers. My hope is that this book will provide you with a launch pad to facilitate your own dive into the depths of the Celtic mysteries. While some of these tales may seem overly complicated or nonsensical, do not lose heart; this book will serve to guide you in seeing the clues to mystery that swim between the lines.
A Challenge
In the late nineties I happened across a book by the late Celticist Alexei Kondratiev, and within its pages I found myself faced with a challenge:
The six Celtic languages are still alive, if not well. In them are stored, as on a disk, several millennia of a people’s unique experience, waiting to be given a new dynamic expression by that generation who will dare to break the colonial shackles of fear and self-doubt….We must, as they did, have the imagination to give flesh to life-giving myth, and the will to work its pattern into our existence. Every one of us who has felt the beauty of the Celtic world vision must act, each in our individual ways, now before it is too late. Do something! 5
What you hold in your hands is my attempt to do as Kondratiev asked—to ride the waves of his challenge and express my connection to the power of Celtic magic. By doing this, I hope you also will take the challenge to step into the crystal-clear waters of the Celtic cultural continuum and emerge, radiant with Awen, to inspire the world.
How to Use This Book
This book represents a personal journey, a magical memoir of exploration, practice, and ritual. Central to the tenet of Celtic magical belief is the importance of Awen, the divine spirit of inspiration, and one of the functions of the magician is to inspire. My hope is that these thoughts and explorations of the archetypes, deities, and magic of the Celts will inspire your own practice. Scattered throughout the book you will find numerous contemplative exercises; these are essential for the digestion and assimilation of the information presented to you. I suggest that you find yourself a little notebook or journal to be used exclusively in conjunction with this book. Periodically I will ask you to jot or note some of your thoughts and visions from the contemplation exercises and, of course, to record your magic when you perform it. It is important for you to do these exercises, for they assimilate the words into meaningful patterns in your mind. Essentially they will help you make sense of the information I offer you.
While this is my journey, many others have walked this path with me. My mentors and teachers guided me to the cauldron’s edge and encouraged me to peer through the steam. I offer you a similar guiding hand through the forest of Celtic magic and into relationship with Celtica.
Kristoffer Hughes
Isle of Anglesey, Wales
winter 2013