Celtic Traditions

In this episode of Moonbeam Musings, we dive into the world of Celtic Ireland with special guest Mish Vizard, a hedge witch and spiritual practitioner deeply connected to her Irish Celtic heritage. Together, we explore the rich tapestry of Celtic traditions, from ancient rituals and the symbolism of trees like oak and yew, to the stories of goddesses such as Anya, who embodies sovereignty and love.

Mish shares her personal journey as a Celtic woman, offering insights into the Celtic woman’s connection to the land, community, and the divine. We uncover the values of interconnectedness, balance, and reciprocity that underpin Celtic beliefs, and how these themes resonate in modern celebrations like Samhain and Beltane.

Listeners will also hear about the significance of wells, springs, and storytelling in Irish Celtic customs, as well as the enduring impact of Celtic symbols, myths, and festivals in today’s world. Whether you’re drawn to the mystical side of Celtic Ireland or curious about its influence on community and spirituality, this episode offers a fascinating glimpse into a culture rooted in nature and harmony.

Discover how ancient practices still thrive in modern events like wassailing, and learn how connecting to the rhythms of the land can inspire deeper reflection in our everyday lives. Don’t miss this enriching conversation with Mish Vizard!

Moonbeam Musings is a podcast that weaves together the magic of myths, traditions, and cultures from around the world. Hosted by Filzie, the show explores topics like folklore, spirituality, and the intersections of history and modern-day practice. Each episode invites listeners on a journey into the unknown, featuring thought-provoking conversations with experts, practitioners, and storytellers who share their unique perspectives and experiences. Whether it's Celtic traditions, Filipino folklore, or the mystical connections between nature and humanity, Moonbeam Musings uncovers the threads that bind us to our roots and to each other.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to the Celts and Mish Vizard
• 1:32 Mish Vizard's Connection to Celtic Traditions
• 3:50 Celtic Belief System and Connection to Nature
• 5:40 Values Underpinning Celtic Rituals
• 7:40 Rituals to Foster Community
• 9:46 Symbolism and Myths in Celtic Traditions
• 14:38 Revival of Celtic Traditions
• 18:56 Key Lessons from Celtic Traditions

Transcript

0:00

Music. Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of moonbeam musings. So today we're talking to mish wizard about the Celts. So the Celts. I'm going to give you a brief introduction before we start. So the Celts were a network of tribal societies that emerged during the Iron Age around 1200 BCE in Central Europe, with origins linked to the hulsack culture, which was around 800 BCE in what's now called Austria, expanding west into France, Spain and into the British Isles and East as far as Turkey the Celts became known for their intricate better work, spiritual practices and warrior culture. The LA tene period 450 BC marked the height of their artistic and cultural expression, although Roman conquest led to the decline of the Celtic influence in much of mainline Europe, their traditions endured in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, festivals like the main Beltane and embolic have survived, evolving into modern celebrations such as Halloween and st bridges day today, Celtic culture lives on throughout language, Music and rituals, reflecting the enduring legacy of these ancient peoples. So thank you. Meesh Miz for joining us today. Would you like to introduce yourself before we move on to talk about the Celts? Yeah. Hi, Phillipa, thanks for having me. Um, so kind of I guess my, my relation to the Celtics and Celtic traditions is my heritage. So I've got Irish background through my grandma, she's from Mayo, and I hold your nationality, Irish and British. So I guess the thing that connects me is my spiritual practice. I'm a witch. I'm a hedge witch, which means I'm a kind of solo practitioner, and I've been interested in all things witches since I was a teenager. Really probably started with the kind of the esthetic of it, and being a bit of a glass and all that kind of thing, that then evolved into really learning more and more about it over the years. And I'm professionally, I've been a clinician as a clinical background, which links in with, if you think the history of witches and that healer and wise woman and herbalist and that kind of thing, and, yeah, everything to do with kind of the Celtic I guess culture, specifically around paganism and the pagan wheel, really appeals to me. One myth about witches that I want to bust this, or witches are pagan or Wiccan, and we're not. You can have witches from any background or no religion at all. I'm actually crystal pagan, which is for me, I guess it's about honoring the divine, female, feminine, the female, and understanding those cycles and the balance of male and female energies in how we worship and how we can with the language kind of thing. My favorite Celtic goddess is Anya, and who I would say homage to offer, if I'm, you know, if I'm doing a little wish or something, I'm like, you know, Goddess Anya, Anisha right now, and he just put and she embodies sovereignty and love and summer, I guess if you was going to marry her up with the Roman and Greek gods to be like the idea or Venus and that kind of thing, and she's into the rhythms of the land. So I guess through through that lens, I explore Celtic traditions, and I guess the sense of identity and spirituality around that hope. I've not gone on too long, but that's kind of my connection to it all. No thank you. That's that gives us a really thorough introduction, really, because I think there is a lot of misconceptions about, you know, witches and pagans. So to start with, maybe, do you know an overview of what shaped the Celtic belief system and their connection to maybe nature and the land? Well, it's very rooted in the environment. So it's all it's all about the land. I mean, if you think about, in your introduction, you talked about the Celtic, I guess, nations, if you like, from Austria and Scandinavia and the Vikings and in Scotland, Wales Isle of Man, Ireland, all these kind of Celtic places. There's, it was a world of rivers, forests, mountains, and the kind of case, changing seasons and these natural elements were viewed very much as sacred. So they didn't see themselves as separate from nature. They were everything was one, and they're very much, you know, part of it, and living and breathing. They believe trees were living things and and so, I guess, in terms of, you. The Celtic blue systems and their connection to land. It's just they were part of it, I guess is the easiest way to kind of summarize that. And also, if you think about that reverence and how it shaped their deities, so many of them were associated with specific national elements, like the rivers you had bawan, or the sun, you had Lu and there's that spiritual framework was kind of influenced by practical needs. So farming and aligning with the lands rhythms were vital, really, for survival, and kind of those farming practices, what do you what do you think the values are that underpin most Celtic rituals and practices? I guess there's three, three key principles that would come to mind for me. One is interconnectedness. The other one is balance, which I already talked about. It's like that whole Yin and Yang and reciprocal. Reciprocity, I can't say it reciprocity. I can't reciprocation, yeah, that kind of thing. So it's all about that giving and taking, and you give back and you take from the land. So everything they saw it as a cycle. The Celts would very much see life as a cycle, I guess. And and emphasizing that harmony between opposing forces, like light and dark, good and bad, life and death, or the and you see that in the in the wheel, for example, two key opposites. There you've got saw Wayne saw about life, about death and the, you know, the marking of the end of the harvest as we go into winter. And then you've got, like, belting, which is life and rebirth and renewal. So everything's kind of got these harmonies. So I think, I think they're the three principles, really, and that reciprocation was essential because, for like, offerings were given to land or gods as a way to kind of maintain balance and show gratitude. And also, there's a little dose of superstition in there as well, if you didn't say, do a offering to the gods, and something bad might happen, or your craps might fail, or that kind of thing. So that's very much part of it. And also community and kinship were vital. So ritual strength and bonds within a tribe and these kind of comings together would very much be part of their life, really, and living and breathing. And thank you that. How do you think they use those rituals to foster a sense of community in a in a collective way, I guess, because it's the ritualistic fact. So humans, we like, we like ritual. Don't we like we like things. So if it's like, you know, we think about we've just had Christmas, for example, and we like to know what's coming each year. And I think as part of that, you would have these communal events, which often involved feasting, storytelling, shared offerings, music, dancing, that kind of thing, which we still see today, actually, but that they reinforced kind of like a shared identity, I guess, not just to the tribe and the community, but also to their ancestors. So they were always about the past, the present and the future. So the past would be looking back and reflecting on the year that's gone, or their ancestors the present, like what's happening right now we're celebrating, or we're giving thanks, or we're doing an offering, and then looking forward what's coming down the line. What can we expect? What can we celebrate that we're going to look forward to, whether it be summer or, you know, good harvest, or whatever that might be. So, yeah, I think it's all about really using rituals to foster that community and passing on their identity, so that, you know, talks about this, the storytelling and the oral traditions, a lot of that is how the culture was passed on, because, you know, they weren't writing things down at this stage, and you know, historically, they might not have had that ability, although you see things passed on through symbolism. So there'll be a lot of Celtic images and symbols that you would see. But really, it's, it's, it's creating that collective narrative. To kind of strengthen bonds and preserve the tradition, really, I would say, Hmm, do I think we've touched on this in another aspect. But do you think that act of honoring ancestors and the dead was more about respect fear or maintaining a sense of continuity? Yeah? I think it's a bit, a bit of all of those. I think it was important to show respect for the ancestors. Is, I mean, Sal Wayne is just really like one great big wake, you know, it's, it's the veil fins, and it's a chance to kind of pay respects. You might think about people you've lost that year. It might be, you might go back further and just kind of pay reverence to your ancestors and how your tribe or your community evolved. So that's very much about that respect and gratitude. But then there was also a dose of fear, I guess, around the superstitions so things like, you know, leaving out a carved, well, actually, carved tonic or Swede, to ward away the evil spirits. Because if the veils thin, then you know you're going to get spirits, and not all of them are friendly. So you want to be able to connect with your ancestors, but also keep away anything, any nasty, I guess, unfriendly spirits and that kind of thing. So that's where the kind of the fear, I would say, comes into it. And then I guess, is that again, coming back to that cultural identity and the wisdom they're passing on through these traditions. And it's guess that connection to, I guess, the bridge between the living elements of of the Celtic traditions, like the farming and the practical stuff, and then the spiritual side of things, which we very much see with birth, life, death, marriage, hand fasting, all those kinds of things. I mean, it's, it's really hard, because to talk about helps in a podcast like this. It's fantastic. But really, I guess you either go mile wide, inch deep, or you could pick one topic, and we could go a mile deep on, you know, something niche, like just talking about Saint Patrick's Day, or just talking about the tradition of marriage, or those kinds of things. So there's a lot to cover. Yeah, I understand, I understand we're touching the topic today, maybe you can come back and and what we get demands for we can talk about in further in depth. So, okay, so how about storytelling and myth? Because that that plays a part in the cultic traditions, doesn't it? Is there a What's the reason behind that? Do you mean a lot, a lot of the kind of storytelling and the myths would revolve around, I guess, some of the the Celtic deities as well. So, you know, I've talked about Anya, which is my favorite goddess. You've got, you know, Bridget, and you've got, oh, I mean, there's loads and loads of Celtic gods. So there'd be stories told about them. And like, in the same way, you'd hear about Romans talking about their gods, or Greeks talking about their gods, Vikings, again, you know, Odin and all these kinds of things. They're all kind of branches of the same kind of belief system where you've got these pagan deities that tend to connect with the land, like I said before, whether it be the trees or the rivers or the sun or the moon and so all this because was kind of, we weaved into the the stories that they would tell, as well as their own personal stories. Of you know how their landscape was shaped. And so, for example, in Scotland, you would hear the stories of the calyac and how the mountains and the and the veils of the highlands and were kind of carved by her well, her wooden staff. And when she would shape nature with the with the snow and those kinds of things. So all these kind of stories would be told around the fire, and, and, and, I guess this, I mean, there's so many facets to it. Even within the Celtic traditions of just the British Isles and Ireland and Scotland and Wales, you've got so many different words for all these things. Actually, one of the most fascinating places I've been to around relating to all of this is the Isle of Man. There's so much to go and see there that that's still intact. So if you're a big fan of druid sites and kind of investigating some of this and symbolism, definitely go to the Isle of Man, because it's there's some really cool kind of, I guess, landmarks and heritage sites that that picks up on all of this. But, yeah, I feel like I'm maybe repeating some stuff, but it's, yeah, it's all about, really, that connection to the land. I'd say, Phillipa, yeah. Oh, absolutely. It's fine. I think it's good to reinforce it and link everything back together again, especially for those of us that don't have as much knowledge. I mean, my ancestry is Welsh, but I only have a small amount of knowledge on this, which is why I'm so interested. And I appreciate you coming to talk to us. I apologize for marmalade trying to get. On the podcast. Why do you think so, if we move on to you're talking about symbols. Why do you think trees, especially oak and you held such powerful symbolism in the Celtic tradition? Was it a practical reason or a deeper connection? Um, I guess it is. Is it there's a spiritual connection there, so that they very much kind of saw trees as living entities, which is what was kind of talking about before. And you've probably seen the images of the tree with the roots going into the ground and that kind of thing, like the tree of life. And it was seen as connecting the heavens to the earth and the underworld as well. And then you've got symbolism for specific types of trees. So the oak is very much about strength and wisdom. The yew tree is associated with death and rebirth, if you and the yew tree was actually used a lot sacred druid sites. So the monks, for example, and and druids would would lie under you trees. And so when you've got the sun hitting the branches and the the berries, you would almost get like they could get high off it, and they would have visions, and they would have spiritual journeys from, from kind of the essence of of of the yew tree. Um, it's interesting one. You should have a look at it. And what you'll find is because they were sacred trees on sacred sites. A lot of tree a lot of churches were built on these druid sites. So almost always, if you go to a graveyard, you'll see you trees, and that's because on our church yards, you'll see you trees, and that's because they've invariably predate the church, and churches were built on those sacred sites because and that connection to death as well. You'll see them in in churchyards. Oh, wow, that's really interesting. And what about the wells and springs in Celtic customs as well. Yeah. So again, that they these were often not just sources of, you know, essential life force that is water. They were seen as a sacred spaces. They would sometimes have rituals at the site of the water or the spring. If a new spring was found, it would have to be celebrated with, you know, some kind of blessing or ritual. Is it, you know, very much, very much connected to the source, really, I think we've, we've, we've almost lost some of this, haven't we? And I think it's, I almost think recently, I've seen a real revival in people becoming interested in again, and we're seeing a massive increase in people, some you know, people joining things like religions like paganism and Wiccan, but also people not really attaching themselves to a specific religion as such, but just celebrating the wheel More. So I'm connected to a community organization and who are putting on events around the wheel, and we're seeing a lot of people coming to these celebrations with their families, with their children, to join in and celebrate like Beltane or sor Wayne in the traditional ways, but not necessarily with any kind of previous connection to any kind of pagan type religion, they're just interested in it. Again, I think people are looking for that connection and and community, and that's lovely, really. Mm, yeah, must say, I've been to one of those events, which is where I've I've met you, and it was very lovely. Yeah, very nice. So, I guess something that I have a question as well is the sacrifices. You spoke about giving to the land, the giving and taking, but there were sacrifices, and what? What was the symbolism behind them? Really well, you often see, so if you're looking media and TV, you'll see these sacrifices are always kind of, I guess they're sensationalized. You'll see that like if you watch Vikings, for example, which is, you know, shows a lot of elements of of pagan belief systems. It shows quite goy detail and that kind of thing. And I think one, that's sensationalized, and two, looking more towards the cult side of things. While some of those practices did happen, they were done in a very respectful way, and it was very much about, again, this whole balance of giving back to the land, for example, in Sao a when, you know, they'd bring the sheep down from the pastures and they'd light fires, they'd invariably sacrifice, say, a ram or a goat or something like that. Want to give thanks for the harvest, and also for superstitious elements to make sure that they had a good winter. You. And that the winter wasn't too unkind to them, and and then that that RAM, or that that goat would would be, would invariably be consumed by the community as part of the feasting, as part of the celebrations, and that kind of thing. So it wasn't just kind of like this wasted, spilt blood type thing. And sometimes the sacrifices were not, you know, the death of an animal at all. They would sometimes be, you know, you'd leave out some bread, or, you know, for the gods, or you'd leave so many pieces of fruit on the tree for the gods, or, you know, or for the animals and that kind of thing. So you would never take everything. And I think that's one of the running themes as well. When it comes to the Celts, when harvesting, they wouldn't say apples, they wouldn't strip the entire tree. They'd always leave one or two for for nature or for the gods. Thank you. In terms of, say, I don't know if you know anything about how they all organized. I mean, now it's slightly different, but how it was organized in terms of when running celebrations, or generally, for example, were there people that tended to lead groups? Yeah, you'd have your community leaders. You'd have your spiritual leaders. Druids and Sears were were seen as kind of like intellectual spiritual leaders in Celtic society. They would be knowledgeable, and I guess, was seen as mediators between the mortal and the divine. They'd often be seen as having a gift. They would often guide people with decisions and that kind of thing, and be very much at the heart of these big community celebrations. I'm quite sure. You know, it was very much like it today, you know, with with women, invariably doing lots of cooking and preparing foods and and men, you know, maybe putting up makeshift gazebos, type tents, you know, how to explain it, but they would do. Everybody would be involved, and everyone would have their role to play. And there would be leaders and elders of the community that would be very much at the heart of the organizing, which is kind of what you see today, even like when I was talking about the events at the borough, you know, we, we very much come together as a team, and everyone's kind of got the strengths and weaknesses, and it just fits like a jigsaw. And and then we all bring different aspects of knowledge or the spiritual to some celebrations and, and I guess it wasn't that much different to that, to be fair, Phillipa and, and I think that wisdom and that sense of reverence and respecting your elders was so crucial. And I think that's another thing we've sadly lost. And I think part of that's down to displaced ways that we live now as the family units. You know, you'd very much all stay together as a family in the same village, in the same community, whereas now we're all over the place. You know, I'm from Manchester originally, and live down here in Surrey, and my daughter's in Newcastle, and my family's up in Huddersfield and Manchester, and I think we've kind of lost that. So I think, I think there's definitely a need for more of that community again, where we have elders held aloft and respected and and that kind of thing. But yeah, probably go off at tangent again. No, no, that's brilliant. I mean, I think that's what's sort of coming round. I mean, in the previous podcast, we've spoken about animism and Aline from we went very much into the scientific world, and we're moving a little bit more back into communities and into this world, as you spoke about earlier, and so more people showing up at your events makes perfect sense of where we are, and that's why I think it's very important that we talk more about and talk about these things so people can understand them more. Because there may be people out there that are more interested now in this topic and want to look into it further, because they, too, are looking for a sense of community. I guess. You know, we're pretty much there, and I really appreciate the time. So just to finish off, I wonder if there's one key lesson you think we could take from the Celts, what would it be? If there was one, I would say it's, it's the importance of kind of living in in that harmony, and not seeing ourselves as separate to the that, you know, everything else there's like, quite often we're as humans, and we consume, and then there's everything else and how it meets our needs. And actually we should. We shouldn't be in the center with all this revolve around us. We should all be part of that as a whole. And so just just taking some more time to think about how we give back to the land, to our community, to each other, I think. That's really important, and try and have a look for local events in your area. I mean, today, for example, I mean we talked about Celtic celebrations, but today, I'm trying to remember the name of Oh. It says today is no lagma Bam, which is women's Christmas in the Celtic tradition. So it's not actually a pagan festival. It's just a Celtic celebration, specifically to Ireland and related to epiphany, which is today, and it was women's Christmas, and it was all about women having a day of rest after all the efforts of Christmas time and Yul time, and connecting with the friends, the girly friends and all the women that they love, and just having a day off and and chilling out. And I think so there's so many different lovely festivals. I think it would be good for us to kind of look at, look around us, and see what, see what's on in your local area. Connect to organizations that are kind of putting on events. If you look, I will give you the link. You can share it, but there's a directory, for example, of wasserling events coming up. So the next week or so, you'll see lots of wasserling events, where people are dancing, running around orchards and and wishing for good things for the year. So yeah, look, look out for events in your area, and really try and connect and to the land and the community and nature. Really, I think that would be it in a nutshell. Oh, that's wonderful. Well, thank you so much, meesh. We're going to add all the notes below in the description your Instagram and some of the things that you've mentioned today in the events link that you just mentioned there we can add as well. So I really appreciate you coming in, informing all the listeners about the Celtic traditions, and hopefully we'll have you back on in the future as well, so we'll see what, what everyone resonates with in in the topic, and we can dive deeper next time it says, it's so broad, isn't it? But um, thank you for having me. It's been nice to have a letter. Hope I didn't go off on too many sentences. No, definitely not. Thank you. Applause.