When the Student is Ready....
The Teacher(s) Will Appear!

 

Mary Lou and Kimberly will be facilitating a Spiritual Mentorship Program beginning April 1, 2007.  This program is ideal for busy women on a spiritual journey.  Find out how you can take advantage of our offers for free CDs and consultations for the first few people to register and also learn more about our no-risk, money-back guarantee. 

 

 

 

 Do You Have a Celtic Soul?

 ©2005, Kimberly V. Schneider, LPC

People often ask me what I mean by Celtic Spirituality. There are many answers to this question. For some, it is a longing for home, a yearning to interact with our surroundings in a way that our ancestors would have, to ground ourselves in ancient ways of being that have meaning for us. Many people love Celtic music and culture, and the wild beauty of Ireland and Scotland awakens something that inside of a person that had been paved over from living too long in an overdeveloped world.

 

The ancient Celts themselves were not one united group, but many different tribes loosely related by their common Indo-Aryan origins. What the tribes did have in common were some similarities in dress, customs and perceptions of the Universe. Like most of Europe, the Celtic countries eventually converted to Christianity. The centers of early Celtic Christianity were monastic communities in rural Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man. Because the British Isles were largely independent of Rome between the fifth and twelfth centuries, much of the pre-Christian Celtic viewpoint was preserved in the Celtic Christian religion of that period. Celtic Christian theologian Edward Sellner identifies several elements common to Christian and pre-Christian Celts that he believes offer hope for healing in the modern Christian church:

 

Mystical Connection with Nature. Rather than viewing God as a remote being in a faraway place, the Celtic soul experienced the Divine everywhere in nature. A well or a stream carried the spirit of a local goddess; a god lived in an old oak. Even in modern Ireland, workers will refuse to participate in the construction of a building that interferes with a sacred spring or fairy mound.

 

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 Many Americans have Celtic blood of some sort running through their veins, but like countless immigrants who lost their cultural identity over time, most weren't deeply connected to those roots.  We didn't know much at all about our own heritage either until the early 1990s when we started exploring Celtic Spirituality.  Turns out, there's a lot more to being Irish than leprechauns and green beer.  In fact, the traditions associated with St. Patrick's Day are a pale reflection of a deep, vibrant heritage that is both mystical and rooted in the earth and in daily life.  If your ancestors hail from Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, Wales, Brittany, northern Spain or even western Germany, you may have some Celtic roots.  Whether or not you are Celtic by blood, if you're interested in Celtic Spirituality, here are a few resources to get you started

*Note-the books in this section pertain mostly to the pre-Christian Celtic traditions; for Celtic Christianity resources, see below.

 

Celtic Shamanism

 Shamanism is less a religion than a way of relating to the world--probably the most ancient way on the planet.  Shamans move between the manifested reality and the unseen world in order to obtain information that benefits an individual or a community.  Shamans also work in the Otherworld in ways that have an impact on ordinary reality.  (Sounds like prayer, doesn't it?) The difference between prayer as most of us think of it and what a Shaman does is that a Shaman takes a more active and conscious role in the process of interacting with the Divine to bring about constructive change.  If you've heard of Shamanism you might think of tribes in ancient Siberia or Africa, but the Celtic view of reality is certainly Shamanic as well.  Tom Cowan and Frank MacEowan  have published some fantastic books on this subject, which we've listed here for you.  And if you are in the St. Louis, Missouri area, we just happen to have a wonderful Celtic Shaman right here, Pat Tuholske.  We have learned a lot about Celtic Spirituality from Pat and Kim has had the amazing experience of spending the weekend on Pat's land during one of her Elemental Earthways retreats.  To find out more about Pat Tuholske and see her calendar of upcoming events, go to www.elementalearthcamp.com.

 

 

We wear Celtic jewelry year round but when St. Patrick's Day comes we find ourselves wanting to add to our collection.  Here are a few pieces to bring out the Irish in you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For St. Patrick's Day or anytime, here are some lovely Celtic items for yourself and your loved ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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