Celtic

Hello!  This is the Celtic creation myth page. The Celtics originated from Northern Europe, however, there is little record of their daily life as information was passed down orally through generations. Since there was little record, there is still debate about the Celtic life. For this project, we were to choose a creation myth and a research question. For my region, there were actually two creation myths, however, one of them were extremely similar to the Vikings creation myth, so I chose the latter.

 []  This is a map of the Celtic land, which originated from Ireland, Northern Europe

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  Left: Susan. []  Right: Yelena Jenkins. []
 *  Five Fold Symbol **

 The 4 surrounding circles represent the 4 elements--fire, earth, water, air, the four directions--north, south, east, west, and the four season--summer, winter, spring, fall. The center circle joins the four circles. Together, it creates balance and unity.

 Colavito, Robert. Celtic Creation Digital Painting. []  This artwork is a representation of the Celtic creation myth. Through my interpretation, the top land was where the gods and goddess were created and where they lived, and below that would be where the giants were living at. This image is unique since the land appears to be floating, which conveys a deeper sense that land and sea formed together.

**How do creation myths affect morals and principles? **
Although creation myths cannot be proven, they give people a perspective of how Earth and life was created from a certain culture. The creation myth of Celtic, originated from Northern Europe, the creation of life was formed where a mare was produced by sea-foam. The mare gave birth to Cernunnos, a god, after eating a berry from a tree, and later gave birth to other gods and goddess—Epona, Tauranis, Teutates, and Moponos. Giants were transformed and created from the bark of the tree when it was flung into the sea (OBOD, The Order of Bards. Ovayes and Druids,,[|http://www.druidry.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=PagEd&file=index&page_id=147#]. The story influenced the Celtic peoples’ morals and principle through the philosophy of collaboration and integrity.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">From the Celtic creation myth, it is evident that collaboration plays an extraordinary role. The gods and goddess encompass different powers and rules. For instance, Cernunnos was the god of animals, Teutates created weaponry, Tauranis fashioned thunderbolts made of fire and noise, and Maponos took limbs from a tree and fashioned a harp The gods and goddess were living merrily, but the giants from another land were jealous as they did not share the same lifestyle and plotted to destroy the gods and goddess. However, the gods and goddess were prepared for the day war came, and put together their powers to surpass the giants. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(Celtic Creation, [])..In Ancient Celts time and in modern day society, people come together and protect one another, and through collaboration, the gods/goddess were able to survive.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Continuing on with the story brings in integrity; knowing and doing the right thing to maintain the principles in life. Even though the giants were defeated, the gods and goddess did not kill the giants, but drove them back into the sea where they were bound within. By not destroying the giants, the gods and goddess did not break their principles and were able to resolve the matter in a more peaceful solution. Now in a more religious society, it is a sin to commit such a crime. The gods and goddess were able to have the power to do the right thing and keep their integrity.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Although creation myths are not practical to some people, they still impact our lives. As seen from this creation myth, it can be interpreted that our morals and principles come from creation myths as well.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> A motif is a recurring theme that applies to creation myths. Depending on the region and creation myth, one of the following motifs will extracted. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 1.Land emerging from the water <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 2. Separation or division <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 3. Fractionation of things from primordial chaos <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 4. Creation ex nihilo- creation out of nothing <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Celtic creation myth fits in best with the idea of land emerging from the water. In the story, there was no time, no gods, and no man, but there was sea. Land emerged, and where the sea met the land, a mare was born and a tree grew. When the mare ate the plant from the tree, she impregnated, but her childbirth was so painful what she ripped bark from the tree and threw it into the sea. This bark was transformed by the sea and became land where the giants when then created at. This story corresponds to this specific motif since it portrays the idea that land was created after and by sea.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Motif **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Calvert, Patricia. The Ancient Celts. New York: Franklin Watts 2005. Print. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> A. The origination of Celts is introduced, stories were not recorded however, but past down through generations orally. The Celts were divided into many tribes linked by similar lifestyles, traditions, and languages. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> B. This source was helpful when I was was researching the cultural beliefs. The information was trustworthy compared to other sources as the author is a well-known author in the area of ancient creation myth/mythology. Similar information could be found on other websites, so this shows that it is more reliable. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> C. My essay focuses primarily on morals and principles, and I found this book handy as it explains the different cultures of Celts and what they had to do in order to survive. This source explained how the Celts affected other people and gave me a broader view on how people can receive a large influence from other people. Through this, I was able to interpret the lifestyle of Celts and their influence on other people into basic morals/principles.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Annotation **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Celtic Creation." Celtic Library. 09 Mar. 2010. Web. <http://www.druidcircle.org/library/index.php?title=Celtic_Creation>. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> A. This source told the story of the Celtic creation myth and the holy song of Celts. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> B. This source was especially helpful in the areas of how the Celts acted. The information was separated into two parts, the people and the creation myths. The first section was helpful in how the people were extremely respectful to their tribes and would sacrifice themselves in order to protect others. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> C. My essay included integrity, which was discussed in this source. In my essay, I talked about collaboration and protecting one another, which was something highly tolerated among the Celts.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Bibliography **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Celtic Creation." Celtic Library. 09 Mar. 2010. Web. <http://www.druidcircle.org/library/index.php?title=Celtic_Creation>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Calvert, Patricia. The Ancient Celts. New York: Franklin Watts 2005. Print.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Merri. "Creations." Courses in Druidry, Druids, Druidism - OBOD :: The Order of Bards Ovates & Druids - Druidry.org. Web. <http://www.druidry.org/>.Venefica, Avia. "Celtic Symbols and Celtic Signs." What's Your Sign? Discover the World of Signs and Symbolic Meanings. Web. <http://www.whats-your-sign.com/celtic-symbols.html>.