#romano-celtic

[thesilicontribesman]

Contemporary Woodcarving Inspired By Prehistoric and Ancient Artefacts, North Lincolnshire Museum, Scunthorpe

[dryadofephesus]

wanting to put my druidic path in a predominantly Celtic (continental Celtic as well as Old British to be exact.. sorry Irish Ancestors.) path so i've been through the help of the internet, coming up with constructed names for the roman deities, and coming up with syncretizations either through history or UPG. For Diana - Adruinna/Louna/Adsagsona Arduinna being the manifestation of the huntress and wilderness Diana, Louna being Luna, and Adsagsona (who we know very little of other than she's a cthonic witching goddess) for Trivia. As for Diana-Nemorensis, she appears to me as Nemetona. For Apollo (this is where it gets really messy) - Grannus is the name I call upon in regards to healing, and I call on Grannus alongside Sirona. In regards to Apollo as the Aradian-Lucifer, I feel that Lugus and Endovelicus both could fill that role. Though Lugus is more associated with Mercury that Apollo, I also tie Lugus to Lugh because of the light aspect. And Both Lucifer and Lugh are known to be mercurial trickster figures. In the fall I usually call to Apollo as Maponos. The Horned One - He's already VERY syncretic in terms of existence, so the name I call him varies based on how he shows himself to me. As the Folk Devil/Witches' Devil, he's usually Lupercus, who through demonization, is syncretized with Lucifer, but historically also Faunus. The Devil as Lightbearer to me is Cunamaglos (who i associate with Lupercus), Lugus, or Endovelicus (through Luciferian ties), and then as King of the Forest(both Folk Devil and Otherwise), Callirius. I dont really click with the name Cernunnos, but alternate spellings like Carneo or Carnonos, or Cernun, resonate a bit more. Cunamaglos also fills the role of my Wolf-Spirit deity in the masculine form. Fauna - Easy enough, Fauna is Druantia. Both the feminine form of the Horned One, and also the personification of Druidry as a whole. She IS Nature personified, and kinda blends with Diana-Nemorensis to form Nemetona. As a fertility and underworld goddess (an epithet i use for Druantia is Bone-Mother, giving her a Cthonic link), she can be Aeracura. Thus giving names such as Druantia, Druantia-Nemetona, and Druantia-Aeracura. Her cthonic form is also linked to her fertility aspect as well, since life and death are two sides of the same coin, which is fitting as Aeracura is historically a cthonic and fertility goddess. I haven't quite figured out where Venus stands in all this, though I'm sure I'll figure it out in time. I also plan to Incorperate Brigantia into my practice, since she's another form of Brigid. I also want to form a relationship with Andraste, and can respark my relationship with An Morrigan/The Raven Queen under the name Cathubodua, which is the first name of hers that really resonated with me. As for Aradia, I Personally don't view Aradia as an external spirit, I feel she exists WITHIN the practicioner, as I view Witches as all of Diana/Adsagsona's children. Though Aradia very well may have been a physical person or deity at some point. I feel Aradia works WITHIN us.

[that-cunning-witch]

Know any good sources on Celtic (specifically Gaulish practices)? I know it’s not your area, but you seem like someone who might know some people who dabble in that sort of stuff. The area I live in has some celtic archeological sites, but sadly not much is known about the local religion or culture. I am trying to put together a Romano-Celtic hearth cult, but it’s difficult finding practices and deities that feel right.

Gaul is a larger Celtic area of Western Europe (modern-day France and parts of modern-day Belgium, Germany, and Northern Italy). I say this because the Celts, when invaded by Rome, took in a lot of Roman religion including Hellenic and (rarely) Kemetic beliefs as well. When the Celts did this, so did the Gauls.

If it helps at all, the specifics you're looking into is called Gallo-Roman, which is part of the larger Romano-Celtic area.

This selective acculturation manifested in several ways. One of the main ways we see this is with the melding of Greco-Roman deities with Gaulish (Celtic) deities. Gaulish epithets for Roman gods (Jupiter Poeninus) and Roman epithets for Gaulish gods (Lenus Mars). Roman gods were given Gaulish god partners (Mercury and Rosmerta & Apollo and Sirona). Towards the east of the Gauls, many mysteries were formed, including one for the Greek hero Orpheus, the Iranian (or Persian) god Mithras, and the Egyptian goddess Isis. In other words, a whole lot of syncretism.

When it came to the Gauls (and the Celts overall) a main part of their belief system was the heavy use of animal imagery. More specifically, zoomorphic deities. However, we see a lot more human-looking representations of the gods because the Romans (and Greeks) weren't too keen on the idea (see Greco-Egyptian).

As for specifically Gallo-Roman hearth religious beliefs, the Lares (Lar singular) is a good place to start. They're the equivalent of Agathos Daimon in Greek religion (Hellenism). Essentially, they're personal household deities that are connected to the hearth.

A majority of the information we have about the Gaelic culture and the eventual melding of the Gallo-Roman culture stems from two sources: artifacts and Julius Ceasar, who wrote all about in what we now call the "Commentarii de Bello Gallico". The gods that he mentions the Gauls worship (like Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Minerva) aren't really the Roman gods that the Gauls are worshipping at that time but rather the closest thing Ceasar can connect. For example, Caesar may say that the Gauls worshipped Mars, when in reality they were worshipping Lenus, a healing god that quickly became associated with Mars because of Caesar and the Roman Empire. However, not all of them were caught. Gobannus is the most well-known example we have, with him being the equivalent to the Roman god Vulcan or the Greek god Hephaestus and yet Caesar makes no comment on the Gaulish god.

One other thing, the specific time we are taking a look at was prior to the overtaking by the Anglos, Saxons, and Jutes (aka pre-Anglo-Saxon times). Because of this, Germanic (Norse) gods weren't known to these people yet. Odin, Thor, and Freyja were unknown to them at this point in time.

Other than that, the last thing I can give to you are articles and books that I stumbled upon that may pique your interest. I do recommend a couple of Wikipedia links, but just know that I recommend using Wikipedia as a jumping-off point. Hope this helps! :^)

Becoming Roman: the origins of provincial civilization in Gaul -- Greg Woolf https://archive.org/details/becomingromanori0000wool

The gods of the Celts -- Miranda Green https://archive.org/details/godsofceltsar00mira

Gallo-Roman Religious Sculptures -- A.N. Newell https://www.jstor.org/stable/640758

Fifth-Century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity? -- John Drinkwater & Elton Hugh https://www.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam031/91018375.pdf

Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War: literally translated -- Frederick Holland Dewey, A.B. https://archive.org/details/caesarscommentar07caes

Category:Gaulish gods -- Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Gaulish_gods

Category:Gaulish goddesses -- Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Gaulish_goddesses

sources: https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/1999/1999.10.34/ http://www.deomercurio.be/en/dii.html https://www.britannica.com/topic/Celtic-religion/The-Celtic-gods https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lares https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lar-Roman-deities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallo-Roman_culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallo-Roman_religion

[chasedbybuildings]

Creech Hill (nr. Bruton, Somerset, England). A photo taken using infra-red film by Simon Marsden for his book The Haunted Realm. The hill, the highest point for miles around, is said to be haunted by a ghost/bull-beggar that scares those traveling across it at night by rising from the ground and screaming before chasing them away. It was also once the site of small a Romano-Celtic temple (possibly dedicated to Mars) and a very early Christian cemetery. One of the people interred there was a 6-foot tall woman. Waaaay before that it may have the been the location of a much older religious site, as a circle of pits containing burnt red deer antler was also uncovered during the archaeological dig for the temple site.

[archaicwonder]

Roman Silver Snake Ring and Bracelet Set, 1st-4th Century AD

Roman Imperial, probably from Roman Britain or another far province.

The snake was one of the most popular motifs in Roman jewelry, symbolizing fertility and used to ward off evil. The simple, flattened style, with round eyes, suggests a Celtic influence, as much Roman art in Britain had.

[thesilicontribesman]

Iron Age Snake Bracelets, The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh

[thesilicontribesman]

Romano-Celtic Native God Stone Carvings, Great North Museum, Hancock, Newcastle upon Tyne

[thesilicontribesman]

Larger Roman Romano-Celtic Style Relief of the Three Mother Goddesses found in Ashcroft, Cirencester, Corinium Museum, Cirencester

Note the more stern facial expressions and upright positions on the Romano-Celtic version. This is made from oolitic limestone and probably adorned a local temple to the Mother Goddesses.