eved in a spiritual other world that paralleled our world. Thisother world is made up of many gods, spirits and powers. They believed in a continuitybetween life and death. Death was viewed as a transition phase in the course of a long,even eternal, life. There is no true division between this world and the other world. Thegods that live in the other world are neither good nor evil (1,5) Reincarnation was believed to occur in one form or another after death. Theadvanced Druids would be reborn in the other world, while the common people wouldmost likely be reborn in this world (2,3). There was the practice of holding one’s debtsoff until payment in the afterlife. It said that because the Celts believed so strongly in theimmortal soul they would fight in war without any fear of death (5). This caused manyproblems for the Romans as they tried to invade the British Isles.Fire was believed to be one the most powerful substances in the Druid religion.There were four annual fire festivals every year. Fire was considered a spiritual forceunto itself possessing the magical properties of both destructiveness and cleansing. It isthe force behind the creation of civilization, and therefore it is sacred. Fire was used inalmost all of the Druid rituals. It was used in healing and communicating with the gods(5). The gods that the Druids worshiped were believed to be created from one mothergoddess. She is the deity Danu. She is represented by the oak tree and she is ever eternal.There is no existing creation myth of Danu or of the world. What is known is that everygod and goddess is inseparable from the aspect of nature that they represent. Dogda wasthe father of most of the gods and he carried a club that could heal the dying and kill theliving. Morrigu was the goddes of war, and she is the one who is responsible for choosingwho will die in battle. Brigid is the Celtic goddess created from fire. It is said that shecauses fire in the head which ...
