Reconstructionist Beliefs

The Path of Eire:

Following a Path of Reconstructed Irish Polytheism

Some Remarks on the Celtic Reconstructionist Pagan Movement and My Version of Reconstructed Irish Polytheism

While I have begun to shy away from identifying myself as a "Celtic Reconstructionist Pagan", as I believe that this is simply a descriptive term for a set of principles defining a movement rather than a religion per se and I do have some concern over the use of this term and I probably would prefer the term "Reconstructed Celtic Polytheism" (or "Reconstructed Irish Polytheism specifically for what is described on these pages) as it seems to reflect more the religious nature of the movement, but I am not out to rename a movement. So, instead of arguing over what is/what is not Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism, I instead choose to provide descriptions of my practices on this website. I feel that such sharing of information is much more useful than simply agreeing/disagreeing over the use of specific terms. I also fell, however, that it is necessary for me to state my opinions regarding what Celtic Reconstructionism should look like for those who are interested.

For starters, I think it is important to admit that "reconstruction" in terms of paganism should not be thought of as a definite, but more of a "this is how they MAY have possbily done it" mentality. Quite frankly, we have no solid information as to how rituals were held, what prayers were said, how the priests conducted themselves and etc. We have some clues from literature and archaeology, but they can not be thought of as definites. So, it is important to remember that reconstructionism is more of an attempt to restore authentic pre-Christian pagan practices pertinent to the modern day and is certainly NOT a definite.

So, with that in mind, I will reiterate that I consider myself as someone who attempts a reconstructed path centering around the religious beliefs of those polythesitic and animistic individuals who lived during pre-Christian times in the present day country of Ireland and that I do not necessarily find it preferable to use the term "Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism" for this set of religious beliefs.

I do, however, understand that many individuals may have found this website while looking for information about Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism, so I feel it is necessary to make a few comments on what I mean by that term. I hope that my comments on this page will make clear what I mean when I use the term "Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism".

Overall, I am very conservative in my beliefs regarding what practices I believe should be called "Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism". I do not believe that Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism should be a path where one does something "because it feels good to them and makes them happy". I believe in developing an orthopraxy within local communities and, to an extent, within the wider Celtic Reconstructionist Pagan community that is true to the practices of our polytheistic Celtic forebearers and are adapted to our modern times and lifestyles.

Amongst some Celtic Reconstructionist Pagans, I believe that there exists a fear of orthopraxy due to the fact that many individuals confuse orthopraxy with orthodoxy. Orthodoxy comes from the Greek word "orthodoxos" meaning "having the right opinion".   Orthopraxy means "correct practice". The two should not be confused. Orthodoxy is not something that one finds often in polytheistic religions and most individuals who are true Celtic Reconstructionist Pagans do not believe in what is referred to as "orthodoxy". However, Celtic Reconstructionist Pagans do believe in orthopraxy. We believe that there should be a correct way of doing ritual and serving the Gods within one's local community and to an extent within the larger Celtic Reconstructionist Community.

All religious paths have orthopraxy but it is something that is still very much in its infancy in the Celtic Reconstructionist Pagan movement. It exists in Haitian Vodou, Hinduism, Lukumi, Shintoism, Yezidism and etc. It is a valid and very important part of any religious path. Yet, the majority of individuals claiming to be Celtic Reconstructionist Pagans fear this because they are afraid that it might take away what they feel is their personal right to do anything they please - for with a prescribed set of ritual beliefs that comes with orthopraxy, there is also a set of things which are "banned". For example, one does not place the Torah in a Kamidana and claim that YHVH resides there and still say that it is within the boundaries of Shintoism. It is not. Likewise, one does not take an image of Lakshmi and put it on an altar for Erzulie Freida because they do not like Christian imagery and call it Haitian Vodou.  This breaks orthopraxy.

Orthopraxy exists at varying levels. For example, at the community level during the Bealtaine season, one group may light bonfires while another group may decorate a Bealtaine bush while another may do all three. One group may think it a mockery to walk pets between the Bealtaine fires instead of livestock, another group may consider it fine. This is the orthopraxy of the local community and is true to the diversity of the ancient Celts. Not all groups need to have the same traditions and rules governing those traditions, However, there also exists a degree of orthopraxy on a larger level. For example, no Celtic Reconstructionist Group is going to brandish an athame at the Aos Si, cast quarters based upon Western ceremonial magic or honor Aphrodite alongside Brighid in the same celebration.

Religion is an attempt to understand what Rudolph Otto (1869-1937) referred to as the "numinous".   To do this, there must be some degree of cohesion and orthopraxy, otherwise there exists complete ignorance and chaos. If we allow ourselves to fall into the trap of "I will do want I want to do because I like it and because I think it is cool" we are not developing a religious path that can be respected and admired. We are creating a mess of intertwined personal beliefs, with no cohesion, that will wither and fade and will ultimately create disrespect for the Gods.

A Brief Overview of What I Mean by "Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism"

by Micheál O'Miadhachain

(from the booklet entitled "Living the Path of Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism: Practices for the Home and Hearth")

Imagine you are planning a trip to a state or national park to do some hiking. You hear about this overlook in the park with a wonderful vista that you want to visit it. You sit down and you look at a map to plan your trip and notice that there are five different hiking trails leading to the overlook. Some paths are pretty straightforward with a lot of information in the hiking manuals. Other trails are a little overgrown, are a little harder to navigate and there is nothing written about them in the hiking brochures, but they are still accessible. Some paths may even intersect at certain points, but they still remain separate. However, you do know that all hiking trails offer wonderful sights along the way. What do you do?

Some of you may choose a trail randomly and just go with the flow. Others may choose a specific path and learn everything they can about it in the available information. Still others may call people they know who have been to the park and ask their opinion as to what path to take. There are even some who may be familiar with the park and may have glimpsed the beginning of a specific trail and decided to use that trail.

All are fine options as long as you are prepared with the adequate supplies and stick to the trail. Veering off of the trail and starting out with bad shoes or not enough water often leads to either being lost or being really uncomfortable and having to have to turn around and head back to the car.

I use this analogy, because starting out on the Path of Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism is much like this scenario. There are many different paths and pantheons which make up Celtic Paganism – Irish, Welsh, Manx, Breton, etc. - and it is sometimes difficult to decide how to start out on this journey. However, all of those paths do lead to the same ultimate end.

You do not have to be an advanced scholar to follow this path. While scholarship is very important in any reconstructionist religion, you do not have to be a professor of Celtic Studies or a scholar of Old Irish. You may encounter individuals who try to minimize you by quoting obscure references in some obscure text or tell you that if you do not “do this” or if you do “do that”, that you are not a “true” Celtic Reconstructionist Pagan. This is simply nonsense and again I find that most of these individuals are really "CR" in name only and have very few meaningful spiritual practices of their own.

A basic understanding of one’s spiritual path is paramount. Celtic Reconstructionist pagans are true polytheists and animists. We are not monotheists or “duotheists”. We see the Gods and Goddesses as individual and distinct beings rather than as aspects of one greater God or Goddess.

Celtic Reconstructionist Pagans seek to revive the religious practices of the ancient pre-Christian Celts as they pertain to modern days and lifestyles. Contrary to popular belief, we do not seek to return to paleolithic times, but instead attempt to discern how Celtic religious practices would have evolved over the centuries had they been allowed to do so in much the same way as other polytheistic religious that are still alive today were allowed to evolve. In essence, Celtic Reconstructionist Pagans seek to recreate the native, pagan Celtic religious practices and beliefs as if they had evolved throughout the centuries and had never been interrupted and made extinct by the coming of the Middle Eastern religions and foreign value systems.

This, of course, is a very daunting task and in order to do this Celtic Reconstructionist Pagans must look for evidences of religious practices in the living folkloric practices of the traditional "Celtic" countries and the Celtic diaspora, the archaeological record, and manuscripts. Reconstructionist of any path tend to focus on scholarly research rather than on personal opinion or personal gnosis as is often found in books marketed as "new age" or "metaphysical".

Unfortunately, however, very little is known of the religious practices of the Ancient Celts. Quite frankly, if one were to only do rituals and spiritual practices that were documented and explained in original sources, there would pretty much be nothing. There are names of practices and even some ideas as to what these practices were meant to accomplish, but no idea of the means to the end. In other words, we do not know the techniques, prayers or practices which accomplished the desired end result. Therefore, spiritual experimentation and modern practices must occur in order for the tradition to grow and thrive. Such practices however, must be labeled as modern constructs and attempts should never be made to pass them off as "authentic pre-Christian Celtic practices.” They should also occur within certain boundaries.

So what should these boundaries be? This is open to much debate. Some guidelines may be:

    1.       Reflect what is known of the Celtic history

    2.       Reject what we conclusively know the Celts did not do

    3.       Allow for experimentation, based upon glimpses of practices found in the
              archaeological record and academia, but which is of modern devising.

    4.       Understand that any practice will have modern elements and biases to it since
              we do not know enough about the practices to reconstruct them ONLY from historical sources.

As a result of wanting to reflect what is known of the Celts historically and to reject what we know that they did not do, a certain amount of scholarship is necessary. Again, one does not need to be a doctoral candidate in Celtic Studies to adequately follow the path. Nor, does one have to spend every waking hour of the day researching Celtic studies, but a genuine interest in the Celtic cultures, languages, folkways, music, mythology and history is necessary.

So, remember the hiking analogy I used a little bit ago? Well, this is where it really becomes relevant. As mentioned, there are many different paths that make up Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism. Some people who follow Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism follow an Irish path, others follow a path which honors the Gaulish deities and still others maintain a purely Welsh practice.

No matter what pantheon and style of honoring the Deities you decide to follow, it is important to maintain some basic principles when doing so. It is very important to choose a single pantheon and not to mix them. Even though, several of the Celtic deities can be viewed as crossing the lines of basic nationality or as “pan-Celtic”, each culture and nation had its own customs and style of honoring the Deity. When you try to mix different practices from different peoples, things can get very confusing. I personally have a hard time keeping track of all of the Irish names, customs and mythology. I can’t imagine trying to learn all of the Welsh ones, too!

Some of you may already know which pantheon or specific culture attracts you the most and some of you may have no idea where to begin. If you are really unsure and find that you have an interest in several different cultures or pantheons, I would suggest reading more about them. Read the mythology and stories from the different cultures. One of mythologies of a particular culture, and one of the pantheons, will speak to you more than the others. Once you have discovered this, stick to it. Don’t try to wander off the trail. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and, even if the trail might become unclear or overgrown, keep pushing forward. It will still lead to the same end.

Some nations and cultures have more mythologies written down than others. Unfortunately, much of the mythologies where written down by Christian scholars many years after paganism had become extinct. The Irish and Welsh cultures seem to have the most written mythologies. By reading the mythologies, one will discover a world of Gods and Goddesses, heroes, druids, poets, bards and otherworldly beings. It is truly a wonderful and rewarding experience.

Hopefully this brief essay has helped you to decide whether or not Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism is for you. So, if you are so inclined, get on those hiking boots, gather the maps and supplies and get on with your journey!