| |
|
"Souls never die but always on quitting one abode pass to another... All things change, nothing perishes. The soul passes hither and thither, occupying now this body, now that, passing from the body of a beast into that of a man, and then into a beast's again. As a wax is stamped with certain figures, then melted, then stamped anew with others, yet it is always the same wax, so the soul, being always the same, yet wears at different times, different forms." Like many Eastern religions, many practitioners believe in reincarnation, which is also called metempsychosis or the transmigration of the soul. The belief is basically up to the individual. The Druids believed that the souls of men are immortal, and that after a number of years they live a second life when the soul passes into another body. The Greek philosopher Strabo (c. 63 BC - 21 AD) said that the Druids believed that "men's souls and the universe are indestructible, although at times fire and water may prevail." Julius Caesar also noted this belief among the Celtic people. He wrote: "They wish to inculcate this as one of their leading tenets, that souls do not become extinct, but pass after death from one body to another, and they think that men by this tenet are in a great degree stimulated to valor, the fear of death being disregarded." The Celts were a highly religious people. Druidic teachings taught three main ideas as the most important: Worship the gods, do no evil, and be honorable, strong and courageous. They looked at honor above all. Now many of you may be aware that "doing no harm" is not always the honorable tactic to take, and the celtic people knew this as well. In fact, I think that this was an ingrained trait in our ancestors, and it most likely still resides within the remaining celtic people of today. Now you will note that when I used the word "harm" that I was not speaking of "evil". There are many life situations where you might have to harm another but it still will not be considered evil if you are a celtic practitioner. Now how does this come about? Well, if someone harms another and you do nothing to prevent it, in my opinion, this is harm in itself. Let's say that this other person is your family member that you love dearly. If someone were beating this person severely, and you were to see it, and knock their lights out for them, aren't you harming that ill-doer? Of course, you are, yet this in itself is not inherently evil. In fact, it is considered quite honorable. If it were the President's daughter, son...etc, you might even get a medal for it. But would you also receive the payback because of the The Threefold Law. Not as far as I'm concerned, and not by the Laws of the Ancients either. Nowhere will you read that they believed in punishment after death as is often described when speaking of Karma or the Law of Three by Neo-Pagans. So what did they believe in that we know of today? One of the things they believed in was the three concentric circles of existence. To Christians, this would be similar to Earth, Purgatory, and Heaven. The names of these circles in Welsh were Abred, Gwynedd, and Ceugant. Abred was the inner circle and the Earth's form of existence as we know it. It was said that this is where all life comes from Annwn. This is where the soul must pass through multiple incarnations in Abred, the Circle of Necessity. Gwynedd, the second circle, means Purity and this is where the soul finally conquers evil and can now stop and rest for eternity, no longer going through the incarnations. Ceugant means Infinity and is the place where the ultimate power of creation dwells. It is called the Circle of Blessedness. Only three things are said to be able to prevent one from reaching his or her final goal in reaching Ceugant, and those are ego or pride, lies, and needless cruelty. The Celts also believed that spirits could inhabit the bodies of people, animals, plants, trees and even places. They believed that the spirit is reincarnated in the form that is an expression of one's soul at the moment of death. If you read the ancient legends of the celts, many of them will attest to the fact that they believed in reincarnation. There are elements of reincarnation surrounding the stories of Baile and Aillinn and also the story of Deirdre and Naoise, where both sets of lovers are eventually turned into trees. The birth of Cúchualinn is another story of reincarnation. Also the stories of Fintan, Tuan Mac Carrel, and Gwion Bach, and the lament of the Hag of Beara. Nature herself teaches us much about reincarnation. Watch the cycles of the seasons sometime and you will clearly see it. First we have springtime in which the earth replenishes itself and gives birth to new lifeforms. The trees give birth to new leaves, flowers bloom, new plants spring up all around us. In summer and fall, the crops are harvested. In winter the earth rests, and everything dies or lies dormant, only to be reborn come spring. New plants arise from old seedlings, new leaves sprout on old trees. Reincarnation can be compared to cosmic recycling. For instance, ice melts, changing into water. Water can then be heated and turned into steam which goes up into the air to be recycled as rain. Like ice and water, we die and our (spirit) energy leaves our bodies, returning to the Cosmos and then we are re-cycled or re-born into a new form or body. There is a new personality with each incarnation, but our individuality is immortal. In other words, the lessons that we learned in our past lives stay with us, residing somewhere deep within our subconscious. In each incarnation, we learn new lessons if the soul is willing. Only then can we move on to a higher plane of existence. Buddhists call this stage Enlightenment, which brings freedom from the cycle of reincarnation. Then we are one with Akasha. But where do we go in between, while we await rebirth? Many say we go to the Summerlands. The Summerlands is not a heaven or a hell but a sort of not-here place from which souls come and go. We think of it as a place of peace and beauty, a place where we are reunited with our loved ones and in full possession of all the wisdom we have accumulated in our lifetimes. It is but a brief time of communion before going onward in our journey. If you wish, you can find a short remark and excerpt here on Karma: Now you do not have to believe in reincarnation to practice magick, nor do you have to believe in karma, but you must believe in something, even if it only in yourself and your power to raise energy. This I will leave you to for the moment as we head on to the next lesson. |
Blessed be!
© The Olde Way |