Was there Celtic Shamanism in Ancient Britain? Who played similar roles?

I’m excited to announce my class on what I call 'Taliesin's Awakening', an ancient Welsh myth from Britain that explores the third eye, cosmic mysteries, animism and a shamanic initiation! It is now available called ‘Mysteries of Awen, Taliesin’s Awakening’.
Get the class via the link below!
stan.store/Ste...
"I have heard a version of this story a few times - and it has never had this depth of experience with it. Thank you for your beautiful storytelling presence and voice." - Class Attendee
This KZbin video dives into how the term Shamanism has spread across the world due to colonial perspectives, why it is used today and won't be going away, and most importantly…
if any such thing existed when the people of Britain were tribal and native upon the land? Focusing on the Brythonic cultures.
Here I am focusing on what the term Shamanism really means and why it can be complicated and misused today. I have done my best to talk about this from the perspective of my younger self who would have benefited from a video like this when I went through unexplainable experiences, which I believed to be shamanic experiences, but it turned out I was wrong.
Were there any shamanic figures from ancient Britain if we look to the little we know about the Iron Age period and into the medieval period? Did Celtic shamans exist and if so, who were they, where were they? If not, who played similar roles?
🌱 'Celtic Shamanism, Celtic Paganism, and Celtic Spirituality' can be problematic terms, let’s talk about why.
🌍
Although some of us don't have a direct lineage of elders or traditions to follow step by step, the most important thing is that we listen to nature. Today many people practice paganism, witchcraft, Wicca, druidry or just follow the wheel of the year to connect to the seasons…. would you label your practice?
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#spiritualawakening #celticpaganism #welsh #history #britainshiddenhistories #taliesin #shamanism #celticmythology #paganism #celticwitch #celticspirituality #celticbards #welshbards #druidry

[@stellamariehere]

For anyone wanting to learn about traditional Shamanism, my friend Kate is the only person I know who has been trained traditionally & enlightened me on the origin of this fascinating practice. Follow Kate's Instagram here: instagram.com/katefreyja/profilecard/?igsh=ZzQ5ZHZwdDRydXN6 & Kate's story here: heart-rites.org

[@carleerose]

Love your channel! Thank you 🙏 ❤

[@stellamariehere]

You are so welcome 🤗

[@hArtyTruffle]

Reconnecting with nature is imperative for seekers. Great upload. Thank you ✨👌🏼✨

[@EponaDreams-AmbientDreamscapes]

...also, I forgot to add that the land between Britain and Scandinavia was not under sea, and Britain was part of the migration journey of reindeer. Some of Britain's oldest roads were made on reindeer tracks. Our idea of Father Christmas comes from a Shamanic tribe in Lapland called the Sami. They held a belief that when the reindeer began migration a goddess would fly on a slay with the reindeer, guiding them on their way, and drop amber through the "chimneys" or smoke holes of their teepees as a reminder that the light would return after the dark of winter. So, perhaps, we have a deeper connection with Shamanic history than we know. The Goddess Elen of the Ways who is portrayed wearing deer antlers and is seen as a protector of travellers, comes from an ancient Sami word for reindeer, Elen, apparently

[@twophotons]

Yule comes from the Toba eruption. It forced the Atlanetan migration out of North Africa into Europe pushing the Neanderthals east. Father Christmas comes from the Shamans who it is said dropped food (mushrooms) down chimneys in winter.

[@dragonofhatefulretribution9041]

There’s also the fact that Odin is known as the AllFather, but is also known as the YuleFather during Yule, and is believed to ride his sleigh across the sky on his 8-legged reindeer Sleipnir, delivering presents to the good children.

[@stellamariehere]

I can't see the original comment?

[@dragonofhatefulretribution9041]

@@stellamariehere See if you can change the manner in which you view comments from newest to oldest and see if it appears then?

[@witchways]

I love that you were so clear about the specificity of the word shaman. I'm always impatient with the way this word gets so casually tossed around and appropriated.Thank you.

[@stellamariehere]

I have my friend Kate to thank for teaching me about this, she's the one person I know who has been trained traditionally. 🤍 Kate's story is here: heart-rites.org

[@donnawitteried3213]

OMG!!! This makes so much sense! I have been practicing Cowan/Harner/Ingerman/Matthews Celtic Shamanism for over 30 years and am sooooo glad to understand it to be Animism. Makes sense! I had the honor of taking a class from Tom Cowan himself years ago. I am in Missouri in the US. We have a small community and hope to pass our understanding down through generations. Thank you for your scholarship!!!❤

[@gnostic268]

Funny because Native people who were driven out by white European settlers had been practicing animism for thousands of years before colonials settled in the Missouri area. Cahokia is in Illinois across the river which was est. circa 500 BCE and the Koster site in western Illinois was a place where paleoindians were living 9,000 years ago.

[@stellamariehere]

I felt the same way when a friend taught me about the difference between animism and shamanism, it blew me away!

[@nicogregorits1593]

I have a friend whose practicing Celtic shamanism from her ancestral background, and is looking for more people to connect with. In Michigan. Would you be interested in an email correspondence?

[@dragonofhatefulretribution9041]

@@gnostic268Funny because Native Americans have many legends about the Great White Brother who taught them everything they know, before leaving to set sail to an unknown land, promising to return one day-by which point they had had their indigenous wisdom taken away from them and replaced with NWO prototype universalist ideology, which they then imposed upon the New World…

[@dragonofhatefulretribution9041]

@@nicogregorits1593Read “Not In His Image” by Irish-Italian American Celtic Mystic, John Lamb Lash. He has reconstructed the Celtic Mysteries using ancient scrolls found in 1945, which the church maliciously mislabelled as early-Christian literature-despite the fact that at least 1/3 of the material is vehemently anti-Christian. His KZbin channel explains many initiate secrets and endless wisdom from the Celtic perspective using surviving stories from Vedic, Hellenic, Roman & even Aztec, Mayan, Native Indian, Chinese & Japanese folk literatures. He proves that the pre-Abrahamic world was almost entirely interconnected & there was a Celtic aristocratic elite who oversaw the evolution of society through initiation with the Great Goddess.

[@hippysophia]

How wonderful that KZbin recommended this video, thank you for sharing, I visit the Preseli's quite often as always drawn to the standing stones 💞

[@stellamariehere]

Glad you enjoyed it! Welcome ❤

[@annmclucas6207]

The Island of Ireland is a Celtic country and was part of the British Isles according to the Romans and Druids and Bards are part of our culture. Parts of France and Northern Spain are also part of the Celtic traditions.

[@dragonofhatefulretribution9041]

Read “Not In His Image” to regain what was stolen from us.

[@ScorpIron58]

Would highly recommend a book closely related to all this, although mostly about Anglo Saxon sorcery, which is well worth a read as it is a universal ''experience''. The book is : The Way of Wyrd, by Brian Bates, published by Hay House Inc.

[@GoblinsGold622]

Bless you for having these very needed conversations. I've been waiting for this light to come from the shadows of indigenous European heritage. In the current world of comparing victimhood of genocides, the global amnesia of what happened to Europeans has not been allowed to be spoken to. Do not ALL deserve the great reclamaition of our own power and healing at this time? I am interested in the story of what humans are capable of when they stop fighting each other. Rachelle Seliga recently wrote a fierce article on Indigenous Europe and Re-Membering History. I could go on and on about this topic, but I'll just say from my experience that accepting these ancient and disregarded traumas juxtaposed with feeling the tendrils of truth that I belong to this Earth and came from a place where I used to belong has been a source of GREAT healing (only the beginning) and has allowed me to be a better human in the world. Chi miigwetch- 'big thank you' from the Anishinaabemowin, Ojibwe language of the peoples who originate from the land I love and live on- this land and these times of the Rainbow Bridge are grateful for ALL healing.

[@stellamariehere]

I'm devoted to that story, of what we are capable of when we stop fighting each other. Do you have a link to that article by Rochelle Seliga?

[@YOy-b4z]

You are a joy to listen to. Your videos are an education for many. Keep growing and opening the doors within yourself and presenting your truth so many more will understand the journey. 🙏🏻❤️

[@stellamariehere]

Thank you dear one! 🧙🏼‍♀️🥹

[@davidhogan621]

When I was young and visiting relatives in South Wales My grandmother used a word that sounded like "Feeesh" to describe people fulfilling the role of fairy shamans or taod doctors? The old Romanies camping by the Cwm called me a "Chovi". Does that help?

[@joutavainen2920]

in the uralic cultural area the khanty people call witches or "shamans" 1) those who tell stories by the fire and find causes for bad luck, 2) those who sing old songs with stringed instruments (animal shaped ones), 3) those who predict past, present and future from dreams, 4) those who speak with animal languages, call spirits and predict hunting luck, 5) those who heal, travel to the underworld, bring back souls and suck off sicknesses and 6) those who communicate with the spirits by playing the drum. each group, the name it´s just one word and then gender of the witch, for example jisol-ne, screaming woman, nukol-ku, funny man :) what i´m saying is that you DO have the words, as long as any language (or nature) remains, it is there.

[@LezleyDavidson]

Excellent Stella. Thank you for sharing. You are beautifully empathetic and nuanced in your teachings. 🌀💜🌀 Tapadh Leat!

[@stellamariehere]

You are so welcome Lezley 🙏🏼

[@joannacarley7754]

our trees and streams, stones speak to us and can teach us hat we have lost, your talk is spot on thank you.

[@WORLDPENG]

Come tell stories round our fire....!

[@knottyinks1]

This lost language could be reestablished through art music and psychedelics❤

[@stellamariehere]

I like this

[@Jay-ql4gp]

Thank you so much!

[@stellamariehere]

You're welcome!

[@GoddessofTruth555]

I recommend that you check out Slí An Chroí. I'm sure Karen and John would be happy to answer any questions you have about the lineage 😊❤

[@shaunallan9558]

I don't think its entirely possible for anybody including bards to remember every word to every song and poem over many years but instead the bard has what he needs to reconnect to the awen the universal consciousness that he draws on and suddenly feels knows remembers....which is also the reason why the lost ancient knowledge isn't lost forever, its out there ready to be rediscovered. Its said the old gods and goddesses are returning and more being called so I'm thinking feeling more ancient wisdoms will 'come to light'

[@stellamariehere]

I love that perspective, especially when looking at the language as more than a poetic expression in the way we know poetry to be, but channeled teachings, almost like mantras. & It's not only said that they are returning, it's deeply felt and experienced.

[@davidmaclamont633]

Yes! there were! 🙏🙏♥️

[@nataliebutler]

Have you heard of Dusty Miller? He claims to be the last of the indigenous, pre-celtic, English wizard 'shamans'.

[@stellamariehere]

I haven't. Can you link me to him? All that shows up when I look on Google is the plant. 🫠

[@nataliebutler]

@@stellamariehere There's a book about him on Amazon called 'Wyrdwood. The story of Dusty Miller'. There isn't much online as far as I've found but his son, of the same name/lineage, has a weebly website in English / German. I'm not sure if I can post links but if you search for their name with 'live wood', 'Old Elfin', 'Dryads' or 'Saelig Silverdobbs' more should come up. There's a few video clips on here too. Hope that helps.

[@barbarajennings3283]

@@nataliebutler I'm paying close attention to this discussion. Please keep me in the loop on it. B

[@GramaSagefeather]

Hi from Kansas. You and your guests are teaching about animism in a way that I feel very connected to. Thank you for sharing information about Bards and Ovates. Understanding that words have power is such an under appreciated art form.

[@VeganWithAraygun]

It's hard to absorb the spoken explanations and wisdom thereof with distracting background music. I'll have to run this through my sifter.

[@MrChristianDT]

I'm not positive why people consider there to be a difference between a shaman & a priest. Most people who we would call shamans in most world cultures are that culture's priests. They keep the religious tradition, they care for the sacred spaces, they play the lead role in religious ceremonies & they try to give wise advice to those who seek it from them. What I am starting to get an idea of from what I've researched on Europe in general is that our various forms of paganism wouldn't really feel all that foreign & I think the issue is we expect it to seem drastically different from who we ended up becoming to the point of being entirely unrecognizable to later European culture. We changed, sure, but we didn't do a total 180° out of nowhere & turn into completely different people.

[@stellamariehere]

I explain in depth why a priest and shaman are very different 🙏🏼

[@MrChristianDT]

@@stellamariehere I saw that. And, yes, not every single culture's religions do the exact same things, but at the end of the day, a shaman is still a priest & feels like sort of a nonsense classification to try to make its own thing.

[@abbie5212]

Thank you for this. You mentioned sharing a link to a video by William Morris Beard but I don't see it. Can you share it in the comments? Thanks

[@stellamariehere]

Here is the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3Ouf3uGZ7N3l7Msi=qZUhpDLdK26wAXgt I need to update the description and add my links and sources.

[@barbarajennings3283]

You are starting off beautifully. I don't think a letter "s" as in plural "s" is ever attached to the word shaman in English Shaman. It doesn't mean a "man." So say Shaman without "s". This is the scholarly entrance, the linguistics.

[@stellamariehere]

Thanks you ☺️

[@ArchLingAdvNolan]

Sam is the Old Irish word for sun.

[@twophotons]

I presume you have listened to the old BBC play - The Real Yule Story - The Northern Shaman.

[@stellamariehere]

I have not!

[@JDMtnHayze]

I’ve been wondering about druids. Historically across cultures most “high priest” types, who had all the knowledge and all the higher societal positions, also had a tendency for corruption and exploitation toward ulterior agendas. We even see it today (especially on social media) how humans get ahold of a concept or tradition and dilute it into whatever they want it to be, use it as egotistical fodder, or for control and self edification… Then fight about how “right” their personal gnosis is. Which I consider more like a spiritual opinion, honestly) So I often wonder what kind of uprisings and rebellions may have happened by the common folk against spiritual tyranny. (No disrespect to the druids intended, I promise.) And the strongest shrooms in the world live over here in America. Psilocybe azurescens! So ✌️😜.

[@stellamariehere]

I totally see this with the druids, they were the upper class afterall. What I mean by strongest is the liberty caps have more psilocybin by weight, so a few tiny mushrooms can send one flying, literally! 🙏🏼

[@JDMtnHayze]

@@stellamariehere semilanciata! Okay okay, maybe you’re right… but we have them as well 😜 Such a pain to identify though… lol. But yeah, lots of romanticism about the actual druids versus the resurgence of a modern Druid-ish practice.

[@JDMtnHayze]

@@stellamariehere and I’ve actually been ostracized by groups for talking about things like that… 😂

[@dragonofhatefulretribution9041]

@@JDMtnHayze Once you have experienced “The Light that awakens” you can not be corrupted by power. In fact ‘power’ is one of the ‘9 Loves of the Anthropos’, something that the Mystery School instructors encourage seekers to seek and acquire so that they may protect that which they love. Personal power over self, as opposed to power over others.

[@dragonofhatefulretribution9041]

@@JDMtnHayze Read “Not In His Image” & then you’ll be ready to understand the countless lectures by the author on this platform👍🏻

[@brendancoburn427]

Learn to dowse, and ask anything.

[@adventurecreations3214]

The Whispers are getting louder.