The Ancient Celtic people believed strongly that spirits and divine beings inhabited the natural world. They felt a divine connection with those beings. The Celts perceived the presence of the supernatural world interwoven with the material world.
All things around the Celts were believed to possess a spirit. The most common occurrences were animals, and plants, but also mountains, rivers, and rocks.
Animals were the main point of totemism amongst the Celtic peoples, and they were believed to be the messengers of spirits or deities.
Integration of Spiritual World
The Celts believed that the supernatural and the natural world were integrated and interwoven. Groves of oak trees for example were revered places.
These spiritual beliefs remain with us today in Celtic Neopaganism. One example is the Celtic Tree Calendar where each month we look to the spiritual nature and symbolism of a certain tree.
Read my article on 13 Celtic Tree Months
Celtic Animal Totems and Their Symbolism
● Dogs - representation of loyalty, guarding, and healing
● Cats - guardians of the Otherworld (read about cool pagan cat names!)
● Dragons - symbols of power, courage, and luck
● Boars - the embodiment of abundance, shape-shifting, and health
● Crows - a shape-shifting form of Gods and Goddesses
● Deer - guides from the Otherworld, invokers of change in life
Bears - read about Artio - goddess of wildlife who shapeshifted into a bear
● Bulls - strength, and dominion. Brighid protected domestic livestock
● Horses - symbols of safe transport to the Otherworld, Epona was the protector of horses
● Butterflies - signifying transformation and rebirth
● Salmon - wisdom and deep emotion signs, they reveal mysteries.
The famous Gundestrup Cauldron showing Celtic designs and deities. National Museum of Denmark. Pre-Roman Iron Age.
Many animals were protectors and artifacts have been found with animal pictures on shields and weapons. This also shows us that many animals had a tribal identity.
Amulets carved with pictures of animals have often been found by archaeologists and were often found in the graves of women and children to assist their passage to the Otherworld.
Dieites were often associated with hunting and a specific animal.
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Sacred Spaces
In tribal territories, the Celts designated a sacred space separated from the ordinary world, often being some natural locations such as groves of trees, mountains, or streams. At these natural locations, sacred totems would dwell and speak to the group or individual.
This concept is very similar to the Native American view of the land and sacred places. Both Celtic and Native American beliefs were disrespected and disregarded by conquering Christian populations.
Specifically, waterways were honored as givers of life. Gods and goddesses are often associated with water.
Boyann - Irish goddess of the River Boyne
Sionnan - known as the “Drowned Goddess” the River Shannon is named for her
The Morrigan - River Unius
Brighid - Goddess of wisdom and protection is associated with many Holy Wells
Sequana - goddess of the River Seine
Rhenus - god of the Rhine River
People interacted with totems in many ways, some got totems that accompanied them for life, and some totems came into their lives to give them directions along their journey.
Author, Ame Vanorio, is the founder of Celebrate Pagan Holidays. Check out our About Page to learn more.
The ancient Celtic calendar is based on a lunar schedule and contains thirteen months in the year. In modern paganism, we united the lunar phases with the Gregorian calendar to give us a definitive time period.
The Celtic Tree Months are based on the Ogham alphabet and each month corresponds to a sacred tree. The trees are associated with deities, elements, healing, and certain areas of magic.