Celtic gods/goddesses and the Sidhe/anwnn

[ethelwulf]

Celtic gods/goddesses and the sidhe (aossi)/annwn.
From the Irish literature- the mythological cycle- the Deities were forced out of Ireland by the Sons of Mil and from folklore we understand that they enter the Sidhe. In the other pre-Christian stories there is a connection of the gods/goddesses and the Sidhe. After the Christianization of Ireland the Sidhe becomes the home of the fairies and others like the fairies with less mention of gods or goddesses. Despite the decline in specific references to gods or goddesses the sidhe is still the location of the gods, goddesses and spirits referred to as fairies and many other names depending on local terms. I am interested in how others view this connection between the sidhe is the location of the Celtic deities.

[Maria de Luna]

This is a hard issue, or thought even, to address. On one hand, many of us don't have the ability to go to Ireland, we can't interact with the sidhe which are there, so I think it must be more of a spiritual place or state of being than, for instance, the physical places in Ireland. I don't know how I think of the gods/goddesses being the sidhe/fairies themselves. The stories, like so many others, are written after christianization, by monks, so they may have been ambiguous for a reason. It comes down to each person at this point to decide for ourselves, I think I feel like some fairies/sidhe may work at the behest of gods and goddesses. Sorry if I was non specific or unhelpful, I try, I'm just not sure if I'm understanding the question right.

[ethelwulf]

This is a hard issue, or thought even, to address. On one hand, many of us don't have the ability to go to Ireland, we can't interact with the sidhe which are there, so I think it must be more of a spiritual place or state of being than, for instance, the physical places in Ireland. I don't know how I think of the gods/goddesses being the sidhe/fairies themselves. The stories, like so many others, are written after christianization, by monks, so they may have been ambiguous for a reason. It comes down to each person at this point to decide for ourselves, I think I feel like some fairies/sidhe may work at the behest of gods and goddesses. Sorry if I was non specific or unhelpful, I try, I'm just not sure if I'm understanding the question right.

I asked this question for two reasons. One is in reference to how we see the gods/goddesses and the other is about the origin and continuation of the Sidhe itself.

Growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia I was influenced by three religions - Episcopal, Quaker and Native American. The only church I went to was Episcopal, the Christian philosophy practice at home was Quaker and the spirituality which I ended up following for myself was Native American and more specifically what I had learned from the Lenni lenape and Iroquois. For what ever reason the greatest influence was from Native American which shaped my beliefs about my relation to Nature and the spirits of the world in which you can connect for. This view is also similar to the way I understand the Sidhe to be. So is the Sidhe from the pre-celtic religion which then blended with the Celtic beliefs or was it the way the Celts connected with their gods/goddesses.


The other issue is how we see the gods/goddesses. I think we are clearly first influenced by the Christian environment which has a clear parental view of god then in school we learn about the Greek/Roman view of gods/goddesses, with its defined roles and clear preference for humans life forms, but we are not as well introduced to the view of god/goddess in native American, arctic tribal such as the Sami, or the Australian aborigines. It is possible that the Celtic and pre-roman Germanic beliefs are more related to these. Part of my belief in this comes from the "Roads to Midgard - Old Norse religion in long-term perspectives".

[Maria de Luna]

Interesting perspective, and I will be honest in my opinion. I think, personally, that the gods and goddesses and whatnot (aspects of divinity, that which is divine.) are what they/it/divinity needs to be for different people/peoples. Everyone colors it with a little bit of themselves. I personally see the sidhe as something like land spirits. They can be helpful, or not, but are rarely, unless absolutely need be, straightforward. I don't honestly think my opinion is necessarily shared by well frankly anyone else, as my experiences are going to differ from others, I don't know if it's Celtic specific, or whether it contains influences from other sources... That's not right, I know it contains influences from outside sources, specifically leni Lenape (grew up in southern pa and Delaware, so regional like you) and much of the way I feel now started to emerge back before I left the Presbyterian church I grew up in, I just couldn't understand why back then. This is just the way I see it, or maybe the way I need to see it for the spirits to resound with me. In magic, for instance I am far more likely to call upon ancestral spirits or land or animal spirits, rather than a god or goddess, it just doesn't seem polite to me, it's like skipping rungs in the ladder of hierarchy, going over the head of the person who is supposed to be helping. And I put the sidhe in the same sort of class as these spirits, they may even be land spirits, which is likely why I personally feel the disconnect, not in Ireland, and they were called something else over here. We'll like I said I'm a massive mixed bag anyway, I hope I didn't muddle further, I feel like I may have rambled and I apologize, I will try to clear up my rambling in the morning, if I ever manage to sleep.