Hearth Culture

Hearth Culture

There was no question within me for my choice of hearth cultures. I come from a strong Celtic background. Irish, Scots, Welsh and Old English. My choice was clear from the onset. I will say I have great honor and respect for the other pantheons and I do know that there is much I can learn from them. And I will not hesitate to engage them in ritual and daily life, when the occasion arises.
I strongly want to go to Danu and Dagda, only, for many reasons. Life, rebirth, renewal...but, I know there are Celtic Gods and Goddesses that will be a part of my Spiritual life from here on out. I am learning the power of my heart and mind. The weakness of my giving and taking. The earnestness of friends and family, or the lack thereof. I have always had an extreme temper and never had a problem using it. I have learned through the deities of my hearth culture that there is a time and place for anger. I have never been this calm in my life. But, I am also a flip side of a coin. I have also been called "the peace keeper" in my family, for years. And I still am. Even in my own anger, when I saw injustice or unjust actions, my family going after each other over trivial matters, I was the first to jump in to defuse the situations. Through my deities, I have learned this to be a gift. A gift that you choose to use wisely or you choose to leave closed up in your heart and mind.
I have been gifted with many things, that I have now brought to the front. I look to my deities, each with their own special gifts, and ask help of them when I see the need. Danu, Dagda, Morrigan, Oghma, Bridget, Lugh, Ceridwen, Cernunos...each one, plus more, have their places in my life. I am not whole, Spiritually, with out them. In the beginning of the DP, it was all simplistic. A mere honoring of any of them for being with me, humbling me with their presences while at my shrine. A simple thank you, a request to be with me, and a thank you for doing so…as I believed that was sufficient. Yet, as I have evolved in my Spiritual self, I look now to my shrine as a temple to my deities. A place for me to be among them. I greet Brigid on Mondays with a nice hot cup of coffee and we sit together in uniform silence as my mind speaks what I need to speak. I feel her with me, in my time of silent mornings. I keep Danu with me in many respects, every day. The candles I light are to honor her, each midday. The things I do around the house are to honor her as a family would honor a much respected guest. She is the closest to my thoughts, prayers and all I do.

 I have learned that I can use my Celtic deities in conjunction with deities of other pantheons, as they do work well side by side. Waking up to a beautiful rebirth, every sun rise and having a full Isis ritual with a beautiful group of women at night. Hecate through the winter, with the Morrigan at her side until Brigid comes into the light. How does anyone not live in those moments? Not know the beauty and purpose of having their deities in their lives? It is a beautiful thing...a wondrous feeling...when you go to sleep and open your eyes each day, knowing you are loved and respected, and in the gentle embrace of your chosen Gods and Goddesses. And that you love and respect them in return.

In rituals, I can add a God or Goddess of another hearth culture, to my own and the ritual is beautiful and rewarding. But, to do a ritual completely centered around other pantheons...I was not comfortable with doing so and felt as if I were truly just doing it by rote. I believe one must feel their hearth culture. Believe in their deities. Learn of them, fables, legends, stories, lives and mythology. Because when you just decide to *try* a deity because you know the name and what they stand for...your ritual is not full and satisfying. Is it NOT as it is meant to be. An honoring, welcoming piece of sacred importance. You have merely stood before you shrine, nature, a Grove, a group of people and felt like a Bard, doing a service. I will stay with whom I feel. And that is my Celtic hearth culture. My Celtic Gods and Goddesses. (796)