The Matter of Human Sacrifice
Searles O'Dubhain

Thu Mar  4 15:33:18 1999
Celtic Workshop - Human Sacrifice*br*(copyright Earrach, 1995 by Searles O'Dubhain)*p*"Death of a Druid Prince"*br*  *br*The matter of human sacrifice by the Celts and the Druids is a topic that creates, at once, a sense of horror and wonder for us in this modern age.   In our present age, separated from the phenomena of death as we are, even animal sacrifice shocks our senses.  The much more controversial subject of human sacrifice is almost beyond our comprehension.  We must endeavor to look beyond our immediate "surface reactions" to this sensitive topic.  As we delve a little deeper into the primal Celtic soul and psyche, perhaps our study will allow us to understand why such sacrifices occurred.   *p*Deep within the oak groves a group assembled and looked to the stars and the winds and the green growing things of the land for answers, yet it was to a figure sitting on a log by the fire that they directed their questions and their attention.  As the embers lit their faces, one face came from *somewhere else* as if it had been awakened from a dream or called forth from a vision of other lives.*p*The Wise Old Druid roused himself from  his thoughts and began to speak, "In today's Celtic workshop, we shall attempt to cover the available evidence for such acts of sacrifice among the Celts.  We shall also attempt to classify the many types of such sacrifices, their methods and their means, as well as their meanings.    *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "We have evidence that the Celts and Druids performed human sacrifices.  Today's Celtic workshop will allow us all to discuss this sensitive topic interactively.  Before we start, I thought I would list the available sources that I've studied and considered in preparing for this workshop:  *p*    The Writings of the Greeks and Romans*br*    The Writings of the Christian Scribes*br*    The Continued Existence of Folk Customs*br*    Similar Practices Among Other Cultures*br*    Archaeological Evidence*br*    Psychic and Mystical Evidence  *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "What was the purpose of human sacrifice?  <any takers?> <G>*p*The Priestess of the Light stated, "Sacrifice to certain gods, as in the practice of Boudicca to get the fighting fury for the fighting men and other reasons*p*The Wise Old Druid said, "Are there more questions?"*p*The Priestess of the Light stated, "To take over the traits of others.  To buy an escape from death or disease by promising to offer another's life.*p*M & R : How about the concept of carrying a message or petition to the gods?*p*The Wise Old Druid said, "excellent R & M*p*M & R : Thank you teacher*p*The Wise Old Druid said, "I'm going to talk about that soon...it is one of the primary points today.  <G> OK *p*The Magician spoke, "Several surface reasons, Fertility, appeasement, connection with the Divine. *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "Thank you for that Mage.*p*Clay  : To provide a very serious vehicle to send a message to the Gods/Goddess with a spirit 'truly human'. *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "Thank you Clay.  That is another one of today's points.  *p*The Medicine Woman said, "To ask that the gods bestow favor for a victory to show that the people were willing to die in the god/dess name *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "Yes, excellent point as well and one more I hope to cover in detail today.  *p*The Wren said, "to intercede on behalf of their people.*p*The Wise Old Druid said, "OK thanks.....another excellent point.*p*DoveHawk : I wonder if what we describe generally as human sacrifices, didn't have various shapes in terms of the purpose of the sacrifice and, the consent of the "victims".*p*The Wise Old Druid said, "I'm certain they were different as to form and purpose.*p*The Priestess of the Light stated, "Very slow today.  Coming danger was also averted through sacrifice.  *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "I'm really loving all of these excellent points today. Maybe I should have each of you expand upon your points? <G> *p*The Medicine Woman said, "In some traditions the sacrifice of an enemy or a powerful person allowed the leader or the group to take that persons power for themselves *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "Yes, that is yet another way that sacrifice was done...maybe even still is done in some places.  ?*p*The Oak Brother stated, "Any relation between sacrifice and ritual, single-warrior combat? *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "I have not seen any writing on that subject but I have often wondered if perhaps the "champions" of the clan were empowered through ritual to take clan Draíocht with them to combat.  This would be very similar to how a sacrifice might go to the gods.  *p*The Priestess of the Light stated, "How was "sympathetic magic" a part of these Druidic though processes? *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "There are some instances where the Scots made clay dolls like a "voodoo" doll almost and then stuck pins and other things into the dolls to wreck havoc on their enemies.  This is an area that I want to do more research on before commenting further.  I had best continue now... we will touch on most of these points later.  Hopefully more comments and explanations will be available then.  *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "In some religions, sacrifice is an act performed to influence the gods.  In others, it is a symbolic return to the gods of their blessings.  In still others, it is a freeing of life-force to empower Magical workings.  Sometimes, the giving of life in ritual demonstrates belief in deity.  Other times, it is done to redeem the spiritual cost of mundane actions done in this world.  This is done by sending a tribal member into the Otherworld.  The sacrificial victim then becomes the representative of the people performing the sacrifice.  Also, custom/tradition might dictate that victims are to be sacrificed in response to certain events (such as: funerals, droughts, bad harvests, rain, volcanoes, auguries, battles, plagues, comets, meteors, astrological signs, building foundations, earthquakes, etc.).  So far we have defined the following reasons for human sacrifice: *p*   1.  Influence Deity*br*   2.  Return of Blessings*br*   3.  Empower Draíocht*br*   4.  Demonstrate Belief*br*   5.  Payment for Mundane Aid*br*   6.  Otherworldly Advocate*br*   7.  Custom/Tradition  *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "I'm sure there are other reasons that humans were sacrificed but they escape me for now.  I thank the Workshop for all of their inputs particularly.  :) My "gut feeling" is that the Celts and Druids engaged in human sacrifice for just about all of the above reasons.   *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "Who was sacrificed?  I suppose this varied, based upon the need.  The list of sacrificial victims goes from kings to criminals, from priests to babies, from prisoners of war to witches.  Just about anyone could have been sacrificed at any time for what was thought to be a sufficiently good reason.  *p*The Wise Old Druid said, " Kings were sacrificed for the biggest Draíocht.  This included better weather, victory in war, improving the harvest and protecting the tribes.  Children and babies were also sacrificed for improving the crops as well as for dedicating buildings and sacred sites.  Prisoners (whether criminals or war captives) were the normally preferred sacrifice for most mundane reasons.  This was a matter of practicality as well as religion.  The tribe could not afford to house and feed large numbers of prisoners.  Letting them go, meant they would return to fight and destroy another day.  Knowing that one could be sacrificed by enemies, tended to dampen one's enthusiasm for making war in the first place.  Using prisoners for sacrifice was the easiest way to generate a lot of energy for "Blood Draíocht" quickly.  This was simply a case of turning the enemy's power back upon them.  *p*The Wise Old Druid said, " In the next part of my presentation, I will give the details (archaeological, literary, historical and Magical) that show how, why, where and when such sacrifices were done by the Celts and the Druids.  For those interested in reading more about Celtic/Druidic sacrifices, I'd recommend:  *p*"The Life and Death of a Druid Prince" by Ann Ross and Don Robbins.   *p*Other excellent supplemental readings include:  *p*"Druids, Magicians of the West", "Celtic Lore" and "Celtic Mythology" by Ward Rutherford.  *br*"The Coming of the King" (F) by Count Nicolai Tolstoy.   *br*"The Quest for Merlin" by Count Nicolai Tolstoy.   *br*"Lammas Night" (F) by Katherine Kurtz.   *br*"Druids" by Stuart Piggott.   *br*"Bard" (F) and "Druids" (F) by Morgan Llewellyn.   *br*"Myths and Symbols of Pagan Europe" by H.R.  Ellis Davidson.   *br*"The Religion of the Ancient Celts" by J.A.  MacCulloch  *br*"The Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom" by Caitlin and John Matthews.   *br*"The Celtic Druids' Year" by John King,  *br*"Mythic Ireland" by Michael Dames.  *br*"Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend" by Miranda Green.  *br*"Earth Memory" by Paul Devereux.   *p*(F) above stands for historical fiction.   *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "Many other excellent works exist on the Celts, as well as the subject of sacrifice and blood magic, but these are the sources I've reviewed preparing for this workshop.  *p*"Historical References" *p*Adam of Bremen refers to a sacrifice of animals and men held every ninth year at Uppsala in Sweden: (I'm including examples from the Norse as well as the Celtic sacrificial practices. ) "It is the custom moreover every nine years for a common festival of all the provinces of Sweden to be held at Uppsala.  Kings and commoners one and all send their gifts to Uppsala, and what is more cruel than any punishment, even those who have accepted Christianity have to buy immunity from these ceremonies.  the sacrifice is as follows: of every living creature they offer nine head, and with the blood of those it is the custom to placate the gods, but the bodies are hanged in a grove which is near the temple; so holy is that grove to the heathens that each tree in it is presumed to be divine by reason of the victim's death and putrefaction.  There also dogs and horses hang along with men.  One of the Christians told me that he had seen seventy-two bodies of various kinds hanging there, but the incantations which are usually sung at this kind of sacrifice are various and disgraceful, and so we had better say nothing about them." *p*The Wise Old Druid continued, "It's typical that opposing sides in a conflict would attempt to pervert the most sacred practice of the opponent.  A willing sacrifice for the clan is a noble deed.  Whereas, an involuntary sacrifice or execution is just the opposite.  Accounts by Strabo and Julius Caesar also mention the "Wicker Man" (large figures of wickerwork into which victims were placed to be burned).  Strabo describes such a construction as "...  a colossus of straw and wood".  He goes on to say that cattle, wild animals of various kinds and human victims were thrown into these.  The ashes were thought to aid the growth of crops.  Caesar described them as structures "...with limbs woven out of twigs, filled with living men and set on fire so that the victims perished in a sheet of flame'." *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "In his 'Gallic War, Julius Caesar describes offerings made by Celts in Gaul to a god he called Mars: *p*"...  when they have determined on a decisive battle, they dedicate as a rule whatever spoil they may take.  After a victory they sacrifice such living things as they have taken, and all the other effects they gather into one place.  In many states, heaps of such objects are to be seen piled up in hallowed spots, and it has not often happened that a man, in defiance of religious scruple, has dared to conceal such spoils in his house or to remove them from their place, and the most grievous punishment, with torture, is ordained for such an offence."  (Loeb translation). *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "In "Ynglinga Saga," Snorri tells us about a Swedish ceremonial sacrifice of their king Domaldi: *p*"The first year [of the famine] they sacrificed oxen, and there was no improvement in the harvest.  The next autumn they sacrificed men, but the harvest was as before or even worse.  and the third autumn many Swedes came to Uppsala when the sacrifice was to take place.  the chiefs took counsel then, and decided unanimously that the famine must be due to their king Domaldi, and that they must sacrifice him for a good season and redden the altars with his blood, and this they did." .*p*The Wise Old Druid continued, "Posidonius tells us about the Celtic custom of taking heads: "They cut off the heads of enemies slain in battle and attach them to the necks of their horses.  The blood-stained spoils they hand over to their attendants and carry off as booty, while taking part in a triumphal march and singing a song of victory; and they nail up these first fruits upon their houses, just as do those who lay low wild animals in certain kinds of hunting.  They embalm in cedar-oil the heads of the most distinguished enemies and preserve them carefully in a chest." *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "According to Strabo, the Cimbri (a Celtic tribe) were said to have used prisoners, taken during battle, for divinations within ritual.  The prisoners would be consecrated for sacrifice, then either impaled on stakes or hung above enormous bronze bowls. Their priestesses would climb ladders to cut the throats of the victims, collecting the flow of blood within the waiting bronze bowls below. Based upon how the blood flowed into the bowl, the grey-haired, white-robed women could determine what the outcome of the battle would be. Other victims were disemboweled for the purposes of augery. This blood was also said (to be used) to "drench their altars".*p*The Wise Old Druid said, "Some of the sources are from Ireland instead of Gaul.  *p*The Wise Old Druid continued, "Children were sacrificed to the idol called Crom Cruach according to the "Dindshenchas": (This is reminiscent of the Phoenician/Carthagean practice). This was said to have started with the Irish king Tigernmas.*p*The Wise Old Druid said, ""For him ingloriously they slew their wretched firstborn with much weeping and distress, to pour out their blood round the Bent One of the Hill.  Milk and corn they used to ask of him speedily in return for a third of their whole progeny; great was the horror and outcry about him." *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "In another story, Conn , the Hundred-Fighter, had become enamored of a faerie woman to the extent that the Land itself has suffered.  The people were without milk and corn for a year. The druids consulted their science and their wisdom to determine how the blight should be ended.  The druids determined that the son of a sinless couple should be found and brought to Tara and slain.  His blood had to be mingled with the soil of Tara to return blessings to the Land.  Conn himself went in quest of this child and found him in the household of Daire Degamra from the Land of Wonders and Rigu Rosclethan from the Land of Promise.  The child's name was Segda Saerlabraid  and even though his father would not give him up, he chose to willingly go with Conn, King of Ireland.  When the druids saw the boy their counsel was to slay him and then to mingle his blood with the earth of Ireland so that the blight could be lifted and its prosperity returned.  Conn and his son Art as well as Finn stood together against the druids and the clamoring of the men of Ireland, protecting the boy.  The boy himself then asked that he should be put to death if it was for such a noble purpose and to if it was to save such a noble land as Ireland.  Just as this deed was about to be done, a mysterious woman appeared leading a cow which was also carring two bags, one each on either of its sides.  When the druids themselves could not determine the mystery of the woman and her cow, or even the bags themselves, she was then asked to explain.  She said that the single cow before them had come to save the innocent youth and to rescue the prosperity of Ireland. It was itself to be slain in his place and after this deed was done, her blood was to be mixed with the earth.  After the cow had been slain and her blood scattered and mixed with the earth of Tara, then the two bags were opened to reveal their mysteries.  One bag was found to contain a single bird with one leg only, while the other bag held a similar bird, but this one having twelve legs instead of two or one.  When the two birds were released they immediately flew into the air and began to fight.  Amazingly, it was the one legged bird that prevailed and not the bird of twelve legs as had been expected. The druids could not determine the meaning of this conflict and once again the woman was consulted by all.  She then read the signs, stating that it was the druids that should be hanged and that the boy should be spared. Everyone agreed that this must be a true saying, since the druids had failed in their attempts to read the mysteries. The druids must then be the bird with twelve legs, and the boy must have been represented by the victorious bird with only one. And so it was that the young man was not put to death.  The woman then further prophesied that Ireland itself would be without one third of its produce until Conn could put away his faerie woman, Becuma Cneisgel. The woman then left, taking Segda with her, while refusing all payments, jewels and treasures that were offered. This is how Segda Saerlabraid was saved from the blades of the druids and was not sacrificed for Conn's folly of the faerie lover.*p*The Wise Old Druid said, "Now we have listed some of the ancient comments about human sacrifice by the Celts, along with our modern ones.  Let's see what a shamanic source has to say about life-force, as well as sacrifice: *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "Life-force and Spirit is my next topic of discussion." *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "The nature of power as life-force: Why is it important?  Without life-force (which is also known as "power") Spirit cannot manifest (nor hold a manifestation) within the physical realm.  The smaller the life-force the less Spirit is able to manifest.  The greater the life-force, the more Spirit is able to manifest itself and its Will on the earth plane.  Looking at it in a purely physical human example - a 300 lb. body builder can do more work than a sickly 98 lb. weakling.  They can work "bigger".  They manifest life "larger" than someone who is physically weak (for whatever reason).  *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "When the body can no longer produce, channel, & contain life-force we say it "dies".  The only difference between a body which is "dead" and one which is "alive" is the amount of life-force in each of them.  When a body looses so much life-force that it can no longer maintain/contain the physical manifestation of Spirit then Spirit MUST leave that body.  In order to manifest Spirit on the physical plane you need 3 things: *p*1.  A physical container of some kind.  This can be a human body, a rock or crystal, a drum or a rattle, an animal, a plant or any similar device.  Normally these are "natural" items i.e., not plastic (although I suppose that something synthetic technically could be used...  I don't think it would really work all that well as there is no natural resonance within it that could maintain the force...  kinda like running power into a battery that just wont hold the charge).  *p*2.  Life-force/power.  Once you have the container it must be empowered with sufficient life-force to enable a spirit to "live" within it.  Otherwise it's just an empty shell (whether it's a still-born baby or a "pretty crystal" that's use resides in amethyst crystal wand or deerhorn knife that you use in ceremony.  They are essentially the same.  Power dispersed = energy (static, direct, alternating, auric, etc.) Power condensed = physical manifestation (anything from a brick wall to a brain tumor).  Likewise power which is "de-condensed" will "un-manifest" - this is the way that a shaman would cure a tumor, for instance.  He would pull the power out of the tumor until the physical manifestation just disappears as well.  There is no manifestation of any kind anywhere without the condensing of power into physical matter.  One of the basic "physical laws" of power is that it will flow from a lesser concentration to a greater concentration.  On a personal level, this is important to know as we come into contact with beings of power (incarnate humans and discarnate who-knows-what's alike).  If we have more power than those around us they will be drawn to us and we must be careful not to naturally attract their power to us (leaching from them).  If they are more powerful than us then we must be careful to shield ourselves to ensure that our personal power does not flow from us to them without our conscious intent to do so.  It is vital to be able to "hold your power".  Here are several experiences/examples of empowering bodies for Magical workings: *p*There are spirits in other realms that wish to come to this plane of existence.  One of these realms is that of "crystal people".  These are certain spirits that resonate particularly well with crystals and who very much want to come to the earth plane.  In exchange for assistance in manifesting in this realm they will perform certain "services" for the person who makes this possible.  Some of these might include protecting the keeper of the crystal in which they live, giving them the ability to discern truthfulness from falsehood, the ability to journey to a certain realm or plane more easily.  The shaman going to the other plane to negotiate the arrangement will find out what the entity/spirit is capable of doing for him.  He will then find out what the spirit needs in return (must be empowered daily, kept in salt water when not being used, smudged with cedar once a full moon, whatever, etc.).  If the service offered and the price asked are agreeable to both parties, the shaman extends a crystal, that he has cleared/cleaned and empowered, and then the entity enters the crystal. It is brought back to this realm when the shaman returns from his journey to the land of the crystal people.  Had the crystal not contained enough power to "hold" the spirit within it then the crystal spirit could not have manifested life on this plane.  If the crystal becomes discharged, then the entity within it will literally "die".  It is a great responsibility.  Rather like having a physically dependent child to care for who must be fed, exercised, and companioned regularly or they cannot live.  *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "Another use of empowered/enlivened objects is to use an arrow or weapon of some kind either for protection or for hunting medicine.  I have seen a spirit caught and placed within an arrow.  The shaman then uses that arrow by directing the spirit in the arrow to "guard his back" or "assist him in bringing down game to feed his family".  That then becomes the entity's "prime directive" until it is released, the directive is changed, or the physical body loses its power and the entity/spirit slips free from it.  *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "Power is something that must be continually (or at least regularly) supplied.  It's like supplying your body with fuel so that it can continue to live.  You can't eat once or twice a month and still expect to live...  let alone do any kind of work, play, or activity (like Draíocht maybe <G>) if it's has no fuel to run on.  It's like expecting a car to run the Indy 500 with no fuel in the tank....  just doesn't work.    *p*The Priestess of the Light stated, "Could you talk more about the crystal people or offer a reading resource? *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "I don't know of a reading resource to direct you to.  The experience came from working with a man who was a shaman who took several of us on the journey there and back.  Do you have a specific question about them? *p*The Priestess of the Light stated, "Are they ancient, with white gowns, beards on the men, live in caves? *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "They are spirits who exist in a different plane from us who are very interested in manifesting here on the earth plane.*p*The Priestess of the Light stated, "Do you enter through seeing a diamond shaped crystal in your third eye with reflections of their faces in each segment?*p*The Wise Old Druid said, "My perception of them was that they are rather small in size, non humanoid, and the realm is not anything that I have a physical earth correspondence for.  it was rather light, sparkly and not well focused (could have been my own lack of ability to see on that plane) <G> NO.  It is a journey through specific landscape and not so much of an "inner journey"*p*The Priestess of the Light stated, "Very clear to me, the clearest image I've ever seen.*p*The Wise Old Druid said, "cool.  back on the topic of Druid sacrifice.  <G>*p*The Wise Old Druid said, "OK we are covering a lot of ground today....  so, bear with me....we will eventually get to Lindow Man and his threefold death.*p*The Wise Old Druid said, "I wanted to talk more about the principals of life-force, energy and sacrifice.  and How that is all directed.*p*The Wise Old Druid said, ""Life-force for Sacrifice is where my thoughts are leading me."  *p*"Assuming a willing sacrifice exists (and religions have been founded on just that basis), the person to be sacrificed should build as much power within himself as possible prior to the actual sacrifice and he should practice "loading up" on power and releasing it beforehand.  He must "stretch" himself in his ability to hold more and more power every day so that he can hold the maximum amount of power possible for the sacrifice. " *p*The Wise Old Druid said, "Other people can assist with this by "pouring" power into him, being very careful not to pour too quickly, nor so much that it stretches his power envelope to the point where it would develop "holes".  The group should stand in a circle and build the power by whatever means they choose. Then, the head of the circle should funnel the power through himself to the sacrifice using a golden power conduit/cord into the third chakra, or from the leader's hands into the third chakra of the sacrifice.  This should be practiced for some time before the day of the actual sacrifice to stretch and strengthen the sacrifice's power carrying "muscles," as it were.  When "fully loaded," the sacrifice's body should feel as light as a feather to him...  almost as though it's not there, it is so easy to carry.  When he feels that he is almost about to "float away" or when his envelope has been stretched to the limits, like an overfilled balloon, and is beginning to show thin spots (before there are actually holes), stop pouring the power.  (People who are low on power report that they can barely drag themselves around from day to day.  People who are stoked up hardly even notice that they are carrying a body with them at all - just a side note.)  A second note here....  the person being sacrificed should be in good shape physically.  A well toned/muscled, healthy body is capable of holding and carrying much, much more power than is an old, worn out or overweight or sick body.  The sacrifice should be as whole, hale and hearty as possible.  If he does have a problem (overweight, out of shape, tumor, broken bones etc.  these should be healed or fixed before the time of the sacrifice.  Never sacrifice anything or anyone but your absolute best.  I mean: think about it.  Would you prefer to have a healthy warrior guarding you, fighting to protect you, working on your behalf...  or would you rather hand your best sword to someone who can't even lift it or who will tire before the battle is halfway over and thereby leave you defenseless? *p*The Wise Old Druid continued, "The power should be returned to the people gifting it, or grounded into the earth, or sent out on a specific working, once it is built and transferred successfully.  This refines the sacrifice's technique of releasing the power to do work.  At the appointed day and time, the power is once again built and poured into the prepared sacrificial vessel.  The person has built his own power as high as it will possibly go.  He has been gifted with as much power as he can possibly carry.  At the height of this gathering of power, he is sacrificed.  His spirit is released...  is set free from his body.  It takes all of the power that had been used to animate his body (which is considerable), all of the power he has personally built on this day, and all of the power that he has been gifted with in once massive, powerful "discharge".  (I see this in my mind's eye as almost being like a rocket taking off or a "super eagle" taking flight.<personal note>) Once on the other side, freed from the limitations of incarnation on the earth plane, and able to see things more clearly, the sacrifice takes the accumulated power and does whatever working he has been chosen to do.  He becomes a warrior/guardian/magician on the other side working in connection with and for the benefit of this side of the curtain.  *p*(continued in next message)