The Beginnings of Celtic Cosmology
Searles

Wed Sep 20 01:36:50 2000
The Beginnings of Celtic Cosmology*p*In my research into Celtic cosmology, I found an excellent reference on Vedic astrology,  _Myths and Symbols of Vedic Astrology_ by Bepin Behari (as edited by David Frawley). I think the history books on ancient cosmologies are being re-written contemporaneously with this discussion. One really good book on this topic that I would recommend is _In Search of the Cradle of Civilization_ by Georg Feuerstein, Subhash Kak, and David Frawley. I suggest we use this quote from the Rig-Veda as a guide in our quest for a beginnig or creation story:*p*"Existence or nonexistence was not then. The bright region was not, nor the space that is beyond.  What encompassed? Where?  Under whose protection?  What water was there - deep and unfathomable?*p*Death or immortality was not then. There was no distinction between night and day.  That One breathed, windless, by itself.  Other than that there was nothing beyond.*p*In the beginning, there was darkness concealed by darkness.  All of this was water without distinction.  The One that was covered by voidness emerged through the might of the heat-of-austerity.*p*In the beginning, desire, the first seed of mind, arose in That.  Poet-seers, searching in their heart with wisdom, found the bond of existence in nonexistence.*p*Their visions' ray stretched across existence and nonexistence.  Perhaps there was a below; perhaps there was an above.  There were givers of seed; there were powers; effort below, self-giving above.*p*Who knows the truth?  Who here will pronounce it whence this birth, whence this creation?  The Gods appeared afterward, with the creation of this world.  Who then knows whence it arose?*p*Whence this creation arose, whether it created itself or whether it did not?  He who looks upon it, from the highest space, he surely knows.  Or maybe He knows not."*p*With only a few changes, an Irish Ollamh could have spoken these words to his people about the creation of the world and Ireland herself. We should seek for our roots and our ancient ways, not accepting those that have been forced upon us by the ravages of armies, history, churches, biased scholars and time.  If we search, I believe we can find the bond of existence with nonexistence.  This is one of the concepts that astrology (as well as cosmology) addresses. *p*The Celtic names for the planets and constellations are difficult to locate or discover. This might be due to perhaps a geis or taboo on recording these names because the Celts and the Druids considered them to be sacred. The sky is there, has been there for eons, will be there, for many cultures and many languages.  It was not the sole provenance of any single culture.  All around the world, people have named the planets and the stars from the beginnings of language. Usually their naming has been associated with deity and tradition. I recommend the works of E.C. Krupp (_Beyond the Blue Horizon_ or _The Echoes of Ancient Skies_) to anyone wanting more knowledge about the skies and mythic tradition from around the world. Another good word on stare lore is _Star Names, Their Lore and Meaning_ by Richard Hinckley Allen. The Celtic names for such things are what we are seeking, not a re-direction into the modern Celtic language names that are derived from Latin usage.  Peter Beresford Ellis had a brief introduction along this direction in his book _The Druids_.  Ellis notes the ancient Manx names for Venus and Mercury as being Yn Curain and Yn Crean (two names for Mercury);  Yn Vadlag and Yn Vaytnag (two different names for Venus).  I've also seen some brief comments on the days of the week that were listed by Dáibhí ó Cróinín in his book _Early Medieval Ireland_ to some very early names for the days of the week: dies scrol, diu luna (this is also an Old Irish word), diu mart, diu iath, diu ethamon, diu trach, and diu satur.  These might lead us to something more Celtic than a Latin-derived version. One last word about Latin and Old Irish: scholars are today recognizing that Old Irish and Latin are very similar due to their origination in a common Indo-European language. This means that many linguists may have to re-think their earlier attributions of many words in Old Irish to a Latin derivation. Let's keep looking for the original names in the many writings that are held within the archives of the ancient lore.  With the right approach and attitude, I'm sure we will find them.*p*Searles*br*