CELTIC
The Dragon Path
Y DDRAIG RHUDD
Drych y Prif Oesoedd, Cerrig Cyfamod:
Trech gwlad nag arglwydd.
Llonydd yw llyn y nos yn y cwm,
Yn ei gafn di-wynt;
Cwsg Orion a'r Ddraig Rhudd ar ei wyneb plwm,
Araf y cyfyd y lloer a nofio'n gyntunnus i'w hynt.
Wele'n awr awr ei dyrchafael.
Chwipyn pelydri dithau o'i blaen a phicell dy lam
O fon I frig dan ei thrafael
Yn ymsaethu I galon y gwyll fel Tanwedd dan ei fflam:
Ust, saif y nos o'th gylch yn y gangell glaear
Ac afrlladen nef yn croesi a'i bendith y ddaear.
Poni welwch-chwi'r syr wedi r'syrthiaw?
Poni welwch-chwi'r byd wedi r'bydiaw?
Aros mae'r mynyddau mawr.
Dyma ef wedi dod, Yr Arwr;
O ble deuai, yr un a fu erioed?
A fo Ben, bid bont.

The Red Dragon
The Mirror of the First Ages, the Covenant Stones:
The land is mightier than the lord.
Still is the lake of the night in the valley,
In its windless trough;
Orion and the Red Dragon sleep on its leaden face,
Slowly rises the moon and swims sleepily on her way.
See now the hour of her exaltation.
At once you gleam before her with the spear of your leap
From root to top beneath her journey
Shooting to the heart of darkness like the Fiery One beneath its flame:
Hush, stands the night around you in the shining circle
And the bread of heaven crosses the earth with its blessing.
Do you not see that the stars are fallen?
Do you not see that the world has ended?
The mighty hills unchanging stand.
He has come, The Hero;
From where did he come, the one who was always?
He who is Chief, let him be a bridge.

The Wise Men The early wise men among the Celts were the Fferyllt, the alchemists. It was their arts that the Goddess Cerridwen followed when she brewed her Cauldron of Wisdom for a year and a day, from which the sacred Awen (spiritual power) created the Bards and their priests, the Druids. Cerridwen (the curved white one) gave birth to three children: the Cormorant (bird of the great sea), the Crystal Egg, and the Utter Darkness. In an attempt to bring wisdom to the Darkness, Cerridwen brewed a Cauldron of Awen, which resulted in the great Bard, Taliesin.
The Druids had three levels of attainment and initiation: Bard, Ovate and Druid. The Bards attained the gift of Awen, usually through a form of sensory deprivation in small closed chambers lit only by candles at certain times. It is believed that the inner chambers in megalithic structures were used for this purpose. The Ovates, through union with the Goddess, learned the wisdom to understand the gift of Awen. The Druids underwent trials to learn to conquer their fear of death, thus becoming members of the priesthood. The powers attained by the Bards, Ovates and Druids were inspiration, prophecy and shape-shifting.
The last lines of "The Chair of Taliesin" sum up the transformation:

"Radiance pervades the brewer,
Over the Cauldron of five trees,
And the flowing of a river,
And the spreading of heat,
And honey and the trefoil,
And supreme mead intoxicating,
As metal to a warlord,
The gift of the Druids."
Awen was thought of as a flowing energy, like a river, and the symbol of Awen was three light rays, called Gogyrwen or Ogyrwen. Chanting the word "Awen" three times was one method used by Druids to invoke spiritual power.
Another of Taliesin's poems,"Chair of the Sovereign," refers to the

"Height whence came the Wise One of the Cauldron.
Ogyrwen of the three Awens."

In Ireland, the Goddess Brighid (Bride, the Power of Fate) ruled over the Aos Dana, the People of the Art, who practiced Filidecht (Bardism). Brighid ruled over magical fire, childbirth, intoxication and the White Serpent. The Serpent's power ran throughout the countryside on straight paths connecting standing stones. Brighid's Feastday was the beginning of February, when the Serpent of the Bride emerged to run through the land.

Gwalchmei' s Attainment A hill with a hundred water courses, and a storm at the top, full of lightnings; at its base a great black swamp, part black, part whitened by the bones of men. He crossed this on a thousand piers built by an ancient King, and running to the Great Sea; each bridge vanished behind him as he crossed, and thrice above him the heavens thundered. His armor became clear when he was on the Sea, and over his head the bloodred Cauldron hung. A boat appeared, and as he flew up into the heavens it seemed to come alive and sprout wings. And beyond a single Star the Spiritual City was pierced by a beam of red light from the Star, and here the Cauldron dwelt, protected by the floods of heaven. Here Gwalchmei was crowned a King. (Gwalchmei means Falcon of May.)

The Castle of Heroes The Castle of Heroes exists beyond the Veil between the worlds. Only the dead, and those of the living who dare the journey, may enter. The Cauldron of Regeneration is kept in the Castle, which is surrounded by the Great Sea. There, it is guarded by two rivals, Gwyn ap Nudd (the White One, son of the Sea) and Gwyrthur ap Greidawl (Victor, son of Scorcher), who fight for the hand of the maid, Cruerdylad (Holder of the Elixir), every first of May until the Day of Doom (doom for these two is life for the Seeker). The water of the Great Sea is weak, and only those who have no weight (earthly concerns) can traverse it. Also, the rigor of the Great Sea makes it difficult to cross without companions. At the door to the Castle, one is met by either the One or the two, depending upon one's preparation.

Arthur Rackham
The Castle is eight in one, and one in eight: Caer Sidi - the Revolving Castle - the mind revolves, sifting out unimportant things, until it aligns itself with a new awareness.
Caer Pedryvan - the Four-Cornered Castle - freeing the mind from its attention on material objects, it seeks the Spirit.
Caer Vedwyd - the Castle of Revelry - the mind wakes to the inner life, and fills with joy and knowledge.
Caer Rigor - the Kingly Castle - the mind enlarges its kingdom, and solidifies its reach to the new territory.
Caer Wydyr - the Glass Castle - the mind separates itself from its former existence and becomes other (as a tree grows wild).
Caer Golud - the Castle of Riches - the mind reunites itself with itself, and glows with new-found power.
Caer Vandwy - the Castle of Fertility - the mind is reborn as a Spirit (united with Spirit).
Caer Ochren - the Castle of Gold - the mind attains the Cauldron of Regeneration by reducing the many to the one.

Stonehenge

Myrddin sailed the Great Sea in a ship of glass with the Nine Lords, and he fashioned a magick chair in the Castle of Heroes called the Siege Perilous, where no man can sit but that he loses himself:

Perfect is my chair in Caer Sidi:
Plague and age hurt not him who's in it--
They know, Gwyn and Gwyrthur.
Three organs round a fire sing before it,
And about its points are ocean's streams
And the abundant well above it--
Sweeter than white wine the drink in it.

The Swan Maiden Caer (swan), a maiden descended from the Ancient Ones of Chaos and Old Night, lived with her father in a sidhe in their ancestors' ancient stronghold. At each summer's end (Samhain), she went with other swan-maidens to a lake called Dragon's Mouth, where they were transformed into swans. When a worthy man approached the lake, she would sing to him of the Otherworld. If he agreed, she would turn him into a swan also (a young god), and they would cross the lake to pass through a mist, the veil between the worlds, to find the Castle of Heroes. Here they were welcomed by a warrior and a beautiful woman. The Hero undertook many adventures in the Castle to find the treasures of the Ancients. One of these was the living magickal Sword called Dyrnwyn (Brynnyn or Branwen). Myrddin had bathed the blade of the Sword in sacred oil and placed it in a Stone to prevent the Sword from bursting into flame. Only Gwern (Dragon man), a true son of the Ancient Ones, can remove the Sword. With it, he defends himself against the temptations of the world. Another was the Cauldron of Rebirth, which could only be found by those who had first discovered the Staff of Peredur Paladhrir (Percival) -- "He who endures to the end of the Great Journey." At Beltaine (May 1), Caer would return to the world and assume her human form again.

The Holy Grail At death, all men return to the Midst to await rebirth on earth, except the few who have found the Cauldron called the Holy Grail. The Grail was left behind by the Ancient Ones, to help man gain immortality. The constellation Cygnus the Swan (Northern Cross) marks the dwelling of the grail; thus the symbol of the Grail is the swan or a red cross.
You must be willing to renounce all before you can gain all; this is the straight and narrow Path found by few. If you sing the Swan song (overcome all selfish desires), the Two Guardians will cease their struggle and embrace in the Dance of the Dead, freeing your soul from the illusion of the everyday world so you can enter the Land of the Dead while still living to seek the Grail.
The search for the Cauldron brings about a gradual development of the inner life (thus, the GRAIL, from gradual). The Cauldron glows blood-red, and the ruby is the symbol of the saving blood of one who has created the Immortal Spirit. The black raven is the messenger of the Grail. The Sun embraced by the crescent Moon is the sign of the Grail, the symbol of transcendental consciousness.
Around the edge of the Cauldron letters are inscribed, giving the name and lineage of each one who is to make the blessed journey. No man can win the Grail unless he is called by name to the Grail. The Seeker may marry and have children and still attain to the Grail, but it is most easily attained by a virgin (that is, by one who is single-minded, not bound by emotional ties to another). The powers of the Grail are such that flesh and bones are at once made young again.
The Spring of the Grail flows from the Well of the Spirit, which is guarded by a Dragon. Here one renews the Word-Sword, which has shattered and lost its original power. The Sword is man himself. Only by discovering its original source can it be renewed. You must have the water at its source before the light of day has shone upon it (that is, before transcendental consciousness gives way to the light of the everyday world). If the pieces are not lost, and you fit them together properly, as soon as the Spring water wets them the Sword will become whole again. The Sword requires the love of the Spirit made flesh. Only through such love can the universal Human Spirit come to birth in man.

For some historical info about the Celts
see my info about the Basques under
Basques in Britain.