Wisdom Teachings of the Ancient World: Celtic Spirituality and Tantra (Mary Angelon Young)

Maha Shivaratri is the annual Hindu celebration of the union of Shiva and Parvati, the symbol of the timeless and the world of time. All the great traditions recognize the meeting point between timelessness and time, heaven and earth. The Celtic cross represents the union of spirit and matter. Another Celtic symbol is the Triskelion, an image of three universal forces flowing into each other. Three forces are also part of other traditions, such as creation, preservation, and destruction in Hinduism. The Celts were animists who had a deep relationship to the divinity in all things. They had a profound love of nature, including trees, and were very aware of the cycles of time. They believed in the transmigration of the imperishable soul, which travels and returns like the cycles of nature. “Awen” means inspiration, which is experienced when in flow with the patterns of the cosmos. The Celts had a longing for the unknown that showed up in wandering. This is also an honored tradition in India based in faith and trust in the universe. Walking can tap us into something very ancient. Longing is connected to our true home, the heart of God. If we can stay with our longing, it will take us into the mystery. Grief is connected to longing and has the power to break us open to surrender to life. All thresholds, “betwixt and between” places, have power. The other world is close at hand at places where the veils are thin between past, present, and future. Four aims of life are considered: dharma, kama, artha, and moksha. We can realize divinity through anything and everything. Angelon is a workshop leader with a background in Jungian psychology, an editor and author of As It Is, Under the Punnai Tree, The Baul Tradition, Caught in the Beloved’s Petticoats, Enlightened Duality (with Lee Lozowick), Krishna’s Heretic Lovers, The Art of Contemplation and other books.