Celtic Love

If you've researched your Scottish history, you may have discovered your clan and its tartan. This one is the tartan for the DOULL family (a sept of the MacDowell/MacDougall clans) and we would never have known we belong to this clan had it not been for my beautiful mum saving a letter from a pile of letters and documents that were being burned by other family members when her grandmother died. The letter was dated 1874 and was proof that my 3rd great grandfather changed his name from Doull to Douglas when he came to Australia. We will never know why, but the letter gave us the proof we needed to research our family history.

Who doesn't love "Outlander"? If you haven't seen the series yet or read the books, I highly recommend you do! It's filled with passion, mystery, history, time travel, Celtic scenery and a handsome Scot!

The pipes, the Irish flute, the tin whistle, the harp, and the bodhran... just some of the beautiful and amazing Celtic instruments. My favourite artists for Celtic music is Tim Janus (https://www.timjanis.com/) and Loreena McKennitt (https://loreenamckennitt.com/). I listen to their music a LOT! :) 

The Celts believed certain natural sites had spiritual importance; these sites included hills and mountain tops, impressive trees, and bodies of water such as springs, rivers, lakes, and bogs. Especially sacred were those points where movements of waters joined like estuaries and river confluences. Such sites were considered meeting places between the physical and supernatural worlds as water was a conduit to the Otherworld. The sources of major rivers were particularly attractive to the Celts and sanctuaries are attested at the sources of the Marne and Seine Rivers. Nearly 200 wooden sculptures were discovered at the latter sanctuary, known as Sequana (also the Celtic name for the Seine), located northwest of Dijon. The high number of precious artefacts recovered from the River Thames over the last few decades indicate that this, too, was a major destination for votive offerings deposited by British Celts. Information from: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1710/sacred-sites--rituals-in-the-ancient-celtic-religi/

Personally, I think the biggest downfall about living in Australia (besides the heat), is that you don't get to see these... big beautiful castles rich in history. This is a picture of Eilean Donan Castle. Pic from https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/eilean-donan-castle-idyllic-scottish-setting-carries-dark-history-008261 

 Eilean Donan Castle was built in the early 1200s on Loch Duich in Scotland to protect against Norse incursions into the Earldom of Ross. The site is thought to have previously been fortified to some degree during the Iron Age, and there is some evidence that a Celtic-Christian monastery may have existed there in the 6th or 7th century. Information from: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-6478925/The-mysterious-beautiful-Celtic-castles-British-Isles.html

Did you know there's a Celtic tree for everyone according to your star sign? I am "Ivy" - Spiritual, generous and a born survivor! You can see what tree you belong to here: https://www.pinterest.com.au/kellygrebert/celtic-world/

One of the beautiful things to come from Celtic culture are knots and designs. They all mean something different. This is the Triquetra (its meaning is written on the picture) and you can find other meaning for knots and designs on my pinterest page here: https://www.pinterest.com.au/kellygrebert/celtic-world/ 

Scotland's national drink is of course, whiskey and they have many distilleries across the country. This is Ardbeg single malt scotch whiskey from the Isle of Islay - Ardbeg Kildalton where some of my ancestors came from. Their national dish? Haggis! It doesn't look the best and sadly, I have never tried it. Living across the other side of the world makes it a bit hard to enjoy the wonders of Celtic Scotland and I hope one day to get back there, now that I know where my ancestors come from!

We wouldn't have anything Celtic to enjoy if it weren't for the Celtic people. The Celts didn't just come from Scotland or Ireland, but were in fact a mix of people from various groups and tribes living in mainland Europe from the Late Bronze Age onwards. Tribes included the Gauls, Helvetii, Scordisci, Serdi, Boli and Iceni among others. Today, according to Wikipedia, 6 nations tend to be associated with a modern Celtic identity and are considered the 'Celtic Nations'. These are;

1. Ireland

2. Scotland

3. Wales

4. Cornwall

5. Isle of Man

6. Brittany

If your ancestry does not come from any of these places, don't despair, If you feel it in your bones and you love and respect Celtic ways, Celtic people and find yourself dreaming about being in Cornwall and the like, you are a Celt and we love you! (Picture by Sue Walker White)

Witches, Warlocks, Gods, Godesses, Vampires, Fairies, Dragons and the list goes on......This section deserve another whole page - see 'The Old World' (more to come on that page too)