Earthsongs: International Journal of the Society of Celtic Shamans, ISSN: 1499-0482, Volume 12, Issue 2, copyright © 2008, Elder Grove Press and content providers. All Right Reserved.

EMBODIED SPIRITUALITY
THE SHAPER, THE SHAPING AND
THE SHAPES IN CELTIC ANIMISM ©
by Teresa ‘Chrissy’ Conner

(First published at Garrán an Bhile Ratha by Teresa ‘Chrissy’ Conner, used with permission.)

The Emerald Tablet has a saying that goes, “so within so without, as above so below.” This may sound familiar to you, especially if you come from a Wiccan or Ceremonial Magick background, but many other cultures around the world including the Native Americans also believe in a correlation between the natural world and the self (for what befalls the world also befalls the children of the world [1]). To get scientific the inner world, or self, is the microcosm and the outer world, or the natural world, is the macrocosm. This relationship between the two is one of symbiosis and reflectivity. The Webster’s New World Dictionary defines symbiosis as “the living together of two dissimilar organisms in a close association that is advantageous to both.” So how can the Shaper(s), the Shaping and the Shapes provide a context of embodied spirituality in our lives?

First, we need to look at the meaning of embodied. There are numerous definitions to this word, but the one I feel most comes into play when we speak about this topic is ‘to make something part of an organized whole’ (same dictionary as above used). This simply means we need to take within ourselves (the microcosm) the natural world (the macrocosm); we need to become one.

Secondly, let’s have a look at the Shaper(s). The Shaper(s) is embodied within the Irish word Dúileamh. What is most interesting about this word is while it is used in place of God, Creator, Almighty or Father, is does not contain the root word for any of them, but what it does contain is the word dúile (which in turn contains the root word for dúlra or nature). This clearly shows that to the Celts (even the Christian Celts) the Shaper of the universe is linked to the natural world. This is also shown in the Scots Gaelic word of Cruithear, which comes from the root word cruth, meaning ‘shape’ (the Irish also have a very similar word [cruthaitheoir] which comes from the same root). As Tom Cowan states, “you can’t shape something that doesn’t already exist,” [2] so Cruithear is not a Creator, but a Shaper.

Dana or Danú is seen as the primal Irish Mother Goddess and could indeed be called a Shaper, or one might choose to call the Túatha Dé Dannan (‘People of the Goddess Dana’) the Shapers or any of the d&3acute;ithe for that matter. Dana, being a goddess of the land, shaped the lives of Ireland’s people and in return what the people of Ireland did to the land was reflected onto the Sovereignty of the land. Just as the world was fashioned through the reshaping and reforming of already existing energy, the same Shapers shape our lives.

We, ourselves, are Shapers of our lives as well. Choices we make, things we say and do all have consequences. In leading an embodied, living and engaged existence of mindfulness and awareness we can come to make the right actions to better shape ourselves and our world. We don’t have to look far to see the effects modern society has had upon each other and Mother Earth. We have shaped this for ourselves; it was not something shaped for us (but only when we stop blaming an outside Shaper(s) will something change).

Third, we will take a look at the Shaping. The Shaping can be both an action of the Shaper or a force outside of the Shaper yet still akin. The Shaping is change, and like change, it is constant and never ceasing. Many are afraid of change, but Shaping is the process by which we come alive. This process that allows us to grow and let go of things no longer serving us. It is a harmonizing principle, not one of destruction, though some view change like this. The Shaping can be hard, but it is needed nonetheless to help us grow. If you view Dana as more of a guiding force, the Shaping can be viewed much like the Chinese Tao, Japanese kami or Christian Holy Spirit (or Ghost). As this guiding force knocks at our hearts, and sometimes chips us down to humble children, the process of Shaping (change) begins.

Fourthly, we have the Shapes, the products of the shaping by the Shapers. These themselves are the dúile, the elements of the natural world. However, unlike the Classical associations of earth, air, fire, water and sometimes spirit ([a]ether), the Celtic view of the dúile encompasses up to nine elements based mainly upon the surviving Celtic Christian prayers. The most notable of these is St. Patrick’s Breastplate (or lorica); also known by its much older name of The Deer’s Cry (which is possibly druidic in origin). Within this protective morning invocation, we are the shown nine dúile of heaven, sun, moon, fire, lightning, wind, sea, earth and rock. These are the macrocosm, the natural world, but we also have within ourselves the very same dúile and are actually products of the same shaping process. Below is what I believe the dúile mentioned in The Deer’s Cry associate to within our bodies:

Heaven corresponds with the sky, which turn corresponds with our head. To the Celts, the seat of the soul was in the head. Just as Celtic Christians believe when they die their soul will reside in heaven (or the sky realm), our soul resides in the sky of our body, our head.
The Sun corresponds to our life force. The light of our being. As the way of existence, we rise with the sun and set with the moon. The sun is in the sky just as our soul resides in our head.
The Moon corresponds to our psyche, consciousness and awareness. This is the home of our emotions and mental ability. For within the darkness, what it means to be human thrives and what haunts us waits.
Fire corresponds to our spark, our personality, those passions and desires that make us who we are. Within the Breastplate, fire is listed as having splendour. Splendour is brilliance, magnificence and majesty. These are the qualities of fire that shine through when we express who we are.
Lightning corresponds to our thoughts. Those fleeting moments of ideas or hours of brainstorms (storm = lightning) and if we are lucky, moments of divine inspiration. Lightning to me is the imbas or awen spoken of in Celtic tradition.
Wind corresponds to our breath, or anáil. I believe breath to be the most symbiotic of the dúile. As we breathe in the oxygen released from plant life, we release carbon dioxide, which in turn feeds the plants. How beautiful is that! We each create a revitalizing force for the other. If that is not advantageous to both parties, I don’t know what is.
The Sea corresponds to our blood, the life-giving flow of our existence. Like the earth, humans are over 70% water. And akin to the earth, we’d die without it. Water is the blood of the earth. Rivers, streams, lakes and oceans are the veins of our planet.
Earth corresponds to our flesh and soft tissue. The soil of the earth is like that of our flesh and when we die we return back to that soil (ashes to ashes, dust to dust).
Rock corresponds to our bones, the foundations of our being. Just as bones support our flesh, the rocks hold up the earth. The Celts built great cairns, or rock piles, over the remains of people who were buried. To this day they still stand high over our ancestors bones.

All of the aforementioned aspects combine to give us a heightened sense of animistic mysticism. Things look differently when one realizes we are in everything and everything is in us. We begin to treat the world differently. We feel more responsibility for the environment and it may indeed bring a sense of environmentalism into our personal spirituality. To once again get scientific, when we strip everything down to its basics, everything is nothing more than symbiotic molecules sharing a relative space (there’s those words again). This makes us all connected, all related. We are all the same energy and forever will be. We cannot be created or destroyed, only shaped into something new. When we die, we go into the earth, back into our origins, the womb of the Shaper(s) to be shaped once again. As the great Welsh bard Taliesin said, “I have been in many shapes before I assumed this present form.” [3]

If we now go back to the definition of embodied that is used within this essay, it makes perfect sense. To take something (in this case the trinity of Shaper(s)/Shaping/Shapes) and make them a part of an organized whole (ourselves and our spirituality), and vice versa, we become embodied in the soul of the world and in return the soul of the world becomes embodied within us.

ENDNOTES

I believe Chief Seattle said this, but as I’m pulling it from memory, I’m not 100% sure. [Return to Article]

Cowan, Tom. Yearning for the Wind: Celtic Reflections on Nature and the Soul, Page 143 [Return to Article]

Matthews, John. Taliesin: The Last Celtic Shaman, Page 55 [Return to Article]

Note: A lot of this essay was the result of an assignment in the Bard course at Grove of Dana (New Order of Druids) and greatly inspired by the works of Tom Cowan and Frank MacEowen.

Chrissy, 25, is the founder and facilitator of the online community Garrán an Bhile Ratha. Active around various online pagan communities, she is also a student with the New Order of Druids. She resides in Alabama and works as a library assistant while freelancing her graphic & web design, digital artwork and writing. In her spare time you can find her singing Celtic folksongs and practicing the Irish pennywhistle. Visit her online at www.teresaconner.com or view her journal at www.teresaconner.com/journey.

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Earthsongs: International Journal of the Society of Celtic Shamans copyright © 2008 by Elder Grove Press and content providers. All rights reserved. International copyright laws prohibit reproduction of or distribution of this page by any means whatsoever, electronic or otherwise, without first obtaining the written permissions of the copyright holders. We retain legal counsel to protect our copyrights.