Celtic Monsters

To many people demons are the epitome of evil, but in the Celtic world nothing is so clear-cut. Some Celtic demons were Gods to begin with, but as the Celts became Christians the early Saints couldn't ignore the Pagan hold on their imagination.

The world of the early Celts was full of fear and at the mercy of the elements. Thunder. Fire. Lightning. In order to come to terms with these destructive forces of nature, the Celts imagined them to be living things: dragons and serpents.

When you think of fairies, do you think of tiny women with wings and a magic wand to ward off evil? The fairies of Celtic tradition are more serious creatures-not to be made fun of, not to be taken lightly, and never to be underestimated.

When the Celts looked out at the landscape around them they were filled with awe at the great towers of boulders and colossal ramparts of nature. Like many peoples all over the world, they decided it must all be the work of a race of giants.

Nowadays we can be fairly certain of a good, long life. But generations ago, the Celtic forefathers had to face certain death much more often. As such they were always on the look out for portentous signs-for omens of death.

Magic often comes in female form-perhaps because birth is such a magical thing. To the early Celts, Goddesses were the cause of many of nature's wonders. The memory of that has survived, and in some cases, transformed into terrifying tales of witches.