The Significance Of Sacred Sites

In Esoteric Work

To the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids

by Eilthireach
(Imbolc 2003)

"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought."
(Matsuo Basho)

Introduction

Dear fellow members of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids,

dear readers,

during the OBOD Ovate course there is a number of supplementary Gwersu mailed to the students dealing with well known sacred sites in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Brittany. These are mostly the countries that we call "Celtic" countries today and they hold indeed some of the most spectacular monuments of the Celtic and earlier periods of Western European history.

Whoever has visited one of these places, like Glastonbury or Newgrange, will have noticed that they have certain powers that can produce anything from "just" poetry, deep thoughts and visions to decisions and actions triggered by the visit of such a site. Such a visit can definitely influence your life path.

Celtic culture today is widely understood as insular Celtic culture, that is the Celtic culture of the British Isles and Ireland. Few people outside the Order seem to know that the Celts have settled in Central Europe (among other areas) for many centuries as well and that they have left their distinct mark here, too. This includes sacred sites that are not as famous as their insular counterparts, but well enough suited to connect the visitor with the energies of the land, the ancestors and with the spirits of time.

I have therefore decided to devote the work of my Ovate gift to the era of the Celts in my home country Bavaria (Southern Germany). I want to approach the topic from two sides. First, there is a historical overview of the Celtic period in Bavaria, based on the latest archaeological findings. Second, there will be a section on how we can esoterically use the potential of sacred places.

This way, I hope to broaden the view of Celtic history and culture in Continental Europe, and maybe I can also make a few useful suggestions that help beginners in sacred place work to a good start.

I wish you all the best for your journey. May the Sun always shine on your path!

Yours, from the ancient Celtic heartland,

Eilthireach /|\

Munich, Bavaria;

Imbolc 2003

Front photo: A portion of the Via Claudia Augusta near Mittenwald, Bavaria. This military road was built after the Roman conquest to connect Bavaria with Italy and Rome. The road is still visible today and most probably replaced a predecessing Celtic trade route across the Alps.

---

The Celts in Bavaria

An historical overview

Whoever reads the word "Celt" today will think of Ireland, Scotland, Wales or maybe Brittany. These are the countries where Celtic languages have been spoken up to the present day and where Celtic culture has enjoyed a long and extensive flowering.

But there was a time when the Celts were spread over almost all of Europe. For example, a wanderer strolling today through the forests south of Munich, Bavaria, will see intact Celtic monuments, earth walls, ditches, and burial mounds every now and then. Often hidden in the dim light of dense forest, these monuments are silent witnesses of a time when Celtic Druids held the rituals of their tribes in these places. In burial mound cemeteries, Celtic princes, noblemen and warriors have been found in their graves, often with rich equipment, a fact that allows us today to acknowledge how highly developed Celtic arts and craftsmanship already were. There were even Celtic cities on Bavarian soil!

The Celts were originators of the first culture in European history to show the characteristic signs of a high developed, supra-regional civilization. Probably moving in from Eastern Europe, they initially settled in Central Europe.

"Through its geographical situation in Southern Germany, Bavaria belongs to the original Celtic heartland, to the area where Celts already were present before the start of the Celtic expansion from the end of the 5th century AD." (Schussmann)

From that time onwards the Celts expanded, especially to the British Isles and Ireland, but they also reached countries as far apart as Turkey (Galatians) and Spain (Ibero-Celts).

The time frame for Celtic Bavaria looks like this:

Hallstatt Era 750-450 BCE
La Tène Era 450-100 BCE
Late Celtic Era 100-15 BCE

The Hallstatt Era has been named after the village of Hallstatt in Austria, where Celtic salt mines and approximately 2,000 Celtic graves have been discovered to date. "Hall" is actually a mainland Celtic word meaning "salt." It is repeated in place names along the Alps like Hallein, Hall, Bad Reichenhall. Salt was a most important source of wealth for the Celts in alpine regions and a sought-after trading good.

The La Tène Era has been named after a town in the French speaking part of Switzerland. The findings at both archaeological sites have been considered so typical for the eras they represent, that the eras were named after them.

Celtic remains on Bavarian soil can be roughly separated into three groups:

1. So called "Late Celtic Viereckschanzen"
2. Graves: single burial mounds, burial mound cemeteries,and flat grave cemeteries
3. Settlements: cities, citadels of the aristocracy, and fortified hilltop settlements

1. "Viereckschanzen"

A "Viereckschanze" is basically a quadrangular enclosure. "Viereck" is German for "four corner", which hints at the rectangular shape of the monument. The enclosure or temenos is formed by an earth wall and a ditch running along the outside of the wall. The length of the walls is 80 - 150 meters (270 - 500 feet). The wall and ditch had no defensive purpose, but were built to separate the sacred space inside from the profane outside. There is an entrance that can lead to all directions, but never to the North. One reason for this might be that the sun never stands in the North (northern hemisphere). The entrance was usually gated by a wooden building or gatehouse in Celtic times.

Of this type of monument, we know of approximately 200 in Bavaria today. A high concentration of them is found south of Munich. Their state of repair varies. In continental Europe "Viereckschanzen" exist from central France to Bohemia. They are called "Late Celtic" because they originate from the Late Celtic Era 100-15 BCE.

The corner of a Viereckschanze in the forest. Notice shallow ditch along right side of the wall.

The purpose of the "Viereckschanzen" is still discussed among archaeologists, but more and more evicence points in the direction of a religious use. In the 1950s one of these monuments in the village of Holzhausen near Munich was excavated. At this occasion three so called "cult shafts" were discovered. The deepest of these shafts was 35 meters (117 feet) and contained a high concentration of protein. The scientists concluded that there was a sacrifical disposition of meat in these shafts. There were other objects found in the shafts as well, such as wooden staffs, meat hooks, bones, etc. Otherwise, the "Viereckschanzen" are rather empty of archaeological findings. It was possible, though, to discover the marks of wooden buildings inside of some of the "Viereckschanzen." Scientists have identified them as temples of the type "Gallo-Roman circumambulation temple".

In spite of all this, we do not exactly know today what kind of rites or other activities were held inside these places.

From the archaeological viewpoint, it must be considered highly probable that the Celts did practise human sacrifice. Their motives remain unclear, as well as how, where and how often they did it. However, there is not a single piece of evidence that would link human sacrifice to the Viereckschanzen.

Interestingly, according to the newest findings of geomantists, Celtic "Viereckschanzen" have been built along the ley line system. The crossing point of ley lines, or places especially rich with earth energy, are often to be found beneath the entrance area.

There are other sanctuaries in Bavaria that can be traced back to Celtic times, especially sacred wells and hill sanctuaries. Some of them have been overbuilt with churches and chapels and are still in use as places of worship today. Other places are not so well known, but more and more rediscovered by a growing number of interested visitors.

Side wall of Buchendorf Viereckschanze, a rare example of a Schanze in unforested terrain. 

2. Celtic graves

In Celtic Bavaria, the following burial customs were observed:

Most of today's archaeological findings come from pieces of equipment that were buried with the deceased. These are most notably weapons, jewelery, pottery, and parts of clothing like belt ornaments, needles etc. Most of the Bavarian findings are today in the Archaeological State Museum of Bavaria in Munich. (See end of article.)

The number of known burial mounds in neighbouring Wuerttemberg alone was estimated to be 6,700 in 1961. The number is continually rising because of the growing use of aerial photography in the search for ground monuments.

One of the most important and best documented excavations of a Celtic burial mound is "The Prince of Hochdorf." It is situated in Baden-Wuerttemberg, the German state west of Bavaria, but can stand representative for all burial mounds of that era. (See end of article.)

Reconstruction of Hochdorf grave chamber, Hochdorf museum

3. Celtic settlements

The Celts had full blown cities in Bavaria. They are called "oppida," from the Latin word oppidum = city. These cities were commercial centers with shops, craftsmen and artisans, merchants, workers, farmers, etc. They had everything that a city needed, including coin mints, trading places, and even temples. All oppida were linked by a system of trading routes on which goods were transported anywhere between Greece and Northern Europe. Two of the most well known oppida in Upper Bavaria are Manching and Fentbach. In Manching there are archaeological excavations going on for several decades up to the present day. Thousands of objects have been brought to light here and thousands will follow.

Besides cities we also know of Celtic hill fortifications or hill forts. During the Hallstatt era these are mostly fortified castles or citadels of the local aristocracy. In the La Tène age they change into fortified, defendable hill settlements for whole tribes. Examples are Bullenheimer Berg (Wuerzburg), Hesselberg (Dinkelsbuehl), Burgberg (Donaustauf), Michelsberg (Kehlheim). Fortifications were mostly walls of timber, earth and stones, palisades and ditches. Hills or mountains were chosen because the steep side walls often provided a natural protection against attacking horsemen or even foot soldiers.

Other hill forts are known to have been uninhabited throughout the year, they served only as safe haven for the people in times of war.

Conclusion

The invasion and occupation of Bavaria by the Romans in 15 BCE set an end to almost 800 years of Celtic culture. Scientists today don't believe that all of the Celts were killed or driven out of the country by the Romans. They rather suggest that the Celts took on more and more Roman habits and were "Romanized" that way. The following 400 years in Bavaria were therefore determined by Romans and Romanized Celts. It is as late as the beginning of the migration age around 400 CE that Germanic tribes begin to shape the future destiny of Bavaria. They will become decisive in the creation of the Bavarian tribe around 550 CE.

Does the Bavarian culture of today still contain Celtic elements? This question is still debated among scientists. One fact is that the traditional holidays and festivals of Bavaria show surprising similarities with the Celtic Wheel of the Year as we know it. Another, that Celtic sacred places were Christianized in many locations and therefore survived as places of worship to the present day. Bavaria even remembers Christianized versions of Celtic myths and legends and there still is the one or other place name in use that can be traced back to Celtic times.

The Celtic element in Bavarian culture may be not as obvious as it is in today's "Celtic" countries, but it is certainly there and an inseparable part of its history.

Walls of a Celtic hill fort near Schaeftlarn, Upper Bavaria. The walls
were reinforced in the Middle Ages, but are of Celtic origin.

Bibliography:

Jörg Biel, Der Keltenfürst von Hochdorf, Stuttgart 1998

Eilthireach, A' Chuibhle Mhór - Das große Rad; Der keltische Jahreskreis in Theorie und Praxis, Norderstedt 2002

Martin Kuckenburg, Vom Steinzeitlager zur Keltenstadt, Stuttgart 2000

Wolf-Armin v. Reitzenstein, Lexikon bayerischer Ortsnamen, MŸnchen 1991

Markus Schßmann, Die Kelten in Bayern, Treuchtlingen 1993

Gabriele Süsskind (Red.), Heiligtümer und Opferkulte der Kelten, Hamburg 2000

Das keltische Jahrtausend, Ausstellungskatalog der prähistorischen Staatssammlung München, Band 23, 1993

The Celts, First Masters of Europe, Thames and Hudson, London 1992

Museums, visited and recommended by the author:

Archäologische Staatssammlung München

Archäologisches Museum der Stadt Kelheim

Keltenmuseum Hallein, Austria

Keltenmuseum Hochdorf, Baden-Württemberg

(English version available)

The Prince of Hochdorf (recommendable website)

All photographs are by the author.

Thanks

The author would like to give special thanks to his friend and fellow Ovate Daraoi, who patiently helped to bring this article into understandable English. :-)

---

The Significance of Sacred Sites in Esoteric (Inner) Work

Please note:

Everything written in this section is the opinion of the author, based on personal experiences from working with sacred sites. By no means is the approach of the author the only possible or valid approach. There is always more than one path in a forest.

1. What are sacred sites?

There is a paradox in the work with sacred sites. The Divine is able to appear and leave its mark everywhere. It is ever present in any place, and yet the Divine presence, or the presence of spirit beings, seems to be stronger in special places. Most people on earth make this experience at some point in their lives, whether they are esoterically interested or not. Sometimes this presence is so dense that you can physically feel it.

These are the places that we call sacred places, while we are fully conscious of the fact that every place on Earth is basically sacred.

Sacred places can be places that inspire us through their natural beauty, where we can feel the hand of the Creator stronger that elsewhere, by example on mountain tops, on lonely beaches, or simply on a clearing in an old forest.

Other sites have an aura of sacredness around them because our ancestors worshipped the Divine there long ago. These are places I want to deal with in the following.

As we have seen in the historical overview, remains of ancient cultures, extinguished or living, roughly fall into three categories: settlements, burial sites and sites where actions with a religious background were carried out.

All of these sites are basically suitable to connect ourselves with the spirit(s) of the past.

From practical work you will soon notice that not every ancient place is giving off the same amount and quality of energy.

It seems that a place retains a certain amount of the energy that was raised there. Settlements, castles, villages were places of trading, daily work, everyday life. There is energy in such places, but usually not of the type you want for the support of your esoteric work.

Spiritual work with sacred sites is best supported by spiritual energies as they are usually created during religious acts. Religious acts have been carried out at places of worship as well as places of burial. No culture would have let depart the deceased without rites of passage. Some people say "What's so sacred about burial sites if we know that the departed persons may have incarnated a dozen times in the meantime?" It is not the (former) presence of a body that makes a burial site sacred. It is the rites of passage, which at a larger cemetery like Hallstatt might have taken place thousands of times over the centuries the place was used. In addition, burial sites and cemeteries have always been used for communication with one's ancestors up to the present day.

All places that have been used for religious purposes are potentially sacred. They offer not only windows into the past of the land, but also into its spiritual heritage.

This is especially true for the Viereckschanzen. By intuition, I have always thought of them as gateways for inner journeys into other times and other worlds. This has been confirmed in practical work.

2. What can sacred places offer?

You will soon notice that such a sacred site has its powers. One of them is that it can put you into the context of the many generations that have used it. This can lead to the effect that suddenly some of your present problems look much less important, as you integrate yourself into the stream of your tribal tradition.

Sacred sites are meeting places. You can meet nature spirits, since almost all sacred sites are situated in natural surroundings. You can meet the spirits of the ancestors who have used the place or visited it after it fell into disrepair. Places may have been chosen by them because they felt an especially strong presence of the Divine there. You may be able to feel that presence, too. A place may be sanctified by the prayers that were spoken there. And there is a connection being made by geomantists between sacred sites and earth energies, there are indications that some sacred sites were chosen because of the high amount of earth energies present. In this case, you could work with these energies as well. Trees are often more energetic in sacred places than elsewhere. I know of places where animals are guardians of sacred sites. There are lots of possibilities to work with such a place.

3. What can we give to sacred sites?

There is not much that we can offer to a sacred site besides

- respect

- care

- spiritual use.

It is without question that we offer our deep respect to a site where our ancestors have worshipped the Divine.

It should be without question that we take care to leave the place as we found it, or even better. Even in esoteric circles it doesn't seem unthinkable to litter such places with garbage as empty beer cans or food packages, or ritual remains like candle stumps, empty candleholders etc.

By spiritually working with a sacred site we initiate ourselves into the long line of human beings that did so from the time of the first use of the place until today. It is safe to assume, by the way, that the use of e.g. Celtic sites did not stop with the arrival of the Romans or with the coming of Christianity. Throughout history there have been men and women who appreciated the potential of sacred sites ∆ and used it.

By spiritually working with a sacred place we confirm its sacredness. We add our prayer or meditation or ritual energies to the energies already present. I think this is the greatest gift that we can make to the place itself ∆ add to its sacredness.

4. What is the purpose of a sacred site?

What is the purpose of a temple? To go there and work with those aspects of the Divine that the temple is dedicated to. The difference between the temple and the sacred site is that a temple has statues, altars and inscriptions in it, which normally make it clear what aspect of the Divine is to be venerated. In a sacred place, we might just see a mound, a ditch, a hill or a little spring. We will have to interprete the place ourselves. We will have to contact the energies present and find out about their nature and quality.

5. How can we work with a sacred site? How should we proceed?

The first necessary ingredient for visiting a sacred site is time. This sounds simpler as it is!

A good way to set your mind for the work with a site is to approach it by foot, on a ten minutes or longer walk. This gives you the time to leave your everyday concerns literally behind you as you walk towards the place.

Plan to stay at least one hour, depending on your intent. Take your time, walk around, "feel" the site from different angles. If you want to hold a ritual or a meditation, don't start immediately. Allow the energies to enter you first. Be open.

Another thing you will certainly need is patience. It may be that a certain place just isn't right for you or what you want to do, but you should give it more than one chance. The energies of a place change with your mood, with the seasons, sometimes even with the time of the day. Energy is a flowing, everchanging thing.

Make yourself known to the specific energies of the place ∆ and them to you. It has been said that politeness is always a good idea while dealing with spirit beings. It is not our way to command spirit beings around. We just politely ask, as we would do in normal life. And hopefully we will be given.

Another key ingredient for actual work with a sacred site is your intent. Better than to aimlessly wander across a place is it to have a clear goal, which is best worked out at home before setting out to the place. Curiosity alone may be a strong motive for yourself, but no spirit being will consider this as the sole reason to show itself to you. Nature spirits usually have tasks to fulfill. They will be grateful if you help them, but your help should be delivered at the spot (a prayer, a blessing, care, etc.).

Ancestor spirits tend to be cooperative if approached with love and respect. They are the only ones who are inclined to react to curiosity, although this is unpredictable. Sometimes they are willing to explain something to you just because you want to know it. They also may respond to prayers for help to show the way. Please remember that ancestor spirits are not necessarily wiser, just because they are not incarnated at the moment. Always retain some scepticism and do not take all for granted what might be revealed to you.

Not all people are equally receptive to all of the above noted spirits and energies. There seems to be such a thing as talent, or natural ability. Some people just stretch out their hands and feel earth energy flowing. Other people just have to look at some ancient site, with their focus slightly shifted, and they receive vivid and colorful pictures of the past. You will have to find out where your strength lies ∆ and where the places are that correspond with it.

Famous places like Stonehenge, Glastonbury or the Extern Stones (Externsteine) in Germany are places where many people have made uplifting spiritual experiences ∆ that's why these places are famous. But even in such places there is no guarantee that something will "happen". I have been to Stonehenge on a normal day with thousands of other tourists and I just saw all those people and the buses and tried to concentrate on what my audio guide said. It was impossible for me to give my visit any spiritual dimension on that day. During the same trip I visited Glastonbury and had what I call an initiating experience. It was after that Glastonbury visit that I set out on my path of Celtic inspired spirituality. It was as if a veil had been lifted before my eyes. There were only a few days difference between the two visits, and yet there were worlds between them.

6. How can we work with sacred sites on the inner planes?

Maybe you happen to live in a big city and don't have the time to go out to some distant

sacred place on a regular basis. Or maybe you live in a country that has no traces of ancestral cultures, or only of cultures you can't identify with. Then you can still work with sacred places on the inner planes! You need to establish an inner picture of the specific place, by example through reading a book about it, looking at photos, or watching a TV documentary. Once you are able to see the place with your inner sight, you can visit it on the inner planes, from the circle of your Grove!

To my experience, visits to places in the apparent world feel sometimes more "immediate", more "direct", maybe because you can literally lay your hands on something. On the other hand, inner visits can sometimes bring experiences that are impossible to be made in the material world. And you can much more act like you want to do. Famous places are often crowded with people and as soon as you raise your arms, you feel a hundred pairs of suspicious eyes resting on you. This can be rather unnerving!

On the inner planes, you are free to act, as long as the usual rules for inner work and behavior towards spirit beings are followed. Of course you can also visit a place in the material world, save as many pictures and impressions as possible in your mind, and return to the place later on the inner places, as often as you want. According to my personal observation, inner visits work better if you have been able to visit the actual site at least once and were able to establish some bond with it. But this should not discourage visitors using the "TV documentary method". In this work, nothing is impossible, and constant exercise may bring you literally everywhere!

Practicum

The following is a prayer to the ancestors. Part of it was adapted from the Order's Samhain ceremony. It is suitable as centerpiece of every kind of remembrance of the ancestors, from privately spoken prayer during a visit to a sacred place (material and inner world) to full blown group ritual.

The following is only a suggestion. Try to find your own words to express your feelings of remembrance, respect and honor towards the ancestors. You may of course include ancestors that you have known in person.

A Prayer to the Ancestors

"Our ancestors are not only those individuals with whom we are connected through blood lines. They are all people who gave form to our present-day life. We owe them gratitude, because it is upon the foundations of their findings and inventions, their craftsmanship and artistry, their inspiration and search for wisdom, that our way of life today is erected.

They, our ancestors, have left to us the results of thousands of years of their struggle for

material and spiritual progress as our heritage.

We, their descendants, give our best to honor and respect that heritage, to study it and develop it further - with respect to the ancestors, for the benefit of the Earth and all living beings, and to the greater honor of the Gods.

For this work, we want to ask for the help and the blessing of our ancestors:

Oh Ancestors, who you have given form to our lives, who you share our search for truth and wisdom! We ask you to show us the way, because we are but slow on our path towards the light. Please help us to interprete and understand what you have left us. Help us in difficult times. Remind us that it is not important to follow in your exact footsteps, but to seek what you have sought. Please help us, and ask for us for the help and the blessing of the Gods!

The Sun of all our lives sets in the West

but the veil of midnight discloses the shining stars

and the Sun is reborn in the setting stars of dawn.

We remember our ancestors in silence....

Oh Ancestors, oh Spirits, we have thought of you today and remembered you in love and respect. We thank you. May you live in peace in the lands of the West until the Sun of this Earth rises for you anew."

Eisteddfodd

The first light

peels rugged mountains out of distant haze

still white with snow

across bare brown fields, wet from spring rain

Not far from the oak

ancient earth walls are rising, crumbling from time

a holy place

a gateway through time, blessed by generations

A place of worship

protected by high grassy walls

through the milennia

at the crosspoint of the dragon paths

In moments like these

they say that dancing shadows can be seen

circling the temple

the temple of the Uncreate, under the fire of the stars

And the old oak stands watch

as the blackbird's song, lifting the veils of darkness

lays the shadowy dancers to rest

until they'll rise again, in another night...

From the poem "Alban Eiler" by Eilthireach, March 2001