The Celtic and Norse peoples saw trees as wise spirit beings. They felt a great deal of reverence toward trees as ancestors who held sacred knowledge. Northern Europe was blanketed with dense forests, which were the key to a tribe’s survival.
8000 – 2500 BCE – Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in England. Evidence suggests that Pine Trees were once erected as poles at this site as early as 8500 BCE. Stonehenge was built to align with the Equinoxes and Solstices as an astronomical structure and a living solar calendar. There are other earthworks in the area that show this was an active gathering place in Neolithic England. It was an early burial site for cremations and artifacts from Germany, France and possibly Turkey. The remains of the “Amesbury Archer,” show that he traveled from the Alps to Stonehenge around 2400 BCE.
4900 BCE – Goseck, Germany – The Goseck Henge is currently the oldest official ‘Solar observatory’ in the world. On the winter solstice, the sun can be seen to rise and set through the Southern gates. The Goseck enclosure and hundreds of similar wooden circular henges, rings or rondels were built throughout Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic during a 200-year period between 4900-4600 BCE. They all share the same features of a narrow circular ditch surrounding a circular wooden wall, with a few large gates equally spaced around the outer edge.
The Nebra Sky disc was discovered near Goseck in the wooded region of Nebra and is considered to be the oldest concrete representation of the cosmos. The disc is decorated with gold leaf symbols that represent the sun, moon and stars. A cluster of seven dots has been interpreted as the Pleiades constellation as it appeared 3,600 years ago, almost 2,000 years after the Goseck Circle. The two opposing arcs, which run along the rim of the Nebra Sky Disc, are 82.5 degrees long and mark the sun’s positions at sunrise and sunset. The lowest points of the two arcs are 97.5 degrees apart, signifying sunrise and sunset on the winter solstice in central Germany at the time.
3100-2600 BCE – The roots of Celtic language split from its West Indo-European-speaking branch, which originated in Mesopotamia. The other branches were Italic, Venetian, Liburnian and Illyrian language groups. This marks the beginning of the Celtic Culture’s emergence into eastern Europe.
1300 – 750 BCE – The Urnfield culture of central Europe emerges as a late bronze age culture. They are called the Urnfield Culture because of their burial practices that included cremation and the creation of urns that held the remains so they could be buried in the earth.
700 – 500 BCE – The Celtic Hallstatt culture evolved from the Urnfield culture.
600 BCE – Ogham tree alphabet may have first appeared inscribed in tree or wooden branches used for divinations and direction. Within this 20 symbol alphabet is the symbol for the Oak tree, which was named “Duir,” meaning door. A person who was “Oakwise” was known as a Druid for they knew how to open the door of an Oak and access the wisdom of the tree as well as travel through the world. The Ogham was possibly a secret language of the Druids as they traveled between mainland Europe and the British Isles.
The Druids are a culture within and separate from the Celtic culture. They were the teachers, priests, astronomers and visionaries. It is estimated that it took 20 years of training to become a Druid. Julius Caesar met the Druids in Gaul, (modern day France, Belgium, Germany.) We do not know exactly where they met. The land west of the Rhine River was known as Gaul.
50 BCE – Julius Caesar wrote this about the Druids: “The principal point of their doctrine is that the soul does not die and that after death it passes from one body into another. The main object of all education is, in their opinion, to imbue their scholars with a firm belief in the indestructibility of the human soul, which, according to their belief, merely passes at death from one tenement to another; for by such doctrine alone, they say, which robs death of all its terrors, can the highest form of human courage be developed.” “They know much about the stars and celestial motions, and about the size of the earth and universe, and about the essential nature of things, and about the powers and authority of’ the immortal gods; and these things they teach to their pupils.”
77 AD – Pliny the Elder – writes about Druids in his book Natural History – “The druids – that is what they call their magicians – hold nothing more sacred than the mistletoe and a tree on which it is growing, provided it is a hard-timbered oak. Mistletoe is rare and when found it is gathered with great ceremony, and particularly on the sixth day of the moon…. Hailing the moon in a native word that means ‘healing all things.”
69-96 AD – Tacitus, Roman historian wrote about the Druids in his book Germania – he named this region that was east of the Rhine (Germania) and its people (Germans.) Today this area encompasses Germany, Northern France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Austria and Alsace. Excerpts from the Germania: “The Germans, however, do not consider it consistent with the grandeur of celestial beings to confine the gods within walls, or to liken them to the form of any human countenance. They consecrate woods and groves, and they apply the names of deities to the abstraction which they see only in spiritual worship.”
“Divination – A little bough is lopped off a fruit-bearing tree, and cut into small pieces; these are distinguished by certain marks, and thrown carelessly and at random over a white garment.” “In their funerals there is no pomp; they simply observe the custom of burning the bodies of illustrious men with certain kinds of wood.”
“In their ancient songs, their only way of remembering or recording the past, they celebrate an earth-born god, Tvisco, and his son Mannus, as the origin of their race, as their founders. To Mannus they assign three sons, from whose names, they say, the coast tribes are called Ingævones; those of the interior, Herminones; all the rest, Istævones.”
100 – 400 AD – The Elder Futhark was the first runic writing system developed and used by the Germanic people. Each rune was a pictographic symbol of some cosmic principle. The word “rune” (from Proto-Germanic *runo) means both “letter” and “secret” or “mystery.”
Germanic Saxons saw trees as divine beings. Their language evolved from the Phoenician and Greek alphabets into the runes of the Elder Futhark (150-800 CE).
Ansuz (A) – Ansuz literally meant “breath” or “mouth” of an ash or oak, which were venerated as gods of strength and moral character.
The Anglo-Saxon’s later split the Ansuz rune into three vowels/sounds: “o” (mouth), “ac” (oak) and “ae” (ash). Ae forms the words aether as “luminous air”, “divine breath,” or Od (Odic force) which is seen as all-pervasive.
Teiwaz (T) – This rune is named for the Proto-Germanic God Teiwaz who dwelled within the daytime sky. Referred to in Tacitus’s historical account, “They celebrate an earth-born god, Tvisco.” The God Teiwaz, also known as Tyr, became associated with the Roman God Mercury and the Greek God Hermes. Tvisco or Teiwaz may very well have been a tree diety. The symbol for Teiwaz looks like a tree and the Ogham symbol for Pine (t) is similar to the Runic symbol for Teiwaz (T). Tuesday is named for “Tyr’s day.”
Mannaz (M) – This rune is named for the people interacting with the runes (either man or woman). It is an inward symbol that formed the root word “Man.” In Tacitus’s account (69-96 AD),“They celebrate an earth-born god, Tvisco, and his son Mannus, as the origin of their race, as their founders. To Mannus they assign three sons, from whose names, they say, the coast tribes are called Ingævones; those of the interior, Herminones; all the rest, Istævones.” Here it is possible to see that the Celtic creation story is based on a Tree God who gave birth to mankind who has three aspects (inner, outer and center).
Irminsul’s (Column of the World) – were wooden poles made from sacred trees to honor the connections between worlds. The Germanic Celts could track the movement of the Sun and tell the time of day like a sundial. The word Irmin is an old Saxon word, meaning “strong, whole,” which was associated with the primordial Tree Gods Odin, Woden, Teiwaz/Tyr and Irmin.
400 AD – Ogham stones – began to replace tree etchings in Ireland and England, which corresponds to the forced exile of Druids by Romans to the British Isles. The Celtic culture flourished in Ireland and is embraced as a source of national pride today.
Norse Vikings – originated from three countries of Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The name ‘Viking’ comes from a language called ‘Old Norse.” They were intrepid explores who began invading Scotland, Ireland, England and mainland Europe.
436 AD – This is the time of the legendary Sigurd the dragon slayer. Son of hero Sigmund and leading figure in the Volsung saga. Also known as Siegfried.
650 AD – The earliest written form of the Germanic word God comes from the Christian Codex Argenteus. The English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic word “ǥuđan.” The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form “ǵhu-tó-m” was likely based on the root * ǵhau(ə)-, which meant either “to call” or “to invoke.” The Germanic words for God applied to both genders. But during the process of Christianization of the Germanic people from their indigenous pagan roots, the words became masculine.
The word “pagan” means – “country dweller.” One who lives in the country.
723 AD – Because trees were seen as Gods and held sacred to the Germanic people. They were fierce fighters and defenders who did not want to convert to Christianity as their Gaulish/Frankish (French) neighbors to the west had done. With that is mind, Winfrid, St. Boniface, went to Hesse, Germany, accompanied by a troop of Franco-Catholic soldiers to chop down the sacred Oak Tree at Geismar.
773 AD – The Saxons were undeterred by Boniface, so Charlemagne cutting down their sacred “Irminsul” and burning their forest groves near Paderborn. He then forced the Saxons to submit to Roman Catholic Rule or they too would be killed.
1220 AD – The Nordic Prose Edda was written in Iceland by Snorri Sturluson based on years of stories told by minstrels and storytellers.
1270 AD – The Hordic Poetic Edda, Codex Regius or “Royal Book” was created.
The Edda’s contained the stories of Norse Gods and Godesses and well at the World Tree known as Yggdrasil. In Old Norse, Yggdrasil, also called Mimameidr, is seen as a giant yew tree that supported the Universe and sheltered the nine worlds.
The word Yggdrasil, means Odin’s horse. The tree itself was a seen as a way to travel between the nine worlds of Asgard. Odin was a masculine Norse God, similar to the Celtic and Germanic Gods Woden and Irmin. His feminine counterpart was Frigg. Asgard was home to the Gods Odin, Thor, Idun, Balder and many others.
The Norns are three female divine beings who have more influence over the course of destiny than any other beings in the cosmos. They dwell beneath the great ash tree that stands at the center of the universe. They shape destiny by carving runes into the trunk of the tree or by weaving destiny like a web or tapestry. Their names are Urd “What Once Was,” Verdandi “What Is Coming into Being,” and Skuld “What Shall Be.”
Yggdrasil had three gigantic roots that stretched over all the realms of existence where three sacred springs existed. From the first spring flowed wisdom and knowledge. From the second springs the well of destiny. From the third flowed the river of life, carrying the souls of the dead back to be reborn into their next incarnations. At the very base of the tree lived a serpent (Nidhug) who gnawed at its roots. An eagle, symbolizing the sun, lived in the top of the tree and fought off the serpent’s assaults. This kept the forces of life and death in balance so the essential life force of the tree would never be damaged.
Old Norse poem Hávamál (“The Sayings of the High One”):
“I know that I hung
On the wind-blasted tree
All of nights nine,
Pierced by my spear
And given to Odin,
Myself sacrificed to myself
On that pole
Of which none know
Where its roots run.
No aid I received,
Not even a sip from the horn.
Peering down,
I took up the runes –
Screaming I grasped them –
Then I fell back from there.”
The influence of the Celtic and Norse tradition lives on today in many of our most popular holidays and traditions.
Maypoles are a Germanic tradition used for May Day as a celebration of spring. They are a rememberance of the wooden pillars of Irminsul.
The Celtic Sun Cross tracks the eight seasons of the year and is also in alignment with the directions of the compass. Most of the old Celtic “Holy Days” were incorporated into Christian tradition.
Fall Equinox – Sept 22 – Death of the year, harvest.
Samhain – Oct 31 – Summers end. (All Saints Days or Hallowmass) Popular Halloween.
Winter Solstice – Dec 21 – Birth of the sun. (The Solstice was originally celebrated on Dec 25th, it was also identified as Jesus’s birthday as the “birth of the son” – until the Gregorian calendar modified the Solstice to Dec. 21)
Imbolc – Feb 2 – Mid-winter and the stirring of Spring. Festival of Brigid. (Christian celebration of Candlemas)
Spring Equinox – March 20 – Birth – Festival of Eostre (Resurrection Sunday was renamed Easter). Easter incorporated Celtic symbols such as Easter Eggs and Rabbits.
Beltane – May 1 – Mid-spring – planting and fertility – May Day.
Summer Solstice – June 21 – Life
Lammas – Aug 2 – Mid-summer – First Harvest
The Days of the week are named for Celtic/Norse Gods. When the Roman Calendar was translated they paired Celtic/Norse Gods with Roman Gods associated with the planets and the names of the previously related Greek Gods.
Sunday – Sun’s Day (Sun) – Named for the Germanic Sun Goddess Sunna and the Roman day of Sol Invictus. Other Sun Gods are Ra (Egyptian), Mithras (Roman/Persian/Hindu). The Sun rises in the East, the Germanic Goddess Eostre is the Spring Goddess of the East.
Monday – Moon’s Day (Moon) – Named for the Germanic Moon God Mani, Sunna’s Brother and the Roman day of Lunae or the Goddess Luna. Other names are Diana and Selene. The Egyptians saw the Moon as the seed that impregnated the Earth who then gave birth to a new Sun. Sin (Nanna) is the Arabian Moon God.
Tuesday – Tyr’s Day (Mars) – Named for Tyr the Norse God of War and Law and the Roman day of Mars. Mars is God of War. Tyr is the son of Odin also known as Woden/Irmin/Yggr.
Wednesday – Wodan’s Day (Mercury) – Named for the Norse God Wodan also known as Odin, Irmin and Yggr, the Father of all Gods and the Roman day of Mercury. Mercury leads souls between Heaven and Earth. Also known as Hermes (Greek), Thoth (Egyptian), Adonai (Chaldean), YWHW, El, Adonai (Judeo-Christian), Allah (Islam).
Thursday – Thor’s Day (Jupiter) – Named for the Norse God Thor, son of Odin and the Roman day of Jupiter. Jupiter is also the Greek God Zeus, son of Cronus. Zeus and Thor are both seen as protector Gods.
Friday – Freya’s Day (Venus) – Named for Freya the Germanic and Norse Goddess of love and Roman day of Venus. Venus is the evening star. The Mother God known as Astarte, Asherah, Aphrodite, Eostre, Minerva, Innana, Alluza, Athena, etc…
Saturday – Saturn’s Day (Saturn) – Named for the Roman day of Saturn or Cronus, Son of Uranus (Sky God) and Gaia (Earth Goddess).
