Déithe Dhuit a Phauline,
Actually Wiccan isn't Celtic, please see references here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca though it is often confused as being so or so derived, Gardener might have brought in some Celtic aspects - but the tradition doesn't go back even 100 years. Also with regards to "druidism, wiccan, and paganism were part of Celtic tradition. " Technically pagan refers to non Christian traditions, maybe not by modern definitions, but certainly with respect to the "Old Ways" in the old days. For example, worshipers of Odin and worshipers of Dagda would all be considered pagans, but only the later would be Celtic. So pagan isn't very specific with regards to non-Christian traditions.

Do maith agus líth duit!
~MP

Hi Pauline,
just wanted to quickly clarify my comment . . .

Druidism was the priesthood in Celtic cultures, but you didn't have to be a Druid to experience Celtic spirituality. Many Druid groups today stem from an invention from the Victorian's imagination; it would be great if there still exists links to original Druid lore, but since they avoided the written language, much of that is lost to us . . .

Wiccan grew out of ancient Celtic spirituality during the Dark and Middle Ages, but also includes numerous other cultural influences including Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian, among others. While this is not a bad thing, it is not wholly Celtic in origin . . .

The Celts were Pagan in that that they believed in multiply Gods and Goddess, but not all Pagans are following a Celtic path . . .

So while all these paths can be found within Celtic spirituality, in and of themselves they are not wholly Celtic. Personally, I have not chosen these paths (Druidism and Wiccan) because of their almost "religious" and "dogmatic" nature, too many rules, and structures; also, especially with Paganism and Wiccan, they can boarder on "Occultism and Satanism", which is a line I choose not to cross.

Celtic history is very ancient (roughly 1000BC-50BC in Europe, and 500AD in Britain). We think of "Celtic" (actually a catch-all word that is just as in appropriate as calling the Native Americans, Indians) as anything Irish, Scottish, Cornish, Welsh, Briton and Manx, but actually once included all of ancient Europe. However, thanks to the Roman "civilizations", and Latin "Christianization", ancient Celtic culture was nearly extinguished.

At the height of Insular Celtic history there was a shift to Celtic Christianity, which in its "non-Latin" form was a gentle blend of nature worship with Christ's original teachings, and not the hell and damnation, patriarchal mumbo jumbo that we call Christianity today. Most people don't know about the Celtic Church because the Latin Church wiped that out as well . . .

What "mainstream" information that has survived has been colored by Christianity, domestication, and centuries of domination by other cultures; so the neat things about Elaine's original post, is that not only did this ancient link survive, but that the basic structure of training, groves, and family traditions.
Anam Cara, Bonnie