Northern European Mythology
Survivals in Belief Among the Celts: Contents
Survivals in Belief Among the Celts, by George Henderson, [1911]
| CHAPTER I. THE FINDING OF THE SOUL (OR THE INTERNAL SOUL) | |
| | PAGE |
| Survivals Defined | 1, 5 |
| A Possible non-Celtic Element | 3 |
| Religion and Rite | 5 |
| Religion embraces a Special Carefulness; is the opposite of Negligence; and of a Social Nature | 8 |
| Celtic Religious Psychology | 9 |
| Religion embraces more than Magic | 10 |
| The Spoken Word | 11 |
| The Spell | 13 |
| The Positive Word | 15 |
| Magic Charm: bricht (the Ceremonially Conceived Word) | 17 |
| The Power of the Word | 18 |
| The Soul in the Name | 19 |
| Asseveration by the Tribal God | 20 |
| The Soul and Body-Parts: Oath by the Elements | 21 |
| Ancient Ritual of the After-Birth | 23 |
| The Soul in the Eye | 25 |
| Averting the Evil Eye | 27 |
| The Blood-Soul | 29 |
| Blood-Drinking | 30, 31 |
| The Blood-Covenant | 32 |
| p. viii | |
| | PAGE |
| The Soul in the Blood | 40 |
| The Soul in the Breath | 45, 49 |
| The 'Double' | 47 |
| The Self as different from the Body | 48 |
| Chief Forms of Soul-Cult | |
| 1. Animism | 51 |
| 2. Animalism and Manism | 52 |
| 3. Daimonism | 56 |
| Gessa, i.e. Restrictions or Taboos | 57 |
| Raising the Name | 58 |
| Faint 'Survival' of Simulative Couvade | 59 |
| Brian and the Virgin Birth: Parthenogenesis | 65 |
| The Dusii of Gaul: the Breton Courils | 73 |
| Varieties of Supernatural Birth | 74 |
| Life-Tokens | 75 |
| CHAPTER II. THE WANDERINGS OF PSYCHE (OR THE EXTERNAL SOUL) | |
| The External Soul | 76 |
| Swearing by Weapons | 77 |
| Swearing by the Hand | 78 |
| The Soul-Form as Moth, Butterfly | 79 |
| The Bee-Soul | 83 |
| The Bird-Soul | |
| Cuckoo | 89 |
| Cormorant | 90 |
| Raven, Magpie, Eagle | 91 |
| Swan | 92 |
| Ghost-Bird of St. Kilda | 92 |
| Wren | 96 |
| Heron | 98 |
| Crane and Gull | 99 |
| Language of Animals | 99 |
| Sacred Animals | 100, 101 |
| Animal-Fasting | 101 |
| p. ix | |
| | PAGE |
| The Theriomorphic Soul | |
| (a) Hare-Form | 102 |
| (b) Cat-Form | 107 |
| (c) Mare-Form (Horse-Form) | 109 |
| Clan Leod and the Horse | 117 |
| Morc na Maighe | 119 |
| (d) Fowl Taboo or Sacred | 121 |
| Sacredness and Potency of Swine's Blood | 121 |
| (e) Deer-Form | 121, 131 |
| Oisin's Animal Parentage | 123, 127 |
| The White Hind as Fairy Love | 125 |
| Names of Animal Origin | 129 |
| (f) Bull-Form | 133 |
| (a) The Boobrie as Bird | 135 |
| (b) The Boobrie as Water-Horse | 137, 143 |
| (c) The Boobrie as Water-Bull | 138 |
| The Bittern | 144 |
| Water-Bull | 147 |
| The Gaulish Tarvos Trigaranos | 148 |
| The Divine Bull | 149, 152 |
| Water-Wraith and Nymphs | 149, 150 |
| The Bull on the Paris Altar | 153 |
| The Bull of Trèves | 155 |
| The Donn Cualnge | 158 |
| An Irish Wake Orgy | 158 |
| Cuchulainn and Lug | 159-161 |
| (g) The Water-Horse | 161 |
| (h) Serpent-Form | 165 |
| (i) Wolf-Form | 170 |
| (j) Dog-Form | 173 |
| (k) Seal-Form | 175 |
| (1) Boar-Form: an treith chuileanach | 175 |
| (m) Semi-theriomorphic Form | 176 |
| (n) The Tree-Soul | 179 |
| The Rowan as Tree of Life | 181 |
| The Sacred Tree or Bile | 187 |
| The Tree-Soul and Labhraidh Lorc | 197 |
| (o) The Soul in Stones or the God-Stone | 198 |
| 'Telling it to the Stones' | 203 |
| p. x | |
| CHAPTER III. THE EARTHLY JOURNEY | |
| | PAGE |
| STAGES OF THE JOURNEY | 207 |
| 1. Lustration | |
| 2. Illumination | |
| 3. Healing | |
| (a) 1. The Rites that unite Man with Man | |
| (a) 2. The Rites that unite Man with the Divine as recognised | |
| (b) The Rites that avert | |
| (c) Faith-Healing | |
| (d) Folk-Medicine | |
| 1. The Lustral Rites | 208 |
| Leigheas Cuairte | 209 |
| Lustration by Fire | 211 |
| Lustration by Water | 216 |
| " " Milk | 218 |
| The Transition from Lustration to Sacrifice: Blood | 220 |
| 2. Illumination | 220 |
| Omens | 224 |
| Stones of Omen | 227 |
| Divination by Bull-Feast | 229 |
| Scapulimantia | 231 |
| Crystal-Gazing | 233 |
| The Sight of the Two Worlds (Second Sight) | 239 |
| First Sight: Apparent Double Presence: tármachduinn | 243 |
| 3. Healing | |
| (a) 1. The Rites that unite Man with Man | 245 |
| Wedding Rites in 'Survival' | 247 |
| (a) 2. The Rites that unite the Human with the Divine | |
| Primitive Commensality | 252 |
| Libations | 254 |
| Michael's Cake | 255 |
| Offering | 257 |
| Michael's Portion: the Michaelmas Sheep | 259 |
| Relics of Sacrifice: the 'Devoted' Person | 261 |
| Beltane Rural Sacrifice | 262 |
| p. xi | |
| | PAGE |
| Purification and Fertility | |
| The Hogmanay Breast-Strip {Caisein Uchd, Caisein Calluig} | 263 |
| The Man in Cow-Hide | 265 |
| (b) The Rites that avert: Cocks in Sacrifice | 266 |
| The 'Invocation' to avert Ignorance or Revelation attempted by Magic | 267 |
| The Part for the Whole: preventing Cattle-Loss | 270 |
| Animal Sacrifice | 271 |
| Bull Sacrifice | 273 |
| Live Trout in Healing Rites | 275 |
| Human Sacrifices: heart of a man who did not know his parents; the man without a father; auspication of buildings; 'the putting away of Death'; vicarious sacrifice | 276 |
| Elements of Sacrifice: commensality; purification; giving to get; giving to avert (propitiation); substitution (life for life) | 287 |
| Positive Magic | 291 |
| The Negative Code | 292 |
| The Burdens of the Soul | 299 |
| Crime and Sacrifice | 305 |
| The Transmission of Luck | 307 |
| (c) Faith-Healing | |
| Psychic Suggestion | 309 |
| Primitive Incubation | 313 |
| The Sacred Loch | 315 |
| The Sacred Well | 321 |
| The Sacred Cave | 333 |
| (d) Folk-Medicine: Religion and Magic | 334 |
| Retrospect | 341 |
| INDEX | 344 |