A COMPILATION OF TRIADS

Preface

43. I. Statement of Purpose..

Those who study the myriad peoples known collectively as the Celts, must at sometime recognize the importance that the number '3' held for them. From the most mundane to the most arcane, the significance of there being three parts cannot be missed. Even the laws and wisdom's of Celtic peoples were expressed in a tripartite form. This form of verse is called triadic, a verse of this form is known as a Triad. It may have been only a literary convention; or, as is believed by this author, it may belie another form of logic, trinary logic. I shall save that for later.

The following is a body of traditional laws, customs, and wisdoms held by our Celtic ancestors. They come from both the Gael and the Cymry, though the Gaelic has been especially searched for. A great many of these verses were compiled by W. Faraday in the book titled DRUIDIC TRIADS-The Wisdom of the Cymry , published by Sure Fire Press; these were however in their Christianized form. To those that were compiled in that book , many , many more have been added. These others come from a variety of places. Some of them are known works of great antiquity , such as the Welsh Triads ; another set came from a book on Iris poetry, yet another set came from the College of the Welsh Bards 1 , a few were reconstructed from the writings of researchers 2.

The purpose of this work is to re-establish a comprehensive body of the verses called Triads. Furthermore, it is intended to provide a medium through which to work out an accurate methodology for taking the triads back into relaying the worldviews and way of our pre-Christian forbearers. Lastly it is to provide a means of transmitting these verses, which contain the wisdom of millennia of human experience, to future generations of Gael.

II. The Place of Law, Wisdom, and Knowledge and Gaelic/Celtic Culture.

In Celtic culture , the people were governed by civil law. The old Brehon Law of Ireland is still extant, so are the Welsh Triads. Even Kings and Queens were subject to the Law ; in fact, they ruled only by the will of the People. The people could both vote them in, and vote them out. In American legalese, the rights and privileges of the people would translate to "equal protection under the law". Men and women both enjoyed this. The culture was egalitarian. It was only with the coming of Christianity that women began to lose their legal status3. This is evidenced by their eventually becoming banned from the field of battle, and their lose of rights to property ownership and inheritance . They in fact lost equal protection under the law.

It is a proven fact that most the old ways of the Celtic people were held onto. The old ways were simply hidden under a thin veneer of the Christianity. With the Triads it was simply a matter of having the context of one or two words changed ; this then brought the old Pagan into line with the new Christian ; and in such a way as to bring into the Christian fold the stubborn traditionalists.

Regarding knowledge. It must be understood that to our forbearers, knowledge was a sacred thing. Knowledge was a trust given by the Gods, a trust which must be passed from generation to generation. There are Triads which speak of the importance of knowledge, and for imparting knowledge. The Triads even go so far as to say that if one does not share their knowledge, that is, teach what they know, then they are accursed by divinity, however divinity might be described.

III. The Celts As Tribal People.

To go any further I must digress slightly, and take up the topic of the Celts. The very word "Celt" is a misnomer. There was never a "Celtic Empire". Those who are generally called "Celts" were in fact tribal peoples, each person was a member of an independent tribes. Sometimes two or more of these independent tribes would band together for some purpose, such as to face a common foe, but the alliances were very loose knit. They had no national sense as we understand such today.

What determines a Celtic tribe from some other, is that the Celtic tribes shared certain cultural manifestations, such as language grouping and artistic style4, as well as certain similar customs. This is the point you must get if you are to understand the Celts; as tribal people their world view was reflected in their customs. The Romans and their Christians brought, what we call Neo-Platonic thought, to the tribes we call Celt. Prior to then, the Celts utilized tribal thought. The difference is most simply put as such: With Neo-Platonic thought, everything exists separate unto itself, absolute and independent ; it is a thought system of absolute values, which according to the Encyclopedia Britannica is, "...rooted in a realm of unchanging and eternal realities independent of the world perceived by the senses..." 5. With tribal thought, everything is connected and individuals are a part of the whole.

Religiously, with Neo-Platonic thought, it is what one believes or has faith in that matters. Simply put one is what they think. With tribal ways of thought, it is what one IS and what one KNOWS that matters. Tribal peoples do not separate the Spirit from the Physical, and as one is a microcosm within the macrocosm6, ones customs or ways reflect the cosmology, and other understandings of the People to whom one BELONGS. Tribal customs and beliefs are built upon what is perceived by the senses. This manifests in laws mirroring what is perceived to be the laws of nature and the civil structures reflecting the perceived order of the cosmos.

Tribal peoples are not the only ones to accept this way of thinking for this way of viewing existence is extremely workable. It is so workable, that even the Christian oriented Scottish Free Masonry holds that "...the order of the universe was the first Bible given to mankind 7."

To get a firm grasp on tribal ways of thinking in action, we can look to the hundreds of tribal units which employ these logical processes. Regarding Native American tribal people, the Lakota Wikwashawakan (holy man) Crow Dog once said, "...we Native Americans don't have religions, or spiritual paths either, really; we have the customs that were given by Spirit long, long ago, and carried forward by the Grandfathers and Grandmothers to this day. We once lost sight of the customs of the People; we were nearly lost. But the old ways live, and we will never get lost in the chaos again. No, we don't have religions, our ways of being keep us in balance and connected to each other, and Spirit, and All Of Our Relations.....". Back to the Triads.

IV. Philosophy Of The Celts As Tribal People And A Comparison To Greek Philosophy And Philosophers.

For those who are hard pressed to relinquish Patriarchal Greek (Achaean/Dorian) philosophy, and the works of Plato in particular, the following, regarding the belief about the microcosm reflecting the macrocosm, and the interconnectedness of all things; it must be remembered that while Platonism and Neo-Platonism are philosophical movements which at the bottom line have been inspired by Platos Dialogues, they do not include the works of Plato himself 8. As a matter of fact, both Plato and Plotinus held to the concept that everything is interconnected, and that the universe is an organism. Quotes from Plato's Gorgias: "... there is in the universe a principle of love and sharing..." , "Everything is connected and individuals are part of the whole."

If there is similarity in concepts, then from where does the difference come between the ideas held amongst the philosophers of Greek city-states and later Christians deriving their philosophical ideas from them, and tribal peoples which held/hold similar ideas. While this work is not a platform for establishing a philosophical argument, it must be stated that the difference lies in the way the concepts are manifested in the cultures in question. Tribal people organize and utilize the knowledge in different ways. Bottom line, to many tribal people, there is no such thing as an absolute. In many tribes, and all that I've interacted with, there can be no justness to a law, no power in a law, unless it is found within the realm of the natural world. Also with tribal peoples, the civil structures reflect what they perceive to be the structure of the cosmos. This is contrary to what has been presented to us within Neo-Platonic structures.

It has been pointed out to me, that with just the data accumulated by the senses, there is no knowledge. That the data presented must be organized by way of theories, and statements of universal laws, for there to be knowledge. If we are speaking in the realm of cause and effect, yes, of course there can be laws established which portray cause and effect; the realms of mathematics and jurisprudence come to mind. Yet data can be transformed into knowledge without the need for fast and eternal realms and realities. Only a way of organizing the data need be present, and to say that data has to be organized in a particular way, and with specific values imposed, is being closed to the possibility that other ways of thinking can function at least as well, as that which we use in our western culture. Besides, every so called universal law has a point at which it no longer casts it's effect. Light bends, light slows, even time slows at certain points; electrons orbit a nucleus until liberated, and quarks respond to thought waves. Instead of laws, we are dealing more with realms of probability. Therefore what is most important, are probably those things which actually stand as the foundation of the difference between Neo-Platonic western thought, and tribal thought, those being values. Western thought values the individual, many times, to the detriment of the whole; tribal thought values the whole, and each individual as a result. Concisely, Neo-Platonic thought has allowed for and promoted self interest above all, with a great deal of suffering being imposed on the many, because of the fulfilling of self interests by the few; tribal thought holds that only as good comes to the all, so then does it come to all of the individuals within the whole. In western thought, the individual is what they believe they are; in tribal the individual simply IS. The IS of the former being contingent up the frailties of the human mind; the IS of the later upon the solidarity and identity of the tribal unit.

V. The Reason For Targeting The Gaels And Considerations While Researching The Celts.

To understand the Triads, one has to gain an understanding of Celtic culture. This is accomplished by reading the many resources which have recorded the traditions and folk lore of the remaining Celts. For this author, this was done by targeting the rather insular Gaelic peoples, and sticking within that culture as exclusively as resources permitted. My choice of the Gaels, is for two reasons; the first being the insular nature of that culture coupled with the vast array of literary works 9 from that culture; the second being that a large part of my heritage is Gaelic.

I have tried to stick with the ancient writings of these people as the primary sources. When that was not available I have used sources that quote liberally from the ancient texts. I have not utilized the writings of Romans. Many people base their knowledge of the Celts and the Gaels in particular, on their studies of the writings of Roman chroniclers and Caesar. The fault with this is that they fail to recognize that the Romans were in a state of war with the Celts of Gaul, and that Caesar had to justify his war in Gaul. The first justification came by his instigating problems in Gaul, which gave an air of legitimacy to his campaign, once the Romans were invited. Yet the letter of the law did not settle well with the Senators of Rome, and it took a creative pen to give real purpose to Caesar's adventures against the Gallic Celts. It is to difficult to unweave fact from the sheer propaganda. 10.

Another very excellent reason for not using the writings of Romans is that their experience was with Gallic tribes, not those of the isles. In Gaul there were three main tribal groups, the Aduen, the Cetae, and the Belgae. The last being considered by many academians as actually being a Germanic groups of tribes. In the isles there were the Gaels and the Bretons, primarily; with the Belgae having only recently arrived in the southeast of what is now England, just prior to Roman hostilities against the people of the isles. Any way it goes, there are definite differences between Gallic tribal peoples, and those of the Isles, too many differences to lump them all together.

VI. Back Engineering Of The Triads
aking Them Back To Their Roots.

Having gained an understanding of the people, we could start to put the triads back into the context that the pre-Christian peoples would have used. This process is called back engineering. The actual first step in back-engineering was to find the Gaelic version. On the rare occasions when the Gaelic version could not be located, the Triad was transliterated back into Gaelic. Then using a source such as Dinneens Gaelic-English Dictionary 11, I established the ancient usage of the Gaelic word. This word might have several different meanings , depending on the context used; however the Triad itself usually provides the context. With the context at hand, it was quite easy to find the proper Gaelic, it was harder to find an appropriate English word to relay all of the subtleties connected with the Gaelic word; but it was done. I encourage the reader to remember that English words have also taken on other connotations through the centuries. An example is the word "virgin" , which originally meant " a woman unto herself", a maiden without a husband if you will , and devoid of any interest in the intactness of her hymen. Another example is "sin" which is an old English archery term which simply meant, "to miss the mark".

The back-engineering of Triads to the ancient pre-Christian expression was actually an easy task; done by establishing an understanding of the pre-Christian Celtic culture, much of what has always been known ; and by changing those one or two words back to words that relayed the pre-Christian world view 12. For example , many of the Triads refer to masculine gender to the exclusion of the feminine. Yet, we know that Brehon Law was addressed to men and women 13. Women were able to own and inherit property. They owned weapons and were commonly along side their male compatriots on the field of battle 14. Therefore by exchanging a gender specific term for one that includes both genders , the Triads again become applicable to both genders. Step one of the back engineering process - done.

The next step dealt with tenets of religion. There were a few that were completely constructed to propagate Christian thought. They were however few in number , and I immediately dispensed with them . Most of them however only needed to have the word God replaced with a polytheistic term such as "Mighty Ones", and what we know of the pre-Christian was once again staring us in the face . Several Triads even spoke of purely Pagan ideas such as reincarnation 15.

Those Triads that spoke of the "Laws of God" had that phrase replaced with "Laws of Nature" or "Order of Creation", depending on the application. All sources say that the Celts were a very religious people , that they based their laws and customs on the "Order of Nature". This is fully in keeping with tribal thought. That indeed they had a great knowledge of the created order is beyond doubt.

As pertained to the ideas of a single masculine deity, the balance between masculine and feminine in the culture had to be weighed in. There was an ample body of evidence which allowed for the replacement of terms used to portray an exclusively masculine deity. These include such direct and obvious things as classical references to female oracles, and a group of nineteen women at a temple in Kildare; as well a relic found in Normandy extolling female teachers. There was also the use of deductive reasoning. For example, in Joseph Campbell's book, THE MASKS OF GOD-Primitive Mythology 16, Campbell relays that in patriarchal cultures, there invariably arose secret mens' societies and lodges. These, also invariably, took to themselves feminine deities of the hunt, closely associated with the Moon; the likes of Diana come to mind. Yet within Gaelic culture the moon was considered masculine, and the Sun feminine. This fact is imprinted in the very language itself, with the Sun being considered feminine to this day; Her name being Grianne 17.

Some Triads deal with "virtue". This is sure to rankle some modern non-Christians. The idea of virtue to Celtic people, as typified by the Gaels, was not one that has congruence with modern thought about the word. To them "virtue" was several things , the biggest part of which was simply excellence , which itself was a matter of lawfulness (they were a people of civil law), and personal pride , etc. This way of looking at things is a rather old way indeed, and while the following is not a justification for our Celtic ways; for the lovers of Greek philosophy who might read this, even Aristotle would agree with this way of thinking.

To the Celts , to live by the law of the People was part of being virtuous , to be honest was part of being virtuous , to be proud was a part of being virtuous, etc. . The only English word I know of, that can act as a synonym for the Celtic idea of virtue, is Excellence . They strove for excellence . This is evidenced in their laws, the bulk of which invaders through the centuries have kept, because of the excellence of these Laws 18 ; this is evidenced in their artistic expression ; and personal attempts at excellence is a big part of the ways of people who understand and believe in reincarnation .

Some Triads have footnotes , you are encouraged to read them. These are to facilitate further understanding of the Triads, by explaining the context of the society in which they were constructed . There are a couple of Triads dealing with the priesthood; because Celtic culture did not have an established priesthood until the coming of the Christians 19, these very nearly were scraped as well . Each person was considered to be capable of mediating the Gods , and as these people were trained in a skill which they eventually taught to others, it became obvious that there was further contemplation to be done 20. They were back engineered and found to be addressing teachers about teaching .

Once again, Celtic culture was a secular one ruled by law . There was no "sin", as we recognize the word today . For our ancient forbearers , to "err" or make an "error", was simply to make an infraction against the secular law. They did not hold to eternal damnation. Infractions against the secular law brought a secular judgment by the King , usually in the form of cattle , the exact cost going up the higher the offender or the offended stood in the society. The wrath of the Gods, or "karma" if you will was/is usually immediate. This is as evidenced by the plague which killed off the Partholonians in the Lebor Gabala Erenn 21, a result of the Kings reticence about fulfilling his duty; as well as the vengeance of the Morrigan against CuChullain .

VII. Trinary logic.

Several people who have studied the Celts, whether Gaelic, or otherwise, have seen that there was another form of logic. What exactly this logic was we are only now beginning to speculate on.

We view things as either yea or nea. Even "maybe" has the connotation that eventually a yea or nay will apply. However, in the Triads, we see what appears to be a methodology of one example then the other given, then a third thing, which appears to be the actual point of the matter.

In other manifestation from Celtic cultures it's almost like the extremes on either side of something are portrayed, then a third direction. Perhaps it's yes, no, and a third option, perhaps a neither. Anyway it goes, as far as the Triads are concerned, the actual point of any Triad seems to be the third item relayed, whatever the subject may be.

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