"The same spirit has a body again
elsewhere, and death is but the
mid-point of a long life."
___Lucan, "Pharsalia"
The druidic belief in the transmigration of souls is evidenced in Celtic literature, as a simultaneous belief in metamorphosis (a changing of one's shape), metempsychosis (a passing of the soul into another form), and reincarnation (a rebirth into a different human life). All three of these beliefs are evidenced in the story of Gwion (GWEE'on), who when chased by the goddess Ceridwen (Ker-RID'wen) assumes the shape of hare, fish, bird and corn before being reborn as Taliesin (Tal-ee-ESS'in). In the story of the Irish heroine Etain (e-TAWN) we learn of her enchantment into a pool of water, a worm, and a fly - metamorphosis in action, but when the fly is consumed in a cup of wine by Queen Etar (e-TAR), a new Etain is reborn in a human shape (reincarnation).
Today many people are preoccupied with their past incarnations, more anxious to know the details of former lives than to get on and live the life they now inhabit. Such details rarely come to memory, however, and those that do are often very private and significant pointers to aspects of the current life that need attention. The Celtic belief in transmigration does not involve the past-dependency or life-sapping introversion that most modern reincarnation belief does.
The Celts attitude toward transmigration rather draws upon the bodily and genetic knowledge of former lives that inform this life in active and positive ways. It does not linger in the past but lives attuned to the present, with a fearlessness toward death that reflects a healthy soul-spiral lived to the full.
"What wisdom do you carry from the former habitations of your soul?"
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]
My husband fit that description. He faced death, knowingly, with a serene dignity...definitely a soul-spiral lived to the full.
ReplyDelete