Celtic Women Institute 

This class focuses on land and the spiritualities than emanate from the intimate knowledge of place. Celtic peoples lived at a time when there was an sense of deep enchantment of the land because of repeated experiences in that place.  Much in the same way as North American's indigenous peoples, Celtic peoples were connected to the land and spirits of their land.  Rituals & ceremonies that are practiced today by Celtic peoples, have evolved from knowledge of earth energies and spiritualities that are rooted in a sense of land and its enchantment.  We will examine anicent and modern practices of Celtic peoples, and the continuity of culture related to this.  Participants will learn of the ancient writing of the Druids, found in both Europe and North America and will learn to write and read some of it. The language, known as the Ogham script, has as its own "Rosetta Stone" (translation), an ancient text preserved in Ireland and that is how we can understand it today.  We will examine the Ogham script found among indigenous peoples of North America and how that gives us an alternative view of human dispersal. Weather permitting, we may visit our own local stone circle on the shore of Lake Champlain, in order to get a sense of the topics in this class.