The word Nemeton is an ancient, Celtic term which referred to a shrine or woodland sanctuary in which the Celts and their teachers, the Druids worshipped.  Far from the uncultured barbarians described in early Greek and Roman writings, the Celts practiced medicine, art, music and politics.  The Celts were raised in a belief in the sacredness of space.  Groves were held sacred, as were places of geographic transition such as escarpments, river shores, mountain tops, and lake shores.  It was in these "in-between" places that the Celts felt closest to the spiritual realm.  This practice would seem to parallel the Celtic festival of Samhain in which the people celebrated that "in-between" time in which this world and the next plane of existence were seen to overlap.  It was in these holy places and at these holy times that the Celts believed it was possible to commune with the spirits of their gods and their ancestors.

The Celts further saw a reflection of the Divine in all of creation.  The Celts believed that Spirit was capable of revealing itself at any time and in any form within the natural world.  To the Celt this connection between Spirit and nature was as natural as breathing as the Creator and His creation were seen as inseparable.  This concept is well illustrated in the Welsh Legend of King Arthur - a Celtic metaphor in which the health of the kingdom is seen to be deeply intertwined with the health of Arthur himself.  Arthur is the bridegroom and his kingdom, the bride.  It is this marriage of the ruler and his kingdom which ensures his sovereignty.  Arthur is aided by all the spirits of the land, including the mysterious Lady of the Lake who, at the water's shore (nemeton) bestows upon him once more the gift of the sword, Excalibur.  Excalibur is the symbol of Arthur's union with the earth and a thus a symbol of his divine sovereignty.  This metaphor reflects the Celtic connection between man and his world as well as the celtic belief in the sacredness of space.


 
 

The Concept of Personal Nemeton
 
 
 

Just as the Celts believed in the sacredness of space thousands of years ago, so do we of Celtic ancestry carry with us a vestige of this ancient reverence for nemeton.   Carl Jung  wrote that "history is not contained in thick books, but lives in our very blood".  So am I of the opinion that the beliefs of our Celtic ancestors are written within our souls.  How often have we encountered people or places in our lives which seem to bring us a sense of completeness?  How often have each of us felt that unmistakable sensation of "coming home"?  Each of these experiences may well be an expression in our hearts of the magic of nemeton.  It is in our own sacred space that we are best able to communicate with those deepest and most sacred reaches of ourselves.  It is in that space that we so often are able to find a renewed sense of strength and of inner peace.  It was the Celtic belief that our ancestors too held to the belief in the sanctity of space.  It is in that space which we have identified as having been sacred to our ancestors that we are most able to reach beyond the veil between this world and the next and to communicate with the spirits of those upon whose shoulders we stand.  John O' Donohue, author of Anam Cara : A Book of Celtic Wisdom illustrates this idea beautifully when he tells of how a priest friend of his was to build a parking lot outside his church in Connemara.  There was a ruin nearby, O'Donohue writes that had been vacated for 50 or 60 years.  When the priest approached the man whose family had lived there long ago to ask for the stones of the foundation the man refused stating in gaelic, "Céard a dhéanfadh anamacha mo mhuinítre ansin?" -  "What would the souls of my ancestors do then?" The nemeton is a sacred place full of presence to those who have a heart to see and hear.  In those spaces, with an open heart it is possible to hear the soft whisperings of Spirit.  "Love does not remain in the heart," writes O'Donohue, "it flows out to build secret tabernacles in the landscape".  It is in nemeton that our ancestors have the power and ability to reach out to us through the centuries to share with us the wisdom they hold.  It is in this act that the souls of those who have passed over achieve their measure of immortality.