Animal Symbols of the Irish Celtic Druids:

THE SALMON

wisdom / knowledge / inspiration / rejuvenation

The salmon was considered by the Irish Celts to be the one of the most ancient and wise of animal symbols. The salmon is the creature that swims in the streams and the pool, and which represents the goal of every Druid – the Salmon of Wisdom. The salmon is perhaps the most sacred of all creatures in the Druid tradition, and it is known as the Oldest Animal.

The fish as a central symbol within a spiritual tradition is ancient and ubiquitous – not only does it appear in Irish and Welsh celtic legend, in the Vedas, in Hinduism and Buddhism, but also in Babylonian and Sumerian mythology. Orpheus was depicted as a fish, and later Christ and the Philosopher’s Stone of the Alchemists. Christian fish symbolism, including the custom of eating fish on a Friday, is believed to derive directly from the Jewish tradition, which in turn probably drew this element from Syrian belief. The fish and the fisherman were both intimately related symbolically from the earliest days – the first Avatar of Vishnu the Creator was a fish. The Buddha and Jesus are referred to as fishermen; the Babylonians had a fisher-god and the Fisher King is the central figure in the grail legend.

When the Druid today seeks the Salmon of Wisdom they are connecting not only to a tradition of the ancient Druids, but also to an understanding that is rooted deep in the collective awareness of all humanity.

CELTIC MYTHOLOGY

In Irish Celtic mythology, salmon swam in the River Boyne under the overhanging hazel tree from which the nine nuts of poetic wisdom fell. The salmon that absorbed the inspiration encapsulated within consumed these nuts. The salmon were then eaten by Fionn mac Cumhal, who subsequently acquired the knowledge of all things and later became leader of the Fianna, an Irish warband of immense strength.

According to Celtic legend, Fintan the "White Ancient" was able to assume the form of animals, one of which was the salmon. Salmon would also be the animals which would lead Gwrhyr to the Mabon and eventually toward wisdom and rebirth.

Celtic Cross---Celtic Spirals---Celtic Ogham Alphabet

Celtic Animals---Celtic Magic---Druid History

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