Trans people in ancient Celtic cultures
In response to somebody in a Celtic pagan and druidry group asking if there is any mention of transgender people in Celtic mythology.
One of the common tools of imperialism is to abolish any gender incongruence in invaded populations, so it’s possible there was — but sadly very probable that the Romans, who documented most of Celtic culture as they colonised it, failed to mention it.
Transgender and gender nonconforming people exist and have existed in every culture on earth, because we are a normal part of human diversity.
Also, gender is a social construct that varies hugely from culture to culture, so the lines drawn for ‘gender bending’ will differ depending when and where you are and which level of society you move in.
Some reading material I found in a quick search:
Trans people in ancient Britain
The case for Queer theory in Celtic studies
More general info on LGBT+ themes in mythology:
LGBT themes in mythology - Wikipedia
A bit on language:
LGBTQ terminology in Celtic languages
I’d be happy to learn more about this, if anyone
The person asking was looking for a spiritual connection, presumably as a trans pagan following a Celtic path. Given that so little of ancient Celtic culture was accurately documented, and even then it will be open to misinterpretation in a modern setting, I feel that the usefulness of a scholarly approach to this is limited.
A spiritual path requires spiritual methods and we as Westerners can get way too bogged down in ‘authenticity’ and historical accuracy when it comes to reconnecting with our indigenous traditions.
Instead of doing the work - the inner work, ancestral work, the community work, the connection with our landscape work - we tend to fall back on scraps of history written by the people who erased our traditions in the first place, or worse still we shortcut by appropriating practices from cultures not our own.
We also miss that the surviving parts of our traditions are hiding in the fringes of society, not in academic papers. Circus and carnival culture, popular culture, local folk traditions and things that don’t always make sense or feel complete in the way we want them to.
Look to the margins, look to the land, look to the things you’ve been made to discount and feel ashamed of as ‘supersitioius’ or ‘quaint’ and yes, those things that have been classed as ‘Queer’.