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THE CELTS
7
"The rapid oak-tree—
Before him heaven and earth quake:
Stout door-keeper against the foe.
Taliesin: Battle of the Trees.
for the oak was held sacred by them as a symbol of the omnipotent god, upon whom they depended for life like the mistletoe growing upon it. Their ceremonies were held in oak-groves.
Later from their name a word meaning "magician" was formed, showing that these priests had gained the reputation of being dealers in magic.
"The Druid followed him and suddenly, as we are told, struck him with a druidic wand, or according to one version, flung at him a tuft of grass over which he had pronounced a druidical incantation."
O'Curry: Ancient Irish.
They dealt in symbols, common objects to which was given by the interposition of
