What really prevent us from
understanding Celtic mythology are our prejudicial denotations by
which we approach its remnants.
By applying the words God,
Divinities, Priest, etc we always apply our own ideas and concepts to
the remnants of Celtic antiquity, and we construct similarities. We
find those similarities conformed for Celtic peoples under roman
influence. But in face of the pre-roman era or of any lack of
congruency and in face of any contradiction, we are left unanswered.
Some gods lend themselves to be equalled to roman or Indo-European
deities; but what about the other ones, what about the hundreds of
local divinities – are there any gods recognized by "all" Celtic
peoples?
Contradictions and
incongruities are however more easily explained, if we recognize
Celtic religion as being heterogeneous in itself.
In
Celtic religion of pre-Roman times and the era before Anglo-Saxon or
Scandinavian invasions, there are to be kept apart a stratum kin to
animism and a stratum of belief in personal
divinities.