One of my favourite books is ‘Barddas’ – a collection of old Welsh documents which contain something of the spirit and theology of the ancient Celtic people and their druid priests. The druids are often portrayed as worshiping multiple gods – in fact this is probably a misunderstanding. It seems that the druids had a much more subtle grasp of spirituality and embraced panentheism; understanding that ‘God’ is in all things. Different names were given to ‘God’ and something of his or her characteristics were thought to be displayed in the Celtic pantheon. However underlying this multiplicity of gods and goddesses was the understanding that these were in fact multiple faces of the unnameable and unknowable One.
In one passage in Barddas, those being initiated into Bardism or Druidism are asked a series of questions; one of which is as follows:
Q: What is God?
A: The life of all lives.
How inspiring a thought. God is nothing without the lives that make up his being; and we are nothing without the life of God which animates us.
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Your description of Celtic beliefs and spirituality is similar to the Aztec concept of God. The Aztecs, often sensationalized for their practice of blood sacrifice are also, like the Celts, categorized as polytheists. However, at the heart of the vast pantheon of "gods" was Ometeotl (Two Lord) a figure sometimes also referred to as He Who is Our Father/She Who is Our Mother. Ometeotl was perceived as being everywhere and in everything, the holiness of creation as a whole. The Aztecs never built any temples to Ometeotl, never offered prayers or sacrifices to Ometeotl because Ometeotl was perceived as the energy of creation, the force that drove the universe forward, the source of divine energy who gave the "gods" of the Aztec pantheon their power. Ometeotl wasn't even considered the creator -- that honor fell to the "gods", the personifications of the forces of nature such as Quetzalcoatl (the Plumed Serpent, god of the day winds), Tezcatlipoca(the Smoking Mirror god of the night winds and hurricanes, and a variety of other divinities who were considered children of Ometeotl.
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