The Sleepers
The concept of the Sleepers in Celtic mythology originates with the tales of the Tuatha De Danann. When they were defeated by the invading Milesians, the people of the Tuatha moved into and merged with the hills and mounds of Ireland, which they divided into kingdoms among them. These Otherworld or Underworld kingdoms are known by various names including Mag Mor (the great plain), Mag Mel (the pleasant plain), Tir Na N'Og (the Land of Youth or Land Under Wave, the Land of Youth), and Annwn (the Underworld). These kingdoms represented the immortal land of music, beautiful women and ale, without sickness, pain, or death.
When the Tuatha De Danann merged into the land, they became the Faery or the "Aes Sidhe" or "Folk of the Mounds," whose spirit and power sleeps within the land, waiting for those who call upon and awaken them.
Traditionally within Celtic mythology and magic, the Sleepers were the Sacred Kings and Priestess Queens who chose to remain in an altered state in which their consciousnesses were absorbed into the land. Both the Priestess Queens and Sacred Kings concentrated and worked with one specific tribe, locality, and land. They would actually merge with the land, through trance, meditation, hallucinogenic plants, and dreaming, so as to communicate powers, insights, skills, and energies to others from within the very being, or body of the land. The idea is that every thought, such as ancestral memories, and action, such as growing crops, is imbedded and embodied in the land and can be accessed.
Often this process involved going into the womb of the Goddess--a tunnel, cave, or burial chamber. Ancestral spirits spoke with the Sacred Kings and Priestess Queens, telling them about the mysteries and sacred energies of the land. They would learn the connections between the past, present, and future and the nature of time spirals; the secrets of the Underworld.
The concept of Sacred Kingship and Queenship is linked to the Underworld, as the wisdom comes from beneath the Earth, from within the actual land and the planet itself. The Sacred Kings and Priestess Queens conveyed their collective knowledge to their people, often including elements of prophecy, with the intention of expanding the people's understanding of life, their physical environment, and spirituality.
Traditionally, people worked the same basic area of land, meaning that much of their energy was imprinted onto the land where they lived, and when they died, their spirit and flesh became part of that local. When people wanted to talk to their ancestors for guidance or support, they went out and merged with the trees, streams, and Earth. They released the ancestral energy from its resting place in the land, bridging the past with the future.
In the practice of modern Celtic spirituality, when we tune into and merge with the land, we awaken the Sleepers and release the ancestral wisdom and power stored within the Earth. The land, which consists of energetic ley lines, harmonics, minerals, flora and fauna, is like a giant crystal, and like a crystal, it absorbs the energy of anyone or anything that comes into contact with it. With each passing generation, the residual energy and power sleeping in the earth increases proportionate to the number of those who give their energy to the land. In modern society many of us do not have the traditional affinity with the Earth that our ancestors had, yet we still have a need to connect and work the land.
The Preceding was an Excerpt from the Book
Pocket Guide of Celtic Spirituality by Sirona Knight