At 11:13 AM 2/27/98 -0500, you wrote:

>There was an article in "The Sun" a literary magazine(...) the main gist
was that before agriculture, people's religion was pantheistic--we
were "at one" with all of the creation and all animals and plants,
wind, water, sun, etc. had spiritual entities that we were in
intimate existance with. Human spirituality was based on being a
creature that "belonged" on the earth and was "taken care of"by the
earth. We didn't need to be "saved" from anything.

I've been doing research into pre-agricultural Ireland looking for clues on
the theme of water in ancient Irish spirituality. What I've noticed is that
it isn't untill agriculture came along with the third migration out of
Europe(arrival in Ireland 1260bce.) that you start seing water symbolism
being used in a mundane context of growth and fertility. Before agriculture
the water symbolism was vary spare and abstract, dealing more with shamanic
travels, healing and wisdom rather then survival and fertility. This is
especially evident if you compare it to same period art from the continent,
which because of travels and trade the Irish had extensive contact with.

Willow



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Let the Flesh instruct the Mind

--Lestat