In light of Anthroposophy, the movement of the Spiritual Mysteries took several routes as civilization spread throughout the world before and after the fall of Atlantis sometime around 9500 BC. The core group of initiates, led by the great Manu, the highest of spiritual initiates at the time, carried a unique stream to Europe and the world. The Sun Oracle was based on the region of Ireland at that time and extended further into the Atlantic Ocean. As the Hibernian Mystery stream spread into the world and traveled East and South, centers of initiation were created and existed into recent ancient history. These centers were dedicated to the advanced education of pupils and candidates for spiritual initiation.

 

The spiritual stream or impulse of Hibernia was carried through many streams ,including the ancient Druids and Celts in Ireland, Scotland, and England. Dr. Rudolf Steiner, founder of Anthroposophy, referred to the centers of the mysteries in Ireland as "The Hibernian Mysteries"; it was the carrier of a cultural-spiritual impulse that flowed into Europe and influenced individuals who were destined to play significant roles in world history. One of these individuals was Gilgamesh who, by way of Dr. Rudolf Steiner's insights, journeyed to Europe and encountered initiates of the Hibernian Mystery stream who had  migrated to the area of Germania around 2700 BC. There, he passed through a degree of spiritual initiation by way of initiates from Hibernia-Ireland.

 

The ancient tale of Fingal is captured in "The Poems of Ossian." It is a faithful record of oral traditions that lived amongst the Gaelic peoples of a genuine spiritual initiate who instilled in the Irish and Scottish peoples a stream of initiation and culture that still resonates today as an echo of ancient times. According to legend, and insights brought forth by Dr. Rudolf Steiner, Fingal was an early initiate, leader, and Gaelic hero who lives today only as a myth. Fingal's Cave on the island of Staffa in Scotland played a central role in the life of the initiates in the Irish and Scottish Mysteries, which were centered on the Island of Iona where the Book of Kells was created around the year 800 AD. Dr. Steiner stated that the region of Ireland in the ancient world was unique and brought a vital stream of spiritual inspiration and a path to the spiritual worlds to humanity.

 

Remnants of the early Irish Celts who inhabited Ireland left behind remains of their traditions in stone circles and sites such as The Ardgroom Stone Circle in County Cork and Newgrange. These sites are the prehistoric remains of an ancient wisdom possessed by these early peoples who once lived throughout Ireland, Scotland, Britain, and Gaul (Western France); they share a similar character and history connected to an ancient star wisdom that was linked to important seasonal cadences which also reflect a deeper spiritual significance.

 

In light of Anthroposophy, the Mystery Centers of old were reborn and transformed through the Event of Golgotha in 33AD for which they had been preparing the way for millennia. The Christ impulse forever changed the world and the cosmos forever. Genuine spiritual initiates, such as St. Patrick, St. Colomba, and St. Brigit carried the genuine message and mission of the Christ into Ireland and Iona (Scotland) as a fulfillment of their Hibernian karma, where it flowed into Britain and Europe and influenced the early Franks and European history. These individuals were once a part of the Hibernian Mysteries of ancient times who incarnated to transform the last remnants of the ancient Druid mysteries in Ireland, Scotland, and England, which were descended from Hibernia.

 

Gaelic monks, students, and teachers moved throughout France, Switzerland, and Italy, spreading the New Mysteries of the Christ. Abbeys, monasteries, monuments, and churches survive today, such as Croagh Patrick, and mark the way of these leaders and serve as reminders of their contributions. St. Brigit, for example, founded a center of learning and activity that greatly influenced the culture of Ireland and Scotland.

 

This study, to be published in the near future, is faithfully constructed in light of known and generally accepted historical facts and the spiritual-historical insights by Dr. Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy.

 

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Selected References

 

 

(1) Rudolf Steiner, Mendelssohn: Overture of the Hebrides, GA 127 https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/MenHeb_index.html

 

(2) Rudolf Steiner, Mystery Centers, GA 232, Lecture X, 14 December 1923, Dornach https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/19231214p01.html

 

(3) www.newgrange.com

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(4) Fingal's Cave, the Poems of Ossian, and Celtic Christianity by Paul Marshall Allen & Joan Deris Allen, https://www.amazon.com/-/he/Paul-Marshall-Allen/dp/0826411444