![]() ![]() 1655 The sea, a lake, a spring or a river was seen as a threshold or gateway to the divine world, water delimiting the boundary between the natural and the supernatural world. ![]() 1654 Many legends indeed recount that the Otherworld could be reached through water. It was certainly regarded as originating from the divine world, part of which was believed to be situated under the surface of the earth, as Irish mythology gives us to understand. This inexplicable emanation of water would have been interpreted as a gift from the gods. The numinous aspect of water also arose from the mystery of its origin: springs miraculously gushed forth from the ground. In addition to being worshipped for its beneficial dimension, water must therefore have been the subject of veneration to calm its wrath and to be granted clemency. While promoting life and fertility, water was also recognised as a capricious and dangerous natural phenomenon, which could instantly destroy habitations, flood crops and drown livestock. This explains why water was held in high respect and became revered as a divine entity. Water also had curative virtues which could soothe and heal, and was an important means of transport facilitating cultural and trading contacts. 1653 The supply of water was a necessary and essential condition for the survival of the community, the irrigation of the crops and the raising of cattle. Archaeology reveals that peoples increasingly settled along rivers and nearby lakes or bogs in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Water has always been regarded as a particular sacred element of the landscape, worshipped for its life-giving and generative force. This is devoted to goddesses linked to water, such as rivers, springs, fountains, lakes, etc. A mountain stream / Photo by Dilshad Roshan, Wikimedia Commons ![]()
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