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ecology, its mystical, magical and otherworldly associations will become much clearer.
In Celtic spirituality, mysticism and magic are grounded in Nature.)
Having discussed the spiritual nature of springs, we already have a number of clues as to
the nature of wells as spiritual sites. WHAT IS A WELL? Like a spring, it is a place
where mortals may get in touch with the water that is ever-flowing through the body of
the Earth; our 'mother,' our source and our end.
Unlike a spring, however, this water does not come to the surface, but is tapped by
human design through a shaft put down into the Earth. This makes of a well a very
different kind of psychic locus than a spring. These differences must be taken into
account when visiting wells.
IN NATURALISTIC TERMS, a well is a human artifact; an interface between the earth
and its human visitants. A well is usually dug where a diviner has sensed the presence of
an underground source of water and those who dig wells should always pray and ask the
anima loci (spirit of place) for permission. Creating a well is a time-consuming and
labor-intensive act of communion with earth and its mysteries. Going down into the
mysterious dark, those who help in the process of creating wells often experience a
strange sense of 'nearness' and of 'intimacy' with the Earth. Thus it is not unusual for
those who dig wells to be mystics.
Well-diggers are often so connected with the wells they have dug that they volunteer to
become its custodians. While most wells have practical, domestic uses, others are dug for
specifically mystical, ritual purposes. While water may still be drawn from these wells
for ordinary, everyday uses, they are also visited for a variety of magical and spiritual
purposes. Local wells in Celtic lands often became the vortex of a community's spiritual
life. To understand the intent of those who go as pilgrims and mystics to wells, we must
look into the symbolic and mythical dimensions of wells.
IN SYMBOLIC TERMS, a well is a communicative pathway between surfaces and
depths. Thus it is a link between our conscious, daily existence and our subconscious life.
As a 'pipe' linking daylight to darkness, it is an interface between the realm of
Enlightenment and Illumination (wisdom connected with sunlight and moonlight,
respectively) on the one hand and Endarkenment (wisdom generated through intimate
dwelling with darkness) on the other. Sunlight and moonlight periodically descend into
the well shaft, touching the inner darkness of the shaft and the pool of water at the
bottom. Thus some mystics say that the well is the place of the sun at night, and of the
moon during the day. IN MYTHICAL TERMS, a well is a place haunted by many
spirits. Earthy goddesses oft become manifest at wells in a peculiarly potent way, as the
well is analogous with either her vagina or her throat, linking the internal world of her
body-psyche with the external world where we live. Thus, throwing coins and other
offerings into wells has long been seen as a primary way of insuring the fertility of the
land and of those who make the offerings. Every year on Beltaine & Samhain, sacred
wells throughout Celtic lands were decorated and offerings thrown into them as a way of
asking the goddess of the well for either the renewal (in the Spring) or the preservation
(in the Autumn) of fecundity. Besides earthen goddesses, other spirits may haunt a well.
Some well-spirits are connected with the ebbing & waning of the underground waters.
Other spirits will be linked to any old trees (e.g., Oak, Ash or Willows) that grow near
the well. Oak and Ash are primary masculine symbols in Celtic spirituality, and as such
may stand for the 'lover' or 'husband' of the goddess of a particular well. Sometimes these
male consorts are named, and may be local gods. At other wells they might be the human
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