One of the issues in your question/statement is that the "Celtic ur-culture," if there ever was one (as opposed to a number of similar smaller cultural units), spread over a great distance, and in each locality, the larger myths became localized. So, the fact that Cath Maige Tuired takes place on a plain in Roscommon, and also has scenes in Tara, Co. Meath and Leitrim, etc. with the characters Lug, Nuada, and so forth does not necessarily mean the "myths took place" there; the same characters from the same ur-culture were Lludd and Llewellys in Wales, and some of the incidents in that tale take place in Oxford, and various other locations. So, it's a localization, not so much that they actually happened in this or that location. This is one of the reasons why the story of the Caillech Berri, which originated in Cork on the Beare Peninsula, and in a Middle-Irish poem of roughly the 10th century, were then later localized in lots of other places under the same name, including many places in Scotland. Scotland and Beare, Co. Cork have no inherent connection, but the same mythic figure was localized to each place. The same sort of process was probably happening all over the Celtic cultural world, from Galatia to Galway, from Caithness to Celtiberia, etc. etc.
While I would not necessarily advocate this (though Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" certainly does a helluva job making the case!), people who identify with a Celtic culture might decide to localize the Celtic gods to wherever they happen to be.
I would also question whether very many genuine pagans get inspired to devotion to this or that god because they read something in a book. They might be researching a particular deity or religion, and then have some experiences which suggest that the deities or figures they're reading about have somehow "made contact" with them, and if that's the case, that's fine.
Speaking from experience, I grew up in Western Washington State (north of Seattle), and not only are there killer whales around in the waterways during the summer, but they're a major force in Native American art and story. While I am not in any way Native American by genetic heritage, cultural association, or training, killer whales have featured majorly in my spiritual experience, possibly as a reflection of my connection to that particular landscape; however, I still get visited by them from time to time, even though I live in Ireland now. While I would not claim to therefore have some sort of Native American strand in my spirituality (though they're the only culture that I know of, apart from the Inuits and other Northern peoples, that have killer whales as a major part of their mythology), they are important to me, and sometimes the information I read about them in the stories and scholarship on Northwest Native traditions has some resonance or makes sense with my own experiences. No big deal.
And while I am not a representative of any of these groups and have no connection with them, I think there would be a lot of Celtic recons and druidic groups in the U.S. who might have a problem with the idea that because they're located elsewhere, they can't do the Celtic thing. But that's just a guess!
While I would not necessarily advocate this (though Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" certainly does a helluva job making the case!), people who identify with a Celtic culture might decide to localize the Celtic gods to wherever they happen to be.
I would also question whether very many genuine pagans get inspired to devotion to this or that god because they read something in a book. They might be researching a particular deity or religion, and then have some experiences which suggest that the deities or figures they're reading about have somehow "made contact" with them, and if that's the case, that's fine.
Speaking from experience, I grew up in Western Washington State (north of Seattle), and not only are there killer whales around in the waterways during the summer, but they're a major force in Native American art and story. While I am not in any way Native American by genetic heritage, cultural association, or training, killer whales have featured majorly in my spiritual experience, possibly as a reflection of my connection to that particular landscape; however, I still get visited by them from time to time, even though I live in Ireland now. While I would not claim to therefore have some sort of Native American strand in my spirituality (though they're the only culture that I know of, apart from the Inuits and other Northern peoples, that have killer whales as a major part of their mythology), they are important to me, and sometimes the information I read about them in the stories and scholarship on Northwest Native traditions has some resonance or makes sense with my own experiences. No big deal.
And while I am not a representative of any of these groups and have no connection with them, I think there would be a lot of Celtic recons and druidic groups in the U.S. who might have a problem with the idea that because they're located elsewhere, they can't do the Celtic thing. But that's just a guess!
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