Saint Patrick is most known for driving the snakes from Ireland. It is true there are no snakes in Ireland, but there probably never have been - the island was separated from the rest of the continent at the end of the Ice Age. As in many old pagan religions, serpent symbols were common and often worshipped. Driving the snakes from Ireland was probably symbolic of putting an end to that pagan practice. While not the first to bring Christianity to Ireland, it is Patrick who is said to have encountered the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan rites. The story holds that he converted the warrior chiefs and princes, baptizing them and thousands of their subjects in the "Holy Wells" that still bear this name.

Interestingly enough, the person who was to become Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Wales about AD 385 and his given name was Maewyn. Far from being a saint, until he was 16 he considered himself a pagan. At that age, he was sold into slavery by a group of Irish marauders who raided his village. During his captivity he became closer to God and later decided that it was his calling to convert the pagans to Christianity.

As was often the case in those days, rather than attacking paganism, Patrick used pagan symbols to win converts. It is said that he used the three-leafed shamrock, the traditional pagan symbol of spring, to explain the concept of the Trinity; hence its strong association with his day and name. He superimposed the pagan symbol of the sun onto the Christian cross giving the celtic cross its shape.

So then, how should we pagan-leaning folk view Saint Patrick?

Certainly some could see him now as merely a symbol of Ireland and the celebration of Saint Patrick's Day simply an expression of pride of heritage. Although the Irish do celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, it is the Irish-Americans who seem to place such significance on the observance of this holiday. (A fun excuse to drink Irish beer and eat corned beef and cabbage?)

Do we pagans see Saint Patrick as an enemy, contributing to the downfall of a religion that we consider part of our spiritual heritage? Do we actually thank him for being one of those who by incorporating pagan images and practices into early Christianity actually preserved them?

As a part of Celtic history, there is certainly much that could be and has been written about Saint Patrick. This is one of the more interesting web pages I found that discusses his history and includes lots of pagan tidbits (not to mention some fun stuff about leprechauns).

Not being Irish myself, when I was in high school I enjoyed flouting tradition by wearing orange to school on Saint Patrick's Day. You can imagine how well that would go over now that I live in Boston! Today, I'm just going along with the general celebratory spirit of fun by wearing a green t-shirt under my sweater and using today as an excuse to wear my pretty peridot beads.

I'll have to think more about how I feel about Saint Patrick later.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 1:51 PM