ered with the words, "Shony, I give you this cup of ale, hoping that
you will be so kind as to send plenty of seaweed for enriching our
ground for the ensuing year." All then went in silence to the church and
remained there for a time, after which they indulged in an orgy
out-of-doors. This orgiastic rite may once have included the intercourse
of the sexes--a powerful charm for fertility. "Shony" was some old
sea-god, and another divinity of the sea, Brianniul, was sometimes
invoked for the same purpose.[848] Until recently milk was poured on
"Gruagach stones" in the Hebrides, as an offering to the Gruagach, a
brownie who watched over herds, and who had taken the place of a
god.[849]

PRAYER.

Prayer accompanied most rites, and probably consisted of traditional
formulae, on the exact recital of which depended their value. The Druids
invoked a god during the mistletoe rite, and at a Galatian sacrifice,
offered to bring birds to destroy grasshoppers, prayer was made to the
birds themselves.[850] In Mona, at the Roman invasion, the Druids raised
their arms and uttered prayers for deliverance, at the same time cursing
the invaders, and Boudicca invoked the protection of the goddess
Andrasta in a similar manner.[851] Chants were sung by the "priestesses"
of Sena to raise storms, and they were also sung by warriors both before
and after a battle, to the accompaniment of a measured dance and the
clashing of arms.[852] These warrior chants were composed by bards, and
probably included invocations of the war-gods and the recital of famous
deeds. They may also have been of the nature of spells ensuring the help
of the gods, like the war-cries uttered by a whole army to the sound of
trumpets.[853] These consisted of the name of a god, of a tribe or clan,
or of some well-known phrase. As the recital of a divine name is often
supposed to force the god to help, these cries had thus a magical
aspect, while they also struck terror into the foe.[854] Warriors also
advanced dancing to the fray, and they are depicted on coins dancing on
horseback or before a sword, which was worshipped by the Celts.[855] The
Celtiberian festival at the full moon consisted entirely of dancing. The
dance is a primitive method of expressing religious emotion, and where
it imitates certain actions, it is intended by magical influence to
crown the actions themselves with success. It is thus a kind of acted
prayer with magical results.

DIVINATION.