Senua's existence was first revealed to the public in October 2003. The story generated interest among people who are concerned with ancient religions and Celto-Roman history, and also among those who are seeking to base their own spiritual paths on pre-Christian religions.

Among these people were the members of the Temple of Brigantia, a group of modern Pagans in New England, part of a religious movement that finds divinity in nature and meaning in the pre-Christian deities of various cultures. While we are not scholars, members of the Temple of Brigantia value historical fact and seek to base our practices in history, without at all claiming that ancient peoples did what we do.

We have made a special study of the Celto-Roman period of history, because there is a reasonable quantity of information available to do so, because we believe this time period offers an interesting example of how differing peoples can exchange religious information, and because we have found beauty and inspiration in the known deities and temples of that time.

Like many people, we were intrigued and pleased to read of this "new" Celto-Roman goddess. We determined to craft a modern ritual honoring Senua and celebrating her rediscovery.

We began by studying the available articles about Senua, and photographs of her artifacts. We also studied (to the best of our ability, from 3,000 miles away) the landscape in which she was found, and what is known of the land's use and inhabitants during the Celto-Roman period.

When we reached the limits of known facts, we entered the realm of religion and worship. Within Paganism, meditation is a known and accepted way of forming connections with the Divine. We meditated as a group, and came up with a shared visualization of a town and a spring where Senua's temple might have stood. Finally, we performed a private religion in which we made offerings of food and wine to Senua, with prayers that our community might share in her worship and the blessings of her rebirth.

Descriptions of religious experiences are, of course, highly subjective, but all of us who partook of that work believe that Senua exists as a deity, that she heard and received our prayers, and that she was pleased to receive our attention after being so long neglected.

This having been done, we created a ritual with which to celebrate Senua in the wider Pagan community in our area. It follows the general outline of a standard Wiccan or Pagan ritual, but the offering of coins into the well is specifically based on ancient practices, and the blessing with water is an imaginative connection to Senua's affiliation with a spring.

On March 6, 2004, a group of 28 people gathered in a private home to worship and welcome Senua. As far as we know, these were the first offerings to Senua in more than 1,500 years. We plan to make them an annual tradition.

Text of Senua ritual

Other manifestations of interest in Senua

Online Shrine of Senua: Leave a prayer | Read others' prayers