Brigid Goddess.

February 1st is a special day on the ancient Irish calendar. It's known as La Fheile Bride, Brigid's Day. This day is a celebration of the ancient Irish goddess Brigid, and marks the start of the spring festival called Imbolc.

Brigid was the Goddess of Fire, whose manifestations were song, craftsmanship, and poetry - which are considered the flame of knowledge. As a healing goddess, she governs childbirth and the birthing time. That Brigid was highly regarded as a healing goddess as can be seen from the numerous healing wells dedicated to her all over Ireland. As a goddess of poetry, she governs not only the inspiration and writing of poetry, but also divination and prophecy. As a goddess of smithcraft, she governs the forge's fire. It is for these reasons that she is considered the "Bright Goddess" and is associated with the element of fire.

Here in Ireland, during Imbolc, the land was ploughed to receive the new seed with spade and horse-drawn plough; calves and lambs were born, and fishermen waited impatiently for the end of the winter storms and rough seas to launch their boats again. Foods traditionally eaten during Imbolc are lamb stew, poppy seed bread, honey cakes and baked custard. Imbolc is seen as a time of hope and renewal - as the land comes alive again with the passing of winter. Sometimes imagery is used. Just as at New Year's Eve when we often see the image of old, bearded Father Time representing the old, outgoing year replaced with a young baby which celebrates the year just born, at Imbolc, we have similar imagery; an old crone represents the outgoing year, and turns things over to a young maiden. Fertility, of course, plays a part here. The frozen earth is incapable of growing things, just as the old crone has grown incapable of producing offspring. This barrenness is replaced by the warm return of Spring, making the earth once again fertile, symbolized by the fertile young maiden.

Traditionally, at this time, a number of customs are followed. The home is cleaned (Spring cleaning) in preparation of a visit from Brigid, especially the fireplace. A birch branch should be used to symbolically sweep the floor, as this has strong links with her.

In days gone by the man, or men, of the house would make a Brideog. This was a doll shaped object made from long pieces of straw or rushes which was dressed in white doll clothing or merely wrapped in a white cloth in the manner of a dress. The "doll" would then be decorated with bits of seashells and flowers. This object symbolised a "little Brigid" which was then brought from house to house carried by a young lady of the household. Entertainment was then provided for the houses you visited in the form of songs and jokes. Upon arriving home, a feast was then had with the Brideog leaning against one of the legs of the dining table. Boxty pancakes, apple cake, dumplings and colcannon (Potatoes, cabbage and onion mixed with milk.) were normally on the menu. Any extra straw / reeds would be saved and used for the manufacture of Brigid’s crosses.

It is believed Brigid travels around the countryside on the eve of her festival, blessing both the people and their livestock. To show that her visit was welcome, families would place a cake or pieces of bread and butter on the windowsill. In some parts of Ireland, the bread would be an oatmeal loaf in the shape of a cross which was specially baked for the occasion.

It is in this way that the winter is ushered out and the spring welcomed, as the storms subside, the gorse begins to flower, the snowdrops and daffodils begin to break the surface and the days begin to lengthen once again.

The Irish goddess Brigid is unusual among deities because she is found in several different religions. References to her are found in ancient Paganism, Neo-Paganism, Christianity and Voodoo.

Both Neo -Pagans and Pagans of old worshiped Brigid as a Celtic Pagan triple goddess. The term triple Goddess refers to the belief that some deities have three distinct aspects covering the maiden, mother and crone phases of life. Brigid has power over childbirth, motherhood, smith craft, peace, unity, poetry, inspiration, healing, hearth and home among others.

Brigid also appears in Voodoo as Maman Brigette. Scholars believe that worship of Brigid came to the Caribbean islands along with Irish people who had been kidnapped, enslaved and forced to the islands to work. Maman Brigette is said to drink hot peppers and reportedly has a very dirty mouth using obscenities frequently. Voodoo dogma holds that Maman Brigette will protect graves if the gravestone is marked with a cross.

Brigid, the Celtic goddess of fire (the forge and the hearth), poetry, healing, childbirth, and unity, is celebrated in many European countries. Born at the exact moment of daybreak, Brigid rose into the sky with the sun, rays of fire beaming from her head. She was the daughter of Dagda, the great 'father-god' of Ireland.

In Druid mythology, the infant goddess was fed with milk from a sacred cow from the Otherworld. Brigid owned an apple orchard in the Otherworld and her bees would bring their magical nectar back to earth. It is said that wherever she walked, small flowers and shamrocks would appear. As a sun goddess her gifts are light (knowledge), inspiration, and the vital and healing energy of the sun.

Legend holds that Brigid began the Irish tradition of keening (crying,wailing, and singing) over the body of a deceased person at a wake. As outlined in the following story.

Brigid became the wife of Bres, an Irish king. Together they produced three sons, each of them became a famous warrior. Brigid and her husband came from two warring tribes and hoped their marriage would end the enmity between their kin.

Unfortunately, it did not. However, as it turns out, the battlefield death of their son Ruadan assured Brigid's role as a goddess of peace and unity.
A major battle between the two families was about to begin.

Brigid's eldest son, using the knowledge of metalsmithing that he had learned from his mother, struck the first blow, killing the smith of the opposing army. But as the warrior fell to the ground, he managed one last blow before he died and Ruandan was also killed.

Brigid's grief was enormous--for the continual hatred between the two sides of her family and for the death of her son. Her lamentations were so loud they were heard throughout Ireland and so heart-rending that both sides left the battle and forged a peace. The goddess Brigid is said to have originated the practice of "keening".
She is also credited with the invention of whistling, which she used to summon her friends to her side.

Eventually the love and respect for the goddess Brigid brought unity to the Celts who were spread throughout Europe. Regardless of their differences, they all agreed upon her goodness and compassion.

One of the most popular tales of the goddess Brigid involved two lepers who appeared at her sacred well at Kildare and asked to be healed. She told them that they were to bathe each other until the skin healed. After the first one was healed, he felt only revulsion for the other and would not touch him to bathe him. Angered, Brigid caused his leprosy to return. Then she gently placed her mantle (cloak) around the other leper who was immediately healed.

Ireland is full of springs and wells named after the goddess Brigid. Symbolically, water is seen as a portal to the Otherworld and as a source of wisdom and healing. There is a saying that Brigid rewards any offering to her, so offerings of coins were often tossed into her wells, the forerunner of the modern custom of throwing a penny into a fountain while you make a wish.

At her most famous shrine Brigid taught humans how to gather and use herbs for their healing properties, how to care for their livestock, and how to forge iron into tools. As a goddess of childbirth and protector of all children, she is the patroness of midwifery. This shrine, near Kildare, was located near an ancient Oak that was considered to be sacred by the Druids, so sacred in fact that no one was allowed to bring a weapon there.

The shrine is believed to have been an ancient college of priestesses who were committed to thirty years of service, after which they were free to leave and marry. During their first ten years they received training, the next ten were spent tending the sacred wells, groves and hills of the goddess Brigid, and the last decade was spent in teaching others.

Nineteen priestesses were assigned to tend the perpetual flame of the sacred fire of Brigid. Each was assigned to keep the flames alive for one day. On the twentieth day, the goddess Brigid herself kept the fire burning brightly.

The goddess Brigid was also revered as the Irish goddess of poetry and song. Known for her hospitality to poets, musicians, and scholars, she is known as the Irish muse of poetry.

The goddess Brigid lends us her creativity and inspiration, but also reminds us to keep our traditions alive and whole. These are gifts that can sustain us through any circumstance.

Her fire is the spark of life.

Feminism in Irish Mythology.

Feminism in Irish Mythology.


In many of the pagan world religions the feminine is a dominant presence. The land, the rivers, and mountains in fact all of nature is associated with the Goddesses and other supernatural females. In Ireland it was Ériu who gave her name to our land and she had two sister goddesses called Banba and Fodla. The Trio of goddesses was a common concept within Irish mythology, another trio of goddesses are Morrigan (the Great Queen) goddess of fertility and battle together with her sister goddesses, Badb (“Crow”), and either Macha (also connotes “Crow”) or Nemain (“Frenzy”). The Morrigan frequently appears in the form of a hooded crow. She is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann (“Tribe of the goddess Danu”) and she helped defeat the Firbolg at the First Battle of Mag Tuireadh and the Fomorians at the Second Battle of Mag Tuireadh. The Morrigan also appears as the Washer at the Ford, the Washer is usually to be found washing the clothes of men about to die in battle. In effect, she is choosing who will die.

In the ancient Celtic world Anu was the mother goddess and considered to be the mother of all the gods; the Tuatha de Danann. Other references say that she is the mother earth goddess or the Goddess of fertility. On the Cork Kerry border are two mountains called the Paps of Anu (pap is another word for breast.) On the top of each mountain are stone structures or cairns that when viewed from a distance make the two mountains look like a pair of breasts. Anu was known, in the Celtic World, by several similar names: Danu or Don being the most popular alternatives. She was a Mother-Goddess, the wife of the Sun God, Belenos, and considered to be the ancestor of all the Gods, the Tuatha dé Danann, who found themselves obliged to reside in the Otherworld when Miled brought the Celts to the British Isles. She still looks down on us from the night's sky where she appears as Llys Don, better known as the constellation of Casseopeia.

Aine/Enya: A goddess of cattle possibly related to the mother goddess Danu. Irish goddess of love. Also known as the Faery Queen of Munster, she is aligned with faeries and the magic of the woods. Her name comes from the old Irish word An meaning “bright”. She inspires love and has great powers of fertility and healing. As the Dark Maiden she is vengeful when crossed. The feast of Midsummer is held in her honour. She was originally a Sun goddess who could take the form of a Lair Derg, a red mare that no one could outrun. It is possible that Aine and Grainne alternated as goddesses of the waning and waxing solar year, changing place at the solstices. Aine's father, King Egobagal, is one of the Tuatha de Danann. Also called Aine Marine and Aine of Knockaine, she is associated with Knockainy (Aineis Hill in Munster, and with Dun Aine (Dunany Point) in County Louth. People with the surname O'Corra are said to be her descendants.

Airmed: Irish goddess of healing, herbalists, magic and learning. She is a goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann, who healed those injured in wars and battles. She collects herbs for health and healing and teaches us about the craft of plant medicine. She also guards the secret wells, springs and rivers of healing and is worshipped as a goddess of Witchcraft and magic.

According to legend, there was once a great and noble god Nuada who ruled the Tuatha De Danann (ancient fairy folk). During a fateful battle, King Nuada lost his arm and was forced to relinquish the throne as a result of the deformity. Airmid’s father and master physician, Dian Cecht, fashioned the fallen king a silver prosthetic arm which enabled Nuada to return as ruler of the land.

Now, Dian Cecht’s son Miach believed that with his own skill as a surgeon and his sister Airmid’s aptitude for regeneration, an even better solution was possible. Together, sister and brother perfectly rebuilt Nuada’s flesh arm in “thrice three days and nights.” When Dian Cecht found out that he had been bested by his own son, he flew into a jealous rage, killing Miach with a fatal blow to the head.

Deeply grieving, Airmid went to her brother’s grave and laid a cairn of stones around the burial plot. Soon after, she discovered new life rising from the earth. Three hundred and sixty-five herbs grew on that spot, each one a cure for a specific part of the body. The goddess spread her cloak and gathered up the herbs according to their properties. But when Dian Cecht learned of this, he overturned the cloak, scattering the herbs to the wind and forever losing the gift that Miach had shared with humankind. Only Airmid has knowledge of the specific herbs in her brother’s offering, and so in times of need we may invoke her spirit for guidance.

The number of the herbs, three hundred sixty-five, is symbolic of the passing of a year; reminding us that time heals all wounds. Despite her pain and frustration, Airmid remained devoted to her ministry as a healer. With Dian Cecht and her remaining brothers, the goddess went on to tend the sacred well of healing. The family recited charms and incantations while the injured and dead were immersed and restored to perfect health and vitality. Wells were believed to be a link between the upper and the lower worlds. Airmid and her family used the well as a way for their tribe to communicate with and draw on the healing forces of the underworld.

We celebrate Goddess Airmid by appreciating nature and the gift of plant medicine. We lend honour to her fate by staying true to the course of our own life’s mission no matter what hardships we may endure. Altars dedicated to the goddess should include herbs of any kind, a piece of cloth to represent her cloak, and a bowl or small cauldron of spring water to symbolize her family’s healing well and the mystical forces that flow throughout all of life.

Badb/Badb Catha: “Raven,” or “Battle Crow,” a goddess of war and sovereignty who could take the form of a raven or wolf. Badb was equivalent to the Gaulish Cathubodua. Her sisters were Macha and the Morrigan, making her a triple goddess. She is sometimes referred to as the Fury and is the Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess. Mainly associated with death and destruction she is also the keeper of the Sacred Cauldron, controlling fate, time, and rebirth.

Banba/Banbha: Irish goddess of protection. The poetic name of Ireland, she protects the land and its people from invaders and forms a triad with her sisters Eriu and Fódla. She also gave her name to the river Barrow.

Be Chuille: Goddess of Druids and Witches.

Boann: The goddess of the river Boyne, which passes Newgrange. Boann was the mother of Aenghus. Also known as a goddess of poetry and spiritual insight. She inspires creativity by clearing the mind and opening the spirit to her. You can invoke her presence near running waters or riverbanks. Mother of the herds and a cow goddess.

Brighid: “Fire Arrow” or “Exalted” goddess of fire, poetry, and smith craft, the daughter of the Dagda. Brighid was one of three sisters, all named Brighid, and was a triple goddess. She is the goddess of the Sacred Flame. Each one of her faces represents her dominion over poetry, healing and smithcraft. She is the keeper of the holy wells and rivers of healing and rebirth as well as the sacred flames of creativity. We celebrate her festival at Imbolc when sacred fires are lit and kept burning all night to encourage the sun to return from hiding. She is the mother of invention and smithcraft and the patroness of priestesses. She is also a patron of other womanly arts – midwifery, dyeing, weaving and brewing, and the guardian of children and farm animals – particularly cows.

Bronach: Goddess of sea cliffs.

Cailleach Bheara (The Cailleach): The great goddess of the moon, sky, and earth. Controller of the seasons and of the weather. In her dark aspect she is a destroyer causing famine, disease, and plagues. Other names are The Veiled One, The Hag, The Crone, and The White Lady. She can turn into a beautiful woman and bestow favours on men who are kind to her.

Cailb: Some people associate this goddess with the Cailleach. She is a death goddess and prophetess. Her mouth was on one side of her head and she had pubic hair down to her knees (not her most attractive attribute).

Canola: Irish goddess of music and dance. She fell asleep to the sound of the wind whispering along the bones of a gutted whale on the beach. When she awoke, she created the Irish harp, an instrument designed to capture the haunting sounds she had heard in her dreams. She is the patroness of musicians and bards. Canola aids inspiration and creativity.

Caer: The wife of Aenghus, Caer possessed the ability to transform into a swan.

Danu: The mother goddess and namesake of the Tuatha Dé Danann or “People of Danu.” Earth goddess of Ireland her name translates as “knowledge”. She is the power and magic of fertile soil, rivers and vegetation.

Echtga: Owl goddess.

Eiru, Banba, and Fodhla: Three queens of the Tuatha Dé Danann who aid the Milesians on the condition that their names are given to their home. Eiru is of course Eire, or Ireland, and Banba and Fodhla are often used as poetic titles for the island.

Etain: A shape changing/reincarnating goddess, the wife of Midir. Etain is sometimes related to the Sheela-na-gig icons that dot Ireland.

Flidais: Irish goddess of the woodlands she rides through the forests in a chariot pulled by deer. She is a deity with great sexual powers, seducing male mortals. She is a fertility goddess with many children and supplies nourishment with her cow that can give milk to three hundred people.

Macha: Sister of Badb and the Morrigan, Macha was a sovereignty goddess. Her strong associations with horses make her equivalent to Epona and the Welsh Rhiannon.

Maeve: She is a warrior Goddess of Ireland. She was said to have been worshiped at the ancient mystical site of Tara. Her name is translated to mean "intoxicated woman", as she is associated with intoxication by different substances, such as mead and mind altering herbs. She is also a Goddess of sovereignty, fertility, personal power and of the earth. It is said that the ancient kings of Ireland married the Goddess when they took their place if power. She would bestow her gifts upon them, and they could claim their sovereignty over the land. They would hold great feasts where mead was drunk in her

Morrigan: “Terrible Queen” or “Phantom Queen”; Morrigan is a sovereignty and war goddess, and the lover of Cuchulainn.

Sionainn: Goddess of the Shannon River.

Tailtiu: Harvest goddess. The Fomorian foster mother of Lugh, whose funeral games inspired the festival of Lughnasadh.

Teamair: Goddess of Tara, daughter of Lugh. Her lover was the goddess Brid.

These are just a few of the Irish goddess’s, there are many more goddess’s throughout the various Celtic pantheon.

Neo-Classical/Palladian Ornamentation.

Riverine Gods.

Ten thousand years ago, before the coming of Christianity in Ireland, the rivers served a very important role in the lives of the people living along its banks. It was their source of food, and a place where their cattle and crops thrived on the nourished plains. It also acted as a barrier between opposing armies and clans. People saw the rivers as powerful objects and worshiped river gods. Often people placed weapons and ornaments of precious metal in the river as offerings to these gods.

The river gods of Ireland were replicated in Ireland's architecture by Edward Smyth, when he designed the keystone sculptures depicting the faces of the river gods, on the Customs House in Dublin, in the late 18th century.

When James Gandon was commissioned to design the Custom House, Dublin, he approached Edward Smyth a relatively unknown sculpture and asked him to design a head depicting each of the fourteen major rivers of Ireland. He designed them based on traditional classical motifs and incorporated the principal features of the counties through which they flowed into their crowns. He worked on them during the 1780s and finished them in 1786, after which Smyth was to become Gandon's principal Sculptor.

He worked on other prominent Gandon developments; including the Kings Inns, The Four Courts, Parliament House, O'Connell Bridge, The Rotunda Hospital and the great mansion at Emo, Co. Laois.

Top image is of Westport House County Mayo.

Other images are of the Custom House Dublin.

Amergin. Amhairghin.

"Amhairghin". It means "Birth of Song".

There are many songs in Ireland some of which are considered sacred but none more so than The Song of Amergin. The first song of the island of mist and mystery. The isle of Ireland.

It is told that years after the Tuatha Dé Danann had settled in Ireland a new group of invaders came. They were called the Milesians and they were the first gaelic people to arrive here. There was amongst them one known as Amergin (Amhairghin. It means "Birth of Song"), he was a dreamer. Known also as the wisdom one he was a bard, a druid and a man of the forest and of knowledge.

The stories tell us that as the invasion was taking place the Dagda invoked his powers in order to repel the strangers. He sunk their ships and called on the winds to turn back their sails. So within the mists of the sea Amergin invoked the elements and the battle for Ireland began. The magic of the druids was strongest in its most powerful form, the form of a song. The sound of the song invokes the forest, the sea, the sky, the mighty and unbeatable forces of nature. The words of wisdom, of power gave victory to the Milesians and the Tuatha were defeated. So begins the era of man. It is said that from that day on all invocations should begin with “I am” for every man is the sacred connection between the spirits, the ancestors, the land and the one.

When the war ended the Tuatha and the Milesians made their peace. It was agreed that most of the Tuatha would leave and go to the land of Tír na nOg, the land of eternal youth. It is also known as the otherworld and only the wisest, purest and bravest of men would have access to it. From the land of Tír na nOg the Tuatha have the power to watch over and to take care of their former land and here Manannán Mac Lir rules. It is said that if ever the people of Ireland need their help then they will return to bring back truth and honour. It is they who rule our land, our seas, our sky. They are the ancestors, the spirits of the realms.

There are different versions of The Song of Amergin. This is but one of them.

In English.

I am the wind on the sea
I am the stormy wave
I am the sound of the ocean
I am the bull with seven horns
I am the hawk on the cliff face
I am the sun's tear
I am the beautiful flower
I am the boar on the rampage
I am the salmon in the pool
I am the lake on the plain
I am the defiant word
I am the spear charging into battle
I am the god who put fire in your head
Who made the trails through stone mountains
Who knows the age of the moon
Who knows where the setting sun rests
Who took the cattle from the house of the warcrow
Who pleases the warcrow's cattle
What bull, what god created the mountain skyline
The cutting word, the cold word.

In Irish.

Am gaeth i m-muir
Am tond trethan
Am fuaim mara
Am dam secht ndirend
Am séig i n-aill
Am dér gréne
Am cain lubai
Am torc ar gail
Am he i l-lind
Am loch i m-maig
Am brí a ndai
Am bri i fodb fras feochtu
Am dé delbas do chind codnu
Coiche nod gleith clochur slébe
Cia on co tagair aesa éscai
Cia du i l-laig fuiniud gréne
Cia beir buar o thig tethrach
Cia buar tethrach tibi
Cia dám, cia dé delbas faebru a ndind ailsiu
Cáinte im gai, cainte gaithe

Ogma. God of eloquence and learning.

Ogma. God of eloquence and learning.

In Irish-Celtic myth, Ogma is the god of eloquence and learning.

He is the son of the goddess Danu and the god Dagda, and one of the foremost members of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Skilled in dialects and poetry as well as being a warrior. He also had a role in conveying souls to the Otherworld. He was called Ogma Grian-aineach (of the Sunny Countenance) and Ogma Cermait (of the Honeyed Mouth). He is also credited with various children, of which his daughter Etain married the god of medicine, Dian cecht. He ruled from the sldhe of Airceltrai.

He is the reputed inventor of the ancient Ogham alphabet which is used in the earliest Irish writings. Ogham was the first written language of Ireland it is a series of symbols that represent certain words and letters in the Irish vocabulary.

Ogma is found both in the "First Battle of Magh Tuiredh" and in the "Cath Magh Tuiredh" which overlaps part of the first battle. Ogma helps the Tuatha de Danaan retake the island of Eirinn, or Ireland, from the Fir Bolg who are attempting to settle there. Ogma is often considered a deity and may be related to the Gaulish god Ogmios.

People can also find this god in a later part of the mythological cycle about how the island of Ireland was taken. It's said in this later section that the daughters of Ogma, named Eire, Fotla and Banba were promised that the one of them who could predict the future of the Tuatha de Danaan in Ireland would have the land named for her.

Another variant of this says that each of them met with the bard Amergin, who it is thought was a real person and who came to Ireland with the sons of the Mil from the Iberian Peninsula. Amergin, author of the famous poem that reads like a riddle, apparently offered the naming of the isle to each of them and Eire won the honour of having her name be forever remembered as the name for the land.

Another story concerning Ogma tells of how he fought in the first battle of Mag Tuired, when the Tuatha Dé take Ireland from the Fir Bolg. Under the reign of Bres, when the Tuatha Dé are reduced to servitude, Ogma is forced to carry firewood, but nonetheless is the only one of the Tuatha Dé who proves his athletic and martial prowess in contests before the king. When Bres is overthrown and Nuadu restored, Ogma is his champion.

His position is threatened by the arrival of Lugh at the court, so Ogma challenges him by lifting and hurling a great flagstone, which normally required eighty oxen to move it, out of Tara, but Lugh answers the challenge by hurling it back. When Nuadu hands command of the Battle of Mag Tuired to Lugh, Ogma becomes Lugh's champion, and promises to repel the Fomorian king, Indech, and his bodyguard, and to defeat a third of the enemy.

During the battle he finds Orna, the sword of the Fomorian king Tethra, which recounts the deeds done with it when unsheathed. During the battle Ogma and Indech fall in single combat, although there is some confusion in the texts as in Cath Maige Tuired Ogma, Lugh and the Dagda pursue the Fomorians after the battle to recover the harp of Uaitne, the Dagda's harper.

He often appears as a triad with Lugh and the Dagda, who are sometimes collectively known as the trí dée dána or three gods of skill, although that designation is elsewhere applied to other groups of characters.

Cernunnos. The Horned God. Hu Gadarn.

Cernunnos. Known to the Druids as Hu Gadarn. God of the underworld and astral planes.

"The Horned One" is a Celtic god of fertility, life, animals, wealth, and the underworld. Cernunnos is depicted with the antlers of a stag, he sometimes carries a purse filled with coin. The Horned God is born at the winter solstice, marries the goddess at Beltane, and dies at the summer solstice. He alternates with the goddess of the moon in ruling over life and death, continuing the cycle of death, rebirth and reincarnation. Paleolithic cave paintings found in France that depict a stag standing upright on hind legs with the upper body of a man, or a man dressed in stag costume. He seems to be celebrating a hunt and wooing a woman.

To the Celts, Cernunnos the Horned God was more than just a fertile being. He is found throughout the Celtic lands and folklore as the guardian of the portal leading to the Otherworld. His symbols are antlers, the torc (female symbol) and a ram headed snake (male symbol). While many today think of Cernunnos as THE Horned God that may in fact be a misnomer, as it is doubtful that long ago there was ever a group of people who referred to him by this specific name.

To most Neopagans Cernunnos is the God who stands at the gateway of life and death and alternates with the Goddess in ruling over life and death. Seen as the God of fertility, life, animal’s wealth and the Underworld he is continually born, and dies returning year after year.

He would in later years be turned, in part, into the Christian Satan (the devil), a character who at no point in the bible is ever described as having horns.

Cernunnos is a member of the Tuatha de Danaan, his exact location in the family tree of the Celtic gods, however, is a matter of debate.

Cernunnos was worshipped as a forest deity, but he was also a psychopompus (a guider of souls/spirits) who escorted the dead to the afterlife. Cernunnos was of such importance to the Celts that they tried to establish him as a national god rather than a local one and regulate the fragmented Celtic deities into a true pantheon. The Romans occupying Britain placed his image on coins.

He is depicted on the Gundestrup Cauldron, one of the most celebrated works of early Celtic religious art which was uncovered in a peat bog near the village of Gundestrup, Denmark in 1880, and is now housed in in the museum at Århus. Made of 96 per cent pure silver and originally gilded, the vessel stands 14 in. high, is 25.5 in. in diameter, will hold 28.5 gallons, and weighs nearly 20 pound the cauldron comprises thirteen parts: a plain base plate, and five inner and seven outer plates decorated with mythological scenes.

While the origin and date of the cauldron are still unsettled, commentators generally agree that it was carried, possibly by Teutonic looters, to Gundestrup from a distant place. It may have been transported from Gaul, but stylistic details on the vessel suggest it may have been manufactured as far away as the Balkans, in Thrace or what is now Romania. Many elements depicted, such as torcs, snakes with ram heads, or the boar-headed war trumpet known as the carnyx, are certainly Celtic; other details and motifs are so exotic as not to seem European.

The plates depict gods, conventionally seen as larger than humans, ordinary mortals, and animals. The seated horned god is now commonly accepted as an illustration of Cernunnos. A tall divine figure holding a man over a vat of water is thought to be Teutates accepting human sacrifice.

A female divinity flanked by wheels, as if riding in a cart, has been compared with the Irish Medb. The mortals include a troop of infantry in close-knit short trousers and a company of cavalry with a sacred tree. Three sword-bearing warriors are about to execute three huge bulls.

Although much studied and, more recently, photographed and reproduced, the Gundestrup Cauldron remains enigmatic to many commentators. The most controversial of them, Garrett S. Olmsted, has asserted that the scenes on the plates anticipate the action of the Irish epic Táin Bó Cuailnge [Cattle Raid of Cooley].

Information about the Gundestrup Cauldron courtesy of:

JAMES MacKILLOP. "Gundestrup Cauldron." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 13 Oct. 2010

Mug Ruith or Mogh Roith.

Mug Ruith.

Mug Ruith or Mogh Roith, "slave of the wheel" is a figure in Irish mythology, a powerful blind druid of Munster who lived on Valentia Island, County Kerry. He could grow to enormous size, and his breath caused storms and turned men to stone. He wore a hornless bull-hide and a bird mask, and flew in a machine called the Roath Rámach, the "oared wheel". He had an ox-driven chariot in which night was as bright as day, a star-speckled black shield with a silver rim, and a stone which could turn into a poisonous eel when thrown in water.

He is described as either one-eyed or blind in the tales and he can dry up the lakes with his breath or raise storms. The mediaeval legend tells how one of his eyes was lost in the Alps becoming a 'snow-calf' or mound; the other eye was destroyed while trying to stop the course of the sun for two days. He was hated and feared by the new Christians and he in turn despised them and was a staunch supporter of the pagan faith.

Stories about Mug Ruith are set in various periods of Irish history. Some say he lived during the reign of 3rd century High King Cormac mac Airt, while others put him in Jerusalem during the time of Christ. In Lebor Gabála Érenn he is said to have died in the reign of Conmael, nearly two thousand years before Cormac's time. Perhaps due to this array of times and settings, poets attributed the druid with extraordinary longevity he lived through the reign of nineteen kings according to one story. His powers and long lifespan have led some to conclude he was a sun or storm god.

In at least two poems Mug Ruith is identified as the executioner who beheaded John the Baptist, bringing a curse to the Irish people. He cuts an equally impressive figure in The Siege of Knocklong, set in Cormac Mac Airt's time. Here he defeats Cormac's druids in an elaborate magical battle in exchange for land from King Fiachu Muillethan of southern Munster, from whom Cormac had been trying to levy taxes. Mug Ruith's daughter was Tlachtga, a powerful druidess, who gave her name to a hill in County Meath (Hill of Ward) and a festival celebrated there (Fire at Samhain).

The various medieval legends about his adventures in the Jerusalem at the dawn of Christendom paint him as an interesting and mysterious character. He is said to have been a student of Simon Magus. It is said that Mug Ruith had learned all he could from the greatest magicians in Ireland and Scotland so with his daughter Tlachgta they travelled the east looking for knowledge and learning form all the great masters of magic and it was through this that he met Simon Magus who taught him his magic skills and helped him build the flying machine Roath Rámach.

Tlachgta, Mogh Ruith and Simon Magnus constructed a fabulous flying wheel named Roath Rámach, a machine they used for sailing through the air, a demonstration that their power was greater than that of the apostles. Tlachgta brought the flying wheel with her to Ireland and it was said to be made from two pillars of stone. She made the Rolling Wheel for Trian, the Stone in Forcathu and the Pillar in Cnamchaill (Cnamchaill means bone damage). These devices were dreaded by all and stories were told for generations that anyone who touched them died, any who saw them were blinded, and any who heard them were deafened. Some speculate that these stones were lightening rods and the fear associated with them was a result of the bolts of lightning fired down upon them.

One story say’s that the territory Mug Ruith received for his descendants was Fir Maige Féne, later known as Fermoy. The medieval tribe of Fir Maige Féne claimed descent from him, although they were ruled by the unrelated O’Keefe’s of Eóganacht Glendamnach.

Cromm Cruaich, Crom Dubh. Lord of The Mound.

Cromm Cruaich - The Bloody Crescent

Copyright © 2001, Pàdraig MacIain

Here once dwelt
A high idol of many fights,
The Cromm Cruaich by name,
And deprived every tribe of peace.

Without glory in his honour,
they would sacrifice their wretched children
With much lamentation and danger,
Pouring their blood around Cromm Cruaich.

Milk and corn
they would urgently desire of him,
In barter for one third of their healthy offspring-
Their horror of him was great.

To him the noble Goidels (Gaels)
Would prostrate themselves;
From the bloody sacrifices offered him
The plain is called the 'Plain of Adoration'. (Mag Slecht)

They did evilly,
Beat on their palms, thumping their bodies,
Wailing to the monster who enslaved them,
Their tears falling in showers.

In a rank stand
Twelve idols of stone;
bitterly to enchant the people
The figure of Cromm was of gold.

From the reign of Heremon,
the Noble and Graceful,
Such worshipping of stones there was
Until the coming of Good Patrick of Macha.

The poem above is known as a dindshenchas, a type poem used to tell a story about the origins of the names of places within Ireland. This particular one has been found in the Book of Leinster, of Ballymote and of Lecan. It speaks of an idol, of a god named Cromm (Cromm Cruaich), who was struck down with the coming of Patrick to Ireland. It has gone by various names, Cromm Cruaich, Cenn Cróich, and as Crom Dubh (within modern Irish folklore).

The Cromm name (The etymology of which is agreed means bent or crooked one) appears to be a name given to him after the coming of Patrick. Prior to Patrick's arrival the name Cenn was used (which means in Old Irish head or lord). The name 'The Bloody Crescent' has also been associated with him. His idol which stood on Mag Slecht ('The Plain of Adoration', which is in the North West of Co. Cavan, Ireland) is reported to have been the centre of regular sacrifices, performed on the eve of Samhain. Where the sun's power waned and the gods of the winter and the underworld grew stronger. This idol was reported as once being either made from gold or a stone covered in gold and was surrounded by twelve other stones. It is here that the mythic king of Ireland, Tiernmas (who is credited with introducing the worship of Cenn to his people) along with three quarters of his followers died suddenly, on Samhain eve, while worshipping Cromm.

It is also interesting to note that Tiernmas is credited with being the first to smelt gold and silver within Ireland, and his people were the first humans (decendents of the sons of Mil) to discover the process of dying clothes (Previously, it seems only the Gods, the Tuatha de Dannan, knew how to dye clothes). It could be speculated that it was some inspiration granted by Cenn that Tiernmas discovered these skills which were otherwise reserved for the Gods. This in itself might be an echo of the Ancient Greek mythology about Prometheus, and his sharing of fire with mortals.

We have very little evidence of what seems to have been a very powerful god. What we do know is recorded by Christian monks during an era of medieval Ireland, which only seems to cover the destruction of the idol and its apparent blood-thirstiness. Was Cenn, a deity from the dawn of time whose strength was so great that he influenced race after race of people that came to his land? Did the destruction of one of his idols spell the end of his strength? Or was it merely a strategy where by his worshippers could escape persecution.

The Serpent and Saint Patrick.

According to legend, St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. Or to put it more poetically, "charmed them into the sea. Or perhaps the snakes Patrick charmed were sea serpents? However, since the end of the glacial period there were no snakes in Ireland.

St Patrick's famous miracle, the banishment of the snakes, is supposed to have occurred following his Great Fast on Croagh Patrick, outside Westport in County Mayo. St Patrick climbed the mountain where he fasted for 40 days, before expelling all the snakes from Ireland. The fact is that there were never actually any snakes in Ireland to expel, the whole episode is really symbolic of Saint Patrick converting the natives to Christianity and banishing the Druids whose symbol was the serpent and who it is said wore serpent’s eggs as amulets. However, banishing the snakes makes a better story. Serpents and birds, both of which appear in Celtic knotwork, were revered by many people as creatures that could go between the worlds, symbolically and literally.

The snake was a complex Celtic animal symbol calling forth many ideas to the Celts. Representing the process of creation, rebirth, and fertility and healing. Serpents also represented the connection between the rivers and seas as well as the heavens and earth. The snakes protected the entrance to the otherworld as well as being a companion of the gods. Ouroboros the earth serpent represented the coiled energy within the earth and, with her tail in her mouth, infinity. Thanks to the annual shedding of its skin, the snake was the Celtic animal symbolising the cyclical nature of life.

The Christian missionaries would have been disgusted by the folk beliefs of the Irish and would have tried to banish such beliefs from Ireland. The Celts and pre-Celts were animists who believed in many spirits and deities. They believed that spirits dwelled in nature, such as mountains, trees and streams, and had local shrines for worshipping their nature deities. The early Celts of Ireland focused on deities of the local landscapes and while Ireland was an Island, it was not remote from Europe and much trafficking of ideas transpired. Serpent devotion and symbolism was found in the pan-Celtic religion from Britain and Europe, which would have been imported to Ireland. Snakes in this pan-Celtic context were believed to be fertile, destructive, powerful, and self-regenerative, all magical qualities worthy of imitation.

Celtic art is the key evidence of ancient serpent worship and snake symbolism in pre-Christian Ireland. If one looks at the crosses, Celtic knots and designs found in inscriptions, monument details and manuscripts of Ireland, the depiction of snakes abounds.

Irish Catholic Celtic monks, ca. 800 C.E., also famously used Celtic art with decorative serpents to embellish the detailed illuminated Latin New Testament manuscripts such as the Book of Kells. Irish Christian art and architecture is filled with drawings of serpents and snakes.

If, as some have speculated, the Tuatha De Danann, the Irish mythological pre-Christian kingly race, were descended from the Israelite Tribe of Dan, then the serpent would have been associated with the people of Danann. The Israelite Tribe of Dan, also Dann, used the serpent to symbolize their tribe from ancient times. It has been said that in the Book of David, Serpent in Old Arabic means Wise Ones and this would account for Patrick’s attempted banishment of the druid class.

In Ireland the snake symbol was associated with some Celtic goddesses and also with the cult of Crom Cruaich. It has been suggested that Crom Cruaich followers demanded human sacrifice to a serpent deity but there is absolutely no evidence to substantiate this claim. This could have been another invention of either Patrick or Julius Ceasar or both? Crom Cruaich (Lord of The Mound) was the most ancient and venerated god of all the various tribes of Ireland.

Corchen. Irish and Manx.

She was a very old snake goddess about who little is known. However, because of her linkage to the serpent image she was probably a mother earth goddess, or a goddess of rebirth. There is speculation that her lost legends were once part of long forgotten creation myths.

Carravogue. (Also known as Garbhog, Gheareagain,) Ireland and Britain.

Description: Local Crone Goddess from County Meath who was transformed into a huge snake for eating forbidden berries. Her original purpose is basically lost in modern times because her stories became so absorbed by Christian legends which attempt to make her a Celtic Eve. It is believed St. Patrick tampered with her legends, which show that St. Patrick killed her with holy water that melted her, but from which she will arise from again. One of the many legends St. Patrick tampered with was that she was originally a virgin Goddess of spring who banished each year the crone she would eventually become in order to further his own aims.

Caer. The Swan Maiden of Aengus.

Caer Ibormeith.
Location: Ireland.
Description: A daughter of Prince Ethal Anbuail of Sid Uamuin in Connacht. Usually thought of as a Goddess of sleep and dreams and a less violent version of Mare.

She usually took the form of a swan that lived on a lake called Dragon's Mouth and she wore a golden chain with one hundred and thirty golden balls on a silver chain worn around her neck.

She is connected to the horse and the moon. Caer (pronounced Keer) had many names, often very flowery such as "shapely yew berry."

Caer was in fact a pan-Celtic goddess, worshiped in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. All three countries have claimed her as theirs. Her name is everywhere in the languages of these three countries; in Scottish perhaps the most well-known usage is "Caer Edin," which is the translation for the Scottish capital Edinburgh. In Welsh the town Caernarfon means "Caer Arfon." To the Irish, Caer is only used for the homes of kings, such as "Caer Arianhrod," home of the goddess of that name.

Caer rules Over: Dreams, prophetic dreams, falling asleep, music and magic.

In Celtic tradition the Swan is associated with deities of healing waters and the sun. They are associated with music, love, purity and the soul. They are shape-shifters, can take human form, and have mastered the elements of water, earth and air. They can always be recognized by the gold or silver chain that hangs around their neck.

Among Druids, the Swan represents the soul, and is associated with the Festival of Samhain. The swan aids us in travelling to the Otherworld. Swans are also sacred to Bards and their skin and feathers were used to make the tugen, the ceremonial Bardic Cloak.

Irish tales.

Swans appear throughout Irish folklore. An Otherworldly bird, they are often the disguise of Fairy Women. At certain times of year, a swan maiden can transform herself back into a human, such as Summer Solstice, Beltaine or Samhain, when the veils between the worlds are thin.

The White Swans of the Wilderness were children of the Tuatha de Danaan, who settled Ireland, and became the sidhe after the invasion of the Milesians.

The night Cuchulainn was born, a pair of swans wearing Otherworldly silver chains attacked Emain Macha. In a later tale, the Princess Derbforgaill fell in love with Cuchulainn, and transformed herself and her maidens into swans to be near him. A hunter by nature, he threw a stone at one, none other than Derbforgaill herself, and brought her down. She transformed back into a woman, and lay bleeding at his feet. Cuchulainn restored her, sucking some of her blood, which rendered him unable to take her as his bride. She subsequently married his son.

In The Dream of Angus Og, the young God fell in love with a woman he saw in his dream, named Caer. So great is his longing for her, that he grew ill. He set out to search for her, and discovered that she is no dream, but a mortal woman under enchantment. She and her sisters are transformed into swans at Samhain, and must remain so for six months, until Beltaine.

Angus found her at Loch Gel Dracon, where the transformation took place. When he arrived, there were 150 swans, all with Otherworldly silver chains around their necks, and he could not distinguish Caer from the others. Aengus then called out to her, changing into a swan himself. In that shape, he recognized his beloved, and they flew off together, chanting such ethereal music that all who heard it fell into unconsciousness for three days and nights. He brought her home to Brugh Na Boinne (Newgrange).

The Children of Lir is the most marvellous swan tale of all. An Irish princess’s four brothers were condemned to live as swans for eternity by their jealous step mother, Aoifa, the wife of King Lir. The princess’s only hope is to remain mute for seven years while she wove four shirts of flax for her brothers, which will break the enchantment. There are several variations of this tale. In another variation, they were swans for 900 years, but when they were transformed back to humans, after being baptised by St. Kernoc, the priest of the new religion, they fell to the earth dead.

Aengus. God of Love and Inspiration.

Aengus. God of Love.

In Irish mythology, Óengus (Old Irish), Áengus (Middle Irish), Aengus or Aonghus (Modern Irish) is a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann and the god of love, youth and poetic inspiration. He was said to have four birds symbolizing kisses flying about his head (this could be the origin of the xxxx's, kisses at the end of lovers' letters come from).

His parents were the Dagda and Boann. He was said to have lived at Newgrange by the river Boyne.

The Dagda had an affair with Boann, wife of Nechtan. In order to hide their affair, the Dagda made the sun stand still for nine months; therefore, Aengus was conceived, gestated and born in one day. Midir was his foster-father.

When he came of age Aengus dispossessed the Dagda of his home, the Brú na Bóinne (an area of the Boyne River Valley that contains the Passage tombs Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth). He arrived after the Dagda had shared out his land among his children, and there was nothing left for Aengus, so Aengus asked his father if he could live in the Brú for a day and a night, and the Dagda agreed. However, Irish has no indefinite article, so "a day and a night" is the same as "day and night", which covers all time, and so Aengus took possession of the Brú permanently.

In a different version of this story, appearing in "The Wooing of Étaín", Aengus uses the same ploy to trick Elcmar out of Brú na Bóinne, with the Dagda's connivance. In this version, Midir is Aengus's foster-father, while Elcmar is the husband of Boann seduced by the Dagda.

According to the Death Tales of the Tuatha de Danaan, Aengus killed his step father Elcmar for killing Midir.

Aengus also slew the poet of Lugh for lying about his brother Ogma an Cermait. The poet claimed that Ogma was having an affair with one of Lugh's wives. Aenghus killed the poet in front of Midir.

Aengus fell in love with a girl he had seen in his dreams. His mother, Boann, searched Ireland for an entire year. Then his father, the Dagda, did the same. Finally, King Bodb Dearg of Munster found her after a year.

Aengus went to the lake of the Dragon's Mouth and found 150 girls chained up in pairs. He found his girl, Caer Ibormeith. On November 1, Caer and the other girls would turn into swans for one year, every second Samhain. Aengus was told he could marry Caer if he could identify her as a swan. Aengus succeeded. He turned himself into a swan and they flew away, singing beautiful music that put all its listeners asleep for three days and nights.

Aengus was the foster-father and protector of Diarmuid Ua Duibhne of the Fianna. He rescued Diarmuid and Gráinne from one or two tight spots during their pursuit by the Fianna.

He owned a sword named Moralltach, the Great Fury, given to him by Manannan mac Lir. This sword he gave to his foster-son Diarmuid. There was also a sword named the Little Fury and two spears of great power that he gave to Diarmuid. When the young man died, Aengus took his body back to the Brugh where he breathed life into it whenever he wanted to have a chat.

There are other legends that he was able to repair broken bodies and return life to them.

The name Angus means “exceptional strength.” So we can imagine him with a physique and charm so mesmerizing as to make us dream of love.

Legends of Aengus/Angus.

As with every mythological hero, god or creature, the mythology is created as the story is told. So you will find many versions of the tales of Aengus. Most agree:

It is said he carries dreams in his bag and may give you one at night while you sleep.

His story of love with Caer symbolizes the dedication of twin lovers, souls who are happiest when they are together.

The Song of Wandering Aengus.

I went out to the hazel wood,
Because a fire was in my head,
And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
And hooked a berry to a thread;
And when white moths were on the wing,
And moth-like stars were flickering out,
I dropped the berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout.

When I had laid it on the floor
I went to blow the fire aflame,
But something rustled on the floor,
And some one called me by my name:
It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossom in her hair
Who called me by my name and ran
And faded through the brightening air.

Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone,
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.

By William Butler Yeats.

Goibhnui. God of Blacksmiths and MetalCraft.

Goibhnui. The Sword Smith of the Celtic Gods. God of Blacksmiths/MetalCraft.

In Irish mythology Goibniu (Old Irish) or Goibhniu (Modern Irish), pronounced gov-nu was the smith of the Tuatha Dé Danann. The name of his father appears as Esarg or Tuirbe Trágmar, the thrower of axes. Irish texts do not mention his mother but his counterpart in Welsh mythology, Gofannon, is a son of Don.

He is grouped alongside Luchtaine the carpenter, Creidhne the wright and Dian Cecht the leech, in the Lebor Gabála Érenn, he is described as ‘not impotent in smelting,’ and is said to have died, along with Dian Cecht, of a ‘painful plague’.

He and his brothers Creidhne and Luchtaine were known as the Trí Dée Dána, the three gods of art, who forged the weapons which the Tuatha Dé used to battle the Fomorians. The weapons that Goibhnui made however were no ordinary weapons. As he said to his family before they faced the Fomors. "I will replace every broken lance and sword with a new one, even though the war last seven years. I will make the lances so well that they shall never miss their mark, or fail to kill, the fate of the fighting will be decided by my lances,"

Regarded not just as weapons, but as tools there is a long tradition of Irish soldiers uttering charms and incantations over their swords prior to battle up to and beyond the Iron Age.

His weapons were always lethal, and his mead gave the drinker invulnerability. His name can be compared with the Old Irish gobae, gobann meaning smith. The following story is told about Goibhnui.

In "The Second Battle of Magh Turedh," Ruadan son of Bres and Brighidh was sent to kill Goibniu. As Ruadan was 3/4 Tuatha Dé Dannan (and a grandson of the Dagda), the Fomorians felt that he would make a good spy (It may have been the first case of Industrial espionage). He asked for the impliments of a spear from Goibhniu, and had the weapon assembled by a woman named Cron. Ruadan then took the spear and flung it at Goibhniu who, although wounded, pulled out the spear and killed Ruadan. At his death, Brigid invented the practise of keening--that high-pitched wailing for the dead, sometimes associated with the beansídhe.

Goibhniu then went to the Well of Slaine, provided over by Dian Cecht and his family, and was healed of his wounds by its magic waters. He then returned to battle, making weapons for the Tuatha Dé Dannan, who eventually won Ireland from the Fomorians. It was Goibhniu that provided Lugh with the spear that penetrates Balor's eye.

Along with his smithing, Goibhniu was often seen as a healer; his name is invoked on an Old Irish charm to aid removal of a thorn. More significantly, he is host of an other-worldly feast, Fled Goibhnenn, where guests imbibed great quantities of an intoxicating drink now identified with ale. Instead of getting drunk, those attending would be protected from old age and decay. Commentators see in this yet another link with Hephaestus, the Greek smith-god, who provides the other gods drink in the Iliad. Goibhniu's forge, Cerdchae Ghaibhnenn, was usually thought to lie east of Mullaghmast hill in Glenn Treithim along the Kildare-Wicklow border. The once abundant copper ore in this area allowed early metalsmiths to make shields and spear-points. Other traditions place the forge on the Beare peninsula, Co. Cork, and elsewhere.


Genealogies disagree about Goibhniu's lineage. He may be a grandson of the war-god Néit, as is Balor, and one of the four sons of Esarg, along with Credne, Luchta, and Dian Cécht, the healing god. In an alternate text he is the brother of the Dagda, Nuadu Airgetlám, Credne, and Luchta, with whom he helps to conquer Ireland for the Tuatha Dé Danann. In yet other texts Tuirbe Trágmar the axe-thrower, father of the Gobbán Saor, is named as Goibhniu's father. Sometimes Goibhniu is named as foster-father of Lugh instead of Manannán mac Lir.

Much of Goibhniu's characterisation survives in the folk figure Gobbán Saor a legendary craftsman who built the round towers. There are also echoes in Gaiblín, owner of the fabulous cow Glas Ghaibhleann. His Welsh counterparts are Gofannon and Glwyddyn Saer.

For the Tuatha De Danann, Goibhniu the smith made spearheads and swords, Creidne the brazier rivets that would not break, Coirpre the poet or bard satirized the enemy, Ogma supplied the warrior-power, the Dagda promised to slay with his massive club, and Diancecht prepared to bring the De Dannan dead back to life by putting them into a magic well or cauldron.

Brigid.

Brigid Goddess.

February 1st is a special day on the ancient Irish calendar. It's known as La Fheile Bride, Brigid's Day. This day is a celebration of the ancient Irish goddess Brigid, and marks the start of the spring festival called Imbolc.

Brigid was the Goddess of Fire, whose manifestations were song, craftsmanship, and poetry - which are considered the flame of knowledge. As a healing goddess, she governs childbirth and the birthing time. That Brigid was highly regarded as a healing goddess as can be seen from the numerous healing wells dedicated to her all over Ireland. As a goddess of poetry, she governs not only the inspiration and writing of poetry, but also divination and prophecy. As a goddess of smithcraft, she governs the forge's fire. It is for these reasons that she is considered the "Bright Goddess" and is associated with the element of fire.

Here in Ireland, during Imbolc, the land was ploughed to receive the new seed with spade and horse-drawn plough; calves and lambs were born, and fishermen waited impatiently for the end of the winter storms and rough seas to launch their boats again. Foods traditionally eaten during Imbolc are lamb stew, poppy seed bread, honey cakes and baked custard. Imbolc is seen as a time of hope and renewal - as the land comes alive again with the passing of winter. Sometimes imagery is used. Just as at New Year's Eve when we often see the image of old, bearded Father Time representing the old, outgoing year replaced with a young baby which celebrates the year just born, at Imbolc, we have similar imagery; an old crone represents the outgoing year, and turns things over to a young maiden. Fertility, of course, plays a part here. The frozen earth is incapable of growing things, just as the old crone has grown incapable of producing offspring. This barrenness is replaced by the warm return of Spring, making the earth once again fertile, symbolized by the fertile young maiden.

Traditionally, at this time, a number of customs are followed. The home is cleaned (Spring cleaning) in preparation of a visit from Brigid, especially the fireplace. A birch branch should be used to symbolically sweep the floor, as this has strong links with her.

In days gone by the man, or men, of the house would make a Brideog. This was a doll shaped object made from long pieces of straw or rushes which was dressed in white doll clothing or merely wrapped in a white cloth in the manner of a dress. The "doll" would then be decorated with bits of seashells and flowers. This object symbolised a "little Brigid" which was then brought from house to house carried by a young lady of the household. Entertainment was then provided for the houses you visited in the form of songs and jokes. Upon arriving home, a feast was then had with the Brideog leaning against one of the legs of the dining table. Boxty pancakes, apple cake, dumplings and colcannon (Potatoes, cabbage and onion mixed with milk.) were normally on the menu. Any extra straw / reeds would be saved and used for the manufacture of Brigid’s crosses.

It is believed Brigid travels around the countryside on the eve of her festival, blessing both the people and their livestock. To show that her visit was welcome, families would place a cake or pieces of bread and butter on the windowsill. In some parts of Ireland, the bread would be an oatmeal loaf in the shape of a cross which was specially baked for the occasion.

It is in this way that the winter is ushered out and the spring welcomed, as the storms subside, the gorse begins to flower, the snowdrops and daffodils begin to break the surface and the days begin to lengthen once again.

The Irish goddess Brigid is unusual among deities because she is found in several different religions. References to her are found in ancient Paganism, Neo-Paganism, Christianity and Voodoo.

Both Neo -Pagans and Pagans of old worshiped Brigid as a Celtic Pagan triple goddess. The term triple Goddess refers to the belief that some deities have three distinct aspects covering the maiden, mother and crone phases of life. Brigid has power over childbirth, motherhood, smith craft, peace, unity, poetry, inspiration, healing, hearth and home among others.

Brigid also appears in Voodoo as Maman Brigette. Scholars believe that worship of Brigid came to the Caribbean islands along with Irish people who had been kidnapped, enslaved and forced to the islands to work. Maman Brigette is said to drink hot peppers and reportedly has a very dirty mouth using obscenities frequently. Voodoo dogma holds that Maman Brigette will protect graves if the gravestone is marked with a cross.

Brigid, the Celtic goddess of fire (the forge and the hearth), poetry, healing, childbirth, and unity, is celebrated in many European countries. Born at the exact moment of daybreak, Brigid rose into the sky with the sun, rays of fire beaming from her head. She was the daughter of Dagda, the great 'father-god' of Ireland.

In Druid mythology, the infant goddess was fed with milk from a sacred cow from the Otherworld. Brigid owned an apple orchard in the Otherworld and her bees would bring their magical nectar back to earth. It is said that wherever she walked, small flowers and shamrocks would appear. As a sun goddess her gifts are light (knowledge), inspiration, and the vital and healing energy of the sun.

Legend holds that Brigid began the Irish tradition of keening (crying,wailing, and singing) over the body of a deceased person at a wake. As outlined in the following story.

Brigid became the wife of Bres, an Irish king. Together they produced three sons, each of them became a famous warrior. Brigid and her husband came from two warring tribes and hoped their marriage would end the enmity between their kin.

Unfortunately, it did not. However, as it turns out, the battlefield death of their son Ruadan assured Brigid's role as a goddess of peace and unity.
A major battle between the two families was about to begin.

Brigid's eldest son, using the knowledge of metalsmithing that he had learned from his mother, struck the first blow, killing the smith of the opposing army. But as the warrior fell to the ground, he managed one last blow before he died and Ruandan was also killed.

Brigid's grief was enormous--for the continual hatred between the two sides of her family and for the death of her son. Her lamentations were so loud they were heard throughout Ireland and so heart-rending that both sides left the battle and forged a peace. The goddess Brigid is said to have originated the practice of "keening".
She is also credited with the invention of whistling, which she used to summon her friends to her side.

Eventually the love and respect for the goddess Brigid brought unity to the Celts who were spread throughout Europe. Regardless of their differences, they all agreed upon her goodness and compassion.

One of the most popular tales of the goddess Brigid involved two lepers who appeared at her sacred well at Kildare and asked to be healed. She told them that they were to bathe each other until the skin healed. After the first one was healed, he felt only revulsion for the other and would not touch him to bathe him. Angered, Brigid caused his leprosy to return. Then she gently placed her mantle (cloak) around the other leper who was immediately healed.

Ireland is full of springs and wells named after the goddess Brigid. Symbolically, water is seen as a portal to the Otherworld and as a source of wisdom and healing. There is a saying that Brigid rewards any offering to her, so offerings of coins were often tossed into her wells, the forerunner of the modern custom of throwing a penny into a fountain while you make a wish.

At her most famous shrine Brigid taught humans how to gather and use herbs for their healing properties, how to care for their livestock, and how to forge iron into tools. As a goddess of childbirth and protector of all children, she is the patroness of midwifery. This shrine, near Kildare, was located near an ancient Oak that was considered to be sacred by the Druids, so sacred in fact that no one was allowed to bring a weapon there.

The shrine is believed to have been an ancient college of priestesses who were committed to thirty years of service, after which they were free to leave and marry. During their first ten years they received training, the next ten were spent tending the sacred wells, groves and hills of the goddess Brigid, and the last decade was spent in teaching others.

Nineteen priestesses were assigned to tend the perpetual flame of the sacred fire of Brigid. Each was assigned to keep the flames alive for one day. On the twentieth day, the goddess Brigid herself kept the fire burning brightly.
The goddess Brigid was also revered as the Irish goddess of poetry and song. Known for her hospitality to poets, musicians, and scholars, she is known as the Irish muse of poetry.

The goddess Brigid lends us her creativity and inspiration, but also reminds us to keep our traditions alive and whole. These are gifts that can sustain us through any circumstance.

Her fire is the spark of life.

Image is Brigid by tattereddreams on DeviantArt.

The Morrigan.

The Morrigan (also known as the Morrigu) was the shape-shifting Celtic Goddess of War, Fate and Death. She also presided over rivers, lakes and fresh water, in addition to being the patroness of revenge, night, magic, prophecy, priestesses and witches.

Her name is interpreted in various forms..."Great Queen," "Phantom Queen" or "Queen of Demons." She was said to hover over battlefields in the form of a raven or hooded crow and frequently foretold or influenced the outcome of the battle. The Morrigan was often depicted as a triune goddess whose other aspects were manifested in the Goddess Badb (meaning "Vulture" or "Venomous") and the Goddess Nemain (meaning "Frenzy" or "Fury").

The Morrigan was one of the Tuatha De Danaan ("People of the Goddess Danu") and she aided in the defeat of the Firbolgs at the First Battle of Magh Tuireadh and the Fomorii at the Second Battle of Mag Tured.

The Celts believed that, as they engaged in warfare, the Morrigan flew shrieking overhead in the form of a raven or carrion crow, summoning a host of slain soldiers to a macabre spectral battle. When the battle had ended, the warriors would leave the field until dawn in order that the Morrigan could claim the trophies of heads, euphemistically known as "the Morrigan's acorn crop."

The origins of the Morrigan appear to be directly linked to the megalithic Cult of the Mothers, who usually appeared as triple goddesses. Her role in Celtic legend is similar to that of the Valkyries in Norse folklore in that both used magic to cast fetters on warriors and made the decision regarding who would live and who would die. The Morrigan is also closely associated with horse symbolism and may, on occasion, have been linked with the equine Goddess, Epona.

Another guise of the Morrigan is that of the "Washer at the Ford," who could usually be found washing the clothes of men about to die in battle. In effect, she is thus choosing those whose lives will be lost in the upcoming conflict.

In one legend concerning the Morrigan, she appears to the hero Cuchulainn (son of the God Lugh) and offers her love to him. When he fails to recognize her and rejects her, the Morrigan is deeply wounded and informs Cuchulainn that she will hinder him while he is in battle. When Cuchulainn finally perishes, she settles on his shoulder in the form of a crow, the hero's misfortune being that he never realized the feminine power of sovereignty that the Morrigan offered to him.

Once Goddess of Strife and Fertility, as well as Battle, modern Pagans view the role of the Morrigan in a somewhat different light from that of the Ancient Celts, but she remains an appropriate deity for strong and independent individuals. Many followers of the Morrigan erect a permanent shrine in her honour, using such items as the feather of a crow or raven, or even a piece of red cloth to symbolize the Washer at the Ford.

In some stories, the Morrigan is depicted as a triple goddess, usually with some combination of her sisters Macha, Nemain, or Badb. The Morrigan may also be depicted alone, and she is a shapeshifter. She can appear as a human woman, but she may also appear in the form of a crow or a cow. Crows are associated with death, since they often hover around battlefields, while cows are associated with fertility and farming. These different forms illustrate the many ways in which the Morrigan is viewed. In most stories, she is a figure to be feared, reflecting ancient beliefs in Ireland about the power of women.

In most stories, the Morrigan is associated with prophecy and fate. It is implied that the Morrigan has the ability to shape or dictate fate, whether at the battlefield or on the farm. Some researchers have suggested that the Morrigan is actually a goddess of sovereignty, which could explain her conflicting roles in mythology, as she must sometimes go to war to protect the sovereignty of her people. Various versions of the Morrigan were also historically used by separatist groups in Ireland as figures to worship and rally around, supporting this interpretation of the goddess.

The Morrigan's name is also a topic of some interest. It may translate as “Great Queen,” but it could also be “Nightmare Queen” or “Phantom Queen,” depending on which diacritical markings are used on her name. “Phantom Queen” appears to be the truest translation of the early forms of her name, suggesting that she was viewed with awe and fear in the earliest stories about her. Other historians suggest that her name really translates as “Mare Queen,” indicating that she is one of the Horse Goddesses of Irish mythology.

This mythological figure plays a prominent role in the Ulster Cycle, influencing the outcome of events and eventually causing the death of the story's hero, Cúchulainn. She also shows up in several collections of myths from later periods, including Cath Maige Tuireadh and Lebor Gabala Erenn, part of the Mythological Cycle, a collection of Pagan myths from Ireland which includes stories, histories, poems, and songs.

Image of death by Victoria Francés. View her work at: www.victoriafrances.

Danu, Anu. Mother Goddess.

Danu : Mother Goddess and Earth Goddess.

Alternate names: Ana, Anu, Anann ("wealth, abundance").

Danu is the oldest Celtic Goddess, known also as Don and Anu. Her influence spread far across the British Isles and Europe. Few stories about Danu have survived, and yet the reverence in which she is held still remains. Danu is the power that is in the land, never to be overcome by mortals. Her power is in the imagination of those who see magic in the twilight mist between the worlds.

Danu is the mother of the Irish gods, linked to the goddess Dôn in Wales. Her tribe is the Tuatha Dé Danann, the People of the Goddess Danu or Ana. Invading Ireland on the first of May, the Tuatha Dé Danann battled the Fir Bolg, and eventually won an uneasy peace. In their turn the Tuatha Dé Danann were displaced by the mortal Milesians, and retreated to the sídhe, or hollow hills, to become the Faery Folk of legend. Danu is a goddess of fertility and plenty, and there is evidence that the river Danube is named for her. As mother of the faeries she is close to the land and waters.

In Ireland’s County Kerry we have place names such as The Paps of Anu.

The Paps are named after Anu, prinicipal Goddess of pre-Christian Ireland and mother Goddess of the Tuatha De Danann. The Goddess Anu brought prosperity to Munster. Anu or Danu who appear to be one in the same divinity, was originally a European Goddess, her name being commerorated most famously in the River Danube.

Anu is also identified with the Mor Riogach, a war fury or Goddess whose name means great queen, together with Badbh and Macha, she was one of the triad of War Goddesses known as the Morrigna, manifesting themselves as ravens. Immediately to the North East of the higher Pap is an area called Gleannfreagham "The Glen of the Crows" and a small lake of the same name.

Such names in proximity with the mountains called after Anu shows how mythology lives on in place names. Ravens still inhabit this Glen and in suitable weather conditions can be seen gliding on the thermals above the cairns on the summits of the Paps.The Paps' cairns appear to be part of a deliberately placed series which overlook the plains of the southwest.

The cairn on the eastern peak is a substantial monument, measuring a height of 4 metres and a diameter of 18m-20metres. The entrances of both cairns are aligned westwards, towards the setting sun. It is thought that the cairns contain Neolithic burial chambers. They are the subject of ongoing study and excavations to confirm such theories.