mistletoe school of magick

Godesess gods myths and legends

The Gods and Goddesses of the Celts, including their myths, legends and stories.

Arianrhod

Primarily a Welsh Goddess, whose name means "Silver Wheel" or "Silver Circle". Like Blodeuwedd, Arianrhod is part of the Welsh Triple Goddess, as the mother aspect. She ruled over the stars, the moon and the sky, and she lived in an astral palace called Caer Arianrhod (also known as the constellation Corona Borealis). This palace was the destination of the souls of the dead, between incarnations. She lived there with her husband, Nwyvre, who is known today by name only.

She was the daughter of Don (who was the Welsh version of the Goddess Danu, though Don was sometimes depicted as a God as well as a Goddess).

Arianrhod had 2 sons, Llew Llaw Gyffes and Dylan. The myth of their birth states that she became pregnant (and immediately gave birth) during a virginity test where she stepped over the staff of her brother, Gwydion. The implication is that her sons were born from either rape or an incestuous affair.

As a result, she banished Dylan to the sea and cursed Llew with 3 curses. One of those was that he would never take a human wife. That led to the story of Blodeuwedd, told above. Her brother Gwydion raised Llew and together they tricked Arianrhod into releasing him from the other 2 curses as well

Though these myths don't reflect her attributes, she is associated with cosmic time and tides, fate, life and death, fertility and the power of the moon.

Belenus

Belenus was a sun and fire God, and was very similar in qualities to the Greek God, Apollo. He was sometimes simply called "Bel" and the fire festival of Beltane gets its name from this God. One of the strongest symbols of Beltane are the great bonfires, in honour of Belenus. He protected livestock, such as sheep and cattle (horses were Epona's domain). Belenus also ruled over all the healing arts.

He was a Gaulish God, whose influence ranged as far as Italy and Britain. Belenus was married to the great mother Goddess, Danu. His Irish counterpart was called Bile. Bile had the same qualities as Belenus, but was also associated with the underworld.

There is a temple dedicated to Belenus near modern-day Bordeaux, France. There have also been some Roman inscriptions uncovered that refer to Apollo-Belenus, further linking the two related Deities.

Blodeuwedd

She was a Welsh Goddess, whose name translates to "Face of Flowers". An apt name since she was indeed made from flowers. She was created by Math and Gwydion, as a bride for Llew Llaw Gyffes. He had been cursed by his mother, Arianrhod, to never take a human wife. She was made from the blossoms of the oak, broom, meadowsweet and primrose.

Blodeuwedd was not faithful to Llew Llaw, and took a lover named Goronwy who plotted with her to kill her husband. Llew could only be killed under a very particular and unlikely set of circumstances: neither by day nor night, indoors nor outdoors, riding nor walking, clothed nor naked, nor by any weapon lawfully made. She tricked him into revealing how this riddle could be solved, and Goronwy sprung from hiding and killed him. Blodeuwedd was punished by being transformed into an owl.

For the Welsh, Blodeuwedd was the maiden aspect of the Triple Goddess. Some say her personality is more of the dark Crone, but she is still typically considered the Maiden. She represents flowers and plants, new beginnings, lunar magick and wisdom. Blodeuwedd displays a contradiction in her nature, being created for love with flowers, but yet being capable of deceit and murder.

Brigid

Brigid was so loved by the Celtic people that she was worshipped all through the land, including Ireland, Wales and farther into Europe as well. Her name was spelled many ways: Brigit, Brighid, Brigit, or simply Brid (pronounced Bride or Bridey). She was the daughter of the Dagda, and wife to Bres, an agricultural God who was also the Fomorian king of the Tuatha de Danann for a time. Unfortunately, he was not fit to rule and was quickly deposed.

She had a sacred temple at Kildare, where 19 priestesses tended a holy flame that was never extinguished. The flame represented Brigid, as the Goddess of fire and forge. She ruled over smithcraft and other arts, poetry, divination, animals and livestock, healing and physicians. Because she is associated with 3 distinctive and unrelated fields (smithcraft, healing, poetry), Brigid is sometimes considered a form of triple Goddess. Imbolc Sabbat is particularly sacred to Brigid, as her feast day.

As Christianity swept over the Celtic lands, the people loved Brigid too much to let her go. She was converted into a Catholic saint (St. Brigid) and her temple became a Catholic convent, tended by nuns. The flame was put out in the 18th century by Bishops who became angry at the all-female convent, because they wouldn't allow men within its walls. In 1993, the flame was relit by the Brigidine sisters of Ireland.

Caillech

Though closely related to the Morrigan, Caillech is not actually a specific Goddess. Rather she is more of a generalized concept of a Crone goddess. Strangely, she does not have any corresponding Goddesses in the role of maiden or mother. She seems to stand alone, and is not directly referred to in any Celtic myth. The word means 'hag' or 'veiled one'.

Some historians think that Caillech is just an adaptation of the Hindu goddess, Kali.

Cernunnos

In Celtic myth, Cernunnos is the God who is born at Yule, marries and mates with the Goddess at Beltane and then dies again at Samhain, to be reborn again at the following Yule. The cycle symbolizes the natural pattern of life and death. Cernunnos is more of an ancient archetype of nature rather than an individual with a distinct personality. Paleolithic cave drawings show a horned man that is presumed to be the same figure as Cernunnos. Translated, his name simply means "the Horned One".

The famed Gundestrup cauldron has an excellent image of Cernunnos in the classic cross-legged pose, holding a torque and a snake. The Gundestrup cauldron is a large silver bowl covered in raised illustrations from various Celtic myths. It dates back to 200BC and had been well-preserved in a peat bog until 1891. He does not take part in any Celtic myths.

As a fertility God, Cernunnos was pictured with horns (much like the Greek Pan). Besides animals and fertility, he also rules over wealth, prosperity and the underworld. He is symbolized by various animals, such as the ram, stag and bull. In English myth, the same Deity figure existed but he was called Herne the Hunter.

Cerridwen

Cerridwen was closely related to the Greek Goddess, Demeter, as a Goddess of fertility, and the harvest. She also represented renewal, transformation, change and rebirth. Cerridwen is most often considered to be a Crone, but in some ways she represents all three aspects of a triple Goddess. As a white sow, she also is connected with the Moon. Cerridwen was also associated with divination, death and the underworld, in many ways like Hecate.

Her primary symbol was her enchanted cauldron (called Amen), from which she could produce a brew of inspiration and wisdom. She worked for a year and a day to make a batch of this potion, to give to her ugly son Avagdu. Cerridwen felt that Avagdu was too unattractive to get ahead in the world unless he had other redeeming qualities, like wisdom. Unfortunately, the boy she hired to stir the pot took some by accident.

The boy became enlightened and ran away from Cerridwen's wrath. A long chase followed, and in the end, Cerridwen swallowed the boy and became pregnant. When she gave birth to him, he became the great Celtic bard, Taliesin.

A Welsh Goddess, she lived on an island and was married to a giant named Tegid. Besides her ugly son, Avagdu, she also had a daughter named Creirwy and another son, Movran.

The Dagda

Also Irish like Danu, the Dagda was the great father God who ruled over Gods and men. He played a similar role to Odin or Zeus. Like Odin, he was sometimes called the All-Father. He was also king to the Tuatha de Danann. The Dagda had many children, the best known being his daughter Brigid, one of the most loved Goddesses in the land.

In some myths, he is the consort of the Morrigan and he sleeps with her once a year (on the Celtic New Year, October 31st) on the bank of the Unshin river. It was during one of these trysts that the Morrigan told him of the Formorians war plans, which led to the victory of Tuatha de Danann. The location of their meetings is still called "The Bed of the Couple."

His magick cauldron (called the Undry) supplied a never-ending source of food, and his preferred weapon in battle was a huge 8-pronged club that was pulled behind him on wheels. The seasons changed when he played on his great oak harp. The Dagda is described as a huge and stocky man, who wears a short tunic and cape.

The Dagda ruled over life and death, knowledge, healing, rebirth and prosperity. He was patron to all magicians, warriors and artists.

Danu

Danu (also called Anu, Dana, or Anann) was the great Earth Goddess who ruled over fertility, prosperity, cattle and health. At Midsummer, great balefires were lit in the hills in her honour. She was mother to other Gods as well as the Tuatha de Danann (whose name means "children of Danu"). To the Welsh, she was called Don and had strong connections with the sea. She represents motherhood, fertility, beginnings, and the cycles of all things.

Even though she had strong mothering qualities, she was considered to be the maiden aspect of the Irish triple Goddess, with Badb (the mother) and Macha (the crone). Danu was both mother and daughter to the Dagda, who was the great father God of the Celts. Her husband is sometimes recorded as Belenus, the God of fire and sun.

Among the Celtic lands, Danu was mainly worshipped in what is now Ireland. As a testament to her fertility, there are two hills still called today, the Breasts of Anu. The Don river and the Danube river in Europe may both have been named for Danu as well. She may also be connected with the Greek / Roman Goddess, Diana.

Though she was the great Mother Goddess, there have been no surviving myths involving her, leaving many gaps in the details about her personality.

Epona

Epona was particularly worshipped by the people of Gaul (an area that is now northern France). She was a horse Goddess, and was very important to the Gauls because horses were a large part of their culture and civilization. Because horses represented wealth and success, Epona was also related to prosperity and abundance, as well as other domestic aspects of the household. She was also protectress of donkeys, oxen and other related livestock animals.

There was also a vague connection between Epona and dreams, though there are few details of this relationship. Stories were told to young children that Epona would visit them at night and bring nightmares if they misbehaved.

Even the invasions by the Romans couldn't completely wipe out Epona and her followers. The charioteers and cavalry troops of Rome loved her took her as their Goddess for a time, without changing her name or qualities (as the Romans often did with other Deities they came across). Among the Romans, her feast day was December 18th. Only the encroaching influence of Christianity moved Epona from center stage.

Symbolically, Epona was illustrated as a white horse or as a lady riding side-saddle on a white horse. And we can still see evidence of Epona's worship in the hobby-horse folk dancing in rural England. She is closely related to the Welsh Goddess, Rhiannon.

Gofannon

No pantheon would be complete without a God for the craftspeople. Like Hephaestus, Gofannon was God of the forge and patron to blacksmiths, metalworkers, jewelry-makers and ale brewers. His own special ale rendered the other Tuatha de Danann immortal. Gofannon (also called Govannon or Goidniu, to the Irish) was the son of Danu and Belenus. Weapons crafted by Gofannon would always hit their mark, like those he made for Lugh. He also was responsible for making the silver hand used by King Nuada.

Gofannon was brother to Arianrhod, and he was responsible for accidentally killing her son (his nephew) Dylan. Full details of this story are unknown.

Lugh

Lugh's name was also spelled Lew, Llew, Lug or Lleu. Sometimes he was called Lugh Lamhfada, meaning Lugh of the Long Arm. He was the God of the Sun, of light, and he was greatly skilled at all things. His name is translated as "the Shining One". As a Divine Jack-of-all-Trades, he was patron God to all manner of craftspeople, musicians, magicians, healers and warriors. In looks, he was youthful, fair-haired and handsome.

The first of three harvest Sabbats of the year, is called Lughnasadh, after this Celtic God. There are two origins in myth for this festival. Though named for Lugh, the festival was actually in honour of his foster-mother (whose name was Tailtiu). If she were not remembered each year, Lugh would ravage the countryside and decimate the crops. The other version of the Lughnasadh celebration is that Lugh sacrifices himself to ensure prosperous crops in the upcoming harvest.

In later Celtic myth, Lugh became the leader of the Tuatha de Danann after King Nuada lost an arm and could not keep his throne. His son was the great Irish hero Cuchulainn (known as the Hound of Ulster). Lugh's own parentage is a little murky, but he was either the son of Danu and Beli or of Cian and Ethlinn (and raised by a foster mother).

Morrigan

Now we come to one of the more complex and often misunderstood Celtic Deities, the Morrigan (or the Morrigu). Sometimes she is a single Goddess, and sometimes she is referred to as 3 individual Goddesses. With Arianrhod and Blodeuwedd, the Morrigan is the Crone phase of the Welsh Triple Goddess. As she is part of a larger trio, and yet a trio within herself, the Morrigan is the ultimate Triple Goddess.

She was one of the Tuatha de Danann, and helped them win several key battles, particularly the Second Battle of Mag Tuired. She caused confusion and disorganization among the ranks of the Fomorians. The Morrigan played a key role in many other myths surrounding the Tuatha de Danann. Once a year (on October 31st), she meets with the Dagda on the banks of a river. Their mating brings prosperity and fertility to the land each year.

When viewed as three separate Goddesses, the Morrigan is made up of Badb (Vulture or Fury), Macha (Crow or Battle) and Nemain (Frenzy or Venomous). "Morrigan" is translated to mean Phantom Queen or Queen of the Demons. The details of the three are often blurred and their qualities overlap. Some sources describe Macha as a separate Deity altogether, making the trio of the Morrigan to be Badb, Nemain and Fea (Hateful). Some sources make all 5 Goddesses to simply be related but independent sisters.

Whether she is one or three, the Morrigan is a battle Goddess and closely tied to fate, death and warfare. According to myth, she is seen washing clothes in a nearby river before a battle, the warriors whose clothes she washed would die the next day. She influenced the battle with magick, but the Morrigan was not a warrior who fought on the battle-field. Her animal symbol is the crow, or raven.

Her role as witch is mirrored in the Arthurian legend, as the character Morgan le Fey.

Rhiannon

As mentioned earlier, Rhiannon is a Goddess that is tied closely to Epona. Though also associated with horses, Rhiannon had more qualities than just protectress of animals. She was a moon Goddess, and rode a white horse so fast that no man could catch her.

She had been promised for marriage to an older man, but she refused and chose a mortal prince named Pwyll. After she married him, there was fighting among her people and the family of her original suitor. To end the conflict, she left the enchanted land of the Fey to be with the man she loved.

They had a son who was kidnapped, but the blame fell on Rhiannon as she was framed by the maidservants who had fallen asleep instead of watching the boy. She was sentenced to 7 years of carrying visitors to the castle from the outer gate on her own back, while announcing her crime. Rhiannon bore this with grace and dignity until her son was returned and she was cleared of the crime. Humility and forgiveness are two of Rhianonn's greatest traits.

Like several other Celtic Deities, Rhiannon can be seen in the Arthurian legends as Vivianne, the Lady of the Lake.