GOD OR GODDESS

INFORMATION ABOUT THEM

ANGUS OF THE BRUGH ALSO OENGUS OF THE BRUIG

God of youth, son of the Dagda. In Ireland, Angus is the counterpart of Cupid. Angus' kisses turn into singing birds, and the music he plays irresistibly draws all who hear.

APOLLO

Apollo was the twin brother of Artemis, and they were both children born from Zeus and his affair with the nymph Leto. He was a sun God, and he drove his golden chariot across the sky each day. Apollo shone not only in the sky, but in all he accomplished as well. He was an excellent archer, musician (he favored the lyre as an instrument), poet, law-maker, scholar, philosopher and prophet. No wonder he was the favorite son of Zeus.

The center of Apollo's worship was at Delphi, particularly the Oracle at Delphi. When Apollo was merely 4 days old, he pursued and killed a giant serpent (Python) at the city of Delphi. Though the locals were happy that the snake was gone, it turned out that she had been a great Oracle. Apollo was willing to learn the art of prophecy from the temple priestesses, and he was worshipped there from then on. Apollo was also revered at Rhodes, where a giant statue was erected to him. The Colossus at Rhodes was one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World.

Like his flirtatious father, Apollo was well-known for his attraction to the opposite sex, though he was just as likely to be attracted to other males as well. Cassandra, who had the gift of foresight but was cursed to never be heeded, was one of Apollo's interests. It was he who gave her the gift, and then cursed her when she rejected his romantic advances

ARIANRHOD "SILVER WHEEL," "HIGH FRUITFUL MOTHER."

One of the Three Virgins of Britain, her palace is Caer Arianrhod, the Celtic name for the Aurora Borealis. Another 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.

BADB

A goddess of war. One of a triad of war goddesses known collectively as the Morrigan. Bird shaped and crimson mouthed, Badb uses her magic to decide battles. Badb lusts after men and is often seen at fords washing the armor and weapons of men about to die in combat.

BÉL

He was one of the prime deities among the Celts of Europe. Known under many different names but most had the same root: Bel meaning 'power' or 'light'.  In Ireland he was worshipped at the May festival of Bealtaine which marked the beginning of Summer the 'reign of light' and the closing of Winter 'the reign of darkness/the otherworld'. The druids of Ireland used to light the first fire of summer on the hill at Uisnech now known as Tara.  From this fire all the other fires of Ireland were lit.  Bealtaine marked the beginning of fresh projects and new ventures.  The doors to the otherworld were considered to be open at this time of year, just as they were at Samhain

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 honor 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, BRIGHID ALSO BRIGIT

Brigid was equally as popular, if not more so. Brigid is described as three goddesses of the same name.  One as a patroness of learning, one of healing and on the smithcraft, The name Brigid is said to come from a word meaning “exalted one”.  She appears in legend as a goddess of the Land. Since her life is not well documented, mythology has added some qualities of goddess to those of the living woman. A perpetual flame was kept burning for centuries at Kildare, in honor of Bridget, who founded a order of nuns there, and even skeptical scholars say there is a possibility that this flame dates back to Pagan tradition. She is also associated with in Christian and Pagan myth was fertility. The goddess Brigid is often said to be invoked during childbirth. Many wells and rivers were named after her in England and Scotland indicating her association with water.

In modern worship, many Wiccans are drawn to Brigid, for her blessings are things that help them to live instead of merely surviving. She has the power to heal illness and take away pain. Hers also are poetry, learning and the creative arts. Fires from her forge perform a magic that is known to all metal workers. The magic will take something that is rough and unformed and subjects it to heat and stress and brings it out stronger, brighter and more powerful. For some this magic takes the form of metal craft, making anything from knives to jewelry. Brigid’s forge is a metaphor for the act of transformation for some. She is often celebrated at the Imbolc festival, when bright fires are a welcome relief to short, gray days and long cold nights.

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.

CARIDWEN

Also HEN WEN; in Wales, BRIGHID "White Grain," "Old White One." Corn goddess. Mother of Taliesen, greatest and wisest of all the bards, and therefore a patron of poets. The "white goddess" of Robert Graves. Caridwen lives among the stars in the land of Caer Sidi. Caridwen is connected with wolves, and some claim her cult dates to the neolithic era.

CERNUNNOUS

Horned god of virility. His name is written on just one ancient depiction of the god, we still cannot be certain the first letter is actually a C. Most commonly he is associated with the stag and is shown wearing stag antlers. He is often shown sitting crossed legged and usually has a beard and a torc, which is a neck ornament of the Celts. It is almost a circle of metal ending in front in two decorated knobs.

Often, Celtic worshippers associated him with the sun, and is also shown holding a wheel symbolizing the sun’s rays.  Still another is the ram-headed serpent which is a very ancient Celtic symbol drawing on the power associated with horned beasts. Cerunnos is born at the winter solstice and dies at the summer solstice. Extremely popular among the Celts, the Druids encouraged the worship of Cernunnos, attempting to replace the plethora of local deities and spirits with a national religion. The Celts were so enamored of Cernunnos that his cult was a serious obstacle to the spread of Christianity.

CERRIDWEN

Although she is widely known as a Celtic deity there actually is no evidence of her before the ninth century. This is when her name was apparently given to a sorceress in a Welsh poet’s story.  She supposedly brews a special potion to give to her child to give him the gift of inspiration. One of her servant’s accidentally drinks the concoction. She then chases this servant through several a variety of shape changes until she finally swallows him and gives birth to him again in the form of the revered poet Talisen. Her name means “crooked woman”. She appears in this literature as the stereotypical “witch” who is unattractive, selfish and gifted with magical knowledge. She has been associated with the cauldron of inspiration. She can be seen as a form of the dark goddess, associated with wisdom, magic loss and renewal

DAGDA

Earth and father god of the Celts they called him the Good God because he protected their crops. He had a cauldron called the Undry which supplied unlimited food and was one of the magical items the Tuatha brought with them when they first landed on Ireland.  He also had a living oak harp called Uaithne which caused the seasons to change in their order and also played three types of music, the music of sorrow, the music of joy and the music of dreaming. 

He was portrayed as wearing a brown low-necked tunic which just reached his hips and a hooded cape that barely covered his shoulders.  On his feet were horse-hide boots.  Behind him he pulled his eight pronged war club on a wheel, one end of the club killed the living and the other end revived the dead, and when it was dragged behind him it left a track as deep as the boundary ditch between two provinces.

On the day of the New Year, Dagda mates with the raven goddess of the Morrigan who while making love straddles a river with one foot on each bank. A slightly comical figure.

DANU

Mother goddess, an aspect of the Great Mother. Another of a triad of war goddesses known collectively as the Morrigan. Connected with the moon goddess Aine of Knockaine, who protects crops and cattle. Most importantly, the mother of the Tuatha de' Danann, the tribe of the gods.

DIAN CECHT

A healer. At the second battle of Moytura, Dian Cecht murdered his own son whose skill in healing endangered his father's reputation. The Judgments of Dian Cecht, an ancient Irish legal tract, lays down the obligations to the ill and injured. An agressor must pay for curing anyone he has injured, and the severity of any wound, even the smallest, is measured in grains of corn.

DIS PATER

Originally a god of death and the underworld, later the chief god of the Gauls. The Gauls believed, as their Druids taught, that Dis Pater is the ancestor of all the Gauls.

DONN

Irish counterpart to Dis Pater. Donn sends storms and wrecks ships, but he protects crops and cattle as well. Donn's descendents come to his island after death.

EOSTRE

Eostre is an Anglo-Saxon Goddess, the one for whom the Ostara Sabbat is named. When the Saxons invaded Britain, they brought this vigorous Goddess with them and she was eventually adopted into the Celtic pantheon.

She is seen as spring personified, a Goddess of rebirth, new beginnings, and fertility. The name for animal menstruation, "estrus", meaning fertile period, is derived from her name, and as such, she is also a Goddess of animal reproduction. The Christian holiday of Easter is also her namesake, and the concept of the Easter Bunny and Easter Eggs come from her legends.

EPONA

Her name means horse and she is widely worshipped across Europe, particularly by Celtic tribes known for their horsemanship. Horses were considered highly valuable in the Celtic world. In two ancient statues show her holding keys, which may have been keys to a stable but may have had an otherworldly meaning.  Her image was found carved on gravestones, perhaps reflecting an ancient belief in a horse that carries the dead to the next world. She is associated with death, but as well with the fruits of the earth, which she feeds to the animals and birds that surround her. The Romans adopted her and erected a temple to her in Rome.

ESUS

A god of the Gauls "whose shrines make men shudder," according to a Roman poet. Human sacrifices to Esus were hanged and run through with a sword. For unknown reasons, Esus is usually portrayed as a woodcutter. Also Essus. A harvest God worshipped in Brittany, and in Gaul by the people known as the Essuvi. He was the consort of Artio.

He is connected with a vague and lost myth about the penalties for the cutting down of trees, and was associated with the totem animals of crane and bull, symbolizing his fertility principle and his link to the Otherworld.

Extant altars to him date to the third century BCE. The Romans recorded that sacrifices were made to him on these. He died by being hung on one of his sacred trees like the Norse God Odin with whom he is often equated. His legends eventually merged with those of Christ in the early centuries CE and eventually his own myths were lost. (makes one wonder though doesn't it?)

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.

GOVANNON

The smith god. The weapons Govannon makes are unfailing in their aim and deadliness, the armor unfailing in its protection. Also a healer. Those who attend the feast of Govannon and drink of the god's sacred cup need no longer fear old age and infirmity.

GREEN MAN

A horned deity of trees and green growing things of Earth; god of the woodlands. In Old Welsh his name is Arddhu (the Dark One), Atho, or the Horned God.

One of the most ancient figures in European tradition, pre-dating perhaps even the Aryan invasions. He seems to be a God of vegetative strength, a masculine figure of fertility and life-energy. He is usually imaged as a large or giant male, clad entirely, or perhaps actually composed entirely, in green leaves. He appears on the fringes of popular awareness in a bewildering number of guises: his archetype may be recognized in as widely divergent sources as the central figure in the 14th century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight on the one hand, and on the other as the basis behind the modern commercial image of the Jolly Green Giant®.

His is an image which transcended all other Celtic God forms and became a version of the Christian Devil every bit as potent as the Horned God. His randy woodland image became firmly linked in the minds of the churchmen with "evil" witches who cavorted with him under the light of the full moon. He is possibly an Oak King image, a symbol of fertility and of the waxing year. He is also linked to Cernunnos, the Horned God of the wild. Archetypally, he is the male fertility principle of the Earth Mother.

HEPHAESTUS

Hephaestus was a skilled craftsman, who ruled over fire, volcanoes, the forge, and all forms of industry and metal-working. To assert her independence from her philandering husband, Hera conceived and gave birth to Hephaestus herself. Her plan backfired as he was born small and lame. Zeus felt that the plain Hephaestus would make a fine husband for Aphrodite, and forced the two to wed. Aphrodite had no children with Hephaestus and was well known for her adulterous affairs, usually with Ares.

Seen as a hard-working and industrious individual, Hephaestus was a God for the common man. Unlike the other shining and beautiful Olympian Gods, he was ugly and usually dirty from work. The Greeks believed that Hephaeustus' workshop existed under the great Mount Etna, and the volcanic fires seen there were from his great forge.

His handiwork was legendary, even among the Gods. He crafted the scepter that Zeus then gave to Hermes, Achilles' armour, Zeus' thunderbolts, Athena's aegis, the arrows of Apollo and Artemis and the golden breastplate of Hercules. He also created Pandora, who was the first human woman, and who brought misfortune to all mankind in a box. Hephaestus was honoured by the Greeks every year at a festival called the Chalkeia, which symbolized the attempted (and unsuccessful) union between Hephaestus and Athena. It was a fertility celebration. The Romans also had a festival called Vulcanalia, to honour the fire God.

In the Roman pantheon, Hephaestus was known as Vulcan.

HU THE MIGHTY

Also known as Hu Gadarn and Hugh Guairy. In many myths he is portrayed as the common ancestor and father God of the Cymry (the Welsh). He came to Wales from the "east", possibly meaning India or Constantinople, and became part of the Welsh deluge myths.

He taught his people to plow, farm, and work the land, and to sing old sacred songs, especially as an aid to memory for transmitting oral traditions.

A team of Hu's oxen dragged Addanc, the faery/monster/God, from his lair in Llyn Llion Lake after the great flood.

LUG ALSO LUGH, LLEU

A sun god and a hero god, young, strong, radiant with hair of gold, master of all arts, skills and crafts. One day Lug arrived at the court of the Dagda and demanded to be admitted to the company of the gods. The gatekeeper asked him what he could do. For every skill or art Lug named, the gatekeeper replied that there was already one among the company who had mastered it.

Lug at last pointed out that they had no one who had mastered them all, and so gained a place among the deities, eventually leading them to victory in the second battle of Moytura against the Formorian invaders. (The Formorians were a race of monsters who challenged the gods for supremacy in the first and second battles of Moytura.) The Romans identified Lug with Mercury. The most popular and widely worshipped of the Celtic gods, Lug's name in its various forms was taken by the cities of Lyons, Loudun, Laon, Leon, Lieden, Leignitz, Carlisle and Vienna.

MACHA "CROW"

The third of the triad of war goddesses known as the Morrigan, Macha feeds on the heads of slain enemies. Macha often dominates her male lovers through cunning or simple brute strength.

MEDB "DRUNK WOMAN"

A goddess of war, not one of the Morrigan. Where the Morrigan use magic, Medb wields a weapon herself. The sight of Medb blinds enemies, and she runs faster than the fastest horse. A bawdy girl, Medb needs thirty men a day to satisfy her sexual appetite.

MORRIGAN, THE ALSO MORRIGU MORRIGAN

A war goddess, life and Death, she therefore had a habit of appearing to the great heroes when their life was in danger. A forerunner of the Arthurian Morgan La Fey. Like Odin, fickle and unfaithful, not to be trusted. A hag with a demonic laugh, the Morrigan appears as a grotesque apparition to men about to die in battle. Her name is also used for a triad of war goddesses, who are often thought of as different aspects of the Morrigan. She resided to the North, which was the realm of the dead, justice and the element of Earth She could change her shape at will.   She also appears as an old crone. Her most well recognized form was that of a black crow who was her totem bird. Morrigan was a Triple Goddess and was the Crone aspect of the Great Goddess,  Macha being the Fertile Woman aspect and Anu being the Young Maiden

NEMAIN "PANIC"

 A war goddess.

NUADHU ALSO NUD, NODENS, LUD

 "Nuadhu of the silver arm." God of healing and water; his name suggests "wealth-bringer" and "cloud-maker." At the first battle of Moytura, Nuadhu lost an arm, and Dian Cecht replaced it with a new one made out of silver. Because of this, Nuadhu was obliged to turn leadership of the Tuatha de' Dannan over to Lug. People came to be healed at Nuadhu's temple at Lydney, and small votive limbs made of silver have been found there.

OGMIOS ALSO OGMA "SUN FACE"

A hero god like Hercules, a god of eloquence, language, genius. Generally portrayed as an old man dressed in a lion skin. From his tongue hang fine gold chains attached to the ears of his eager followers.

RHIANNON

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.

ROSMERTA

Is best known for those statues in which she appears with the Roman god Mercury, as half of a divine couple.  Her name means “great provider” and both alone and with Mercury she is a goddess of prosperity. She is often depicted with such wealth-related items such as livestock, a bucket or cauldron, a bag of coins or a ships rudder. In Gaulish Celtic mythology, Rosmerta was the goddess of fire, warmth, and abundance. A flower queen and hater of marriage, Rosmerta was also the queen of death. A Celtic goddess of fertility and wealth; whose cult was widely spread in Northeast Gaul. Rosmerta was the wife of Esus, the Gaulish Hermes. Her attributes are a cornucopia and a stick with two snakes.

SUCELLOS

He is a hammer god. He is often depicted alone, but is sometimes shown with his partner Nantosuelta, a goddess of the household whose icon was a small house on a tall pole. He is most often portrayed as a man of mature years, with curly hair and a beard usually dressed in the clothes of a peasant. He is also shown with a vessel or barrel indicative of his association with winemaking. He is a god of fertility, healing and fruitfulness. His are the bounties of the earth and he was particularly popular ins wine making areas.  He is a god of harvest. Guardian of forests, patron of agriculture. His consort is Nantosvelta, whose name suggests brooks and streams. Sometimes considered synonomous with Cernunnos or Daghda.

TALISEN

"Radiant Brow", Prince of Song; Chief of the Bards of the West; a poet. Patron of Druids, Bards, and minstrels; a shape-shifter. Writing, poetry; wisdom; wizards; Bards; music; knowledge; magic.

A semi-mythical figure whose life has become deeply intertwined with the Divinities of the Celts. He apparently lived in the 6th century CE, and was regarded as the premier bard, or poet of his or any other time. A book of his work exists, set down in the 13th century; several of the works within it are regarded as genuine.

TUATHA DE' DANANN

The divine tribes and people descended from the goddess Danu. Skilled in druidry and magic, the Tuatha de' Danann possess four talismans of great power: the stone of Fal which shrieked under the true heir to the throne; the spear of Lug which made victory certain; the sword of Nuadhu which slays all enemies; and the ever full cauldron of Daghda from which no man ever goes away hungry.