Celtic polytheism (also called Druidic polytheism) is the term for the religious beliefs and practices of the ancient Celts. Look up belief on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Practice connotes a few important things in regard to life ways and ideas, commonly referring to how we learn and do. ... A Celtic cross. ...

Extent of Celtic polytheism

As the religion of the ancient Celts, the shifts in the fortunes of Celtic Polytheism coincided with those of its people. The Celts, like other ancient Indo-European peoples, practised a form of polytheism, which reached the apogee of its influence and territorial expansion during the 4th century BC, extending across the length of Europe from Great Britain to Asia Minor. A Celtic cross. ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies Indo-European is originally a linguistic term, referring to the Indo-European language family. ... Polytheism is belief in, or worship of, multiple gods or divinities. ... (5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) // Events Invasion of the Celts into Ireland Battle of the Allia and subsequent Gaulish sack of Rome 383 BCE Second Buddhist Councel at Vesali. ... A satellite composite image of Europe // Etymology Picture of Europa, carried away by bull-shaped Zeus. ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to the Asian portion of Turkey. ...

From the 3rd century BC onward their history is one of decline and disintegration, and with Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul (58 –51 BC) Celtic independence came to an end on the European continent. In Great Britain]] and Ireland this decline moved more slowly, but traditional culture was gradually eroded through the pressures of political subjugation; today the Celtic languages are spoken only on Western Europe, in restricted areas of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Brittany (in this last instance largely as a result of immigration from Britain from the 4th century to the 7th century AD). It is not surprising, therefore, that the unsettled and uneven history of the Celts has affected the documentation of their culture and religion. // Events The first two Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome over dominance in western Mediterranean Rome conquers Spain Gaulish migration to Macedonia, Thrace and Galatia 281 BCE Antiochus I Soter, on the assassination of his father Seleucus becomes emperor of the Seleucid empire. ... A bust of Julius Caesar. ... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (from Latin Gallia, c. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC - 50s BC - 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC Years: 63 BC 62 BC 61 BC 60 BC 59 BC 58 BC 57 BC 56 BC 55... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC - 50s BC - 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC Years: 56 BC 55 BC 54 BC 53 BC 52 BC 51 BC 50 BC 49 BC 48... The Celtic languages are the languages descended from Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, spoken by ancient and modern Celts alike. ... Western Europe is distinguished from Eastern Europe by differences of history and culture rather than by geography. ... Scottish Executive - official site of the Scottish Executive Scottish Parliament - official site of The Scottish Parliament BBC Scotland - Scottish history, news and travel pages from BBC The Gazetteer for Scotland - Extensive guide to the places and people of Scotland, by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and University of Edinburgh Scotland... National motto: Cymru am byth (Welsh: Wales for ever) Waless location within the UK Official languages English, Welsh Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff First Minister Rhodri Morgan Area  - Total Ranked 3rd UK 20,779 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 3rd UK 2,903,085 140/km² NUTS 1... Traditional coat of arms This article is about the historical duchy and French province, as well as the cultural area of Brittany. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... // Events Islam starts in Arabia, the Quran is written, and Syria, Iraq, Persia, North Africa and Central Asia convert to Islam. ... The word culture, from the Latin colere, with its root meaning to cultivate, generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. ...

Research

Three main types of sources provide information on Celtic polytheism: the minted coins of Gaul, the sculptural monuments associated with the Celts of continental Europe and of Roman Britain, and the insular literatures of Celtic mythology that have survived in writing from medieval times. All pose problems of interpretation. The pre-Roman coins of the 1st century BC and early 1st century AD bear no inscriptions, and their iconography derives partly from standardized Hellenistic numismatic prototypes and partly presents highly local emblems. Most of the monuments, and their accompanying inscriptions, belong to the Roman period and reflect a considerable degree of syncretism between Celtic and Roman gods; even where figures and motifs appear to derive from pre-Roman tradition, they are difficult to interpret in the absence of a preserved literature on mythology. Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, the apparent religion of the Iron Age Celts. ... The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ... Syncretism is the attempt to reconcile disparate, even opposing, beliefs and to meld practices of various schools of thought. ...

Only after the lapse of many centuries—beginning in the 7th century in Ireland, even later in Wales—was the mythological tradition consigned to writing, but by then Ireland and Wales had been Christianized and the scribes and redactors were monastic scholars. The resulting literature is abundant and varied, but it is much removed in both time and location from its epigraphic and iconographic correlatives on the Continent and inevitably reflects the redactors' selectivity and something of their Christian learning. Given these circumstances it is remarkable that there are so many points of agreement between the insular literatures and the continental evidence. This is particularly notable in the case of the Classical commentators from Poseidonius (c. 135–c. 51 BC) onward who recorded their own or others' observations on the Celts. As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ... The word classical has several meanings: Pertaining to the societies of the classical antiquity, ancient Greece or Rome. ... The bust of Posidonius as an older man depects his character as a Stoic philosopher. ...

Syncretism with other forms of polytheism

The locus classicus for the Celtic gods of Gaul is the passage in Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico (52–51 BC; The Gallic War) in which he names five of them together with their functions. Mercury was the most honoured of all the gods and many images of him were to be found. Mercury was regarded as the inventor of all the arts, the patron of travellers and of merchants, and the most powerful god in matters of commerce and gain. After him the Gauls honoured Apollo, Mars, Jupiter, and Minerva. Of these gods they held almost the same opinions as other peoples did: Apollo drives away diseases, Minerva promotes handicrafts, Jupiter rules the heavens, and Mars controls wars. Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (from Latin Gallia, c. ... A bust of Julius Caesar. ... Commentarii de Bello Gallico (literally Commentaries on the Gallic Wars in Latin) is an account written by Julius Caesar about his nine years of war in Gaul. ... De Bello Gallico (literally On the Gallic Wars in Latin) is an account written by Julius Caesar about his nine years of war in Gaul. ... This article treats Mercury in cult practice and in archaic Rome. ... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (from Latin Gallia, c. ... Statue of Apollo at the British Museum Apollo (Greek: Απόλλων, Apóllōn; Απελλων) is a god in Greek and Roman mythology, the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Artemis (goddess of the hunt), one of the most important and many-sided of the Olympian divinities. ... Mars was the Roman god of war, the son of Juno and a magical flower (or Jupiter). ... Jupiter et Thétis - by Jean Ingres, 1811. ... Minerva was a Roman goddess of crafts and wisdom. ... Statue of Apollo at the British Museum Apollo (Greek: Απόλλων, Apóllōn; Απελλων) is a god in Greek and Roman mythology, the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Artemis (goddess of the hunt), one of the most important and many-sided of the Olympian divinities. ... Minerva was a Roman goddess of crafts and wisdom. ...

In characteristic Roman fashion, however, Caesar does not refer to these figures by their native names but by the names of the Roman gods with which he equated them, a procedure that greatly complicates the task of identifying his Gaulish deities with their counterparts in the insular literatures. He also presents a neat schematic equation of god and function that is quite foreign to the vernacular literary testimony. Yet, given its limitations, his brief catalog is a valuable and essentially accurate witness. In comparing his account with the vernacular literatures, or even with the continental iconography, it is well to recall their disparate contexts and motivations. As has been noted, Caesar's commentary and the iconography refer to quite different stages in the history of Gaulish religion; the iconography of the Roman period belongs to an environment of profound cultural and political change, and the religion it represents may in fact have been less clearly structured than that maintained by the druids (the priestly order) in the time of Gaulish independence. Iconography is the study and interpretation of images in art. ...

On the other hand, the lack of structure is sometimes more apparent than real. It has, for instance, been noted that of the several hundred names containing a Celtic element attested in Gaul the majority occur only once, which has led some scholars to conclude that the Celtic gods and their cults were local and tribal rather than national. Supporters of this view cite Lucan's mention of a god Teutates, which they interpret as "god of the tribe" (it is thought that teuta meant "tribe" in Celtic). The seeming multiplicity of deity names may, however, be explained otherwise—for example, many are simply epithets applied to major deities by widely extended cults. Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (November 3, AD 39-April 30, 65), better known in English as Lucan, was a Roman poet, and is one of the outstanding figures of the Silver Latin period. ... Toutatis or Teutates, ancient god of Celts and Gauls, whose name means father of the tribe. ...

Cosmology and eschatology

Little is known about the religious beliefs of the Celts of Gaul. They believed in a life after death, for they buried food, weapons, and ornaments with the dead. The druids, the early Celtic priesthood, taught the doctrine of transmigration of souls and discussed the nature and power of the gods. Transmigration can has several meanings: Transmigration of the soul is a common term for reincarnation. ...

The Irish believed in an otherworld, imagined sometimes as underground and sometimes as islands in the sea. The otherworld was variously called "the Land of the Living," "Delightful Plain," and Tir na nOg "Land of the Young" and was believed to be a country where there was no sickness, old age, or death, where happiness lasted forever, and a hundred years was as one day. It was similar to the Elysium of the Greek mythology and may have belonged to ancient Indo-European tradition. In Celtic eschatology, as noted in Irish vision or voyage tales, a beautiful girl approaches the hero and sings to him of this happy land. He follows her, and they sail away in a boat of glass and are seen no more; or else he returns after a short time to find that all his companions are dead, for he has really been away for hundreds of years. Sometimes the hero sets out on a quest, and a magic mist descends upon him. He finds himself before a palace and enters to find a warrior and a beautiful girl who make him welcome. The warrior may be Manannan mac Lir, or Lugh himself may be the one who receives him, and after strange adventures the hero returns successfully. These Irish tales, some of which date from the 8th century, are infused with the magic quality that is found 400 years later in the Arthurian romances. In Irish mythology, Mag Mell (plain of joy), also called Tir na nOg (land of young), was the underworld. ... In Greek mythology, Elysium was a section of the Underworld (the spelling Elysium is a Latinization of the Greek word Elysion). ... Greek mythology comprises the collected narratives of Greek gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines, originally created and spread within an oral-poetic tradition. ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies Indo-European is originally a linguistic term, referring to the Indo-European language family. ... In Irish mythology, Manannan mac Lir was a sea and weather god. ... Lug or Lugh (modern Irish: Lú, pronounced loo) is a former Irish deity represented in mythological texts as a hero and High King of the distant past. ...

Something of this quality is preserved, too, in the Welsh story of Branwen, daughter of Llyr, which ends with the survivors of the great battle feasting in the presence of the severed head of Bran the Blessed, having forgotten all their suffering and sorrow. But this "delightful plain" was not accessible to all. Donn, god of the dead and ancestor of all the Irish, reigned over Tech Duinn, which was imagined as on or under Bull Island off the Beare Peninsula, and to him all men returned except the happy few. This appears in Welsh mythology as Annwfn (from *Andubnion, very deep level) and ruled by seemingly different gods Arawn (*Ariomans) and Gwyn ap Nudd (*Vindos). In Welsh mythology, Branwen was a daughter of Llyr and Penarddun and has been interpreted as a goddess of love and beauty. ... In Celtic mythology, Lir (the sea) was the god of the sea, father of Manannan mac Lir, Bran, Branwen and Manawydan by Penarddun and a son of Danu and Beli. ... Bran the Blessed (aka Bendigeidfran) was a character in Welsh mythology, a son of Llyr and Penarddun, who appears in the Mabinogion. ... In Irish mythology, Donn was the Lord of the Dead and father of Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. ... Bull Island or North Bull Island is an island located in Dublin Bay in Ireland, about 5km long and 800m wide, lying roughly parallel to the shore. ... Welsh mythology, the remnants of the mythology of the pre-Christian Britons, has come down to us in much altered form in medieval Welsh manuscripts such as the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin. ... Annwn, (alternatively: Annwfn, Annwyn, Annwyfn, and Annwfyn) was the Otherworld, the land of souls that had departed this world in Insular Brythonic mythology, specifically Welsh. ... In Welsh mythology, Arawn was the Lord of the Underworld, which was called Annwn. ... In Welsh mythology, Gwyn ap Nudd was the god of the underworld. ...

Worship

According to Poseidonius and later classical authors Gaulish religion and culture were the concern of three professional classes—the druid, the bards, and between them an order closely associated with the druids that seems to have been best known by the Gaulish term vates, cognate with the Latin vates ("seers"). This threefold hierarchy had its reflex among the two main branches of Celts in Ireland and Wales but is best represented in early Irish tradition with its druids, filidh (singular fili), and bards; the filidh evidently correspond to the Gaulish vates. The bust of Posidonius as an older man depects his character as a Stoic philosopher. ... In Celtic polytheism the word Druid denotes the priestly class in ancient Celtic societies, which existed through much of Western Europe north of the Alps and in the British Isles. ... A bard is a poet and singer, with the particular meaning differing for various countries and epochs. ... Vates - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... See Fíli and Kíli for the Dwarves appearing in The Hobbit. ... See Fíli and Kíli for the dwarf appearing in The Hobbit. ...

The word "druid" is often cited as meaning means "knowing the oak tree" and may derive from druidic ritual, which seems in the early period to have been performed in the forest. Caesar stated that the druids avoided manual labour and paid no taxes, so that many were attracted by these privileges to join the order. They learned great numbers of verses by heart, and some studied for as long as 20 years; they thought it wrong to commit their learning to writing but used the Greek alphabet for other purposes.

Classical sources claimed that the Celts had no temples (before the Gallo-Roman period) and that their ceremonies took place in forest sanctuaries. Archaeology demonstrates this to be incorrect, with a large number of temple sites excavated. In the Gallo-Roman period, more permanent stone temples were erected, and many of them have been discovered by archaeologists in Britain as well as in Gaul.

Celtic polytheism was evidently sacrificial, practising various forms of sacrifice in an attempt to redeem, obligate or appease the gods. Human sacrifice was practiced in Gaul: Cicero, Julius Caesar, Suetonius, and Lucan all refer to it, and Pliny the Elder says that it occurred in Britain, too. It was forbidden under Tiberius and Claudius. There is some evidence that human sacrifice was known in Ireland and was forbidden by St. Patrick. Sacrifice is the practice of offering food, or the lives of animals or people to the gods, as an act of propitiation or worship. ... Sacrifice (from a Middle English verb meaning to make sacred, from Old French, from Latin sacrificium : sacer, sacred; sacred + facere, to make) is commonly known as the practice of offering food, or the lives of animals or people to the gods, as an act of propitiation or worship. ... Human sacrifice was practiced in many ancient cultures. ... Marcus Tullius Cicero (standard English pronunciation ; Classical Latin pronunciation ) (January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was an orator and statesman of Ancient Rome, and is generally considered the greatest Latin orator and prose stylist. ... Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (69/70 AD - After 130 AD) or known as Suetonius was a prominent Roman Writer. ... Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (November 3, AD 39-April 30, 65), better known in English as Lucan, was a Roman poet, and is one of the outstanding figures of the Silver Latin period. ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19c portrait. ... A bust of younger Emperor Tiberius For the city in Israel, see Tiberias. ... A statue of Emperor Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (August 1, 10 BC–October 13, 54), previously Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, was the fourth Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, 41 to his death in 54. ... Statue of Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (died March 17, 462, 492, or 493), is the patron saint of Ireland. ...

Religious castes

Druids

A Druid (often cited as being from the Celtic: "Knowing [or Finding] the Oak Tree") was a member of the learned class among the ancient Celts. They seem to have frequented oak forests and acted as priests, teachers, and judges. The earliest known records of the Druids come from the 3rd century BC.

According to Julius Caesar, who is the principal source of information about the Druids, there were two groups of men in Gaul that were held in honour, the Druids and the noblemen (equites). Caesar related that the Druids took charge of public and private sacrifices, and many young men went to them for instruction. They judged all public and private quarrels and decreed penalties. If anyone disobeyed their decree, he was barred from sacrifice, which was considered the gravest of punishments. One Druid was made the chief; upon his death, another was appointed. If, however, several were equal in merit, the Druids voted, although they sometimes resorted to armed violence. Once a year the Druids assembled at a sacred place in the territory of the Carnutes, which was believed to be the centre of all Gaul, and all legal disputes were there submitted to the judgment of the Druids. Caesar also recorded that the Druids abstained from warfare and paid no tribute. Attracted by those privileges, many joined the order voluntarily or were sent by their families. They studied ancient verse, natural philosophy, astronomy, and the lore of the gods, some spending as much as 20 years in training. The Druids' principal doctrine was that the soul was immortal and passed at death from one person into another. A bust of Julius Caesar. ... An Equestrian (Latin eques, plural equites) was a member of one of the two upper social classes in the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. ... The Carnutes (Latin Carnuti), a powerful Celtic people in the heart of independent Gaul, dwelled in a particularly extensive territory between the Sequana (Seine) and the Liger (Loire) rivers. ...

The Druids may have offered human sacrifices for those who were gravely sick or in danger of death in battle. Caesar said that huge wickerwork images were filled with living men and then burned, for which no other evidence has been found. Although the Druids preferred to sacrifice criminals, they would choose innocent victims if necessary. Caesar is the chief authority, but he may have received some of his facts from the Stoic philosopher Poseidonius, whose account is often confirmed by early medieval Irish sagas. Caesar's description of the annual assembly of the Druids and their election of an arch-Druid is also confirmed by an Irish saga. It must be remembered that Caesar was at war with the Celts, and that all information is questionable because much of it was Roman propaganda. The bust of Posidonius as an older man depects his character as a Stoic philosopher. ...

In the early period, Druidic rites were held in clearings in the forest. Sacred buildings were used only later under Roman influence. The Druids were suppressed in Gaul by the Romans under Tiberius (reigned AD 14–37) and probably in Britain a little later. In Ireland they lost their priestly functions after the coming of Christianity and survived as poets, historians, and judges (filid, senchaidi, and brithemain). Many scholars believe that the Hindu Brahmin in the East and the Celtic Druid in the West were lateral survivals of an ancient Indo-European priesthood. A Hindu (also spelt Hindoo) is an adherent of philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, also known as Sanatan (सनातन) Dharma, the predominant religious, philosophical and cultural systems of Bharat (India) and Nepal and the island of Bali A popular name for India is Hindustan, or Land of the Hindus. ... A Brahmin (pronunciation is Brahmann) is a member of the Hindu priestly caste. ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies Indo-European is originally a linguistic term, referring to the Indo-European language family. ...

Bards and filid

A bard was a poet, especially one who wrote impassioned, lyrical, or epic verse. Bards were originally Celtic composers of eulogy and satire; the word came to mean more generally a tribal poet-singer gifted in composing and reciting verses on heroes and their deeds. As early as the 1st century AD, the Latin author Lucan referred to bards as the national poets or minstrels of Gaul and Britain. In Gaul the institution gradually disappeared, whereas in Ireland and Wales it survived. The Irish bard through chanting preserved a tradition of poetic eulogy. In Wales, where the word bardd has always been used for poet, the bardic order was codified into distinct grades in the 10th century. Despite a decline of the order toward the end of the European Middle Ages, the Welsh tradition has persisted and is celebrated in the annual eisteddfod, a national assembly of poets and musicians. A bard is a poet or singer, in religious or feudal contexts. ...

The Irish bards seem to have been the filid. A Fili ( Old Irish: "seer", from the Proto-Celtic *welits) was professional poet in ancient Ireland whose official duties were to know and preserve the tales and genealogies and to compose poems recalling the past and present glory of the ruling class. The filid constituted a large aristocratic class, expensive to support, and were severely censured for their extravagant demands on patrons as early as the assembly of Druim Cetta (575); they were defended at the assembly by St. Columba. Their power was not checked, however, since they could enforce their demands by the feared lampoon (áer), or poet's curse, which not only could take away a man's reputation but, according to a widely held ancient belief, could cause physical damage or even death. Although by law a fili could be penalized for abuse of the áer, belief in its powers was strong and continued to modern times. See Fíli and Kíli for the dwarf appearing in The Hobbit. ... Proto-Celtic, also called Common Celtic, is the putative ancestor of all the known Celtic languages. ... A separate article is titled Columba (constellation). ...

After the Christianization of Ireland in the 5th century, filid assumed the poetic function of the outlawed Druids, the powerful class of learned men of the pagan Celts. The filid were often associated with monasteries, which were the centres of learning.

Filid were divided into seven grades. One of the lower and less learned grades was bard. The highest grade was the ollamh, achieved after at least 12 years of study, during which the poet mastered more than 300 difficult metres and 250 primary stories and 100 secondary stories. He then could wear a cloak of crimson bird feathers and carry a wand of office. Although at first the filid wrote in a verse form similar to the alliterative verse prevalent in Germanic languages, they later developed intricate rules of prosody and rigid and complicated verse forms, the most popular of which was the debide (modern Irish deibide, "cut in two"), a quatrain composed of two couplets, linked by the rhyme of a stressed syllable with an unstressed one. A bard is a poet or singer, in religious or feudal contexts. ... The Old English epic poem Beowulf is written in alliterative verse. ...

After the 6th century, filid were granted land. They were required not only to write official poetry but also to instruct the residents of the area in law, literature, and national history. These seats of learning formed the basis for the later great bardic colleges.

By the 12th century filid were composing lyrical nature poetry and personal poems that praised the human qualities of their patrons, especially their generosity, rather than the patrons' heroic exploits or ancestors. They no longer strictly adhered to set rules of prosody. The distinction between the fili and the bard gradually broke down; the filid had given way to the supremacy of the bards by the 13th century.

Festivals

Insular sources provide important information about Celtic religious festivals. In Ireland the year was divided into two periods of six months by the feasts of Beltane (May 1) and Samhain (Samain; November 1), and each of these periods was equally divided by the feasts of Imbolc (February 1), and Lughnasadh (August 1). Samhain seems originally to have meant "summer," but by the early Irish period it had come to mark summer's end. Beltine is also called Cetsamain ("First Samhain"). Imbolc has been compared by the French scholar Joseph Vendryes to the Roman lustrations and apparently was a feast of purification for the farmers. It was sometimes called oímelc ("sheep milk") with reference to the lambing season. Beltine ("Fire of Bel") was the summer festival, and there is a tradition that on that day the druids drove cattle between two fires as a protection against disease. Lughnasadh was the feast of the god Lugh. Beltane or Beltaine (from Irish Bealtaine or Scottish Gaelic Bealtuinn; both from Old Irish Beltene, bright fire from *belo-te(p)niâ) is an ancient Gaelic holiday celebrated around May 1. ... Samhain (IPA: ) is the word for November in Irish and Scottish Gaelic. ... Imbolc is one of the eight solar holidays, festivals or sabbats of the Neopagan wheel of the year, with some origins in Irish mythology and the pre-Christian Celtic calendar. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Beltane

Beltane, also spelled Beltine, Irish Beltaine, Beáltaine, or Belltaine and also known as Cétsamain, was a festival held on the first day of May in Ireland and Scotland, celebrating the beginning of summer and open pasturing. Beltane is first mentioned in a glossary attributed to Cormac, bishop of Cashel and king of Munster, who was killed in 908. Cormac describes how cattle were driven between two bonfires on Beltane as a magical means of protecting them from disease before they were led into summer pastures—a custom still observed in Ireland in the 19th century. Other festivities included Maypole dances and cutting of green boughs and flowers. Cashel (Irish: An Caisleán) is a town in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, located south of the midlands of Ireland. ... Munster (Irish: An Mhumhain, IPA: ) is the southernmost province of Ireland, comprising the counties of Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford. ...

In early Irish lore a number of significant events took place on Beltane, which long remained the focus of folk traditions and tales in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. As did other pre-Christian Celtic peoples, the Irish divided the year into two main seasons. Winter and the beginning of the year fell on November 1 (Irish: Samain) and midyear and summer on May 1 (Irish: Beltaine). These two junctures were thought to be critical periods when the bounds between the human and supernatural worlds were temporarily erased; on May Eve witches and fairies roamed freely, and measures had to be taken against their enchantments.

Cormac derives the word Beltaine from the name of a god Bel, or Bil, and the Old Irish word tene, "fire." Despite linguistic difficulties, a number of 20th-century scholars have maintained modified versions of this etymology, linking the first element of the word with the Gaulish god Belenos. Cormac Mac Airt is probably the most famous of the ancient kings of Ireland, and is now thought to have been an authentic historical king. ... Bel can mean: A unit of measurement for proportions and ratios; see Decibel and dB(A) The title of a Semitic god; see Bel (god) A Celtic deity; see Belenus Hindi name of the Bengal Quince tree or its fruit. ... In Celtic mythology, Belenus (also Belinus, Belenos, Belinos, Belinu, Bellinus, Belus, Bel) was a deity worshipped in Gaul, Britain and Celtic areas of Austria. ...

In Ireland, the word "Beáltaine" is generally pronounced /ˈbʲɑlˠ.t̪ˠə.n̪ʲə/ (IPA) or b-YOWL-ten-ah. IPA may refer to: The International Phonetic Alphabet or India Pale Ale ...

Samhain

The beginning of the month of Samhain (Old Irish samain), was one of the most important calendar festivals of the Celtic year. At "the three nights of Samhain", held around the beginning of November, originally at plenilune, the world of the gods was believed to be made visible to mankind, and the gods played many tricks on their mortal worshipers; it was a time fraught with danger, charged with fear, and full of supernatural episodes. Sacrifices and propitiations of every kind were thought to be vital, for without them the Celts believed they could not prevail over the perils of the season or counteract the activities of the deities. Samhain was an important precursor to Halloween. Samhain (IPA: ) is the word for November in Irish and Scottish Gaelic. ... Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Irish language which can be more or less fully reconstructed from extant sources. ... A jack-o-lantern Halloween is an observance celebrated on the night of October 31, most notably by children dressing in costumes and going door-to-door collecting candy. ...

Cults within Celtic polytheism

The notion of the Celtic pantheon as merely a proliferation of local gods is contradicted by the several well-attested deities whose cults were observed virtually throughout the areas of Celtic settlement.

Cult of Lugus-Mercurius

According to Caesar the god most honoured by the Gauls was "Mercury (Greek: Hermes). ," and this is confirmed by numerous images and inscriptions. His Celtic name is not explicitly stated, but it is clearly implied in the place-name Lugudunon ("the fort or dwelling of the god Lugus") by which his numerous cult centres were known and from which the modern Lyon, Laon, and Loudun in France, Carlisle (formerly Castra Luguvallium, "Fort Strong in the God Lugus"); Leiden in The Netherlands, and Legnica in Poland derive. Clearly Lugus, also called Lug, (from Celtic: *Lug- ambivalently meaning "Lynx," "Oath," "Deceiver" and "Moonlight"), was one of the major gods, whose cult was widespread throughout the early Celtic world . The Irish and Welsh cognates of Lugus are Lugh and Llew, respectively, and the traditions concerning these figures mesh neatly with those of the Gaulish god. Caesar's description of the latter as "the inventor of all the arts" might almost have been a paraphrase of Lugh's conventional epithet sam ildánach ("possessed of many talents"). An episode in the Irish tale of the Battle of Magh Tuiredh is a dramatic exposition of Lugh's claim to be master of all the arts and crafts, and dedicatory inscriptions in Spain and Switzerland, one of them from a guild of shoemakers, commemorate Lugus, or Lugoves, the plural perhaps referring to the god conceived in triple form. This article treats Mercury in cult practice and in archaic Rome. ... Hermes bearing the infant Dionysus, by Praxiteles HermÄ“s (pronounced HUR-mees; Greek: Έρμης: pile of marker stones), in Greek mythology, is the god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of orators, literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures and invention and... Lugus was a deity worshipped in Gaul, Britain, Ireland, Spain and other ancient Celtic regions. ... City motto: Avant, avant, Lion le melhor. ... Laon is a city and commune of France, préfecture (capital) of the Aisne département. ... Loudun is a small town of approximately 9,000 inhabitants in the Vienne département of France. ... Leiden (in English also, but now rarely, Leyden) is a city and municipality in South Holland, The Netherlands. ... Legnica (pronounce: , formerly Lignica, German Liegnitz) is a town in south-western Poland. ... Lugus was a deity worshipped in Gaul, Britain, Ireland, Spain and other ancient Celtic regions. ... Lug or Lugh (modern Irish: Lú, pronounced loo) is a former Irish deity represented in mythological texts as a hero and High King of the distant past. ... In Welsh mythology, Llew Llaw Gyffes was born a blob, a son of Arianrhod and brother of Dylan. ... In Irish mythology, Magh Tuiredh (Mag Tuired, Magh Tuireadh, anglicised as Moytura) is the name of the locations of two battles said to have been waged by the Tuatha Dé Danann. ...

An episode in the Middle Welsh collection of tales called the Mabinogion, (or Mabinogi), seems to echo the connection with shoemaking, for it represents Lleu as working briefly as a skilled exponent of the craft. In Ireland Lugh was the youthful victor over the demonic Balar or Balor "of the venomous eye." He was the divine exemplar of sacral kingship, and his other common epithet, lámhfhada ("of the long arm"), perpetuates an old Indo-European metaphor for a great king extending his rule and sovereignty far afield. His proper festival, called Lughnasadh ("Festival of Lugh") in Ireland, was celebrated—and still is at several locations—in August; at least two of the early festival sites, Carmun and Tailtiu, were the reputed burial places of goddesses associated with the fertility of the earth (as was, evidently, the consort Maia—or Rosmerta ("the Provider")—who accompanies "Mercury" on many Gaulish monuments). The Mabinogion is a collection of prose stories from medieval Welsh manuscripts. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Balar can mean: Isle of Balar Bay of Balar This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... In Irish mythology, Balor (Balar, Bolar) of the Evil Eye was a king of the Fomorians, a race of giants. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Tailtiu (Tailltiu, Tailte, Teia Tephi) is the name of a presumed goddess from Irish mythology and the town in County Meath that was named after her. ... Maia can mean several things: Maia (mythology), in Greek mythology, is the eldest of the Pleiades, the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione. ... In Continental Celtic mythology, Rosmerta was a goddess of fire, fertility and warmth, as well as flowers and death. ...

According to Irish tradition, Lug Lámfota ("Lug of the Long Arm") was the sole survivor of triplet brothers all having the same name. At least three dedications to Lugus in plural form, Lugoues, are known from the European continent, and the Celtic affinity for trinitarian forms would suggest that three gods were likewise envisaged in these dedications. Lug's son, or rebirth, according to Irish belief, was the great Ulster hero, Cú Chulainn ("Culann's Dog"). Lugus was a deity worshipped in Gaul, Britain, Ireland, Spain and other ancient Celtic regions. ... The adjective trinitarian is used in several senses: Ideas or things pertaining to the Holy Trinity A person or group adhering to the doctrine of Trinitarianism, which holds God to subsist in the form of the Holy Trinity The Trinitarian Order is a Catholic monastic order founded in 1198 by... Young Cúchulainn, 1912 illustration by Stephen Reid. ...

In Wales, as Llew Llaw Gyffes ("Llew of the Dexterous Hand"), he was also believed to have had a strange birth. His mother was the virgin goddess Arianrhod ("Silver Wheel"). When her uncle, the great magician Math, tested her virginity by means of a wand of chastity, she at once gave birth to a boy child, who was instantly carried off by his uncle Gwydion and reared by him. Arianrhod then sought repeatedly to destroy her son, but she was always prevented by Gwydion's powerful magic; she was forced to give her son a name and provide him with arms; finally, as his mother had denied him a wife, Gwydion created a woman for him from flowers. In Welsh mythology, Llew Llaw Gyffes was born a blob, a son of Arianrhod and brother of Dylan. ... In Welsh mythology, Arianrhod (silver wheel) was a daughter of Beli and Don. ... Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, space and change. ... In Welsh mythology, Gwydion is a magician appearing prominantly in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogion and the ancient poem Cad Goddeu. ... In Welsh mythology, Arianrhod (silver wheel) was a daughter of Beli and Don. ...

The variety of the attributes of Lugh Samildánach ("Skilled in All the Arts") and the extent to which his calendar festival Lughnasadh on August 1 was celebrated in Celtic lands indicate that he was one of the most powerful and impressive of all the ancient Celtic deities. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Cults of tribalism, lordly power and thunderous force

Teutates, also spelled Toutates (Celtic: "God of the People"), seems to have been an important Celtic deity, one of three mentioned by the Roman poet Lucan in the 1st century AD, the other two being Esus ("Lord") and Taranis ("Thunderer"). According to later commentators, victims sacrificed to Teutates were killed by being plunged headfirst into a vat filled with an unspecified liquid, which may have been ale, a favourite drink of the Celts. Teutates was identified with both the Roman Mercury (Greek Hermes) and Mars (Greek Ares). He is also known from dedications in Britain, where his name was written Toutates. The Irish Tuathal Techtmar, one of the legendary conquerors of Ireland, has a name that comes from an earlier form, *Teuto-valos ("Ruler of the People"); he may have been an eponymous deity of the district that he is reputed to have conquered, but he was probably just another manifestation of the great god Teutates. In Continental Brythonic mythology, especially among the Essuvi of Gaul, Esus or Hesus (lord or master) was a god of agriculture, war and commerce. ... In Celtic mythology Taranis was a god of thunder worshipped in Gaul and Britain and mentioned, along with Esus and Toutatis, by the Roman poet Lucan in his epic poem Pharsalia. ... This article treats Mercury in cult practice and in archaic Rome. ... Hermes bearing the infant Dionysus, by Praxiteles Hermēs (pronounced HUR-mees; Greek: Έρμης: pile of marker stones), in Greek mythology, is the god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of orators, literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures and invention and... Amongst the findings from the Opportunity rover is the presence of hematite on Mars in the form of small spheres on the Meridiani Planum. ... This article is about Ares, the Greek god of war. ...

The Gaulish god "Mars" illustrates vividly the difficulty of equating individual Roman and Celtic deities. Of two later commentators on Lucan's text, the famous passage in Lucan's Bellum civile mentioning the bloody sacrifices offered to the three Celtic gods Teutates, Esus, and Taranis, one identifies Teutates with Mercury, the other with Mars. The probable explanation of this apparent confusion, which is paralleled elsewhere, is that the Celtic gods are not rigidly compartmentalized in terms of function. Thus "Mercury" as the god of sovereignty may function as a warrior, while "Mars" may function as protector of the tribe, so that either one may plausibly be equated with Teutates. Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (November 3, AD 39-April 30, 65), better known in English as Lucan, was a Roman poet, and is one of the outstanding figures of the Silver Latin period. ... Toutatis or Teutates, ancient god of Celts and Gauls, whose name means father of the tribe. ... In Continental Brythonic mythology, especially among the Essuvi of Gaul, Esus or Hesus (lord or master) was a god of agriculture, war and commerce. ... In Celtic mythology Taranis was a god of thunder worshipped in Gaul and Britain and mentioned, along with Esus and Toutatis, by the Roman poet Lucan in his epic poem Pharsalia. ...

Cult of radiance or healing

The problem of identification is still more pronounced in the case of the Gaulish "Apollo," for some of his 15 or more epithets may refer to separate deities. The solar connotations of Belenus (from Celtic: *bel-, "shining," "radiant" or "brilliant") would have supported the identification with the Greco-Roman Apollo, or, if that etymology does not hold up, the healing attributes of the same (from Proto-Celtic *belen- "henbane", "intoxicating herb") still suggest his similarity to that Greek deity. Several of his epithets, such as Grannus and Borvo (which are associated etymologically with the notions of "boiling" and "heat," respectively), connect him with healing and especially with the therapeutic powers of thermal and other springs, an area of religious belief that retained much of its ancient vigour in Celtic lands throughout the Middle Ages and even to the present time. Statue of Apollo at the British Museum Apollo (Greek: Απόλλων, Apóllōn; Απελλων) is a god in Greek and Roman mythology, the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Artemis (goddess of the hunt), one of the most important and many-sided of the Olympian divinities. ... In Celtic mythology, Belenus (also Belinus, Belenos, Belinos, Belinu, Bellinus, Belus, Bel) was a deity worshipped in Gaul, Britain and Celtic areas of Italy and Austria. ... In Celtic mythology, Grannus (also Gramnos, Gramnnos) was a god of healing and mineral springs. ... In Celtic mythology, Borvo (to boil), also Bormo, Bormanus, was a deity worshipped in Gaul. ...

Cult of youthful masculinity

Maponos ("Divine Son" or "Divine Youth") is attested in Gaul but occurs mainly in northern Britain. He appears in medieval Welsh literature as Mabon, son of Modron (that is, of Matrona, "Divine Mother"), and he evidently figured in a myth of the infant god carried off from his mother when three nights old. His name survives in Arthurian romance under the forms Mabon, Mabuz, and Mabonagrain. His Irish equivalent was Mac ind Óg ("Young Son" or "Young Lad"), known also as Oenghus or Angus, who dwelt in Bruigh na Bóinne, the great Neolithic, and therefore pre-Celtic, passage grave of Newgrange (or Newgrange House). He was the son of Dagda (or Daghda), chief god of the Irish, and of Boann, the personified sacred river of Irish tradition. In the literature the Divine Son tends to figure in the role of trickster and lover. In Celtic mythology, Maponos or Maponus (divine son) was a god of youth known mainly in northern Britain but also in Gaul. ... This article is about the American NeoPagan festival Mabon. ... In Welsh mythology, Modron (divine mother) was a daughter of Avalloc, derived from the Gaul goddess Dea Matrona. ... Angus (Aonghas in Gaelic) is one of the traditional counties and also one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland and a Lieutenancy area. ... Newgrange, Ireland Newgrange, one of the passage tombs of the Brú na Bóinne complex in County Meath, is the most famous of all Irish prehistoric sites. ... The Dagda is an important god of Irish mythology. ... In Irish mythology, Boann or Boand (white cow) was the goddess of the river Boyne. ...

Cult of thermal spring-water

There are dedications to "Minerva" in Britain and throughout the Celtic areas of the Continent. At Bath Minerva was identified with the goddess Sulis, whose cult there centred on the thermal springs. Through the plural form Suleviae, found at Bath and elsewhere. Minerva was a Roman goddess of crafts and wisdom. ... Bath is a city in South West England most famous for its baths fed by three hot springs. ... In Celtic mythology, Sulis is the local goddess of the thermal springs that still feed the spa baths at Bath, which the Romans called Aquae Sulis (the waters of Sulis). Her name appears on inscriptions at Bath, but nowhere else. ... In Celtic mythology, Sulis is the local goddess of the thermal springs that still feed the spa baths at Bath, which the Romans called Aquae Sulis (the waters of Sulis). Her name appears on inscriptions at Bath, but nowhere else. ...

Cult of impressiveness

Ogmios (from Celtic *Ogmio- ‘furrow-maker,’ ‘impresser.’) was apparently a Celtic embodiment of ‘impressiveness’ both literal, as with the impressing action of ploughing and carving symbols, and figurative, as with the impressive nature of eloquence and prowess in warfare. In Gaul, he was identified with the Roman Hercules. He was portrayed as an old man with swarthy skin and armed with a bow and club. He was also a god of eloquence, and in that aspect he was represented as drawing along a company of men whose ears were chained to his tongue. Ogmios was a Gaulish deity, usually depicted as a bald old man with a bow and club who leads an apparently happy band of men with chains attached to their ears and tongues. ...

Ogmios' Irish equivalent was Ogma, whose Herculean, warlike aspect was also stressed. In Irish tradition he was impressively portrayed as a swarthy man whose battle ardour was so great that he had to be controlled by chains held by other warriors until the right moment. Ogham script, an Irish writing system dating from the 4th century AD, seems to have been named after him, a fitting association for a god of eloquence. Impressiveness being an aspect of eloquence, he was seen as a psychopomp, presumably by association with words spoken at funerary rituals. OGMA-Indústria Aeronáutica de Portugal, S.A., founded in 1918, is a major representative of the Portuguese Aviation Industry, dedicated to aircraft and aircraft component maintenance, repair and manufacturing. ... Ogham (Old Irish Ogam) was an alphabet used primarily to represent Gaelic languages. ... Many sets of religious beliefs have a particular spirit, deity, demon or angel whose responsibility is to escort newly-deceased souls to the afterlife, such as Heaven or Hell. ...

Cult of exaltedness

Brigantia (Celtic: Highness), known variously Brighid, Bride, or Brigit seems to have embodied Exaltedness and so was the goddess of all such things considered exalted as the poetic arts, crafts, prophecy, healing, wisdom, homely fires, traditional learning, rivers, hills and divination; she was the equivalent of the Roman goddess Minerva (Greek Athena). In Ireland this Brigit was one of three goddesses of the same name, daughters of the Dagda, the great god of that country. Her two sisters were connected with healing and with the craft of the smith. Brigit was worshipped by the semi-sacred poetic class, the filid, who also had certain priestly functions. In Irish mythology, Brigid or Brighid (exalted one) was the daughter of Dagda (and therefore one of the Tuatha de Danaan) and wife of Bres of the Fomorians. ... Minerva was a Roman goddess of crafts and wisdom. ... Athena from the east pediment of the Afea temple in Aegina After a sculpture of Athena at the Louvre. ... The Dagda is an important god of Irish mythology. ... See Fíli and Kíli for the dwarf appearing in The Hobbit. ...

Brigit was taken over into Christianity as St. Brigit, but she retained her strong pastoral associations. Her feast day was February 1, which was also the date of the pagan festival of Imbolc, the season when the ewes came into milk. St. Brigit had a great establishment at Kildare in Ireland that was probably founded on a pagan sanctuary. Her sacred fire there burned continually; it was tended by a series of 19 nuns and by the saint herself every 20th day. Brigit still plays an important role in modern Scottish folk tradition, where she figures as the midwife of the Virgin Mary. Numerous holy wells are dedicated to her. Imbolc is one of the eight solar holidays, festivals or sabbats of the Neopagan wheel of the year, with some origins in Irish mythology and the pre-Christian Celtic calendar. ...

Brigantia, patron goddess of the Brigantes of northern Britain, is substantially the same goddess as Brigit. Her connection with water is shown by her invocation in Roman times as "the nymph goddess"; several rivers in Britain and Ireland are named after her. Her name is cognate with that of Briganti, Latin Brigantia and, as the tutelary goddess of the Brigantes of Britain, there is some onomastic evidence that her cult was known on the Continent, whence the Brigantes had migrated. The Brigantes were a British Celtic tribe which lived between Tyne and Humber. ... In Irish mythology, Brigid or Brighid (exalted one) was the daughter of Dagda (and therefore one of the Tuatha de Danaan) and wife of Bres of the Fomorians. ... The Brigantes were a British Celtic tribe which lived between Tyne and Humber. ... Onomastics (Onomatology) is the study of proper names of all kinds and the origins of names. ... The Brigantes were a British Celtic tribe which lived between Tyne and Humber. ...

Cult of Sucellos

The Gaulish Sucellos (or Sucellus), possibly meaning "the Good Striker," appears on a number of reliefs and statuettes with a mallet as his attribute. He has been equated with the Irish Dagda, "the Good God," also called Eochaidh Ollathair ("Eochaidh the Great Father"). A powerful and widely worshiped Celtic god, his iconographic symbols were usually his mallet and libation saucer, indicative of his powers of protection and provision. His Irish equivalent seeming to have been the Dagda, Sucellus was possibly one of the Gaulish gods who were equated by Julius Caesar with the Roman god Dis Pater, from whom, according to Caesar, all the Gauls believed themselves to be descended. Sucellus was sometimes portrayed with a cask of liquid or with a drinking vessel, which may indicate that he was one of the gods who presided at the otherworld feast. He was also often accompanied by a dog. In Irish forms of his cult, Eochaid Ollathair ("Eochaid the All-Father") , or In Ruad Ro-fhessa ("Red [or Mighty] One of Great Wisdom"), the Dagda ( Celtic"Good God") is one of the leaders of the Irish pantheon, the Tuatha Dé Danann ("People of the Goddess Danu"). The Dagda was credited with many powers and possessed a caldron that was never empty, fruit trees that were never barren, and two pigs—one live and the other perpetually roasting. He also had a huge club that had the power both to kill men and to restore them to life. With his harp, which played by itself, he summoned the seasons. The Dagda mated with the sinister war goddess Morrígan. The Dagda is an important god of Irish mythology. ... Sucellus was the god of agriculture, forests and alcoholic drinks in Lusitanian mythology. ... The Dagda is an important god of Irish mythology. ... The Dagda is an important god of Irish mythology. ... Sucellus was the god of agriculture, forests and alcoholic drinks in Lusitanian mythology. ... A bust of Julius Caesar. ... Roman mythology, the mythological beliefs of the people of Ancient Rome, can be considered as having two parts. ... For the French nuclear ballistic missile system, see Hades (missile). ... Sucellus was the god of agriculture, forests and alcoholic drinks in Lusitanian mythology. ... A Pantheon (Greek: παν, pan, all + θεόν, theon, of the gods), is a set of all the gods of a particular religion or mythology, such as the gods of Hinduism, Greek mythology, Norse mythology. ... The Tuatha Dé Danann (peoples of the goddess Danu or erroneously tribe of Dan) were the fifth group of inhabitants of Ireland according to the Lebor Gabála Érenn (Book of Invasions) tradition. ...

Cults of maritime forces

Whereas Ireland had its god of the sea, Manannán mac Lir ("Manannan, son of the Ocean"), and a more shadowy predecessor called Tethra, there is no clear evidence for a Gaulish sea-god, perhaps because the original central European homeland of the Celts had been landlocked. In Irish mythology, Manannan mac Lir was a sea and weather god. ... In Celtic mythology, King Tethra of the Fomorians ruled Mag Mell after dying in the First Battle of Mag Tuireadh. ...

The Irish sea god Manannan, from whom the name of the Isle of Man allegedly derived. Manannán traditionally ruled an island paradise, protected sailors, and provided abundant crops. He gave immortality to the gods through his swine, which returned to life when killed; those who ate of the swine never died. He wore impenetrable armour and, carrying an invincible sword, rode over the waves in a splendid chariot. He and his Welsh equivalent, Manawydan, brother of the god Brân, are apparently derived from an early unattested Celtic deity, *Manavos "Hand God," or perhaps even from the Proto-Indo-European sacrificer-god, *Manu "man". In Irish mythology, Manannan mac Lir was a sea and weather god. ... In Welsh mythology, Manawydan, son of Llyr, is the equivalent of the Irish Manannan mac Lir and a presumed sea god. ...

Llyr or Lir, divine embodiment of the ‘Tidal Sea’ was depicted as the leader of one of two warring families of gods; according to one interpretation, the Children of Llyr were the powers of darkness, constantly in conflict with the Children of Dôn, the powers of light. In Welsh tradition, Llyr and his son Manawydan, like the Irish gods Lir and Manannán, were associated with the sea. Llyr's other children included Brân (Bendigeidfran), a god of bards and poetry; Branwen, wife of the sun god Matholwch, king of Ireland; and Creidylad (in earlier myths, a daughter of Lludd). Hearing of Matholwch's maltreatment of Branwen, Brân and Manawydan (Manannan) led an expedition to avenge her. Brân was killed in the subsequent war, which left only seven survivors, among them Manawydan and Pryderi, son of Pwyll. Manawydan married Pryderi's mother, Rhiannon, and was thereafter closely associated with them. In Celtic mythology, Lir (the sea) was the god of the sea, father of Manannan mac Lir, Bran, Branwen and Manawydan by Penarddun and a son of Danu and Beli. ... In Celtic mythology, Lir (the sea) was the god of the sea, father of Manannan mac Lir, Bran, Branwen and Manawydan by Penarddun and a son of Danu and Beli. ...

Cults of craftsmanship

The insular literatures show that certain deities were associated with particular crafts. Caesar makes no mention of a Gaulish Vulcan, though insular sources reveal that there was one and that he enjoyed high status. His name in Irish, Goibhniu, and Welsh, Gofannon, derived from the Celtic word for smith (Celtic: *Gobanos Divine Smith). The weapons that Goibhniu forged with his fellow craft gods, the wright Luchta or the metalworker Creidhne or Credne (from Celtic *Cerdanos Crafting God), were unerringly accurate and lethal. He was also known for his power of healing by suture, and as Gobbán the Wright, a popular or hypocoristic form of his name, he was renowned as a wondrous builder. Gofannon-Goibniu, as an embodiment of smelting fire formed a rational trinity with the embodiments of carpentry (Luchta the wright) and metallurgy (Creidhne the metalworker). Goibhniu was also the provider of the sacred otherworld feast, the Fled Goibhnenn; he allegedly brewed the special ale thought to confer immortality on those who drank it. In Christian times he became known as Gobbán Saer (Gobbán the Joiner), legendary builder of churches and other structures; as such he is still remembered in modern Celtic folk tradition. His Welsh equivalent, Gofannon, figured in the Mabinogion (a collection of medieval Welsh tales). It was believed that his help being vital in cleansing the plough at the end of the furrows commemorates an ancient ritual in which fire was used to symbolically 'purify' the plough by singeing before further use. In Irish mythology Goibniu or Goibhniu was a son of Brigid and Tuireann and the smith of the Tuatha Dé Danann. ... In the Welsh mythology, Govannon of Gofannon was a smith and the son of the goddess Don. ... In Celtic mythology, Luchtaine (or Luchta) was a son of Brigid and Tuireann and a god of craftwork and smithing. ... In Irish mythology, Creidhne (or Credne) was a son of Brigid and Tuireann and the artificer of the Tuatha Dé Danann, working in bronze, brass and gold. ... In Irish mythology, Creidhne (or Credne) was a son of Brigid and Tuireann. ... The Mabinogion is a collection of prose stories from medieval Welsh manuscripts. ...

Cults of agricultural gods

Medieval Welsh also mentions Amaethon (from Celtic *Ambaxtonos "great ploughman"), evidently a god of agriculture, of whom little is known. In Welsh mythology, Amaethon was a god of agriculture, a son of the goddess Don. ...

Cult of terrestrial bounty

Danu, also spelled Dôn or Dana (from Celtic *Danoa ‘Giving Goddess’ ) was the earth-mother goddess or female principle, who was honoured under various names from eastern Europe to Ireland. The mythology that surrounded her was contradictory and confused; mother goddesses of earlier peoples were ultimately identified with her, as were many goddesses of the Celts themselves. Possibly a goddess of fertility, of wisdom, and of wind, she was believed to have suckled the gods. Her name was borne by the legendary Tuatha Dé Danann ("People of the Goddess Danu"), the Irish company of gods, who may be considered either as distinct individuals or as extensions of the goddess and who survive in Irish lore as the fairy folk, skilled in magic. In Irish mythology, Danu or Dana was the mother goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann (peoples of the goddess Danu), although little is recorded about her as a character. ...

In Celtic polytheism, the earth-mother was an eternally fruitful source of everything. Unlike the variety of female fertility deities called mother goddesses (q.v.), the Earth Mother is not a specific source of vitality who must periodically undergo sexual intercourse. She is simply the mother; there is nothing separate from her. All things come from her, return to her, and are her. It has been suggested that Great Mother be merged into this article or section. ...

The most archaic form of the Earth Mother transcends all specificity and sexuality. She simply produces everything, inexhaustibly, from herself. She may manifest herself in any form. In other mythological systems she becomes a more limited figure. She becomes the feminine Earth, consort of the masculine sky; she is fertilized by the sky in the beginning and brings forth terrestrial creation. Even more limited reflections of the Earth Mother occur in those agricultural traditions in which she is simply the Earth and its fertility.

Cult of the power of boggy terrain

Some of Danu's alises, Anu, Anann are apparently derived from the Celtic *Hanona, meaning ‘Bog or Bread Goddess.’ According to classical authors, the Roman Iron Age people of northern Europe offered human sacrifices to celebrate military victories, to gain relief from illness, and to execute people as punishment for crimes. Many of those found in the bogs died violent deaths. Over the past centuries, remains of many hundreds of people--men, women, and children--have come to light during peat cutting activities in north-western Europe, especially in Ireland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, northern Germany, and Denmark. These are the "bog bodies." The individual bog bodies show a great degree of variation in their state of preservation, from skeletons, to well-preserved complete bodies, to isolated heads and limbs. They range in date from 8000 B.C. to the early medieval period. Most date from the centuries around the beginning of our era. We do not know exactly how many bog bodies have been found--many have disappeared since their discovery. Clearly this must have been an aboriginal Pre-Celtic cult that was continued by the Celtic peoples. Bogs were a valuable source of peat, game, herbs, grazing and bog iron but may also have seemed mysterious environments, apparently neither land nor water, where the bodies of the dead were preserved and full of mist and flaring will o’ the wisps with a tendency to make victims of humans who had the misfortune of sinking in the quick mud. The bog then would have seemed to have power over human fortunes and so would have demanded high sacrifices both to redeem the gifts of resources and to appease its apparent anger. Anu may have represented the ambivalent boggy aspect of the earth-mother. In Irish mythology, Danu or Dana was the mother goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann (peoples of the goddess Danu), although little is recorded about her as a character. ... In Sumerian mythology and later for Assyrians and Babylonians, Anu (see also An) was a sky-god, the god of heaven, lord of constellations, king of gods, spirits and demons, and dwelt in the highest heavenly regions. ... In Irish mythology, Anann (Anu, Ana) was a mother goddess. ... Human sacrifice was practiced in many ancient cultures. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Bog bodies, also known as bog people, are preserved human bodies found in sphagnum bogs. ... Look up Bog on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Virgin boreal acid bogs at Browns Lake Bog, Ohio. ... Peat in Lewis, Scotland Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetable matter. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... A herb (pronounced hurb in Commonwealth English and urb in American English) is a plant grown for culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual value. ... Grazing is the regular consumption of part of one organism without killing it by another organism. ... Bog iron refers to impure iron deposits that develop in bogs or swamps by the chemical or biochemical oxidation of iron carried in the solutions. ... Dramatic morning mist Mist is a phenomenon of a liquid in small droplets floating through air. ... The will o the wisps or ignis fatuus (fools fire) is the phenomenon of ghostly lights sometimes seen at night or in twilight hovering over damp ground in still air, often over bogs. ... In Sumerian mythology and later for Assyrians and Babylonians, Anu (see also An) was a sky-god, the god of heaven, lord of constellations, king of gods, spirits and demons, and dwelt in the highest heavenly regions. ...

Cult of maternity

One notable feature of Celtic sculpture is the frequent conjunction of male deity and female consort, such as "Mercury" and Rosmerta, or Sucellos and Nantosuelta. Essentially these reflect the coupling of the protecting god of tribe or nation with the mother-goddess who ensured the fertility of the land. It is in fact impossible to distinguish clearly between the individual goddesses and these mother-goddesses, Matres or Matronae, who figure so frequently in Celtic iconography, often, as in Irish tradition, in triadic form. Both types of goddesses are concerned with fertility and with the seasonal cycle of nature, and, on the evidence of insular tradition, both drew much of their power from the old concept of a great goddess who, like the Indian Aditi, was mother of all the gods. Welsh and Irish tradition also bring out the multifaceted character of the goddess, who in her various epiphanies or avatars assumes quite different and sometimes wholly contrasting forms and personalities. In Continental Celtic mythology, Rosmerta was a goddess of fire, fertility and warmth, as well as flowers and death. ... The Dagda is an important god of Irish mythology. ... In Continental Brythonic mythology, and especially in Gaul, Nantosuelta was a goddess of water and fertility. ... It has been suggested that Great Mother be merged into this article or section. ... A goddess, a female deity, contrasts with male deities, known as gods. A great many cultures have their own goddesses, sometimes alone, but more often as part of a larger pantheon that includes both of the conventional genders and in some cases even hermaphroditic deities. ... The Matres or Matronae were ancient deities venerated in northwestern Europe in Roman and earlier times. ... In Roman mythology, the Matronae (Latin for important mothers/ladies) were three mothering fertility goddesses of peace, children and serenity. ... In Hinduism, Aditi (limitless) is a goddess of the sky, consciousness, the past, the future and fertility. ...

The goddess is the Celtic reflex of the primordial mother who creates life and fruitfulness through her union with the universal father-god. Welsh and Irish tradition preserve many variations on a basic triadic relationship of divine mother, father, and son. The goddess appears, for example, in Welsh as Modron (from