[A]
ABANDINUS God of Unknown Affinities. (Romano-Celtic/British). The name appears in an inscription at
Godmanchester, Cambridge, England.
ABELLIO Tree god. (Roman-Celtic/Gallic). Known from inscriptions in the Garronne valley in
soutwestern France and thought to be associated with apple trees.
ABNOBA Forest and river goddess. (Romano-Celtic/Continental European). Known locally from the Black
Forest region in Germany. The name "Avon," associated with many rivers, derives from her name.
AED Cthonic underworld god. (Celtic/Irish). Known from inscriptions. Aed mac Lir, son of Lir and Aobh
was, according to tradition, turned into a swan by his stepmother, Aoife.
AENGUS also ANGUS OF THE BRUGH; OENGUS OF THE BRUIG; MAC OC; AENGUS OC God of youth, son of the
Dagda. (Celtic/Irish). Known period of worship: circa 500 B.C.E. or
earlier until Christianization circa 400 C.E. Center of worship: Brugh na
boinne (Valley of the Boyne). The son of the Dagda by "the wife of Elcmar" (one
of the kings of Tara) who may have been the goddess Boann, Aengus lived in the
valley of Boyne and was closely linked with the ancient funerary tumuli in the
region. According to legend, Aengus fell in love with a maiden whose identity he
sought in vain. As he wasted away, his father and mother made enquiries until
they located Caer, daughter of the king of Cannaught, who lived in Loch Bel
Dragon iin the shape of a swan with 150 attendant swans. Aengus eventually found
her and he also changed into a bird. In Ireland, Angus is the counterpart of
Cupid. Angus' kisses turn into singing birds, and the music he plays
irresistably draws all who hear.
AERICURA Chthonic underworld god. (Romano-Celtic). Known only from inscriptions.
AINE Obscure sky or sun goddess. (Celtic/Irish). May have an association with horses.
ALAISAGAE Minor goddesses. (Romano-Celtic/British). They aree identified at Houseteads
(Northumberland) in a shrine to Mars Thincsus.
ALAUNUS Local god. (Romano-Celtic/Continental European). Known from areas around Manheim
and Salzburg. The Romans syncretized him with Mercurius.
ALISANOS also ALISONUS; ALLISANUS Local Chthonic earth god. (Romano-Cletic/Gallic). known only from the inscription in the region of the Côte d'Or and associated with the land.
AMAETHON God of agriculture. (Celtic/Welsh). A son of Don and brother of Gwydion, he is known
from a limited number of Welsh texts and was engaged in a mythical battle
against the Arawn. Associated with plowing and husbandry. The modern Welsh name
for a farmer is amaethwr.
ANCAMNA Water goddess. (Romano-Celtic/Continental European). Known only from inscriptions at trier.
ANDARTA Fertility goddess. (Celtic/Gallic). Patron goddess of the Voconti tribe. Her name seems to
have derived either from artos (bear) or ar (plowed land), See also Andrasta.
ANDRASTA also ANDRASTE Goddess of war. (Romano-Celtic/British). The patron goddess of the Iceni tribe.
The warrior queen Boudicca is reportd to have prayed to her before battle and
she was the recipient of human sacrifice. Andrasta does not appear in Celtic
Gaul, though a diety call Andraste is mentioned by the Roman writer Dio Cassius.
The name may also be linked to the goddess Andarta.
ANEXTIOMARUS Local tribal deity. (Romano-Celtic/British). God of uncertain affinities but linked with Apollo.
ANU also ANA Chthonic mother goddess. (Celtic/Irish). Closely associated with fertility and the
primordial mother of the Tuatha de Danann. Twin hills near Killarney in
Munster are called "The Paps of Anu."
ARAWN Chthonic underworld god. (Celtic/Welsh). The leader of the phantom hunt seen chasing a white stag
with a pack of red-eared hounds. He equates with Gwyn ap Nudd, a similar diety
known in South Wales. His chief underworld opponent is Hafgan and he bribes
Pwyll, prince of Dyfed, to challenge Hafgan in exchange for a gift of
pigs.
ARDUINNA Goddess of forests and hunting. (Romano-Celtic/Continental European). Known only from
inscriptions and figurines in the Ardennes region. Depicted riding on the back
of a wild boar and presumed to be a guardian diety of boars. Identified by the
Romans with the goddess Diana.
ARIANRHOD Chthonic earth goddess. (Celtic/Welsh). "Silver Wheel," "High Fruitful Mother." One of the
Three Virgins of Britain, her palace is Caer Arianrhod, the Celtic name for the
Aurora Borealis. Responsible for initiation of souls in the otherworld in the
tower of Caer Sidi. Mentioned in the Mabinogion texts as the possible
daughter of Beli, consort of don and mother of Llew Llaw Gyffes and Dylan.
ARNEMETIA Water goddess. (Romano-Celtic/British). A deity known only from inscriptions.
ARTURIO OF MURI also ARTEMIS BRAURONIA Fertility goddess and guardian spirit of bears.
(Romano-Celtic/Continental European). Known only from inscriptions and
sculptures in the Berne region of Switzerland, she is linked with bears. A
bronze statue depicts her offering fruit to a bear. She seems to be a goddess of
prosperity and harvest. She became syncretized with the Roman god Mercury as
Mercury Artaios.
ARVERNUS Local tribal deity. (Celtic/Gallic). God of the Arverni.
AUFANIAE Collective name for a group of mother goddesses. (Romano-Celtic/Continental European). Known
only from votive inscriptions and largely restricted to the Rhineland.
AVETA Goddess of birth and midwifery. (Romano-Celtic/Gallic). Known mainly from clay figurines found at
Toulon-sur-Allier, France. The models show the goddess with infants at the
breast and apparently she is concerned especially with nursing mothers. The
figure is often accompanied by a small lapdog.
[B]
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.
BRIGHID also BRIGIT. Goddess of healing and craftsmanship, especially metalwork. Also a patron
of learning and poetry. In Wales she is Caridwen,
who possesses the cauldron of knowledge and inspiration. The Celts so loved
Brighid that they could not abandon her even when they became Christians, and so
made Brighid a Christian saint.
[C]
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.
CERNUNNOSHorned god of virility. Cernunnos wears
the torc (neck-ring) and is ever in the company of a ram-headed serpent and a
stag. 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.
[D]
DAGDA Earth and father god. Dagda
possesses a bottomless cauldron of plenty and rules the seasons with the music
of his harp. With his mighty club Dagda can slay nine men with a single blow,
and with its small end he can bring them back to life. 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.
[E]
EPONA Horse goddess. Usually portrayed as riding a mare,
sometimes with a foal. Roman legionaires, deeply impressed with Celtic
horsemanship, took up the worship of Epona themselves and eventually imported
her cult to Rome itself.
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.
[F]
[G]
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.
[H]
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[L]
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.
[M]
MACHA &qout;Crow.&qout; 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 &qout;Drunk Woman.&qout; 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, 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.
[N]
NEMAIN &qout;Panic.&qout; A war goddess.
NUADHU also NUD, NODENS, LUD. &qout;Nuadhu of the silver arm.&qout;
God of healing and water; his name suggests &qout;wealth-bringer&qout; and &qout;cloud-maker.&qout;
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.
[O]
OGMIOS also OGMA &qout;Sun Face.&qout; 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.
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[S]
SUCELLUS Guardian of forests, patron of agriculture. His
consort is Nantosvelta, whose name suggests brooks and streams. Sometimes
considered synonomous with Cernunnos or Dagda.
[T]
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
Dagda from which no man ever goes away hungry.
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