As a goddess of the moon, she also became a deity of agriculture and cared for the crops. Celtic mythology frequently associates Rhiannon with horses and songbirds. Rules Over:  Healing, seasonal rites, commemoration. Replica of the incomplete Pillar of the Boatmen, from Paris, with four gods, including the only depiction of Cernunnos to name him (left, 2nd from top). She was a very complex goddess. Lord of the winter, harvest, land of the dead, the sky, animals, mountains, lust, powers of destruction, regeneration. Crone Goddess associated with Samhain. He is associated with jackassess and with the Roman God Mars. She has insular analogues in the Welsh Rhiannon and in the Irish Édaín Echraidhe (echraidhe, "horse riding") and Macha, who outran the fastest steeds. Rules Over:  Compassion, knowledge of when vengeance is not right or just or just none of your business. According to later commentators, victims sacrificed to Teutates were killed by being plunged headfirst into a vat filled with an unspecified liquid. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Goddess of healing, medicinal plants and keeper of the springs. On the Gundestrup Cauldron and sometimes elsewhere, Cernunnos, or a similar figure, is accompanied by a ram-headed serpent. We’re the only Pop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives. [5], The Celtic sky-god too had variations in the way he was perceived and his cult expressed. 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. Scholars frequently identify this wheel/sky god with Taranis, who is mentioned by Lucan. In Romano-Celtic tradition Belenus (traditionally derived from a Celtic root *belen- ‘bright’,[10] though other etymologies have been convincingly proposed[11]) is found chiefly in southern France and northern Italy. Áine is the Celtic Goddess of love, the sun, fertility, water, summer and sovereignty. Her name is derived from the word arachnid. Rules Over:  Faery contact, sea. Many books and videos show depictions of vast work forces hewing blocks of stone in the hot desert sun and carefully setting them into place. Goddess of streams. Prehistoric Spanish Massacre Rewrites the History of War in Europe, 7.2 million-Year-Old Pre-Human Fossil Suggests Mankind Arose in Europe NOT Africa. He was worshipped at a number of Treveran sanctuaries, the most splendid of which was at the tribal capital of Trier itself. Some identify her as a brighter side of the famous goddess Morrigan. Epona, the horse-goddess, was invoked by devotees living as far apart as Britain, Rome and Bulgaria. Peter Schrijver, "On Henbane and Early European Narcotics", Zair, Nicholas, Reflexes of the Proto-Indo-European Laryngeals in Celtic, Brill, 2012, p. 120, Simon Andrew Stirling, The Grail: Relic of an Ancient Religion, 2015. This story shows that Aine was also a powerful goddess of sovereignty. She is associated with spider web, sulphur, thread, yarn. Yet he was also exported to other areas: Lenus has altars set up to him in Chedworth in Gloucestershire and Caerwent in Wales.[6]. In particular, it has been noted by scholars such as Sjoestedt that it is inappropriate to try to fit Insular Celtic deities into a Roman format as such attempts seriously distort the Insular deities. At Ancient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. The Druids knew him as Hu Gadarn, the Horned God of Fertility. She is honored for her ability to grant abundance and fertility over the land. Rules Over:  Fertility, animals, strenght, courage. Rules Over:  See The Morrigu. Serpent Goddess brought to common awareness though the writing of French author Rabelais. It was thought that true curses could be cast with a dog’s help. For that infraction, she was transformed into a crane by the elder deities. The spring he ruled had great healing powers. Goddess of death and disease who is often equated with the Greek Goddess Hecate. Learn how your comment data is processed. Her name means bright as she lights up the dark. Some believe she is an eastern Scottish version of the Goddess Brigit. He also presents a neat schematic equation of god and function that is quite foreign to the vernacular literary testimony. Your email address will not be published. Aine (Irish) – Goddess of love, growth, cattle and light. As a deity, she granted power to good people, but also took it away from the bad ones. The Frightening Discovery of the Mount Owen Claw, 17 Out-of-Place Artifacts Said to Suggest High-Tech Prehistoric Civilizations Existed, Meteorite Found in Siberia Contains Naturally Impossible Crystal, The discovery of a mass baby grave under Roman bathhouse in Ashkelon, Israel, Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? This image comes from Germany, about 200 AD. More recently, in the past few hundred years, she has been seen as a Faery Queen and assocaited with Beltane. Pre-Roman Celtic art produced few images of deities, and these are hard to identify, lacking inscriptions, but in the post-conquest period many more images were made, some with inscriptions naming the deity. 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. Stories often told of the goddess being raped and murdered, as well as facing many other difficult situations. gareth wray / Getty Images. [2], Lugh is said to have instituted the festival of Lughnasadh, celebrated on 1 August, in commemoration of his foster-mother Tailtiu. Queen of the heavens and goddess of air and sea. [13] She indeed might have been the de facto solar deity of the Celts. In modern times she is called a “witch” or “evil faery.” 11. Áine – Midsummer’s Celtic Faerie Goddess Airmid – Celtic Goddess of Healing and Herbal Lore Alcyone – Kingfisher Goddess… Aphrodite – Greek Goddess of Love, Beauty, Pleasure and Procreation… Artemis – Hellenic Goddess of the Hunt… Athena – Greek Goddess of Wisdom, War, Justice and Art Brighid – Goddess and Saint…. He is also known from dedications in Britain, where his name was written Toutatis. Rules Over:  Wisdom, overcoming enemies, creation, protection, knowledge, divination. Associated with Imbolc. The turbulent history of medieval Europe always called for abled and skilled warriors. Often takes the form of a swan. Rules Over:  Time, new beginnings, life cycles, wishes, protection of birds, divination, inspiration of self. Rules Over:  Fertility, passion, sexual activities, trees, protection, knowledge, creativity, growth, forests. The epithet is sometimes translated as "Great Horseman" or "possessing a great horse". Welsh Bards called themselves Cerddorion (sons of Cerridwen). Brighid was so loved that she was made a saint when Christianity became onset. (1911) ( Public Domain ). Rules Over:  Harvest, fertility, prosperity. The Lady of the Lake is also said to have been the foster mother of Sir Lancelot, one of Arthurs knights, also a Breton addition to the tale. ‘May Queen’. She stole an alphabet of knowledge from the deities to give to humankind. Esus appears in two continental monuments, including the Pillar of the Boatmen, as an axeman cutting branches from trees. 3. And while some people may seem content with the story as it stands, our view is that there exists countless mysteries, scientific anomalies and surprising artifacts that have yet to be discovered and explained. In many of their tales, their having children is only mentioned in passing, and is not a central facet of their identity. A minor sun Goddess in her own right before the time when the Celts banished the majority of their sun images to male deities and their moon images to female deities. Rules Over:  Defenses, protection. Irish History, Culture, Heritage, Language, Mythology. Later, the Romans identified him with Mercury. Her symbol was a white sow. Sulis Minerva (Celtic, Roman): When the Romans occupied the British Isles, they took the aspects of the Celtic sun goddess, Sulis, and blended her with their own goddess of wisdom, Minerva. A major goddess in ancient Irish mythology, Brigid’s association are many. MacKay’s legend is possibly a reworking of an old story about a fire God. Beyond the Pyramid Ramp: Unravelling Egypt’s Most Elusive Enigma. Celtic lore credits … This quick introduction covers a few Celtic goddesses. [23] An episode in the Irish tale of the Battle of Magh Tuireadh is a dramatic exposition of Lugh's claim to be master of all the arts and crafts. Nothing is known about him today though he may have later surfaced as Borvo, a Breton God of hot springs. Minor Sun Goddess who is thought to be the daughter of the king of the region known as Corco Loidhe. I have already bought two long flowing skirts and I’m learning to dance at a womens drum circle in San Francisco, I’m so grateful to Aine for guiding me on this incredible path. He was a shape-shifter. Regenerates the dead and brings them to life again. Áine became pregnant and gave birth to a son, the second Earl of Desmond. Keeper of the silver wheel of stars, a symbol of time and karma. Because of this Aine saw the king unfit to rule and took away his sovereignty over the land. Beira is also a Winter Goddess. They are arranged so as to suggest some linguistic or functional associations among the ancient gods and literary figures; needless to say, all such associations are subject to continual scholarly revision and disagreement. It suggests that she stepped with such grace and delicateness that white flowers grew in her footsteps. Mount Shasta: Spirits and Danger on a Sacred California Mountain, Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms, Pharaoh Akhenaten: An Alternative View of the Heretic King, Ancient Signs of Pride and Power: Unravelling the Secrets Behind Irish and Celtic Symbols, A Tale of Two Brigids: a Celtic Goddess and a Christian Saint, Oshun, African Goddess of Love and Sweet Waters, Aquae Sulis: The Epitome of Roman Syncretization with the Celts, The Celtic Goddess Epona that Rode Swiftly Across the Ancient Roman Empire, Boudicca, the Celtic Queen that unleashed fury on the Romans, http://www.angelfire.com/journal/ofapoet/aine.html, http://www.shee-eire.com/magic&mythology/fairylore/Queens/Aine/Page1.htm, https://feminismandreligion.com/2013/07/31/aine-summer-goddess-of-love-light-and-fertility-by-judith-shaw/, Return of the Ancient Gods: The Resurgence of Paganism, Skeleton Of Irish Hero, Red Hugh O’Donnell, To Be Exhumed In Spain, Viking-Era Jewelry: Revealing an Intricate Cultural History of the Ancient Norsemen, Tests Underway to Solve Enigma of Naked Cerne Abbas Giant, The Celtic Ogham: An Ancient Tree Alphabet that May Disappear Before Showing its Roots, Gallowglass Mercenaries – The Notorious Norse-Gael Soldiers of Fortune. She is associated with midsummer and the sun. He was also God of the wheel as well as God of Fertility and a Sky God. [13], Brighid has at times been argued as having had a solar nature, fitting her role as a goddess of fire and light.[13]. Rules Over:  Faery contact, prosperity spells. Holly King represents the waning year, and battles the Oak King at Midsummer (probably at Beltane sometime in the past) for rulership. The Bard, Taliesin, founder of their craft was said to be born of Cerridwen and to have tasted a potent from her magick cauldron of inspiration. [citation needed], The British Sulis has a name cognate with that of other Indo-European solar deities such as the Greek Helios and Indic Surya,[17][18] and bears some solar traits like the association with the eye as well as epithets associated with light. One notable feature of Gaulish and Romano-Celtic sculpture is the frequent appearance of male and female deities in pairs, such as Rosmerta and ‘Mercury’, Nantosuelta and Sucellos, Sirona and Apollo Grannus, Borvo and Damona, or Mars Loucetius and Nemetona.