The Celtic Deities
Here is a list of celtic dieties,
I'm sure most of you have
these but if you do not, here is a short list.
Nuada: The gaelic Zeus;called "he of silver hand"; killed by the Fomor, Balor early in history of the gods.
Camulus: Of the invincible sword; the name signifies "heaven";god of war and sky; akin to mars, only more savage.
The war Goddess: Fea,
the hateful; Nemon, the venomous; Badb. the fury; Macha, the battle goddess
who collects the
heads of her victems for her "acorn crop."
Morrigan (Morrigu):
The great goddess in her Virago aspect; as chief deity of battle, she likes
to take the form of the
hoodie or carrion crow; her name derives from Mor Righ Anu, meaning "the
great queen."
Dagda: God of earth;
"good god"; he posses a living harp and the "undry," a cauldron,
where everyone find sustenance in
proportion to his/her merits; a formidable fighter, but a god of simple tastes
who dresses in a brown tunic, hooded
cape and leather boots.
Boann: The Dadga's wife;
an Eve figure; The Boyne River is named for her; she and the Dagda have many
famous children
including Bridgit, Angus, Mider, Ogma, and Bodb the Red.
Brigit: Goddess of the
hearth, fire and poetry; best loved of all deities; candlemas is held in her
honor; she is the
only goddess to survive into the Christian pantheon of saints.
Angus (Angus Mac Oc):
His name means "son of the young"; A Gaelic Eros known for his physical
beauty and golden hair;
his kisses become birds.
Mider: God of the underworld;
his abode is Falga, the Isle of Man; Etain (Ogma's daughter) became his wife,
but she was
taken away by Angus.
Ogma (Cermait): The
"honey-mouthed" king of the bards and god of eloquence and literature;
Ogham script is named for
him; he married Etain, daughter of Diancecht.
Bodb the Red: He succeeds his father as king of the gods.
Ler: The gaelic Poseidon; married to Aebh, Bodb's daughter,
with whom he has four childrenl after she
dies he marries Aeife, who out of jealousy turns the children into swans.
Manannan: Ler's son;
"God of the headlands"; patron of sailors and merchants; his famed
possessions include the
yellow shaft, the red javelin, the boat, the wave-sweeper, a horse called Splendid
Mane, and three swords named retaliator,
great fury, and little fury; he has the gift of in exhaustable life.
Goibniu: The forger
of weapons; the Gaelic Hephaestus; he posesses a potion that enables those who
drink it to become
invisable; he also is called the "devine architect."
Diancecht: God of medicine;
he once saved Ireland; married to Morrigan; among their children are Etan, who
marries
Ogma, and Cian, who marries Ethniu, daughter of Balor, the Fomor.
Lugh: Son of Cian and
Ethniu called the "long-handed" or "far-shooter"; Sun god
par excellence; he possesses a magic
spear and magic hound; The Milky Way is called "Lugh's Chain"; he
is the "master of all art," an accomplished
carpenter, smith, warrior, harpist, poet, physician, cup bearer, and bronze-worker.
The opponents of Tuatha de Dannan are
the children of Domnu, which signifies "under-sea." Offsptring of
"Chaos and Old Night" they are, for the most part grotesque creatures,
often with physical deformities.
These gods of death and darkness are listed below.
Balor: Although he was
born with two good eyes, one was ruined in an accident; the eye is so hideous
that he only
opens it in battle so that its venom will slay whoever is unlucky enough to
catch glimpse of it; his daughter marries
Cian.
Elathan: The beautiful Miltonic prince of darkness with golden hair.
Bress: His name means
"beautiful"; Elthan's son; married to Brigit of the Tuatha de Dannan
and for a time her rules over
that kingdom.