Celtic Gods and Goddesses Part Two!

Hello my wonderful lads and lassies,

A few days ago my dearest friend Eloise Madigan published an article on the Celtic Gods and Goddesses. And I found it SO intriguing that I couldn’t help but research a little bit about them as well!  

So, here are a few other Celtic Gods and Goddesses. Unfortunately, Eloise found the best ones first, but I think my picks are also interesting! 😉

Let’s find out, shall we?

Celtic Goddess Brigid and Her Enduring Deity. Image source.

Brigid – The Triple Goddess of Healing

The opposite of Morrigan, Brigid is the goddess of healing, Spring season, and smithcraft. She is the daughter of the Dadga (even though we don’t know who the mother is!), and a member of the Celtic Pantheon of Gods (Tuatha Dé Danann). She was also called The Exalted One. 

There is a mention of her in The Book of The Taking of Ireland (Lebor Gabála Érenn), a collection of poems of the 11th century AD. It is said that she had a few domesticated animals, but not the normal ones. She had oxen, boars, sheep…even critters who used to cry out as a warning to the goddess! 

She had three aspects: the poet, the healer, and the smith. Aspects of her lived in the Catholic Saint Brigid of Kildare. Sometimes, priests of the early Christian era would take a few older ‘pagan’ elements and repurpose them to fit their narrative! 

Celtic god of lightning and thunder. Image source.

Taranis – The God of Thunder

Have you heard of Thor? Tall, muscular, looks like Christ Hemsworth? Well, Taranis was nothing like that! 😛 

He was mostly connected and associated with Zeus (the Greek God of the Sky), since he, Toutatis and Esus had also formed a triad of Celtic Gods, similar to Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. 

Taranis was portrayed holding a lightning bolt in one hand, and a solar wheel on the other hand. He was also associated with fire – that of the ‘sky’ (sun) or of the earth. 

So, Zeus or Taranis? Who wins? 😛

Ogma Sun. Image source.

Ogma – The God of Eloquence

Not many major Gods of ancient times were associated completely with language. He is kind of associated with Hercules, mostly in appearance: both him and the Greek demi-god hero were depicted wearing lion heads, carrying clubs and bows. But Ogmios wins the race of appearance: he is also wearing gold chains that are tied to his smiling mouth (ugh!), which connect him to his group of followers. Essentially, with the power of eloquence, he makes his followers…follow him everywhere. A strong metaphon, huh?!

He is also credited with being the first to invent Ogham – the earliest alphabet in Celtic countries (specifically Ireland). 

Rhiannon

She is the Patron Goddess of Horses and Birds. She represents the moon, enchantments, charms, and poetic incantations. I feel for her, because she has been unjustly accused…

Rhiannon gave birth to a baby boy. While she slept, the nurses were supposed to watch over the babe. But they failed the task, and the child disappeared mysteriously during the night! 

What did the nurses do? Fearing punishment, they smeared blood from a dead dog around Rhiannon’s body, and when she woke up, they told her she had eaten her own child!

Her punishment was to stay at the palace of Narbeth for 7 years, acting like a horse and offering to take passengers on her back. Fortunately, they rarely took up the offer…

Celtic Mythology is such a fascinating subject! I really love learning more and more about these ancient Gods!

Did you like any of these Gods, my dear?

Let me know in the comments! 

Until next time…

Written by Lydia Kendall