Celtic

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An tigh geatha

In druidry an tigh geatha refers to the outer order.

Andraste

In British mythology, Andraste is a warrior goddess. She was invoked by Queen

Boudicca when she revolted against the Roman invaders.

Angus Og

In Irish mythology, Angus Og is the god of love and beauty.

Annwn

In British mythology, annwn is the otherworld.

Arduina

In Celtic mythology Arduina is the goddess of woodlands, wild life, the hunt

and the moon; Guardian and Eponym of the Ardennes Forest.

Argetlam

see "Nuada"

Arianrhod

In Welsh Celtic mythology, Arianrhod (Silver-Wheel) was the virgin white

goddess of birth, initiation, death and rebirth. She Who turns the circle of

heaven.

Avalon

Avalon is the place where King Arthur is said to have gone after disappearing.

It is a sort of fairy land.

Badb

In Irish mythology, Badb was one of the giantess forms of Morrigan. She was

sufficiently tall to place a foot on either side of a river.

Banshee

In Gaelic folklore, a banshee is a female spirit whose wailing outside a house

foretells the death of one of its inhabitants.

Bard

A bard was an order of druid. The bard's office was to supervise, regulate and

to lead. His robe was sky blue, symolising justice and truth.

Bebhionn

In Celtic mythology, Bebhionm was a giantess from the Maiden's Land far off the

West coast of Ireland known for her beauty and seduction.

Bel

Bel (Belenos) was the Celtic god of light.

Beltane

Beltane is the Celtic festival of the god of light. It is held on May the 1st,

and is the spring equivalent of Hallowe'en. Formerly in England dancing took

place to may poles in village greens to celebrate the festival, but this

practice subsided during the 1970s and is now almost extinct.

Bladud

In English mythology, Bladud was the father of King Lear, and was said to have

founded Bath having been cured by its waters.

Boann

In Irish mythology, Boann is the goddess of rivers.

Brighid

In Gaelic mythology, Brighid (Brigit) was the goddess of metalwork, smiths,

poetic inspiration and therapy. With christianity she evolved into Saint Brigit.

Brigit

see "Brighid"

Brownie

The brownie is a spirit popular in Scottish folk-lore. Brownies haunt houses,

and if treated well will help with the drudgery of the housework while the

occupants sleep.

Camulus

In English Celtic mythology, Camulus (heaven) was a god of war identified by

the Romans with Mars. He gave his name to the town of Camulodunum, now called

Colchester.

Cernunnos

In Celtic mythology, Cernunnos was the god of the underworld and of animals. He

is depicted as a man with the antlers of a stag.

Cerridwen

In Welsh mythology, Cerridwen is the goddess of dark prophetic powers. She is

the keeper of the cauldron of the underworld, in which inspiration and divine

knowledge are brewed.

Conchobar

In Celtic mythology, Conchobar was the King of Ulster whose intended bride,

Deidre, eloped with Noisi. Conchobar killed Deidre's husband and his brothers

and she died of sorrow.

Cordelia

In Welsh celtic mythology, Cordelia was the daughter of Llyr. She has two

lovers, Gwynn and Gwythr, who fight for her on the 1st of May each year and

will continue to do so until the day of doom when one shall be victorious and

marry her.

Creidhne

In Celtic mythology, Creidhne was the god of metal working.

Cuchulain

Cuchulain was a Celtic hero, the chief figure in a cycle of Irish legends. He

is associated with his uncle Conchobar, King of Ulster; his most famous

exploits are described in The Cattle Raid of Cuchulain.

Cuchulinn

In Celtic mythology, Cuchulinn is a hero-king of Ulster and son of Lugh. He is

a warlike figure and tales tell of his warlike deeds.

Dagda

Dagda was the Celtic equivalent of Cronus. Also called Cian.

Daghdha

In Irish mythology, Daghdha is the great god. He had a secret affair with Boann

which resulted in the birth of Oenghus.

Deirdre

In Celtic mythology, Deidre was the beautiful intended bride of Conchobar. She

eloped with Noísi, and died of sorrow when Conchobar killed him and his

brothers.

Diancecht

In Irish mythology, Diancecht is the god of healing. He destroyed the giant

serpent that threatened and destroyed cattle throughout the land.

Dis

In Gaulish mythology, Dis was the god of death from whom the Gauls were

descended.

Druantia

In British mythology, Druantia was the druid goddess of birth, wisdom, death

and metempsychosis. The mother of the Irish tree-calendar alphabet.

Druid

The ancient druids were divided into 3 functional orders:primitive druid, bard

and ovate. Druidism originated amongst the megalithic ancient British. They

taught it to the immigrant celts, and later trained celts from the conntinent.

Elaine

In Celtic mythology, Elaine (Lily-Maid) was a virgin goddess of beauty and the

moon. She was the matron of road-building and a loveable leader of hosts.

Epona

In Celtic mythology, Epona was the goddess of horses.

Eriu

In Irish Celtic mythology, Eriu was a shapeshifting goddess of fate. The

bestower of sovereignty.

Etain

In Celtic mythology, Etain (Shining-One) was the triple goddess of the sun,

water, horses, fragrance, beauty, music and the transmigration of souls.

Fata-Morgana

In Irish Celtic mytholgy, Fata-Morgana is the goddess of the sea, visual

illusions, enchantment, fate and death. She is the Queen of the Fortunate Isles.

Geofon

In British mythology, Geofon was the ocean goddess.

Goibhniu

In Celtic mythology, Goibhniu was the smith god.

Guinevere

In Celtic mythology, Guinevere or Guinever, is the French spelling of the

Celtic name Gwynhwfar ('white cloud'). Gwynhwfar was a cloud-goddess who often,

for mischief, took mortal form and entered the world of humans to cause havoc.

Soon after Arthur became king of Camelot, she entered the womb of a Roman

princess whose husband ruled in Britain, and was born, as a beautiful mortal:

Guinevere. In due course Arthur married her, against the advice of Merlin.

Guinevere was the most beautiful woman in the world, and all Arthur's knights

would have had sex with her if they hadn't been bound by their oaths of

chivalry. Only Lancelot succumbed, and his and Guinevere's adultery broke

Arthur's heart and led to the end of Camelot. When the company of the Round

Table was broken up and its heroes disappeared into legend, Guinevere resumed

her identity as Gwynhwfar, returned to the sky and has ever since been planning

her next earthly manifestation.

Gwyn ap Nudd

In Celtic mythology, Gwyn ap Nudd is the lord of the underworld and master of

the wild hunt. He lives at Glastonbury Tor.

Gwynhwfar

see "Guinevere"

Herne The Hunter

In English folklore, Herne The Hunter is the spirit of a hunter which guards

travellers through Windsor Great Park. He wears the antlers of a stag upon his

head. Herne was prominent in the tales of Robin Hood, although Windsor Great

Park is nowhere near Sherwood Forest.

Isolde

In Celtic and medieval legend, Isolde was the wife of King Mark of Cornwall who

was brought from Ireland by his nephew Tristan. She and Tristan accidentally

drank the aphrodisiac given to her by her mother for her marriage, were

separated as lovers, and finally died together.

Llyr

In Welsh celtic mythology, Llyr is the god of the sea.

Luchtaine

In Celtic mythology, Luchtaine was the god of wheel making.

Lugh

In Irish mythology, Lugh was the god of light. He killed his grandfather,

Balor, during the great battle in which a new order of gods and goddesses took

over from the primal beings of chaotic energy. He was the god of skill and

ability.

Mabon

In Celtic mythology, Mabon was the Son of Light, equated with the Roman Apollo.

He was the god of liberation, harmony, music and unity.

Macha

In Irish mythology, Macha is a goddess of athletic games, festivals and

fertility.

Manannan mac Lir

In Celtic mythology, Manannan mac Lir (Barinthus) was the god of the ocean. He

ferried the wounded King Arthur to the otherworld so that he could be cured.

Mark

In Celtic legend, Mark was king of Cornwall, uncle of Tristan, and suitor and

husband of Isolde.

Morrigan

Morrigan was the Celtic goddess of war and death who could take the shape of a

crow.

Nimue

In Celtic mythology, Nimue was a shape changer who loved Merlin. After a

contest of magic she captured him forever by turning herself into a drop of

amber and engulfing him.

Nuada

In Celtic mythology, Nuada (Argetlam meaning He ofthe Silver Hand) was a war

god of the Gaels equivalent roughly to the Greek Zeus in that he was the

supreme god.

Oberon

In English folklore, Oberon is the king of the elves.

Oenghus

In Irish mythology, Oenghus is the son of Daghdha and Boann. He is the god of

fatal love.

Ogmios

In Celtic mythology, Ogmios was the eloquent god of the strength of poetry,

charm and incantation. He is depicted as an old man with wrinkles, but carrying

a club and a bow.

Ovate

An ovate was a type of druid. His purpose was to observe and invent. His robe

was green symbolising budding life.

Primitive druid

The primitive druid was an order of druid involved with teaching science and

religion. His robe was white symbolising light, purity and knowledge.

Rosmerta

In Gaulish Celtic mythology, Rosmerta was the goddess of fire, warmth, wealth

and abundance. A flower Queen and hater of marriage. She was the beldame of

death.

Sulis

In Celtic mythology, Sulis was a goddess of prophesy, inspiration, wisdom and

death. She who is bountiful, as is a sow of piglets.

Taisch

Taisch was the Gaelic name given to "second sight", the involuntary ability of

seeing the future or distant events. It originated in the Scottish highlands.

Taranis

In Druid mythology, Taranis is the god of the wheel, associated with forces of

change.