Celtic Deities

Many thanks to Erynn Laurie, Alexei Kondratiev, Francine Nicholson, Mara Riley and Lugaid, without whose wise assistance I could not have written this article. One of the sources for this FAQ is the Nemeton deity thread by Alexei Kondratiev; other sources are listed in the bibliography.

One way to better understand Celtic culture is to examine the functions and purposes of Celtic deities. This examination also will aid in understanding the attributes and actions of these dieities as described in lore. Be sure to see the second half of this FAQ, the Celtic Deity Dictionary, for detailed information on the goddesses and gods themselves.

The Celts honored indigenous divinities -- a god that gives structure and meaning to life, and a goddess who gives power and life itself -- but specific names and some attributes varied from tribe to tribe. This belief in local divinities demonstrates how the Celts understood that the land has its own needs, and that the "spirit of place" constituted an important part of their spirituality. (Nemeton thread) When Celtic tribes moved into new areas they imported their native theological system as well as integrated local land-divinities who manifested themselves in the new area's landscape features, such mountains, forests, caves and marshes.

These deities can be organized into the following function list (Nemeton thread):

1. kin-group ancestral divinities
2. occupational group patron divinities
3. tribal "totems," or guardians and local land divinities  

II. Inter-Tribal Land Divinities

1. God archetypes
2. Goddess archetypes
3. Ritual goddesses  

III. Wheel of the Year

I. Intra-Tribal Order Divinities

1. Deities of the immediate kin-group. These primarily were ancestral spirits, and their worship was confined to the home.
2. Deities of an occupational group. These were gods who served as archetypes for an occupation, as well as goddesses who gave energy to that occupation. Worship took place partly in the home, partly in a guild shrine.
3. Deities of the tribal area. This included a guardian tribal god, often in conjunction with inter-tribal divine figures of Indo-European (IE) origin which were seen as upholding the tribal order.

This was coupled with worship of the sovereignty goddess of the Land on which a particular tribe lived. For example, Arduinna is the pig-goddess of the Ardennes, and Artio is the bear-goddess of the Heluetii in the Berne region of Switzerland. (Nemeton thread) The goddess of a new territory often was identified with the main river in the area, and was given a name and a character that described her. The following is a list of river goddesses (Green pg. 25):

• Brigantia -- Braint and Brent rivers
• Clota -- river Clyde
• Coventina -- Caldew river
• Danu -- Danube, Don, Dnieper rivers
• Deva -- river Dee
• Matrona -- Marne River
• Sabrina -- river Severn
• Sequanna -- Seine river
• Siannan -- river Shannon
• Souconna -- the river Saone
• Verbeia -- Wharfe river

II. Inter-Tribal Land Divinities

The Celts believed the Land was full of fertility divinities, many of whom are pan-Celtic, chaotic and independent of the concept of tribal order. However, they were seen as necessary to the tribe's survival and had to be appeased as a part of the agricultural cycle.

God Archetypes

The "Little God." He rises in prestige during the later Iron Age, when he becomes one of the main figures in the Celtic pantheon. He usually is called "Lugus," or "Lugh," which means "Lightning Flash." The Little God is a warrior, but also a master of all the crafts and skills necessary to society, and in this role becomes a protector of society -- which he exercises the most at the beginning of the Harvest, when he wrests control of the fruits of the soil from the Land Spirits, who are also his kin. His weapon is the spear, which is the lightning-flash and also the flash of inspiration and intuition. His principal animals are the raven, the horse, the lynx, and the wren. Part of his myth is that he is a "little" god who outwitted all his rivals. He is the divine sponsor of human sovereigns, and as such his main consort is the sovereignty goddess who presents rulership as an intoxicating drink, but as master of crafts he also works with the Virgin Mother, whose festival period balances his within the structure of the Celtic year.

The Protector God. He is the god who sets the boundaries of the civilized world and protects them by force of arms. His weapon is the sword and his animal is the dog. Although as a warrior he is a giver of death, the mysteries of death are seen as being closely related to the mysteries of rebirth and healing, so his main shrines are healing shrines. The story in which he loses a hand or arm and has it replaced by a silver one is doubtless ancient, though it's difficult to tell how widespread it was in the Iron Age. He is most commonly known as Nuadha Airgetlamh.

The Sky God. He is the sky god who rules the weather and brings rain. Thunder is caused by the rolling of his wheel across the sky, and his usual name is "Taranis," which means "Thunderer." (Nemeton thread) He is particularly present in mountainous regions. Over time his worship dwindled until he became a mere helper of the "Little God," who like him was associated with storms and high places.

The Lord of the Hunt, or God with Antlers. He is the god who crosses boundaries, and the god of change. He is the interface between Tribe and Land and between our world and the Otherworld. Through him goods can be passed from one realm to another, and valuable things can be received from raw Nature. He also manifests change as adaptability. This is expressed by his antlers that drop off and grow back according to the season. Because several of his functions overlap with those of the "Little God" they are often shown together, although neither replaces the other, since their basic characters are quite different.

The "Good Striker." He usually is portrayed as a mature man with a mallet, the head of which is actually a barrel or cauldron that gives death with one side and life with the other. His consort is the territorial river goddess. He often represents the three-fold guardian functions of a tribal territory simultaneously fulfilling the roles of poet, warrior, and provider of abundance.

The Divine Child. (Nemeton thread) This god is associated with youth, vigour, growth, and particularly the power of the waxing year as the days grow longer. Originally he was closely associated with hunting and the Land. Invoked as a source of energy and quick growth, his animal is the swan, and waterfowl in general. As hunter, he is closely associated with the boar, and it is through his participation in the "Cosmic Boar Hunt" that the light and dark halves of the year are defined – he dies at the threshold of the dark half. His consort is the Flower Maiden and his marriage to her marks the apex of his time of "growth." In the later literary tradition his name appears as Mabon in Welsh, and as Oenghus Og in Irish.

The Divine Twins. The only literary survival of these important IE divinities consists of Nisien and Efnisien in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi. But they were evidently an important part of early Celtic religion, as the proliferation of temples and dedications to "Castor and Pollux" illustrates. As in most other IE systems, one twin was truly divine and the other was flawed. They were associated with horses, good fortune and the protection of travellers.

The God of Light. A healing god of light and warmth and the power of sight, particularly invoked for eye problems. He also seems to have been associated with dreaming and prophecy. His healing shrines -- which he shared with a goddess-consort -- were important centres of pilgrimage in the early Celtic world. Most commonly known as Belenus, his festival is Beltane.

Goddess Archetypes

Celtic goddesses are not as differentiated as Celtic gods. There are many goddess-names and few easily fit into well-defined functional archetypes as is true among the gods. (Nemeton thread) As mentioned earlier, Celtic goddesses are either supreme energy-goddesses, or name land-goddesses of specific areas.

Social functions are represented by gods and the energy that is the source of those functions is represented by goddesses. The Celts viewed women as the source of the society's survival as there would be no future generations without them. Male institutions may have held political authority, but they would have collapsed without the sustaining role of women. (Nemeton thread)

The Sovereignty Goddess. Because horses played such a large part in the Celts' military success in Europe, the horse was a symbol of sovereignty and political power (as opposed to cattle, which were a symbol of the Land and of material wealth). So the goddess who gave legitimacy to the power of the tribe was portrayed as riding on a horse, or as a mare herself. Sometimes called Epona, whose name means "Great Mare," or Rhiannon, she was a particular aspect of the sovereignty goddess, distinct from the aspect who gives rulers the intoxicating drink of sovereignty. (Nemeton thread) The Virgin Mother, however, was a more general representation of goddess-energy, and could be invoked in a far greater range of situations. She gave the energy of rulership to rulers, but also provided every other kind of energy wherever it was needed. Virtually all the Celtic goddesses can be said to be sovereignty goddesses and Land-goddesses, but they take on different names and attributes when required by specific circumstances.

The Triple Mother. Celtic Mother goddesses were considered on of the most important deities and often symbolized fertility: human, agricultural and pastoral. They are usually depicted in triple form with corn (see end note #31 on corn), fruit, bread, animals, cornucopias or cauldrons, and children. Her three forms represent the three stages of life, youth, maturity and old age, and she often is considered a guardian from birth to death. (Green, pg. 107)

The Goddess of War. The Celtic war-goddess often had three aspects, destruction, sexuality and prophecy, and sometimes exhibited elements of sovereignty. (Green, pg. 40) This archetype appears in numerous animal forms such as carrion birds, or can appear as crone, maiden or mother. As crone she relates the concept of the birth/death/rebirth cycle. War goddesses combine destruction, fertility and sovereignty: prosperity (i.e., fertility) can only come about if tribal lands are protected, sometimes through war.

Celtic Ritual Cycle Goddesses

During the course of the year or Wheel, Celtic Land-goddess take on various aspects in relation to changes during the agricultural cycle. In most Celtic seasonal ritual there is a differentiation between the dark side of the Land-goddess represented as a hag, dragon, or dangerous female beast, and her giving side, represented by the virgin/maiden or mother.

The Virgin Mother. (Imbolc-Bealtaine) Her role here is to provide the energy to promote both the growth within the Land and the human activity that will culminate in a successful harvest. Fire-imagery dominates, because the energy is "waxing." (Nemeton thread) The Virgin Mother is the source of all energy, not only in human society, but in the Land and the Sun.

Her name usually contains the element "brig," which means "high, exalted, rising, energetic." although it can take other forms as well. Her animals are the cow and the oyster-catcher and by extension all things in nature that are black, white, and red. Her flower is the dandelion. Her experience with marriage and childbearing is usually unhappy, so she is often portrayed as a "virgin." Most commonly known as Brighid.

The Flower Maiden. (Beltane-Lughnasadh) She has different floral names in different areas. Her role is to marry the Divine Child at the height of his powers and ensure the fertility of the crops -- flowers bringing fruit. She is most commonly known as Bloudeuedd.

The Harvest Queen. (Lughnasadh-Samhain) Her role is to take the Little God's side in his mediation and give sovereignty over the harvest to the human tribe, which plays a major part of Lughnasadh ritual. Water-imagery dominates, because the energy is waning. In Ireland she is known as Eithne, Lugh's mother, or Tailtu, Lugh's foster-mother.

Queen of the Underworld. (Samhain-Imbolc) The power of the goddess is removed to the Otherworld, and all that subsists of her in our realm is frightening. She is sometimes in the shape of a young woman or as a hag; sometimes in animal form. The Morrigan is the energy-giver or withholder. Because physical youthfulness is a boon to warriors, she sometimes appears as a young warrior-woman or the Washer at the Ford.

Wheel of the Year

Whether these figures are distinct individuals or aspects of the same being is unclear. In local mythologies the explanations vary: either the Queen of the Underworld turns into the Virgin Mother or the Virgin Mother is a prisoner of the Queen of the Underworld and is freed. (Nemeton thread)

The Divine Child always is young and the the Good Striker always is old. The young god of the Light half of the year replaces the old god in the position of authority by his wedding on Beltane, but the old god is in power helm after Samhain when the young god has been killed. (Nemeton thread) The relationship is cyclic.

The Little God fills an essential role in Celtic cosmology as he brings in the summer thunderstorms that mark the beginning of the harvest season, and it is his nature as an "outsider" that allows him to deal successfully with the conflict between Tribe-gods and Land-gods at Lughnasadh.

The following is a recap: