 Welsh celestial mother goddess, Arianrhod is called a goddess of childbirth, the moon, fertility, and fate. Her name is popularly translated as 'Silver Wheel' (W arian, 'silver' + rhod, 'wheel'). This is interpreted as identifying her with the Cosmic Goddess, as the rotating stars or Milky Way is thought to be her wheel. This imagery is reflected in the Norse Cosmic Goddess Frigga, whose bejewelled spinning wheel is also equated to the rotating stars.
Arianrhod is one of the descendants of Don. She had two brothers, Gilfaethwy and Gwydion. Her brother Math ap Mathonwy, required a virgin's lap to place his feet in, unless he was at war. When this virgin was raped, Math asked for a replacement, and Arianrhod volunteered. But when she stepped over his rod, she immediately gave birth to two children: a young boy and a foetus. (This is likely because the word morwyn may mean either 'virgin' or 'free young woman', but it also indicates her divine status.) An alternative version of tale says that she lived a wanton life, mating with mermen on the beach near her castle and casting her magic inside its walls. She tried to pretend virginity, but a trial by the magician Math revealed that she had conceived two children whom she had not carried to term. In leaping over a wizard's staff, Arianrhod magically gave birth to the twins Dylan-son-of-Wave and the foetus of Llew Llaw Gyffes. Dylan was a sea-being who returned to the waves and Arianrhod's brother, the poet Gwydion, recognized the foetus as his own child, born of his unexpressed love for his sister. Gwydion took the foetus and hid it in a magical chest until it was ready to breathe. Arianrhod, furious at this invasion of her privacy, imposed three grease upon this boy: he would have no name unless she named him, he would bear no arms unless she armed him, and he would have no human woman to wife. Thus, Arianrhod denied him the three essential passages to manhood. Nevertheless, Gwydion raised the nameless boy, and one day Arianrhod spied a young boy killing a wren with a single flung stone. She called out that he was a bright lion with a sure hand, and thus he took that name: Llew Llaw Gyffes. Later, Gwydion faked an alarm, and tricked her into arming the boy. Arianrhod's antecedents include being the tutelary goddess of Argantoratis ('Silver Fort'), found in both France and Wales, and Argentoratum (mod. Strasbourg) . In Arthurian legend, we find her as Argante, the queen of Avalon where she healed Arthur's wounds. Her role as ruler of this Otherworldly domain may have might suggest that the ancient Gauls named Argantoratis in honour of the protective refuge they perceived her Otherworld to be. Indeed, legend has it that her palace was in the Corona Borealis which in Welsh is named after her as Caer Arianrhod ('the Palace of Arianrhod'). Thus she seems also to equate to the Greek heroine Ariadne. Arianrhod's identity as both a Healer Goddess (or regenerator of life) and Otherworld Queen may also be found with cognates in Irish counterparts. The latter role may both be reflected in the Irish goddesses Airmed, a healing goddess, and the latter with the Otherworld goddess Airitech. Like the rest of the ancient Celtic pantheon, she is mortalized in Welsh myth. Still, in the tale of Math son of Mathonwy she is portrayed with a story and character that make her plainly of ancient antecedents. She is the daughter of the goddess Don and god Beli Faur, whose names represent them as descended from the Celtic dark Cosmic Ocean goddess and the God of Light. Some scholars read the legend as the record of a change from mother right to father rule, claiming that the heavenly Arianrhod was a matriarchal moon goddess whose particular place in heaven was in the constellation called Corona Borealis. The argument has much in its favour, particularly the archetypal relation of Arianrhod to her sister moon goddesses on the Continent, who like Artemis lived in orgiastic maidenhood surrounded entirely by women. Other scholars, unconvinced that the Celts were matriarchal at any time, see Arianrhod simply as an epic heroine.
Balor In the Celtic-Irish mythology, Balor is the god of death and the king of the Fomorians, a race of giants (some say gods) opposed to the gods of the goddess Danu. He was the son of Buarainech and the husband of Cethlenn. When he was young his eye was poisoned when he looked into the smoke rising from the fire where Fomori druids were brewing a magical concoction. His eye turned malignant and thereafter he kept it closed because anything he looked at would die. Indeed, his name probably means 'Evil Eye' from PIE *bala, 'evil', and *or, 'eye'. Balor had only one eye, which he kept closed because anything he looked at would die instantly. According to some prophesies, Balor would be killed by his own grandson. He locked his daughter Ethlinn in a crystal tower, to prevent her from getting pregnant. With the help of the druidess Birog, Cian of the Tuatha Dé Danann, managed to enter the tower and slept with her. She gave birth to a son, Lugh, who Balor threw into the ocean. Birog saved the boy and gave him to the sea god Manannan mac Lir, to raise. The boy, named Lugh Lamhfada (Lugh of the Long Arm), became king of the Tuatha de Danann. At the second battle of Mag Tuireadh, Balor killed King Nuada of the Tuatha Dé Danann with a glance from his eye. But when he opened his eye to kill his grandson Lugh, the latter managed to rip out Balor's eye with a sling and Balor fell dead to the ground. Lugh faces Balor
by Jim Fitzpatrick
http://www.jimfitzpatrick.ie/index.html Balor was the personification of the 'evil eye' superstition common to the old IE peoples. One-eyed characters, however, are also common. Most famous are the Greeks' Cyclopes, 'wheel eye', who seems to be an aspect of the sun. In the north, Odin also had one eye, having plucked the other one out as payment for a drink from Mimir's well. This is commonly interpreted as explaining the sun and moon. However, Odin was the leading god of the Aesir, the heroic gods and goddesses in Norse myth, and would thus be difficult to translate to Balor and the Fomorians. Even so, Odin had a dark side the Norse feared. Of his many threatening epithets, one was Baleygr, the 'Flame-Eyed'. In any event, the defeat of the Formorians equates to that of the Titans and Giants in Greece, the Jotuns in Scandinavia, and the forces of Aryaman in Persia, etc., That Lugh fulfilled the prophesy that Balor would some day be killed by his grandson also reflected a theme common to IE mythology: there is no escaping ones fate -- not even for gods.
Brigit is a deity who can be seen in many different cultures. She is believed to have been Brigantia in England, Bride in Scotland, and Brigandu in Wales and France. She is thought to be the same goddess who was worshipped at Bath in ancient Britain as well as the patroness of countless springs and wells in Ireland. The Romans were quick to identify in Brigit their own favoured goddess Minerva, or Pallas Athene, the maiden aspect of Athena. Indeed, she is still worshipped widely in Ireland under the veil of Saint Bridget. Brigit was born in the instant between night and day and as she rose with the sun, a beam of flame was said to have sprung from her forehead. It is this legend that hints that perhaps she was once considered to be a sun deity. That she was born on a threshold is a very import aspect of the legend. The ancient Celts were fascinated by in-between places such as shores, the instant of sunrise, the instant season change, doorways, and other places that lay instantaneously between two places while being in neither. Despite her image as a mother goddess, Brigit is seen as the daughter of Dagda, "The Good God." She was married to Bres, who had a brief and tragic stint as the king of the Tuatha. Together, the two produced a son, Ruadan, who was slain by the goldsmith Govannon Brigit is the traditional patroness of healing, poetry and smithcraft, which are all practical and inspired wisdom. As a solar deity Her attributes are light, inspiration and all skills associated with fire. Although She might not be identified with the physical Sun, She is certainly the benefactress of inner healing and vital energy. Called 'The Exalted One' or 'The High One', Brigit was known under several cognate names (see below) from ancient through modern times. She was perhaps the most widespread, ancient, and revered goddess in Celtic culture. She was a multi-faceted goddess probably most comparable to Rome's Minerva and Greece's Athena. The Romans recognized her as a celestial goddess, a deduction supported by Irish mythology. As the eponymous and tutelary goddess of the Brigantes in northern Britain, they equated her with their own Juno Regina or as Caelestis Brigantia. The latter was from neo-Roman goddess Caelestis who herself was inspired by other foreign goddess such as Carthage's Tanit (herself originating in Ishtar/ Astarte). However, a Romano-British sanctuary of Minerva's referenced by the Roman writer Solinus seems more probably to have originally been Brigantia's. In Gaul she was known as Brigindo, closely associated with fire and the hearth. Her connections to healing connect her to waters, as does her cauldron of inspiration. It is for this reason that Celtic countries, particularly Ireland, are filled with springs and wells baring the name of Brigit. Offerings to Brigit, such as coins or rings, were cast into these wells (leading to the modern tradition of making a wish and casting a penny into a fountain) to bring luck and the lady's blessing. One popular tale of Brigid's springs and her healing powers involves two lepers who came to one of her sacred wells to be cured. The goddess met the men and instructed that one was to bathe his companion until the other's skin healed at which point they would switch tasks. The first leper then bathed his companion until his friend's skin grew well again. However, the second leper was now repulsed by the disease that he had just been cured of and refused to touch his companion to bathe him. At this point, the goddess struck the man again with leprosy and cured his companion. Also long known as The Mistress of the Mantle, She represents the sister or virgin aspect of the Great Goddess. The deities of the Celtic pantheon have never been abstraction or fictions but remain inseparable from daily life. The fires of inspiration, as demonstrated in poetry, and the fires of the home and the forge are seen as identical. There is no separation between the inner and the outer worlds. The tenacity with which the traditions surrounding Brigit have survived, even the saint as the thinly-disguised Goddess, clearly indicates Her importance. The widespread number of tribes and place names that bore her name evidence Brigit's antiquity. These included the Brigantes of northern Britain and south-west Ireland, the Brigantii of Vindelicia (southern Germany), and Brigetio, her eponymous town in Pannonia and site of her sanctuary. She was also the goddess of such rivers as the Braint and Brent. As will be explored elsewhere, the early Iron Age Bryges of northern Greece were probably the first Celtic tribe known in history. This tribe came down into the Mediterranean from central Europe in the aftermath of the Late Bronze Age collapse, eventually continuing on into Anatolia as the Thracianized Phrygians Her priestesses Brigit was one of the pagan deities so popular that she was adopted into Christianity as a saint, with the pagan holiday Imbolc continuing as her holiday and other characteristics and legends. The identity of her name with her functions even lives on in English words such as bride (from the household heath goddess), breed (protectress of the fecundity of flocks and herds) and brigands (her soldiers equipped with weapons from her forge). Even in name Brigit spanned the length and breadth of Celtic culture, perhaps heralding the Celts into history as the Bryges/ Phrygians in the eleventh century BCE and surviving today as St. Brigit complete with her own holiday. She was a multi-faceted celestial goddess with close parallels in many of the Irish pantheons and beyond. She also seems to have been synonymous with the Danu, whose origin also seems to be found in the 'cosmic ocean'. Brigit's equation with Carthage's Tanit via Rome's Dea Caelestis and Juno Regina make the Danu/ Tanit connection intriguing. Brigit's association with fire also has great antiquity. Her all-female priesthood and worship forbidden to men suggests women originated her (or at least her association with fire) perhaps as long ago as the Palaeolithic. After all, tending the hearth fire would have been a main responsibility of women while the men were out hunting. We should only expect that goddesses, not gods, were associated with the sacred and household fires as personified by Brigit, Vesta, and Hestia. It was from this identity as the goddess of the household hearth fire that she developed into the patroness of smiths (as the goddess of the smith's forge fire). Brigit's ownership of the sacred apple orchard in the Celtic Otherworld, also known as the 'Land of Women' and the 'Land of Youth' also has parallels in IRISH mythology. In addition to Hera's ownership of such an apple tree in the Greek otherworldly 'Land of the Hesperides', the Norse goddess Idun was the keeper of the apples of immortality. She gave one to each of the Aesir gods daily (we do not know where she got them from but we can guess) so that they would retain their ageless vigour. Amongst the Hesperides, meanwhile, included a number of nymphs whose details vary according to Greek author (no surprise). One of these, however, is Hestia. Though not the same as the Greek goddess of the hearth, it is strange that the Greeks would have a second Hestia located in the 'otherworldly paradise' -- a paradise in Irish myth owned by Brigit, the goddess of the sacred fire. She began as a triplicity of sisters, not unusual to Celtic lore. She is the Daughter of Dagda and the Morrighan and sister to Ogma, a Sun God and the Creator of the Ogham. With Bres of the Fomorians, She had three sons - Brian (Ruadan), Iuchar and Uar - and Brian's actions in The Battle of Moytura figure largely in Her evolution to a Goddess of Peace and Unity. To understand the significance of this battle it is necessary to know a little bit about Celtic tradition concerning family. Matrilineal, meaning ancestry was traced through the mother's line rather than the father's, the most important male in your life would be the oldest male kin to your mother, often an uncle and not necessarily a grandfather since his lineage to her may not exist. All blood relationships of any importance came through your mother‚s line. This tie was so tight that children of sisters were considered to be siblings rather than cousins. Motherhood demanded the utmost reverence. Rape was a crime of highest severity, subject to the greatest punishments and not pardonable or subject to leniency. [Later, in Her evolved role as the Lawgiver, Brigit would make certain that women‚s rights were retained in some form within the new religion.] The marriage of Brigit to Bres was essentially an alliance to bring peace between two warring factions. She was of the Danu and he of the Fomorians. With the intermarriage, war was hopefully averted. Ruadan, Brigit‚s eldest son, used the knowledge of smithing given to him by his maternal kin, the Danu, against them by killing their smith, a sacred position within the tribe. This smith killed Ruadan before dying himself. Brigit‚s grief and lamentations were said to be the first heard in Ireland and were not only an expression of mourning for the loss of Her son but also for the enmity between maternal and paternal factions of family. This was seen as the beginning of the end for the Old Ways. And so, the Irish story of Original Sin‚ was the act against maternal kinship rather than that of sexuality since sexuality, which brings the sacred position of motherhood, was seen as positive by the Celts. Her evolution from Goddess to saint linked Pagan Celtic and Christian traditions much the same way the Cauldron of Cerridwen and the Holy Grail were combined in Arthurian legend. She acts as a bridge between the two worlds and successfully made the transition back to Goddess again with most of Her traditions retained. The worship of Saint Brigit has persisted up until the early 20th century with Her Irish cult nearly supplanting that of Mary. She is commemorated in both Ireland and the highlands and islands of Scotland. To fully grasp the significance of Imbolc it is necessary to understand the life-and-death struggle represented by Winter in any agrarian society. In a world lit only by fire the snow, cold and ice of this season literally holds you in its grip, only relaxed with the arrival of Spring. Although the Equinox does not arrive until later and Spring is celebrated with Ostara and Beltane, Imbolc is the harbinger and the indication that better times are coming. During the cold months, certain issues become pressing. Is there enough food for both humans and animals? Will illness decimate the tribe, especially in the case of the young, the old and nursing mothers? And what of the animals whose lives are so crucial to our own? One of the most burning questions would be with the pregnant cows and ewes since their milk is used for drink, for cheese and curds which might mean the difference between life and death. By Imbolc these animals will have birthed their young and their milk would be flowing. Milk, to the Celts, was sacred food, equivalent to the Christian communion. It was an ideal form of food due to its purity and nourishment. Mother's milk was especially valuable, having curative powers. The cow was symbolic of the sacredness of motherhood, the life-force sustained and nourished. This was not a passive cow giving milk but an active mother fighting for the well-being of her children. Imbolc divides Winter in half; the Crone months of Winter are departing and the promise of the Spring Maiden is around the corner. This holiday eventually became modern day Candlemas with Saint Brigid's Day and the Feast of the Purification of Mary being celebrated during this period of time. This celebration was definitely a feminine festival. Women would gather to welcome the maiden aspect of the Goddess as embodied by Brigit. Corn cakes made from the first and last of the harvest were made and distributed and this practice remains a part of Her celebration. During these festivities, She was commonly represented by a doll, dressed in white, with a crystal upon Her chest. This doll, usually a Corn Dolly, was carried in procession by maidens also dressed in white. Gifts of food were presented to the Goddess with a special feast given by and for the maidens. Young men were invited to this feast for the purpose of ritual mating to insure that new souls would be brought in to replace those lost during the cold times. The holiday has pastoral connections due to the association of the coming into milk of the ewes. Although Brigit is designated as an all-encompassing deity during Imbolc She is honoured in Her capacity as the Great Mother. She possesses an unusual status as a Sun Goddess Who hangs Her Cloak upon the rays of the Sun and Whose dwelling-place radiates light as if on fire. Brigit took over the Cult of the Ewes formerly held by the Goddess Lassar Who also is a Sun Goddess and Who made the transition, in the Isles, from Goddess to saint. In this way Brigit's connection to Imbolc is completed, as the worship of Lassar diminished, only to be revived later in Christian sainthood. Because of her many associations and attributes, numerous links with other goddesses in the IRISH mythologies can be drawn with Brigit. Some even see her appearance in Arthurian legend. There, as the celestial ocean goddess of smithy, she, as Lady of the Lake, forges and gives, then takes back the sword Excalibur from Arthur. Finally, as he lay dying, she, like a Norse Valkyrie, takes him to Avalon, the 'land of eternal youth' where he will live forever. Variations of names for Brigit: Brigit, Brid, Brigentis, Brighid (Eriu), Bride (Alba), Bridgit, Brig, Brighid, Brigantia, Brigentis, Brigantis (Briton), Brighid, Brigidu, Briginda, Brigindo, Brigit, Breo Saighead ('fiery arrowhead'), Brigandu (Gaul), Brigan; Bricta, Brixia, Bricia (Gaul). Stone relief of warrior Goddess Brigantia. She carries a spear in her right hand, an orb symbolising victory in her left and wars a crown. A gorgon's head adorns her breast, a symbol of Minerva. She is wearing Roman dress. The inscription reads BRIGANTIA SAMAADVS ... From Birrens, Dunfriesshire, a Roman military site BADB A goddess of war. One of a triad of war goddesses known collectively as the Morrigan. Bird shaped and crimson mouthed, Badb uses her magic to decide battles. Badb lusts after men and is often seen at fords washing the armour and weapons of men about to die in combat. CERIDWENalso HEN WEN; in Wales, BRIGHID "White Grain," "Old White One."
Corn goddess. Mother of Taliesin, greatest and wisest of all the bards, and therefore a patron of poets. The "white goddess" of Robert Graves. Cerdiwen lives among the stars in the land of Caer Sidi. Cerdiwen is connected with wolves, and some claim her cult dates to the Neolithic era. CERNUNNOS  Horned god of virility. Cernunnos wears the torc (neck-ring) and is ever in the company of a ram-headed serpent and a stag. Extremely popular among the Celts, the Druids encouraged the worship of Cernunnos, attempting to replace the plethora of local deities and spirits with a national religion. The Celts were so enamoured of Cernunnos that his cult was a serious obstacle to the spread of Christianity.
DAGDAEarth and father god. Dagda possesses a bottomless cauldron of plenty and rules the seasons with the music of his harp. With his mighty club Dagda can slay nine men with a single blow, and with its small end he can bring them back to life. On the day of the New Year, Dagda mates with the raven goddess of the Morrigan who while making love straddles a river with one foot on each bank. DANU Mother goddess, an aspect of the Great Mother. Another of a triad of war goddesses known collectively as the Morrigan. Connected with the moon goddess Aine of Knockaine, who protects crops and cattle. Most importantly, the mother of the Tuatha de' Danann, the tribe of the gods. DIAN CECHT
A healer. At the second battle of Moytura, Dian Cecht murdered his own son whose skill in healing endangered his father's reputation. The Judgments of Dian Cecht, an ancient Irish legal tract, lays down the obligations to the ill and injured. An aggressor must pay for curing anyone he has injured, and the severity of any wound, even the smallest, is measured in grains of corn. DIS PATER
Originally a god of death and the underworld, later the chief god of the Gauls. The Gauls believed, as their Druids taught, that Dis Pater is the ancestor of all the Gauls. DONN
Irish counterpart to Dis Pater. Donn sends storms and wrecks ships, but he protects crops and cattle as well. Donn's descendents come to his island after death. EPONA
Horse goddess. Usually portrayed as riding a mare, sometimes with a foal. Roman legionaries, deeply impressed with Celtic horsemanship, took up the worship of Epona themselves and eventually imported her cult to Rome itself. ESUS
A god of the Gauls "whose shrines make men shudder," according to a Roman poet. Human sacrifices to Esus were hanged and run through with a sword. For unknown reasons, Esus is usually portrayed as a woodcutter. GOVANNON
The smith god. The weapons Govannon makes are unfailing in their aim and deadliness, the armour unfailing in its protection. Also a healer. Those who attend the feast of Govannon and drink of the god's sacred cup need no longer fear old age and infirmity. LUG also LUGH, LLEU
 A sun god and a hero god, young, strong, radiant with hair of gold, master of all arts, skills and crafts. One day Lug arrived at the court of the Dagda and demanded to be admitted to the company of the gods. The gatekeeper asked him what he could do. For every skill or art Lug named, the gatekeeper replied that there was already one among the company who had mastered it. Lug at last pointed out that they had no one who had mastered them all, and so gained a place among the deities, eventually leading them to victory in the second battle of Moytura against the Formorian invaders. (The Formorians were a race of monsters who challenged the gods for supremacy in the first and second battles of Moytura.) The Romans identified Lug with Mercury. The most popular and widely worshipped of the Celtic gods, Lug's name in its various forms was taken by the cities of Lyons, Loudun, Laon, Leon, Lieden, Leignitz, Carlisle and Vienna. MACHA "Crow."
The third of the triad of war goddesses known as the Morrigan, Macha feeds on the heads of slain enemies. Macha often dominates her male lovers through cunning or simple brute strength. MEDB "Drunk Woman." A goddess of war, not one of the Morrigan. Where the Morrigan use magic, Medb wields a weapon herself. The sight of Medb blinds enemies, and she runs faster than the fastest horse. A bawdy girl, Medb needs thirty men a day to satisfy her sexual appetite. MORRIGAN, THE also MORRIGU MORRIGAN
 A war goddess, forerunner of the Arthurian Morgan La Fey? Like Odin, fickle and unfaithful, not to be trusted. A hag with a demonic laugh, the Morrigan appears as a grotesque apparition to men about to die in battle. Her name is also used for a triad of war goddesses, who are often thought of as different aspects of the Morrigan. NEMAIN
"Panic." A war goddess. NUADHU also NUD, NODENS, LUD.
"Nuadhu of the silver arm." God of healing and water; his name suggests "wealth-bringer" and "cloud-maker." At the first battle of Moytura, Nuadhu lost an arm, and Dian Cecht replaced it with a new one made out of silver. Because of this, Nuadhu was obliged to turn leadership of the Tuatha de' Dannan over to Lug. People came to be healed at Nuadhu's temple at Lydney, and small votive limbs made of silver have been found there. OGMIOS also OGMA
"Sun Face." A hero god like Hercules, a god of eloquence, language, genius. Generally portrayed as an old man dressed in a lion skin. From his tongue hang fine gold chains attached to the ears of his eager followers. SUCELLUS
Guardian of forests, patron of agriculture. His consort is Nantosvelta, whose name suggests brooks and streams. Sometimes considered synonomous with Cernunnos or Daghda. TUATHA DE' DANANN
The divine tribes and people descended from the goddess Danu. Skilled in druidry and magic, the Tuatha de' Danann possess four talismans of great power: the stone of Fal which shrieked under the true heir to the throne; the spear of Lug which made victory certain; the sword of Nuadhu which slays all enemies; and the ever full cauldron of Daghda from which no man ever goes away hungry. | 
