This compendium lists many of the Goddesses and Gods of the Celtic World. Unlike the Greeks and Egyptians, the Celts left no written accounts of their pantheon, and so made our attempt at scholarship a more difficult task. This list is by no means complete, and if you have additional material, I would be greatful if you would email it to me. Celts were not a solidified state, like Rome, and their pantheon reflects that society. Many Gods were personal and local to a village. Others were known in wide-spread areas. I have included all that I have come across, some taken on faith, even if they weren't neccessarily Irish divinities. Because of the blending and merging into others cultures, it becomes somewhat difficult to distinguish the originally Celtic, from the modernized form. It other cases, the linkage is obvious. In the end, all we have is what we believe.
- Amaethon: Son of Dana and Beli. God of Agriculture.
- Anu: also Ana. Name in Medieval sources of a pre-Christian Irish Goddess. The Glossary of Bishop Cormac refers to her as "the mother of the Irish Gods" (mater deorum Hibernensium). According to the etymological list, Anu was a fertility goddess to whom the province of Munster owed its prosperity. Iath nAnann, "Land of Anu", occurs frequently in poetry as a name for Ireland, and two gently sloping hills south of Killarney in County Kerry were called Da chich nAnann "the two breasts of Anu". A variant of the name, which originally referred to a different mythological figure, is Danu or Danann.
- Arianrod: Only daughter of Dana and Beli. Mother of Lleu, or Llwe, by Gwydion. Goddess of the Moon.
- Badb Catha: She is called the Battle Raven and her appearance bodes death.
- Belenus: God in charge of the welfare of sheep and cattle. Celebrated at the Beltine feast, first of May.
- Boann: River Goddess.
- Branab Llyr: Son of Lyr. God of the sea, sailors, waves and storms. He is a fearless sailor who does not fear uncharted seas. He is the god of the dead and can restore humans to life. He is also a musician of some renown and his favorite instrument is the harp.
- Brigid: aka. Brigit, Bridget, Brigantia, and Bride. Daughter of Dagda. Goddess of the seasons. Patron of doctors, poets, and smiths, also women in childbirth. Became Saint Brigit of the Catholic Church when her cult could not be stamped out. Currently, she is known as the Virgin Mary's midwife.
- Cerridwen: Goddess of inspiration / knowledge.
- Cerunnos: God of prosperity / fertility. Best known for the large set of antlers on his head, he is aka. the Horned God.
- Dagda: Theoretically, he is the head of the Celtic Pantheon. Omnipotent god of complete knowledge. Master of life and death. Dispenser of plenty. A warrior, magician, and artisian. He summons the seasons by playing his harp, and his cauldron can supply fod for the entire world.
- Danu: aka. Dana, Donu, and Don. Wife (more or less) of Beli. Queen of the Tuatha de Danaan, she led her people from the West and conquered/merged with the Milesians and were later conquered by others. Rather than submit, they went underground (literally) and continued to live in this alternate dimension. Her actual status, goddess or heroine-queen, is under constant debate. Her peopls are also known as the sidhe, or faerie.
- Deae Matres: The trinity of mother goddesses who rule fertility and creativity
- Diancecht: Father of Miach. God of healing and health who restores humans to life. Killed his father over the healing of a King's lost hand.
- Dwyn: God of Love.
- Epona: Goddess of horses, mules, and calvalrymen. She protects, feeds and shelters them.
- Fand: Wife of Manannan, god of the sea.
- Goibniu: aka. Govannon. Son of dana and Bel. God of forges. A brewmaster so supreme that his beer gave the drinker immortality.
- Gwydion: God of civilization. An eloquent magician who loved the arts but could also battle well when the need arose.
- Llud: aka Lud, Nudd, Nuada. Son of Dana and Beli.
- Llyr: aka Ler, Llediaith. Father of Bron/Bram and Manannan/Manawydan. God of the sea.
- Lugh: Lug, Lamh-fhada, Samhoklanach. God of sorcery, poetry, history. God of carpenters. His magic lance is not guided by a hand; it strikes Lugh's enemies of its own will. No mortals can bare to look upon him because he is too radiant.
- Manannan Mac Llyr: Son of Lyr. God of the capes of the sea, stormes, and waves. God of merchants and fishermen. His ship follows his commands without sails; his cloak makes him invisible; his elmet is of flames and his sword can not be turned from its mark.
- Math: Brother of te goddess Dana.
- Matronae: Three mother goddesses who oversee fertility. They are lovers of peace, tranquility, and children.
- Morrigan: aka Morrigu. Macha, Badb, Nemain. The three faces of the goddess of war. Triple deity, three in one.
- Nemain: One of the Morrigan. Goddess of panic.
- Oengus: Son of Dagda. God of love. No one can resist his music.
- Ogmios: aka Ogma, Ogma Sun-Face. God of eleoquence. Austencibly, he invented the runic writing of the Druids.
- Ogyruan: Father of Gwenhwyar. God of bards.
- Sequanna: A river goddess.
- Taranis: God of thunderstorms.
Far too often, mythological beings are viewed through glasses grown dim with the dust of ages and blurred by smudges of religious and social prejudice. There are other kinds of preconceived notions as well. Scientists, supposed objective observers, will readily admit that dinosaurs existed. Dragons, however, are quite another matter. And while they have come around to the idea that continents can float, they haven't yet admitted that one might sink. ~ Anne S. Baumgartner
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