Written by Christine Breese, D.D., Ph.D.

Celtic tradition is found in well preserved books dating back to the 8th century AD. Most informative are those from Ireland: the Books of Leinster, of the Dun Cow, of Bally Mote, and the Yellow Book of Lecan. Other books of importance come from the Welsh traditions.

Irish Gods

The Dagda: He is the "father of all," the "lord of perfect knowledge." He was not just seen as a creator of the gods, but the creator of everything, including mankind. He was the lord of life and death, for he could kill nine men with one end of his club, but with the other end of his club he could restore life. He is depicted as a coarse, potbellied, ugly man with a club so large he has to carry it around on wheels. His other symbol was the cauldron which was never empty and satisfied anyone who partook from it. This symbolized his role as nourisher and provider for his people. He was considered a god of fertility for the people and for the land. People would make offerings to him through holes and pits in the ground.

Lug: His functions were similar to the Dagda, but he was called "the long arm" or "many skilled." Lug possessed the ability to do almost anything and everything. Legend says that he arrived at a town and declared that he was a carpenter, but the town already had a carpenter. So then he said he was a blacksmith, but the town already had a blacksmith. Then he went on to list his other skills, including warrior, harper, poet, historian, hero, sorcerer and many others. All of these positions were filled, but he finally gained admittance by asking if there was any single person who was master of all these skills. This is what finally gave him his position. His symbols were a spear and sling and other weapons capable of accurate aim beyond the reach of a man's arm. In some instances, he seems to have replaced the Dagda, but in others he shares the same level of importance. He is not depicted as coarse and crude like the Dagda and also not as violent as the Dagda.

Other Gods: There is not much information and these gods are not as easily understood. Most of their functions duplicate the Dagda and Lug attributes. These other gods seemed to be more specialized in each skill, not having multi skills like the Dagda and Lug. Nuada was a chieftain type god who lost a hand in battle and replaced it with a silver hand. He possessed a sword that was so lethal that no enemy could survive it. Ogma was a champion of the people. Gobniu was the god of blacksmithing and beer brewing. Manannan was Lord of the Sea and the Celtic otherworld.

Irish Goddesses

The Celtic gods are often called the People of the Goddess Danu, but this does not mean that she gave birth to all of them. For instance, the Dagda is considered her father. She only had three children, Brian, Iuchar and Iucharba, a concept of trinity that was common in Celtic traditions. Sometimes Danu is confused with the goddess Brigit, who was a triple deity and survives as the Christian Saint Brigit (Bride). Brigit was a goddess of learning, teaching, culture and other skills.

Macha was a fertility Goddess with close association with the soil. She died giving birth to twins and while she died she put a curse on the women of Ulster. Her curse caused them to experience terrible pangs of childbirth for five days and four nights. In another myth, she is a warrior queen, forcing her enemies to build her capital. It is not unusual for women to fight in battle in these cultures, so goddesses of war were a natural progression for the Celtic system of gods and goddesses. However, these women were most depicted as sorcerers and fighting battles by shape shifting and magic, using supernatural powers to win.

British (Welsh) Gods

It is believed that as the Irish migrated into Welsh territory in the late Roman period they brought with them their gods and goddesses and they were mutated into a Welsh or British version of these energies. The Children Of Don were very much like the People of the Goddess Danu. They all possessed similar skills to their Irish versions. For instance, one of the Children of Don was Govannan, god of smithing and brewing, very much the same incarnation as Gobniu in Irish traditions. Ludd or Nudd was the equivalent of Nuada, both having silver hands and a lethal sword as rulers. Gwydion was the more important god like Dagda and Lug. He was skilled in both war and peace, and even survived trials from hostile powers the way that Dagda was also tested with insurmountable obstacles. He also was skilled in poetry and grace, as well as possessing magical powers. He was worshipped in Wales.

Another Child Of Don was Arianrod, a goddess named after the Corona Borealis. The there was Llew, her child, who was similar the god Lug in Irish traditions. Many of the Children Of Don let their names be used for constellations like Cassiopeia (Llys Don), the Milky Way (Caer Gwydion), Corona Borealis (Caer Arianrod). This does not mean that they were part of the sky myth. This part is still unclear to historians.

The British gods and Welsh gods have much in common with their Irish cousins. The major gods are Ludd, Gwydion, Arianrod, llew, Llys, Don, and Govannan. They are all known as the Children of Don.

The Children Of Lyre

Manannan was the most well known moreso than his father Llyr. Manannan was considered a god of fertility and craftsmanship. He had a fortress full of human bones, which alludes to the possibility that he was a receiver of human sacrifices. His brother was Bran the Blessed (Bendegeit Bran). Bran was enormous in size and possesses great strength. He also had a cauldron, like the Dagda, which could restore life to the dead, but the dead resurrected would not be able to speak. He was said to be able to wade across the sea, his body like a mountain and his eyes like lakes on both sides of a ridge, which was his nose. He would lay himself across a river and entire armies could cross over him. He was also a harpist and poet. In battle, he was wounded by a poison arrow so he ordered that his head be cut off and posted facing the continent where enemies would come from as protection of his people. He was depicted as a protector of his people, sacrificing himself for them. Some believe that the Children Of Llyr were from the underworld and the Children of Don were sky deities.

Other Deities Who Were Not Children Of Either Clan:

Morrigan: She was a goddess who could shape shift in battle and change into horrible creatures.

Mabinogi: He was lord of the underworld. He changed places for a year with Arawn, prince of Annwn, the British Hades.

Rhiannon: She was a fertility goddess who bore the son, Pryderi, who later became the new lord of the Underworld.

Arthur: There is much derision between historians as to who Arthur really was. The Legend of King Arthur and his Knights seems to be an echo of various long forgotten and displaced deities, along with their battles with each other. It is believed by some historians that people who were trying to put together a coherent and readable story of their gods created the Legend Of Arthur in order to make it palatable as a story. The Holy Grail seems to be a thinly disguised version of the cauldron of plenty that the Dagda of the Irish and Bran of the Welsh traditions possessed.

Arthur has sometimes been called Ator in ancient literature. Ator was a bear god, a ploughman. He is also called Culhwch and Olwen in other texts. It is not certain if he was considered a legendary real person or a mythological aspect of a chieftain god with his consort Gwenhwyf ar, who was most likely a fertility goddess.