Celtic Goddesses & Magick
Aine - Land Goddess of the Eoghanachta tribes in Munster. She is invoked at Midsummer when torches are taken through the fields to bless the growing corn with sacred fire.
Airmed - Goddess of the Tuatha de Danaan, the most ancient deities of Ireland. She had great magical powers and herb craft was Her specialty.
Ardwinna - Continental Celtic Goddess of the Wildwood. She demanded a fine for every animal killed in Her wood, which She was said to oversee mounted on a wild boar.
Arianrhod - Mother Goddess of Celtic Aryans, Keeper of the endlessly circling Silver Wheel of the Stars, symbol of Time. Silver Wheel That Descends into the Sea. Welsh Sorceress Goddess of the Silver Wheel. Beautiful and pale of complexion, She was the most powerful of the mythic children of the Mother Goddess Don. Willow is Her tree.
Arnamentia - Ancient British Goddess of Spring Waters.
Artio - Great Goddess of wildlife in Celtic Gaul and Britain.
Badb - Crow Goddess. Form of Morrigan, great Irish War Goddess. Sometimes took the form of a hooded crow, a wolf, a bear or a heifer, or a giant woman Who straddled a river with one foot on each bank.
Banba - Irish Earth Goddess. Land Unplowed for a Year.
Ban Naomha - Irish Fish Goddess.
Becuma - Irish Goddess of the Magic Boat.
Belisama - Celtic Goddess of the Mersey River.
Blancheflor - White Flower, Celtic Lily Maid Who represented the Maiden aspect of the triple Goddess. The red flower stands for the Mother and the black bird for the Crone, according to the three sacred colors of the Gunas.
Blodewedd - Welsh Virgin Goddess of Spring, totem the owl, bird of wisdom and lunar mysteries. The Ninefold Goddess of the western isles of Paradise. (Arianrhod) Flowerface. Most beautiful and treacherous.
Boann - Primal Goddess of the River Boyne. She of the White Cow.
Bodua - Continental Celtic War Goddess.
Branwen - Goddess of Regeneration Who kept the Cauldron of Regeneration. Alder was Her tree. The White Bosomed One. Welsh Love goddess. Venus of the Northern Sea. The crow is Her animal. She is the White Crow.
| Briget (Brigid) - Triple Goddess of the great Celtic empire of Brigantia, which included parts of Spain, France and the British Isles. Female sage, Protectress of poets and bards. Unable to eradicate the cult of Briget (pronounced Breed), the Catholic church made Her a saint, saying She was a nun Who founded a convent at Kildare. But the convent was known for its heathenish miracles and evidences of fertility magic. Cows never went dry; flowers and shamrocks sprang up in Her footprints, eternal Spring reigned in Her bower. Her feast day is the first of February, the first day of Spring in the pagan calendar. Imbolc, the day of union between Goddess and God. Teacher of the martial arts and Patroness of battle. Wells were sacred to Her. Shamrock Her sacred plant. Rowan Her tree. Scallop shell sacred to Her. Goddess of smithcraft, poetry, dying, weaving and brewing. Goddess of inspiration, healing and medicine. Bright Arrow, Bright One, Inventor of whistling. No man was allowed to pass beyond the hedge surrounding Her sanctuary. Lady of Fire and Sunlight. She is sometimes depicted with a cauldron as a symbol for inspiration. Her shrine at Kildare was maintained by 19 virgins who tended Her undying fire until almost modern times. On Her feast day of Imbolc, the universal Celtic fertility day, the Goddess Brigit kindles the fire in the Earth, preparing the way for Spring. Her power is that of fire-in-water: a power that heals and nourishes. Imbolc is the first day of Spring, mid-way through the dark half of the year. Brigit, Goddess of all creative activity, rekindles the fire in the Earth, preparing it for the reemergence of green things. This stirring of new life is manifested by the first flowing of milk in the udders of ewes, a few weeks before the lambing season. Agricultural tools are reconsecrated for use, household fires and the fire of the smith’s forge are blessed by the Goddess (often by a woman who plays the role of Brigit) and talismans of rushes, Brigit’s Crosses are made for the protection of homes. Brigit’s snake comes out of the mound in which it hibernates, and it’s behavior is thought to determine the length of the remaining period of frost. The Triple Brigit - On Imbolc, She is revealed in Her 3 aspects. As Muse, She inspires bards with the spirit of truth. As Guardian of the forge and consort of smiths, She is the patroness of warriors. As the Lady of the Land Who knows all herbs, She is the greatest of healers. Oystercatcher is Her sacred bird. Goddess of agriculture, knowledge, inspiration, and fertility magic. Blackberry sacred to her. |
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Caillech - Old Celtic name for Kali, The Great Goddess in Her Destroyer aspect. The Veiled One. Elder Her tree. Great pre-Celtic Goddess of British Isles. She had an eye in the middle of a blue-black face. She had red teeth and white hair. Controlled the seasons and the weather. Cosmic goddess of Earth and Sky, Moon and Sun.
Canola - Ancient Irish Goddess. Inventor of the Irish harp.
Carman - Irish Goddess of Sterility.
Cerridwen - Triple Goddess. The Great Sow. The Old White One - Sow Goddess of ancient Wales who gave gifts of grain, bees and piglets. A fertility Goddess. Birch Her tree.
Cessair (Kesara) - Early Irish Earth goddess. When Ireland coalesced out of the Underworld, the first beings to reach it were the followers of Cessair, a chieftain Who brought with Her 50 women and 3 men.
Dana - Eponymous Great Mother of the Danes and the Irish Tuatha D Danaan, people of the Goddess Dana.
Danu - aka Anu, Ana, Cat Ana, Aine. Ancient Ancestress Goddess of Ireland.
Dictynna - Lawgiving Goddess of Mount Dicte.
| Epona - Celtic/Saxon Horse Goddess of Iron Age Britain. Her cult stretched throughout Europe, from Spain to Eastern Europe and northern Italy to Britain. Irish kings were symbolically united with a white mare up to the 11th century. The Divine Horse still stands on a hillside at Uffington, 370 feet long, carved in chalk. She has the power to appear as a lively woman or a horse. Sometimes, She was the essence of a turbulent stream, for She is also a fertility Goddess, looked to for the cultivation of maternal instincts, prosperity and ample crops. Her waters are a source of healing and She watches over dogs and horses. She symbolizes wild freedom. Her dark counterpart, the Black Mare or Night Mare (Melanippe). Great Mare Goddess Who granted sovereignty over the land to the continental Celts. After Roman conquest, She became patroness of horses and all who work with horses. Traditionally shown with a stable key. |
Eriu - The Lady Eire - ancient Irish Goddess, Controller of the western apple garden of immortality.
Flidhais - Woodland Goddess, sometimes took the form of a doe.
Morgan Le Fay - Death Goddess. Wells were sacred to Her. aka Morrigan, Mara, Fata Morgana. Raven Her bird. Shamrock Her plant.
Morrigu - Goddess of Battle. She sometimes takes the shape of a woman washing a bloodied piece of clothing at the edge of a ford. The warrior who beholds Her knows that he will soon die.
Nimue - Moon Goddess of Fate.
Rhiannon - Celtic horse goddess, also known as Epona. The Great White Mare. Goddess of the harvest. Raven Her bird.
The History of Celtic Magick
"My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here,
My heart's in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer;
A-chasing the wild deer, and following the roe,
My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go." - Robert Bur
http://roswell.fortunecity.com/necronomicon/310/WitchCraft/witch12.html
Celtic witchcraft has as its basis a strong sense of spirituality and a love of the earth. Central to this love are the Goddesses and Gids, who play a strong role in Celtic worship. The Celtric religion recognises two main deities; the Earth Mother Goddess and the Horned God. But Celtic Wiccans also worship many othre minor deities who each represent specific qualities important to Celtic individuals. Celtic worshippers celebrate the same Sabbaths, perform rituals and magic, and have a strong faith in their spirituality, just like any member of the Craft. The main differences between Celtic witchcraft and other forms of the Craft is that with Celts, magic is everywhere. Magic is woven into their jewellery, their tattoos and all their artwork and everyday items such asclothing and cutlery.
The Druids are the religious leaders of the Celtic people,the wise and magical priestd and priestesses whose special blend of wisdom and magic provided a powerful role model for all the Celtic people. The Druidic priesthood was orginally all-female, which male initiates only becoming accepted after many years.
According to Laurie Cabot, Druidesses were divided into three levels, or classes: the highest class were celibate and lived in convents, and were eventually assimilated into Christianity as nuns. The other two levels could be married and lived either with their husbands, or in the temples. With the onset of Christianity these wise women were called witches.
Spirituality is of primary import to Celtis, and their devotion to the earth, their goddesses and gods and the effeort which they put into their worship is proof of their highly spiritual nature. Although the names of the deities worshipped and the titles of the SAbbats may be different to other Pagan practices, despite the regional dialects which occur in the Celtic rituals, there are strong similarities between Celtic witchcraft and Wicca practiced elsewhere on the globe.
Faerie MagicK
Despite the interest in the Celts, there is a great deal of confusion as to who the Celtic people actually were, and where they came from. DJ Conway in her book Celtic Magic explains that the Celts were not only inhabitants of Wales Ireland and Scotland, as is commonly thought, but resided in much of Western Europe. They were a strongly spiritual, artistic and creative people, with a distinctive artwork, orginal alphabet (the Ogham) and a deep respect for faeries, elves, pixies and gnomes.
One need not be of Celtic heritage to practice Celtic magic. Each person who is interested in Paganism will follow a basic set of guidelines, but will adapt the rituals and spells to suit her/himself. One aspect which sets Celtic magic apart from others is their respect for the "little people": faeries, elves and gnomes, whom the Celts called "Good Neighbours" and treated with honour. Much of the Celtic magic calls for the assistance of their Good Neighbours, with those who were familiar often using the little folks' fairy circles of mushrooms found in fields, rather than casting their own magic circle. However the Celts realised that it is very important to use another's circle with respect, and with permission, they are aware that you should never encroach upon another's magic.
The Warrior Goddess
The Celts were unique in the level of power they attributed to their female Gods. Warrior Goddesses were relatively common, and it was not unusual for Celtic women to fight alongside the male warriors during wartime. Subsequently, women were highly regarded in the Celtic community, with children taking their mother's name, and daughters inheriting the mother's property upon her death.
Celtic magic is rooted strongly in the four natural elements: earth, air,fire and water, with many spells and rituals corresponding to at least one of these elements. As in all Wiccan magic, each of the elements is associated with a colour, and with certain powers. For the Celts the colours were North, black; South, white; East, red and West, grey. The Celts also placed a great deal of faith in stones and plants and in their ability to heal. Therefore any practitioner of Celtic magic would be well versed in plants and herbal medicine.
Ritualsinterwined the use of colours, stones, incense and elements representing the natural elements, which are all extremely powerful tools in Celtic magic.
Magickal Lives
With the Celts, magic was a common part of everyday life, completely accepted and never questioned. In order to practice Celtic magic one needs to suspend disbelief, turn around the conventional ideas and accept magic into your life. Magic becomes s natural as breathing, sleeping and smiling : a completely normal part of life. As one becomes more familiar with magic, the more accepting one becomes, until there's not even a second thought about the magic in one's life.
The White Moon Goddess and the Honrned God are the two deities which personify nature for the Celts, and while the Celts, like Wiccans, believe that all Gods and Goddesses are one God united, is is these two which are the most prominent. Celts worship the triple Goddess: the deity recognised as the maiden, mother, crone. The maiden is Anu, the mother Badb and the crone Ceridwen: each representing woman at three important phases of her llife cycle.
Just as the lunar calendar is important to all witches, it plays a strong role in the Celtic lifestyle. The thirteen lunar months in the Celtic calendar are all named after certain plants and trees. The new year for the Celts starts the day after Samhain (on November 1, its origins being in the Northern hemisphere). Nights were counted, not days, and feasts, rituals and celebrations were always based around the moon. The Celtic day began at midnight.
The Celts were an extremely spiritual people, so when Christian leaders looked down upon their magical tradition, the Celts moved underground: or more specifically to the nearest forest. The Celts were not a sexually repressed people, sexuality was encouraged, and women with children were paid a higher dowery than virgins to become wives - so much was fertility prized. Beltane was considered a most auspicious festivals were often held during this time.
Celtic Rituals
In Celtic witchcraft, rituals honour the essential elements of earth, air, fire and water, and the deities that personify them. Rituals are held in honour of the seasons, the Sabbats and to celebrate auspicious moments in pagan history. Numbers are extremely important to the Celts, with three, five, seven, nine and thirteen holding special significance. Therefore it is auspicious to repeat rituals or affirmations a specific number of times.
Ritual is vital for Celtic magic. The wearing of ceremonial robes, the burning of incense and candles, and the tools on the ceremonial altar - all play an important role in setting the scene for magic. Magic is an oft overused term, but those in the Craft know that it works. With spellcraft one can practice and see the results of magic, constantly gaining strength with each day that passes.
Candle magic was greatly favoured by the Celts, although they preferred tallow lamps and bonfires using specific woods to modern candles we use today. Candle rituals are specific to the individual, but there are a few simple rules to follow unless the ritual specifies otherwise. To perform a spell to increase or obtain, burn during a waxing moon (the period leading up to the full moon). To decrease or remove, burn during a waning moon (the period after the full moon).
Use candles of a specific colour relevant to your spell. Anoint the candle with incense or oil, working from bottom to top for a spell to increase or from top to bottom for a spell to remove. You may also wish to etch words, such s your desires or the name of the deity to whom you are appealing, along the side of the candle to strengthen the purpose of the spell. When performing a ritual with a candle, unless otherwise stipulated, allow the candle to burn out to the end.
Celtic Spellcraft
Spellwork is best created for yourself. While it is possible to follow a spell written by another, it is best to adapt the spell to suit your own purposes. Often the words may change slightly, or you may wish to address another deity. Specific colours may feel right to you, or you may wish to alter the number of repetitions in a chant depending on the outcome you desire. While tradition is worthy, adaptability is common sense.
Most importantly, a spell must only be performed if it for the good of all concerned - never ask for a wish to be fulfilled if it is not in the interest of all. For example, you do not wish to become rich only as a result of compensation received after an accident. You do not wish to have someone fall in love with you if it will cause hardship for another. So long as magic is for the good of all, good magic will be returned to you threefold.
Do as ye will and harm ye none. Blessed be.
Celtic magic is a strong and powerful tradition, and one worthy of more than a casual glance. It may not be the religion for you, but it may help to strengthen your existing beliefs, or offer a viable alternative for your future.
