Got this from Wikipedia.
In Gaelic mythology (Irish, Scottish and Manx) the Cailleach (Irish pronunciation: [ˈkalʲəx], Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [ˈkaʎəx]) is a divine hag, a creator deity and weather deity, and an ancestor deity. She is also commonly known as the Cailleach Bhéara(ch) or Bheur(ach). The word cailleach means "hag" in modern Scottish Gaelic,[2] and has been applied to numerous mythological figures in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.
Monday, May 28, 2018
Monday, May 21, 2018
Irish Gods: Brigid
I got this from Wikipedia.
Brigit, Brigid or Bríg (/ˈbrɪ.dʒɪd/, /ˈbriː.ɪd/, "exalted one"[1]) was a goddess of pre-Christian Ireland. She appears in Irish mythology as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the daughter of the Dagda and wife of Bres, with whom she had a son named Ruadán.
It has been suggested that Brigid is a continuation of the Indo-European dawn goddess.[1] She is associated with the spring season, fertility, healing, poetry and smithcraft. Cormac's Glossary, written in the 10th century by Christian monks, says that Brigid was "the goddess whom poets adored" and that she had two sisters: Brigid the healer and Brigid the smith.[2][3] This suggests she may have been a triple deity.[4]
Saint Brigid shares many of the goddess's attributes and her feast day was originally a pagan festival (Imbolc) marking the beginning of spring. It has thus been argued that the saint is a Christianization of the goddess.
Brigit, Brigid or Bríg (/ˈbrɪ.dʒɪd/, /ˈbriː.ɪd/, "exalted one"[1]) was a goddess of pre-Christian Ireland. She appears in Irish mythology as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the daughter of the Dagda and wife of Bres, with whom she had a son named Ruadán.
It has been suggested that Brigid is a continuation of the Indo-European dawn goddess.[1] She is associated with the spring season, fertility, healing, poetry and smithcraft. Cormac's Glossary, written in the 10th century by Christian monks, says that Brigid was "the goddess whom poets adored" and that she had two sisters: Brigid the healer and Brigid the smith.[2][3] This suggests she may have been a triple deity.[4]
Saint Brigid shares many of the goddess's attributes and her feast day was originally a pagan festival (Imbolc) marking the beginning of spring. It has thus been argued that the saint is a Christianization of the goddess.
Monday, May 14, 2018
Irish Gods: Boann
I got this from Wikipedia.
Boann or Boand (modern spelling: Bóinn) is the Irish goddess of the River Boyne, a river in Leinster, Ireland. According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn she was the daughter of Delbáeth, son of Elada, of the Tuatha Dé Danann.[1] Her husband is variously Nechtan, Elcmar or Nuada Airgetlám. Her lover is the Dagda, by whom she had her son, Aengus. In order to hide their affair, the Dagda made the sun stand still for nine months; therefore, Aengus was conceived, gestated and born in one day.[2]
As told in the Dindsenchas,[3] Boann created the Boyne. Though forbidden to by her husband, Nechtan, Boann approached the magical Well of Segais (also known as the Connla's Well), which was surrounded by hazels. Hazelnuts were known to fall into the Well, where they were eaten by the speckled salmon (who, along with hazelnuts, also embody and represent wisdom in Irish mythology). Boann challenged the power of the well by walking around it widdershins; this caused the waters to surge up violently and rush down to the sea, creating the Boyne. In this catastrophe, she was swept along in the rushing waters, and lost an arm, leg and eye, and ultimately her life, in the flood. The poem equates her with famous rivers in other countries, including the River Severn, Tiber, Jordan River, Tigris and Euphrates.
She also appears in Táin Bó Fraích as the maternal aunt and protector of the mortal Fráech.[4]
Her name is interpreted as "white cow" (Irish: bó fhionn; Old Irish: bó find) in the dinsenchas.[5] Ptolemy's 2nd century Geography shows that in antiquity the river's name was Bubindas,[6] which may derive from Proto-Celtic *Bou-vindā, "white cow".[7]
Modern-day commentators and modern paganism sometimes identify Boann with the goddess Brigid or believe Boann to be Brigid's mother;[8] however there are no Celtic sources that describe her as such. It is also speculated by some modern writers that, as the more well-known goddess, and later saint, the legends of numerous "minor" goddesses with similar associations may have over time been incorporated into the symbology, worship and tales of Brigid.
Boann or Boand (modern spelling: Bóinn) is the Irish goddess of the River Boyne, a river in Leinster, Ireland. According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn she was the daughter of Delbáeth, son of Elada, of the Tuatha Dé Danann.[1] Her husband is variously Nechtan, Elcmar or Nuada Airgetlám. Her lover is the Dagda, by whom she had her son, Aengus. In order to hide their affair, the Dagda made the sun stand still for nine months; therefore, Aengus was conceived, gestated and born in one day.[2]
As told in the Dindsenchas,[3] Boann created the Boyne. Though forbidden to by her husband, Nechtan, Boann approached the magical Well of Segais (also known as the Connla's Well), which was surrounded by hazels. Hazelnuts were known to fall into the Well, where they were eaten by the speckled salmon (who, along with hazelnuts, also embody and represent wisdom in Irish mythology). Boann challenged the power of the well by walking around it widdershins; this caused the waters to surge up violently and rush down to the sea, creating the Boyne. In this catastrophe, she was swept along in the rushing waters, and lost an arm, leg and eye, and ultimately her life, in the flood. The poem equates her with famous rivers in other countries, including the River Severn, Tiber, Jordan River, Tigris and Euphrates.
She also appears in Táin Bó Fraích as the maternal aunt and protector of the mortal Fráech.[4]
Her name is interpreted as "white cow" (Irish: bó fhionn; Old Irish: bó find) in the dinsenchas.[5] Ptolemy's 2nd century Geography shows that in antiquity the river's name was Bubindas,[6] which may derive from Proto-Celtic *Bou-vindā, "white cow".[7]
Modern-day commentators and modern paganism sometimes identify Boann with the goddess Brigid or believe Boann to be Brigid's mother;[8] however there are no Celtic sources that describe her as such. It is also speculated by some modern writers that, as the more well-known goddess, and later saint, the legends of numerous "minor" goddesses with similar associations may have over time been incorporated into the symbology, worship and tales of Brigid.
Monday, May 7, 2018
Irish Gods: Birog
I got this from Wikipedia.
Biróg, in Irish mythology, is the name of a druidess of the Tuatha De Danann. A folktale recorded by John O'Donovan in 1835 relates how the Fomorian warrior Balor, to frustrate a prophecy that he would be killed by his own grandson, imprisons his only daughter Eithne in the tower of Tory Island, away from any contact with men. But Biróg helps a man called Mac Cinnfhaelaidh, whose magical cow Balor stole, to gain access to the tower and seduce her. Eithne gives birth to triplets, but Balor gathers them up in a sheet and sends a messenger to drown them in a whirlpool. The messenger drowns two of the babies, but unwittingly drops one in the harbour, where he is rescued by Biróg. She takes the child back to his father, who gives him to his brother, Gavida the smith, in fosterage. The boy grows up to kill Balor.[1] By comparison with texts like Cath Maige Tuired and the Lebor Gabála Érenn, the unnamed boy is evidently Lugh, and his father, Mac Cinnfhaelaidh, is a stand-in for Lugh's father Cian.
Biróg, in Irish mythology, is the name of a druidess of the Tuatha De Danann. A folktale recorded by John O'Donovan in 1835 relates how the Fomorian warrior Balor, to frustrate a prophecy that he would be killed by his own grandson, imprisons his only daughter Eithne in the tower of Tory Island, away from any contact with men. But Biróg helps a man called Mac Cinnfhaelaidh, whose magical cow Balor stole, to gain access to the tower and seduce her. Eithne gives birth to triplets, but Balor gathers them up in a sheet and sends a messenger to drown them in a whirlpool. The messenger drowns two of the babies, but unwittingly drops one in the harbour, where he is rescued by Biróg. She takes the child back to his father, who gives him to his brother, Gavida the smith, in fosterage. The boy grows up to kill Balor.[1] By comparison with texts like Cath Maige Tuired and the Lebor Gabála Érenn, the unnamed boy is evidently Lugh, and his father, Mac Cinnfhaelaidh, is a stand-in for Lugh's father Cian.
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
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