Celtic Paganism

[bluerose]

I was wondering if anyone knew anything about the Celtic goddess Ceridwyn. I know she was the goddess worshiped by the Welsh and some other tribes in ancient Britain but not much else. So any information would be great.

[Laurasia]

Try these 2 sites....

www.cs.rochester.edu/~schubert/290/cerridwen.html

&

www.geocities.com/ariannon/cerri.html

[Rowan]

Heres a little more on Celtic Paganism.

The Tuatha Dé Danann ("People of the Goddess Danu") were one of the mythical races who settled in Ireland before the arrival of the Milesians, the ancestors of modern Gaels.

The Dananns were descendants of the goddess Danu. Her son Dagda was their most powerful leader of the Dananns.

The Tuatha Dé Dananns were a race of deities as well as race of heroes. They were skilled in art and science, poetry and magic.

They were said to come from four mythical cities:
Falias,
Gorias,
Finias
Murias.
Before their arrival in Ireland, theTuatha Dé Dananns received four magic treasures or talismans, one from each city from the druids.

After the Milesians defeated the Dananns, the Dananns either retreated to Tir na n-Og ("Land of Youth") or they continued to lived on the land with the Milesians, but their homes were hidden by magic from the eyes of mortals.

Their homes were commonly called Sidhe (síd or sídh) or the Otherworld. Another name for the Tuatha Dé Danann was the áes sídhe or the "People of the Sídhe".
In the Otherworld, the Danann remained young and seemingly immortal. Immortal in the sense, they can live a very long life and remain young, but they can be killed and destroyed.

Danann interacted and bred with mortals. Most of the times, the Dananns would come to the surface and meet their lovers, other times the mortals were allowed to live with them.

In the Ulster Cycle, the Tuatha Dé Danann was still seen as Celtic deities. However, in the Fenian Cycle, the Dananns had degenerated into nothing more then fey people; in another words, the Dananns became the "Fairy People".

The Tuatha Dé Danann became frequently associated with fairies.

Fairies in Celtic myths are not tiny winged pixied in fairy tales, The fairies found here were human with supernatural power.


The Hill of Tara constitutes the heart and soul of Ireland.
Our ceremonial and mythical capital.
Both of the Irish national symbols, the harp and the shamrock, originate at Tara.

The remains of a civilisation whose monuments pre-date many Egyptian pyramids are to be found locally
Some of the local tombs date back 4,000 years and the hill was used by the High Kings of all Ireland until 1200AD

The oldest excavated monument is the Mound of the Hostages , constructed in 2500BC . Its name derives from Niall of the Nine Hostages , a king who held prisoners from every province of Ireland as well as from Britain and Europe.
Legend has it that candidates for the high kingship had to drive their chariots towards two standing stones positioned close together which opened only for the rightful king.

The Mound of the Hostages is a 5000-year-old passage tomb and is the location of the story Fionn mac Cumhaill and the Burning of Tara. Kings, poets and heroes came to a great gathering (feis) at Tara every three years to make laws, settle disputes and review the poems and stories that every poet kept in his head.

In historic times, Tara was the seat of power in Ireland.
142 High Kings reigned from the hilltop that was revered as a sacred place with a direct connection to the underworld.

The god Lugh was worshipped in Ireland as a deity of the sun.
According to Celtic mythology,, Lugh became the leader of the Tuatha De Danaan.
The Lughnasadh ( Lammas ) festival is said to have been begun by the god Lugh.

[bluerose]

I read a really good book about the Tuatha De Dannan. It's by Morgan Llywellyn and it's called Bard: The Odyssey of the Irish.

[Brandybuck]

I read that book recently...it is a very good read.