Celtic Gods
This is an extremely small sample to be updated soon...look for additional Celtic Gods as well as various other Pagan Gods from around the world.
ANGUS OF THE BRUGH Also OENGUS OF THE BRUIG God of youth, son of the Dagda.
In Ireland, Angus is the counterpart of Cupid. Angus' kisses turn into
singing birds, and the music he plays irresistably draws all who hear.
CERNUNNOS Horned god of virility. Cernunnos wears the torc (neck-ring) and
is ever in the company of a ram-headed serpent and a stag. Extremely popular
among the Celts, the Druids encouraged the worship of Cernunnos, attempting
to replace the plethora of local deities and spirits with a national
religion. The Celts were so enamored of Cernunnos that his cult was a
serious obstacle to the spread of Christianity.
DAGDA Earth and father god. Dagda possesses a bottomless cauldron of plenty
and rules the seasons with the music of his harp. With his mighty club Dagda
can slay nine men with a single blow, and with its small end he can bring
them back to life. On the day of the New Year, Dagda mates with the raven
goddess of the Morrigan who while making love straddles a river with one
foot on each bank. A slightly comical figure.
DIAN CECHT A healer. At the second battle of Moytura, Dian Cecht murdered
his own son whose skill in healing endangered his father's reputation. The
Judgments of Dian Cecht, an ancient Irish legal tract, lays down the
obligations to the ill and injured. An agressor must pay for curing anyone
he has injured, and the severity of any wound, even the smallest, is
measured in grains of corn.
DIS PATER Originally a god of death and the underworld, later the cheif god
of the Gauls. The Gauls believed, as their Druids taught, that Dis Pater is
the ancestor of all the Gauls.
DONN Irish counterpart to Dis Pater. Donn sends storms and wrecks ships, but
he protects crops and cattle as well. Donn's descendents come to his island
after death.
ESUS A god of the Gauls "whose shrines make men shudder," according to a
Roman poet. Human sacrifices to Esus were hanged and run through with a
sword. For unknown reasons, Esus is usually portrayed as a woodcutter.
GOVANNON The smith god. The weapons Govannon makes are unfailing in their
aim and deadliness, the armor unfailing in its protection. Also a healer.
Those who attend the feast of Govannon and drink of the god's sacred cup
need no longer fear old age and infirmity.
LUG also LUGH, LLEU A sun god and a hero god, young, strong, radiant with
hair of gold, master of all arts, skills and crafts. One day Lug arrived at
the court of the Dagda and demanded to be admitted to the company of the
gods. The gatekeeper asked him what he could do. For every skill or art Lug
named, the gatekeeper replied that there was already one among the company
who had mastered it. Lug at last pointed out that they had no one who had
mastered them all, and so gained a place among the deities, eventually
leading them to victory in the second battle of Moytura against the
Formorian invaders. (The Formorians were a race of monsters who challenged
the gods for supremacy in the first and second battles of Moytura.) The
Romans identified Lug with Mercury. The most popular and widely worshipped
of the Celtic gods, Lug's name in its various forms was taken by the cities
of Lyons, Loudun, Laon, Leon, Lieden, Leignitz, Carlisle and Vienna.
NUADHU also NUD, NODENS, LUD. "Nuadhu of the silver arm." God of healing and
water; his name suggests "wealth-bringer" and "cloud-maker." At the first
battle of Moytura, Nuadhu lost an arm, and Dian Cecht replaced it with a new
one made out of silver. Because of this, Nuadhu was obliged to turn
leadership of the Tuatha de' Dannan over to Lug. People came to be healed at
Nuadhu's temple at Lydney, and small votive limbs made of silver have been
found there.
OGMIOS also OGMA "Sun Face." A hero god like Hercules, a god of eloquence,
language, genius. Generally portrayed as an old man dressed in a lion skin.
From his tongue hang fine gold chains attached to the ears of his eager
followers.
SUCELLUS Guardian of forests, patron of agriculture. His consort is
Nantosvelta, whose name suggests brooks and streams. Sometimes considered
synonomous with Cernunnos or Daghda.
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