Book of Shadows

Belenus

God of light, The Shining One, associated with Apollo. married to Belisama. Belenus was the most widely worshipped Celtic God. Belenus is in charge of welfare of sheep and cattle. Corresponds with Irish God Bile. The Feast of Beltane means 'Fire of Bel'.

Belisama

(corresponds to classical Minerva) Goddess of light and fire, forging and craft.

Cernunnos

"The Horned One" is a Celtic god of fertility, life, animals, wealth, and the underworld. He was worshipped all over Gaul, and his cult spread into Britain as well. Cernunnos is depicted with the antlers of a stag, sometimes carries a purse filled with coin. The Horned God is born at the winter solstice, marries the Goddess at Beltane, and dies at the summer solstice.

He alternates with the Goddess of the moon in ruling over life and death, continuing the cycle of death, rebirth and reincarnation. Paleolithic cave paintings found in France that depict a stag standing upright or a man dressed in stag costume seem to indicate that Cernunnos' origins date to those times. Romans sometimes portrayed him with three cranes flying above his head.

Epona

The Goddess of horses, mules, and cavalrymen. She was worshipped throughout entire Gaul, and as far as the Danube and Rome. Her cult was eventually adopted by the Roman army and they spread her worship wherever they went. Epona is depicted sitting side saddle or lying on a horse, or standing with multiple horses around her. Her symbol is the Cornucopia ("horn of plenty") which suggests that she could (originally) have been a fertility goddess. She is also identified with the Celtic goddess Edain.

Nantosuelta
(Nantosvelta)

Consort of Sucellus, she is possibly a goddess of nature, valleys and streams. Her symbol, the raven, suggests that she may be associated with Irish war-goddess Morrigan.

Ogmios (Sun face)

A hero god, he has gold chains that hang from his tongue attached to the ears of his followers. He is the patron god of scholars and eloquence. It is Ogmios who invented the runic language of the Druids. He is represented as an old man, with a bald head, and dressed in a lion skin. His Irish counterpart is Ogma.

Rosmerta

A Celtic goddess of fertility and wealth, whose cult was widely spread in Gaul. She is the wife of the god Esus, but also of the Gaulish Mercury. Her attributes are a cornucopia and a stick with two snakes.

Sucellus

He's the guardian of forests and the patron of agriculture. Often seen with a great hammer and a dog by his side, he ferries the dead to the otherworld. His name means 'good striker'

Smertrios

Gallic war deity.

Isis

The mother of Horus and sister and consort of Osiris was worshipped at Philae. Associated with Astarte, Hathor, Nut and Sothis, she was later worshipped over the entire Roman Empire.

Taranis

His emblems are the wheel and the lightning flash, and his name means 'Thunderer'. This Gaulish god is sometimes identified with Jupiter.

Teutates

Teutates is an ancient Celtic god of war, fertility and wealth worshipped in Gaul. His name means "the god of the tribe". Human sacrifices were made in his name. Teutates is the equivalent of the Roman god Mars.

Children
Of Don

One of the rival dynasties of Welsh mythology, and equated with the Tuatha de Danaan of Ireland, the Children of Don includes Gwydion, a warrior magician, and Aranrhod, sky goddess and symbol of fertility. Their sons were Dylan, associated with the sea, and Lleu Llaw Gyffes.

Children
Of Llyr

Bendigeidfran, Branwen and Manawydan, who appear in the story of 'Branwen Daughter of Llyr.'

Amaethon

The Welsh god of agriculture.

Arianrhod

Celtic earth goddess. She is the daughter and/or wife of Don, sister of Gwydion.

Bran

Bran ("raven"), son of Llyr and Penarddun, and brother of Branwen and the sea god Manawydan, and half brother Nisien and Efnisien. He is a hero god and perhaps also the god of poetry and the underworld.

Branwen

Branwen is the Celtic goddess of love and beauty, also worshipped in Manx and Wales. She is the sister of Bran the Blessed and Manannan mac Lir, daughter of Lir, and wife of the Irish king Matholwch. After the death of her brother Bran, due to a war caused by her husband, Branwen died of a broken heart. She corresponds with Aphrodite and Venus.

Belatu-Cadros (Belatucadros)

The Celtic god of war and of the destruction of enemies. His name means fair shining one. The Romans equated him with their god Mars.

Caridwen

Mother of Taliesen, greatest and wisest of all the bards, therefore she is patron of poets. Caridwen corresponds with Brigit. She is connected with wolves, and some believe that her cult dates to the Neolithic era. Originally a corn goddess.

Dewi

An old Welsh god. The official emblem of Wales, a red dragon, is derived from the Great Red Serpent that once represented the god Dewi.

Dylan

Welsh sea god, brother of Lleu.

Gwydion

Welsh warrior and magician god. By his sister Arianrhod he fatherd Lleu and Dylan.

Lleu

Brother of Dylan, son of Arianrhod and Gwydion. Hero god who corresponds with the Irish Lugh. His festival, teh Lugnasad, was held on the first day of August.

Pwyll

Prince of Dyfed (southwest Wales) who marries the Goddess Rhiannon and has a son Pryderi.

Rhiannon

Believed to be the Welsh counterpart of Gaulish horse goddess Epona. Her son, Pryderi, succeeded his father Pwyll as the ruler of Dyfed and of the otherworld.

Aine

Goddess of love and fertility, later known as an Irish fairy queen..

Airmid

A healing goddess of the Tuatha de Danann, goddess of medicinal plants and keeper of the spring that brings the dead back to life.

Brigit
(Bridget,
Brighid,
Brigindo)

Brigit is the Irish-Celtic goddess of healing and fertility, patroness of smiths, poets and doctors, symbolized by a white swan. She is the daughter of The Dagda, the deity of the Tuatha de Danaan, one of the most ancient people of Northern Europe.

Brigit is wife of Bres, king of the gods and Ireland. Her festival is that of the Imbolc, observed on February 1. In Kildare, Ireland, she was served by a female priesthood. Brigit shares attributes with the ancient Greek triple goddess Hecat. The pre-Christian Brigantes, from where her name derives, honored her as identical to Juno, Queen of Heaven. So well loved is Brigit, that she was made into a Christian saint when the Celts turned to Christianity.

Fomorians

In Irish-Celtic mythology, the Fomorians are a race of demonic giants, the original occupants of Ireland. The Tuatha DÈ Danann, the Irish race of gods, arrived and destroyed the Fomorian hold over Ireland for good in the second battle of Mag Tuireadh. The Fomorians were given the province of Connacht, and were allowed to marry some of the Tuatha DÈ. The king of the Fomorians is the one-eyed Balor.

Bres

The Irish-Celtic god of fertility and agriculture. He is the son of Elatha, a prince of the Fomorians, and the goddess Eriu.

Bile

Corresponds with Gaul god Belenius.

Boann

Boann is a Goddess of bounty and fertility, whose totem is the sacred white cow. She was the wife of Nechtan, a water deity. The father of her son Angus was Dagda. To hide their union from Nechtan, Boann and the Dagda caused the sun to stand still for nine months, so that Angus was conceived and born on the same day.

Dagda
(Dagde,
Dagodevas)

The Irish Celtic God of the Earth and Father God. On New Years Day Dagda mates with his wife the raven Morrigan. His attributes are a bottomless caldron of plenty and a harp with which he rules the seasons. His club can kill as well as restore life. As leader of the Tuatha De Danaan, Dagda is a fearsome warrior and skilled artisan.

Danu

Danu is considered to be the mother of The Dagda, god of the Tuatha de Danaan. She most likely existed in an earlier form as Anu, Universal Mother.

Morrigan

Morrigan was the Celtic goddess of war and death who could take the shape of a crow or raven. She is associated with the sometimes frightening aspects of female energy, and is wife to Dagda. As one aspect of the Celtic triple goddess, Morrigan is seen washing bloody laundry prior to battle by those destined to die.

Lugh

This Celtic deity was worshipped during the 30 day midsummer feast in Ireland, where sexual magic ensured ripening of the crops and a prosperous harvest. He is linked with the nature goddess variously named Tailltu, Machta or Rosmerta in Gaul. His animal totems are the raven and the lynx, and he corresponds with the Roman God Mercury.

Ogma

Ogmias is his Gaul counterpart. Sometimes associated with the Greek Herakles, he is a great warrior. Here he is seen carrying his club. He is the champion of eloquence.

Shannon

Irish goddess of the river Shannon.

Sidhe

Ancient Irish hill people believed to be the spirits of the dead.

Tuatha
De
Dannan

The Tuatha De Danann ("People of the goddess Danu") are the Irish race of gods, founded by the goddess Danu. These gods, had perfected the use of magic. From the legends of the Tuatha De Danaans we learn that these were deities of learning, magical skills, arts and crafts. The three things that they revered above all others were: the plough, the hazel and the sun.