Celtic Myth

A smattering of gods and goddesses...

	Cerridwen -Welsh Goddess of Nature, associated with the Sacred Cauldron of Wisdom that allowed Taliesin to become enlightened. When she discovered that Gwion had tasted of her cauldron, she chased him through a variety of mutual shape changes until at last she caught and consummed him as a grain of wheat which caused her to give birth to the great bard Taliesin.
	Morrighan - The Dark aspect of the Celtic Triple Goddess. The Goddess of Death.
	Rhiannon (meaning either "Maid of Annwn" or a variant of Rigatona, "Great Queen"), a version of the horse-goddess Epona, and goddess of sovereignity.
	Don The Welsh mother-goddess. She is the wife of Beli, and mother of Gwydion. Her Irish counterpart is Danu.
	Arianrhod ("silver wheel", thus, the moon), is one of the descendants of Don. She had two brothers, Gilfaethwy and Gwydion the sister of Math ap Mathonwy, goddess of time and karma. Mother aspect of the Triple Goddess in Wales. goddess of beauty, the Moon, fertility and reincarnation. She is also associated with the sea. A star goddess of Wales, her palace was called Caer Arianrhod (Aurora Borealis)
	Fionnuala - the fairest of the fay of the sea. Daughter of LIR and Iweriadd - wife of Lir- dancer of the waves, guide of the sailors, dancer of light in the water's sparkle.
	Aoife - mistress of the sea floor and Shifter of the Sands.
	Llew Llaw Gyffes, -the Bright Lion with the Sure Hand, son of the virgin Arianrhod. He could not be killed by day or night, indoors or out, riding or walking, clothed or naked, or by any weapon lawfully made. Because his mother had cursed him to have no human wife, he married a made woman, created of flowers, Blodeuwedd. She betrayed him with Goronwy, tricked the secret of his death out of him, and led him to it. Llew became an eagle, and was recovered into human form by his uncle Gwydion. He then killed Goronwy, but Blodeuwedd was turned into an owl.
	Llyr The Welsh sea god.
	Cernunnos - Known to all Celts as the Horned God, he was god of nature, virility, fertility, animals, sex, reincarnation and shamanism. Known to the Druids as Hu Gadarn, god of the underworld and astral Planes. He was the consort of the great goddess.
	Iweriadd - wife of Llyr, she was the sea Enchantress (asleep, cursed to sleep until innish returns to the waters of the sea.
	Bran (raven), son of Llyr and Penarddun, brother of Branwen and Manawydan, and half brother Nisien and Efnisien. Bran was too a giant by usual standards. When Bran learned of the slavery imposed upon his sister Branwen by her Irish husband Matholwch, he sailed to rescue her. Matholwch was terrified at the sight of a forest approaching Ireland across the sea: Bran's navy, and Bran himself wading through the water. He sued for peace, they built a house big enough for Bran, and Matholwch agreed to settle the kingdom on Gwern, his son by Branwen.
	Fand - Mistress of the tides,wife of Manawyddan.
	Branwen - (white raven) a daughter of Llyr and Penarddun, and sister of Bran, and Manawydan, and half-sister of Nisien and Efnisien. Matholwch of Ireland sued for her hand, and gave horses to Bran. Efnisien mutilated the horses, nearly precipitating warfare, but Matholwch was appeased by the gift of a cauldron that could resurrect the dead. Branwen wed him, and went to Ireland, where she bore him a son, Gwern. But the Irish began to complain about their foreign queen, and she was banished to the kitchen, where she was a slave and boxed on the ears by the butcher daily. Branwen trained a starling to speak and sent it to Wales, where it told Bran of her plight, and he sailed to rescue her.
	Mananwyddan - son of Llyr the Welsh sea-god by Penardun, daughter of Don, Manawyddan ap Llyr expresses his divine nature in mastery of many crafts, and proficiency in magic. Manawyddan is associated with the sea and the Otherworld, which are ever connected in the Celtic mind. His especial realm is a fortress made entirely of bones, made in the shape of a beehive and called Oeth and Anoeth -- a prison for those living humans who trespass inappropriately in the Otherworld.
	Math Mathonwy - The Welsh god of sorcery, brother of the goddess Don.
	Amaethon - The Welsh god of agriculture, son of the goddess Don. He is directly responsible for the war between the deities of the underworld, led by Arawn, and the Children of Don. In the Battle of the Trees (Battle of Cath Godeau). Amaethon's brother Gwydion transformed trees into warriors with whose help the deities of the underworld were defeated
	Beli The Celtic god of light and healing, "Bel" means "shining one," or in Irish Gaelic, the name "bile" translates to "sacred tree." It is thought that the waters of Danu, the Irish All-Mother goddess, fed the oak and produced their son, The Dagda. As the Welsh Beli, he is the father of Arianrhod by Don. Patron of sheep and cattle, Bel's festival is Beltane, one of two main Celtic fire festivals. Beltane celebrates the return of life and fertility to the world -- marking the beginning of Summer and the growing season. Taking place on April 30, Beltane also is sometimes referred to as "Cetsamhain" which means "opposite Samhain." The word "Beltaine" literally means "bright" or "brilliant fire," and refers to the bonfire lit by a presiding Druid in honor of Beli.
	Govannan - (the smith) The Welsh smith god, the equivalent of the Irish Goibniu. Govannon is a son of the goddess Don and the brother of Gwydion and Amaethon. He slew the sea god Dylan, not knowing who he was.
	Gwynn ap Nudd The south-Welsh god of the underworld. He abducted Creiddylad when she eloped with Gwythr ap Greidawl. She had long been fought over by the followers of Gwynn and Gwythr. This fight (which started on May Day) is believed to represent the seasonal contest between summer and winter.
	Taliesin - One of the two greatest Celtic Bards that ever lived. Taliesin was the great Bard of the Welsh, whose poetry and songs, Including the Cad Goddieu, tell most of what is known about Druidry in Wales. He gained his knowledge from the Cauldron of Cerridwen. They are both patrons of Bards, music, magic and poetry.
	Celtic Triple Goddess - Seen as The "Washer at the Ford" (seen washing bloody laundry prior to battle by those destined to die), The battle goddess, Queen of the Witches, goddess of magic and death. She could appear as a Raven, a beautiful Maiden or an ugly Hag. She married the Dagdha at Samhain.