Spellcraft And EarthMagick

A druid's power lies in the invocation gods and goddesses, traditionally from the Celtic
pantheon but this depends on what nation you look at. Ireland had different gods than Wales,
who had further different gods than Gaul. Another point to consider is not only were gods
known by different names, but also many of the names were deemed too holy to pronounce
aloud. Not all modern Druids worship the gods by name. There is some evidence that the Druids of
old believed in a kind of universal Life Force, flowing from a central place (such as the
Irish Well of Wisdom or the Welsh Spiral of Annwyn), to and from all living things.





*CELTIC PANTHEON
The Celtic Pantheon was comprised of many individual beings that governed over particular
skills, trades and locations. For example, while Danu is considered an earth mother, she is
not perceived as a creator of the earth. She is a caretaker, a goddess of the fertility that
brings abundance from the land, and the Mother of those called the Tuatha de Danaan. In the
Celtic system, there is not an ultimate deity of creation or superiority. Each individual
and tribe honored many deities for their particular aspects and individual creations. These
deities can be found in many Irish and Welsh mythological tales, as well as in
archaeological evidence excavated from those lands.Each deity would have had a name by which
he or she was addressed by the tribe or tribal group. Continental and British evidence for
deity names consists of inscriptions on statues, tablets, and other items. Celtic gods and
goddesses serve as powerful symbols within the Celtic culture. They are representative of a
stronger, higher power; they are immortal, yet possess human traits. These dualities are
signs that we ourselves hold the same dual nature and are able to aspire to greatness.
Ancient Celtic perspectives on spirituality and mythology is sketchy as little information
has survived the test of time.
It is generally assumed that we do not today know the names of all Celtic deities because
many statues do not have inscriptions. Also, it appears that many of the "names" were
actually titles or honorifics rather than proper names. Perhaps the "real" names were
considered too sacred or too powerful to be used casually.The Celtic people did not believe
in a dualistic god and goddess system.The Celtic pantheon is difficult to discern. The names
of several hundred gods are known, but the majority appear to be local deities. During the
Roman period, many of these Celtic deities were identified with Roman gods etc etc.

•Aine-(AN-yuh)-Ireland;a woman of the Leanan Sidhe(Sweetheart of the Sidhe).Some said she
was the daughter of Manannan,some said she was the Morrgan herself. There was a
stone,Cathair Aine belonging to her and if anyone sat on itthey were in danger of losing
their wits,sit on it three times and they would lose them forever. Aine was very
revengeful,and was not a safe thing to offend her.
•Aine of Knockaine-(AN-yuh of knock-AN-yuh)Ireland;moon Goddess and patroness of crops and
cattle;associated with the Summer Solstice.Also Aine Cliach,and Cnoc Aine.
•Angus Mac Og-Ireland;God of youth,love,and beauty.One of the Tuatha De Danann,name
means"young son".He had a harp that made irresistable music,and his kissess turned into
birds hat carried messages of love.His brugh,underground fairy palace,was on the banks of
the Boyne River.Variants:Angus or Oengus of the Brugh,Angus Mac Oc.
•Anu-Ireland;Goddess of plenty and Mother Earth.Greatest of all Irish Goddessess,deity of
cattle,health,fertility,prosperity,and comfort.
•Aoibhell-(Evill)Ireland;another woman of Sidhe,she made her dwelling in Craig Liath.Legend
has it she gave a golden harp to Meardha,Murchad's son,when he was getting his schooling at
the Sidhe in Connacht and learned of father's death.Whoever heard the playing of the harp
would not live long afterwards.It was this harp that Curchlain heard the time his enimies
were gathering against him at Muirthemne,and he knew by the sound that his life was near its
end.
•Badb-(Bibe)Ireland;Goddess of enlightenment,isperation,life,wisdom.Sister of Macha,the
Morrigan,and Anu,the name of this Goddess means "boiling","battle raven",and"scald-
crow".Known as Cath Bodva in Gaul.A mother Goddess and Triple Goddess,Babd's cauldron boiled
with ever producing mixture that produced all life.Variants:Badhbh;Badb,Catha.
•Banba-Ireland;one of a triad of Goddessess that included Fontia and Eriu.
•Boann-Ireland;Goddess of the River Byone and mother of Angus Mac Og by the Dagda.She held
the powers of healing.Variants:Boannan,Boyne.
•Caer Ibormeith- Ireland;Goddess of sleep and dreams,and perhaps a less violant version of
Mare;daughter of Ethal Anubail,a faery king of Connacht.She often took the form of a swan
who lived on a lake called Dragon's Mouth,and wore a copious golden chain with 130 golden
balls on a silver chain about her slender neck.
•Caillech:Ireland,:Goddess of disease and plague.A destroyer,or Crone,Goddess,she was also
called "Veiled One".As the Crone,she ruled with the Maiden and the Mother.Dogs guarded the
gates of her afterworld realm where she received the dead.Celtic myth has her gatekeeper dog
named Dormarth."Death's Door" Irish bards who could curse with satire were often called
cainte"dog".
•Diancecht-Ireland;God of healing,magic,medicine,regeneration.Physician-magician of the
Tuatha De Danann;His sons were Miach,Cian,Cethe,and Cu,His daughter Airmed was also a great
physician.Varient: Dian Cecht.
•Danu-Ireland;Mother of the Gods,She was Goddess of rivers and wells,magic,plenty,wisdom.
Variant Dana.
•Don-Ireland,Goddess who ruled over the Land of the Dead.
•Eadon-Ireland;nurse of poets.
•Eiru-Ireland;daughter of the Dagda,her alternate name,Erin,was given to Ireland.
•Flidais-Ireland;Goddess of forest,wild creatures. A shapeshifting Goddess who rode in a
deer-drawn chariot.
•Goibniu-Ireland,;God of blacksmiths,weapon-makers,brewing.One of the triad of Tuatha De
Danann crafysmen,he was called the Great Smith.Weapons that he forged always hit their mark
and made fatal wounds.The pther two craftsmen were Luchtain the wright,and Creidne the
brazier.
•Lugh-(Loo) Ireland, a sun God of all crafts and arts,healings,journeys,prophecy. According
to legend,his skills were without end,in Ireland he was associated with ravens.He had a
majic spear and otherworldly hounds. His festivals are Lughnassadh,or Lunasa- August
1.Variants; Llew,Lug,Lugus,Lugh,Lamhfada,Lug Samidananch.
•Llyr-Ireland,;God of the sea and water.Also ruler of the underworld.The father of
Manawydan,Bran the Blessed, and Brawen.
•Macha-Ireland;Goddess of cunning,death,sheer physical force,war,protectoress in both battle
and peace.Known as Crow,Queen of Phantoms,and Mother of Life and Death,She was honored at
Lunasa.Variants:Mania,Mana,Mene,Minne.
•Manannan Mac Lir-(may-nah-naun)Ireland,a shapeshifting God of the
sea,magic,navigators,commerce,storms,rebirth,weather.The chief Irish sea God whose special
retreat was the Isle of Man.
•Morrigan-Ireland,A shapeshifting war Goddess of lust,magic,prophecy,revenge,war.Known as
the Great Queen,Supreme War Goddess,Queen of Phantoms,and Specter Queen,She kept company
with Fea(hateful),Badb(fury),and Macha(battle.Variants:Morrigu,Morrighan,Morgan.
•Neit-Ireland;God of battle.
•Niamh-(Nee-av) Ireland;possible form of Badb,this Goddess was called Beauty and Brightness
and helped heros at death.
•Nuada-(Noo-ada) Ireland,God of a harpers,healing,historians,magick,poets,warefare,writing.
King of the Tuatha De Danann at one time,He had to step down when he lost His hand in
battle;it was replaced by a silver one.Variants:Lud,Lludd,Llaw,Ereint,Nudd,Nodens.
•Scathach:(Scau-ahch) Ireland,Goddess of healing,majick,martial arts,prophecy.Called the
Shadowy One,She Who Strikes Fear,and Dark Goddess.





*THE TUATHA DE DANAAN [b](Tribe of the Goddess Danu) was the name of the Irish pantheon, for the
Sidhe (faeries) were descended from Her. Ironically, Danu herself never makes a personal
appearance in the myths, but perhaps she is already everywhere, like the land. Certainly,
some European rivers are named after her like the Danube and Dneiper. Some names you may
recognize:[/b]

•Lugh Lamh-fada (Long Handed), Son of the Sun.
•The Dagda-Ireland;God of the
arts,knowledge,magic,music,prophecy,prosperity,regeneration.Known as the "Good God" and
"Lord of the Heavens";He was one of the high kings of the Tuatha De Danann and had four
great palaces under hollow hills.Of his children,the most important areBrigit,Angus,Mir,Ogma
and Bodb the Red. His magical cauldron had an inexhaustible supply of food, and his oak
harp made the seasons change.
•Nuada Argat-lamh (Silver Hand) a two-time king of the Dannans.
•Morrigu, Babd, and Macha (a triple goddess of War.)
•Brigit-Ireland;Goddess of agriculture,fire,healing,inspiration,learning divination,occult
knowledge,poetry,prophecy,smithcraft.Her Galic name of Breo-saighead means "fiery arrow" or
fiery power".Celts often refered to her as being three in one,-the Triple Brigits or the
Three Mothers.An ever burning fire was kept in her honor by nineteen prieste tess who lived
in a sacred temple at Kildare.She was also a daughter of the
Dagda.Varients:Brid,Brig,Brigid,Brighid.
•Diancecht, god of healing.
•Manawyndanap Llyr, god of the sea and master of magic He had several magical weapons and a
suit of armor that made Him invisible;and His swine kept thew Tuatha De Danann from aging.





*WELSH MYTHOLOGY [b]tends to focus on the actions of heroes, and their interaction with gods.
The primary source is the Mabinogion, a compendium of legends from Wales' mythic time.[/b]

•Arawn-Wales;God of the dead and the underworld Annwn.Only until Christian conversion,the
Welsh didn't look on the underworld as hell.God of revenge, terror,and the dead.
•Amaethon-Wales;God of agriculture.
•Arianhod-Wales;Goddess of beauty,fertility,and reincarnation.Known as Silver Wheel and the
High Fruitful Mother,the palace of this sky Goddess was Caer Aroanrhold(Aurora
Borealis),Keeper of the Silver Wheel of Stars,a symbol of time and karma.Her ship,Oar
Wheel,carried dead warriors to Emania(moonland).
•Bel-Wales;God of cattle,crops,fertility,fire,healing,hot
springs,prosperity,purification,science,success.A sun and fire God closely connected with
the Druids and the festival of Beltaine(May 1).Variants:Belenus,Belinos,Beli Mawr.
•Blodeuwedd-Wales;Goddess of flowers,lunar mysteries,wisdom.Known as Ninefold Goddess of the
Western Isles of Paradise and Flower-Face,Goddess was created by Math and Gwydion as a wife
for the God Lleu.Her symbols are the owl and the moon.Variants:Blodwin,Blancheflor.
•Brab the Blessed:Wales;God of prophecy,the arts,war,music,writting.Associated with
ravens;the brother of Manawydan ap Llyr and Branwen.His father is Llyr,a sea God.
Variant:Benedigeidfran.
•Branwen:Wales;Goddess known as Venus of the Northern Seas,and as the deity of love and
beauty.Daughter of Llyr and one of the three matruarchs of Britain.
•Elaine-Wales;a maidien aspect of the Goddess,She was later transformed in the Arturian
sagas.
•Cerridwen-Welsh;Goddess of death,initiation,inspriration,magic,regeneration.Known as a moon
Goddess,Great Mother,and grain deity,wife of the giant Tegrid.She brewed a magical potion of
wisdom in her cauldron, and forced young Taliesin to stir it for a year and a day. When he
accidently swallowed the last three drops,he was transformed into a bard.Welsh bards once
called themselves Cerddorion "sons ofCerridwen" meaning they received ther initiation from
Cerridwen herself.Variants:Caridwen,Ceridwen.
•Creiddylad-Wales;Goddess of flowers,love.A daughter of the sea God Lir,connected with the
festival of Beltaine and called the May Queen.Variants:Creudylad,Cordelia.
•Dylan-Wales;sea deity and the son of Gwydion and Arianrhod,this God was called Sone of
Wales,and a silver fish was his symbol.
•Donn-Wales;the sea Goddess.
•Don-Wales;Goddess of sea and air.For birth,generally a Goddess of the
elements,communicating with the dead.
•Math Mathonwy- Wales;legend has him as a king who was also a God of enchantment and majic.
•Gwynn ap Nudd-Wales;first known as King of the Fairies and Lord of the Underworld,this God
later ruled over the Plant Annwn,subterranean fairies.
•Gwydion-Wales,God of enchantment,illusion,magic.A son of Donn,the sea Goddess,and brother
to Govannon,Arianrhod,and Amaethon(God of agriculture).Known as a great wizard and bard in
northern Wales.He was many skilled,like the Irish God Lugh,he was a shapeshifter whose
symbol was a white horse.
•Gwethyr-Wales;King of the Upper world,this God was the opposite of Gwynn ap Nudd.
•Goibniu-Wales;God of blacksmiths,weapon-makers,brewing.One of the triad of Tuatha De Danann
crafysmen,he was called the Great Smith.Weapons that he forged always hit their mark and
made fatal wounds.The other two craftsmen were Luchtain the wright,and Creidne the brazier.
•Pwyll:Wales;God of cunning,virture.Called Pwyll pen Annwn(Pwyll,head Annwn) because He
replaced Gwynnap Nudd as ruler of the underworld at one time.
•Rhiannon, (wife of Pwyll) Goddess associated with horses and the Underworld.
•Cerridwen, (the hag) mother of the poet Taliesson
•Lyr, god of the sea
•Manawyddan
•Lugh-(Loo) Wales, a sun God of all crafts and arts,healings,journeys,prophecy. According to
legend,his skills were without end,a white stag as his symbol in Wales.He had a majic spear
and otherworldly hounds. His festivals are Lughnassadh,or Lunasa- August 1.Variants;
Llew,Lug,Lugus,Lugh,Lamhfada,Lug Samidananch.
•Llud Llaw Ereint- Wales, God of harpers,healing,poets,smiths,socerers,and waters.
•Llew Llaw Gyffes- Wales;son of Arianrhod and raised by his Uncle Gwydion.A curse prohibited
him from having an earthly wife,so his uncle made him one out of flowers and named her
Blodeuwedd.She and her lover plotted Llew's death,but because of Llew's divine origins,the
death simple became an annual duel between the two of them.His symbol is white stag,and is
celebrated on August 1,the Celtic ceremony of Lunasa.
•Margawse- Wales,origanally a Mother Goddess,She was transformed in the later Arthurian
sagas.
•Merlin-Wales;God of all forms of magic and prophecy,healing,illusion,the arts.Origanally an
ancient Welsh Druid,priest of the fair religion,and great magician.He was transformed in the
later Artuirian sagas.Tradition says he learned his powerful magic from the Goddess in her
forms of Morgan,Viviane,Nimue,and Lady of the Lake.Legend says he now lies sleeping in the
hidden crystal cave.Variants:Merddin,Myrddin.
•Morrigan-Wales,A shapeshifting war Goddess of lust,magic,prophecy,revenge,war.Known as the
Great Queen,Supreme War Goddess,Queen of Phantoms,and Specter Queen,She kept company with
Fea(hateful),Badb(fury),and Macha(battle.Variants:Morrigu,Morrighan,Morgan.
•Nuada-(Noo-ada) Wales,God of a harpers,healing,historians,magick,poets,warefare,writing.
King of the Tuatha De Danann at one time,He had to step down when he lost His hand in
battle;it was replaced by a silver one.Variants:Lud,Lludd,Llaw,Ereint,Nudd,Nodens.
•Taliesin:Wales;God of majick,music,poetry,wisdom,writing.Known as Prince of Song,Chief of
the Bards of the West,and Patron of druids,He is a great majician,bard and shapeshifter who
gained His knowledge directly from the Goddess Cerridwen.





*GAULISH DIETIES [b]are the focus of Caesar's records. He drew analogies between his own Roman
gods and those he discovered in Gaul.[/b]

•Herne the Hunter
•Taranus, Teutates
•Esus, Hu'Hesu, the Dying God
•Cernunnos, Master of the Wild Hunt, or the Animal Lord/Green Man
•Epona, Goddess of horsebreeding,healing spring,prosperity.Called Divine Horse and the Great
Mare,the Goddess of horses was acknowledged and worshipped by Roman soldiers.Her symbols are
horses and dogs.





*ALL CELTIC AREAS

•Cernunnos:All celtic areas in the form of a God of
animals,commerce,crossroads,fertility,reincarnation,virility,warriors,woodlands.Druids knew
Him as Hu Gadarn,The Horned God.Ancient Celtic images show Him seated in a lotus
postion,naked ,with antlers or horns on His head. Animals that were sacred to Him are
bull,ram,stag,and horned serpents.Varients:Cerowain,Cernenus,Herne the Hunter.
•White Lady: All Celtic/ Druid countries;Goddess of Death and Destruction.Called the Dryad
of Death and the Queen of the Dead,this Goddess is the crone aspect of the Triple Goddess.
•Ogma-God of eloquence,inspraition,language,music,physical strength,poets,writers.Inventor
of The Ogamscript alphabet and carried a huge club similar to
Hercules'.Variants:Oghma,Ogmios,Grianaiemch(Sun Face),Cermait(honey-mouthed).
•Druantia- several Celtic areas;Goddess known as Queen of the Druids ad Mother of the Tree
Calender.





*WITHIN CELTIC SCOTLAND

•Caillech:Scotland:Goddess of disease and plague.A destroyer,or Crone,Goddess,she was also
called "Veiled One".As the Crone,she ruled with the Maiden and the Mother.Dogs guarded the
gates of her afterworld realm where she received the dead.Celtic myth has her gatekeeper dog
named Dormarth."Death's Door" Irish bards who could curse with satire were often called
cainte"dog".
•Scathach:(Scau-ahch) Scotland;She is a warrior woman and prophetess who lived in
Albion,possibly the Isle of the Skye,and taught marshal arts.Variants:Scota,Scatha and
Scath.Also the Goddess who lent Her name to Scotland.





*WITHIN CELTIC BRITAIN

•Elaine-Britain;a maidien aspect of the Goddess,She was later transformed in the Arturian
sagas.
•Epona- Britain,Goddess of horsebreeding,healing spring,prosperity.Called Divine Horse and
the Great Mare,the Goddess of horses was acknowledged and worshipped by Roman soldiers.Her
symbols are horses and dogs.
•Margawse- Britain,origanally a Mother Goddess,She was transformed in the later Arthurian
sagas.
•Morrigan-Britian;A shapeshifting war Goddess of lust,magic,prophecy,revenge,war.Known as
the Great Queen,Supreme War Goddess,Queen of Phantoms,and Specter Queen,She kept company
with Fea(hateful),Badb(fury),and Macha(battle.Variants:Morrigu,Morrighan,Morgan.
•Merlin-Britian;God of all forms of magic and prophecy,healing,illusion,the arts.Origanally
an ancient Welsh Druid,priest of the fair religion,and great magician.He was transformed in
the later Artuirian sagas.Tradition says he learned his powerful magic from the Goddess in
her forms of Morgan,Viviane,Nimue,and Lady of the Lake.Legend says he now lies sleeping in
the hidden crystal cave.Variants:Merddin,Myrddin.