The Suleuiâs are divine figures who seem to have been fairly popular in ancient Gaulish religion, at least in the Gallo-Roman era, which is where the evidence of their worship comes from, though I don’t think it’s far-fetched to believe that their popularity predates the arrival of Roman influence.
Noémie Beck and Viducus Brigantici did great academic analyses on the subject of the Suleviae, but for this post I’ll just list some of the main points:
Their name is thought to be translated as ‘Those who steer or lead well’, ‘good guides’ or ‘good rulers’
They were connected and sometimes combined with the Matres/Matronae
They were given Roman epithets such as Junones and Domesticae
Their name was also found in the singular form on inscriptions as Suleuiâ (who was once identified with the goddess Minerva)
They were associated with specific people (individuals or groups) as well as places (like the home or even the mountains)
I see the Suleuiâs, in terms of their nature, as being similar to the Hellenic Daimones, a sort of middle point between goddesses and spirits. The Materês brought us into existence, they’re responsible for every birth as well as our destinies (I’ll talk more about them in the future), and in my mind, they’re the ones who attach the Suleuiâs to every individual: superior beings who are, at the same time, extensions of ourselves. They guide us as we navigate the destinies that the mother goddesses shape for us; they intimately know us, our past, our present and our future fates; they know the true purpose of our lives and they support us so that we fulfill said purpose, giving us counsel, protection, and guidance.
I associate them with the concept of the ‘higher mind’, which is the one responsible for our instincts and our dreams, but it’s also the part of our minds that connects to transcendent divinity.
So, I see the Suleuiâs as the ones behind our gut feelings, our sudden moments of unexplained wisdom, but also as the bridge between us and the divine, guiding us to the gods when we seek or call upon them as well as guiding them to us when they approach us. The Gods are powerful, and in my opinion, never completely intelligible, embodying things beyond our comprehension, so when we connect to them in meditation or ritual, or even when we’re just thinking about them, that almost ineffable greatness comes to us and it’s shaped and contextualized by our minds so that we reach at least some level of understanding, and that shaping part is, to me, the domain of our Suleuiâs.
They know us, they know what we’re feeling, they know what we’re thinking, they know what we’re living, they care for us, they support us, they’re always with us, I’d even say that they’re a part of us… transcendent and divine.
Their main purpose is to guide us to our truest potential, but I’ll stop here before I get too Neoplatonic 😆
How I connect to my Suleuiâs
As I mentioned above, to me, my Suleuiâs are always with me and they’re an important part of my connection to the gods, to divinity, and to my own self and my destiny. I try to acknowledge them every time I get one of those gut feeling or aha! moments, when I have a dream or a vision that seems to be meaningful, also when I’m thinking about my goals, my future or my life in general.
Here are some religious practices that I dedicate to them:
They are praised in every ‘formal’ ritual I do
I have a symbolic hearth where I try to do a simple ritual every morning, and my Suleuiâs are the ones I primarily pray to, alongside the Deuoi as a collective
Every month, when the first light of the moon is seen in the sky (time of the Hellenic Noumenia), I hold a ritual centered on the home and hearth and, again, my Suleuiâs are the ones I primarily pray to as well as other gods with domestic associations
I do a monthly divination reading with them (in the same ritual mentioned above)
There’s something about the Suleuiâs that feels very special and intimate. I encourage everyone who follows a Gaulish or Celtic path to acknowledge their own, it is truly rewarding to worship beings who are divinely connected to your life and destiny.
