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"Long ago, the Celtic god Dagda drew a veil between humans and the Fey Folk. In our time, the Goddess has charged me to help bring the Fey magic back through that veil so that we humans can be renewed by the starry-eyed mysticism of the Little People, by the passion and wisdom of the poet in love with the Goddess, and by the wild integrity of the dark and dangerous Faerie Folk."

—Be a Goddess! A Guide to Celtic Spells and Wisdom for Self-Healing, Prosperity and Great Sex, Francesa di Grandis

#irishmythtober Day 2 - An Dadga

I decided that my take on the #irishmythtober prompts on Insta would be dark and human-centered and mostly based on late medieval and early modern literary tradition (which is, in my opinion, terribly overlooked in favour of 19th century folk tradition and early 20th c. literary reconstructions based on the idea of 'proper' European pre-Christian pantheons... but I digress). Mícheál Ó Cléirigh tells the story (in his version of the Book of Conquests) of Eochaid Daghdha eventurally succumbing to a years-old wound from a poison dart that hit him in the battle of Mag Tuired, and nominating his son Bodb Dearg as his successor as the high king of the Tuatha Dé Danann (which did not go all that smoothly because of Bodb's half-brother Midir, but I digress again).

So here is Eochaid Daghdha on his deathbed, and Bodb receiving his judgement (one he'd likely been expecting for a little too long). I wanted to capture how Eochaid is still full of power, wrath, and spite - despite his body failing him and the poison crawling up his veins already. King Arthur from 'The Green Knight' that I've rewatched for the gods know which time now might have or might have not been the inspiration for this rendition as well.

#artists on tumblr #my art #ireland #irish mythology #tuatha de danann #lineart #drawing #gaelpol #dagda #the dagda #bodb derg #sidhe

Grianstad shona daoibh!

In Ireland, the Winter Solstice is often associated with the Newgrange passage tomb in County Meath. Each year, as the sun rises on the Solstice, it aligns perfectly with tomb to illuminate the passage within.

Lots of historical, scientific and even crazy (I’m looking at you Ancient Aliens) theories exist as to why this occurs, but there is also some stories within our mythology associated with the event, including the Dagda’s affair with the Goddess Boann.

The Dagda was thought to be an Irish god of fertility and strength. A wife of one of his aides, Boann, a goddess of the River Boyne, was particularly entranced, and the couple soon began a clandestine affair. Affairs don’t stay secret when a god of fertility is involved, and Boann quickly fell pregnant around springtime.

Boann resided at Newgrange, and when her husband left for a hunting trip, the Dagda cast a spell to make the sun standstill for nine months and pause time. Boann carried her baby to term and eventually gave birth to Aengus, a god of youth and love. Despite it now being Winter, on Elcmar’s return he felt as if only a day had passed and the affair went unnoticed. That is until one day, when an adult Aengus would eventually arrive to duel Elcmar for Newgrange, which he deemed his birthright.

#irish mythology #artists on tumblr #irish folklore #newgrange #winter solstice #aengus #the Dagda #Boann #celtic polytheism #amylouioc art #my art #celtic mythology #fantasy illustration

Everyone gushing about their gods on here is just so wholesome omg

#deity work #deity worship #witchcraft #paganism #witchblr #apollo #the morrigan #the Dagda #lord lucifer

Important Facts about Samhain from an Irish Celtic Reconstructionist

Pronunciation

SOW-in or SOW-een ~NOT~ Sam-han, Sam-win etc.

Dates

Most reconstructionists celebrate Samhain on Oct 31-Nov 1, however some may choose to celebrate on Gregorian Nov 13-14 as this would match the Julian dates of Oct 31-Nov 1. Some also believe that it was a three day festival spanning Oct 31- Nov 2 on which Nov 2 is specifically devoted to ancestral veneration, but there is no specific evidence of this, only possible extrapolation from more modern practices.

Following the Celtic method of days beginning at sunset, regardless of the specific dates you choose to celebrate on your festivities should begin at sunset and end at sunset.

Importance in the Mythos

Ná Morrighan has a strong connection to this time of year thanks to the story of Cath Dédenach Maige Tuired (The Last Battle of Mag Tuired) in which she is found depicted as the ‘Washing Woman’ (sometimes washing herself in the river and other times washing the bloodied armor of the soldiers that would die that day), on the eve of the battle which is also Samhain. The Dagda approaches her and couples with her (creating the ‘Bed of the Couples’ along the bank of river and granting Dagda her blessing in the battle to come). This encounter seems to over emphasize the liminality of the encounter by taking place during the changing of the year and with the couple each standing with ‘one foot on either bank’ of the river.

She and her sisters (Badb and Macha) then use various forms of magic to rain destruction on their enemies (in the form of fire and blood). After the day is won Morrighan speaks a prophecy that describes what is taken by some to be the end of days and others to be the events which will later lead to the Ulster Cycle.

Beneath the peaceful heavens lies the land. It rests beneath the bowl of the bright sky. The land lies, itself a dish, a cup of honeyed strength, there, for the taking, offering strength to each There it lies, the splendour of the land. The land is like a mead worth the brewing, worth the drinking. It stores for us the gifts of summer even in winter. It protects and armours us, a spear upon a shield Here we can make for ourselves strong places, the fist holding the shield Here we can build safe places, our spear-bristling enclosures. This is where we will turn the earth. This is where we will stay. And here will our children live to the third of three generations Here there will be a forest point of field fences The horn counting of many cows And the encircling of many fields There will be sheltering trees So fodderful of beech mast that the trees themselves will be weary with the weight. In this land will come abundance bringing: Wealth for our children Every boy a warrior, Every watch dog, warrior-fierce The wood of every tree, spear-worthy The fire from every stone a molten spear-stream Every stone a firm foundation Every field full of cows Every cow calf-fertile Our land shall be rich with banks in birdsong Grey deer before Spring And fruitful Autumns The plain shall be thronged from the hills to the shore. Full and fertile. And as time runs its sharp and shadowy journey, this shall be true. This shall be the story of the land and its people We shall have peace beneath the heavens. Forever

(based on the translation by Isolde Carmody)

It is also mentioned in Echtra Cormaic that on this festival every seven years the high king would host a feast, it was at this time new laws could be enacted. (but it seems that individual Tuathas or possibly kings of the individual providence may have done this for their territories at Lughnasadh).

It seems to be a time considered especially susceptible to (or of) great change as it is the time which the Tuatha de Danann win victory over the Formorians and take control of Ireland, the invasion of Ulster takes place at this time in Táin bo Cúailnge, in Aislinge Óengusa Óengus and his bride-to-be are changed from bird to human and eventually he claims kingship of Brú na Bóinne at this time of year.

Celebration Traditions

Samhain is the beginning of the “dark half” of the year and is widely regarded as the Insular Celtic equivalent of the New Year. The “dark half” of the year was a time for story telling, in fact in this half of the year after dark is considered the only acceptable time to tell stories from the mythological and Ulster cycle (the Fenian cycle being assumed to be no older than the 12th century based on linguistic dating). Traditionally anything that had not been harvested or gathered by the time of this festival was to be left, as it now belonged to the Fae (in some areas specifically the Púca).

This was also an important time for warding off ill luck in the coming year. Large bonfires would be built and as the cattle were driven back into the community from the pastures they would be walked between these bonfires as a method of purification (the reverse custom of Bealtaine where the livestock were walked between the fires on their way out to the summer pastures). Assumed ritualistic slaughter of some of the herd would follow (though this perhaps had the more practical purpose of thinning the herd before the winter and creating enough food for the feasting). In some areas the ashes from these fires would be worn, thrown or spread as a further way to ward off evil.

Homes would be ritualistically protected from the Aos Sí (Fae or ‘Spirits’) through methods such as offerings of food (generally leaving some of the feasting outside for them), carving turnips with scary faces to warn them off (we now tend to do this with gourds), and smoke cleansing the home (in Scottish saining) traditionally with juniper, but perhaps rowan or birch might be an acceptable alternative. It is likely these would be part of the components used in Samhain bonfires as well, for the same reason.

Lastly based on later traditions as well as links in the mythology this is a time where divination practices or those with the ‘second sight’ were regarded to be especially potent.

Art Credit @morpheus-ravenna

My Kofi

#samhain #irish #irish mythology #irish polytheism #irish paganism #celtic reconstructionism #celtic paganism #celtic polytheism #na morrigna #the morrígan #the dagda #fire festival #blackcrowing #Irish reconstructionist

The Dagda, chief of the Tuatha Dé Dannan. Before everything, only two existed, Danu and Donn. The two lovers came together, birthing the first of the Tuatha Dé Dannan. However, the two loved each other so much that they dared not separate their embrace, trapping their children between them. Wishing to free his siblings, the lovers’ son, the Dagda, spoke to his parents to devise a plan. As Danu and Donn could not bear to consciously separate, the Dagda would strike his father allowing enough time for the other gods to escape from their embrace. But when the time came to enact the plan, the Dagda underestimated his own strength and struck his father dead. Danu, overwhelmed with grief, began to sob. Her devastated tears formed a massive wave that washed away the Tuatha Dé Dannan. Donn’s corpse created the land and sky, with Danu’s tears forming the seas. Sprouting from Donn’s corpse arose a mighty tree, with which the god’s used the fruit or bark produced from the tree to fashion the first humans.

Yet, from the sea emerged the demonic Fomorians, who used their powers over the blights of the earth to subjugate both humanity and the Tuatha Dé Dannan. The Dagda was outraged by the horrid actions the Fomorians committed against his kin and humanity. Therefore, the Dagda consulted his wife, the goddess of war and death, the Morrigan. On Samhain the two consummated their love in a river. Afterwards the Morrigan joined the Tuatha Dé Dannan’s rebellion, offering her prophetic abilities and martial tactics. Uniting the Tuatha Dé Dannan and the soldiers of humanity, the Dagda rebelled against the forces of the Fomorians. Later in the war, the united forces could tell that the final battle was near. So in order to stall for time, the Morrigan advised the Dagda to the travel to the Fomorian camp. Once there the Dagda offered them a peace treaty with the Tuatha Dé Dannan, but as expected they refused. Instead the Fomorians forced the Dagda to eat a ridiculous amount of porridge from his magic cauldron, wishing to humiliate him. The Dagda, unashamed and embracing the lunacy, picked up a massive spoon and began to devour the porridge, not leaving a single drop left. With a swollen belly, the Dagda laid down and fell asleep, all the while the Fomorians laughed at him. When awake, he left the camp, encumbered by his full belly. On his way back to the Tuatha Dé Dannan, he was stopped by a beautiful Fomorian woman, announcing herself as the daughter of the Fomorian king Indech. She quickly began to batter him, wishing to make him her personal slave to travel on top of. Encumbered by his full belly, the Dagda couldn’t fight back against her assault. Irritated, the Dagda proceeded to empty his bowels, returning him to his original form. Apparently attracted to this act, Indech’s daughter swiftly fell in love with the Dagda, sleeping with him on the spot. Afterwards the Fomorian promised to aid the Tuatha Dé Dannan in their fight against her kind, the Dagda now gaining both an ally and a lover. In the final battle the Dagda laid waste to his opposition, wielding his magic club that could both bring great destruction yet was also capable of bringing life back to those who were slain. The battle ended as the last blow was struck against the Fomorian leader Balor by the young deity Lugh. After their victory the Dagda gathered Lugh and Ogma to take back his magic harp Uaithne from the retreating Fomorians.

After the war concludes, the Dagda with the rest of the Tuatha Dé Dannan withdraw into the Otherworld through the Sidhe delegated by Manannan. In another myth, the Dagda and the river goddess Boann fall in love. However the goddess was married to the god of the hunt Nuada. When Nuada leaves for an errand, the Dagda sleeps with Boann, impregnating her. To hide this the Dagda uses his powers to make the sun stand still, warping time around Nuada to make the nine months of pregnancy only one day for him. Boann ultimately gives birth to the Dagda’s son Aengus, who once he discovers the truth of his birth, asks the Dagda to help him take over Nuada’s land of Brú na Bóinne. The Dagda has many other children as well, such as Brigit, Aed, Cermait, Bodb Derg, Midir, Ainge, Dian Cécht, and possibly the members of the Morrigna: Badb, Macha, and Nemain.

—————

The Dagda, like the rest of the Celtic gods, was ripped of his divinity by the arrival of Christianity. However, unlike most of the mainland celts, many of the Gaelic myths were preserved in a way in written literature. These writings were euhemeristic in nature, meaning that they adapted these stories to fit into a historical narrative. Not only to fit in with this narrative, but also to adapt the mythology into a Christian framework, the Tuatha Dé Dannan and the rest of the gods were stripped of their divinity. There were differing explanations given to the origins of these figures, some said that they were merely humans with mighty magical powers, others said that they were fallen angels instead, very few though admitted that these figures were in fact worshipped by the ancient celts as gods, such as the Dagda. In this narrative, the Tuatha Dé Dannan were one of a multitude of different “settlers” of ancient Ireland, among which included the Firbolg and the Fomorians. But after the Tuatha Dé Dannan repelled the Fomorians, the final race of settlers, the Milesians, push back the Tuatha Dé Dannan and force them into the Otherworld. Modern scholarship holds the consensus that the Milesians and their victory against the Tuatha Dé Dannan to be a later invention by Christian writers.

Before the influence of Christianity, the Dagda was one of the most important gods in the Gaelic pantheon. The Dagda was most likely considered to be the chief god of the Tuatha Dé Dannan. He was a god of many things, such as fertility, fatherhood, manliness, life, death, the seasons, time and possibly the sky. He represented greatness in its many forms. His title of the Dagda accentuates this, as it translates to “the good god” or “the great god”, playing upon his greatness in all things. The Dagda has many more names he has gone by as well, such as Eochaid Ollathair “great father”, Dáire “the fertile/violent one”, Eochu “horseman”, Aed “the fiery one”, Ruad Rofhessa “lord of great knowledge”, Fer Benn “man of the peak”, Eogabal, Cerrce and many more.

Due to their tumultuous history, there is no surviving Gaelic creation myth, as such the one I gave above is my own interpretation of the reconstructions given by Iain MacAnTsaoir and Peter Berresford Ellis. These reconstructions are based on both post-christianization sources as well as Proto-Indo-European archetypes. Every attempt at reconstructing the creation myth given above cannot be relied upon (especially mine), as there simply is no evidence of what the creation myth could’ve been. I do not consider my rendition to be any more accurate than the others, since like them mine is similarly based upon debatable and absent evidence.

In post-christianization literature, the Dagda’s father is named Elatha, strangely making the Dagda the half brother of the god Lugh. Yet despite this, Nuada who is described as the Dagda’s brother in multiple sources, isn’t considered a son of Elatha. This confusion is compounded by the fact that Nuada is described as the brother to the Dagda’s son Dian Cécht. These contradictory genealogies could imply that they were a later addition made by writers to further push the euhemeristic narrative. In some Irish literature, the Dagda was said to have died in the final battle with the Fomorians, succumbing to his wounds after the battle. Nevertheless this is contradicted by other writings that depict the Dagda as surviving the conflict, as seen in him recovering his harp, and in other writings where he is credited with an 80 year reign over the Tuatha Dé Dannan after the war, meaning that his death was likely another addition made by later Christian authors.

The Dagda’s brothers, Nuada and Ogma, form a popular trinity in Gaelic myth, possibly representing a triplicate deity in which they were aspects or manifestations of the Dagda, similar to the Morrigna who form the triplicate of the Morrigan.

The god of death Donn mentioned in the reconstructed creation myth has theological ties to the Dagda, with some researchers believing that they were one and the same as not only was the Dagda associated with death, but he was also occasionally referred to as Dagda Donn. The Romans referred to a “Celtic Dis Pater” a death god who the celts claimed ancestry. Donn is the most common god to be claimed as the “Celtic Dis Pater” but if he was a form of the Dagda then that would mean the Dagda would be connected to the Roman god as well. Another Roman god possibly connected to the Dagda is Jupiter, as in the same text mentioning the “Celtic Dis Pater” the author also mentions a “Celtic Jupiter” which many scholars have likened to the Dagda. The Dagda also holds connections with the Germanic mythos as well, as he has been likened to the god Odin, sharing many of his traits. The Dagda has been likened to other Celtic gods as well, such as the Gaulish Sucellus and the Irish Crom Dubh and Crom Cruach who fought against the Christian Saint Patrick.

In a story revolving around the culture hero Cu Chulainn having one of his young cows being taken by the Morrigan, when the arrogant hero confronts the Morrigan she’s seen herding her livestock with someone described as a “giant red man” though never given a name, it’s generally believed that this man is the Dagda.