CELTIC GODS / GODDESSES

The Celts were very religious and believed in reincarnation and the migration of the soul to the after life after death. They did not believe in punishment after death. The Celtic Pantheon held many female deities of primary importance ranging from war goddesses to mother goddesses to ruling goddesses. They also believed in 3 aspects of the Goddess, three aspects of a single god. The teachings of the Druids could be summed up quite easily: worship the gods, be strong, courageous and do no evil.

Human sacrifices by the blade, burning, or drowning were done because it was believed that a life must be given for a life, as in murder, accidental killing, extreme illness, or to be spared from the horrors of battle. Generally, those who were killed were prisoners of war or criminals. This practice does not, however, seem to have been used much at all in Ireland and Britain.

Female were equal to males and held just as much power. The Priestesses were highly revered. Priestesses sang the dying to sleep, did charms, enchantments, prophecies, healing, etc. They knew the power of words, stones and herbs. One of the central features of their Groves was a cauldron, bowl or pool. Curses were cast for any mistreatment of women. Red-hair females were sacred to the war Goddesses, as their hair was the color of blood.

The Celts were polytheistic and worshipped a multitude of different gods. They believed the gods had both a light and dark side and that they were personal descendants from these gods. They were not the infallible gods created by the later patriarchal religions. Their main Creators were:

The Mother Goddess: Her three primary roles are mother, maiden, and crone. She is represented by and associated with the moon and its three phases: waxing, full, and waning. She is invoked by a variety of names from a variety of cultures: Aphrodite, Artemis, Astaroth, Astarte, Athene, Brigit, Ceres, Cerridwen, Cybele, Diana, Demeter, Friga, Gaia, Hecate, Isis, Kali, Kore, Lilith, Luna, Persephone, Venus, and more. She is believed to be eternal.