Dagda. God of the Celts

The Dagda was the father God of the Celts they called him the Good God because he protected their crops. He was king of the Tuatha Dé Danann and ruled over Uisnech in Co. Meath. He had a cauldron called the Undry which supplied unlimited food and was one of the magical items the Tuatha brought with them when they first landed on Ireland. He also had a living oak harp called Uaithne which caused the seasons to change in their order and also played three types of music, the music of sorrow, the music of joy and the music of dreaming.

He was portrayed as wearing a brown low-necked tunic which just reached his hips and a hooded cape that barely covered his shoulders. On his feet were horse-hide boots. Behind him he pulled his eight pronged war club on a wheel, one end of the club killed the living and the other end revived the dead, and when it was dragged behind him it left a track as deep as the boundary ditch between two provinces.

Originally of Magic & Mythology

Rhiannon

Rhiannon is an old Welsh Goddess of the earth and fertility, of horses and birds, who has links to the Underworld and who is much featured in the Mabinogion.

Rhiannon's first husband was Pwyll, who had once done a stint as King of the Underworld.

Their son Pryderi vanished the night of his birth while the new mother and the women sent to guard them slept. When they woke to find the cradle empty, they were fearful they would be punished severely for their carelessness. They devised a plan to cast the blame on the goddess Rhiannon, who was, after all, an outsider, not really one of their own people. Killing a puppy, they smeared its blood on the sleeping Rhiannon and scattered its bones around her bed. Sounding the alarm, they accused the goddess of eating her own child.

Later, after Pwyll's death, Rhiannon married Manawydan, brother of Bran and Branwen and son of Llyr, a great magician. One day, all of Dyfed turned into a wasteland, and only Rhiannon, Manawydan, Pryderi, and his wife Cigfa, were spared. Manawydan and Pryderi out hunting followed an enormous white boar into a caer, where Pryderi saw a golden bowl; when he touched it, he was enspelled. Rhiannon went after him and fell under the same spell the caer then vanished, taking them with it. She was rescued when Manawydan captured the wife of their enemy, Llwyd, who was taking revenge for the illtreatment of Gwawl.

Brigid

One of the most complex and contradictory Goddesses of the Celtic pantheon, Brigid can be seen as the most powerful religious figure in all of Irish history. She has succeeded in travelling intact through generations, fulfilling different roles in divergent times. She was, and continues to be, known by many names. Referred to as Bride, Bridey, Brighid, Brigit, Briggidda, Brigantia and she is the Celtic Goddessof Fire (the forge and the hearth), poetry, healing, childbirth, and unity, is celebrated in many European countries.

Born at the exact moment of daybreak, Brigid rose into the sky with the sun, rays of fire beaming from her head. She was the daughter of Dagda, the great 'father-god' of Ireland.
In Druid mythology, the infant goddess was fed with milk from a sacred cow from the Otherworld. Brigid owned an apple orchard in the Otherworld and her bees would bring their magical nectar back to earth.
It is said that wherever she walked, small flowers and shamrocks would appear. As a sun goddess her gifts are light (knowledge), inspiration, and the vital and healing energy of the sun.

Brigid of the mantles,

Brigid of the hearth flame,

Brigid of the twining hair,

Brigid of the augury,

Brigid of the white feet,

Brigid of calmness,

Brigid of the white milk,

Brigid of the crossroads.
I am under the keeping of my Mother Mary.

My companion beloved is Brigid.

I shall not be slain,

I shall not be sworded,

I shall not be put in a cell,

I shall not be hewn,

I shall not be anguished,

I shall not be wounded,

I shall not be blinded,

I shall not be left bare,

Nor will Mary leave me forgotten.
I am under the shielding of good Brigid each day.

I am under the shielding of good Brigid each night.

I am under the keeping of the Midwife of Mary

Each early and late, every dark, every light.

Brigid is my protector, Brigid is my maker of song.

Brigid is my sword and shield, Brigid is my guide.

Cuchulain & Skatha

When he was still young the Irish warrior Cuchulain met the maiden Emer whom he wished to marry but Emer's father Forgall a mighty warrior in his own right forbade her to wed before her older sister Fial and when she was to marry she must marry one who has proven himself in battle so Cuchulain sought to become a student of Skatha who lived in the land of the shadows which we now know as the Isle of Skye.

Cuchulain had to face many perils in his quest to the land of Skatha thick forests and empty plains then he came upon the Plain of Misfortune a thick swamp where he met a young man gave him a wheel and told him to roll it an follow it as it went.Cuchulain did so and the wheel lit up with fire and beams of light shot from it's spokes and it blazed a trail for him to follow out of the swamp.Cuchulain then had to battle the beasts of the Perilous Glen and after defeating them he came upon the Bridge of the Leaps beyond which was Skatha.Here at this bridge he came across many Irishmen who also sought to learn from Skatha Cuchulain recognized two of them Ferdia and Daman.He asked Ferdia how the bridge might be crossed but Ferdia replied that only Skatha knew for this was no ordinary bridge it was very high and at it's bottom there was a boiling sea filled with horrid sea creatures and if you attempted to cross the bridge it would rise up to throw you off, the bridge was also very thin so Cuchulain rested a bit to gather his strength.
After feeling himself ready Cuchulain set out to cross the bridge and after three tries leapt to the center then before the bridge could rise again he leapt to the end and made it across to the door of Skatha's fortress.Skatha was impressed and took Cuchulain as her pupil and taught him the art of war and the use of the Gae Bolg a weapon thrown from the foot that would kill by inserting barbs all across a man's body.Cuchulain stayed with Skatha as did Ferdia Cuchulain's best and truest friend.
Now there came a time when Skatha had to engage in war with the people of the Princess Aifa who was Skatha's rival in combat.Skatha wanted to keep Cuchulain away from the battle so she mixed a herb that would cause him to sleep for one full day yet it only worked for one hour Cuchulain grabbed his weapons and rode out to do battle against the forces of Aifa until the time came when Aifa announced she wished to face Skatha in mortal combat.Cuchulain instead asked to face her and Skatha reluctantly agreed so it was that Cuchulain asked Skatha what Aifa valued most and Skatha told him that Aifa valued her Chariot,horses and charioteer above all else. Cuchulain and Aifa fought to a stand still until Aifa shattered Cuchulain's sword to the hilt and as she was about to deliver the final blow to him Cuchulain called out "Aye,look Aifa's chariot and horses have fallen into the glen.".Aifa turned around to look and Cuchulain disarmed her and threw her over his shoulder carrying her to Skatha.Cuchulain set Aifa before Skatha and demanded she make eternal peace with Skatha or he would cut her throat.Aifa agreed and soon she became friends with Cuchulain and even later the two became lovers for he was the only man to have beaten her in combat.