(From the article "Native Gods" by Sorita D'Este)
The Celtic Gods and Goddesses are very popular amongst those of us following modern magickal traditions, drawing from our ancient heritage. Yet, little about the practices of our ancestors who celebrated these deities are known, and many of the Gods and Goddesses of the British Isles remain completely obscure today.
Looking at the early British gods and goddesses we find that there were a greater predominance of local deities than which is generally found in cultures of the same era. Many deities were localised and was believed to dwell in a particular forest, in a particular river or well etc.
To explore the British gods we must consider the context of their survival. In the case of the old Celtic gods, we have inscriptions left by the Romans on altars, statues, plaques and walls, with statues and cult objects. A number of Roman writers also recorded details of ancient British practices, albeit with a certain level of their own propaganda.
The Irish started recording their oral tradition in the sixth century AD. Most of the surviving material was recorded by Christian monks during the twelfth century AD, referring back to tales that stem from at least the previous six hundred years, possibly earlier. These tales divide into three groups, the first of which is the Mythological Cycle, which includes the Book of Invasions and the History of Places (Dinnshenchas). The deities are most prominent in the tales of this cycle.
The other two groups are the Ulster Cycle and the Fionn Cycle. The Ulster Cycle includes the Cattle Raid of Cooley (Táin Bó Cuailnge), and focuses more on the heroes, though there is interaction with many of the deities. The Fionn Cycle focuses on the adventures of the hero Finn, again with reference to supernatural interactions.
The Welsh myths suffered from very poor documentation. The material now known as The Mabinogion comes from two sources, the White Book of Rhydderch (c. 1300 AD) and the Red Book of Hergest (late 14th century AD). Some of the stories may date back some centuries earlier than this, such as the tale of Kilhwch and Olwen, which is thought to be tenth century.
One of the most common qualities associated with many of the British goddesses was water. Considering the magickal and liminal nature of water in the Celtic worldview, this is not really surprising. Water was seen as a boundary between the worlds, and the use of votive offerings representing afflicted body parts shows the belief in the healing power of water to take away afflictions.
Wells and springs, coming from deep within the earth, were considered particularly sacred, as they connected to the otherworld, which existed below our world.
In Celtic Britain we see many of the goddesses associated with healing springs or wells, or rivers, with rivers often being named after them. Thus we see the river Aeron being named after Agroná, the river Boyne being named after Boann, the river Braint and the river Brent named after Brigantia, the river Shannon named after Sionna, and the river Wharfe named after Verbeia.
Three being such an important and magickal number to the Celts, it is no surprise that many of their deities were represented in triple form. These triple forms were all represented in the same aspect though, as a true triple, not in the comparatively modern form of maiden, mother and crone. Examples of these triple deities include the Genii Cucullati (hooded fertility figures), the Triple Mothers, Badb, Brigid, the Cailleach, Coventina, Sulis and the horned god Vitiris.
There are a number of motifs which recur through the worship of the old British deities and can therefore be seen as important themes to consider. These include the triple motif, with numerous triple deities; the head, sometimes horned. Horned heads invariably have bull horns, emphasising power and fertility, and the occurrence of the head alone may be a stylised representation, as the head was the seat of the soul and the most important part of the body to represent.
Certain animals occur repeatedly in Celtic art and were clearly sacred animals. These include the serpent, water birds, bulls, boars, horses (by far the most numerous animal represented on ancient British coins). Other animals which occur occasionally include the stag, the dog and the crow.
Certain animals seem to possess a more mythic quality, as they are variants of the norm. The ram-headed serpent and triple-horned bull both occur throughout the Celtic world. The triple-horned bull emphasises the magickal power of the number three, and the ram-headed snake is particularly associated with the god Cernunnos (as in the Cirencester relief and Lypiatt altar, both in Gloucestershire).
