Goddesses
of The Celts ~ B
Badb
Badb is the Irish (Celtic) goddess of war. She often assumes the form
of a raven or carrion-crow (her favorite disguise) and is then referred
to as Badb Catha, meaning "battle raven". Not only did she
take part in battles themselves, she also influenced their outcome by
causing confusion among the warriors with her magic. The battle-field
is often called 'land of Badb'. She formed part of a triad of war-goddesses
with Macha (Nemain) and the Morrigan.
Badbh Catha
Crow and Raven are shape-shift forms of the goddess (especially Morrigan,
Rhiannon and Nanosuelta) and were considered oracles due to their distinctive
voices. They were called Cathubodva or "Raven of Battle" in
many Celtic myths. Called by the Irish Badbh Catha, this Raven Goddess
(reproduced from the Felmingham Hall hoard, Norfolk, England) is perhaps
transporting the seed-soul of the famed warrior demigod Cu Chulainn.
Crow Goddess. Form of Morrigan, great Irish War Goddess. Sometimes took
the form of a hooded crow, a wolf, a bear or a heifer, or a giant woman
Who straddled a river with one foot on each bank.
Banbha
(pig, sow).Irish. The goddess who represents the spirit of Ireland. She
was thought to be the first settler in Ireland. She is part of a trinity
of goddesses, the daughters of Fiachna, together with Fodla and Eriu.
Amergin, son of Miled, promised her the honor of naming the island after
her. Banba is also a poetic name for Ireland. Initially, she could have
been a goddess of war as well as a fertility goddess. Her Name derives
from the same root as "sow", or "pig". Banbha is the
wife of the Tuatha King MacCuill.
Banshee
Common name for the Irish Bean Sidhe. In Scotland the banshee is known
as caoineag (wailing woman) and, although seldom seen, she is often heard
in the hills and glens, by lakes or running water (see: Bean Nighe).
Baobhan Sith
The White Women of the Scottish highlands. These women are ghost-like
vampires who assume the shape of beautiful women and invite men to dance
with them, and drink their blood.
Beag
An Irish goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann, associated with a magic
well.
Bean Nighe
The Washer at the Fords, is the Scottish version of the Irish Bean Sidhe
(Banshee). She wanders near deserted streams where she washes the blood
from the grave-clothes of those who are about to die. It is said that
Bean Nighe are the spirits of women who died giving birth and are doomed
to do this work until the day their lives would have normally ended. A
Bean Nighe is thought to have one nostril, one big protruding tooth, webbed
feet and long hanging breasts. A mortal who is bold enough to sneak up
to her while she is washing and suck her breast can claim to be her foster-child.
The mortal can then gain a wish from her. The Washer of the Fords is sometimes
known under the generic name of ban nighechain (little washerwoman) or
nigheag na h-ath (little washer at the ford).
Bean Sidhe
In Irish folklore, the Bean Sidhe (woman of the hills) is a spirit or
fairy who presage a death by wailing. She is popularly known as the Banshee.
She visits a household and by wailing she warns them that a member of
their family is about to die. When a Banshee is caught, she is obliged
to tell the name of the doomed. The antiquity of this concept is vouched
for by the fact that the Morrigan, in a poem from the 8th century, is
described as washing spoils and entrails. It was believed in County Clare
that Richard the Clare, the Norman leader of the 12th century, had met
a horrible beldame, washing armor and rich robes "until the red gore
churned in her hands", who warned him of the destruction of his host.
The Bean Sidhe has long streaming hair and is dressed in a gray cloak
over a green dress. Her eyes are fiery red from the constant weeping.
When multiple Banshees wail together, it will herald the death of someone
very great or holy. The Scottish version of the Banshee is the Bean Nighe.
Bebhionn
An Irish underworld goddess and a patron of pleasure.
Bendith Y Mamau
The Bendith Y Mamau ("The Mothers' Blessing") is a rather unpleasant
clan of Welsh fairies. They are ugly creatures, and sometimes regarded
as the result of interbreeding between goblins and fairies. They steal
children and substitute them for their own ugly ones, called Crimbils.
Through the intervention of a witch, the parents can regain the stolen
child, who will remember nothing of its time with the Bendith Y Mamau,
except for a vague recollection of sweet music.
Black Annis
In England, Black Annis is a blue-faced hag who lives in a cave in the
Dane Hills, Leicestershire. The cave, called "Black Annis' Bower
Close" was dug out of the rock with her own nails. Situated in front
of it is a great oak in which she hides to leap out and catch and devour
stray children and lambs. Every year on Easter Monday, it was customary
to hold a drag hunt from her cave to the Mayor's house. The bait was a
dead cat drenched in aniseed.
Blathnat
Wife of King Cu Roi. She fell in love with Cuchulainn and betrayed her
husband by showing Cuchulainn how to penetrate her husband's castle. In
the ensuing battle Cuchulainn killed Cu Roi and abducted Blathnat and
Cu Roi's bard, Fer Cherdne. When they stopped for the night on a cliff
top, Fer Cherdne revenged his king by grabbing Blathnat and jumping off
the cliff to their deaths.
Blodeuedd
(flowerface).Welsh. Blodeuwedd was created out of flowers (those of
Oak, Broom, and Meadowsweet) by Gwydion to wed Llew Llaw Gyffes. She
betrayed Llew, either because she had no soul, being non-human, or because
she resented being his chattel, or because the triplet of one woman
and two men must play itself out in Welsh myth, and Llew Llaw Gyffes
must die. At any rate, she fell in love with Goronwy and, wishing to
be rid of Llew, she tricked out of him the clearly supernatural and
ritual manner in which only he could be killed: neither by day nor night,
indoors nor out of doors, riding nor walking, clothed nor naked, nor
by any weapon lawfully made. She asked him to explain this, and he did:
he could be killed only if it were twilight, wrapped in a fish net,
with one foot on a cauldron and the other on a goat, and if the weapon
had been forged during sacred hours when such work was forbidden. Blodeuwedd
convinced him to demonstrate how impossible such a position was to achieve
by chance, and when he was in it, het lover Goronwy leapt out and struck.
Llew was transformed into an eagle and eventually restored to human
form, after which he killed Goronwy. Blodeuwedd was transformed into
an owl, to haunt the night in loneliness and sorrow, shunned by all
other birds.
Boand
(Boann)"She of the white cattle". Irish goddess goddess of
bounty and fertility, whose totem is the sacred white cow. Also goddess
of the River Boyne. She is the wife of the water god Nechtan or of Elcmar,
and consort of the Dagda, by whom she was the mother of the god Aengus.
To hide their union from Nechtan, Boann and the Dagda caused the sun
to stand still for nine months, so that Aengus was conceived and born
on the same day. She is associated with the river Boyne.
Bodb
The Irish goddess of battle. She prophesied the doom of the Tuatha Dé
Danann after the Battle of Mag Tuireadh (Moytura).
Bodb Dearg
(Bodb the red).Irish. A daughter (son?) of the Daghda, and the tutelary
God over southern Connacht and part of Munster.
Boudicca
(victory).Irish/British. A female personification of Victory, especially
in a martial sense. A very appropriate personification of her is seen
in the historical Boadicca, Queen of the Iceni, who fought the Romans
to a standstill in the first century CE. Although she ultimately lost,
this original Victoria resembles her namesake very strongly.
Branwen
(white raven, white crow).Welsh. In the Mabinogion, She is a central
figure in being wed to the High King of Ireland and thereby encompassing
the doom of both the Irish and Britons, when her brother Bran invades
Ireland to rescue her from the degradation she experiences at the hands
of a vengeful Court. Branwen ("white raven") a daughter of
Llyr and Penarddun, and sister of Bran, and Manawydan, and half-sister
of Nisien and Efnisien. Matholwch of Ireland sued for her hand, and
gave horses to Bran. Efnisien mutilated the horses, nearly precipitating
warfare, but Matholwch was appeased by the gift of a cauldron that could
resurrect the dead. Branwen wed him, and went to Ireland, where she
bore him a son, Gwern. But the Irish began to complain about their foreign
queen, and she was banished to the kitchen, where she was a slave and
boxed on the ears by the butcher daily. This lasted three years, during
which Branwen trained a starling to speak and sent it to Wales, where
it told Bran of her plight, and he sailed to rescue her.
Matholwch was terrified at the sight of a forest approaching Ireland
across the sea: no one could make it out, until he called for Branwen,
who explained it as Bran's navy, and Bran himself wading through the
water. He sued for peace, they built a house big enough for Bran, and
Matholwch agreed to settle the kingdom on Gwern. Some Irish lords objected,
and hid themselves in flour bags to attack the Welsh. But Efnisien,
scenting Irish treachery, cast them into the fire, and then cast Gwern
himself in (avoiding the geas against shedding kinsmen's blood thereby).
A war broke out, and the Irish replenished themselves through the cauldron.
Efnisien, repenting, sacrificed himself by feigning death and being
thrown into the cauldron, which he then broke, dying in the process.
Only seven Welshmen survived, and Bran was fatally wounded. His head,
which remained alive and talking, was returned to Wales and buried,
and soon afterwards Branwen sailed to Aber Alaw and died. She is one
of the three "matriarchs of Britain", along with (probably)
Rhiannon and Arianrhod.
Breg
Irish goddess, wife of the Dagda.
Bride
Scotland's version of the Celtic Irish Brigid.
Brigandu
Celtic France version of the Celtic Irish Brigid.
Brigantia
This Lady is another form of Brigit, the protective deity of the Irish
Celts. She holds an orb and wears the crown of queenship, while also
holding the spear of Minerva, Goddess of Wisdom. As the tutelary deity
of warfare (briga), her soldier acolytes were known as brigands. The
Celtic (British) tutelary goddess of the Brigantes in Yorkshire and
the goddess of the rivers Braint and Brent, which were named after her.
Brigantia was also a pastoral goddess associated with flocks and cattle.
During the Roman occupation she was associated with the Roman goddess
Caelestis as Caelestis Brigantia.
Brighid
(Gaelic) (Brigit) Brighid was the goddess of fertility, therapy, metalworking,
and poetic inspiration. She is the wife of Bres. She is known as Caridwen
(Cerridwen) in Wales. There are three sisters by the name of Brigit in
Irish myth (daughters of In Dagda) who are the patron-goddesses of learning
(poetry), healing and smithcraft.
Brigit
(Name Cognates: Breo Saighead, Brid, Brighid [Eriu], Brigindo, Brigandu
[Gaul], Brigan, Brigantia, Brigantis [Briton], Bride [Alba]) Celtic
Goddess of smithcraft, poetry, inspiration, and healing, she was known
as the "Bright Arrow" and was associated with fertility and
the birth of lambs in the spring. She stands in front of a third century
sculpture of the Goddess Brigantia from Scotland; her pendant shows
a portrait of a woman from a cauldron found at Kraghede, Denmark, 1st
century BCE; her torque is from Snettisham, Norfolk, England, 1st century,
BCE; bracelet from Erstfeld, Switzerland, 4th century BCE.
Celtic Goddess of Fire, Blacksmiths, Wells, Springs and Poets. The Main
goddess of Ireland and Wales, Brigid's feast, or Imbolc, is celebrated
on the first of February.
Here she is surrounded by the flame of inspiration and wears the green
of healing and growth. The Celts held poetry in great reverence as it
was the art of divination, the revelation of secrets, and preservation
of history.
Brigit says, "All good things come in three." The poppy-flower
crowns of these three regally-detailed sisters imbue them with magical
power. Center column is for offering dish or candle. Goddess of Healing,
Smithcraft and Queenship. She is patroness of the Celtic spring festival
of Imbolc, and was served by a female priesthood at Kildare. Her name
derives from her worship by the pre-Christian Brigantes, who honored
her as identical with Juno, Queen of Heaven. Brigit also shares attributes
with the ancient Greek triple goddess Hecate. She is Ruler, Bringer
of Prosperity; her two sisters display the alchemical sword and tongs
of blacksmithing and the twin serpents connoting medical skill. Her
Irish consort was the Dagda.
Triple Goddess of the great Celtic empire of Brigantia, which included
parts of Spain, France and the British Isles. Female sage, Protectress
of poets. Unable to eradicate the cult of Briget (pronounced Breed),
the Catholic church made Her a saint, saying She was a nun Who founded
a convent at Kildare. But the convent was known for its heathenish miracles
and evidences of fertility magic. Cows never went dry; flowers and shamrocks
sprang up in Her footprints, eternal Spring reigned in Her bower. Her
feast day is the first of February, the first day of Spring in the pagan
calendar. Imbolc, the day of union between Goddess and God. Teacher
of the martial arts and Patroness of battle. Wells were sacred to Her.
Shamrock Her sacred plant. Rowan Her tree. Scallop shell sacred to Her.
Goddess of smithcraft, poetry and inspiration, healing and medicine.
Bright Arrow, Bright One, Inventor of whistling. No man was allowed
to pass beyond the hedge surrounding Her sanctuary. Lady of Fire and
Sunlight. She is sometimes depicted with a cauldron as a symbol for
inspiration. Her shrine at Kildare was maintained by 19 virgins who
tended Her undying fire until almost modern times. On Her feast day
of Imbolc, the universal Celtic fertility day, the Goddess Brigit kindles
the fire in the Earth, preparing the way for Spring. Her power is that
of fire-in-water: a power that heals and nourishes. Imbolc is the first
day of Spring, mid-way through the dark half of the year. Brigit, Goddess
of all creative activity, rekindles the fire in the Earth, preparing
it for the reemergence of green things. This stirring of new life is
manifested by the first flowing of milk in the udders of ewes, a few
weeks before the lambing season. Agricultural tools are reconsecrated
for use, household fires and the fire of the smith's forge are blessed
by the Goddess (often by a woman who plays the role of Brigit) and talismans
of rushes, Brigit's Crosses are made for the protection of homes. Brigit's
snake comes out of the mound in which it hibernates, and it's behavior
is thought to determine the length of the remaining period of frost.
The Triple Brigit - On Imbolc, She is revealed in Her 3 aspects. As
Muse, She inspires bards with the spirit of truth. As Guardian of the
forge and consort of smiths, She is the patroness of warriors. As the
Lady of the Land Who knows all herbs, She is the greatest of healers.
Oystercatcher is Her sacred bird.
A triplicity of Goddesses associated with Fire and smithcraft, with
poetry, and with motherhood and childbirth. As an individual, she is
a daughter of the Daghda. In pre-Roman Britain, she was the tutelary
Goddess of the Brigantes tribe, and like so many Celtic Goddesses, she
has some riverine associations. She was conflated into Christian mythology
as Saint Brigit. (Scotland - Bride) Like the Arthurian Avalon, or "Isle
of Apples," Brigid possessed an apple orchard in the Otherworld
to which bees traveled to obtain it's magickal nectar. Brigid, which
means "one who exaults herself," is Goddess of the Sacred
Flame of Kildare (derived from "Cill Dara," which means "church
of the oak") and often is considered to be the White Maiden aspect
of the Triple Goddess. She was Christianized as the "foster-mother"
of Jesus Christ, and called St. Brigit, the daughter of the Druid Dougal
the Brown. She sometimes also is associated with the Romano-Celtic goddess
Aquae-Sulis in Bathe.
Brighid's festival is Imbolc, celebrated on or around February 1 when
she ushers Spring to the land after The Cailleach's Winter reign. This
mid-Winter feast commences as the ewes begin to lactate and is the start
of the new agricultural cycle. During this time Brigid personifies a
bride, virgin or maiden aspect and is the protectoress of women in childbirth.
Imbolc also is known as Oimelc, Brigid, Candlemas, or even in America
as Groundhog Day. As the foundation for the American Groundhog Day,
Brigid's snake comes out of its mound in which it hibernates and its
behavior is said to determine the length of the remaining Winter. Gailleach,
or White Lady, drank from the ancient Well of Youth at dawn. In that
instant, she was transformed into her Maiden aspect, the young goddess
called Brigid. Wells were considered to be sacred because they arose
from oimbelc (literally "in the belly"), or womb of Mother
Earth.
Because of her Fire of Inspiration and her connection to the apple and
oak trees, Brighid often is considered the patroness of the Druids.
Britannia
A Romano-Celtic (British) tutelary goddess.
Brunissen
('Brown Queen') Her origin is possibly that of a Celtic goddess of the
black sun of the other world, which shines more brightly at sunrise
and sunset.
Bronach
An Irish goddess of cliffs.