Deities of Crossroads in Celtic Mythology

Crossroads were considered supernatural regions imbued with the power of the Otherworld by the druids and Celtic tribes in Britain, Ireland and Europe.

The intersection of roads was thought to be a mysterious place as a meeting place between the mortal world and the Otherworld. Crossroads were known among the Celts as the unearthly abodes of the pagan gods, goddesses and nature spirits.

Crossroads were viewed as spiritual places because the deities and spirits were able to travel across the thin boundary, or veil, that separated the two dimensions.

Offerings were made at cross-roads to appease the god, goddess or nature spirit who protected travellers and pilgrims as they passed over crossroads.

They sought the help of the guardian of the crossroads to keep them from harm and ensured they journeyed along the right road to their destination.

“Other spiritual locations included” forests, seashores, crossroads, territorial boundaries, caves, river fords, wells, bridges, and burial grounds”.

“Such places held inherent power and were likely sites to encounter deities, the dead, and other non-human entities. To this day, many believe that to build on such sites is to invite disaster on the enterprise”

[Eir - Chaos and Tripartite Order: http://homepage.eircom.net/~shae/chapter5.htm ).

The guardian of the cross-roads was a liminal deity. “A liminal deity is a god or goddess in mythology who presides over thresholds, gates, or doorways; “a crosser of boundaries”.

“Special types include dying-and-rising deities, various agricultural deities, and those who descend into the underworld: crossing the threshold between life and death representing the most fundamental of all boundaries.”

[Wikipedia – Liminal Deity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liminal_deity).

The spirituality of crossroads was recognised by the druids who often gathered where roads met during the festival of Samhain. The unseen forces of the Otherworld were at their greatest during Samhain.

The thin veil between the two worlds was lifted and souls of the dead and the divine beings of the Otherworld roamed among the living. The druids listened to the voices of the souls who passed away to gain ancient knowledge and wisdom.

Shrines and altars were built at crossroads by the Celts and the Romans during the era of the Roman Empire. The Romans believed cross-roads presided over by a god, goddess or protective spirit.

Hecate was the goddess of magic, door-ways and boundaries. She was the divine guardian of cross-roads in Roman mythology.

The goddess, Hecate, was thought to protect against evil spirits and the unhappy souls of the dead. Votive offerings were traditionally made to the goddess, Hecate, at crossroads during the new moon.

Roads and cross-roads were important during the Imperial Age of Rome because of trade. Merchants were anxious that they and their goods would suffer some form of misfortune as they journeyed along roads.

The legions and other military personnel also used roads extensively while guarding the provinces of the Empire. Soldiers were concerned about ambushes as they marched along roads.

Travellers and pilgrims feared bands of thieves and robbers. Shepherds and herdsmen dreaded attacks by wolves, bears and other wild animals.

Coffins and the dead were taken along roads and passed cross-roads during burials. Roads and cross-roads became associated with restless souls and nature spirits in many Celtic lands.

Some souls were thought to have escaped during their journey to their burial grounds. They remained bound to roads and crossroads for an eternity.

The “Sweet Track” in Somerset was an ancient burial road used during Neolithic times. Ghosts and phantoms have been seen for centuries along the “Lych Way” in Dartmoor.

Appeasing the deities and spirits who guarded cross-roads was beneficial to those who passed over them.

Cernunnos was the powerful horned-god of forests, fertility and abundance in the Celtic world. He was considered a liminal deity as lord of the Underworld and his dominion over nature in the mortal realm.

The nature god, Cernunnos, transformed into a deity of commerce and prosperity among the Celts, particularly in Gaul, during the era of the Roman Empire. Cernunnos was venerated as a guardian of crossroads because of he was a liminal deity of life and death.

Lugh, the Celtic god of light, guided travellers so they journeyed along the right path to their destination. He was also venerated as a protective deity of cross-roads among the Celtic tribes.

The Quadriviæ were venerated as goddesses of crossroads, at Cherbourg in Normandy in north-western France.

The druids and Celts in Ireland placed large stones at cross-roads. The “Speckled Stone” in County Sligo marks the boundary of three roads. The magical qualities of the Speckled Stone included the ability to cure sick children.

Marker-stones at cross-roads were imbued with supernatural powers because they were thought to be portals to the Otherworld.

The superstitions and strange tales of cross-roads continued after the arrival of Christianity.

The folklore of Britain and Ireland are filled with tales of unearthly black hounds, shape-shifters and ghosts haunting crossroads.

There were a great number of legends about huge black hounds which guarded crossroads. The black hounds were taken as manifestations of demons and other evil entities.

People also witnessed or heard the howls of frightening black dogs near bridges, gallows, cemeteries, ruins and along roads.

“Black Shuck” was a demon hound that haunted rural areas in East Anglia for hundreds of years.

A ghostly black hound haunted the cross-roads of Oschaert in the folklore of Belgium. Legends claimed the only way to make the hound vanish was by standing in the middle of crossroads.

The spirits of crossroads were thought to be omens of bad luck, impending doom, sickness and even death. Those who saw or heard the supernatural entities were cursed with misfortune.

The screaming spirit of an ugly woman called the cyhyraeth haunted cross-roads in Welsh folklore. The cyhyraeth warned those who heard hers screams that death was near.

Judges at witch trials heard evidence of the accused performing forbidden magic at crossroads.

The Bethy Grave Crossroads in the English county of Gloucestershire was famed since the 1700s as the burial site of a witch known as Elizabeth Bastre.

The deities and nature spirits of crossroads were important among the druids and Celtic tribes as they protected travellers from harm. Many of the legends in the folklore of Britain, Ireland and Europe dated back to the time when the Celtic gods and goddesses were venerated at cross-roads.

For more information on the Celtic gods and goddesses of Britain, Ireland and Europe, please visit

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Interesting Articles

Independent – Removal of Cursing Stones by Harry Keaney:

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/sligochampion/news/removal-of-cursing-stones-to-go-ahead-27560894.html

References

A Beautiful Resistance: At the Cross-roads by EMMA KATHRYN :

https://abeautifulresistance.org/site/2019/7/26/dt9cmapb4klyr76j07z79xt4avtybu

Fabulous Creatures, Mythical Monsters, and Animal Power Symbols: A Handbook by Cassandra Eason:

https://books.google.ie/books?id=s4AP30k4IFwC&pg=PA104&lpg=PA104&dq=black+spirit+dogs+guarding+crossroads&source=bl&ots=-i07RVDIar&sig=ACfU3U0V1uFbSyUYtrAcwaQkfc3WN4VY2Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwicpdz8hNjlAhVko3EKHSFfAFcQ6AEwF3oECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=black%20spirit%20dogs%20guarding%20crossroads&f=false

Wikipedia – Corpse Roads: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpse_road

Nwywre, or Nyu – the Serpent of Life in the Celtic Religion

The druids in Gaul believed the serpent symbolised the fifth element of an invisible life-giving force called Nyu, or Nwywre in Welsh. Nwywre was a primordial energy which existed on the earth and in the universe from the very beginning of time.

The druids honoured Nwywre by calling themselves “Nadredd “, or “serpents”. Carvings of two serpents twined around each other were engraved on the staffs of the druids.

The symbol may be a recognition that the druids as the guardians of the ancient knowledge, power and wisdom of Nwywre. The serpent represented wisdom and supernatural power in the Celtic world.

The importance of Nwywre in Britain was such that Welsh bards normally referred to the druids as Nadredd.

The druids and Celtic tribes in Gaul venerated a serpent god called Nathair possibly as another incarnation of Nwywre.
Naithair may also be translated as “serpent” in Gaelic in Ireland. Gad-el-Glas was the ‘green God-snake’ in Irish mythology.

A relief from Mavilly in France dated to the first or second centuries AD depicted the druidesses of Gaul dancing with snakes in one hand and ritual objects in the other.

Snakes were sacred creatures in the Celtic religion as symbols of fertility, healing and rebirth.

The fertility aspect may be explained by the ability of a female snake to lay a great number of eggs and so produce many offspring.

Cernunnos, Demona and Sirona were only some of the many Celtic deities who were depicted with snakes as symbols of fertility.

Snakes regularly shed their skins which mimicked the rebirth of the immortal soul as it moved from one human body to another or transmigration.

The regenerative power of snakes during the shedding of their skins was regarded as a symbol of healing.

The druids venerated Nwywre as the unseen spirit which caused the creative spark that brought all life into being on the earth, or the physical world. 

Nwywre, was also the fifth element whose connective energy joined the other four elements of earth, fire, water and air.

Everything on the earth moved in a natural cycle and manner because of the union of the five elements. The earth was united with the sky because of the fusion of Nwywre with the other four elements.

The potency of Nwywre could be felt everywhere in the mortal world.

The druids also regarded Nwywre as a spiritual energy which linked the mortal realm to the divine beings, or the gods, of the Otherworld.

Nwywre was a source of great spiritual power as the souls and spirits in the mortal world were also created by Nwywre as a never-ending, unseen force of the universe.

According to druidic legends, the universe was hatched from two crimson eggs laid by a serpent, or Nwywre, in a willow tree. One of the eggs contained the sun while the other contained the earth. Life came into being from the life-force of Nwywre.

The druids hid eggs in willow trees as part of the rituals associated with Beltane.

The druids in Britain and Gaul carried an adder stone on their person, possibly to connect with the invisible spirit of Nwywre.

Adder stones, or “serpent’s eggs”, were held in the highest esteem by the druids and worn an emblem of their high status and authority in Celtic society. 

The druids were used adder’s stoned to enhance the power of their spells and incantations during rituals.

The Celts believed adder stones possessed immense supernatural powers of healing and prophecy.

Pliny described the reaction of Emperor Claudius on seeing an adder stone in Rome. He wrote “a Roman knight, a Vocontian, who was slain by the stupid emperor Claudius, merely because he wore it in his breast when a lawsuit was pending” .

Claudius and the Romans loathed druidism because of the practice of human sacrifice. Roman Emperors persecuted the druids because they incited rebellions among the Celtic tribes in Britain and Gaul.

Druidism was outlawed in the Roman Empire and the presence of a seditious religion was not tolerated in Rome.
The Romanised Celt from Gaul was executed by Claudius because the presence of the adder’s stone was viewed as an act of treason.

 The Romans were a superstitious people who feared the unearthly powers of the adder stone and the mystical abilities of the druids.

Nwywre, or Nyu, was paid homage to by the druids as an unearthly primordial spirit whose life-giving force gave birth to mankind. All aspects of nature in the mortal world depended on the unifying force of Nwywre with the four elements of earth, wind, fire and water.

The spirituality of Nwywre was also important as a connection to the divine beings, or pagan gods and goddesses, of the Otherworld.

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Nantosuelta - a Celtic Nature Goddess

Nantosuelta was the goddess of nature, the earth, prosperity, domesticity and fertility whose cult originated in Gaul and spread to other countries such as Britain, Germany and Belgium.

Nantosuelta means “Winding River” but may also be translated as “She of the Sun-warmed Valley”. The divine consort of Nantosuelta was Sucellos, the Celtic god of agriculture and forests. The connection indicates prosperity of the nation was linked to mother-nature in the minds of the ancient Celts because most Celtic families were farmers.

(http://celtsandmyths.mzzhost.com/nantosuelta.html )

Coventina – Celtic Goddess of Healing and Springs

Coventina was a goddess of wells and springs in northern Britain, southern Gaul and northern Spain.

Historians believe Coventina was possibly a goddess of healing, springs and protection. There has been difficulty in establishing the divine attributes as the evidence found of Coventina are vague.

 No other evidence has been found of the goddess in Britain.

A shrine and numerous offerings dedicated to the Coventina was discovered at an old Roman fort at Carrawburgh near Hadrian's Wall in northern Britain. 

The Brigantes were most associated with  Coventina and paid homage to the goddess during the Iron Age. They were possibly responsible for the strength of the cult of Coventina as the largest tribe in northern Britain. 

The Brigantes were a confederation of smaller tribes who were regarded by the Romans as a threat to their occupation of the Roman province.

The goddess, Coventina, was later widely venerated by the Roman soldiers stationed at Hadrian's Wall from the second century AD. 

The soldiers joined local people who visited the shrine of Coventina and prayed to the goddess as the divine guardian of the well and spring.

Twelve inscriptions invoking Coventina were present at an open-air shrine dedicated to the goddess at Carrawburgh Fort in northern Britain. Carrawburgh Fort was one of the Roman forts which guarded Hadrian's Wall.

The large, stone shrine devoted to Coventina indicated Carrawburgh was the centre of the goddess's cult. 

The Romans built a temple over the site of an earlier sacred pagan shrine around a freshwater spring. The waters of the spring flowed into a well in the middle of the temple.

The most significant finds in Coventina's Well included sixteen thousand Roman coins which were dated from the building of the shrine in 128 AD and continued until 388 AD. The number of items found suggested Coventina was venerated as an important local pagan goddess for hundreds of years.

The coins were votive offerings thrown into the well from devotees who sought the aid of the goddess.

Inscriptions to Coventina, were also discovered on a wide range of gifts in the well. The offerings included jewellery such as brooches, bracelets and rings, sculptures of a dog and a horse, hairpins, glass beads, animal bones including deer, wild boars, oxen and sheep and shoes.

The shoes were possibly a prayer for the protection of Coventina during a journey over the land. Some theories claimed the shoes belonged to a loved one who had died. The protection of the goddess was sought to guide the soul of a loved one in the afterlife.

The presence of part of woman's skull in the well suggested she was buried in the waters after her death. Others believe a severed head was ritually placed in the well to enhance the spiritual energy of the waters.

 Coventina was venerated as a Celtic deity in her own right. The shrine and the inscriptions indicated Coventina was recognised as an important local and regional goddess by the Romans.

An inscription on a vase made by a Roman soldier described Coventina as “Augusta” meaning “most venerable” . The phrase Sancta, or “sacred” was also used to describe Coventina.

“Coventina Augusta” enjoyed a high status as a goddess among the Romanised Celts and Germanic tribes in the legions stationed around Hadrian's Wall.

The Roman soldiers and officers who venerated Coventina at the shrine were from an area known today as the Netherlands. They joined native Britons who undertook pilgrimages to the shrine of Coventina from the furthest parts of northern Britain.

Coventina was identified by an inscription as a water nymph on an altar built by her grateful followers at Carrawburgh (Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hope-coventina02.jpg ).

A relief on a wall of another altar portrayed Coventina in the form of a triple goddess (Wikimedia Commons -https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hope-coventina01.jpg ).

The items in the well together with depictions of Coventina as a triple goddess suggested she was associated with childbirth, fertility, protection and healing. 

There is some ambiguity concerning the attributes of Coventina other than she was venerated as a goddess, or guardian spirit, of the waters of the spring.

Celtic goddesses as, for example, Sulis in Bath were often associated with healing springs and sacred wells.

Springs and wells held great mystical and spiritual power as they were thought to be entrances to the Otherworld. The supernatural forces of the Otherworld flowed through the waters of springs and wells.

Those who bathed in the waters were granted divine gifts such as healing, fertility, prophecy and protection by the god, goddess or nature spirit who made the well or spring their home. The divine being of the sacred well or spring was also able to influence nearby vegetation, animals and even the weather.

Altars and inscriptions to the goddess, Coventina, were also unearthed at Lugo in northern Spain. There seems to have been a strong Celtic tradition in some part of Spain as Lugo was named after the Celtic god, Lugh.

The Gallaeci was a large confederation of Celtic tribes in Iberia, or present-day Spain and Portugal.

Coventina was one of the well-known Celtic deities of Europe who were honoured in the territories of the Gallaeci during the era of the Roman Empire. 

An inscription mentioning Coventina was evidence that the cult of the goddess flourished in the Roman town of Narbo, or present-day Narbonne, in southern Gaul. 

Narbonne was the first Roman colony in Gaul and founded during the early second century BC. The seaport of Narbonne became prosperous through trade.

The importance of Coventina's Well in northern Britain was evidence that Christianity made little impact on the Celtic tribes in Britain during the Roman occupation.

 Some historians believe the culture and religion of the Celts in northern Britain remained almost untouched by the changes brought by the Romans.

Constantine was the first Roman Emperor to be sympathetic to Christianity and converted on his deathbed in 337 AD. He passed the Edict of Milan in 313 less than ten years after becoming Emperor (306 AD).

The Edict of Milan made Christianity an official religion of the Roman Empire. The persecution of the Christians which began under Nero in 68 AD finally ended during the reign of Constantine. 

Christianity became the only official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 AD. Paganism was outlawed in the Roman provinces.

The Roman legions withdrew from Britain following the fall of Rome in 410 AD. The Angles, Saxons and Jutes migrated in huge numbers to the shores of Britain during the mid-fifth century. Their descendants, the Anglo-Saxons, ushered in an age of paganism dominated by the Germanic gods.

Coventina remained a popular goddess of the Celtic tribes in northern Britain throughout the Iron Age and era of the Roman Empire. 

The longevity and widespread devotion to the shrine of the goddess in Carrawburgh suggested Coventina was a well-known deity in the Roman province of Britannia.

The strength of the cult of Coventina ensured the goddess survived into the modern era as a familiar deity. Coventina is a mysterious, fascinating pagan goddess who was held in the highest esteem by her numerous followers and admirers for thousands of years.

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Maponos – Mabon – Celtic God Youth and Hunting in Gaul and Northern Britain

Maponos was the Celtic god of youth, healing and hunting among the Celts of Gaul during the Iron Age and era of the Roman Empire. 

The cult of Apollo Maponos was popular in Gaul and northern Britain. The pagan god, Apollo Maponos, was venerated by the Roman soldiers stationed around Hadrian's Wall during the occupation of the island.

The popularity of Maponos continued in the form of Mabon in the mythology of Wales.

Maponos means “Great Youth”, “Great Son”, “Divine Son” and “Divine Son of the Great Mother”. 

The mother of Maponos in Gaul was the goddess Dea Matrona or the “Great Divine Mother”. The goddess, Dea Matrona, was the protective spirit of the River Marne in the south-east of Paris. 

The deity, Dea Matrona, was the embodiment of the triple-goddesses of the same name who bestowed gifts of fertility and prosperity. 

The goddess, Dea Matrona, in Gaul was another personification of Modron in Welsh mythology. 

The Celts and Romanised Celts in Gaul portrayed Maponos as a god of youth, music and hunting. His title of “The Divine Hunter” inferred he enjoyed hunting as a typical pursuit of young warriors.

The Catuvellauni lived in the around the River Marne and were particularly associated with the cults of Dea Matrona and Maponos during the Iron Age. 

Historians believe the Catuvellauni were one of the tribes who settled in England during the Belgic migration in 100 BC.

The veneration of Dea Matrona and Maponos was enhanced among the Britons as the Catuvellauni became one of the largest and most prosperous tribes in Britain. 

The Romans paired Maponos with Apollo, the Roman god of healing and the sun, possibly because Apollo was the Roman ideal of youth. 

An inscription dedicated to Apollo Maponos was found at a healing spring in Bourbonne-les-Bains in north-eastern France. Maponos became a god of healing among the Romano-Gallic inhabitants of Gaul because of his association with Apollo. 

The popularity of Maponos as a Romano-Gallic god was evident at a healing spring called Les Roches in Chamalières. Chamalières is near Clermont-Ferrand in central France. 

Over three thousand wooden votive offerings were made to Maponos in Chamalières as a deity of hunting and healing. Some of the offerings took the form of sculptures of limbs. The hoard of Celtic artefacts in 

Chamalières is one of the largest ever found in France.

An inscription dedicated to Maponos in Chamalières was engraved on one of a small number of lead curse tablets. The curse tablets suggested Maponos was possibly one of the gods of the Underworld because of his association with the River Marne near Paris.

The Gallic tribe of the Lingones venerated Maponos as a regional pagan god around Bourbonne-les-Bains in north-eastern France and Chamalières in central France.

The cult of Apollo Maponos was popular among all ranks of the Roman army stationed around Hadrian's Wall in northern Britain. Inscriptions were found of the veneration of Apollo Maponos as well as Maponos as a god in his own right.

The prefect in charge of the Roman legions stationed at a Roman fort near Hadrian's in Corbridge in Northumberland dedicated an altar to Apollo Maponos

 (Wikimedia Commons- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roman_altar,_North_Nave_Aisle,_Hexham_Abbey_-_geograph.org.uk_-_749305.jpg ). The present-day site of the altar is Hexham Abbey. 

 Hexham Abbey is also home to another altar dedicated to Apollo Maponos by a centurion at the fort.

A tribune from the same fort dedicated an altar to Apollo Maponos in the village of Corbridge.

The acting commander and prefect of a Roman fort honoured Apollo Maponos with a monument in the present-day village of Ribchester in Lancashire. The fort was built near Hadrian's Wall.

Maponos was also honoured as an important Celtic god by the Roman soldiers stationed near Hadrian's Wall.

A silver plaque dedicated to “Dea Mapono”, or the “god Maponos”, was discovered at the Roman fort of Vindolanda to the south of Hadrian's Wall. The Roman fort of Vindolanda is now found near the village of Bardon Mill in Northumberland. 

Roman soldiers paid homage to the pagan deity as the cult of Mabon as an incarnation of Maponos was popular in northern Britain.

The Lochmaben Stone in Dumfriesshire in Scotland is an ancient boulder dating to 3000 BC which was once surrounded by a large Druidic stone circle. The druids considered the area sacred to the god, Mabon, because of a healing well. 

The cult of Mabon spread to Wales and remained popular after the withdrawal of the Roman legions in 410 AD. Ruabon Mountain near Wrexham in Wales means 'Mabon's Hill'. 

The Welsh hero, Mabon ap Modron, was another personification of Maponos. Mabon was the son of the Modron, “the Great Mother goddess” and Mellt, meaning “lightning”.

According to the Mabinogion, Mabon was abducted from his mother, the goddess Modron, when he was only “three nights old”. Mabon was taken to a place in the Otherworld called Caer Loyw where he was imprisoned. 

Caer Loyw means “city of light” and is located the present-day Gloucester. The “city of light” was closely associated with the cult of Mabon as a sun-god in Wales. 

The kidnapping of Mabon when he was an infant and the reason he was imprisoned remained a mystery in the legend. 

Some scholars believe the imprisonment of Mabon referred to the mid-winter solstice as a sun-god who is released after the shortest day of the year or 21st December.

Culhwch was set the impossible task of bringing the tusks (razor), bristles (comb) and jaw (shears) of the fierce, white boar, Twrch Trwyth. Only Mabon possessed the exceptional skills necessary to hunt and kill Twrch Trwyth as he was the greatest hunter in the land.

The quest to find Mabon was aided by King Arthur, the uncle of Culhwch, and his brave knights.

Culhwch and King Arthur's knights eventually found Mabon after asking for his whereabouts from different animals. 

The magical Salmon of Llyn Llyw knew the place where Mabon was held prisoner because it was the oldest animal on the earth.

The sadness of Mabon was heard by King Arthur's knights as they approached the prison of Caer Loyw in the Otherworld. Mabon was rescued by two knights called Cei and Bedwyr so that the pagan god could take part in the hunt for the boar.

Mabon hunted the boar known as Twrch Trwyth as soon as he was freed. He snatched the tusks, bristles and jaw of the ferocious boar, Twrch Trwyth while riding swiftly on a horse called Gwynn Mygdwn, or the “White Brown-mane”. 

Culhwch cut the hair and shaved the beard of Ysbaddaden, the father of Olwen, with the body parts which were taken from the boar, Twrch Trwyth.

Ysbaddaden died shortly afterwards which allowed Culhwch to marry his beloved, Olwen.

Mabon was portrayed in the Mabinogion as a benevolent ancient, deity. He was a god who was always willing to help mankind.

The cult of Maponos may have been present in Iberia (Spain and Portugal) where he was known as Mabonios.

The Blanchard's Stone discovered in Vermont in New Hampshire in the USA also referred to Mabon in the Ogham inscriptions engraved on the stone.

“According to Barry Fell discovered in Vermont, is 'a prayer for rain inscribed in a form of Gaelic used by Iberian Celts' (Academia - https://www.academia.edu/21466006/The_Blanchard_Stone_Vermont ).

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Wolves in Celtic Mythology

Wolves were regarded as majestic animals who roamed freely in the vast ancient forests of Britain, Ireland and Europe for thousands of years. The Celtic tribes who lived side by side with wolves both feared and admired them.

The Celts were so impressed by the hunting skills of wolves that they were treated as sacred animals who were traditionally associated with shape-shifters. Wolves became the companions of the pagan deities who also took the form of a wolf in numerous myths and legends.

The relationship between the Celts and wolves dated back to the earliest times of European history.
A carving of a wolf was discovered in the Highlands of Scotland dating to the sixth century BC.

Some of the first wild animals to be domesticated by man were wolf cubs. Their sharp eyesight, sense of smell and hearing made them ideal as hunting dogs in the vast ancient mountains, woods and forests that once covered much of Europe.

Wolves were part of the everyday lives of the Celts, particularly forest-dwellers. They competed with hunters for prey such as stags, deer and boar.

Farms and villages feared attacks from packs of wolves and considered them a menace to their flocks of sheep.

The warrior class admired wolves as cunning predators who possessed strength and swiftness. Numerous Celtic tribes claimed descent from wolves possibly because they were loyal, sociable animals who hunted in nomadic families.

Some tribes may have venerated wolves and assumed their characteristics.

The Irish chieftain, Laignech Fáelad, was said to be half man and half wolf. He sired a tribe of warriors who were known in legends as the werewolves of Ossory. The warriors of the clan apparently dressed in wolf-skins and cut their hair to resemble the mane of a wolf.

The tribe of the Lingones in Gaul paid homage to a woodland god called Vosegus during the Iron Age. Vosegus was the protector of the vast forests of the Vosges mountain range in France. He was depicted as a hunter-god wearing a wolf-skin at a Roman-Celtic temple in Le Donon in the Vosges mountains.

Cernunnos was widely venerated as a horned woodland god of fertility and hunting. He was depicted with a wolf and a stag on the Gundestrup Cauldron. The numerous motifs of Cernunnos in the company of a wolf-dog indicated wolves were sacred animals of Cernunnos as a god of woods and forests.

Numerous gods and goddesses were associated with wolves, Their ability to shape-shift into wolves emphasised the supernatural powers of the deities.

There were a great number of legends and myths about wolves in Irish mythology. The gods and goddesses of the Tuatha de Danann often transformed themselves into wolves. 

The Morrigan was the beautiful Celtic goddess of war and death, She offered to help the legendary Irish hero, Cuchulainn, defeat the warrior queen, Medb, and her army during the Cattle Raid of Cooley.

Cuchulainn refused the offer made by the Morrigan. The goddess became the adversary of the Irish hero during the war with Queen Medb.

The Morrigan transformed herself into numerous creatures, including the shape of a red she-wolf.

The red wolf herded some cattle towards Cuchulainn while he was fighting for his life. One of the wolf's eyes was destroyed by a stone hurled from Cuchulainn's sling.

According to the Fenian Cycle, Airitech was a being from the Otheworld, The three daughters of Airitech could shape-shift into the form of wolves at will.

They emerged from the Cave of Cruachan as wolves during the feast of Samhain so they could kill the flocks of sheep in the area.

A bard of the Tuatha de Danann called Cas Corach played his harp to the daughters of Airitech while they were in the guise of wolves. The beautiful music brought forth by Cas Corach from the strings of harp entranced the daughters of Airitech.

Cas Corach convinced the daughters of Airitech to return to the form of mortal women while they listened to the soothing music.

Caílte mac Rónáin killed the three daughters of Airitech with his spear. Cas Corach cut off their heads so they could not escape by shape-shifting into the form of animals.

Other tales in ancient Ireland told of mortals who were abducted by wolves. The High King of Ireland, Cormac mac Airt was stolen by a she-wolf when he was born.

Cormac mac Airt was reared as one of the wolf's own cubs in the Caves of Keshcorran in County Sligo. He was eventually found as a child and reunited with his family. Cormac mac Airt was renowned for understanding the language of wolves

Numerous legends imbued sorcerers with the supernatural power to transform themselves or others into wolves.

Math, the Celtic god of magic in Welsh mythology, punished his nephews, Gilfaethwy and Gwydion, for seducing his royal foot-holder, Goewin. He changed Gilfaethwy and Gwydion into the form of deer, wild boars and wolves.

Wolves were traditionally the companions of moon goddessess such as Cerridwen, in Wales.

The puca was an Irish nature spirit who took the form of numerous animals such as a wolf, hare, dog or raven Other supernatural creatures which were similar to the puca were found in the folklore of Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Channel Islands.

European folklore portrayed wolves as powerful and terrifying predators who attacked their unsuspecting victims in the night.

Wolves suffered persecution because they were considered a menace to farmers and rural villages. They were blamed for killing lambs and sheep,

Wolves were hunted for centuries in Europe by kings, the nobility and farmers. The felling of forests for settlements and farmland deprived wolves of valuable hunting grounds.

The abundance of wolves in Ireland was evident as the Irish Wolfhound was bred to hunt wolves. Sadly, the last wolf in Ireland was killed in 1786.

The English wolf was a sub-species of the Grey Wolf. English wolves were also hunted to extinction in England and Wales by the beginning of the sixteenth century.

The kings and nobility of Scotland were responsible for the persecution of wolves and regularly took part in wolf hunts. The last wolf in Scotland was shot in 1680.

The demise of the wolves in Britain, Ireland and Europe has been lamented by many. The remaining wolves in Europe are considered an endangered species and hunting them is illegal.

There have been calls from environmentalists for the reintroduction of wolves in Scotland in order to reduce the population of deer. They argue woodland habitats are under threat from huge numbers of grazing deer.

Wolves became extinct in Germany over 150 years ago. However, some crossed the border from Poland in 2000. There are now 65 pack of wolves roaming freely in Germany.

France's wolf population became extinct in the 1930s. Wolves also crossed the border from the Alps and Italy in the 1990s. Their numbers have risen to 430 individuals in recent years.

Wolves are facing the same difficulties in modern times as they did in the distant past. Packs of wolves are blamed by farmers for killing large numbers of sheep. The destruction of their natural habitat is ongoing.

There is still a conflict between humans and wolves. Wolves are unable to live peacefully near areas of human habitation because of persecution.

The Celtic tribes held wolves in the highest esteem during the Bronze and Iron Ages as well as the era of the Roman Empire.

Wolves were considered magical beasts who were worthy of their close association with the pagan gods and goddesses. The power of the gods and goddesses over the mortal world was embodied by their ability to shape-shift into the form of a wolf, raven, stag or other sacred creature.

Wolves were important n the Celtic religion because they represented a spiritual connection between the mortal realm and the divine beings of the Otherworld.

For more information on the Celtic gods and goddesses of Britain, Ireland and Europe, please visit
http://celtsandmyths.mzzhost.com/index.html 

Interesting Articles

DW – Rising Wolf Population in Germany - https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-wolf-population-on-the-rise-new-data-shows/a-41503395-0

The Local – France's Wolf Population - https://www.thelocal.fr/20190608/growth-of-french-wolf-population-leads-to-increase-in-hunting-quota

NPR – Wolves in Scotland - https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/05/03/607700542/landowner-aims-to-bring-wolves-back-to-scotland-centuries-after-they-were-wiped?t=1562959295584

Tarvos Trigaranus - the Bull-God of Fertility in Gaul

Tarvos Trigaranus was a fairly obscure god of Gaul who was famously depicted as a bull on the Pillar of the Boatman dating to the first century AD. He was portrayed in the company of Esus, the god of war and fertility, on the Pillar of the Boatman and at Maiden Castle.. Bulls were widely venerated in the Celtic world as symbols of fertility, ferocity and strength.

The god, Tarvos Trigaranus was identified by an inscription on the Pillar of the Boatmen as “Tarvostrigaranos “, or “the bull with three cranes”. Tarvos Trigaranus was depicted as a bull standing near a willow tree with three egrets on his back.

The Romanised Celts of Gaul venerated Tarvos Trigaranus as a god of male virility, fertility, strength, death and rebirth. The egrets may represent the flight of the immortal soul after death.

The next panel of the Pillar of the Boatman shows Esus, the Celtic god of fertility, cutting the branches of a willow tree. The willow on the panel may represent a sacred tree beneath which the druids carried out sacrifices of white bulls as a fertility rite. There may also be a reference to ancestor worship as their souls were thought to reside in trees.

The Pillar of the Boatman was dedicated to Jupiter, the Roman god of the sky and thunder. An array of Celtic and Roman deities such as Cernunnos, the Celtic god of forests, and Fortuna, the Roman goddess of luck, were also carved on the monument.

The Pillar of the Boatman, or Pillar des Nautes, was a huge decorated column of a temple dating to the first century AD. The ruins of the temple were discovered beneath the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris.

The monument honoured Emperor Tiberius as an act of loyalty by the guild of mariners and merchants of the town of Lutetia or present-day Paris. Lutetia was the capital of the Parisii tribes who inhabited the area. The members of the guild prospered because of trade along the River Seine.

Esus and Tarvos Trigaranus appeared again on a sacred stone in Trier dating to the first century AD. The sacred stone was dedicated to Mercury, the Roman god of trade. The carving depicted Esus as a woodsman, who chops down a willow tree with an axe. Three egrets and the head of a bull are present among the branches of the willow tree.

The symbolism of the willow is the “Tree of Life”, which Esus cuts down so it may flourish and become fertile again. The vegetation on the tree may represent the wild unseen forces of the gods of nature which the druids wished to harness for the benefit of mankind.

A similar relief of Tarvos Trigaranus was discovered at Maiden Castle in Dorset, England. The god was portrayed as a three-horned bull with three goddesses standing on his back. Tarvos Trigaranus was venerated in Dorset as a god of fertility, life, death and rebirth.

Maiden Castle was an Iron Age hill fort in the territory of the tribe known as the Durotriges. The hill fort was abandoned after the Romans invaded Britain during the first century AD.

The three-horned bull aptly portrayed Tarvos Trigaranus as a divine supernatural being of the Otherworld. The great power of the god was enhanced by the number three which was thought to possess immense magical power in the Celtic world.

A healing shrine at Biere-le-Chapel in Burgundy was home to numerous motifs of three-horned bulls. The bulls may have been part of a cult dedicated to Tarvos Trigaranus. The presence of the three-horned bulls added strength, or potency, of the healing powers of the sanctuary.

Images of Apollo, the Roman god of healing, and Ianuaria, the Celtic goddess of music, were also found at Beire-le-Chapel.

Most of the depictions of the three-horned bull were found in the artwork of north-eastern Gaul during the years of the Roman occupation. Some were also found in England after the Claudian invasion of 43 AD.

Motifs of bulls often decorated items belonging to the Celtic tribes. A coin from Gaul depicted a bull with a bird on its back. Votive offerings of small figurines of bullS were discovered among the grave goods of the Celts in Austria dating to the seventh century BC. A man with dogs attacks a bull on the Gundestrup cauldron.

Miranda Green stated in her book “Symbol & Image in Celtic Art”, “It is certain that animals, whether wild or domesticated, played a crucial role in Celtic beliefs. They appear consistently in imagery from before the Roman period in Celtic lands, either with anthropomorphic divine representations or alone. ”.

For more information on Esus, the Celtic god of war and fertility, please visit
http://celtsandmyths.mzzhost.com/esus.html


Interesting Articles
Message to Eagle -
http://www.messagetoeagle.com/pillar-of-the-boatmen-carved-by-brotherhood-of-mariners-in-lutetia-that-became-paris/
Ireland's Eye -
http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/culture/talk/complete_celtic_mythology/spirits_earth_air_02.htm