DANU AND THE TUATHA DE DANNAN
(too-aha-dai-donnan)
NOTE: Click the image to the right to see, "The Morrigan," by Jennifer Miller in its original
splendor. Featured at ELFWOOD.The Goddess Danu was the Mother Goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann. She is particularly associated with the province of Munster with its fertile soil and was known as Anu in those parts. The Tuatha Dé Danann were all descended from her. The Goddess Danu can be found under many names from Dana, Anu to her Welsh equivalent Don. She is the ancient Irish Mother Goddess, and was considered to be the Goddess of rivers, wells, Magick, prosperity, fertility (her totem animal being the mare) and wisdom as well as being a Moon Goddess (her totem animal in this aspect being the owl). However she was also, being part of the Morrigan, a Goddess of strife and war and, as many Celtic gods and Goddess, she was a balance between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ (her totem animal in this aspect being the falcon or hawk). She was not one of the aspects of the Morrigan, but she was OF the Morrigan archetype.
Some scholars believe that Anu was the primary Earth Goddess and Danu was only the name given to her by the nineteenth century writers. However the nineenth century writers were so popular that now most people would know of the Tuatha De Danann and the Goddess Danu. She is the most ancient Deity on Celtic record. Although the older evidences of Danu have been dated to 10,000 B.C.E, written evidence of this most ancient Celtic God is found in the Irish Lebor Gabala, and dates to about 1000 C.E. Danu is the Mother of the Tuatha De Danann, who later dwindled to the Daoine Sidhe, the Sidhe-folk of Ireland. She was praised as the Mother of the Gods, and as such, is beyond all other Gods of this world. The Name Danu means wisdom, or teacher, as in the English word Don, or giving, as in the root of the word donate. Well, let us look first at the Tuatha De Danann, this name means "Children of Dana/Danu".
Today, the Irish people, through their veneration of the good St. Bridget (or Bride-pronounced Breed), render homage to the divine Mother of the people who bear her name, Danu, who are the ever-living invisible Faery-People of modern Ireland. The Recorded mythology and literature of ancient Ireland have, very faithfully, perserved a clear picture of the Tuatha De Danann, and their Goddess Dana/Danu. Danu is recorded as being the Mother of the Dananns. Her name is usually associated with the Danube. There is also some speculation that in Proto-Celtic periods, the name Danu had been connected with the River Don, in Russia. Don is the Welsh Goddess who is equivalent to the Irish Danu, and it seems likely that she was an immigrant from Ireland, for the children of Don correspond Closely in character and Functions to the Children of Danu. She is also connected with the River Don in Scotland.
There is a Possible link between the name Dana/Danu, the name Dione, as Goddess name in Greece, and the Goddess name, Diana, as known by the Romans. A major theme linked to the Goddess of the Celtic Pantheon is the association to a particular body of water, usually a river, but at times a spring, lake, or the ocean, but the main connection is that of the triple aspect of the Goddess. Diana/Dione and the Morrigan are triple aspects, Diana representing the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone, is typically benevolent, while the Morrigan represent the Maiden of Ice, the Mother of death, and the Crone of the Underworld, demonstrating the warlike times in which the Celts lived. The Morrigan is/are nothing to be trifled with.
The Divine Ancestress of the Celtic Boii tribe was known as Boann, and linked with the River Boyne in Ireland. Sequanna, a Goddess of France, became linked with the River Shannon of Ireland. Linking their Goddesses with various bodies of water in turn appears to have linked the Celtic reverence for the Goddess as The Great Mare, for the white breakers of the ocean were described in Irish legend as the white mane of the Morrigan's head. If we ponder how the sea and horse draw a parallel in the Celts' mind, we may see a connection in the double use of the word mare. It means sea in Latin and Russian, and is the root of the english word marine. At the same time it was used to designate a female horse. Both meanings of mare may have been derived from the same initial Indo-European source word, possibly the Sanskrit "mah" meaning mighty.
This word may also be the foundation of the Goddess names: Morrigan and Morgan/Morgaine--the roots gan, gin, and gen meaning birth, as in genesis and begin. This interesting connection between the two words may suggest that the origin of the Pantheon was not in Ireland itself, but came from across the sea, and that the symbol of the first Celtic God, Danu, may very well have been that of a horse. As an aspect of the Irish Goddess worth noting is their wonderful and magickal ability to shape-change, not only as creatures, but also switching from an ugly Hag-state to that of a beautiful woman. The Morrigan becomes and eel, a wolf, a heifer, a raven, and serveral other diverse images of a mortal woman.
The three aspects of the Morrigan are the Macha, Cailleach Bera, and Badb. Macha and the Cailleach Bera take the form of horses, and the Badb takes the form of Royston crows, and also alternating between Hag-state and a young woman. In addition to these powers, there is the martial prowess of Celtic Goddesses, who often acted as ambassadors in battles and rivalries between the Celtic tribes, sitting in on peace councils when disputes were discussed. There is the less documented image of the Goddess among the Celts as the figure of the Goddess of Victory, as well as the Mother of some of the Gods, such as Tailltiu, the step-Mother of Lugh, and the Goddesses of healing, poetry, and fate.
Pray to the Goddess Danu for a respect for diversity for, as she could shape shift to suit the situation, so she respected the youth in herself as well as the crone or the aged self. In the U.S. youth is worshipped and glorified we can learn much by meditating on this Goddess for she knew the power of the Maiden, Mother and Crone and could find them all in Herself. She was the Mother of the Gods.
The name Tuatha de Danann, means - People of the Goddess Dana (or Danu) - This is the race of people who reigned over ancient Erin after conquering the Firbolg's (fir-bull-ug)and the Fomhoire (Fuv-oe-reh).
They were known as Gods, until Christian dictates caused a lessening of their divine status to a supernatural, or spirit race. The Celts call them the Daoine Sidhe (deenie-shee), Spirit race, or Feadh-Ree - the Fairy Race of Ireland.
The arrival of human inhabitants to ancient Erin, firstly the People of Parthelon, and then the race of Nemed, date back to 6000 years BC The people of the Goddess Dana were not the first super-natural inhabitants of Erin. Before them were the Fomorian’s and the Firbolgs’s. No one knows when the Fomorian race arrived, so it is assumed that they were always there. The Firbolg race arrived somewhere about 4500 BC and the Tuatha de Danann around 4000 BC.
All the other races reached Erin by ships, landing on the east and south east coastline, but the Tuatha de Danann came in obscure clouds from the sky, landing on a mountain in the west of the country. They caused an eclipse of the sun for three days, and spread fog-sustaining clouds so that all inhabitants sought shelter for three days and three nights. They brought with them the Lia Facirc;il (Stone of Destiny) which uttered a human cry when touched by the rightful king; Nuada's sword, from whose stroke no one ever escaped or recovered; the Great Spear of Lugh which guaranteed victory to its wielder; and the cauldron of The Dagda, The Undry, from which no one ever departed unsatisfied or under-nourished.
They were a fair complexioned race, with fair hair; either golden-blond or reddish, many having freckled skin. The women wore long robes, or long loose-fitting garments of ankle length. The clothing of the men consisted of a knee-length tunic, and a shawl or cloak, fastened at the shoulder with a brooch. The cloak that barely covered the shoulders was made of a thick felt or of coarse-woven cloth dyed with various brilliant colours. The men alone wore hats, or head-coverings, which were a soft felt. In times of battle they dispensed with any head-covering, brushing their long abundant hair forward into a thick mass, and dyeing it a striking red with a soap made of animal fat and beech ashes: their faces would also be painted with this dye in a variety of patterns, which would cause them to look more like wild creatures of the woods than men.
They were community living people, freely sharing dwellings and responsibilities of parenting. It was common practice for a child to be raised by foster-parents who had the chosen qualities to provide the offspring of opportunies to master their inherent attributes. This freely shared parenthood has produced the confusion for readers of folklore and ancient recordings, where someone is described as the son of a particular person in one manuscript; and yet is said to be the son of another in a different document.
The Tuatha de Danann were accomplished masters of magic, and wizardry, very learned in the art of altering their forms, their appearance and size. They were skilled craftsmen, in a manner far advanced for those ancient times; extremely accomplished musicians, singers and poets. Many, both men and women, were outstanding seers and prophets. These people had superior comprehensive knowledge of the property of herbs which they used extensively for healing sickness, and curing fatal wounds, and for spells. The magic they practiced was a form of shamanic Druidism that far surpasses the modern-day esoteric, occult and psychic sciences; they knew the secret of the power over death. Their equipment and apparel was most distinguished: extremely gifted in mind, intelligence, and temperament, as well as outstanding bravery that inspired the most admiration, horror, fear, and dread in all who came to Erin. They were people who were proficient in every art.
The post-Christian chroniclers - monks of the Roman Catholic Church - who undertook the task of recording the ancient history of Ireland, sought to reconcile Christian teachings with the ever vital pagan beliefs by changing the gods into ancient kings, and incorporating them into the annals of the country: and giving a highly fanciful account of them in a more mortal than god-like nature. They wrote a pseudo-history of battles in which kings were slain, and successfully implanting their existence into the realms of myths.
The Milesians (meel-e-seens), the first Celts, invaded the country somewhere between 1500 and 700 BC Their numbers and strength and weaponry was so great they overran the Tuatha de Danann, and sought to enslave them and utilise their magical skills. Through skillful trickery and magic the Tuatha evaded the dreaded foe. A pact was agreed on whereas the Tuatha de Danann would live in cairns in the hills and forests, below the ground; and the Milesiansns would have all land above the ground. Historians state that because of this enforced below-ground existence, the Tuatha race became extinct by the time of the Christian era.
Saint Patrick is said to have brought the Tuatha de Danann poet, Oisin to Laogaire the Second, King of Ireland, in the year 453, to attest to the truth of the pagan race having accepted Christianity; although no written record of this can now be found (see Oisin's Ride into Faerie - "Tales of the Sidhe"). Daring attempts by some chroniclers to change the Tuatha de Danann from pagan gods into Christian saints were made, with limited success. One of them alone was successful. Bridget, the goddess of fire, and poetry, is famous today as Saint Bridget, or Bride. The most popular of all the Irish saints, she is the daughter of The Dagda. Her Christian attributes connect her with fire, and attest her pagan origin as, Tuatha de Danann.
A careful examination of Irish literature which deals with the lives and legends of the saints (hagiology), results in the discovery of many other saints whose names and attributes render them as Tuatha de Danann pagan gods. Their inclusion into Christian ideology did not counteract the powerful influence of ancient pagan traditions. Therefore a fresh school of recordings arose to prove that the gods were not even saints, but worldly men who had once lived and ruled in Erin. Learned monks worked hard to construct a history of Ireland from the great flood downwards. They elaborated various pedigrees and inserted into the ancient manuscripts an amazing genealogy, which shows how, not merely the Tuatha de Danann, but also the Firbolgs, the Fomorians, the Milesians, and the races of Partholon and Nemed were all descended from Noah.
Christian idealology could not reconcile the concept of a Divine personage taking the life of any other, as this is considered a disasterous sin. The commandment "Thou shalt not kill", was embraced in concrete terms, and is nominally binding equally to the philosopher, the soldier, and the merchant; and also to the Hierarchy of the Divinity - a somewhat illogical position, from where right and wrong, is judged from a totally impractical viewpoint.
The teachings of the Old Faith, while following the doctrines of harmlessness, also strictly obeyed the ordinance of chivalry. These teachings did not attempt to enforce the literal definition of harmlessness in a blanket effect upon all circumstances. The knight or warrior who shrank, in time of need, from slaying men or animals would not be praiseworthy as a humanitarian, but blameworthy as one who neglected to follow his own-morality. All were bound by the code of chivalry, by the knightly duty, and the promise to protect all others. In its true essence, the doctrines of the Old Faith did not oppose the Christian commandment.
Having once worked the gods as grandiose, but mere mortals, first into universal history, and then into the history of Ireland, it was an easy matter to supply them with dates of birth and death, and places of burial. Early chronicles accredited many to the status of kings, and the succession of rulers were recorded with precision exactly how long each king reigned, and how he was supposed to have died.
The later writers often confused the Tuatha de Danann with the Fomorians and the Firbolgs, and in post-mediaeval literature they are represented as having both favorable and divine, and demonic groups among them; and as such, were associated with the dead and spirits of the dead. This made them suitable for a variety of literary narratives, as well as being the vestige of a divine race. And so, they became the integral stock of ordinary folklore.
They were the first practicing Occultists of the world, living their daily lives within, and governed by the realms of magic. The word magic comes through Latin and Greek, from the Persian word meaning the work of wise men or priests. Such activity was, and is done for the benefit of mankind on the whole. But the word has altered in its significance and is usually applied to acts of selfish or even harmful kind; and as such is distinguished by the term black magic which conjures terminology's such as - witchcraft; paganism; sorcery and occult.
Magic consists of primitive science. Astrology was primitive astronomy. Alchemy was primitive chemistry, and so on with the other occult sciences. These eventually threw off their superstitious features and, unfortunately for those of us who wish to retain the spiritual side of ourselves and our histories, became subject to the rules of inductive science laid down by Francis Bacon.
The occult aspects of the primitive sciences were thrown off by modern science, and that they are mere superstitions is a minority opinion - although widely spread among the people of the western world who have not had the acquaintance with other cultures...especially those of the past. Magic also makes use of imaginary, or real phenomena, such as clairvoyance and telepathy; the nature of which has become the subject of psychic research in recent years. In many instances magic can also be brought into connection with so-called hypnotic phenomena, or the similarity of the effects of suggestion; producing the terminology, casting of spells. This was the prime method of the magic of the Tuatha de Danann race.
The word occult means hidden - nothing more, as does the term "Shadow," as in Book of Shadows. We were driven into the Shadows as more and more of our kind were persecuted for their failure to embrace the ways of the "One God." Under the general term occultism are grouped a number of subjects that are not taught today in schools, colleges or universities. They include Theosophy - Anthroposophy - the Kabalah - the Gnosis - Rosicrucianism - Alchemy - Astrology - Spiritualism - the study of the Tarot, the Runes and the I-Ching - some forms of dream-interpretation - Prophecy - Oracles - Divination - Psychometry - Radiesthesia (pendulum usage) - Rhabdomancy (divining-rod usage) - Necromancy - Lycanthropy (transformation of humans into animals - shape shifting) - Yoga - Physiognomy - Cheirognomy - Phrenology and Graphology - Symbology - Vampirism - Demonology - Sorcery. There are also occult aspects of certain other subjects, such as Heraldry, Reincarnation, and even the accepted subject of the Christian Holy Spirit, Angels, and Heaven......... These subjects are occult, simply because they are in fact, hidden from the majority, and for no other mystic or foreboding reason.
It is clear that surviving histories of the Tuatha de Danann were the inspiration for the romantic tales of heroic Fairy Princes and Princesses, the Athurian legends, of Camelot, Merlin, Avalon, Morgan Le Fay, and the airy, tenuous, diminutive Fairies portrayed in stories primarily for children.
