The Celts were not unusual in that they followed a polytheistic religion (the worship of various deities with numerous gods and goddesses along with differing rituals for each) as this was par for the course in the European Iron Age.

The Celts themselves did not leave behind much written evidence of their religious beliefs. Instead, we rely on Roman texts and inscriptions. Druids were the priests that carried out the many rituals and sacrifices associated with the religion of the Celts.

It wasn’t until the Iron Age that the Celts began to see their deities as having human form. Celtic shrines were built in remote areas such as lakes and hilltops, perhaps in a bid to communicate with nature.

Deities
There were hundreds of deities worshipped by Celtic tribes and in some cases; families worshipped their own individual god that was completely unknown to other Celtic peoples.

Gods were normally associated with certain skills while goddesses were usually (but not always) associated with nature. Ceremonies were often held in sacred groves with temples specially built for this purpose.

There are of course a number of Celtic gods and goddesses known throughout the Celtic world such as:

Badb:
The goddess of death, rebirth and war. She was a goddess specifically worshipped by Irish Celts.

Branwyn:
The goddess of love and the sea.

Cernunnos:
He was seen as the lord of the animals and is depicted as having deer antlers while holding a torc in one hand and a serpent in the other. He is linked with the famous ‘wild hunt’ where spirits were carted off to the Underworld.

The Dagda:
A father figure and protector of the tribe. He was associated with a cauldron and held a magic club which could kill up to nine warriors with a single blow while the handle could bring them all back to life.

Lugh:
He was the god of the harvest, magic, the sun and war.

Morrigan:
She was the goddess of vengeance, war and prophecy. Also known as the Phantom Queen, Morrigan would take the form of a crow or an old woman.

Taranis:
He was the god of the sky and possessed a thunderbolt and wheel. Those interested in Greek and Roman mythology will compare him with the Roman god Jupiter and the Greek god Zeus.

The End of Celtic Religion
Once Gaul and much of Europe came under Roman control, a large proportion of Celtic tribes were assimilated into Roman culture.

The influence of the Druid class was to weaken and eventually disappear. In time, a number of deities appeared that were a combination of Roman and Celtic mythology.

Ireland and the Scottish Highlands remained free of Roman rule though not necessarily free from Roman influence.

However, these tribes maintained the old ways for longer than their European counterparts but in the 5th century AD, Christianity began to replace polytheism in Celtic Ireland and Scotland.

Irish missionaries went throughout Europe converting various tribes and the old religious beliefs were no more.

In the first post, we looked at 5 great Irish mythological symbols and legends: Pookas, Banshees, Fionn Mac Cumhaill, the Children of Lir and the Shamrock. Now, we look at 5 more which have captivated and entertained people in equal measure for thousands of years.

6 – Changelings
When female fairies gave birth to children with deformities, they would enter the human world and snatch a human baby, leaving the deformed fairy child behind. These were also known as changelings and while they had the appearance of regular babies, they were emotionally very different.

The only time a changeling was ever happy was when its home was struck down with grief and sorrow. This legend resurfaced in the Shakespeare play ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and was even mentioned in ‘Gone With The Wind’.

7 – Dagda’s Harp
Dagda was the name of a high priest who owned a large and stunning harp. During a conflict, the harp was stolen so Dagda followed them to an old castle. He called the harp to him and played the Music of Tears, causing everyone in the castle to cry.

The Music of Mirth caused the thieves to collapse in laughter while the Music of Sleep was the end of the performance as the men feel asleep and Dagda walked away with the harp.

8 – Faeries
Aside from dumping aesthetically displeasing babies, Faeries were known to bring tremendous misfortune to all those who crossed their path. They could turn into anything they wished but often enjoyed taking human form to trick people.

Unfortunately, Faeries were also incredibly beautiful and almost impossible to resist. This combination of allure and mischief usually resulted in heartache for those misfortunate enough to end up on the radar of the Faeries.

9 – Leprechauns
Even those with little interest or knowledge when it comes to Irish mythology will have heard of leprechauns. Although we see leprechauns as being extremely small by human standards, they are actually giant faeries.

They normally appeared to humans as an old man and had a penchant for collecting gold which was stored in a pot and hidden at the end of a rainbow. If a human ever caught a leprechaun, he would be given three wishes before the leprechaun could escape.

While the leprechaun may be nothing but a mere legend, this doesn’t stop people rushing to the end of a rainbow to find their gold!

10 – Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick is a well-known historical person so why is he in a blog about legends? This is mainly because of his deeds such as driving all of the snakes out of Ireland. There is still intense debate and disagreement over whether Patrick spread Christianity across Ireland or if it was the lesser known Palladius.

The official story is that Patrick was born in Britain but was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland. He converted to Christianity and spread the religion all over Ireland. After his death, he was more or less forgotten for a time before monks began telling tales of his work. Incidentally, he has never been officially canonised so he not a saint in the eyes of the Church.

Hopefully, this information helps you gain a greater understanding of just how rich Irish mythology is. Perhaps you will be inspired to learn more about Saint Patrick, Leprechauns and all the other tales, legends and symbols associated with this great nation.