Birds of Rhiannon

manticoreimaginary: favourite faces for favourite mythic...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:18:28 -0400

favourite faces for favourite mythic ladies: Epona with Sophia Myles

Epona is like her horses. Strong and swift, yet gentle and kind. She presses her hands to their necks and feels their strong hearts. With one hand she delivers joy and bounty and with the other she takes the old cavalry man home upon her white mare.

She travels with them from great isle to Rome, and back again, finding home and heart amongst the straw.

[write up by heartof-lion]

Celtic Goddess by Janne Navanna Eikeblad

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:18:14 -0400

Celtic Goddess by Janne Navanna Eikeblad

Art Nouveau Celtic by Lonesome—Crow

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 22:47:19 -0400

Art Nouveau Celtic by Lonesome—Crow

onetwistedpixie: Brigid’s Cross

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 23:00:28 -0400

onetwistedpixie:

Brigid’s Cross

Blodwedd_Lleu by Kimir-Ra Blodeuwedd and Lleu Llaw Gyffes

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 23:00:13 -0400

Blodwedd_Lleu by Kimir-Ra

Blodeuwedd and Lleu Llaw Gyffes

whimsywoo: Women in Celtic Religion and Sociey - Part 1 The...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:29:06 -0400

whimsywoo:

Women in Celtic Religion and Sociey - Part 1

The gods and goddesses of the ancient Celts were living forces in their imagination and worship, and although Victorian scholars thought their savage war-goddesses; their barbaric sea-gods and the mysteries of the Otherworld, quaint, barbaric and often incomprehensible, these myths reveal the beautiful and often profound beliefs of a passionate, resourceful and creative people.

For the pagan Celt, the essence of the universe and all its creativity was female and they left permanent traces of a culture in which women were the spiritual and moral pivot. The mother goddess and all her personifications of fertility, sovranty, love and healing, was an essential basis of their very role in the world.

Women feature prominently in Celtic myth and their goddesses occupied positions that represented women of practical, everyday Celtic life. They were free to bear arms, become Druids and engage in politics unlike their Greek sisters, who were highly idealised in myth but not representative of the reality governing the lives of Greek women.

The very phrase ‘Celtic women evokes all kinds of images - fearsome warriors, romantic heroines and tragic, wronged queens - goddesses by the score, from old hags to screaming harpies, to beautiful wise women and learned Druidesses, to the great female saints of the early Celtic church.

The women of the Celtic myths are a reflection of the historical women of early Celtic society with all their problems, loves, heartaches and triumphs. They display a range of characters and positions in society being powerful weak, serious, capricious, vengeful and ambitious - there are no empty-headed beauties.

As Moyra Caldicott says in ‘Women in Celtic Myth’ … “one of the things I find so refreshing in the Celtic myths is that the women are honoured as much for their minds as for their bodies. The dumb blond would not stand much of a chance in ancient Celtic society”.

Source: http://www.pabay.org/skyeviews.html

whimsywoo: eltic Women Series - Part 2 Celtic women then...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:29:00 -0400

whimsywoo:

eltic Women Series - Part 2

Celtic women then achieved high positions in society and a standing which their sisters in the majority of other contemporary European societies did not have. They were able to govern; they played an active part in political; social and religious life. They could be warriors, doctors, physicians, judges and poets. They could own property and remain the owner even when married.

They had sexual freedom, were free to choose their partners and divorce, and could claim damages if molested. Celtic women could, and often did, lead their men into battle. The Roman Deodorizes Sickles observed - “The women of the Celts are nearly as tall as the men and they rival them also in courage”.

Yet another report by Amicus Marcelling states - “A whole troop of foreigners would not be able to withstand a single Celt if he called his wife to his assistance”! So women went to war in the ancient Celtic world and took command of men.

The, training of a warrior was a long task, frequently undertaken by warrior women who were responsible for teaching boys the arts of combat and of love.

Specific titles were given to these classes of female warriors such as BAN-GAISGEDAIG (BAN-meaning woman and a derivative of GAS which means young warrior) and BAN-FEJNNIDH (which combines BAN with FEINNIDH meaning ‘band of warriors’) so it seems they were classed according to age and experience, possibly starting their training as very young girls. Women warriors even appear on Celtic coins as a common iconographic theme.

BOUDICCA, the great warrior-queen of the Iceni was a ruler of her people in her own right, and accepted as a war leader against the Romans not only by her own tribe but by the Triumvirates and other neighbouring tribes who joined her, such as the Cretan. Less well-known is our own warrior queen SGATHAICH who presided over a famous military academy at the South end of Skye. Near to Tarscavaig and overlooking the bay of OB GAUSCA VAIG (Whale Bay) stand the ruins of Dunscaith Castle, said to mean ‘the Fort of Shadows’, a stronghold of Sgathaich.

Source: http://www.pabay.org/skyeviews.html

Art by - Wen-Xi Chen

whimsywoo: Celtic Women Series - Part 3 The Romans had been...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:28:52 -0400

whimsywoo:

Celtic Women Series - Part 3

The Romans had been horrified by the social status of Celtic women as they enjoyed privileges that would have made Roman women, of the same period, green with envy. This was subversive to the patriarchal paradigms of Greece and Rome and had to be destroyed.

The destructive influence of the Roman empire, then of Christianity, when women were no longer allowed sexual

freedom, coupled with the cultures of the Anglo Saxons and the Franks, certainly forced the Celts into fundamental change.

They clung to the old ways but finally that harmony between the roles of men and women. The harmony that was no dependent on the superiority of one over the other, but on an equality in which each could feel comfortable and the feminist concept of a descent into (modern) civilization is reasonable.

MACHA the Celtic horse goddess, who gave her name to Cu Chulainns war horse, the Grey of Macha, cursed the patriarchal age that had just dawned, with these words…

“Although you may develop sophisticated doctrines of rebirth; although you may have taken on yourselves the right of life and death; although your efforts may seem logical and plausible in the light of a patriarchal culture; your efforts cannot but be doomed to failure as long as they are based on the subordination of women”

The story did not end with the conquests of Rome. The Celts continued to exist over Europe, although the language died out in most areas, their ideas, their beliefs and folk festivals, and place names, survived.

Ireland and much of Scotland were not conquered by the Romans, an there as in Wales and the Isle of Man, Celtic culture continued to exist, retaining its art, its religion and its language.

source: http://www.pabay.org/skyeviews.html

art- A Celtic Dream by schattenlos.deviantart.com

whimsywoo: Celtic Women Series Part 4 - Roman Impressions of...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:28:46 -0400

whimsywoo:

Celtic Women Series Part 4 - Roman Impressions of Celtic Women

Celtic women were distinct in the ancient world for the liberty and rights they enjoyed and the position they held in society. Compared to their counterparts in Greek, Roman, and other ancient societies, they were allowed much freedom of activity and protection under the law.

The Iron Age Celts were nevertheless a patriarchal people and for the most part men had the ultimate power in politics and the home. Despite this, ancient Celtic women remain an inspiring example of
womanhood from the past.

Classical authors’ impressions tell a great deal about how different Celtic women were from the women with whom those writers were familiar.

Diodorus of Sicily describes Gaulish women as being “nearly as tall as the men, whom they rival in courage.”

Ammianus Marcellinus gives a more animated description: “…a whole band of foreigners will be unable to cope with one [Gaul] in a fight, if he calls in his wife, stronger than he by far and with flashing eyes; least of all when she swells her neck and gnashes her teeth, and poising her huge white arms, begins to rain blows mingled with kicks, like shots discharged by the twisted cords of a catapult”.

While overstated, the words of Marcellinus conjure images of formidable women among the ancient Celts.

Excerpt from The Lives of Ancient Celtic Women, By Heather Payne Savino, from www.CeltLearn.org

Art by Mickie Mueller

Arduinna by Bogamaz

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:48:03 -0400

Arduinna by Bogamaz

fuckyeahcelticmythology: Blodeuwedd’s Invitation to Grown...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:41:27 -0400

fuckyeahcelticmythology:

Blodeuwedd’s Invitation to Grown Pebyr, from a painting by E. Wallcousins, from the book Celtic Myth and Legend, by Charles Squire, published 1905.

reservoircat: GODDESSES OF MYTH: Airmed Origin: Irish Airmed...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:29:11 -0400

reservoircat:

GODDESSES OF MYTH: Airmed

Origin: Irish

Airmed is an Irish goddess of healing. She guards the secrets of medicinal herbs, wells, springs, and rivers of healing.

After her jealous father slew her brother, Miach, Airmed wept over her brother’s grave. Watered by her tears, all the healing herbs of the world sprung from the earth over Miach’s body, and Airmed collected and organized them all, spreading them on her cloak. Once again, their father lashed out, and scattered the herbs. For this reason, no living human knows all the secrets of herbalism. Only Airmed remembers.

rl pangur ban

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:23:31 -0400

rl pangur ban

FaerieTree by mslionking

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 01:35:24 -0400

FaerieTree by mslionking

reservoircat: GODDESSES OF MYTH: Artio Origin: Celtic Artio...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 01:34:44 -0400

reservoircat:

GODDESSES OF MYTH: Artio

Origin: Celtic

Artio was a Celtic goddess with a wide range to her worshippers. Idols to her have been found as far from the British Isles as Switzerland. She is a goddess of wildlife and the hunt. She rules over the woodlands and carries the powers of abundance and fertility, rejuvenating the fields after each harvest. Artio is a shamanistic goddess, with her sacred animal being the female brown bear.

Girl on Fire | songs for modern days Brigid and Bres 1. I’m on...

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 23:41:24 -0400

Girl on Fire | songs for modern days Brigid and Bres

1. I’m on Fire - Bruce Springsteen

2. Four in the Morning - Gwen Stefani

3. Hardest of Hearts - Florence+The Machine

4. Slow Dancing In a Burning Room - John Mayer

5. Love the Way You Lie - Rihanna ft. Eminem

6. Set Fire to the Rain - Adele

7. Titanium - David Guetta&Sia

8. Girl on Fire - Alicia Keys

Bonus: Brighid’s Kiss - Triniti

§ download §

reservoircat: GODDESSES OF MYTH: Andraste Origin:...

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 23:39:57 -0400

reservoircat:

GODDESSES OF MYTH: Andraste

Origin: Celtic

Andraste is the Celtic goddess of war. She is the mother of victory in combat and was invoked before battles to predict the outcome, and alter it to the invoker’s favor. Andraste was famously invoked by Boudicca and the Iceni people against the Roman forces. She is known as the “Invincible One” and her named means “She Who Has Not Fallen”. She is also a goddess of the lunar cycle and female fertility. Her sacred animals are hares and ravens.

Photo

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 22:50:27 -0400

annachibi: Rossel | Selkie AU Humans have their rules, but so...

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 22:50:11 -0400

annachibi:

Rossel | Selkie AU

Humans have their rules, but so do the fae folk.

chelletakesphotos: hung from tree ~ bent by wind ~ keeps us...

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 00:12:12 -0400

chelletakesphotos:

hung from tree ~ bent by wind ~ keeps us close