The Celts were polytheists, believing in multiple gods and goddesses. Regional deities were known throughout the Celtic regions, and usually included the deities of protection, healing, luck, and honour. Local deities were centered around nature worship, usually a local landscape feature, such as mountains, trees, or rivers. The Celtic pantheon can be roughly divided into the older Gaulish/Brythonic deities, mostly described by Greco-Roman sources, and the Welsh and Irish deities, found in Celtic mythology.
Aengus/Oengus Mac Og (Irish) – God of love, beauty, and youth. ‘Young Son’. Son of The Dagda and Boann.
Áine (Irish) – Goddess of love, fertility, and crops. Queen of the Faeries. Daughter of Eogabail. Associated with Midsummer.
Anu / Anann (Irish) – Mother Goddess. Goddess of fertility, prosperity, and the earth. Possible connection to Danu/Dana.
Arawn (Welsh) – God of revenge, terror, and the Underworld (Annwn, Avalon).
Arianrhod (Welsh) – Goddess of the moon, beauty, fertility, reincarnation. ‘Silver Wheel’. Daughter of Bel and Dôn.
Badb (Irish), Cath Bodva (Gaulish) – Goddess of enlightenment, inspiration, life, wisdom. Often seen in the form of a crow or raven. Associated with The Morrígan.
Balor (Irish) – King of the Formorians. One-eyed giant killed by Lugh.
Banba (Irish) – Forms a trinity with Fódla and Ériu, patron goddesses of Ireland. Wife of king MacCuill.
Belenus / Bel (Gaulish/Celtic), Beli Mawr (Welsh) – God of sun, fire, crops, fertility. ‘The Shining One’. Consort of Dôn. Linked to Apollo. Associated with Beltane.
Blodeuwedd (Welsh) – Goddess of flowers and wisdom. Wife of Llew Llaw Gyffes. Associated with owls.
Boann (Irish) – Goddess of bounty, fertility, healing. ‘White Cow’. Namesake of the River Boyne. Consort of The Dagda, mother of Aengus.
Bran / Bran the Blessed (Welsh) – God of prophecy, the arts, war, music, writing. Associated with ravens. Son of Llyr, brother of Branwen.
Branwen (Welsh) – Goddess of love and beauty. Associated with Aphrodite/Venus. ‘White Raven’. Daugher of Llyr, brother of Bran.
Bres (Irish) – Prince of the Formorians. God of fertility and agriculture. Husband to Brigid.
Brigid / Brigit / Brighid (Irish), Bride (Scottish) – Triple goddess; fire of inspiration (poetry), fire of the health (healing, fertility), fire of the forge (smithcraft). Daughter of The Dagda, wife of Bres. Breo Saighead, Breo Aigit (‘Fiery Arrow’), Brid (‘Exhaulted One’). Associated with Imbolc. Linked to Minerva.
Cailleach / Carlin / Scotia (Scottish) – Goddess of disease and plague. ‘Veiled One’, ‘Dark Mother’. Associated with Samhain and winter.
Cerridwen / Cerridwyn (Welsh) – Goddess of fertility, rebirth, knowledge. Associated with cauldrons. Mother of Taliesin.
Cernunnos (Celtic, Gaulish) – Ancient God of fertility, nature, animals, the underworld. ‘The Horned One’, ‘Herne the Hunter’, ‘The Green Man’. Associated with horned animals.
Creiddylad / Creudylad / Cordelia (Welsh) – Goddess of summer, flowers, love. ‘May Queen’. Daughter of Llyr. Associated with Beltane.
Cú Chulainn (Irish) – Hero of Ulster. ‘Hound of Culann’. Son of Lugh.
The Dagda (Irish) – God of protection, knowledge, warriors. ‘The Good God’. Eochaid Ollathair (‘All Father’), Ruad Rofhessa (‘Lord of Great Knowledge’). High King of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Associated with the Cauldron of Plenty and the harp.
Danu / Dana (Irish) – Goddess of the earth, rivers, wells. ‘Great Mother’. Mother of the Tuatha Dé Danann (“People of the Goddess Danu”). Linked to the Irish Anu and Welsh Dôn.
Dian Cecht / Diancecht (Irish) – God of healing, medicine, magic. Physician of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
Dôn / Domnu (Welsh) – Goddess of the elements, ruler of the Land of the Dead. ‘Deep Sea’. Consort of Beli. Could be same goddess as Danu/Dana.
Druantia (Celtic) – Goddess of trees, fertility, passion. ‘Queen of the Druids’. Associated with Dryads (tree faeries).
Eostre (Anglo-Saxon, Celtic) – Goddess of the spring, rebirth, new beginnings, fertility. Associated with Ostara (Easter).
Epona (Gaulish, Celtic) – Goddess of horses, oxen, mules, and fertility. ‘Divine Horse’, ‘Great Mare’. Linked to Rhiannon.
Ériu / Erin (Irish) – Forms a trinity with Fódla and Banba, patron goddesses of Ireland. Mother of Bres the Formorian. Namesake of Ireland.
Esus (Gaulish, Celtic) – God of agriculture. Associated with the bull, oak trees. Linked to Mercury, Mars, and Odin.
Fand (Irish) – Goddess of the sea, health, earthly pleasures. ‘Pearl of Beauty’. Associated with the Otherworld and Isle of Man. Wife of Mannanan Mac Lir.
Fionn mac Cumhaill / Finn MacCool (Irish) – God of the woodlands. Hunter-warrior god. Leader of the Fianna warriors.
Flidais (Irish) – Goddess of forests, woodlands, wild creatures. Rode a deer-drawn chariot.
Fódla (Irish) – Forms a trinity with Ériu and Banba, patron goddesses of Ireland.
Goibniu (Irish), Govannon (Welsh) – God of blacksmiths, metalworking, fire, and brewing. ‘Great Smith’.
Gwydion (Welsh) – God of enchantment, illusion, magic. Son of Dôn, brother of Arianrhod.
Lir (Irish), Llyr (Welsh) – God of the sea and water. Father of Bran, Branwen, and Mannanan.
Llew Llaw Gyffes (Welsh) – ‘The Bright Lion with the Sure Hand’. Son of Arianrhod. Married to Blodeuwedd. Associated with Lugh.
Lugh (Irish), Llew (Welsh), Lugos (Celtic, Gaulish) – God of the sun, craftsmanship, and many other skills. High King of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Lámhfhada (‘Lugh of the Long Arm’), Samildananch (‘Much Skilled’). Linked to Mercury. Associated with Lughnasadh.
Mabon / Mabon ap Modron (Welsh), Maponos (Gaulish) – Hunter god. ‘Young Man’, ‘Divine Son’. Son of Modron.
Macha (Irish) – Goddess of war, death, sovereignty. Protectress in war and peace. Associated with The Morrígan.
Maeve / Medb (Irish) – Goddess of Connacht and Leinster. Involved in the Tain Bo Cuailgne (Cattle Raid of Cooley).
Mannanan Mac Lir (Irish), Manawydan ap Llyr (Welsh) – God of the sea, storms, weather. Husband to Fand/Rhiannon. Associated with the Isle of Man.
Math Mathonwy (Welsh) – God of sorcery, magic, enchantment. Brother of Dôn. Created Blodeuwedd.
Merlin / Merddin / Myrddin (Welsh) – God of all forms of magic, prophecy, healing, illusion. Was a Welsh Druid, later transformed in Arthurian sagas.
Modron (Welsh) – Mother of Mabon. Linked to Matrona. Possibly a version of Morgan Le Fay (Arthurian legend).
Morgan Le Fay / Margawse (Welsh), Morgause (Breton) – Goddess of death, fate, the Otherworld and the sea. Half-sister of King Arthur. Linked to The Morrígan.
The Morrígan / Morrigu (Irish) – Goddess of war, death, prophecy. ‘Great Queen’, ‘Phantom Queen’. Seen as a triple goddess, with Badb, Macha, and Nemain/Anand/Fea. Often takes the form of a crow or raven.
Nuada (Irish), Nudd / Lludd (Welsh), Nodens (Gaulish) – God of healing, the sea and the sun. ‘Silver Hand/Arm’. High King of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Associated with the Invincible Sword. Linked to Mars and Neptune.
Oghma / Ogma (Scottish, Irish), Ogmios (Gaulish) – God of eloquence, communication, writing, poetry. Invented the Ogham alphabet. Son of Danu and the Dagda. Linked to Hercules.
Pryderi / Peredur (Welsh) – Central character in the Welsh Mabinogion. Son of Pwyll and Rhiannon.
Pwyll (Welsh) – Lord of Dyfed. God of the Underworld, Annwn. Husband of Rhiannon.
Rhiannon (Welsh) – Goddess of horses, birds, sovereignty and the Underworld. Wife of Pwyll and Manawydan. Associated with Epona.
Scathach / Scatha / Scota (Irish) – Warrior goddess of healing, magic, martial arts. ‘Shadowy One’. Associated with Scotland, the Isle of Skye.
Sucellos (Gaulish) – God of good fortune. ‘Good striker’. Carries a hammer.
Tailtiu (Irish) – Earth goddess. Foster mother of Lugh. Linked to Lughnasadh.
Taliesin (Welsh) – God of magic, music, writing, wisdom, and the Bards. ‘Prince of Song’. Son of Cerridwen.
Taranis / Tannus (Celtic, Gaulish) – God of thunder, weather. Linked to Thor, Jupiter. Associated with Yule.
Teutates / Albiorix / Caturix (Gaulish) – God of war, fertility, wealth. ‘God of the Tribe’, ‘King of the World’. Linked to Mars.
The Celtic Journey 