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The people that lived in Scotland, Ireland and much
of what is now England, were grouped together to form the Celtic people. They lived back in the Iron Age,
which was around the Fifth Century B.C.E., and lasted until the Fifth Century
C.E. The term “Iron Age” means
that the people of that area started using metal called iron to make their
weapons. The use of iron made their
weapons a lot stronger and allowed them the use of tools like hammers and
blades that helped them make stronger homes and buildings. The Celtic people were polytheistic, which means
that they worshipped more then one God or Goddess, just like we do! There were Deities for the Sun, Moon,
Horses, War, Light, Harvests, and many more.
The Main Deities in the Celtic world were The Dagda, The Morrigan, and Lugh or Lug. The Dagda, means “Good God”. He is the Father of everything that is. The Celts thought of him as their Father,
both kind and gentle at times, and strict and disciplining when he needed to
be. They had a really good relationship
with him, and he even laughed at jokes about him! The Morrigan is a Triple
Goddess,
meaning that she is Maiden, Mother, and Crone. She is a battle Goddess, and the Celts would
pray to her and have rituals for her to help them win wars against their
enemies. She is said to show herself
like a crow or raven most often, although she would sometimes look like a cow,
wolf or eel. She is very powerful, and
the Celts called upon her because she had a bit of a temper when someone made
her angry! Lugh/Lug is the God of the sun and
summer. He is a bringer of light and
heat, and the fun times that summer brings.
We even have a holiday named after him, called Lughnassadh,
which is a
special celebration of the God, Lugh’s reign over the summer and the ending of
his cycle, and the first of the harvest festivals. 1. Iron Age- 2. (When was the) Iron Age- 3. Polytheistic- 4. Deities- 5. The Dagda- 6. The
Morrigan- 7. Triple
Goddess- 8. Maiden- 9. Mother- 10. Crone- 11. Lugh/Lug- 12. Lughnassadh-
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