Beli: equivalent of the Irish Bile, god of death, husband of Don.
Don: equivalent of the Irish Dana, mother-goddess.
Math: brother of Don, god of wealth and increase.
Gwydion: son of Dana, god of science and light, slayer of Pryderi.
Arainrod: daughter of Don, goddess of the dawn whose name means silver wheel .
Gilvaethwy: son of Don.
Amaethon: child of Don, agriculture deity.
Govannan: son of Don, god of smithcraft, equivalent of Irish Goban.
Nudd or Ludd: son of Dana, god of the sky.
Penardun: daughter of Don and Llyr.
Nynniaw: child of Don.
Gwyn: child of Nudd, Warder of Hades.
Nwyre: child of Arianrod and Gwydion, deity of atmosphere and space.
Llea Llaw Gyffes: son of Arianrod and Gwydion, god of the sun, equivalent of the Irish Lugh.
Dylan: son of Arianrod and Gwydion, god of the sea.
Iweriadd: mother of Bran and Branwen, wife of Llyr, daughter of Don.
Llyr: husband first of Penardun and then of Iweriadd. King of the Tuatha De Danaan, father of Bran, Branwen
and Manawyddan.
Bran: giant god of Hades, a minstrel; afterwards Urien.
Branwen: goddess of love.
Matholwych: King of Ireland.
Manawyddan: equivalent of the Irish Mananan, god of the sea, enchanter.
Rhiannon: mare goddess.
Nissyen: son of Eurosswyd and Penardun.
Evnissyen: son of Euroswydd and Penardun.
Pwyll: head of Hades, husband of Rhiannon.
Pryderi: son of Rhiannon and Pwyll, husband of Kicva.
Anlawdd:
Custennin: begat Goreu, Erbin and Gwyar.
Erbin: begat Geraint.
Igerna: wife of Uther, mother of Arthur and Gwyar.
Uther: same as Bran.
Arthur: Gwydion
Gwyar: also known as Gore, goddess of war.
Lot: same as Llud.
Gwalchmai: son of Lot and Gwyar, falcon of May, aka Llew Llaw Lyffes and later Gawain.
Medrawt: son of Lot and Gwyar, same as Dylan and later Sir Mordred.
Gwalchaved: son of Lot and Gwyar, Falcon of Summer, later Sir Galahad; originally identical with Gwalchmai.
There are many different ideas among modern Pagans about what a "Wild Hunt" is and
I thought that I would list some of them and their supporting legends here. You must realize that not all modern Pagans consider
all of these a "Wild Hunt." These are ideas that I have either heard or read about. I have been a practicing "ceremonial magician"
for seventten years and a student of both Paganism and various witchcraft "traditions" during those seventeen years. Most
of my studies occurred simultaneously.
In at least one "Dianic Tradition," the "Wild Hunt" is the quest for love and/or sex. The WildHunt is the
act of wooing your prospective lover(s) and the consummation of that relationship (not just sexually). The Wild Hunt is sometimes
seen as the lifelong relationship that some people have with each other and their respective responses toeach other. This
is very seriously not considered to be a negative Wild Hunt because the accepted goals of boh parties are Love, happiness
and personal fulfillment. Interested parties should read "The Spiral Dance" by Starhawk among others.
Among various traditions who claim to practice in the Celtic Tradition, the Wild Hunt
takes on a totally different meaning, although for some reason, it involves the Greek goddess, Diana and has a less than
pleasnt outcome.
This is an old Cornish version of a widely accepted tale. Devil's Dandy Dogs, a very
diabolical pack, hunts the countryside for human souls...
An Highlnd version incorporates The Sluagh, or the Host, which is a bunch of the unforgiven,
dead Highland Fairy folk...
In both of the above medeival tales, witches join the phantoms and the ghostly train
led by the Greek goddess, Diana. It should be noted that everyone who joined Diana on these "Wild Hunts" was an active participant
in everything that was done by Diana and her ghostly train, which could include but was not limited to, causing milk-cows
to "go dry," water wells to go dry and even the death of a particular human.
In this version, the Wild Hunt is a furious bunch of ghosts of the restless dead,
who ride through the sky on their phantom horses, accompanied by their spectral hounds, shrieking and making all manner of
wild noises.
In another legend, Herne the Hunter is said to appear at times of national crisis in
Windsor Great Park. He wears stag antlers and leads his Wild Hunt of red-eared hounds across the sky.
In 1986, I met a particular practitioner in the Nordic Tradition who told me that the
Greek goddess, Diana, would help bring about "Ragnorak" which is the death of the Old Gods and countless numbers of their
followers and that it was a Nordic Pagans duty to follow Diana's path. Other Pagans were not to be spared and in fact were
to be hunted by every Nordic Pagan unless they could prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were being true to the Old
Gods and the true test was their willingness to wage war on "the infidels" or hypocrite Pagans. It sounded a bit like a kangaroo
court to me. I have been told recently (finally?!?) that not all Nordic Pagans believe exactly this way. They do have a habit
of calling themselves heathens rather than Pagans. Most Pagans call themselves either Pagans or neo-Pagans.
I have a fairly good library, and I have been searching out various "Wild Hunt" tales
for years and if you know of others as well as a valid literary source to back it up with, let me know. I have also been asking
other Pagans to tell me of any other "Wild Hunt" legends only to be treated less than politely, because supposedly everyone
is supposed to know all about this subject which is perhaps mentioned in three of the many books that I own. Many Pagans
have never heard of Starhawk's version or of one the modern Nordic beliefs although they claim to be experts on modern
Pagan (neo-Pagan) beliefs and practices. Take care in who you choose as a teacher and read as many books as you can!
Celtic Mythology
Gaulish Gods
Belenus: Equated with Apollo even though
there is no evidence that the Celts worshipped the sun. Also known as Grannus. He was attributed with healing powers. He is
usually paired with the Goddess Sirona. He is sometimes associated with thermal springs.
Sirona: ‘Star’.
Borvo: Also known as Bormo and Bormanus.
He is more closely associated with thermal springs than any other deity. His female companion is Damona, ‘The Divine
Cow’.
Maponas: ‘The Divine Youth (Son).
He is equated with Apollo Citharoedus, ‘the Harper’ at least once. He is attested principally in the north of
Britain,
and sometimes in Gaul. In Welsh literature, he appears as Mabon son of Modron or the son of Matrona,
the Goddess of the river Marne in France.
He survives in the Authurian tales as under the names Mabon, Mabuz, and Mabonagrain. He is equated with the Irish Mac ind
Og, ‘The Young Lad’. He is also known as Oenghus. His father is Daghdha, the chief irish God, and his mother is
Boann, wife of Nechtan.
“Minerva”: Also known as Sulevia
and Suleviae. A patron deity of arts, healing, poetry, traditional learning and crafts. She is equated with Sulis at Bath
(Aquae Sulis). In Ireland, she is equated with Brighid. Heresteem
was so great that her name could be used as a synonym for ‘goddess’.
Cernunnos: “Horned One”. The Lord of all living creatures and the possible prototype of the
horned devil of medieval Christianity. He is usually represented as wearing stag antlers. He is a fertility God.
Epona: The patron Goddess of horsemen.
Lugus: “Shining One”. Equated with Irish Lug Samildanach and Welsh Lleu Llaw Gyffes and Roman
Mercury. The God and inventor of all arts and skills, including war and healing. He was skilled in many arts. He was a commander
of the Tuatha De Danann at the battle of the Mag Tuired. He was associated with war, magic, commerce and crafts of all sorts.
He is often associated with ‘Maia’ or Rosemerta who represents wealth and material abundance.
Nantosuelta: Possibly a river Goddess. Her symbol, the raven, represents an association with the Irish
war Goddess Morrigan, also associated with rivers. She usually appears as a consort of Sucellus.
Ogmios: The champion of the Gods and the guide of the dead. He carries a club and is often associated
with Hercules. He is also sometimes portrayed as an old man with happy followers whose ears are sometimes chained to his tongue.
Lucian sometimes describes him as the God of eloquence. The Celts believed eloquence to be more powerful than physical strength
and satire was feared by irish kings. He is often equated with Irish Ogma and British Ogmia.
Sucellus: “Good Striker”. His symbol is the mallet. He also carried a bowl to signify abundance.
He was identified by Caesar as Dis Pater. He was the God of the underworld and ancestor-deity. His female companion is Nantosuelta.
Taranis: “Thunderer”. His symbols are the wheel and lightning-flash and the spiral. He was
greatly revered by the Gauls and sometimes identified with Jupiter, Welsh Taran and Irish Torann.
Teutates: Most often the tutelary God of the tribe in Celtic
belief. In Gaul, he was represented as a God of war, healing,
fertility, protection, and the guardian of his people and their material prosperity. He is often equated with Mars. A variant
spelling of his name was Toutates and was sometimes known as Mars Toutates Cocidius.
Esus: He is represented in the guise of a woodcutter on two reliefs. He has to be propitiated with blood
offerings and is known as Esus of the barbarous altars by Lucan.
Andarte: The equivalent of S. British Goddess Andrasta. A Goddess of victory.
Brigantu: The equivalent of Irish Brigit.
Thucoliss: The equivalent of Artemis.
Sequana: The Goddess of the river Seine and the Gaulish tribe the Sequani. A healing Goddess.
Irish Gods
Tuatha De Danann: The people of the Goddess Danu. The powers of light. They had great beauty and possessed
all knowledge.
Fomoiri: Enemies of the Tuatha De Danann. The powers of darkness. Half-human monsters.
Balar: Balor of the Evil Eye. King of the Fomorians. Husband of Cethlenn and son of
Buarainech
Lug Samildanach: The God and inventor of all arts and skills, including war and healing. A younger and
more gifted God who replaced the established older God Balar.
Brigit: “High One”. Three sisters who were the daughters of In Dagda and patron Goddesses
of learning (including poetry, divination, and prophecy), healing, and smithcraft. The modern St. Brigid, a popular saint,
is probably a Christian reflex of the pagan Goddess. St. Brigid is the patron of animal husbandry. She has curative powers
and her sacred fire is barred to all males. Brigit is one form of Brigantia, the great tutelary Goddess of the Brigantes,
a North British people. Also a fertility Goddess.
Goibnu: “Great Smith”. A leader of the Tuatha De Danann and one of a triad of craftsmen.
Luchta the wright and Creidne the brazier being the other two members of the triad. Goibnu was equated with the Roman God
Vulcan. He provided the feast for the Gods and according to Welsh law was entitled to the first drink at a feast. In Welsh
literature, he appears as Gofannon and in modern folklore as Gobban or Gobban Star.
In Dagda: “the Good God”. He was also known as Eochaidh Oll-athair, ‘All-father’,
which suggests that he is an ancestor deity, but he is not represented as the father of the Gods. He owned a magic cauldron
as a provider and carried a club as a protector. He had an inordinate appetite for food and sex. He was a leader of the Tuatha
De Danann. At the battle of Mag Tuired, he controlled the Druid magic. He was the son of Belenus by Danu and he fathered the
rest of the Gods. He is also equated with Cernunnos, who was worshipped in both Britain and Gaul.
Lug:
Morrigan: ‘Spectre Queen’ or ‘Great Queen’. A trio of war Goddesses, named the
Morrigan. Badb (‘scald-crow’) and Nemain (‘frenzy, fury’), who appeared as ravens were probably manifestations
of the same deity. Ravens were viewed as ill-omens who were seen before and during battles. When she manifested as ‘the
Washer at the Ford’, she foretold the outcome of a battle by washing the equipment of those about to fall. The dual
assocation with the river and the raven suggest an association with the Gaulish Nantosuelta.
Ogma: The champion of the Gods. He is described as ‘sun-faced’. He is possibly in allusion
to the furor Celticus, or battle fury of the Celtic warriors, who were so dreaded by the Romans. He controlled the
element of martial prowess at the battle of Mag Tuired. He is credited with inventing the Ogam alphabet, which may have mystical
significance, like the Norse runes. There may be a connection between Ogma and the Gaulish Ogmios.
Tuatha De Danann: ‘the people of the Goddess Danu’. The Gods of ancient Ireland. They are
said to have come from overseas. The Fomoiri were their enemy. Their Welsh equivalent are the children of Don. They have been
made human but their magickal skills betray their divine origins.
Fir Bolg: An agricultural people defeated by the Tuatha De Danann at the battle of Mag Tuired.
Nuada: Once a king of the Tuatha De Danann, he lost his arm at the battle of Mag Tuired and therefore
had to forfeit his kingship, which he offered to Bres, the king of the Fomoiri, whose mother was a member of the Tuatha De
Danann. Nuada became known as Nuada Airget-lam, ‘Silver Arm’.
Dian Cecht: the physician who made Nuada an arm of silver that could function like a normal arm to replace
the arm he lost at the battle of Mag Tuired. A craft God. A member of the Tuatha De Danann.
Manannan mac Lir: the God of the sea.
Matholwch: king of Ireland. Husband of Welsh Branwen.
Mug Ruith: Also known as Magh Ruith, Rothechtaid Rotha and mac Seinghesa. A solar deity. He drives a
chariot of white metal with lustrous gems, the light of which turns night into day. In it he can travel through the air like
a bird. He carries a solar wheel, which can blind those who see it. He is reputed to have lost one eye and can dry up waters,
which is a significant attribute of sun Gods.
Tlachtga: Druidess. Daughter of Mug Ruith.
Llug Lamhfada: A God of arts and crafts.
Donn: The God of the dead. The eldest son of Midir the Proud. His abode was at Tech Duinn (House of Donn)
on an island off the southwest coast of Ireland where he assembles the dead before they depart on their journey westward to
the Otherworld. He is not to be confused with Don of Welsh myth.
BileĒ: The God of the Dead. From the same family as Bel and Belenus. His feast day was May 1. The Father of the Gods and
consort of Danu. He was also venerated in Gaul for many centuries after the Roman conquest. He is also known as Bel, Belenus
and Dis Pater.
Badb: War Goddess. 1/3 of The Morrigan.
Bron:
Buanann:
Cumal:
Mider: Son of The Dagda.
Nemon:
Net:
Eire: Matron Goddess. Goddess of sovereignty. Goddess of the Land.
Banba: War and fertility Goddess. Matron Goddess.
Fotla: Tutelary Goddess.
Luchta: A craft God.
Creidhne: A craft God.
Sinainn:
Welsh Gods
Rhiannon: Welsh mare Goddess. Believed to be the equivalent of the Gaulish Epona. She was unjustly accused
of killing her son and forced into involuntary servitude. There are indications that she was once a very powerful deity despite
her later misfortunes.
Pwyll: Lord of Annwn. Prince of Dyfed (South Wales). He rules in Annwn for a year and a day. The husband
of Rhiannon and the father of Pryderi.
Pryderi: Son of Rhiannon and Pwyll. He succeeded his father as ruler of Dyfed and of the otherworld.
Manawydan: the God of the sea. He travels the waves in a chariot. A brother of Bendigeidfran.
Nisien: A brother of Manawydan.
Efnisien: A brother of Manawydan. A troublemaker.
Lludd llaw Ereint: probably originally Nudd Llaw Ereint. Comparable to the Irish Nuada Airgetlam and
the British Nodens.
Lleu: The equivalent of Irish Lug.
Gofannan: The equivalent of Irish Goibnu.
Annwn: ‘un-world’. The Welsh otherworld. It is inhabited by Gods, spirits, and fairies, forever
young.
Arawn: King of Annwn.
Hafgan: The rival of Pwyll and Arawn.
The Children of Llyr: The children of darkness. A triad represented by Bendigeidfran, Branwen and Manawydan.
Benedigeidfran (‘Bran the Blessed’) appears as a giant who wades the Irish Sea, since there is no ship large enough
to transport him and he is slain by a poisonous spear. He ordered that his head be cut off and carried to White Mount in London
to be buried with its face towards France. Branwen’s role is slight and she mainly appears as a victim of ill-treatment.
She is also the wife of Irish Matholwch and the mother of Gwern. Her divinity and antiquity are doubted by many scholars.
The other is Manawydan, the sea God.
The Children of Don: A rival Celtic dynasty of Gods. The children of light. These deities include Gwydion,
Arianrhod, Dylan, Llew Llaw Gyffes. This family is equated with the Irish Tuatha De Danann. The Children of Don oppose the
Children of Llyr.
Gwydion: A warrior magician.
Arianrhod: The sky Goddess and a symbol of fertility.
Dylan: A sea God. The son of Gwydion and Arianrhod.
Llew Llaw Gyffes: Same as Mercury.
Fairies: a tiny, graceful being with magickal powers. Not
to be confused with a male queer/homosexual.
Gwern: The son of Branwen and Matholwch who ascended the irish throne.
Matholwch: An Irish king. The husband of Branwen.
Nud: The equivalent of Irish Nuada, Llud Llaw Ereint and Nodens.
Lugus: “Shining One”. Equated with Irish Lug Samildanach and Welsh Lleu Llaw Gyffes and Roman
Mercury. The God and inventor of all arts and skills, including war and healing. He was skilled in many arts. He was a commander
of the Tuatha De Danann at the battle of the Mag Tuired. He was associated with war, magic, commerce and crafts of all sorts.
He is often associated with ‘Maia’ or Rosemerta who represents wealth and material abundance.
S. Britain Gods
Andrasta: The equivalent of Gaulish Andarte.
A Goddess of victory.
Sabrann:
