🦜 The Gods and their Croziers
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<!-- buttondown-editor-mode: plaintext -->The Gods of the Celtic pantheons have long resisted accurate identification alongside their famous counterparts in the Norse, Mediterranean, and Indo-Iranian religions. What remains might be only the garbled re-imaginings of bored Christian monks, stripped of authenticity.
But what if it’s not as dismal as we thought? What if we can validate that the Irish God and Hero stories are preserved in remarkably faithful detail? And, what if there are many, many more of them hidden in plain sight, awaiting recovery?
Using a framework inspired by Dumézil’s methods of comparative mythology, a slew of newly re-identified Irish and Welsh gods are already awaiting wider appreciation. It's a rich time to enjoy Celtic mythology.
Inspired by this work, I’m applying the same methods to the Hagiographies of the Celtic Saints, and what I’ve found is amazing - nearly every significant Early Irish Saint is unambiguously a God of the Native Irish Pantheon, and the same seems to be true of other Celtic branches. By finding their parallel stories in native and other mythologies, we can restore them to their original identities, and better-understand the faithfully kept material we already enjoy.
I’m compiling this work for a book, or perhaps a series of books. But, I want to share the work as early as I can! Join me as I explore the Comparative Mythology of the Celtic Saints, uncovering the *Gods and their Croziers*.
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June 9th: Colm Cille - Summer King, Creator-Within-the-World
https://buttondown.com/godsandcroziers/archive/june-9th-colm-cille-summer-king-creator-within-the-world/
Published: June 9, 2026 20:19
Colm Cille is the Summer-King, an emanation of the Creator-Deity reflecting the growth and increase of Summertime. Usually presenting as a beloved King, he is born mid-winter and dies with the peak of Summer.
Today's issue concerns one of the most…
May 22: Conall, Cernach, Corc - The Summertime Fionn
https://buttondown.com/godsandcroziers/archive/may-22-conall-cernach-corc-the-summertime-fionn/
Published: May 22, 2026 14:19
St.Conall is Conall Cernach, perhaps a "Summertime" face of the Fionn-type god. Often accompanying the Divine Twin, Conalls can be less 'protagonist', but also exhibit distinctive traits rarely found in other Fionn-types.
This issue is later than promised,…
May 16th: St.Brendan/Bréanainn - Midir, God of the Moon
https://buttondown.com/godsandcroziers/archive/may-16th-saint-brendan-breanainn-midir-god-of-the-moon/
Published: May 15, 2026 11:45
St. Brendan/Bréanainn is Midir, the Moon-Immortality God, the God of the Grail. He represents the regeneration of lives, souls, and nature, and the immortality of the divine and those who make union with it.
This God is complex and messy - there's no room…
May 6th: The MĂłrrĂgan, Queen of Summer, as Sts. Inghean Bhuidhe & CrĂłbh Dearg
https://buttondown.com/godsandcroziers/archive/may-6th-morrigan-queen-summer-inghean-bhuidhe-crobh-dearg/
Published: May 5, 2026 11:00
Saints Inghean Bhuidhe and CrĂłbh Dearg are local expressions of the MĂłrrĂgan in Munster, and their relationships reveal much about how the MĂłrrĂgan is understood alongside other Irish Gods and Goddesses of the Seasons, Food, and Relationships.
Today's…
May 1st: Cellach (& Muiredach) - The Divided Divine Twins
https://buttondown.com/godsandcroziers/archive/may-1st-cellach-muiredach-the-divided-divine-twins/
Published: April 30, 2026 10:00
Cellach and Muiredach are our first "Divine Twins", presenting an uncommonly clear dichotomy of the "Peaceable" and "Martial" aspects of this complex, important deity-type.
Finally, I get to introduce one of my favourite deities - the Divine Twin. I have a…
Apr 15: Ruadhán of Lorrha, the Irish Prometheus
https://buttondown.com/godsandcroziers/archive/apr-15-ruadhan-of-lorrha-irish-prometheus/
Published: April 14, 2026 10:00
Ruadán is the Irish Prometheus - but with a twist. The god of the lost golden-age of ignorance and effortless plenty, the well-meaning god whose fault it is that mankind now toils.
This issue will cover an internationally mysterious deity, whose alignment…
Apr 6th: Brychan - the Welsh Demiurge
https://buttondown.com/godsandcroziers/archive/apr-6th-brychan-the-welsh-demiurge/
Published: April 5, 2026 09:52
Brychan of Wales is the Creator Deity - father to multitudes of gods, including higher & lower Gwynn-type God-Saints. He aligns with Irish Bile or Tadhg, or Hindu Brahma.
Today is another issue that's getting significant re-writes mid-draft, as I discover…
Mar 30th: Crónán (AKA Mochua): Dian Cécht, Physician of the Gods
https://buttondown.com/godsandcroziers/archive/mar-30th-cronan-mochua-dian-cecht-physician/
Published: March 29, 2026 10:00
The several Sts. Crónán, AKA Mochua, are Dian Cécht, god of healing. Saviour against plagues and injury, patron of the "Plain of Herbs", slayer of serpents, and god of the Healing Well.
This issue started out more apologetic - I wasn't 100% on whether I…
Mar 17th: Patrick, the (Sometimes) Cosmic Man
https://buttondown.com/godsandcroziers/archive/mar-17th-patrick-lugh-lugaid-purusha-cosmic-man/
Published: March 16, 2026 16:57
St. Patrick (the character) is Lugh.. but today we'll explore how he's also Lugaid: the related cosmic "book-end" character who prefigures the ages and arrives again later to close them out.
It's been a week for the peri-Cosmic Gods: CĂarán the Demiurge,…
13th Mar: MochoemĂłg, CaoimhĂn, God of the Wild Marches
https://buttondown.com/godsandcroziers/archive/13th-mar-mochoemog-caoimhin-god-wild-nature-travellers/
Published: March 12, 2026 11:00
St. MochoemĂłc, or "CaoimhĂn", is CĂan, the god of the wild fringes, patron of travellers and hermits, protector of herds. Existing on a spectrum from the civil, sessile CĂarán to the wild madness of Suibhne Geilt, Caomhán regulates the marches of law and…