🦜 The Gods and their Croziers
@buttondown.com.godsandcroziers@rss-parrot.net
I'm an automated parrot! I relay a website's RSS feed to the Fediverse. Every time a new post appears in the feed, I toot about it. Follow me to get all new posts in your Mastodon timeline!
Brought to you by the RSS Parrot.
---
<!-- 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*.
Your feed and you don't want it here? Just
e-mail the birb.
July 24: The Dagda, as Sts. Deaglán, Earc, Dubhthach
https://buttondown.com/godsandcroziers/archive/july-24-the-dagda-as-sts-deaglan-earc-dubhthach/
Published: July 30, 2026 18:46
Saint Declan, and Earc and Dubhthach, are The Dagda. A greatly loved Gaelic God, he's a patron of magic, paternity, fertility, life & death, seasons, airs & wind, and the sky itself. Whoa.
A god deeply meshed in the hinted-at Gaelic cosmogony, The Dagda as…
Jul 6: Eithne, Goddess of Wisdom, Freshwater, Maternity, and Eternity
https://buttondown.com/godsandcroziers/archive/jul-6-eithne-goddess-of-wisdom-freshwater/
Published: July 5, 2026 13:00
Eithne, or Boann, or Fidelm, is goddess of Rivers, Wisdom, Prophesy, Motherhood, and perhaps Genderqueerness! With hints of a cosmogonic role, and several distinct husbands and lovers, she's omnipresent and subtle. She appears with various names and faces…
June 21: Suibhne, God of Wild Madness and Rustic Prophesy
https://buttondown.com/godsandcroziers/archive/suibhne-irish-god-wild-madness-rustic-prophesy/
Published: June 20, 2026 20:40
Suibhne is Lailoken, Silenus - the wild mad-man sage, probably continuous with the God of the Wild Marches, Cian/Caoimh, Gwydion, Myrddin, or Pan. He seems to represent the "madness" of wild things, the quality that separates man from beast.
Today's issue…
June 16th: St.Nectan of Hartland - Nechtan, God of Cloistered Wisdom
https://buttondown.com/godsandcroziers/archive/june-16th-nectan-hartland-nechtan-god-of-cloistered-wisdom/
Published: June 17, 2026 00:35
Saint Nectan of Hartland is Nechtan, husband of Boann. Like her, he's a god of Wisdom..but with a different philosophy on Wisdom. Seemingly preferring knowledge to be cloistered and limited to the élite, Nechtan may be a God of Academies, or Mystery…
June 17th: St.Moling, Aengus mac Óg, the Fleet-Footed Trickster
https://buttondown.com/godsandcroziers/archive/june-17th-moling-aengus-fleet-footed-trickster-divine-twin/
Published: June 16, 2026 07:44
Saint Moling is the Peaceable Divine Twin, better known as Aengus mac Óg. God of youth, peace, and love; a trickster and counseller. He's fast and sneaky yet has surprising parallels to fellow Youth-Divinity, Cúchulainn.
This is the first of two issues…
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…