Helpful Celtic and Gaelic Terms

cairn: a heap of stones set up as a grave. The Celts believed burial mounds to b
e entrances to the Otherworld and were honored with rites and offerings. Ross in
her bookThe Folklore of the Scottish Highlands, even suggests that the practice
of placing flowers on graves is an instinctive continuation of this rite of pla
cating the dead with offerings. Death and burial were not gloomy and sad to the
Celts. Their lives, their seasons and even their ultimate goddess Brigid is meas
ured beginning with death. The new year begins when the Earth is in a deep sleep
, human death is merely a rite of passage to rebirth and the order of the three
aspects of the Goddess is referred to as Crone, Maiden, Mother = Death, Birth, F
ruitfulness.
Handfasting: There is some confusion over the exact meaning of this medieval cus
tom. Many Neopagans consider this a "pagan marriage." Antaean's Handfasting in S
cotland explains however that handfasting was not a marriage, but a formal or in
formal betrothal. If the handfasted couple had
sex after handfasting, they were married whether they had an actual marriage cer
emony or not. Another assumption is that this custom was a marriage for "a year
and a day," to be dissolved at the end of that period if the couple chose to do
so. Antaean's explanantion is far more likely, as the custom may have evolved du
e to a lack of priests available in rural areas, especially remote places in the
Highlands of Scotland.
Niamh of the Golden Hair: was the daughter of Manannan Mac Lir (later Shakespear
e turns him into King Lear), the sea god. Niamh fell in love with the poet Oissi
n and they lived happily ever-after in her father's Otherworldly realm of the La
nd of Promise. Niamh and Oissin had a daughter, Plur nam Ban which means "Flower
of Woman."
Oissin: was the son of the Fenian, also called the Fianna, leader Finn Maccool.
His mother was the goddess Sadb, the grandaughter of Dagda. His name means "Litt
le Fawn" as Sadb first appeared to Finn as a deer, enchanted by a spurned suitor
. Oissin was trained as a skilled warrior like his father, but also inherited Sa
db's eloquence and became known for his songs and poetry.
Stag Dance: a rite to celebrate the god Cernunnos. St. Augustine forbade "that m
ost filthy habit of dressing up as a horse or stag" in the fourth century A.D. (
Stewart, pg. 113)
Sidh: The Faerie, originally known as the Tuatha De Danann, who went under the g
round after being conquered by the Milesians. Their dwelling places are often re
ferred to as Faerie Mounds.
Tuatha De Danann: the "children of the goddess Danu" and were the last divine ra
ce to rule Ireland. They were decendants of a previous race in Ireland ,called t
he Nemed, and brought the four major objects of power to the island the Sword of
Nuadha, the Spear of Lugh, the Cauldron of the
Daghdha and the Stone of Fal. Stewart says (pg. 130): "The sword was deadly, and
none could escape its blows, the spear conferred victory upon its user; the cau
ldron was a vessal of perpetual plenty and nourishment; the stone shrieked under
the foot of the rightful king."
Druid FAQ
Amairgen White-knee: the first Irish Druid. He came to Ireland with the Milesian
s (see below). His wife, Scne the Shapley, perished in the invasion and also gave
her name to Inber Slane, now known as Inverskena (the Kenmare River). Holding po
litical and spiritual power, Amairgen decided the first judgement over who would
be the first king.

Milesians: the children of Mil, a Celtic leader who lived in Spain. In the twelf
th century text Leabhar Gabhala Eireann or the Book of Invasions, the Milesians
are described as the ancestors of the present-day Irish. Having defeated the div
ine rulers of Ireland, the Tuatha De Danann (see above), the conquerors could no
t agree upon which son of Mil should be king. Before this could be decided, howe
ver, they first made a bargain with the Tuatha. Amairgen promises the three majo
r goddesses of Ireland, Banba, Fotla and Eriu, that their names shall be synonym
ous with the island. Only to Eriu does he promise that her name shall be used fo
rever. In the text there also is a poem devoted to the seven wives of Mil's seve
n sons many of whom gave their names to the land in some way: Scne (Inverskena),
Scota (Scotland), Tea (Tea-mhair or Tara), Fal, Fs, Lben, and Odba.