by Andrea D. Hutchinson

Created on: March 30, 2008

In Celtic lore the women were goddesses,hags and harpies, as they often were in Greek and Roman mythologies. They were Druids, wise women and political in nature as well. Celtic goddesses were many and they served as powerful symbols of the Celtic culture.

The Celts were an ancient and elusive people. Having no cities, empires or even a written language, they were a short lived culture. They existed as a "hidden people" in Europe to the British Isles for about eight hundred years; from 700 BC to their absorption into the Roman Empire at about 100 AD. Interestingly, having had no written language, their culture managed to spread from Ireland to the shores of the Black Sea. Wondrously their culture and legend intrigue us, even now. Especially those of us of Irish, Welsh and Scottish decent.

The word Celt in Greek is Keltoi meaning hidden people'. The 1607 definition, from the Latin, Celta, singular of Celt, also from the Greek. Keltoi, was Herodotus' word for the Gauls (also called Galatai;an interesting tidbit: when the term Galatai was investigated it came back Galatia, as in the book of Galatians. The term Celt was used by the Romans of continental Gauls, but apparently not of the British Celtic tribes. The 1715 definition, from the Latin, Celt is a "ghost word", believed to be a misspelling of the word Certe in the Book of Job 19:24. The KJV the verse is written " They were graven with an iron pen and lead in rock forever."

In the absence of a written language, all Celtic lore or legend were memorized by the Druids or "wise men" of the time. The legends and stories were passed down through the generations, by mouth. The Druids, who were regaled as the lawgivers as well as priests, could read and write Greek and Latin. Yet, they chose to pass the chronicles of their culture orally in verse form.

As it was Celtic women could reign in their own right, many were warriors, as well. Many a Celtic Queen's reputation took on the personality of her predecessor Mythological Queen. Maeve was an Irish Warrior Queen whose reign took on the reputation of Mebd, who was her mythological mirror image, a Warrior Queen in lore.

Arianrhod, "Silvery Wheel" , a major Kymric/Welsh goddess was the daughter of the Mother goddess Don and Beli. She was considered the goddess of childbirth, the moon, fertility and fate. Her name is a derivation of Milky Way, the zodiac and the moon. Arianfhod is represented by silver, wheels and the sheaf of wheat.

Morrigan, "The Great Queen" was the greatest

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