| There was also an ancient goddess in Ireland responsible for bringing fertility to draught plagued Ireland, called Bo Dhu, who is a Black Cow Goddess. There was also a Red Cow Goddess (Bo Ruadh). Together the three of them represent the Triple Goddess. (12) The Cow Goddess has her association with water through rain which is likened to milk of the Cow Goddess. The milk is nourishing, and the water is helping with the fertilization process by “nourishing” the plants and vegetation. Also, if the mushroom was of prime importance, and it grew from cow dung, which made the cow holy, as we know, then the rain was also engendering the mushroom growth by adding moisture and dew to the atmosphere. In this way we can also see how the Boann/Brigit Rivers resemble the Indian Saraswati Rivers in the Himalayas and how both influenced names and characteristics of the local goddesses. The word Baalat means “lady.” The goddess Bel or Beli (Sumerian Belili), was an Irish goddess who was Ishtar’s predecessor. This happens to be where we get the word Beltane from. She was a goddess of the moon, the trees, underworld, and wells and springs. – The word “Belial,” in reference to the “Sons of Belial,” appear 15 times in the Bible in relation to “worthless people.” The word Belili was turned into the Semitic word Beliy ya’al which translates to “sons of destruction.” (13) In the New Testament it is found only in 2 Corinthians 6:15, where it is used as a name of Satan, the personification of all that is evil. (14) Sumerian goddess Belili’s patriarchal takeover was accomplished by the creation of Bel, who was Marduk, who rose to the top of the pantheon of the Babylonian gods when he conquered Tiamat, the earth goddess. (15) The goddess Brigid or Bride was a patroness of poets and a midwife. (16) She is also associated with fertility, healing and smithcraft. Her most common symbols, the vulture, serpent and cow, are all shared by Isis. (17) Imbolce, or St. Brigid’s Day, is the celebration of the beginning of spring, and is celebrated on February 1st or the 13th. She was called “Mary and the Juno of the Gael.” (18) She was also a member of the Tuatha de danaan, daughter of the Dagda and wife of Bres, King of the Tuatha de danaan, but kin of the Fomorians. In Cormac’s glossary she is described as “a female poet….. Brigid a Goddess whom poets worshiped.” (19) Brigid’s main sanctuary was at Kildare (Cill Dara), or the “Church of the Oak,” which was her favorite tree. It was forbidden to bring a plough onto the land of Newgrange or the land known as “Brigid’s Pastures.” (20) Brigid’s oak trees were so sacred that no one was allowed to cut them down, or even bring a weapon near them. Heavy fines were imposed for cutting down trees near sacred sites. (21) Brigid’s influence on Ireland led to the creation of a set of laws called the Senchus Mor or Brehon Laws which held sway over Ireland for many centuries. This set of laws is thought to be the second oldest set of laws after Sanskrit. The Gaelic society which produced this set of laws had an oral tradition dating at least 1000 years prior to the writing of the text. (22) |
Similar to the groundhog, snakes come out of hiding from their holes in the ground on or around February 1st in Scotland, and part of the ceremony of Imbolce commemorated this in synch with the beginning of spring. Early human cultures waited for these signs from nature that the seasons were changing. An ancient Irish ode to Brigit is said during the rite of Candlemas, which goes as follows: “Today is the day of the Bride. The serpent shall come from the hole. The Queen will come from the mound. I shall not molest the serpent. The serpent shall not molest me!” – Then it is said, “Rejoice! A child is born!” – Then, “Behold for She has come, and she shall bring the spring, and blessings onto the fields of the Mother! She was led to us by the watchfire! The Bride shall wed and lay with the King and bear Him anew! With Her arrival let the land be renewed!” (23) What we have here is the association of the goddess with the serpent, but almost more importantly, her arrival from a mound in the ground. In this case, it coincides conveniently with the arrival of the newly growing crops. In Lithuania, they celebrate the “Day of the Serpents” (Kirmiai, Kirmeline from Kirmele, “serpent”) at this same time of the year. (24) In Ireland the serpent was turned into the devil due to eventual church influence. There is an Irish story of Adam and Eve where the devil came to the serpent, crawled into its belly and then approached Eve to eat the fruit. (25) In this way the serpent became synonymous with the Devil. (26) (12) http://www.scns.com/earthen/other/seanachaidh/godcelt.html (13) White Goddess, p. 58 (14) https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/belial/ (15) White Goddess, p. 59 (16) Serpent and the Goddess; Three Irish Glossaries, ed. Wh. Stokes (London: Williams and Norgate, 1862), p. 8; Robert Graves, the White Goddess (1948), p. 390 (17) ibid, p. 57; Three Irish Glossaries, ed. Wh. Stokes (London: Williams and Norgate, 1862), p. 8; Robert Graves, the White Goddess (1948), p. 390Louis Gougaud, Les Saints Irlandadais, pp. 18-20; Flavia Anderson, The Ancient Secret: In Search of the Holy Grail (London:Gollancz, 1953), p. 92; Religion of the Ancient Celts, J.A. MacCulloch (Edinburgh, T & T Clark (1911), p. 41; Jan de Vries, Keltische Religion (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1961), pp. 78-80; Gerald, p. 83; CG, 1:164-66 (18) ibid; History of British Folklore Vol. 1, Richard M. Dorson, P. 404 (19) ibid; p. 57 (20) ibid; Cf. Gerald, p. 82 (21) ibid, p. 67; Cf. Healy, Insula Sanctorum et Doctorum, p. 131; M. Comerford, Dioceses of Kildare and Leighlin (Dublin: J Duffy and Sons 1883), 2:1. For the regulations governing the sacred trees of Ireland, see Ancient Laws and Institutes of Ireland 4:147; D.A. Binchy, "An Archaic Legal Poem", Celtica 9 (1971): 152-68, 156-59; A.T. Lucas, "The Sacred Trees of Ireland," Journal of the Cork Archaeological and Celtic Society, 68 (1963):16-54; A. Watson, "The King, the Poet and the Sacred Tree," Etudes Celtiques 18 (1981): 165-80 (22) ibid, p. 62; https://www.celticdruidtemple.com/brehon-law.html (23) ibid. p. 58; Carmina Gadelica, p. 169 (24) Language of the Goddess, p. 135 (25) Serpent and the Goddess; Cf. The Irish Adam and Eve Story From Saltair na Rann, ed. David Green and Furgus Kelly (Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976), p. 35 (26) ibid, p. 29 |