The Goddess Danu
Searles

Wed Oct 28 16:13:23 1998
"The Goddess Danu"*p*Many have heard of the Goddess Danu but few know of Her origins or the true story*br*of the origins of Her people, the Tuatha De' Danu. Who is this Goddess and from*br*whence does She come?*p*(Please refer to the books: "Dancing Shadows, the Roots of Western Religious Belief" *br*by Aoumiel, "Celtic Heritage, Ancient Tradition in Ireland and Wales" by Alwyn and *br*Brinley Rees, "Mythic Ireland" by Michael Dames, "Druids, Gods & Heroes from Celtic *br*Mythology" by Anne Ross and Roger Garland, "A Guide to Irish Roots, Including Celts, *br*Vikings, Normans, Kings, queens and Commoners" by William an Mary Durning of the *br*Irish Family Names Society,  "Scottish Gaelic" by R.W. Renton and J.A. MacDonald, *br*"Learning Irish" by Michael O'Siadhail, for additional information and additional *br*references in this matter.)*p*In Irish the word "Da" means two, the word "An" means "very excellent".  In Old*br*Irish the word "Dana" means "Skills or excellences".  The word "Dan" is used*br*for "dance". One could not go wrong by describing the name "Danu" to mean *br*"She of Many Excellences" or "She of the Excellent Dance".  (This "dance" is,*br*I believe, the dance of Life and Death.)*p*Danu was the Mother of the Gods. She led the People of Peace. She led the Tuatha*br*De' Danu. She was known by many names to the Celts. Her names were Danu, Dana,*br*An, Ana, Anu, A'ine, Bo'anne, Grian and Morrígan.  These many names denote Her*br*aspects as Mother,  the "Traveler", The Sun, the Earth, The Rivers of Life and the*br*source of all.  Places and peoples are named for this Mother of All . The Danube*br*River, the country of Denmark, the Danes, The Ainu (of Japan) and the many rivers*br*Don to name just a few. The Anasazi "the Ancient Ones" of Mesa Verde in Western*br*North American and the Adivasi "first inhabitants" of the Indus River Valley in Asia*br*may well be related by this same Goddess of All. The possibility that these two groups*br*of "first settlers" could be linked to the children of Danu is also very worthy of*br*consideration.  All three groups are known as a "faery type O'folk <G>" and all three*br*groups "came from the North or "from the sky". In addition the word for "shining ones"*br*or "charged with power" in Sandskrit is "siddha". The same beings are called the*br*"Sidhe" in Old Irish. Both sets of words are pronounced similarly  to the God Shiva*br*"SHEE va". Sidhe is pronounced "SHEE" and Shiva means "Other" (as in*br*Otherworld?). *p*The Adivasi of the Indus River Valley (also called or the Sind) worshipped A Great*br*Goddess during the period of history from 1600 BCE until the fall of their great cities in*br*and around 1200 BCE. She would give birth to Her Son (by Herself).  She would wed*br*this Son during the warm fertile months, becoming pregnant with His continuing Self. *br*He would die and then be reborn at the Winter Solstice of his Mother, Wife and Lover.*br*Snakes, trees and cattle were associated with this Goddess and her Son, Husband*br*and Lover. This entire cycle of mystery, death, rebirth and agriculture typifies Goddess*br*worship throughout pre-history and continues into the modern age.  The Sind called*br*this Goddess by the name of Danu.*p*The Tuatha De' Danu (Sanskrit and Old Irish for "The Children of the Goddess Danu")*br*arrived in Ireland around 1600 BCE according to the traditional oral geneologies of the*br*Irish people.  This geneology was passed down for thousands of years orally from*br*Druid to Druid and from Filidh to Filidh (it was a part of their 12 years of study as well*br*as a tribal duty).  These geneologies are accompanied by stories that describe many*br*waves of peoples (all related) that come from the east (sometimes called Greece and*br*sometimes called Scythia) to Ireland.  These people worshipped and followed the*br*"three Gods of Danu". They held trees and cattle sacred and their primary rituals*br*involved gigantic fires and sacrifice. The Wheel of their Year revolved around*br*agricultural rituals involving the Birth of the Son of the Goddess, Her wedding to Him, *br*His death and rebirth of Himself and his Mother, Lover, Wife.  These ritual*br*celebrations were tied to the cycles of the Sun and the Moon through the great*br*solar/lunar observatories and calendars of Brugh na Bo'inne and Lough Crew. The*br*Dagda "the Good God" was the God of the Tuatha De' Danu.  It is He who is the Son*br*of Danu, and the Lover/Husband of Danu (In her manifestation as the Morrígan, "the*br*Great Queen Anu", and Boann). It is He that is the God of the Druids.*p*Who is the Goddess Danu?  She is the Triple Goddess.  She is One of many names and*br*even One who has no name. Her names are those of a Goddess (Danu, Don, Ana. A/ine and Morrígan)*br*to many and a God (Anu and Donn) to others.  She is the Mother of the Gods. She is*br*the Beginning, Middle and Ending.  She is the Mother of Life.  She is the Star River.*br*