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The Gaulish god whose Celtic name is not revealed by Caesar. “The Gauls all claim to be descended from Dis Pater, and say that this is the teaching of the druids. For this reason they measure the passage of time not by days but by nights.” This would indicate that the Dis Pater was not a purely chthonic deity but reigned in the Otherworld and was compared to the Roman Pluto. The idea of common descent from an ancestor was essential to Celtic ideology. The analogous god to the Dis Pater in Irish mythology is thought to be Donn, while others regard him as identical with The Dagda.
[W] A giant, the hair of whose beard could create the only leash for the dogs in the hunting pack that Mabon controls in the hunt for Twrch Trwyth. Cai and Bedwyr overcome him and pluck out his beard.
The art of foretelling the future is an essential part of the Celtic myths. In most cases the hero or heroine has his or her fate foretold at birth. Such was the case of Deirdre, whose horoscope was cast by Cathbad the druid. More often than not it is in an effort to escape their fate that the protagonists set out on the adventures that will eventually lead them to the very fate they seek to avoid. In some cases, particularly in the Irish tales, the fate seems unlikely, but circumstances always contrive to make it so. The art of divination was widely practised in all Celtic societies and came in many forms—astrology, dreams, signs and omens from nature, and unusual occurrences. One form was the casting of yew wands inscribed with mystic words in Ogham. Divination was the prerogative of the druids, both male and female. See Astrology.
[W] An Irishman, owner of a magic cauldron that Arthur manages to loot in a trip to Ireland.
[I] Goddess of the Fomorii. The name seems to signify the abyss of the sea; the Fomorii, of course, translates as “undersea dwellers.” Domnu appears to be a mother goddess and ancestor of all the Fomorii. The theme of many sagas is the struggle between the Children of Domnu (representing darkness and evil) and the Children of Dana (representing light and goodness).
[W] Welsh equivalent of Danu, the “mother goddess.” The fourth branch of the Mabinogion introduces the children of Don,
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