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I don’t support buying ai art. And I’ve never bought a subscription. I do use dream/Wombo and make/generate layers. But it’s on the free app. Still, when I generate something like this, the positive is that it resonates so deeply. With a little bit of guilt… who’s art did it steal to allow me to view such beauty?

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quilt by Chinami Terai

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Celtic Mythology aesthetic - Gobannus

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𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒔 ; 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏, 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒕, 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒅 🏹🌙

[please reblog or like if you saved]

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The Pond Moonlight, 1904. Edward Steichen

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Fairy Tale 🦄 New piece! This is available as art prints and various other print products on Society6: Follow the link All my art prints and posters are on 50% sale until May 30 (2023), by the way. ♥ Here’s a link to all my prints and posters on Society6.

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they made flower necklaces together

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Jack of all Trades, Master of...All? - A Guide to Lugh

Lugh, Lugus, Lug, of the Long Arm, Master of Skills, he goes by many names. Have you heard about this Celtic God?

Read to find out more!

This is an educational post about Lugh, it will start with history and mythology and at the end I will put modern day correspondences and such. Links provided for more reading!

(Photo Cred: Unkown)

Who is Lugh?

Lugh is an Irish deity who is known to be associated with lightning, craftmanship, as well as many more skills (all of them, actually). He really is a master of all trades.

Lugh is not a Sun God but many people use the sun as a symbol for him or associate him with the sun. This is in part because of his name being translated to "light", though that isn't the only possible translation of his name.

However, the idea that he is a sun god comes from an outdated Victorian-era ideology. The anthropologists of the time were convinced that at the root of all pantheons and mythology there must be a sun god. They were obsessed with a solar system based pattern in mythology.

For the Irish, though, their gods are less transcendent (like above all else) and more human-like than other mythology. Irish deities are more a part of the world rather than above it all.

The author of this post explains it very well, if you have more questions about this please check out their article!

In short: It is not wrong for you to associate him with the sun, but he is not a Sun God.

Etymology

The name Lugh (or Lug) was a popular name in ancient times. Some say the name derives from a Proto-Indo-European root "lewgh-" which means “to bind by oath.” Possibly indicative of the role he plays in oath making and promises. Some say it could mean "Light" though many scholars believe this to be unlikely.

He had many names and titles, however, his most known title was Lámfada, meaning “Of the Long Arm,” which was a reference to the length of his spear and that it was like it was a part of him (like an arm). It could also be translated as "artful hands" which references his abilities and skills in creation, craftmanship, and the arts.

Family

Lugh comes from two bloodlines: his father, Cian, was the son of Dian Cedh, healer of the Tuatha Dé Danann and his mother, Ethniu, was of the Fomorians.

Though his birth parents are known, many argue the identity of his foster parents; The Irish sea god Manannán mac Lir, Tailtiu, Queen of the Firbolg, and Goibniu, god of the smiths, have all been suggested to be Lugh's foster parents.

Mythology

Rough Start

After being told that his grandson would kill him in the future, The King of Balor locked his daughter, Ethniu, up to keep her from seeing Cian (her lover) again.

However, the two met up anyways and had triplets, one of them was Lugh.

Ethniu's father was furious and planned to have the children killed. Two of them died and the surviving child was Lugh. He fell into the water and was rescued by Biróg who took him to Cian.

Lugh would later be given to a foster parent (one of those mentioned above) who would protect and raise him.

Ladies' Man

Lugh had multiple wives, including Buí, Buach, Nás, daughters of Ruadri (King of Britain), Echtach, Englic, and Rosmerta.

Like Father Like Son

Of his sons, the most famous child he produced was with a mortal named Deichtine. Together they created Cú Chulainn, known as the hero of the Ulster saga.

Lugh at the Gate

Perhaps the most famous tale of this god, it starts with Lugh approaching the gate of the Hall of Tara. He asks to meet with Nuada, god of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and become part of the King's court.

Lugh is stopped by a guard and told that, unless he had a skill that would be useful to the king, he would not be allowed to enter.

Lugh then begins listing skills he has mastered, which includes but are not limited to: a smith, a wright, a craftsman, a swordsman, a harpist, a poet, a historian, a sorcerer, a physician, as well as a champion,

Alas, he is told that the king has people for all of those skills and is about to be turned away.

Finally, Lugh asks if the King has a person who is skilled in all of those things.

The guard goes to the king and asks. Once he comes back he allows Lugh to enter with the King's permission.

High King of Ireland

During a battle against the King of Balor (Lugh's maternal grandfather), Nuada is killed by Balor. Lugh faces off against his grandfather and kills him with a slingshot as revenge for Nuada.

During the war Lugh finds the half-Formorian former king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Bres, lying on death's door.

He offers to spare Bres' life in exchange for all of the secrets Bres has about the land, including when to plough, sow, and reap crops.

After the war Lugh is pronounced the High King of Ireland and rules for many years.

(Later Lugh would kill off Bres, but he spared his life at the battle and therefore kept his word)

Death (...?)

After finding out that his wife had an affair with Cermait, son of the Dagda, Lugh killed Cermait in anger.

Cermait's three sons were furious and swore vengeance on Lugh. They captured and drowned Lugh.

(Ironic that he came into this world and survived drowning only to die by it later in life...sorry Lugh)

Lugh had ruled for over 40 years as the king.

That being said, Deities are not like humans. Death is not the end for them.

Extras

Julius Caesar commented on Lugh, noticing his importance as a god to the Celtic people.

Some equate Lugh to the Nordic Odin or the Roman Mercury.

There are many more stories about Lugh but I compiled the most important ones to his character here.

If you'd like to find out more, here are some references you could read:

Mythopedia-Lugh

Wikipedia-Lugh

World History-Lugh

Britiannica-Lugus

The Celtic Journey - Lugh, Master of Skills

Learn Religions- Lugh, the Celtic Craftsman God

Sadly we don't have a lot of context or stories from the ancient Celts so most of these myths and legends are reconstructed using the knowledge and understanding we have of the culture and times.

Correspondences

Weapons

A spear

A slingshot

Fragarach; "The Answerer", a sword from Manannán, his foster father. It had the ability to make anyone that it was pointed at tell the truth

Familiars

Failinis, Lugh's hound

Aenbharr, Lugh's horse

Sguaba Tuinne, the “Wind-sweeper,” a very fast boat

Symbols

Ravens and crows

Lightning

Greyhounds

Horses

Two snakes

The Sun

Holy Days

Lughnasadh, a holiday created for his victory in battle against the the spirits of Tír na nÓg. He would bless harvest fruit and play games in memory of his foster mother, Tailtiu.

Colors

Warm colors like red, orange, gold, yellow

(I also personally associate him with a mossy green color.)

Offerings

Cinnamon

Candy

Alcohol (ale/cider/mead/wine etc)

A plate of whatever you made for dinner

Music

Blueberries or Blackberries

Some say he enjoys milk and honey!

Bread (preferably if you've made it yourself or if it was handmade)

Honestly, in my experience Lugh's favorite type of offering (as well as most Celtic gods from what I've read) are acts of devotion or something you've crafted yourself.

This doesn't mean you need to paint a mural for him--though I'm sure he'd enjoy that too!--it means anything involving creation. Devote your creative time to him. I like to devote the act of writing on this blog to him sometimes, for example.

End Notes

In my experience Lugh is a kind, sometimes goofy deity--in the sense that he enjoys making jokes and is fairly laid back. Don't speak ill of him or disrespect him, though, no one wants an angry storm god!

Let me know if you have any personal experience with Lugh or if you have some good references to add to this post!

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The Secret Garden (1993) dir. Agnieszka Holland

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(by David Billings)

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Do not weep for the temples are gone. Our faith was always a home one. Your home is your temple and you are its clergy. Your breath is your prayer. Your kind acts are your offerings. Your memory is your idol and your words are libation. You are enough in whatever you do. Grandiose was never our way. The glass of water left on the kitchen counter is equal to the lavish meal set out in their name. The Theoi love every little act, as long as it is meant with good intentions.

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Aphrodite’s Truth

Ever since starting my relationship with Aphrodite, I’ve had this image of her birth. This one created in Dream.ai is still not as bloody or chaotic as the image in my head but it’s a start.

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This is so gorgeous

Spending the first new moon of the year with devotions to Persephone ♥️

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AQUILEGIA

I am compelled to call her “Queen of the Garden”

I knew there was Columbine in this wildflower seed mix, but this variety was quite the surprise.

She is called “Pink Petticoat” and the essence reminds me so much of Aphrodite.

🌸🌺🌸🌺🌸🌺🌸

Edit…

I just something about it being associated with Persephone.

Persephone “bothers” me, as well… 🥲 Welp. More reading to do…

To be continued… Having pasting issues on here again. 😒

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Clíodhna, Queen of the Banshees

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The willow nymph finds one of their own

This Widderwood short is one of many to help me prepare for the main course! You can view another finished short and join me on my comic journey on Patreon or Kofi. WHAT IS WIDDERWOOD? PATREON / KOFI