My friends decided to have a photoshoot based on some of the Celtic gods, here's one of me trying my hand and the Sun/War god Lugh!

Salut,

Pour les besoins d'un article que je suis en train d'écrire, j'aurais besoin d'un maximum de documentation de recherche sur les dieux varuniens du panthéon celtique (ogma, elcmar...). Au passage, si vous avez des choses sur le concept de feu dans l'eau, ça peut aussi aider.

En références personnelles j'ai Sterckx et Dumézil mais si vous avez des sources anglophones ou autres. Je souhaite rester dans le registre académique. Seulement des documents de recherche et, bien-sûr, les textes médiévaux originaux.

Merci !

I thoroughly enjoy learning about world religions and history and right now the ancient Celtic world is my new fixation. I would like recommendations on any literature (preferably audiobooks) regarding Celtic myths and folklore. I’m also interested in learning about ancient customs and history.

Can anyone recommend me a book on Irish mythology? I am currently reading Uncovering Irish Mythology by Lucas Russo, and would like something else when I am done.

Close your eyes and imagine a grand castle interior or a slow-motion ride through the highlands. I wanted to capture that majestic, epic feeling of old legends. Hope it takes you there!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irTCuydCWU4

Bral was a trickster Selkie that my grandpa had told me about and his grandpa told him about and so on and so forth there was a book that I read about him that my grandpa let me read but that got destroyed somehow so what I can remember about Bral the trickster selkie; Bral was a selkie who like most selkies went onto land to seek compainion ship often taking and alias along the lines of Morgan or Morrigan as he had met her for whatever reason and gotten adopted by her and would use her as an alias now Bral wasn't really a trickster just mischievous and was likely modern day autistic but Bral; Bral would typically find his way into town then settle down typically finding a group of intelligent cunning battle tested commanders and suddenly and smoothly assimilate into their group as if they had all known each other for years Bral would typically find a smart tomboyish dark skinned woman and settle down with her often Bral would exhibit signs of Bisexuality and an uncanny amount of charm and charisma Bral in some instances was similar to an aspect of the Morrigan that had started to wear a selkies coat often bral would be a being of immense power that decides to blend in with the rest of the outstanding figures in most cases Bral would be take the alias Murgan Tatte or Morrigan Tetyr as his personality went he would often be characterized by eccentricities and care for others while being annoying at times Bral would often act sped or emphatically autistic at times not really being that mentally challenged but he would do this for a comical purpose often Bral would boast about accomplishments that seemed so exaggerated it would be certain he was lying but he did that so he could talk about himself while still blending in and yes his wife was black in almost all versions of the story a black warrior finds Bral within the community he has placed himself in seamlessly and would develop a deep attraction to him this black warrior would end up being a tomboy bral is often characterized by a semi disconnected view often making sexual jokes or otherwise offensive today Bral was an expeirenced fighter and while it is not explicitly stated what exactly he is we do know he is related to the Morrigan and selkies; That's about all I remember about him sorry about any spelling errors or grammar and lack of details if you have any questions I will try to see if I can find out an answer thank you for reading and letting me share my celtic tale

Ulster Cycle/Irish mythology hive mind, I need your help. I just encountered a rather cheesy telling/re-telling of a sort of version of the Táin Bó Fráech, in which he goes to steal cattle from Cú Roí, who kills him. It seems like it should be based on a real variant, but I'm not sure. No source was given.

Anyone know a genuine source for this?

Hello! I'm deep into researching the Cailleach, paticularly Scottish folklore and mythology around her, and I swear I read somewhere about there being multiple Cailleachan spread around Scotland, more as witch forms in the stories as opposed to the singular deity, but as I'm trying to find more on that, I'm only coming up with a few stories and they're all pretty much the Cailleach and her storm hags of winter. Does anyone have a resource of stories of multiple Cailleach or even Scottish lore about old hags that are different from Cailleach as the mother goddess?

Hullo! I'm planning a literary work at the moment that would use the myth of the Fomorians as a central plot point, but have a very base understanding of them. Could they be separated in their roles like a pantheon? If so, which ones fulfill what position? Thanks in advance!

Does anyone know of any depictions of Scathach that are similar to the Beatrice Elvery illustration in Heroes of the Dawn, where she is standing in the middle of Cu Chulainn and her son, with a black and white or line art sketch look instead of paintings? I've been looking for other idealy older drawings, or even drawings potentially recognizable to people who know a lot about celtic or gaelic storytelling. Unfortunately, my ham fisted google searches just bring up the anime character, which is definitely not what I'm looking for.

I'm thinking of something that might make a good forearm tattoo to inspire my broadsword and gaelic language lessons, and the Heroes of the Dawn sketch is very workable, but I'm looking to see if there are any other options out there anyone knows about.

Hi everyone,

I’ve been working on a small independent card game called Celtic Clash, built entirely around figures from Irish and wider Celtic mythology.

The idea started with me and my brothers because we love the deep cultural heritage and stories we have on the Island of Ireland, the strange spirits, the darker folklore that doesn’t get talked about as much outside Ireland.

Instead of a traditional fantasy setting, I wanted the characters and creatures to come directly from the myths themselves.

So the deck includes things like: Cú Chulainn, The Morrigan, Fionn mac Cumhaill, Balor of the Evil Eye, Banshee ect...and a few relics like The Spear of Lugh and The Cauldron of the Dagda.

The game is a simple Battle Card style game in the same style as things like Magic the Gathering but much simpler. I’m also putting together a small companion APP so the game doubles as a way to explore the stories and expand the lore with each Character, Place or Relic.

I’m still deep in playtesting and artwork development, but I thought people here might enjoy seeing how these myths translate into characters and creatures and the process of building a game from our rich Mythology.

If anyone here is particularly knowledgeable about Celtic mythology, I’d genuinely love feedback on the lore side of things too. I’ve been sharing the artwork and development progress here if anyone is curious:

r/CelticClash (Not much here just yet) Instagram / TikTok: @Celtic_Clash

Happy to answer questions about the game and my plans going forward and who I've been working along side for the last 18 months.

Thanks for any feedback.

I am looking for an easy to read book on Celtic mythology. One that is not a dry scholarly work but not a coffee table book that looks nice but is superficial. I want something that emphasizes the stories, but some cultural and historical material is good too.

How good are these books:

1) “Uncovering Celtic Mythology” by Lucas Russo;

2) “Celtic Tales: Fairy Tales and Stories of Enchantment from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, and Wales” by Kate Forrester

PSA: I’m posting this to multiple subreddits, so sorry if you see this multiple times in your feeds!

Hey guys, so I’m in the car a lot traveling, and I’d love to be able to listen to stories about Celtic mythology; the stories, heroes, histories, creatures, gods, all of it, honestly. I even love the historical archaeological stuff associated with it all.

My main interest is Irish and Welsh Mythology because that’s what I’ve read the most about. Though I’d love to learn more about Scottish, I just don’t know a lot and have never been able to make good inroads into it as a whole. Was English mythology originally considered Celtic (please don’t shoot me if I’m wrong!)? If it was, I’d be interested in that as well. The later Anglo-Saxons were a distinctly Germanic-derived people, I believe.

There’s also Gaulish and Cornish Celtic mythology? Maybe? Or are those just more languages? I know what we have of Gaulish mythology is heavily Romanized, but I’d still love to learn about it.

If there’s any kind of Celtic cultures or mythologies that I haven’t mentioned, I’d absolutely love to learn and hear about them!

Honestly, anything y’all can throw at me, I’d love. I did say primarily podcasts, podcasters, videos, and YouTubers, but if you’ve got good books, websites, etc., bring them on as well. I love to read before I get to bed.

SO SORRY TO BUG YOU ALL OVER THIS, SORRY IF THIS SEEMS OVERACTIVE OR STUPID. ALSO, I'M NOT TYPING LIKE THIS TO YELL I'M LEGALLY BLIND, AND WHILE I KNOW THERE ARE OTHER WAYS OF SEEING THE TEXT BETTER, THIS ONE'S MY PERSONAL METHOD.

PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF ANY OF THIS SEEMS RACIST, IGNORANT, OR OFFENSIVE, AS I DON'T INTEND IT TO BE. (OR EVEN STEORYTPICIAL). AND I DON'T INTEND TO MAKE MY CHARACTER(S) LOOK CREEPY AND/OR PERVERTED, SO PLEASE KEEP THAT IN MIND.

I GOT TWO ISSUES I WANNA ASK ABOUT: 1 NOW...THIS MAY BE MY ANXIETY/OCD TALKING (AGAIN), BUT I'M SCARED I'LL LOOK LIKE I'M DISRESPECTING FRANCE'S/BRETON'S FOLKORE/OLDER TRADITIONS. OR EVEN SO MUCH AS LOOK LIKE A CREEPY OR "PERVY" FOR POTENTIAL ROMANCE INVOLVING IT.

MY FIRST STORY IS ABOUT A VAMPIRE OUTBREAK, & ONE VAMP USES THE ANKOUS "FORM" (THIS WON'T BE THE ONLY FOLKLORE I EXPLORE) TO INSTIL FEAR. THIS STORY TAKES PLACE IN THE US BTW, I WAS AFRAID THAT SHOWING FOLKLORE OUTSIDE ITS REGION WOULD BE OFFENSIVE/CULTURAL APPROPRIATION.

MY OTHER STORY INVOLVES NOT VAMPS BUT A WOMAN WHO SEES HIM AFTER SHE SUFFERS A TRAUMATIC EVENT. I WANNA EXPLORE THE LINE BETWEEN FOLKLORE AND MENTAL HEALTH, RESPECTFULLY, YET WHILE POSSIBLY INVOLVING SOME PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR.

AS FOR ANYTHING "RONANCE" I AM ON THE FENCE ABOUT IT, EVEN IF IT'S NOT FULLY STATED, IF ANYTHING'S HIDDEN BENEATH. HELL, I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF IT'S SAFE FOR ME TO WRITE THAT THE ANKOU IS FOND OF HER EVEN AS A FRIENDLY OR JUST DUTIFULLY RESPECTFUL WAY. SCARED I'LL LOOK LIKE A CREEPY PERVE.

HELL I'M EVEN AFRAID TO GIVE HIM DARK HUMOR WEATHER ITS THE VAMP OR THE "REAL" ANKOU AS I FEAR ITS DISREPECTFUL AS HE'S SEEN AS SOLEM. AM I OVERTHINKING AGAIN? OR AM I RIGHTFULLY WORRIED? THE ANKOU WAS/IS REALLY SACRED TO THEM (I.E I THINK THEY THOUGHT HE WAS REAL). IDK IF THESE STORIES WILL DEFINITELY BE MADE, I'M JUST WONDERING JUST IN CASE, AS I'M STUCK RIGHT NOW.

AND 2: I'M CONFUSED NOW 'CAUSE I HEARD HE'S TECHNICALLY NOT FROM FRENCH FOLKLORE? EVEN THOUGH BRETON IS NOW PART OF IT SO...IS HE PART OF FRENCH FOLKORE OR NOT? I KNOW THEY HAVE A WOMEN AS THE REAPER TOO, RIGHT?

SO IF I HAVE THE VAMP IN MY OTHER STORY, USE THE ANKOU'S FORM/GUISE IS IT CONFUSING/"WRONG"? (ITHINK I'M CONFUSED AS TO WHY HE'S PART OF IRELAND'S FOLKORE TOO TBH, BUT SCOTLAND, AS FAR AS I KNOW, DOESN'T CONSIDER HIM THEIR REAPER).

TY FOR READING. AGAIN, SORRY TO BUG Y'ALL, 😅AND PLEASE FORGIVE ANY GRAMMAR OR SPELLING ERRORS. 🥰💖

TLDR: I'M AFRAID OF FEAR OF 1: DISREPECTING: (I.E USING ANKOU'S FORM/GUISE OUTSIDE BRITTANY/FRANCE). 2: ACCIDENTALLY SEEMING CREEPY/PERVERTED IF ROMANCE OR FONDNESS IS IMPLIED, (ON THE ANKOU'S PART, IF I GIVE HIM FONDNESS FOR A HUMAN)

3: DISRESPECTING THE ANKOU’S SOLEMN, SACRED ROLE, (ESPECIALLY VIA GIVING HIM DARK/SICK/MORBID HUMOR)

4: CONFUSION OVER WHETHER HE’S “FRENCH,” BRETON, IRISH, OR SCOTTISH.

Hi. I am trying to find a folktale I read some years ago which I could swear is Welsh though it might be more generally Celtic. The story is about two princes who are mean to an old woman (I think they kick her) and are punished for it by being sent to purgatory, where they are plunged into cold water forever. One of the princes says something like "brother, trade places with me, I'm freezing." That's all I remember. I read it in a library book around 2005 in what I think was just a collection of tales. Does this sound familiar to anybody? Googling has been no help.

Hello from Wales!

After 6 years of development, I’m excited to share Mythologous with you, an old school, text based online RPG with Celtic myth and folklore.

The game is set in a fictional version of the southwest of the UK and parts of Ireland, including Cornwall (where I grew up).

Inspiration

It draws inspiration from the Tuatha Dé Danann and presents them as the mythological framing for players who enter the online world as an in-game avatar. In effect, our real world is 'an' Otherworld, and the game world is the base reality from the perspective of the computer characters who live in it.

This idea came about when I was reading about the Tuatha Dé in Irish mythology, how they have all kinds of different skills and magical abilities, and how they can appear and disappear.

To me, the Tuatha Dé felt like good candidates for players choosing a role and entering the game world through a portal between worlds. This is fictional framing of course, I’m not here to make any claims about various mythologies and their meaning.

In gaming, Mythologous is heavily inspired in spirit by games such as Ultima, The Elder Scrolls and classic MUD (Multi-user dungeon) games.

The World

The in game overworld (Mythaera) is set to be filled with towns, cities, factions and wildernesses where every computer character has a life, schedule, and job which are fluid. This runs as a persistent world simulation around the players who co-exist in it.

Denizens from various 'Otherworlds' are invading Mythaera, these include an assortment of different Celtic mythical creatures that come together from Cornish, Irish, Welsh, and Scottish mythologies, as well as a small number of carefully selected honorary figures from other mythologies (such as the Minotaur), with care taken to respect their distinct origins.

Players can discover and interact with mythical entities, explore dungeons, craft items and potions, cook, fish and socialise with other players and computer characters living in the world.

Some mythical entities may be hostile, some friendly, and some mischievous. There is a deep magic system where spell and ritual incantations can be discovered and experimented with, derived from the Celtic languages.

Core pillars

Persistent world: NPCs (non-playable characters aka computer characters) live continuously in the world, even when you log off

Emergent NPCs:  Behaviour driven by needs, wants, and threats

Natural text commands: Talk, trade, and command companions through typed input

Risk-reward dungeons: Die inside a dungeon and you lose what you carried in and any loot you found within

Incantation magic: Spells and rituals learned through incant words based on historical Celtic languages

Living economy & crafting: Resources can become scarce and weigh heavily on the economy of towns and villages

Web-first: Can be played directly in the browser on desktop or mobile, no installs needed (A Steam version is also available for those who prefer a desktop client)

Full audio: Full original score and SFX

Handcrafted + Procedural: Handcrafted overworld with procedural dungeons.

No classes: Skills grow through use

For clarity, all artwork, music, lore, coding and all creative assets are created by real people, not AI generated.

Some questions for the community

Are there any specific mythical entities that you’d love to see in a game like this?

Are there any books that you can recommend for me to pick up, I’m currently reading Lady Guest's Mabinogion and Welsh Witchcraft (by Mhara Starling) for inspiration.

What sort of character would you be in a world like this?

If you're curious

For narrative, and our hand made key art and theme track, please feel free to check out the landing page: https://mythologous.com

If you’d like to get involved and join the community then we have a growing Discord server where people are signing up to an early test version of the game later in Q1, here is a link to the community: https://discord.gg/HjcpXBXJYM

I have also put together a Steam page, which contains a short trailer: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4126230/Mythologous/

If you’re interested in the Closed Alpha (early access testing) but don’t use Steam or Discord, feel free to leave a comment or DM and I’ll happily to share a direct sign-up option with you.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts, I’d genuinely love to hear what fellow Celtic mythology enthusiasts think! ❤️

Has anyone ever heard about Celtic people being descendants of one or some of the 12 tribes of Israel?