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GLOSSARY

THE MYTH OF BOANN AND DAGDA

A Naiad. John William Waterhouse. 1893.

Boann and Dagda are deities of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the God-like ancestors of the Celts. Boann is a fertility goddess associated with the River Boyne. Boann means Illuminated One of the sacred White Cow. Her mate is the powerful Nuada (also known as Elcmar or Nechtan), who was keeper of the sacred well. Dagda, which means All father, is the god of abundance. He possesses three magic objects. The living harp with which he controls the seasons and the weather. The cauldron of endless abundance. A two-headed club which can both create and destroy. His mate is the fearsome triple goddess of war, the Morrigan.

In Celtic mythology the two became lovers by meeting in the gateway between worlds on the first sunset of Samhain. Boann became pregnant and fearing the retaliation of Nuada, Dagda found a way to conceal the pregnancy. He took out his magic harp and his music so bewitched Time and Space that they refused to move forward. Nine months expired in the Otherworld, while in the mortal world, only one day actually passed.

Boann gave birth to a son and named him Angus, which means ever young. He would become a healer of souls, the god of love and poetry and ecstasy. However, knowing that it was dangerous for them to raise their son together, Boann and Dagda separated the next day and the fairy folk carried the baby Angus to a secret place far, far away.