The Sun and The Moon and Moon Madness

The Sun, The Moon and Moon Madness

by

Michael Lee-Price
~ The Wayfinder ~

In a Yahoo group
way back in October 15, 2006 a discussion took place about the Sun and
Moon where the main protagonist of the discussion insisted that the
Sun was feminine and the Moon was masculine. I did a great deal of research
for anopposing view and resently found my response which I present below
as an article. I have removed the main protagonist - opposing debator's
name as to ensure that their is no repercussions and to take ownership
of my words in response. My view-point is arguably more solid and valid

I don't rely much on scientific analysis as
I am Shaman and science has little meaning when it comes to mythology,
understanding ancient paths and especially SPIRIT/ SOUL.

I have learnt much from the Folk of the Asatru
about Teutonic Traditions, Ethos and the Norse gods and goddesses but
here my friend (the original protagonist in the discussion) I must beg
to differ in regards to the Sun being feminine and the Moon being masculine
as far as the Celtic heritage of my ancestors is concern.

Now I may not be considered by some as an academic
but I am a stickler for misinformation. Not that I am saying that you're
wrong, but there are clearly some points in your (original) post that
at least can be considered debatable.

I will not consider covering your post point
by point (if anyone wishes to revisit it they can read back through the
archives) to do so would make this response a great deal longer than necessary.
As it is, this is relatively going to be a long post, so I will take this
opportunity now to warn all those who may consider reading this to either
go make a cup of tea or coffee first or download it for later or just
delete it and wait for the movie to come out.

I will endeavour to report here my own research
and supply my own knowledge that I have on this topic.

The first point to draw attention to is a fundamental
and long standing biological fact that the moon controls the tides and
the ebbs and flow of energy in our bodies. Since early times the moon
was seen as feminine because of the connection noted between the feminine
cycle and the moon phases. In early religious art the pregnant woman is
also seen as a reflection of the moon.

As stated:

"In the study of mythology, a lunar deity
is a god or goddess associated with or symbolizing the Moon. She is usually
female, perhaps because of the association between women's menstrual cycles
and the moon. She was also often associated with virginity, hunting, warriors
(particularly female) and wisdom. She was usually sister, mother, daughter
and/or enemy of the solar deity. "

http://encyclopedia.kids.net.au/page/lu/Lunar_deity

The Sun is seen as an aggressive heat, light
and a strong burning figure in many mythologies while the moon is seen
as gentle, luminous and exhibiting more feminie qualities.

"The pantheons of many cultures have included a sun deity, usually
a god but occasionally a goddess. Some myths reflect the sun's vital role
in supporting life: Solar deities are often creators who bring people
into existence."

http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Sp-Tl/Sun.html

Now as I am a Celtic Traditionalist with Irish
and Welsh ancestry, I need to address certain aspects of your (original)
post where I believe that my research does not support your position.

At the beginning of your (original writer's)
post was stated:

"What passes for Celtic Mythology and
Lore is more often than not the product

of 18th - 20th century romanticism and UPG (Sorry, you dumbed me out here)
which has been presented with such force and determination that people
"believe" it must be true."

I do not believe that this is actually the case.
For instance The Mabinogion, although of Welsh origins is considered Celtic
traditional mythology and was written originally in around the 12th -
14th century. Many of the actual Irish folk tales were attributed to the
scribing of early catholic priest and some as early as the 9th century.
Admittedly, some romanticist writers of the 18th century took the tales
and polished them up.

http://www.webmesh.co.uk/Mabinogionhomepage.htm

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/mab/index.htm

Further, the beliefs and stories of the Druids
were recorded in many writings of both Greek and Roman scribes prior to
400AD. Some of these interactions occurred as far back as 55BC.

"Ancient Britons- How they lived"
- Maitland-Howard, Hodgers and Pyddoke

Arianrold for instance, was considered to be
one of the main Celtic deities, her myths are recorded by Roman and Greek
historians who recorded the beliefs and activities of the druids as she
was a major goddess of the druids.

However, before I even start waxing lyrically
about my Lady of the Silver Wheel, we need to address etymology.

The original protagonist wrote:

"However if we go to linguistics and
folk lore which predates modern

romanticism we start to find some very interesting suggestions."

Indeed, and I agree. Words sometimes do not
fully describe the actual feelings a person may express and very rarely
describes the attributes of an object adjectively. The translation of
language from one to another quite often looses the true meaning of the
word.

The original protagonist wrote:

"The Proto Indo European languages from
which Celtic, Germanic, Sanskrit,

Lithuanian etc descended had a system of gender allocated nouns. There
is no

doubt that the normal usage of the word for Moon was gender allocated

masculine and the word for Sun was gender allocated feminine. For example

even the ancient Sanskrit word "Mas" as Moon represented the
masculine

Gender."

Although, I conceive that this may indeed be the case where the Germanic,
Sanskrit, Lithuanian etc may be concern I do not feel this is the case
when it comes to the Celtic. My own personal gaelic may be a little rusty
and I really wish I paid more attention to my dearly departed mother and
grand-mother when they attempted to enforce my learning of it, however,
if we need to venture into etymology and linguistics we should look at
the different Celtic languages and the words for sun and moon.

According to the University of Wales Department of Welsh the welsh words
for moon are lleuad n.f. (lleuadau) lloer n.f. (lloerau) both nouns being
feminine. The welsh words for sun haul n.m. (heuliau) huan n.f. You will
note here one is feminine and the other is masculine.

http://www.geiriadur.net/atebion.php?prefLang=en

An English Irish dictionary provides "Irish Moon definition: n gealach
f2; usage: adj: a moonlit night oíche ghealaí" showing
the moon as feminine whilst the Sun definition "Sun definition: n
grian f2; usage: on Sunday Dé Domhnaigh; in the sun faoin ngrian;"
is also feminine.

http://www.englishirishdictionary.com/dictionary

This brings us to a very interesting discovery also, that both the Irish
word for Moon and the Irish word for Sun are both Feminine. No Masculinity
at all, No wonder the Irish men bitter, divisive and aggressive.



The protagonist wrote himself to collaborate this:

"By careful study of the ancient texts,
as well as the language itself, we see that the Sun and the Moon are feminine.
They are sisters to each other."

In regards to the Sun and Celtic mythology,
I really need to clear up one or two statements which could be construed
as misinformation.

He went on to write:

"Though in some lore there is traces
of evidence that some believed that while the Sun was feminine, the Moon
was masculine. In Gaidhlig the names of both luminaries are feminine,
and in invocations and spells they are

both addressed as feminine beings. Yet they can change gender according
to which of their attributes is brought to the fore. The nurturing, warm
Sun who promotes growth is feminine … "

From my own knowledge and study of Celtic lore,
"Grianne", as the protagonist stated was an Irish Celtic deity
but her story is about elopement and has nothing in actual fact to do
with the Sun. In fact, most of Grianne's story is irrelevant. The fact
that her name is similar to the Irish word for Sun and that being "grian"
is the only connection I can see at all.

The protagonist continued in the same sentence:

"… the light, as personified by
Lugh, is masculine, and the scorching Sun just before Harvest is represented
by Balor."

My belief from my own studies of Celtic lore
which go way back to when I was a boy and became interested in the folk
lore of my ancestry was that the hero and leader of the Tuatha Dé
Danaan , was the Sun god and "Balor", whilst being an Irish
Celtic figure was in fact in myth the king of a race of giants who possessed
a single evil eye and who could destroy whole armies. He caused terror
amoung the heroes of Ireland until he was defeated by Lugh.

The above statement can be supported and referred
to in "Who's Who in Mythology" by Michael Senior and countless
websites about Tuatha De Danaan.

So your post twig my curiosity and I set out
to renew my own interest into the Gods and Goddesses of my ancestry and
in support of what I believe offer the following.

Belenus was the Celtic God of the sun. He was
sometimes simply called "Bel" and the fire festival of Beltaine
gets its name from this God. "He was a Gaulish God, whose influence
ranged as far as Italy and Britain. Belenus was married to the great mother
Goddess, Danu (My Goddess)."

http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/celticpanth/p/belenus.htm

"Belenus meaning 'bright' or 'brilliant',
refers to the Continental Sun-God of the Celts. He is also a healer and
associated with healing spings and the healing power of the Sun. The fire
festival Beltene is probably related to Belenus. He is Cognate with the
Roman god Apollo, their prime Solar deity and also a healer. Often refered
to as Apollo-Belenus, pre-Roman inscriptions are known."

http://www.kernunnos.com/deities/belenus.html

"Beltaine begins the season of summer as
well as the "summer half" of the year. This High Holy Day was
dedicated to adolescent joy, contests, frolicking in the woods, romance
and passion. Dancing around the Maypole, games, and feasting are the usual
customs. "

"The Fires of Bel, a Celtic Sun-God. Beltaine
is an 'in between' festival, but was just as important to the ancient
Celtic as the Solstices"

This is an ancient festival that has its origins in early history. The
cattle were driven between two massive fires before being sent out to
pasture. And then there is Lugh. Lugh was the major Sun deity for the
Celtic people and his festival at Lughnasadh celebrates aspects of the
sun occurring at this time and this is recorded historically back into
early time pre- Celtic times. It is a harvest festival and a fire festival
and is marked on the calendar as the day the sun gets to a certain point
in the sky

"Lugh - (Loo) Ireland, Wales; a sun god of all crafts and arts,

healing, journeys, prophecy. Son of Cian, a Tuatha De Danann. Of

legend, his skills were without end; in Ireland he was associated

with ravens; and a white stag as his symbol in Wales. He had a magic

spear and otherworldly hounds. His festival was Lughnassadh, or

Lunasa - August 1. Variants: Llew, Lug, Lugus, Lugh Lamhfada (of the

long arm), Lug Samildananch (much skilled)."

http://www.daire.org/names/deities.html

Which finally brings me back to My Lady of the
Silver Wheel; my Moon Goddess, Arianrod. Arianrod, Lady of the silver
wheel was one of the main celtic deities, her myths are recorded by Roman
and Greek historians who

recorded the beliefs and activites of the druids as she was a major goddess
of the druids.

The above references comes from "Who's
Who in Mythology" by Michael Senior:

"A Welsh (Celtic) moon goddess, daughter
of Donn (female earth god),

sister of Gwydion (male), and mother of Lleu Llaw Gyffes (male) and

the sea god Dylan. Her name is interpreted variously as

meaning 'silver wheel', 'silver circle' or 'high fruitful mother'."

http://www.mythome.org/celtic.html

"Arianrhod - Wales; goddess of beauty,
fertility, and reincarnation. Known as Silver Wheel and the High Fruitful
Mother, the palace of this sky goddess was Caer Arianrhold (Aurora Borealis).
Keeper of the Silver Wheel of Stars, a symbol of time and karma. Her ship,
Oar Wheel, carried dead warriors to Emania (Moon-land)."

http://www.daire.org/names/deities.html

Rhiannon, the Celtic goddess of the moon was
a Welsh goddess. The goddess Rhiannon's name meant "Divine Queen"
of the fairies. In her myths, Rhiannon was promised in marriage to an
older man she found repugnant. Defying her family's wishes that Rhiannon,
like other Celtic goddesses, declined to marry one of her "own kind".

http://www.goddessgift.com/goddess-myths/celtic_goddess_Rhiannon.htm

Góntia (Guntia, Candida, Fortuna), was
a Celtic moon goddess; her name comes from the Welsh word canda (shining
white) and the Celtic condate (confluence). She was said to bring good
luck, and was the goddess of the river Günz, near Günzburg in
Germany. She was also the horse goddess of the Cantii, the Cantabri and
the Ghent in Belgium.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B3ntia

Although, Celtic Mythology does have a number
of Sun Goddesses like Brigid. Born at the exact moment of daybreak, Brigid
rose into the sky with the sun, rays of fire beaming from her head. She
was the daughter of Dagda, the great 'father-god' of Ireland.

"In Druid mythology, the infant goddess
was fed with milk from a

sacred cow from the Otherworld. Brigid owned an apple orchard in the

Otherworld and her bees would bring their magical nectar back to

earth. It is said that wherever she walked, small flowers and

shamrocks would appear. As a sun goddess her gifts are light

(knowledge), inspiration, and the vital and healing energy of the

sun."

http://www.goddessgift.com/goddess-myths/celtic-goddess-brigid.htm

An online search of masculine moon deities produces
"Mani" from the Norse Pantheon and a number of Native American,
African and Thoth in Egyptian Myth. Tsukuyomi is a moon god in Shinto
Japanese myths. There are no Celtic Moon Gods.

There are a large number of female deities linked
to the sun in other cultures. In Japanese Shinto belief their major deity
is the sun Goddess Ameratasu however Book research And Online research
fail to show any Celtic Sun Goddesses.

A visit to Wikipedia and a search for Lunar
Gods shows there are only

20 on record:

Aglibol

Alignak

Bahloo

Chandra

Chons

Daramulum

Elatha

Fati

Hilal (god)

Igaluk

Jarilo

Kalfu

Kaskuh

Kidili

Mani (god)

Napir

Sin (mythology)

Tecciztecatl

Thoth

Tsuki-Yomi

.... And Not one of these is Celtic.

The protagonist finally wrote:

"Basically people will believe what
they wish to believe."

What I believe is the Sun is Lugh and the Moon
is Arianrod. This has been the way of my own heritage and Ancestry and
I choose to maintain the Status Quo of my Dreamtime.

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