Gods - C

Caer
An Irish swan maiden with whom Aengus (god of poetry) fell in love. He became a swan also.

Cailleach
Cailleach is referred to as the "Mother of All" in parts of Scotland. Also known as Scotia, she is depicted as an old hag with the teeth of a wild bear and boar's tusks. She is believed to be a great sorceress. One superstition regarding Calliach is that the farmer who is last to harvest his grain would be the person to "look after" Caileach for the rest of the year, until the next harvest. The first farmer who finishes harvesting would make a corn-dolly from the grain he has harvested. He would, then, pass it on to the next farmer who finishes. It would keep going until the corn-dolly ends up with the last farmer. That last farmer would be obligated to watch the "old woman". She is also known to have created the earth. "With her hammer she alternately splinters mountains, prevents the growth of grass, or raises storms. Numerous wild animals follow her..."

Cailleach Beara
The Irish/Celtic who was said to turn to stone every April 30 (Beltine) and to be reborn every October 31 (Samhain). She was represented as an old hag.

Camma
The goddess of the hunt among the Britons

Camulus
A Gaulish war god mentioned by the Romans, who associated them with Mars. He gave his name to the Roman town of Camulodunum (Colchester).

Carman
A destructive witch, she was the goddess of evil magic. She had three equally destructive sons: Dub ("darkness"), Dother ("evil"), and Dian ("violence"), who ravaged Ireland. The Tuatha Dé Danann fought against Carman with their most powerful weapons. Finally the sorceress Bechuille, was able to undo Carman's curses. Her sons were destroyed and Carman put in chains, where she died of grief

Cartimandua
A legendary warrior queen who waged war against the Roman Empire, she was the leader of the Brigantes, descendants of the goddess Brigantia

Caswallawn
A Celtic war god of Britain

Cenn Cruaich
A Gaelic heaven-god, akin to Zeus

Ceridwen
Ceridwen is a magician who features in the mythical version of the life of the genuine bard Taliesin. Ceridwen had an ugly son, Afagddu ("ugly"), whom she wished to make wise. She brewed a magical liquid and had her kitchen boy Gwion tend it. Three drops scalded his hand and he licked them off, instantly acquiring all the knowledge. In an ancient, ancient hunt she pursued him: first she became a greyhound and he a hare, then she an otter and he a fish, then she a hawk and he a rabbit. Finally, she became a hen and he a grain of corn, and she ate him. She became pregnant with him and he was born nine months later, a boy of astounding grace and beauty whom she named Taliesin and put into a coracle in the sea.

Cernunnos
"The Horned One" is a Celtic god of fertility, life, animals, wealth, and the underworld. He was worshipped all over Gaul, and his cult spread into Britain as well. Cernunnos is depicted with the antlers of a stag, sometimes carries a purse filled with coin. The Horned God is born at the winter solstice, marries the goddess at Beltane, and dies at the summer solstice. He alternates with the goddess of the moon in ruling over life and death, continuing the cycle of death, rebirth and reincarnation. Paleolithic cave paintings found in France that depict a stag standing upright or a man dressed in stag costume seem to indicate that Cernunnos' origins date to those times. Romans sometimes portrayed him with three cranes flying above his head. Known to the Druids as Hu Gadarn. God of the underworld and astral planes. The consort of the great goddess. He was often depicted holding a bag of money, or accompanied by a ram-headed serpent and a stag. Most notably is the famous Gundestrup cauldron discovered in Denmark.

Cessair
A great magician, she became the first queen of Ireland. She and her band of female followers inhabited the land after the Great Flood Cethlion The prophetess of the Fomorians who warned of their impending doom at the hands of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

Clota
The Celtic goddess of the river Clyde.

Cocidius
A hunting deity of Celtic North Britain. The Romans equated him with their Silvanus

Conall Cernach
A powerful warrior from Irish myth; his name means "strong and victorious".

Condatis
A River god of Celtic Britain, personification of water.

Contrebis
A local god in the area of Lancaster in Celto-Roman Britain.

Coventina
The Celtic (Britain) goddess of water and springs. She was known locally in the area of Carrawburgh (Roman Brocolitia) along Hadrian's Wall. She personified a holy spring that had healing powers.

Creiddylad
A Welsh goddess, daughter of Llyr. She appeared in Shakespeare's King Lear as the king's daughter Cordelia

Curoi mac Daire
A Celtic sun-deity, believed to be a storm-bringing giant, armed with an axe.

Cwn Annwn
In Brythonic mythology, the hounds of Annwn. A pack of snow-white, red-eared spectral hounds which sometimes took part in the kidnappings and raids the inhabitants of the underworld sometimes make on this world (the Wild Hunt). They are associated in Wales with the sounds of migrating wild geese, and are said to be leading the souls of the damned to hell. The phantom chase is usually heard or seen in midwinter and is accompanied by a howling wind. Another name is Cwn Mamau ("hounds of the mothers"). In England, they are often called the Gabriel Hounds or Ratchets, and sometimes the Yell Hounds. They are accompanied by the hunter Gwyn, or Bran, or Arthur, but sometimes by Gabriel or Herne the Hunter.

Cyhiraeth
The Celtic goddess of streams. She later entered folklore as a spectre haunting woodland streams. Her shriek was said to foretell death.

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