Transcript
Speaker: Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft and the occult but feel lost on where to start? Then welcome to Get In Loser We're Doing Witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey.
Speaker: Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we've learned about the craft. So get in witches for another Celtic Deities episode, this time focusing on the goddesses Anya and Eriu.
Speaker: On my Instagram, because I was like, i wonder when the Renaissance Fair is coming. And like, I'm following a few now accounts and I'm just like, keep thinking about, okay, I got to start seriously planning.
Speaker: my Renaissance fair outfit because I'm going. And one of them is like two hours away. it' supposed to be like the big one here. And I'm just like, I'm fucking going. It's in July sometime. And I'm just like, oh I can't wait. I can't can't wait. So.
Speaker: The fries and market has been posting and it's like not even until like, think May, maybe June, but they've started posting. And now I'm like, oh my God, because I bought,
Speaker: Mauro and I both bought leather armor outfits last season. Yeah. And then for whatever reason, like mine and Anthony's and Mauro and Sophia's schedules were just too crazy. And we like basically only went to two markets. The first market, we bought them. The second market, we wore them. And then that's it. We wore them. Oh, my God.
Speaker: You've got to wear them again. Yeah. oh so we've been like all talking about it so much, like so ready for this season to kick off. Yes. Yeah. I'm so excited. I'm going, i think for the outfit I'm going to put together, I'm going to see how much of it I can thrift, but I'm going to be doing like the whole like dress corset thing.
Speaker: Yeah. thing And going to buy the little skirt ties or whatever to, like, kind of bring it up and wear it with boots. And I'm just, like, I cannot wait. I can't wait. I feel like in America, it's much easier. Like, you go to the festivals and you can, like, wear whatever.
Speaker: Germans take the medieval market attire so seriously. Like, I didn't have, like, medieval boots ever.
Speaker: the first year I mean I still don't I have ones that are a little bit different now but I was just wearing like regular leather brown leather boots and yeah one guy like shit talked me being like all those boots are not from the right you're not dressed in the right era like they take it so seriously dork like shut the fuck up like oh Like, just let someone have fun. Yeah, that's ridiculous. They get so crazy. like They would probably die in America because everybody can't dress as fairies. I know. Well, then they have one one singular festival. I don't even remember what this one was called. It wasn't like a middle altmark. It was like a fantasy fair or something like that. And that's the one that you can go to and dress however you want. If you want to dress like a fairy or whatever.
Speaker: Like, no one will say anything to you. But that one ended last year for good. oh that's sad. I know. It was a fun festival. But, yeah. No, they take it so seriously. Like, you have to be – Like, you can't wear certain colors because they didn't have that color back then in the clothing because you couldn't make the dye. like Oh, with your urine. You couldn't make the dye with your urine. Okay. They get so crazy about – accuracy.
Speaker: And I'm like, I'm just trying to be cute and have fun. Okay? Leave me alone. Yeah. Well, I will be cute and have fun in America yeah at my medieval markets. um And I can't wait. So I'm like looking online and like...
Speaker: I went down this TikTok rabbit hole, and then I was like, I know myself. I'm not going sew shit. Oh, no. You want me to sew button? I'll sew a button. don't even know what you're doing honestly. You want me to sew an outfit? Absolutely not. Oh, I do it for Anthony all the time. I can't. You sew my button. The only class I was not good at in high school was home ec. The cooking part, I could do that. The sewing part, mm-mm. I can't sew an outfit. I could sew the shit out of a button onto a shirt or a jacket. don't want to do that either. But yeah.
Speaker: So but we're not talking about that though. We sure are not. What are we talking about today? We are going back into some ancient mythology and lore to talk about some Celtic goddesses. And i am so excited about this episode because this was such a fun one for me.
Speaker: um I'm assuming for you too. I mean, I actually enjoyed mine too. It wasn't like over the top crazy fun, but I was like, oh, this is actually very This is actually really interesting. i really love this. Yeah. But- Before we get started, I just want to share a quick content warning for this episode. There are two brief mentions of sexual assault in my portion of the discussion.
Speaker: um They are non-graphic and not described in detail, but we know that this can be like a sensitive topic for some listeners. And I just wanted to give you a heads up so that you can take care of yourself before diving in. that's sweet.
Speaker: Thank you for that disclaimer. it's It's a sensitive little topic, and so I didn't want to catch anyone off guard. So to get us started, I'm going to be talking about Anya. Anya is a prominent Irish Celtic goddess that is associated with summer and midsummer, love, abundance, fertility, wealth, sovereignty, wealth, brightness and the sun, agriculture, crops and animals, wealth and prosperity.
Speaker: Her name is usually translated as brightness or radiance, which likely is what ties her to her seasonal and solar associations. Anya's domain is one of beauty, justice, and connection.
Speaker: She represents the nurturing yet powerful aspects of the divine feminine, offering guidance, joy, and balance. Her myths inspire respect for nature and encourage a deeper appreciation of personal and spiritual sovereignty.
Speaker: Anya is a figure whose identity shifts depending on the source. Sometimes she appears as a goddess, and other times as a powerful otherworld woman, or as the fairy queen.
Speaker: There are at least two figures named Anya in Irish Celtic mythology, and this tends to add to the confusion around her origins. so one Anya is briefly mentioned as a daughter of the Dagda,
Speaker: but she receives very little attention in the text and plays no major role in and any of the wider mythology. The Anya most people recognize comes from a different lineage entirely, as she's said to be the daughter of Ogabal, a druid of the Shi.
Speaker: Though he's also often linked to the Tuatha de Danan. In the latter version, she is also the sister of the fire-breathing Aelin, who was a she-fairy from the Otherworld, and a figure that was known for burning the hill of Tara that was part of Cormac's court each year at Samhain.
Speaker: Ogobal is occasionally named as the foster son of Mananen Makhlir, the god of the sea, and it's also worth noting that some versions of the lore omit Ogobal entirely and list Mananen Makhlir as Anya's father.
Speaker: But these shifting family ties blur the line between Anya as a goddess and Anya as a powerful otherworld being. Her parentage places her at the crossroads of land, sea, and the she, reinforcing her liminal nature.
Speaker: And rather than single fixed genealogy, Anya's background seems to adapt to regional storytelling and political needs. These family connections place Anya firmly within the world of the she and the other world rather than clearly defined divine hierarchy.
Speaker: Rather than holding a single fixed role, Anya's influence appears to be broad and flexible, shaped by local tradition, storytelling, and lived folk belief. In mythology, Anya's stories mostly appear in later Irish folklore rather than the earliest mythological cycles, and she's consistently tied to specific locations, most notably Anya or what is more commonly known as Nac Ani.
Speaker: Many of her myths connect her to encounters with mortals, especially kings and noble families, and these stories often frame her as a figure who grants legitimacy, abundance, or success to those connected to her.
Speaker: Because of this, several powerful families claimed descent from Anya in order to legitimize their authority and right to rule. And this even included families of foreign origin, such as the Fitzgeralds, who incorporated Anya into their ancestral narratives.
Speaker: According to the Desmond Fitzgeralds, Anya married Gerald Fitzgerald, which... What an a name. I was like cracking up typing that and I was like, this is so stupid, but so funny to me.
Speaker: He was the third Earl of Desmond before he disappeared. The story goes that he happened upon her while she was bathing and he stole her cloak, forcing her to marry him to get it back.
Speaker: Apparently, some versions of the story even mention a case of him raping her. But all versions of the story include that the two marry and that they have a son together.
Speaker: Their son, Gerald Iorla, which apparently just translates to Gerald the Earl. So Gerald the Earl Fitzgerald, which is even worse than his dad, I feel like.
Speaker: um He inherited some of Anya's magic where he was able to transform into other things or to perform feats like jumping into a bottle and then back out of it by altering his size.
Speaker: But because he had some of her magic and she wanted to protect him... Like, I renamed them in my notes to Papa Gerald and Baby Gerald because it gets very confusing if you don't differentiate.
Speaker: So, Anya warns Papa Gerald not to be surprised by Baby Gerald's magic. And, of course, Papa Gerald was surprised by his son's magic. So, he cries out in astonishment.
Speaker: But this part gets even more confusing considering both men are named Gerald and both men have the title of Earl, apparently. So, either way... I still can't figure it out. I read through like so many versions and I'm like, which one did this happen to? yeah One of them is caused to flee due to the shock of the magical act. And in the process is transformed into a goose.
Speaker: Different sources seem to go back and forth on like, who was the one that this happened to in that scenario? I can't tell you. It was a Gerald Fitzgerald, but and both it wasn't Earl. i'm That's all I know.
Speaker: This is we need juniors and seniors. It was so dumb. I was like, wait, and I had to keep rereading. And then I was like, okay, well, this one's confusing. And I would go to the next one. And they were like, I think it was the son. I think it was the dad. And I'm like, I really don't know what happened here. Who knows? Yeah.
Speaker: Some narratives include troubling themes involving coercion or violence, which is thought to reflect like political propaganda rather than devotional mythology. Anya frequently appears as a beautiful woman, a musician, most notably a harp player, or a supernatural figure emerging from the land itself.
Speaker: Other stories show her taking on a disguise or testing the character of those that she encounters. So rather than focusing on grand cosmic battles or divine rule, Anya's mythology stays grounded in land lineage and local power.
Speaker: In another story, Anya is encountered by semi-legendary King Elil Olam, and she is playing music on Nakani.
Speaker: And after Aleel forces himself on her, anya bites off his ear, earning them hering him the name bear Ear, like B-A-R-E, not B-E-A-R.
Speaker: And in some interpretations, this injury actually renders him unfit to rule since a king was expected to be physically whole. Other scholars view this story as a symbolic myth where the ruler attempts to claim sovereignty by possessing the land goddess.
Speaker: Another piece of Anya's lore shares that her ties to lock Gore are associated not only with her son, but also as Anya the healer. And on a full moon that also fell on what was known as All Heal Night, sick people were brought to the lake in and hopes of recovery. and if she wasn't able to heal them, like if it was something that wasn't possible,
Speaker: Anya was said to sing to the dying to guide them into the other world gently, which I was like, that's so sweet. That is sweet. Looking at Anya's followers in the sense of like cults and worship, she doesn't really appear to have a centralized or formal cult in the way that other deities or later religions might define worship.
Speaker: Her veneration seemed to have been deeply tied to places, particularly the Hill of Naconee, and midsummer gatherings were held in her honor, with people lighting and carrying straw torches through the fields, and these rituals were meant to bless crops, protect livestock, and encourage prosperity.
Speaker: Folk belief held that Anya could appear among the people, sometimes openly and sometimes in a disguise, and any acts of kindness shown to her were rewarded with abundance, while disrespect could bring misfortune.
Speaker: In some traditions, Anya became associated with banshee lore, and she was believed to warn her descendants of impending death, Irish myths were preserved orally for centuries before being written down, so many early manuscripts were lost during Viking raids, which limits how early Anya appears in written sources.
Speaker: The earliest known written reference to Anya dates to around 890 910 CE, in Sanis Cormac, also known as Cormac's Glossary. Anya's stories are associated with the mythological cycle of Irish lore, which includes the Tuatha Dé Danann, who I mentioned earlier. After the Tuatha Dé Danann were defeated by the Milesians, They became known as the Ace She, or the People of the Fairy Mounds.
Speaker: Anya's home at Naconee aligns her with this transition, and she later becomes known as the Fairy Queen of County Limerick. Ritual activities connected to Anya persisted through folk traditions rather than organized worship.
Speaker: Torchlight processions and midsummer gatherings at Naconee continued well into later periods. And if this is a deity that you think you would be interested in working with, some correspondences tied to Anya are the sun, swans, the colors gold and green, the Celtic knot, sunstone and rose quartz.
Speaker: Modern approaches to Anya tend to draw more from folk tradition than from formal mythological structure. So she's often connected to seasonal rites, especially to those centered midsummer, growth and abundance.
Speaker: Working with Anya commonly emphasizes respect for the land, generosity, and hospitality. Offerings and rituals may focus on prosperity, fertility, creative expression, or sovereignty in the personal sense.
Speaker: Anya is often approached as a local land spirit or ancestral presence rather than like a distant ruling deity. Many practitioners view her as responsive to acts of care toward the earth and community And her lore really suggests that she values reciprocity and integrity over devotion for it like its own sake.
Speaker: Whether seen as a goddess or fairy queen, Anya continues to exist through relationship, place, and ongoing belief. Modern interpretations of Anya often emphasize healing, transition, and liminality,
Speaker: She is approached as a figure connected to land, water, and seasonal cycles. Working with Anya often centers on respect, consent, and honoring boundaries, themes that echo strongly in her myths.
Speaker: And her continued presence in folklore and place-based tradition keeps her active in the spiritual landscape rather than confined to ancient texts. But that's Anya.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. So I am going to be talking about Air you or sometimes known as ERA. And I apologize in advance if any of these pronunciations are wrong or sound terrible coming from my American accent. But you know what? I just do not have a beautiful Irish accent to now pronounce any of these with. No. We really do try. But yeah it just doesn't always come out right.
Speaker: No. So Eriu is the Celtic Irish goddess of land and sovereignty, and she's one of the most significant figures in Irish mythology. Her name, Eriu, is the Irish name for Ireland, which cements her legacy as the personification of the land.
Speaker: Eriu's name is thought to derive from the old Irish era, which means to be or exist. Eriu represents fertility, abundance, and sacred connection between the land and its people, and she was known as being very wise and powerful. Eriu is one of three sister goddesses, Bamva and Fola, and the three of them together represent the spirit of Ireland, and they were also known as the three queens of Ireland.
Speaker: The three sisters as goddesses are known as another triple goddess, and they are linked to the the triumvirate Macca, Beave, and the Morrigan. All six of these goddesses were said to be the daughters of the mother goddess, Earnmas.
Speaker: The three goddesses were often referred to as Ireland's protectors, and they are also said to embody the land through its hills, rivers, forests, and plains. Eriu is also believed to bestow kingship on rulers who upheld honor and justice. In the Celtic worldview, there was also this belief that the land itself was a living entity. There is a reciprocal relationship between nature and humanity, and further, there is a belief that the ruler's legitimacy came from their alignment with the goddess that personified it.
Speaker: Eriu, by granting sovereignty, ensured that the ruler would serve the land and its people justly. However, should the ruler fail in their duties, the land's fertility and abundance would diminish as a sign of displeasure. Crops would fail, rivers would overflow, and unrest would spread throughout the land.
Speaker: There is no singular iconography of Eriu, but she's often depicted through imagery depicting Ireland's abundant landscapes. Many of the images of her online show her dressed in greens and golds with Ireland in the background. Often there are flowing hills, rivers, and she's often dressed in gold, holding gold or ah cornucopia with flowers at her feet highlighting the lush abundance she's associated with. So we did it once again because they're both like a sovereignty and abundance. Yeah. so
Speaker: So very interesting. this often. So as far as mythology goes, Eriu came from the spiritual tribe of the Tuatha Dé Danann that arrived on the west coast of Ireland through a mystical fog. We've talked about the Tuatha Dé Danann multiple times on the podcast, most notably in episodes 26 and 54, but they were known in Irish mythology as a tribe with magical abilities.
Speaker: As I mentioned, Eryu bestowed kingship on rulers, and her authority was clear that no ruler could govern without acknowledging her sovereignty. And in one legend, a chieftain named Erymon approached her seeking to unite the other clans under his leadership.
Speaker: Erymon offered his oath to honor the land with Eryu as the land's guardian, and only then did she bless him with kingship. Eriu and her sisters were asked to represent the Tuatha Dé Danann when meeting with the Milesians. And I've seen a few different descriptions of who the Milesians were. I've seen them described as a rival race led by the druit led by their druid, Avergine, who came from Ireland from Spain with the intention of dominating it. But I've also seen them described as the mortal ancestors of the Irish who came back to reclaim Ireland. So I don't know.
Speaker: But the legend goes that Eriu and her sisters were determined to defend their home against the Malaysians, and Eriu challenged the Malaysians to prove their worthiness to claim Ireland through a series of trials. Through those trials, the Malaysians demonstrated bravery and skill to a degree that earned Eriu's respect.
Speaker: Impressed, she conceded and agreed to share the land with the Malaysians. She could sense that the time of the Malaysians was coming, and it was time for e you and her sisters to return back through the veil to their spiritual realm.
Speaker: I tried researching what the trials were that Eriu and her sisters had them complete, and I couldn't find anything about it but... I did find multiple articles that talked about there being an actual battle between the Malaysians and the Tuatha Dé Danann, with the Malaysians defeating them in battle and driving them out of Ireland. So i don't know. I feel like that's probably what happened it happened, but who knows? Averjain met with the three sisters atop a sacred hill in Ireland called Ishnach, where they requested that Avergine name Ireland after them.
Speaker: He chose to name Ireland after Eriu, leaving her legacy embedded in the land for future generations. So as far as working with Eriu, Eriu is a powerful figure to work with, especially if you are working with land-based magic, sovereignty, and ancestral connection. As far as correspondences go...
Speaker: For her domains and themes, they center her on sovereignty, which I've said now probably 10 times in this episode, and the rightful rule, the land, ancestral memory and lineage, belonging, identity, and homeland, sacred contracts between people and places, and protection of territories and borders.
Speaker: As far as the elements go, she's associated with earth, obviously, as well as air. And then for sacred landscapes, hills, especially the Hill of Ishnach. If you are in Ireland or you plan to travel to Ireland, the Hill of Ishnach is still widely considered one of the most sacred spiritual landmarks in Ireland. It is located in County Westmeath in the center of Ireland. And the Hill of Ishnach translates to the place of cinders or the place of the hearth, and it can be seen from 20 different Irish counties. And every year on Beltane, a huge fire festival takes place on Ishnach to mark the start of spring and to honor Eryu. On the hill, there's also a famous cat stone called Alnamiuren, and this translates to the stone of divisions, and it's also said to be Eryu's final resting place.
Speaker: Additionally, outside of hills, she's associated with stones, standing stones, and cairns. She's additionally associated with fields, plains, and ancestral lands, as well as liminal borderlands and thresholds.
Speaker: As far as colors go, she's associated with the colors green, brown, stone gray, and gold. For plants and trees, she's associated with the oak, hawthorn, grasses, and any native wild plants, as well as wheat and barley.
Speaker: For animals, she's associated with cows, cattle, birds, horses, and bees. For symbols, this would be the land or soil, stones and boundary markers, crowns that like go on your head, maps and cauldrons, as well as the harp, which she was said to have played beautifully. Both of our people played the harp too?
Speaker: ah Yeah. For crystals, she's associated with any green crystals. So emerald, jade, green adventurine, and green calcite.
Speaker: As far as offerings go, she enjoys milk, honey, butter, bread, or mead, as well as any native herbs or flowers. For magical workings with Eriu, this can consist of land blessings and protection Ancestral magical workings, reclaiming your identity or sense of home, manifestation rooted in long-term stability, any of those things would be great to work with Eriu with. The best time to work with Eriu is during seasonal festivals tied to agriculture, so like Beltane, as I've already mentioned, but also Imbolc and Lunasod when moving or returning home and and with any new beginnings that require grounding and maybe even some endurance.
Speaker: Melanie Smith from The Goddess Gift has a ritual on her website for a way to approach Eriu, so look at our show notes for the link to check that out. But additionally, you can honor Eriu through many different ways. One of the best ways is through honoring the earth, so going for walks, picking up litter, sitting outside and just enjoying being outside, meditating outside, going for walks barefoot, and practicing yoga, especially those strong foundational earth-tied movements in yoga. You can also create an altar to honor Ere U using any of the correspondences that I mentioned. And as far as celebrating Ere U on Beltane, if you can't find a way to Ireland for Beltane, which I completely understand in this economy, you can take part in Beltane celebrations where you are. Maybe invite some friends and family over for a bonfire as a way to celebrate. Traditionally, too, the dawn before Beltane, children would pick wildflowers and hawthorn blossoms to place around the doorstep of their home to bring prosperity and abundance throughout the year. And even if you don't have access to like hawthorn blossoms, even just like wildflowers, dandelions, any of those things, you could send your kids out or you could go on a walk, collect those things and put them by your doorstep.
Speaker: You could also leave offerings either on your altar for Eriu or in the wild for both Eriu and the fairy folk. And they enjoy things like ribbons, milk flowers, and shiny trinkets.
Speaker: So that is Eriu. How sweet. Yeah, shiny trinkets. We love that. I also love shiny trinkets, so I may also be a fairy.
Speaker: That's a wrap on this episode of Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft. We hope you had as much fun as we did. If you loved this episode, we'd be eternally grateful if you left us a five-star review wherever you listen to your podcasts. It helps more witches, seekers, and magical misfits find our show.
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Speaker: Join us next week for part three of our Magical Creatures series. This time, we' are going to look at the Leprechaun and the Basilisk. Until then, stay magical, stay curious, and as always, once a few witches.
