🌀 Celtic Creation

Primordial State: Before the First Coming

Before the first invasion, Ireland existed in a state of formless potential - not void exactly, but unmarked and unclaimed. The land was there, but unnamed, unshaped, uninhabited. There was no distinction yet between mortal realm and Otherworld, no structure, no order.

Unlike creation myths that begin with cosmic nothingness or primordial chaos, Celtic tradition begins with the land already present but sleeping, waiting for beings to claim it, name it, and bring it into being through inhabitation. Creation happens through arrival and settlement, not through divine command or cosmic sacrifice (though there are elements of both in later invasions).

The waters surrounded the land - the great ocean from which successive peoples would emerge. The Otherworld existed alongside, interpenetrating with the physical realm, but undifferentiated. Time had not yet begun its cycle.

The Five Invasions of Ireland

According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn, Ireland was invaded by six groups (though traditions vary). Each invasion shaped the land further, until finally mortals inherited it from the gods:

The Fomorians: Forces of Chaos

Running parallel to the invasions is the constant presence of the Fomorians (Fomoire) - primordial beings representing chaos, destruction, darkness, and the wild forces of nature. They are not simply "evil" but represent the untamed aspects of existence that resist order and civilization.

Nature: Often depicted as misshapen, having one eye, one arm, one leg, or other distortions. Associated with the sea, storms, disease, and blight. They dwelt on islands off the coast or in undersea fortresses.

Relationship to the Gods: Paradoxically, the Fomorians intermarried with the divine races. Lugh's mother was Ethniu, daughter of Balor the Fomorian. Bres, who became king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was half-Fomorian. This suggests the Fomorians represent necessary aspects of reality - chaos that must be integrated, not merely destroyed.

The Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh: The decisive confrontation between order (Tuatha Dé Danann) and chaos (Fomorians). Lugh's slaying of his grandfather Balor symbolizes the younger generation overcoming the destructive aspects of the past while integrating its power. After this battle, the Fomorians cease to be a major threat, suggesting that chaos has been bounded (though never eliminated).

The Act of Creation: Naming and Claiming

Unlike many creation myths that feature divine command ("Let there be light") or cosmic sacrifice (Ymir, Purusha), Celtic creation happens through:

1. Arrival and Settlement

Each invasion brings Ireland more fully into being. The land exists, but it achieves its true form through inhabitation. To arrive, to clear plains, to name features - these acts create reality.

2. Naming and Poetry

When Amergin the poet first set foot in Ireland, he spoke verses claiming the land through naming. In Celtic thought, to name something is to bring it into being, to establish relationship with it. The triple goddesses Ériu, Banba, and Fódla ARE Ireland personified - the land is divine.

"I am the wind on the sea,
I am the wave of the ocean,
I am the murmur of the billows,
I am the bull of seven battles,
I am the eagle on the rock..."

By declaring "I am" these things, Amergin claims kinship with the land itself, establishing the right of humans to dwell there.

3. Division and Ordering

Partholón divided Ireland for the first time. The Fir Bolg divided it into five provinces. The Dagda divided the sidhe mounds among the gods. Each division brings order from undifferentiated wholeness.

4. Conflict and Victory

Creation happens through struggle. Each people must fight for their place - against previous inhabitants, against the Fomorians, against the land itself. Order emerges from overcoming chaos.

Current State: The World We Inhabit

The world we live in now is the result of these successive invasions:

• Mortal Realm Above: Humans (descendants of the Milesians) dwell on the surface of the land, tending it, ruling it, living mortal lives subject to time, decay, and death.
• Divine Realm Below/Beyond: The Tuatha Dé Danann dwell in the Otherworld - beneath the sidhe mounds, on western islands, in a parallel dimension accessible at thin places. They have not died but transformed, becoming the gods who interact with mortals.
• Chaos Bounded: The Fomorians have been defeated but not destroyed - they remain at the edges, in the deep sea, in storms and disasters, representing the ever-present potential for chaos to return.
• Sacred Land: Ireland itself is sacred, a goddess in physical form. The land's health depends on the virtue of its rulers (sovereignty magic). When the king is just, the land flourishes; when the king is false, the land withers.
• Interpenetration: The mortal and divine realms touch constantly. At Samhain, at sacred wells, in oak groves, at stone circles - the boundaries thin, allowing passage and interaction.

Primary Sources

• Lebor Gabála Érenn (Book of Invasions) - Primary source for the invasion cycles
• Cath Maige Tuired (The Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh) - The defeat of the Fomorians
• The Book of Leinster - Contains versions of the invasion myths
• Various medieval Irish manuscripts - Preserving pre-Christian oral traditions