The Book of Invasions

The Fifth Invasion

The Host of the Tuatha de Danaan

The Tuatha de Danaan had gathered in a gargantuan host in the middle of the islands of Foroyar, and they comprised most of the people of the four cities. With them they brought a treasure from each city. From Falias they came, and they brought a Stone of Virtue from Falias, that was called the Lia Fail, the Stone of Destiny. From Goirias they came, and from Gorias they brought the Sword Claiomh Solais that never fails to strike down its wielder’s enemies. From Finias they came, and from Finias they brought Red Javelin the Spear of Light. From Murias they came, and from Murias they brought fourth treasure, the Cauldron that from which no company ever went away from unsatisfied.

Morfessa, Esras, Uiscias and Semias the four guardians and most learned of all the Tuatha de Danaan came also to the great gathering and together they wove two great spells. As they spoke the entire host of the Tuatha de Danaan dissolved into mist and the mist hung in the plain in the midst of the Islands of Foroyar. Then as they continued to speak, there arose a great wind blowing toward the south and as the wind blew the cloud of mist moved with it toward the south. When the mist was blown away the only ones left on the plain were the four guardians Morfessa, Esras, Uiscias and Semias.

They Came in a Cloud of Glittering Mist Out of the North

A great cloud of mist drifted out of the north and settled over Inis Fail. In this mist the Tuatha de Danaan, the people of the gods, the children of Danu, came through the air. The mist blotted out the sun and hung over the whole island of Inis Fail. Thus the Island was darkened and the darkness remained for three days. The Tuatha de Danaan came on the high air to the north-west of Connacht in Inis Fail and there the cloud of mist settled. There the Great Goddess Brigantu solidified out of the mist and began to chant. Slowly and steadily each god and goddess solidified out of the mist until at the end of three days all had been returned to their god like forms and the mist was gone. They came out of the north where they had acquired great knowledge that made them all mighty draoithe and so learned were they that all would in time be hailed as gods.

Nuada was Elected King but Power was Everywhere Among them

They elected Nuada to be king and to rule over them. They did this because at that time he was their chief of war of the Tuatha de Danaan and a war was coming. He was a mighty warrior though not the mightiest. He was wise but not the wisest. He was skilled but not the most skillful. He was knowledgeable but not the most knowledgeable. He was made king because his people loved and respected him and were willing to follow him.

However, many were greater and cleverer and more learned than he. Manannan, son of Lir, was the Mighty God of the Oceans and the Seas and he rode forth in a great chariot pulled by horses made of the sea foam and he was greater and more honored than Nuada.

Another who was very great and wise was Ogma, brother to the king. He was their champion and perhaps the mightiest warrior among them and he was very wise and clever for it was he who taught them writing.

There was the great Goddess Brigantu who was a goddess of poetry, and poets worshipped her, for her sway was very great and very noble. She was a goddess of healing along with that, and a goddess of smith's work, and it was she first made the whistle for calling one to another through the night. She also became the goddess of fire and the warming hearth.

Then there was Dian Cecht who was the physician of the gods. The ability to heal the sick and injured was greatly prized among the gods and Dian Cecht was so skilled that he understood and had mastered all healing, even unto raising the dead back to life.

But of all the gods none was greater than The Dagda the good god. Surely he was the strongest, the most knowledgeable, the most skillful, and the mightiest of them all.

Of course Danu the great mother goddess had come with them, but  but none ever beheld her for she never manifested into corporeal form.

Many others who had come were also possibly as mighty as Nuada and first among these was Neit, the god of battle, and husband of Nemain.

Perhaps the greatest among these others were the Morrigna, the war goddesses. First among them was Badb, the battle goddess who often took the form of a crow and was sometimes called the Morrigan. Next was Macha, whose sword ran red with blood on the battle fields. Finally there was Nemain the goddess who personified the frenzied havoc of war.

Then there were the great craftsmen of the gods who were the sons of Tuireann. There was Creidhne the Precious Metals Smith, Goibniu the Black-Smith and Luchtaine the Carpenter and Wright.

There were Eiru and Fodla and Banba, who were all daughters of the Delbaeth son of Ogma and Ernmas. These three goddesses were the goddesses of the earth and place and boundaries, they would in time all give their names to Inis Fail (Ireland).

The three things the Tuatha de Danaan put above all others were the plough, the sun and the hazel-tree. So it was said that in the time to come Inis Fail would be divided between those three. Three sons of Cermait son of The Dagda were honored to represent these things. They were Ethur Mac Cuil (Coll) the hazel, Tethur Mac Cecht the plough, and Cethur Mac Greine (Grian) the sun. These three took as wives Eiru, Fodla and Banba.

The Birth of Brigit and the Four Treasures are Allotted Four Guardians

Not long after the Tuatha de Danaan arrived in Inis Fail the Great Goddess Brigantu gave birth to a daughter and the daughter’s name was Brigit. But there were complications with the birth and not all the power of the Tuatha de Danaan was able to save Brigantu. Not all the amazing genius that was Dian Cecht the miracle working physician to the gods was able to save her. Thus she died in childbirth. Brigit learned all her mother’s skills and knowledge and became “The Exalted One” in her place. She became the many skilled Goddess not the least of which were fire and the hearth.

The four treasures of the Tuatha de Danaan were each allotted to a guardian. The Stone of Destiny was given to Badb (the Morrigan) to be its guardian. The Cauldron of plenty was given to The Dagda to be its guardian. Claiomh Solais the sword of the king was given to Nuada to be its guardian. Lastly the Spear of Light was given to the champion Ogma to be its guardian.

It was on the first day of Beltaine, that is now called May Day, when the Tuatha de Danaan came. However, the Fir Bolg, the Men of the Bag, that were in Inis Fail before them noticed little. They beheld nothing but a mist, and it sprawling softly across the hills. Click here to Continue.

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