Danu
Praise to Danu
“Danu rolls in the midst of never-ceasing currents flowing without a rest forever onward”
The Rig-Veda translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith, 1889. Peter Myers, January 15, 2002
Danu (DAH-noo) is known as the Mother of the Celtic Gods. She is the Goddess of rivers, giving her name to dozens of rivers such as the Danube and the Don.
In Irish, the name means “swift flowing.” The root “dan” means “knowledge” in Gaelic. In Welsh “dan-“ means “low ground” or “moist earth.” The name Danu seems cognate with the Sanskrit, “Dana” which means “waters of heaven.” In Hindu, Danu means “unknown.”
In Celtic Mythology, the Goddess Danu was the mother Goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann (The Tribes of Danu). The Hindu Goddess Danu appears in the Vedic story "The Churning of the Oceans," as the goddess of the primordial waters of creation.
In each culture, Danu is the principle of birth and beginnings, of generation and fertility. Danu is the prime mover, she who came before everything else. As an aspect of the Great-Mother, she encompasses both light and dark, both giving and receiving back.
Correspondences: know for bestowing luck and good wishes and finding treasure; often the patron or pirates or treasure hunters; color: green, blue, silver, and black;
stones: any river stone;
Chakra: 2nd—womb chakra; ritual energies: matriarchal strength, transformation, manifestation, compassion, spiritual guidance; symbol: black cauldron filled with water; animals: snake, fish