To note: little infomation has survived about her, so this will be sparse.
Family: Abnoba has no record of familial ties. However, two early surviving altars place her along Diana(2), the Roman Goddess of the hunt.
Domains: We can glean she is both a forest and river goddess, with her domain both tying into the act of hunting, and the protection of her lands and animals. Many towns all over Europe echo her name, furthering her domain past being forgotten.
Associations: Rivers, Lakes, Flowing things, Waterways, The Abnoba Mountain.
Offerings:
seriously why does this man have so many spellings, I will be using Aengus
(I will mostly be focusing on Irish and Scottish lore)
Family: Aengus is the son of The Dagda (the father of all gods) in both Scottish and Irish lore, however his mother differs. In Irish lore his mother is Boann (a river goddess) and in Scottish lore his mother is Beira (The Queen of Winter). In both mythologies he is raised separate from the rest of his father’s children. In Scottish lore his wife is Bride/Brigid (goddess of fire, metalwork, healing, poetry, livestock, summer, and more) and together they rule over the summer. Aengus is also the foster-parent and protector of Dairmund in Irish mythology.Pronounced Bree-j or Bree-ds, I will be using the Bride spelling
(I will be focusing on Irish and Scottish lore)
Mythology: In Scottish mythology (my main focus) Bride is one of the three more important deities along with her husband Angus (who I have a separate post on) and Beira (also called the Cailleach). Her most notable story is her escape from Beira, her subsequent marriage to Angus, and her and Angus’s battle against Beira resulting in the first spring and summer. Bride and Angus rule over spring/summer, while Beira rules over autumn/winter. It is believed that all of the daione sith (similar creatures to fairies) are descended from these three gods.
Domains: As noted above Bride rules over summer and spring with Angus. She also has healing powers, particularly in relation to her sacred wells. She is a guardian of domestic animals and livestock, having many magical animals of her own. She is closely related to fire, including her fiery red hair, and represents the different types of fire—physical fire such as bonfires/candles and metalworking, spiritual fire such as poetry, crafts, wisdom, and passions, and personal fire such as healing. Bride is also attributed with inventing keening (an act of intense sobbing and screaming after a death). These attributes are present in both Irish and Scottish lore.
Associations: Wells, Bride’s cross, healing, snowdrops (the flower), violets, poetry, wisdom, summer, spring, livestock, fire, metalwork, flames, and Imbolc.
Offerings: Traditional celtic offerings include: milk, honey, breads/cakes, and mead. Some potential ideas include: crafts/art, snowdrops, violets, plants/flowers associated with spring/summer, representations of livestock, poetry (written by you or someone else), music, and anything that reminds you of her!
Devotional Acts: Some potential ideas for devotional acts include: reading and writing poetry, going on walks and enjoying her nature/domain, looking for signs of spring returning, learning new crafts/arts, creating crafts/art, learning about and maybe even doing metalwork, help out your community and support those around, learn first aid, proudly engaging in your own personal passions and joys, anything that helps fuel your own inner fire, and reading and learning about her domains and stories.