Demystifying the Tuatha de Danann
Some of you may have heard of the Tuatha de Danann and Fomorians, the ancient heroes and villains of Irish myth. Well, I’m going to share another perspective with you that will take you on a quick trip to discover the Tuatha De Danann and Famorians from around the entire world! So come along with me to learn what the Tuatha De Dannan are and where they and their legends originate.
Tuatha de Danann: Traditional Classification vs. Sept Dubh Solas Classification
While traditionally the Tuatha De Dannan are used to discuss the Gods and Titans of Ireland, the Celts, Gaels, and Manx people, the Draigga (The Sept Dubh Solas) use these classifications to cover the supernatural and mythological tales from all over the world. This subject gets pretty complicated pretty fast, so I’m going to do my best to simplify it.
Origins
Before we focus on the Tuatha de Danann, let’s start with the basics AND at the beginning, the very best place to start a story. Before there was anything, there was the Null, known in Norse myth as Guningagap, the space in-between spaces. Drifting through it were two massive figures of pure energy that we refer to as Dani and Danu, the light and the dark light. It’s important to note that this does not represent “good and evil.” These two figures collided in the nothingness, sending a flurry of primordial energy flying off into the endless expanse, creating 13 elements.
| Stone | Representative of stones and solid minerals, anything that grows or forms as a solid mineral in the earth. |
| Sand | The soft and sediment minerals that, that which shifts and flows and also make up the very foundation of the continents we build our civilizations on. |
| Fire | The heat that gives birth to many aspects of life and warms the surface of the earth from beyond the sky. |
| Sky | Referring to space more than the sky as we might perceive it. These are the strings from which the celestial bodies hang. |
| Wind | The wind and air currents of the earth. |
| Earth | The gravitational and magnetic fields/flows of the planet that allow for life and the turning of the body of the earth. |
| River | Pure water lacking salt which cleanses and filters as well as nurtures plant life on land. |
| Wood | Dead carbon or living material that is in a state of decay. |
| Forest | Living carbon, representing material still in its growth state. |
| Metal | Natural minerals that do not renew through growth or break easily through cleavage. |
| Sea | Salted water, the cool lifeblood of the planet that filters the falling rain and cleanses the shores. |
| Moinear | (Veggitation/Plantlife) – Consumable life in between growth and decay. |
| Draigsil | The balance energy. “Dragon” energy. |
That last one is the most important. That element is the balance point and also what separates immortals from mortals. Its presence determines the flow of “magic” and all other energies in existence. This energy breaks up into a hierarchy that for simplicity’s sake we will just call “The Pantheon”, and you’ll see below that the Tuatha de Dannan fall into the “spirit” category.
Primordial Energies
At the top (or roots rather), we have the primordial energies, Dani and Damu. All power in our existence comes from these two beings.
Source Energies
These are, in myth, as grand monsters, terrifying titans, or even curses. There is one source energy (sort of) for each of the 13 elements. These 13 sources are contained by Trees, real trees that can be found all over the world ,and the type of elements attached to each Tree is dictated the types of creatures that would form there. Those trees are the Ogham.
Source Beasts
There are 13 source beasts. These are the physical embodiments of the energies attached to the trees. From each of these beasts, there are 13 Black Beasts and 13 Black Guardians, all of which are embodied in animal types.
Titans
The mightiest of the firstborn creatures of existence and time. These are usually where most mythologies BEGIN, their number varying based on the amount of Draigsil in any given area. These creatures are architects of physicality, with the raw power of creation still rich in their blood and the only groups of pure immortals under the beasts and guardians.
Gods
Creatures made usually in a magical or asexual way. Gods have power over elemental manipulation and small amounts of Draigsil. Their number range per titan and per area from 1 to 12. Many of the gods have existed nearly as long as the titans and they migrate. This is true of a few of the titans as well, however, this is far more common amongst the god groups as they tend to migrate en masse, and thus, we see many god types appear redundantly in world myths by being duplicated, albeit only by ability with the names varying by language and culture.
Spirits
These are what you would normally refer to as the Tuatha de Danann. Not necessarily gods but the less sentient portions of the natural process, typically what would be considered as spirits, Ghosts, Demons, Fairies, Fae, Oni, Yokai, or any of the multitude of other creatures from the great myths of the world. Many of these are also variants of the 327 tribes of the Tuatha De Solas (Descendants of the gods and titans). Pure parts of the natural process rarely, if ever, act outside of their purpose within the flow of nature. While some are more powerful than some lesser gods and Demigods, they rarely work out of their purpose inside of that natural flow.
Demigods
More aptly called demihumans. These are creatures made as a result of a creature with Draigsil mating with a creature without Draigsil. They’re still mortal but with enhanced abilities over what we would consider as magic. Though it manifests differently in different cultures and tellings of the stories, it is relatively consistent based on the Sources from which they come.
Humans
I think we all know one of those. Humans are either the result of two canceling energies mating and having a mortal child or as a result of a higher being creating a creature with little to no Draigsil. Humans contain a base form of 10 elements of the base 12 but are almost always lacking in Draigsil. However, depending on their descendence, humans can channel energy from the area where they are if the elemental Tree of their area still lives. Otherwise, humans are the beginning of the mortal branch. (Demi-humans are accidental and don’t represent a full branch).
Wardens
These guys are nasty. We don’t need to talk about them. Just know they are a mishmash of everything in existence minus existing within the natural process.
Fuil
These are vacant spaces in existence. Sometimes referred to as “Black Serpents”, they are voids that attempt to absorb energy and elements, and they imitate any and all of the creatures above.
Echoes
Energy left behind by any events that expend energy. These are often what we will perceive as gods, ghosts, or visions of loved ones.
We’ll be visiting these entities and of course, those that are in the category of Tuatha de Danann in future videos and blog posts, but please feel free to ask questions. Please don’t forget to follow the YouTube channel if you like the video format and drop a like and subscribe so that I know you guys want more of this kind of content. Stay bloodthirsty my friends, and all hail the Black Dragons.
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