Some people write to me or make comments and refer to me as Danu. An easy mistake to make as the channel is called Danu’s Irish Herb Garden. I am not Danu - I am Terri. Danu is an Irish Mother Goddess and I tell you a little about her in this video.
Goddesses such as Danu inform my course, Wise Woman Way training. Apart from playing key roles in mythology and legend, the Goddesses act as archetypes such as Maiden, Mother or Crone; Warrior; Queen; Wise Woman or Witch - which is actually the same thing. We can learn from them, from their stories; and can aspire to be as clever, as brave, as loving, as strong, as fearless…as they are.
We do not know a lot about Danu other than she was the Mother of the Tribe or Clan. Her husband was Bilé, the spirit of an Oak tree and this tree represented the spirit of the Clan. Other clans had trees regarded as Bilé trees and they began to spread across Ireland. All clans had their own Bilé under whose canopy of branches judgements and celebrations were held. This tells us that trees were regarded as sentient beings who could hold the space for these judgements and celebrations and were indeed a part of such events as much as any human within the clan. The number of towns and villages in Ireland today prefixed with Bally… is testament to the importance of trees to our ancestors.
Since those ancient times, (quite recently) in fact, the notion of extended family and clan has been put aside in favour of the nuclear family. That hasn’t really worked out very well and many people may feel alone and adrift especially if parents divorced or if there were few siblings in this family. Many people are searching for their “Tribe” and we belong to these new tribes for purposes other than to be with blood kin. We find our tribe of like-minded people who have similar views of the world and feel relief and a sense of being at “home”.
Danu was a creatrix. She had her tribe or family and she also created the earth, the trees, the animals and the plants, the mountains and forests, rivers and streams. We can apply her archetype of creatrix and create our own lives and manifest what we want to see in the world as she did. Our garden is named for her as we work to co-create something beautiful and natural, giving back to the Earth for all she shares with us.
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