MANANNAN MAC LIR

He is a sea deity in Irish Mythology. His father is the sea-god Lir.

Manannan is often seen as a psychopomp, (these are creatures in many religions whose responsibility is to escort deceased souls to the afterlife), and has strong affiliations with the Otherworld, the weather and the mists between the worlds.

He has strong ties with the Isle of Man, where he is referenced in a traditional ballad as having been the nation’s first ruler. He is also believed to have been the magician who could make an illusory fleet from sedge or pea shells in order to discourage would-be invaders.

Despite of not being the biological father of that many, Manannan took it upon himself to raise a number of foster children, among them Lugh of the great hand and the children of Deirdre. He is a father-figure and a patron as much as he is a joker.

As the archetype of the father, he stands for rigid rules and consistency, but as a joker he is the lord of temporary chaos in the mildest temper.

Manannan owned many magical items:

·        -A magic goblet of truth.

·        -A self-propelled ship named “Wave Sweeper”.

·        -A cloak of mists which made any who wore it invisible at will.

·        -A flaming helmet with two precious stones, which flashed as he moved.

·        -A sword named Fragarach.(The Answerer), from the wound of which no man –ever recovered.

·        -A horse called “Enbarr of the Flowing Mane” which could travel over water as easily as land.

·        -A breastplate which no weapon could pierce.

Manannan’s powerful role in the cycle of life and death is also expressed in his possession of the magic swine, whose flesh provides food for feasting by the gods, and the regenerates each day.

He appears in many Celtic myths and tales, but only plays a prominent role in some of them.

-In the tale “his Three Calls to Cormac”, Manannan tempts the Irish King Cormac mac Airt with treasure in exchange for his family.

-The tale “Manannan at Play” features the god as a clown and beggar, who plays a number of pranks, some of which result in serious trouble.

-In the tale, “The Sickbed of Cuchulain”, Manannan’s wife, Fand, has an ill-fated affair with the Irish warrior. It was then that Manannan decreed that the world of faeries and the world of humans should forever remain separated.

http://bit.ly/11OM3Ez