Nantosuelta

      Nantosuelta is a Goddess who is associated with many cultures. She is claimed as a Celtic, Gaulish, Lusitanian, and Gallic Goddess. She is the goddess of hearth and home, well-being, prosperity, nourishment, fertility, fire, nature and protection. Her traits of fertility and fire are associated with Gaulish mythology and Her association with nature is related to Lusitanian mythology. She is often depicted with Her husband, Sucellos. She holds in Her right hand a scepter like staff with a house or dovecote on the top. In Her left hand She holds a ritual dish called a patera which She holds over a large vase. At Her feet is an image of a raven, giving Her associations as a death Goddess.

      Perhaps the most interesting detail about Nantosuelta is Her name. For hundreds of years, Her name has been thought to mean “Winding River�? so She was deemed a water Goddess, even though the rest of her depiction had nothing to do with water. In fact there are very few attributes of Hers that include water. Recent scholars have explained this error as a misunderstanding of the language. Words in the Proto-Celtic and Gaulish tongue have multiple meanings and can be translated incorrectly. These scholars say that nanto- means valley, and swell with -ta means sun-warmed. They now say that Nantosuelta actually means “Sun-Warmed Valley�?or “She of the Sun Warmed Valley�? This seems to fit her other attributes more correctly. 

      Nantosuelta also has a few Goddesses She is sometimes compared to: The Morrigan and Persephone/Proserpi<WBR>na. Her association with The Morrigan seems to simply come from Her relationship with the raven, as Raven is often a form of The Morrigan. Her association with Persephone is in part because Nantosuelta is associated with a sacred site in Lourdes, France that was once a part of Roman Gaul (ideally the Romans replaced the Gaulish Goddess with their own Persephone). This location is also famous in the Catholic tradition as the place where St. Bernadette saw The White Lady (an incarnation of Mother Mary). This seems to be the only place where Nantosuelta gains Her water attributes. There is a spring in the grotto near where The White Lady was seen that is said to have restorative and other miraculous properties. Because of this spring, Nantosuelta may in fact, have very powerful water associations.

      Ritual to Nantosuellta (adapted by the author from Judi Singleton’s “To Honor the Goddess�?

1. Pour yourself a tall glass of spring (or purified) water, and then run a bath with your favorite scent.
2. As you bathe, imagine all of the negativity you’ve been holding in your body being “washed away�?by the water in your bath.
3. As you drink the spring water, imagine the water is purifying you with Nantosuelta’s great attributes, and restoring you to a state of positive energy.
4. As you drain the bathtub, imagine your negativity is disappearing down the drain.

Sacred Objects of Nantosuelta

Birds (specifically ravens)

Bee-hive

Honeycombs

Cornocopia

Apples

Houses

Sceptre

Water

By Susan Allen

Susan Allen is a student of Daughters of the Greening. She lives in Missouri with her husband, two children, and several fur babies (including dogs, cats and horses). She is a high school science teacher in the “muggle�?world.