Airmid: Irish Goddess Of Healing And Herbs And One Of The Tuatha Dé Danann

A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - Today's article is about Airmid (Airmedh), an Irish goddess, skilled herbalist, and gifted healer, the daughter of the divine physician Dian Cecht and the sister of Miach.

Airmid was one of the members of Tuatha Dé Danann, the tribe of the goddess of Danu, the most ancient of all Celtic deities. The Tuatha de Dannan were a people who inhabited Ireland in times long past.

According to the Irish myths, Airmid was one of the enchanters whose incantation was heard over the well of Sláine and had enough power to resurrect the dead.

Airmid healed injured soldiers in the famous Second Battle of Moytura (Magh Tuiredh), the site is closely associated with two saga texts of the Mythological Cycle of Irish mythology, and two crucial battles fought by Tuatha Dé Danann.

The first battle took place in Connacht: the first in the territory of Conmhaícne Cúile Tuireadh near Cong, County Mayo, and the second near Lough Arrow in County Sligo. The Tuatha Dé Danann fought the first battle with the Fir Bolg and the second against the Fomorians, mythological enemies of the people of Ireland, often equated with the Greek Titans. They were an "opposing force" to the Olympians.

In the first battle, the first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Nuadha (known as Airgetlám ("silver hand/arm"), lost his arm. He was no longer eligible for kingship due to the Tuatha Dé tradition that their king must be physically perfect. Nuada was replaced as king by a half-Fomorian prince known for his beauty and great intellect.

In the meantime, Nuada's lost arm was replaced by a fully functioning silver arm by the physician Dian Cecht, father of goddess Airmid.

Later, Nuada's arm was again replaced, but this time with a new one of flesh and blood. It was a masterwork of Airmid's healing treatment and the skills of her brother Miach.

Their father, Dian, was not proud of their children's medical achievements. He was so envious of Miach's success that he killed him. When the grieving Airmid visited her brother's grave, she suddenly saw hundreds of growing plants. These plants had healing properties.

One myth says that the goddess' tears watered all the healing herbs of the earth (365 in number, according to the number of her brother's veins and joints). These plants sprung from the soil over Miach's body.

The goddess decided to gather the herbs and sort them according to their healing properties.

Once again, her father, the divine physician Diach, could not control his envy. Standing silently behind Airmid, he suddenly scattered all of the herbs she gathered into the winds, so Airmid could never recover the herbs and could never complete her work.

Today, we have some vital knowledge about plants and herbs that have healing properties, but to this day, the proper uses for the hundreds of healing herbs are still unknown.

Written by – A. Sutherland AncientPages.com Staff Writer

Updated on January 6, 2024

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