Cian
Cian is a Tuatha Dé Danann warrior, the son of the physician Dian Cécht and the father of Lugh by Ethniu, Balor's daughter (Lebor Gabála Érenn). He is killed by the three sons of Tuireann, Brian, Iuchar and Iucharba, who come upon him alone and strike him down.
Cian is a figure of the mythological cycle and of the Tuireann tale, not a deity with a cult; his 'shapeshifting' belongs to the story's machinery rather than to any attested rite. He should not be confused with the genealogical Cian son of Ollom, an ancestor-figure of a different tradition. The planetary, zodiac, tarot and sabbat correspondences here are a modern Western overlay: the Irish tradition has no native planetary rulership and no zodiac, and works instead with the festival year, the dindshenchas and the local cult — that tradition's own account is primary.
Correspondences
- Planetary Correspondence
- Mercury
Offerings
- Offerings
- AleBreadMilkA skill passed onA debt acknowledged and paid
Sacred timing
- Sacred Timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- CíanCian son of Dian CéchtThe Distant One
- Gender Expression
- Masculine
- Titles
- Son of Dian CéchtFather of LughThe ShapeshifterOf the Tuatha Dé Danann
- Symbols
- The shape changeThe blood debtThe spearThe herb
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneEven and watchfulAddressCianSon of Dian CéchtFather of LughRelationshipThe father who was killed for an old scoreWarningHis death is the engine of the tale of the sons of Tuireann it is not a gentle storyResonanceFathers those carrying a family debt those who must avenge
- Modern Practice
Cian is called by fathers and by those carrying a family debt: the practice is to acknowledge the debt and to pay it, and to pass on the skill rather than the grievance.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- LineageFatherhoodShapeshiftingThe blood debtVengeanceThe healing line
- Mythology Summary
Cian is a Tuatha Dé Danann warrior, the son of the physician Dian Cécht and the father of Lugh by Ethniu, Balor's daughter (Lebor Gabála Érenn). He is killed by the three sons of Tuireann, Brian, Iuchar and Iucharba, who come upon him alone and strike him down — the tale has him take another shape to hide and be killed anyway. His death is discovered, and Lugh then exacts the éric, the blood-fine, in the tale Oidheadh Chlainne Tuireann, 'The Death of the Children of Tuireann'.
- Related Deities
- LughDian CéchtBalorDanu
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsGreenSilverRedScentsAppleJuniperMyrrhMetalsIronSilverAnimalsBoarPig
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