She Who Seeks

Monday, 13 January 2025

January Full Moon Altar: Danu

My January full moon altar honours the Celtic goddess Danu, who is known to us only because of a mythic phrase collectively describing the ancient deities and fairy folk of Ireland--Tuatha Dé Danann which means "tribe of the goddess Danu." In modern times, the mysterious Celtic Danu has been somewhat conflated with the Hindu goddess Danu, she of the sacred primordial waters, and has become characterized primarily by an ability to prophesy and foretell the future.

And what do we all want to know at the beginning of every January? "What does the upcoming year hold for us?"

Danu is one of my most recently acquired goddess statues. I only found her a couple of years ago in an Edmonton spirituality store. She is engaged in the act of "scrying," a clairvoyant divination technique using a reflective surface in which to see the future. Danu holds a large, flat, round basin of water for that purpose.

On the water's surface appears a Triskelion symbol, the Triple Spiral of the Goddess. Wearing her richly adorned robe and hooded cloak, Danu is also standing in water with lotuses and the Serpent of Knowledge at her feet.

From the side, we can see the scrying water flowing freely downwards, connecting to its sacred source. The Celtic Salmon of Wisdom leaps by Danu's side.

The back of Danu's cloak depicts the Tree of Life and the Triple Goddess Moon symbol.

In keeping with the theme, other divinatory items have been placed on the altar. Scrying is also commonly done with mirrors or crystal balls, for example. A hand-held glass mirror is present, but I don't have a crystal ball so I used a large faceted cut-glass gemstone instead. Three oracle cards are also featured. The altar cloth is my ceremonial tarot reading cloth, navy blue velvet with silver stars, crescent moons and borders.