Thanks, meself for your links to Black Madonnas and your other post to this thread!

**

dianavan, that's an interesting point that you've made about the reason why that visualization of the Madonna [whose link meself provided] had black skin, blond hair, blue eyes and white hands. I also was intrigued by your point that "In Celtic myth, the Gods had red hair with black roots and blond tips."

In the public schools I attended, students learned about Greek & Roman Gods and Goddesses. To a much lesser degree, I recall reading in school about Scandinavian Gods and Goddesses. I can't recall there being any mention of Celtic Gods, but somehow-probably through television, movies, commercials, and other indices of mass media, I did know about leprachauns. Needless to say, there also was no mention in the public schools I attended about African Gods and Goddesses, except for the fact that pre-Christian Africans {like other pre-Christian people} people were heathens. In my adult years, I have taken it upon myself to learn something about African Gods and Goddesses, particularly-for some reasons-the traditional religions of the Yoruba {Nigeria}, Akan {Ghana} and Zulu {South Africa} peoples. In any event, dianavan, your last post motivated me to begin to rectify my ignorance about the subject of Celtic Gods by checking out the subject via the Internet.

Here's one website that I found:
http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/celtic-mythology.php Celtic Mythology The Gods of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Gaul

Given your comment, dianavan, about red haired Celtic gods, it may be significant to note that the graphic on that website's home page shows a green faced man with long wavy red hair, red mustache, and red beard.

That website provides this list of "Celtic Gods; The current Top Ten":

1st : MORRIGAN
2nd : AONGHUS
3rd : DANU
4th : DAGDA
5th : CUCHULAINN
6th : BRIGIT
7th : CERNUNNUS
8th : TUATHA-DE-DANANN
9th : ARAWN
10th: ABANDINUS

-snip-

I decided to click on this page for Morrigan and http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/celtic-mythology.php?deity=MORRIGAN&ds=N

On that page Morrigan is described as the "The Megalithic Mother Goddess and 'The Phantom Queen'. That page also indicates that "As a shape-changer she can turn from ravishing beauty to hag, from battle crow to BEAN-NIGHE, all in triple time". That page ends with this description of Morrigan: "A Dark Green Goddess from the Emerald Isle".

I also visited this page about Celtic Goddesses:
http://www.paralumun.com/celticgoddess.htm

That website gives this description of Morrigan:

"MORRIGAN : Pan-Celtic. Also the Morrigu; "Great Queen"; "Supreme War Goddess"; "Queen of Phantoms or Demons"; "Specter Queen"; shape-shifter. Reigned over the battlefield, helping with her magic, but did not join the battles. Associated with crows and ravens. The Crone aspect of the Goddess; Great Mother; Moon Goddess; Great White Goddess; Queen of the Fairies. In her Dark Aspect (the symbol is then the raven or crow) she is the goddess of war, fate and death; she went fully armed and carried two spears. Goddess of rivers, lakes, and fresh water. Patroness of priestesses and witches."

-snip-

I'm not sure if this information is entirely relevant to this discussion. But I wonder what significance it is that Morrigan {and other Gods and Goddesses ?} have a dark and {I suppose the opposite would be} a light aspect. I suppose that "dark" and "light" aspect carried no negative or positive cultural connotations as perhaps they were seen as part of the wholeness of life.

Given the conclusions of the Frank Snowden, Jr "Before Color Prejudice" book whose link I had provided earlier in this discussion that the Black people in the ancient world were not viewed as negative or evil, it would be wrong to say that once light skinned people met up with dark skinned people, they described themselves as light=good and dark=evil/bad. However, at some point that's what happened.

It seems to me that in order for modern day peoples to really embrace racial and ethnic diversity, we may have to come to grips with the root causes of how and why these light=good and dark=bad descriptors {from religious concepts?} were foisted on groups of people.