Regarding the Armoured Bears

I asked a Druid about Bears and he told me this:

Two goddesses that take the form of the Bear: Andarta ("powerful bear") and Artio.

In other lands there are the bear god Artaois, Ardeche, or Arthe. Their names are both from "Art" which means "Bear, stone, or God." There are also many place names called Artos or Arth.

Images of the god Artio have been found in Berne (Bear City), in the high mountains called Alps, it has a "den of bears" used by the Bear cultists.

Some call him King Arthur but his name is a form of Artios or Artiaus, a great god of antiquity and is associated with Bear in that his name comes from the constellation of the Great Bear, which was also known as "Arthur's Wain/Arthur's Plow."

Midwinter is the time of Alban Arthuan/The Light of Arthur and the Winter's Soltice. The Winter's Soltice is the longest night of the year, and people call upon the constellation of the Great Bear to light their way in the darkness.

The Bear is also thought to be ruled by the star Ares.

The legend of Arthur sleeping in an underground cave, waiting for his day of awakening, is like the life of a Bear that hibernates in the winter in a sort of suspended animation, as its bodily temperature falls to conserve energy..

Arthur and Queen Geunevere are also associated with the Alder Tree in Celtic Tree astrology. Arthur, as Artios, was consort to Cerridwen, the Welsh triple goddess who possessed a magic cauldron. In the medieval Welsh romance of Culhwch and Olwen, Arthur is also said to have gone to Ireland to recover this cauldron and in the process laid waster to one of the five Provinces.

The Norse god, Thor, is associated with male Bears.

Moon-goddesses often have association with Bears. Bear is like the Primal Mother, and will defend her cubs against all forces to the death.

Our Celtic god, Cernunnos is often depicted as being accompanied by a bear and other animals. Bear allows men to become Spirtual Warriors. Bear tells us not to allow the berserk (men that became bears) warrior to rule us by anger and primal ferocity which can damage lives, but to try to fight against what you can do and what you SHOULD do.

The greatest men are said to be Art an neart - "a bear in vigor." The Druids called upon the blessings of the Great Bear, which is associated with the North.