Mairwen
May 24th, 2001, 10:58 AM
(taken from Welsh-Gwyddonic Bardic Lore)
On Arianrhod
The mythos of this very “Welsh” Goddess has many internal paradoxes. Her title was the Star and Moon Goddess and was viewed as both a virginal maid (virgin as in “unattached woman”) and the Mother Goddess. Very often treated mythically as though she were both D’Anu and Sirona simultaneously. She is the lunar mother – called the Goddess of Wisdom and Higher Love, and with a staff as a cult object (very D’Anu-ish) you have the mother/grandmother of all. Unlike Bridget/D’Anu, she is rather cold and distant – a little wintry as one of her aspects, Brie (the “Snow Queen”), demonstrates. Another way to view this is her starry aspect – distant cold suns like distant, cold little wintry Bridgets.
Her appearance is like Sirona the Star Goddess. Fair skin, black hair, and taking on Kerridwen’s translucency, like starlight, dark and glittery. Interestingly, both Sirona and Arianrhod are very close in description to Yemanja of Africa.
Although she is called a Goddess of “Higher Love”, with her star being Venus, the morning star, she has strong sexual overtones. What this translates to is a strong sexual goddess who is discreet and a little mysterious as can be seen in her myths. Where the staff and the star-and-crescent are her strongest associations, she is associated also with a necklace of “stars” (likely, crystals); a sacred well known as the “Eye of the Waters”, which combined with the chest of magic from the “Sinking Lands” (said to be the previous home of her family of Gods and now the Sea God Llyr’s domain) which she retained as guardian, created the tremendous amount of magical power with which she was endowed; the Aurora Borealis (called “Arianrhod’s Court” by the Ancients); a silver orb or wheel; and on the lighter side, she is associated with shoes and feet.
Being a self-professed virgin in her myths, Arianrhod nevertheless had two children birthed through “magical” means, and both sons. One was the son of the sea god Llyr – a boy-fish named Dylan. Llyr was said to be a favorite lover; he often came to her as a Sea Horse or Sea Serpent. The other was by her brother Gwydion – God of kindness, eloquence and the arts. The boy’s name was Llew la Gyffes (Llew of the Long Arm, an aspect of Lugh the Moon God) with whom she had continued trouble and heartache. Gwydion is also associated with Nwyvre – God of ether and space, and the god of astrology. They are said to be Arianrhod’s consort alternately in differing accounts.
On Arianrhod
The mythos of this very “Welsh” Goddess has many internal paradoxes. Her title was the Star and Moon Goddess and was viewed as both a virginal maid (virgin as in “unattached woman”) and the Mother Goddess. Very often treated mythically as though she were both D’Anu and Sirona simultaneously. She is the lunar mother – called the Goddess of Wisdom and Higher Love, and with a staff as a cult object (very D’Anu-ish) you have the mother/grandmother of all. Unlike Bridget/D’Anu, she is rather cold and distant – a little wintry as one of her aspects, Brie (the “Snow Queen”), demonstrates. Another way to view this is her starry aspect – distant cold suns like distant, cold little wintry Bridgets.
Her appearance is like Sirona the Star Goddess. Fair skin, black hair, and taking on Kerridwen’s translucency, like starlight, dark and glittery. Interestingly, both Sirona and Arianrhod are very close in description to Yemanja of Africa.
Although she is called a Goddess of “Higher Love”, with her star being Venus, the morning star, she has strong sexual overtones. What this translates to is a strong sexual goddess who is discreet and a little mysterious as can be seen in her myths. Where the staff and the star-and-crescent are her strongest associations, she is associated also with a necklace of “stars” (likely, crystals); a sacred well known as the “Eye of the Waters”, which combined with the chest of magic from the “Sinking Lands” (said to be the previous home of her family of Gods and now the Sea God Llyr’s domain) which she retained as guardian, created the tremendous amount of magical power with which she was endowed; the Aurora Borealis (called “Arianrhod’s Court” by the Ancients); a silver orb or wheel; and on the lighter side, she is associated with shoes and feet.
Being a self-professed virgin in her myths, Arianrhod nevertheless had two children birthed through “magical” means, and both sons. One was the son of the sea god Llyr – a boy-fish named Dylan. Llyr was said to be a favorite lover; he often came to her as a Sea Horse or Sea Serpent. The other was by her brother Gwydion – God of kindness, eloquence and the arts. The boy’s name was Llew la Gyffes (Llew of the Long Arm, an aspect of Lugh the Moon God) with whom she had continued trouble and heartache. Gwydion is also associated with Nwyvre – God of ether and space, and the god of astrology. They are said to be Arianrhod’s consort alternately in differing accounts.