Rhiannon “The Great Queen” “The Night Queen” “The Divine Queen” “The Otherworld Maiden” is a Welsh goddess who features in the epic the Mabinogion. Rhiannon showed herself to be a regal, cunning, and powerful figure, as well as a goddess of the Otherworld and death. She possesses birds that can wake the dead or put the living to sleep. As well as a horse that can travel between realms. In the Welsh epic she appears to Pwyll, a King, in a dream as a golden goddess with intentions to marry him, though this is partly to avoid her marriage to Gwawl who had tricked her into engagement. Rhiannon appears in the physical realm upon a white horse and surrounded by birds. Pwyll tries to chase her down but she is consistently ahead of him despite never seeming to increase her gait. It is only when he calls out for her that she stops and allows him to catch up. She introduces herself and explains he had been unable to catch her until that point as he hadn't asked. The two were married and Rhiannon bestowed many splendid gifts to Pwyll's court. Their marriage also cemented Pwyll's at the time shaky kingship. In marrying Pwyll Rhiannon had legitimized his sovereignty over the land and it's people. However, her marriage to Pwyll was not to be an easy one. She did not bear children for three years and as a result rumors of her being a wicked sorceress began to spread in the interim.
When Rhiannon finally bore a son the child disappeared and Rhiannon was framed and accused of having eaten her child by the child's maidservants. She was then sentenced by Pwyll to act as the gatekeeper of his castle and to sit beside the stables with a collar and offer to give people rides to wherever they wanted like a horse. Though her punishment was unjust she bore it with dignity and due to her beauty and grace no one would take her up on her offer to carry them where they wished to go. Meanwhile, the creature who had kidnapped Rhiannon's child had been stealing foals every May Eve from the house of Teyrnon. Teyrnon's beautiful mare had been having her foals stolen by a clawed hand and it was only when Teyrnon saw the hand and cut if off that it was stopped, after attacking the creature Teyrnon discovered Rhiannon's child and adopted it. The boy had a natural affinity for horses and looked remarkably like Pwyll. Teyrnon eventually brought the boy to court and told his story, Rhiannon was exonerated and named her son Pryderi (Worry). Pwyll died sometime after these events and Rhiannon married Manawydan, this marriage was a much happier one for her.
Rhiannon's legend has become increasingly popular over the years even becoming the influence for popular musicians into the modern day. While she is made into a faerie or a magical queen in the Mabinogion her status as a goddess is clear. She is of the Otherworld, the realms of spirits, the dead, and the gods. Her affinity for horses especially white ones has become her defining characteristic and echoes of her worship have been noted by many in Great Britain. From the haunting mumming tradition of the Mari Lwyd to the Uffington White Horse a massive chalk horse in Oxfordshire have been tied to Rhiannon. While the legend of Lady Godiva's ride has been said to find it's true origins in the myth of The Great Queen Rhiannon. This Otherworld Maiden holds dominion over sovereignty and kingship, she honors and respects nobility and demands it of those who wish to associate with her. In this way she is found in our women's demand for nobility and strength in our men and people at large. She is present in the strength of the wise woman, the regal demeanor of kings, she connects the people to the land and in the hands of a poor ruler the land may go to waste before the great horse goddess. For the land and the people are one, and the king is meant to be the best of their people, what does Rhiannon see in the hands of a king? A great ruler or a pompous fool? The land tells whether she rejoices or weeps.
When Rhiannon finally bore a son the child disappeared and Rhiannon was framed and accused of having eaten her child by the child's maidservants. She was then sentenced by Pwyll to act as the gatekeeper of his castle and to sit beside the stables with a collar and offer to give people rides to wherever they wanted like a horse. Though her punishment was unjust she bore it with dignity and due to her beauty and grace no one would take her up on her offer to carry them where they wished to go. Meanwhile, the creature who had kidnapped Rhiannon's child had been stealing foals every May Eve from the house of Teyrnon. Teyrnon's beautiful mare had been having her foals stolen by a clawed hand and it was only when Teyrnon saw the hand and cut if off that it was stopped, after attacking the creature Teyrnon discovered Rhiannon's child and adopted it. The boy had a natural affinity for horses and looked remarkably like Pwyll. Teyrnon eventually brought the boy to court and told his story, Rhiannon was exonerated and named her son Pryderi (Worry). Pwyll died sometime after these events and Rhiannon married Manawydan, this marriage was a much happier one for her.
Rhiannon's legend has become increasingly popular over the years even becoming the influence for popular musicians into the modern day. While she is made into a faerie or a magical queen in the Mabinogion her status as a goddess is clear. She is of the Otherworld, the realms of spirits, the dead, and the gods. Her affinity for horses especially white ones has become her defining characteristic and echoes of her worship have been noted by many in Great Britain. From the haunting mumming tradition of the Mari Lwyd to the Uffington White Horse a massive chalk horse in Oxfordshire have been tied to Rhiannon. While the legend of Lady Godiva's ride has been said to find it's true origins in the myth of The Great Queen Rhiannon. This Otherworld Maiden holds dominion over sovereignty and kingship, she honors and respects nobility and demands it of those who wish to associate with her. In this way she is found in our women's demand for nobility and strength in our men and people at large. She is present in the strength of the wise woman, the regal demeanor of kings, she connects the people to the land and in the hands of a poor ruler the land may go to waste before the great horse goddess. For the land and the people are one, and the king is meant to be the best of their people, what does Rhiannon see in the hands of a king? A great ruler or a pompous fool? The land tells whether she rejoices or weeps.
As promised the 3rd and final Celtic god for March. Three goddesses won the polls fitting for the Mythological group with the most focus on Triple goddesses of Europe, and honestly that's a high bar with the amount of Trio's we have. I'll be posting a few more deities between now and Easter from other pantheons and groups we have Easter, Witches Night, and May Day all coming up so I'm looking forward to posting a bit about that over the coming month.-TAO
Forwarded from BC Neanderthal Mindset
The Stirling Wolf legend, Scotland. Legend is told that in the 9th century, the town of Stirling was about to be raided by the invading Danes (vikings) under the cover of darkness. They stumbled upon a pack of wolves who began howling, alerting the town guard and saving the town.
Forwarded from Old and New European Art and Aesthetics
Alpine Scene (1865). Gustave Doré (French, 1832-1883).
Spring Celebrations: Once there were many celebrations of Spring, now few remain. What were once moments of community have been rendered to days of candy and drunkenness. The Easter Hare a mere marketing symbol instead of the assistant of a beloved goddess, the Groundhog Prophet stares out alone at cardboard faces. After long last their effort has paid off, the holidays have been stripped of their magic. I see it in the people around me. Easter is no longer a time for joy, Spring has come, babes are born, new life springs. But an obligation, a chocolate rabbit and a new toy. Gone are the fertile what-could-be's of the Egg or the hare. Rendered to nothing more than a marketing gimmick. Why? Why did this happen? Bit by bit the meaning was stripped away. What was once a community event became a job, a thing to do and be over with it. Exhausted people and a racing world only leaves things behind it in the dust. We call this Progress? Why do we do that? The ignorance of times of new life begets only death. Instead of celebrating new beginnings we celebrate only an end, and then the new beginnings, never happen. Why should we allow such things to die. Weary faces, weary families, and there is no interaction. Only commercialization. I look around at the people around me, and what should be a time of joy in the possibilities of life, has become merely another day to trudge with the weight of the world on our backs. We need not do this. We need not abandon our future, because the present weighs us down. When ordered forward or back, there are always many options to the side. We at Wylder Homes Project are working towards such things. Community, celebrations, and meaning, step by step we seek to build Goodhome, a pagan town. Where these celebrations are no longer made of plastic but of the joys of all involved. Instead of dreams of a cold world, it is time to celebrate the hope in new life.
-Wylder Homes Project
-Wylder Homes Project
Mars, The Roman god equated to Ares. The premier war god of the Romans and sometimes considered mythic father of Romulus and Remus the founders of Rome. He was most at peace when he was in his affair with Venus, and the twos symbols went on to become the symbols for Male and Female as well as the two closest planets to the Earth. March is named after him. He was also a major agricultural god and considered to be Virility personified. His animals were the Woodpecker, the bear, and the wolf.
The Traveler and The Doctor: A Study of the Psychological Echoes of an Archetype
By The Antlered One
What is it that exists deep within our souls that causes us to explore? To wish to cross the endless ocean or the imposing mountains? The Wanderer in us all seeks to find the new things. To find the great cave of the dragon, to stop the hordes and be the hero of a far off land. When told the world is known, though a new discovery and adventure waits around every corner we look to the stars and dream of wandering the cosmos skimming nebulas and jumping from planet to planet. Just as long ago through realms and the wide woods of the North. The Traveling gods of Europe walked amongst us and at times found us beside them as companions on their next grand adventure. These stories, these emotions, this Wanderlust does not fade in a mere moment in history, it continues and when we are denied our gods we still need to feel them, and we are...............
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https://www.subscribestar.com/posts/299545
By The Antlered One
What is it that exists deep within our souls that causes us to explore? To wish to cross the endless ocean or the imposing mountains? The Wanderer in us all seeks to find the new things. To find the great cave of the dragon, to stop the hordes and be the hero of a far off land. When told the world is known, though a new discovery and adventure waits around every corner we look to the stars and dream of wandering the cosmos skimming nebulas and jumping from planet to planet. Just as long ago through realms and the wide woods of the North. The Traveling gods of Europe walked amongst us and at times found us beside them as companions on their next grand adventure. These stories, these emotions, this Wanderlust does not fade in a mere moment in history, it continues and when we are denied our gods we still need to feel them, and we are...............
Check out on:
https://www.subscribestar.com/posts/299545