~ Arianrhod ~
(Information provided by Janine)
(Information provided by Janine)
Goddess Arianrhod; Her name means "Silver Wheel" or "Silver Circle". She is known as a Goddess of the Moon, of Initiation and Justice and of the changing Seasons of the Earth. She is the Keeper of the Silver Wheel and Lady of the Tides and Time. Some believe Arianrhod to be the Goddess of the Wheel of the Year, the Moon and Stars and of Initiation and Reincarnation. She is the Celestial Weaver; controlling the destiny of the lives of men and women and She exemplifies feminine power and beauty. She is the triple Goddess, the Maiden being Blodeuwedd and the Crone , Cerridwen or the Morrigan.
You walk through the cool white mist feeling its energy protecting and caressing you as you move through it. Once the mist has cleared you find yourself on a cliff high above the Atlantic Ocean. The wind blows in all directions around you. You feel the gentle spray of water from the ocean as it crashes against the sides of the cliff. It is the time of twilight and the moon is new and it appears as a silver slither in the sky. The stars begin to glimmer in the purple haze. The sun has set but its rays of burnished pink are just beginning to fade. You stand staring out into the vast ocean its waters looks dark, deep and mysterious. The white foam stands out so clear upon the crest of the waves like a battalion of charging stallions. You breathe deeply taking in the variety of aromas. The saltiness of the ocean, the ozone, the smell of heath around you; you are totally absorbed by the senses of nature all around you. As you walk near the edge of the cliff you notice a large white owl circling above you. Its cries sound like music, sounds of a long lost lullaby that seems so familiar. You turn to watch as the bird circles around, you watch as it circles high up in the sky. You move to follow this magnificent bird only to see before you a grand house made of glass. You hadn't noticed this house before when you were standing on the edge of the cliff. It is as if it has just appeared. You follow the pathway towards the house. A subtle light appears from inside. A warm gentle beckoning light. As you move through this path you notice large elaborate spider webs neatly created on the small trees that line the pathway. The webs are like beautifully crafted sculptures glistening from water drops trapped within the tendrils of the web. Oh how they glow with the lights of the twilight. They are like beacons lighting the way.
You stand now at the doorway of this unusual house. Noticing the light coming from the centre you move to open the glass door, but it opens by itself in expectation of your visit. You feel a shift in the energy as you past the threshold. You hear soft music, like the sound of a thousand bees humming harmoniously. As you walk through this house you are completely captivated by its beauty. The furnishings are of purest crystal and opulent silks. Once again you see the owl perched on the top a crimson chair staring out to sea. As you approach this chair you find that owl is no longer there and then you notice a woman sitting quietly in the chair, waiting. The woman is striking, she has long dark hair, and is wearing the sheerest silver gown, a gown that has the luminance of star light.
She speaks to you with a gentle musical voice, not looking at you but staring straight ahead looking out into the landscape. I am the Goddess Arianrhod, the Goddess of the Silver Wheel, the Keeper of past, present and future. Arianrhod then stands and turns to face you directly. Her face is pale, translucent, her eyes are dark and mysterious. You look deeply into her eyes, eyes that seem to grow larger and larger until they look like large dark deep pools. She speaks, "Stand now in the flood tide of your power, now see where all paths lead. Where you have come from, where you stand now and where next you travel. You stand there looking deeply into her eyes. Now listen to the whispered breeze that carries you a song. Hark to the still, small voice that calls and tells you, where you belong."
It seems like you have been in this place now for a long time and suddenly you are aroused by the sound of the owl as flies out of the room. You turn to follow the owl and you find that a thin spiders web has been wound around you body. It feels soft and caressing. You hear some words softly spoken in the wind "Come, leave you now, My silver web the weaving of your fate. My strands no stronger than you can bear, spun to guide, not decimate."
You turn now and leave this beautiful house filled with crystal furniture and silk. The web encased around you fades into nothing. You move out past the threshold of this magnificent house, noticing the energy shift. You move down the path that is guided by the silvery web. You notice the stars now shining so brightly in the darkened sky and you turn once again to look at the glass house only to find it has disappeared. You walk down the track that leads you away from this magical place. Hearing the sound of the waves crashing against the cliff as you leave , and soon you see that white mists that leads you home and you move through it feeling its coolness on your face. You see yourself sitting on the chair in this hall. You sit back into your body feeling your chest rise and fall with each breath. Wiggle your fingers and toes and stretch your arms and legs.
(Information provided by Jenny)
Arianrhod (aree AN rod), whose name means "Silver Wheel", is a Goddess of fertility, the full moon, the stars, regeneration, and reincarnation, whose pathway is an eternal quest or thread that has no beginning or end. The spirit of Arianrhod is a symbol of prophecy and dreams. As a meditative glyph, She provides a glimpse of both the past and future, but the traveler must follow the Spirit of Arianrhod with an open heart and mind. She controls the time dimension that allows access to the whirlpool of Creation; an enigmatic vision of the universe as perceived by the Celts. She is the personification of the ever-turning Wheel of the Year. This wheel was also known as the Oar Wheel, a ship that carried dead warriors to the Moon-land (Emania). She is a primal figure of female power and authority and is considered an Ancestral Goddess of the Celts. The key to the nature of this Goddess is that She is a weaver, in control of the interactions of human lives and of the matter of creation itself. In Irish tradition we find that the Goddess of the Land of Erin may manifest as a weaver. She lives in a stellar realm, Caer Arianrhod - otherwise known as the Corona Borealis, with her female attendants and there she decides the fate of the dead. The Corona Borealis is the self-same constellation that is associated with Ariadne, a Greek resonance of Arianrhod. She is a very sexual Goddess and mates freely with any man she chooses, whenever she chooses, as her body is hers to do with, as she wants. For this reason she is often in open rebellion against patriarchal society. Many believe that her myths represent the shift from the time of Celtic women's full freedom to that of male centered clans and male domination of women.
Arianrhod is the daughter of the Welsh Goddess Don and the sister of Gwydion. Gwydion was counselor to King Math who could only remain alive if his feet lay in the lap of a virgin at all times except when he led his armies into battle. During one such battle the virgin who had held King Math's feet was raped, and so there was need for a replacement. Gwydion recommended his sister, Arianrhod. King Math put her virginity to the test by asking her to step over his magic wand. As she stepped over the wand she gave birth to a boy child with yellow hair. The child cried loudly, and Arianrhod, humiliated, ran for the door, dropping yet another small object on the ground in the process. Before anyone could catch a glance at the object, Gwydion wrapped it and hid it inside a chest. King Math then performed rites for the yellow haired boy child, naming him Dylan. Dylan immediately ran for the sea and received the sea's nature and was never seen again.
A time later Gwydion presented Arianrhod with the object that he had hidden in the chest - a second boy child. Arianrhod was outraged at the "evidence" of her humiliation at the hands of King Math and rejected the child.
She laid on him three curses:
Gwydion was outraged by these curses and worked to break them. He disguised himself and the boy child as shoemakers and traveled to Caer Arianrhod. When Arianrhod went to have shoes fitted, the boy child threw a stone at a bird and deftly hit it. Arianrhod commented on the child's skillful hand. At that Gwydion revealed himself and the child and stated that she had just named him - Llew Llaw Gyffes, the Shining Skillful Hand. This threw Arianrhod into a firey rage and she stormed back to Caer Arianrhod swearing that the boy would never bear arms or have a human wife.
Again Gwydion tricked Arianrhod into breaking her own curse. He disguised himself and Llew as travelers and sought refuge in Caer Arianrhod. While they were there Gwydion caused an illusion showing a powerful armada of ships advancing on Caer Arianrhod. Making ready for battle Arianrhod threw open her armory and armed her retainers. Gwydion suggested to Arianrhod that she give arms to him and Llew (still in disguise) and they would fight at the defense of the castle. She readily agreed and thereby, unwittingly, granted arms to her son, breaking the second curse. Gwydion then revealed themselves to Arianrhod and told her that she may as well take the arms back from her son, as there really was no battle to be fought.
Enraged at being tricked a second time, Arianrhod took comfort in her third curse - that Llew would have no human wife. Gwydion, upset at the cruelty Arianrhod was showing her son, vowed to break this curse also. Gwydion went to King Math and explained Llew's plight. Combining their magic they created a woman made of flowers, Blodeuwedd, to be wife to Llew, and broke Arianrhod's third curse.
Humiliated by King Math, thwarted by her son, forsaken by her brother, Arianrhod retreated to her castle Caer Arianrhod. Here she later drowned when the sea reclaimed the land.