RHIANNON

SUGGESTED MANTRA: INSPIRATION
Wise and magical goddess of the moon, Rhiannon hears our wishes and
guides us on the path of inspiration - but only if we learn how to
ask!

SUGGESTED AFFIRMATIONS:
~ I ask and therefore I receive
~ I welcome change in my life
~ I see the path intended for me
~ My future is full of possibilities
~ I invite new choices into my life
~ My goals are becoming manifest
~ I deserve to have my dreams realised

Related essences: bayberry, cedar, pine, and rosemary

Related gemstones: cat's-eye, ruby and moonstone

Rhiannon (Great Queen) was the lunar Welsh Goddess of fertility and
rebirth, transformation, wisdom, and magic. Goddess of ethereal
beauty, she was born with the first moonrise, Muse of poets, source
of artistic inspiration, she was worshipped outside amidst the trees
at woodland alters and underneath the Moonlight.

As goddess of fertility, Rhiannon gave birth to a son, Pryderi, at
Yule - the winter solstice being a significant reminder that the
ultimate product of death is rebirth. (Centuries later, in 273 C.E.
(Common Era), Christians adopted this time of Yule as Jesus' birth).
Her son was abducted one night while she slept, and as punishment she
was tied to the town gates and forced to bear visitors on her back as
though she were a horse. Her dignified strength and perseverance
during this time serve to remind us what all women are, and will
continue to be.

In her death goddess aspect, she is symbolised by an unearthly white
mare and three birds that sang so sweetly they could raise the dead.
According to bardic folklore, she later become Vivien, the Lady of
the Lake in Arthurian myth, honoured for granting the wishes of those
who could ask for what they wanted, and scorning those who could not,
or would not, ask for what they wanted. This aspect is also a
possible source for the Grail Question of Arthurian legend.

Rhiannon carried the souls of the once-living on her white mare to
the Underworld, which, according to Celtic legend, is where the soul
exists in a similar way to that in our world. They did not see a
difference between the spiritual world and the material world, the
natural or the super-natural. After a "life cycle" in the Underworld,
the souls die and are reborn into this world again, perpetuating the
cycle of birth and death, renewal and destruction.

As we have now passed the winter solstice, and head into the phase of
rebirth and renewal, we welcome new inspiration and Rhiannon's energy
into our lives. At the next full moon, honour Rhiannon by lighting
four candles (one each of red, green, gold and silver) and make your
wish known to her. With the joyful energy that renewal brings, have a
little fun invoking Rhiannon with the Anglo-Celtic nursery rhyme:

Ride a cockhorse to Banbury Cross
to see a fine lady upon a white horse,
With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes
she shall have music wherever she goes.