CLIODNA

    Beautiful, lusty, Cliodna of the Fair Hair is the Irish goddess of beauty, the sea, and the afterlife. One of the Tuatha de Danann, she is Mannan's daughter and rules the Land of Promise, an otherworld where there is no violence or death. Her name, which means "shapley one", is pronounced "klee-nah". It can also be spelled Cliodhna, Clidn, or Cleena. A fairy queen of Munster, she is said to be the daughter of Geban, the last druid in Ireland. Cliodna is associated with the coastline near Cork. Carrige Cliodna, in County Cork, is her sacred hill. Tonn Cliodna, the great wave of Cliodna, is mentioned in Irish mythology as being off the coast at Glandmore, in Country Cork.
     Clidona has three magickal birds that heal the sick by singing to them sleep. She is the matron of waves, especially large waves and the ninth wave of every series of waves that brake the shore. Cliodna is the protectress of the O'Keefe family, who some say are her descendants.
     When she assumes human form, Cliodna is the most beautiful woman on earth. She often taken mortal men for lovers but being loved by Cliodna can mean being loved to death, for if she takes them to the otherworld they are never seen again.
     There are many legends about her. Cliodna fell in love with a young human, Ciabhan of the Curling Lock, and she escaped from the otherworld to be with him. They reached the shore of Ireland together. Ciabhan (pronouced Keevan) went hunting and Mannan, the Sea god, put Cliodna into an enchanted sleep and sent a wave that drew her back to the Land of Promise. There is another version of this legend where it is Cailleach, the Crone goddess, who sent her faeries to lull Cliodna into the enchanted sleep, and then sent the wave that drowned her.
     Invoke Cliodna for beauty, Healing, faery magick, love spells, and life after death. Songbirds and sea birds are her sacred animals: nine is her number. A beach is the best place to call upon her, since she may take the form of a sea bird or a large wave. Another Celtic goddess strongly associated with water is Eri.