Arianrhod's name means 'silver circle or wheel'. She is the goddess of reincarnation, the Wheel of the Year, the full moon, fertility and a figure of female power.
Her heavenly star or island is Caer Arianrhod in the Corona Borealis, believed to be the place where dead souls go to await reincarnation. There she resides with her female attendants presiding over the fates of the departed.
Sometimes she is depicted as a weaver, which links her to magick and weaving of spells.
She was the daughter of the Welsh Goddess Don and the God Beli. Her uncle, King Math, was compelled by a taboo to keep his feet in the lap of a virgin whenever he was not actively engaged in battle. After his first 'footholder', Goewin, was deflowered, Math asked Arianrhod to take her place. She had to step across a magic rod to prove her virginity, but when she did so, twin boys dropped from between her legs. Math named the first of the boys Dylan. The second of these was taken away by Arianrhod's brother Gwydion and raised in a magic forest.
Arianrhod incensed by what she had suffered, laid three curses on the boy, Lleu. He shall have no name except one she gives him. He shall bear no arms except ones she gives him. He shall have no wife of the race that is now on the earth. Through elaborate magic and trickery, Gwydion deceived Arianrhod into breaking the first two curses herself. To break the third, Math and Gwydion created Blodeuwedd, a woman made of flowers, to be Lleu's bride. Blodeuwedd (flower face), who appears to the embodiment of a fertility Goddess, betrayed her lover, Lleu, to his death, but his spirit hung on a tree was resurrected on the following day.
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.
In Celtic Myth the Goddess has three major aspects: the maiden, the mother and the crone. These three represent the three stages in life of a woman. Blodeuwedd is the flower maiden, Arianrhod represents the mother and The Morrigu at last is the crone.
Arianrhod is said to be able to shapeshift into a large Owl, and through the great Owl-eyes, sees even into the darkness of the human subconscious and soul. The Owl symbolizes death and renewal, wisdom, moon magick, and initiations. She is said to move with strength and purpose through the night, her wings of comfort and healing spread to give solace to those who seek her.
IN MAGICK - Arianrhod can be invoked to help females find their own feminine power. She can also assist with spirit contact, sex and fertility magick and past life knowledge. She can also be called upon to bless handfasting rites.
CORRESPONDENCES - wheels, silver, wheat, full moon, blood, geode stones, moonstones.
Some good resources can be found at:
Arianrhod info at goddessalive.co.uk
Arianrhod info at merciangathering.com
Tansy
x
Sources:Thewhitegoddess.co.ukCeltic Myth border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
