It was in the beginning of Arthur's time there lived in Penllyn a man named Tegid Voeland his wife Cerridwen. There was born to him of his wife a son named Morvran ab Tegid, a daughter named Creirwy, and they had a brother, the most ill-favored man in the world, Avagddu. Cerridwen, his mother, thought that he was not likely to be admitted among men of noble birth by reason of his ugliness, unless he had some exalted merits or knowledge. So she resolved according to the arts of the books of the Fferyllt, to boil a cauldron of Inspiration and Science for her son, that his reception might be honorable because of his knowledge of the mysteries of the future state of the world. Then she began to boil the cauldron, which might not cease to boil for a year and a day, until three blessed drops were obtained of the grace of Inspiration. And she put Gwion Bach the son of Gwreang of Llanfair in Caereinion, to stir the cauldron, and a blind man named Morda to kindle the fire beneath it. She charged them that they should not suffer it to cease boiling for the space of a year and a day. She, herself, according to the books of the astronomers, and in planetary hours, gathered every day of all charm-bearing herbs. One day, towards the end of the year, as Cerridwen was culling plants and making incantations, it chanced that three drops of the charmed liquor flew out of the cauldron and fell upon the finger of Gwion Bach. By reason of their great heat he put his finger to his mouth, and the instant he put those drops into his mouth, he foresaw everything that was to come, and perceived that his chief care must be to guard against the wiles of Cerridwen, for vast was her skill. In very great fear he fled towards his own land. The cauldron burst in two, because all the liquor within it except the three charm-bearing drops was poisonous. The horses of Gwyddon Garanhir were poisoned by the water of the stream into which the liquor of the cauldron ran, and the confluence of that stream was called the Poison of the Horses of Gwyddon from that time forth.
Thereupon came in Cerridwen and saw all the toil of the whole year lost. She seized a billet of wood and struck the blind Morda on the head until one of his eyes fell out upon his cheek. He said, "Wrongfully hast thou disfigured me, for I am innocent. Thy loss was not because of me." "Thou speakest truth," said Cerridwen, "it was Gwion Bach who robbed me." She went forth after him, running. He saw her and changed himself into a hare and fled. So she changed herself into a greyhound and turned him. He ran towards a river, and became a fish. She, in the form of an otter-bitch, chased him under the water, until he was fain to turn himself into a bird of the air. She, as a hawk, followed him and gave him no rest in the sky.
Just as she was about to stoop upon him, and he was in fear of death, he spied a heap of winnowed wheat on the floor of a barn. He dropped among the wheat, and turned himself into one of the grains. Then she transformed herself into a high-crested black hen, and went to the wheat and scratched it with her feet, and found him out and swallowed him. As the story says, she bore him nine months, and when she was delivered of him, she could not find it in her heart to kill him, by reason of his beauty. So she wrapped him in a leather bag, and cast him into the sea to the mercy of God, on the twenty-ninth day of April. So, the great poet, Taliesin made an entrance into this world.
The name, Cerridwen has been translated both as Cauldron of Wisdom and Fortress of Wisdom, caer meaning fortress and cerru meaning Cauldron. The powers attributed to Her show her nature as one imbued with great wisdom, prophetic foresight, and magical shapeshifting abilities.
Mighty in magic, enchantment and divination, the ancient Cerridwen lived upon an island in a lake, a place known as The Land Beneath the Waves.
It was on this island that She bore a son and named him Morfan, because he was black as a raven, but some also called him Afagddu, saying that his darkness was ugly, so that Cerridwen worried that the life ahead of him would not be one of ease or pleasure. Therefore, She decided to give her son a birth gift of the magical powers that She possessed hoping to make his years on Earth easier for him.
Thus She prepared the Cauldron, known as Awen, the Cauldron of the Deep, from which She planned to give him three drops of the liquid which would provide him with those powers, which were his birthright.
Into it She poured the waters of prophesy and inspiration and, carefully observing the movements of the Moon and the Sun and each and every star, She was able to add each herb, each root, even the foam of the ocean, all at the proper times. As the Cauldron brew began to boil, She arranged for a blind old man to keep the fire burning, and for a young lad named Gwion to stir the contents of Her Cauldron.
Nine women stood by. Some say they were Druidesses who could take the form of any animals, who also could blow the seas into a rage with their perfect poetry, and could heal all wounds and illnesses and foretell the events of the future. All believe that these nine women breathed upon the magic Cauldron as it boiled night and day for one year.
When the one day beyond a year's time arrived, which was the required time for the brewing, Cerridren placed young Morfan by the Cauldron to receive the legacy She had prepared for him. In her fatigue, after all She had done for her son, She fell asleep and while She was sleeping young Gwion, pushed young Morfan aside and quickly scouped three precious drops of the brew and placed his hand in his mouth. The remainder of the waters split the sides of the Cauldron apart and poured out upon the ground.
The thundering noise of the Cauldron woke Cerridwen from her sleep and after realizing what had happened, She moved to punish Gwion. He quickly used the powers gained from the brew and changed himself into a hare and hopped off as quickly as his legs would carry him. Cerridwen took the form of a greyhound and followed in swift pursuit. But just as She was about to catch him, he changed into a fish and slipped into a river. Cerridwen quickly became an otter and continued after Gwion. About to be caught again, he once more changed his form, this time into a bird and flew off into the sky, only discovering the Cerridwen was close behind, having taken the shape of a hawk.
Fearing for his life, Gwion noticed a pile of wheat on the land below and changing himself into the tiniest of grains, dropped into the pile. Cerridwen's sharp eyes saw what he had done and taking the form of a black crested hen, She pecked at the grain until She found and ate the seed that had been Gwion. But the tiny seed took root within her womb and began to grow. For nine months, Cerridwen proclaimed that on the day that Gwion would be reborn She would destroy him, but when that day arrived She relented. She placed him in a leather sack and threw him into the raging waters of the river, this just two days before the first of May.
Taliesin, thought to be the wisest and most profound of all Gaelic poets, claimed that he had once been that Gwion, born of Cerridwen's womb, Her Cauldron of Transformation. Saying that his leather sack had been fished from the river on All Hallow's Eve, Holy Samhain, when the dead souls rise, he made it very clear to all who listened that Celtic wisdom, poetry, magic, and foresight, the riddles beneath which divine knowledge lies, had once been stolen from the Cauldron of the Ancient Cerridwen. The Powers of the Sacred Female were stolen, taken from Her, and that his powers came from Her and the Cauldron of Magical Inspiration.
Bast, Egyptian goddess of sensual pleasure, protector of the household, bringer of health, and the guardian saint of firefighters -- she was the original mistress of multi-tasking!
Also called Bastet or Basthet, the goddess Bast is widely known today as the "Cat Goddess". Legend has it that, by day, Bast would ride through the sky with her father, the sun god Ra, his boat pulling the sun through the sky.
Ever watchful, she protected Ra from his enemies. Thus she became known as the Lady of the East, the Goddess of the Rising Sun, and The Sacred and All-Seeing Eye.
But by night, she was a different creature entirely! Bast transformed herself into a cat (renown for its superb night vision) to guard her father from Apep (also known as Apophis), a serpent who was her father's greatest enemy.
Ra's priests burned wax models of the snake and wrote his name with green ink, trying to put a "hex" on him -- but to no avail. Finally, with her cat eyes shining in the dark, she managed to kill the evil serpent.
Credited with killing the vile Apep, the goddess Bast ensured the warmth of the sun would continue to bless the delta of the Nile with fertile soil and abundant crops and was honored as a goddess of fertility.
Because of her all-seeing sacred eye (called the utchat) that magically saw through the dark, Bast is one of the few sun goddesses that is also classified as a moon goddess...with her glowing cat's eye reminding us of the moon that it reflects.
One of the most ancient of the Egyptian goddesses, she is depicted as a slender woman having the head of a domestic cat. Sometimes she is shown holding a sistrum, a rattle used as a musical instrument in ancient times. Agile and lithe, Bast was recognized as the goddess of music and dance.
The worship of Bast began around 3,500 B.C.E., before the invention of writing. In 950 B.C.E. it became the 'national religion' when her hometown, Baubastis, became the capitol of Egypt.
Her shrine in Baubastis, fashioned from blocks of pink granite and the lengthy entrance lined with enormous trees, was considered to be one of the most beautiful temples in the world.
The grounds of the templeheld an extensive cat cemetery, where her beloved companions after being mummified, were entombed so they could join Bast in the spirit world.
Cats were honored in the temples of Bast and many felines were in permanent residence there. If a local house caught on fire, the cats would be dispatched to run into the flames, drawing them out of the building. (History's first record of a fire brigade!)
Undoubtedly many returned to the temple a bit singed, but as heroes of the townspeople. Any unfortunate kitty who perished in the undertaking would be restored to life by the goddess Bast. This is possibly the source of the belief that cats have nine lives.
Consistent with her cat-like image and her status as a fertility goddess, Bast was associated with childbirth, perhaps because of the mother cat's continuous production of litters and the loving way she fiercely defends and cares for her kittens.
As a gentler, more benevolent, evolution of the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet, her violent and bloody sister who could bring plagues, the goddess Bast could be invoked to prevent the spread of illness.
Most households contained a small statue of Bast as a form of household protection . . . The All-Seeing Eye, to ward off thieves. . . as the Cat Goddess, to keep the house free of snakes. . . and as the healer to ward off infectious diseases.
An amulet with the utchat (all-seeing eye) hung over the door deterred thieves and vandals, placed over the mantel it averted illness, worn around the neck it protected you as you traveled. An amulet featuring a mother cat with several kittens suckling or playing at her feet was often given as a wedding present to a bride, invoking the help of the goddess to insure that a woman would be able to conceive and bear children
Bast, more than any other of the Egyptian goddesses was perceived as a protector and friend of women and young children. It is hardly surprising that the ancient Greeks referred to Bast as "The Egyptian Artemis".
Does this goddess sound like a gal that the phrase "sex kitten" would be invented for? Hardly! But, of course, there is more to the story than we've told so far; we saved the juicy parts for last.
For starters, one of the oldest versions of the goddess Bast was known by the name 'Pasht', from which our word passion was derived. (And from which the English term "Puss" may have arisen.)
Her name itself shares the hieroglyph of a bas-jar, a large pottery jar, usually filled with expensive perfume, a valuable commodity in a hot climate. Indeed, her son Nefertem, a sun god, became the Egyptian god of alchemy and perfumes.
It's not surprising she had a reputation, since she herself had three husbands and was acknowledged as a sexual partner of every god and goddess (explaining her association with lesbians, although bisexuality would be a more accurate description of her nature).
The rituals performed in her temples, designed for healing, protection, and insuring fertility, were decidedly sensual, full of music and dancing The priestesses of Bast, dressed in "her color" which was red, and were the first "strippers", famous for their erotic dancing.
Many festivals were held in her honor, and they tended to be quite rowdy affairs. During the major festival, thousands of men and women (children weren't invited) traveled on barges down the river to Baubastis, drinking and partying mightily.
With loud music, women shaking their rattles, others gyrating in dance, and some lifting their skirts while making lewd comments to the townspeople lined up on the riverbank to watch the procession, the feasts of Bast may have been a precursor to the Mardi Gras and Carnivale. Some think that it is even the basis for the word "floats" that describe the decorated rides in a parade.
The Egyptian goddess Bast reminds us of all that is feline and feminine. Her gifts, very cat-like in nature, include the refusal to be at everyone's beck and call and an insistence on the freedom of expression.
She teaches us to relax and never waste energy, reminding us to luxuriate in beauty, perfume, and to sway in graceful movement. Bast refuses to take anything too seriously.
But most importantly, Bast leads us to accept the true nature of things (ourselves included) and helps us remain unswayed by the opinion of others.
Curled up like a cat lying in the sun, the goddess Bast foms a complete circle . . . a symbol of the eternal.
Artemis: Goddess of Light
And Protector of the Vulnerable
In Greek mythology Artemis (also known as the Roman goddess Diana) was the daughter of Zeus, the mighty ruler of the Olympian gods. Artemis' mother, Leto, gave birth to Artemis after a short and painless labor. But then Leto's labor continued, with her contractions growing weak and painful. Moved to compassion, the infant goddess Artemis, born only a few minutes earlier, became her mother's midwife and delivered her twin brother Apollo. You could say that, of all the Greek goddesses, the goddess Artemis was literally born to serve as a nurturer and protector!
The Greek goddess Artemis was frequently called upon to nurture her needy and somewhat ineffectual mother. All too often she felt compelled to come to her rescue even though Artemis received little from her mother in return. As a result of her having caused her mother no pain in childbirth, and her successful role as midwife in her brother's birth, Artemis naturally became the patron saint of childbirth, the protector of children, and the goddess who especially heard the appeals of women.
The goddess Artemis was always responsive to the needs of the vulnerable and the suffering. She was quick to defend the powerless from unjust treatment at the hands of the Olympian patriarchy; it is not surprising that in current times Artemis is seen as the "feminist" goddess.
Even as a small child the Greek goddess Artemis was decisive.
When Zeus asked Artemis what presents she wanted for her third birthday she responded without hesitation that she wanted six things:
~ to be allowed to live without having to be distracted by love and marriage,
~ a bow and arrow just like her brother's,
~ a hunting costume and freedom from having to dress up like a lady,
~ the job of bringing light into the world,
~sixty young nymphs to be her companions and to help care for her hunting dogs, and
~all the mountains on the earth to live on.
Zeus was amused by her precociousness and happily granted the little goddess Artemis her wishes. Even at this tender age it was clear that Artemis was going to be the most independent of the goddesses, one who thrived on challenges!
Artemis' association with the natural world, the wilderness, symbolizes her own untamed spirit. The most independent of the goddesses, she roamed the forests in her role as huntress.
The Greek goddess Artemis was famous for her hunting skills, for the sharp focus of her attention and her unerring aim. She was known as a fearless and responsible hunter, willing and able to bring down the most terrifying beasts.
But Artemis was especially fierce in her protection of the gentle animals that were usually preyed upon. As the protector of animals and the young, the goddess Artemis was angered because a group of Greek sailors had slaughtered a hare and its young. She delayed them from sailing to join the Battle of Troy.
Artemis was not the least interested in cultivating the land or in harnessing the forces of nature to benefit mankind (she left those responsibilities to Demeter and Athena, respectfully). Artemis could easily be described as an early environmentalist.
Artemis seemed to be more comfortable with the companionship of women friends. Often depicted by artists while hunting or bathing with her band of nymphs, the goddess Artemis valued her freedom and personal space and protected them with ferociousness.
Indeed, those who restricted her freedom, those who tried to thwart her commitment to reaching her goals, or simply invaded her privacy, paid dearly. When the hunter Actaeon accidentally came upon Artemis while she was bathing, she turned him into a stag, whereupon his own hunting dogs attacked and tore him to pieces.
Artemis could be both vengeful and impulsive. When she discovered that Callisto, one of the nymphs in her band of companions, had violated her vows of chastity and become pregnant as a result of an affair with Zeus, Artemis, without a moment's hesitation, Artemis changed her into a bear. Had Zeus not intervened to place her in the stars as the constellation Callisto (The Bear), the young nymph would have died quickly as the victim of a hunt.
With the exception of her brother Apollo, who was a frequent ally and companion, Artemis was not known to have had very satisfying relationships with men. Her one great love affair, with the handsome and respected mortal Orion, ended very badly.
Upset that his sister's time and attentions had been diverted away from him, the jealous Apollo tricked Artemis into killing Orion. Knowing that Orion was swimming in the ocean, Apollo bet Artemis that she could not hit "that distant object on the horizon" with an arrow.
Filled with confidence in her skills as an archer, Artemis accepted the challenge. Successful as always, Artemis discovered that her competitiveness and unerring aim had killed the only man she had ever loved.
In her abject grief, the goddess Artemis turned her dead lover into stars and shot him into the night sky where he remains as the constellation Orion. Never again did she allow herself to become vulnerable to romantic love.
The Greek goddess Artemis was often associated with the moon, especially the crescent or "new" moon. Phoebe was one of the many names she was called. The name Phoebe means the "light one" or "bright one".
Artemis "Goddess of Light" had the divine duty of illuminating the darkness. Artemis was often depicted carrying a candle or torch, lighting the way for others, leading them through territories yet uncharted.
In Greek mythology Artemis, despite her "wildness" (her refusal to conform to conventional ways or tradition) and her fierce independence, was depicted as one of the compassionate, healing goddesses. Of all the Greek goddesses, she was the most self-sufficient, living life on her own terms, comfortable both in solitude and in holding the reins of leadership.
The Greek goddess Artemis gives us courage. Like her counterpart, the Roman goddess Diana, she illuminates those places that terrify us and lends us her strength to bring us safely through our fears.
Brigid, the Celtic goddess of fire (the forge and the hearth), poetry, healing, childbirth, and unity, is celebrated in many European countries. She is known by many names, including that of Saint Brigid who is, perhaps, the most powerful religious figure in Irish history.
Born at the exact moment of daybreak, Brigid rose into the sky with the sun, rays of fire beaming from her head. She was the daughter of Dagda, the great 'father-god' of Ireland.
In Druid mythology, the infant goddess was fed with milk from a sacred cow from the Otherworld. Brigid owned an apple orchard in the Otherworld and her bees would bring their magical nectar back to earth.
It is said that wherever she walked, small flowers and shamrocks would appear. As a sun goddess her gifts are light (knowledge), inspiration, and the vital and healing energy of the sun.
Brigid became the wife of Bres, an Irish king. Together they produced three sons, each of them became a famous warrior. Brigid and her husband came from two warring tribes and hoped their marriage would end the enmity between their kin.
Unfortunately, it did not. But, as it turns out, the battlefield death of their son Ruadan assured Brigid's role as a goddess of peace and unity.
A major battle between the two families was about to begin.
Brigid's eldest son, using the knowledge of metalsmithing that he had learned from his mother, struck the first blow, killing the smith of the opposing army. But as the warrior fell to the ground, he managed one last blow before he died and Ruandan was also killed.
Brigid's grief was enormous--for the continual hatred between the two sides of her family and for the death of her son. Her lamentations were so loud they were heard throughout Ireland and so heart-rending that both sides left the battle and forged a peace. The goddess Brigid is said to have originated the practice of "keening".
She is also credited with the invention of whistling, which she used to summon her friends to her side.
Eventually the love and respect for the goddess Brigid brought unity to the Celts who were spread throughout Europe. Regardless of their differences, they all agreed upon her goodness and compassion.
One of the most popular tales of the goddess Brigid involved two lepers who appeared at her sacred well at Kildare and asked to be healed. She told them that they were to bathe each other until the skin healed.
After the first one was healed, he felt only revulsion for the other and would not touch him to bathe him. Angered, Brigid caused his leprosy to return. Then she gently placed her mantle (cloak) around the other leper who was immediately healed.
Ireland is full of springs and wells named after the goddess Brigid. Symbolically, water is seen as a portal to the Otherworld and as a source of wisdom and healing.
There is a saying that Brigid rewards any offering to her, so offerings of coins were often tossed into her wells...the forerunner of the modern custom of throwing a penny into a fountain while you make a wish.
At her most famous shrine Brigid taught humans how to gather and use herbs for their healing properties, how to care for their livestock, and how to forge iron into tools. As a goddess of childbirth and protector of all children, she is the patroness of midwifery.
This shrine, near Kildare, was located near an ancient Oak that was considered to be sacred by the Druids, so sacred in fact that no one was allowed to bring a weapon there.
The shrine is believed to have been an ancient college of priestesses who were committed to thirty years of service, after which they were free to leave and marry.
During their first ten years they received training, the next ten were spent tending the sacred wells, groves and hills of the goddess Brigid, and the last decade was spent in teaching others.
Nineteen priestesses were assigned to tend the perpetual flame of the sacred fire of Brigid. Each was assigned to keep the flames alive for one day. On the twentieth day, the goddess Brigid herself kept the fire burning brightly.
The goddess Brigid was also revered as the Irish goddess of poetry and song. Known for her hospitality to poets, musicians, and scholars, she is known as the Irish muse of poetry.
The Christian monastery eventually built upon the site of her sacred shrine continued this tradition and became known as a great European center of learning and culture. Indeed, it was instrumental in preserving much ancient learning and literature during the Dark Ages.
The Feast Day of Brigid, known as Imbolc, is celebrated at the start of February, midway through the winter. Like the goddess herself, it is meant to give us hope, to remind us that spring is on its way.
The lessons of this complex and widely beloved goddess are many.
The Celtic goddess Brigid lends us her creativity and inspiration, but also reminds us to keep our traditions alive and whole. These are gifts that can sustain us through any circumstance.
Her fire is the spark of life.
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