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Arianrhod, High-Fruitful-Mother-Who-Turns-the-Wheel-of-Heaven.
@RY@NHr0D
Alternate meanings: Silver-Wheel, Silver-Circled.
[to Whom the twentieth day of November, day 326, is dedicated]
Geography/Culture: Celtic: Welsh.
Linguistic Note: Arianrhod may not be a debasement of argentum, 'silver' and rota, 'wheel', as has been suggested, but ar-ri-an, 'High-Fruitful-Mother' Who turns the wheel of heaven. See also Ariadne linguistic note.
Description: Virgin White Goddess of birth, initiation, death and rebirth; Silver-circled Daughter of Don; Queen of the castle at the back of the North wind, the Land of Death, where the souls of kings, chieftans, poets and magicians await rebirth; Name-giver; She Who arms Her child.
Her myth is badly distorted by patriachal interference.
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She sometimes forms a seasonal Triad with:
Blodeuwedd, Flower-Face and Ceridwen, {Inspirational-Whiteness}.
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or a Pentad in which:
Arianrhod, High-Fruitful-Mother-Who-Turns-the-Wheel-of-Heaven, is doubled
Arianrhod Goddess of birth, and Arianrhod Goddess of initiation;
and Blodeuwedds, Flower-Face, is doubled
Blodeuwedd Goddess of love and Blodeuwedd Goddess of wisdom.
and one Ceridwen?
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To Whom Sacred: silver-fir ailm, tree of birth; gorse Onn, (or furze, equals the young sun at the northward equinox); Caer Arianrhod, 'Castle of Arianrhod', sometimes called Her prison (Welsh name for the constellation Corona Borealis -- to be in the 'Castle of Arianrhod' is to be in a royal purgatory awaiting rebirth); the star Alpheta (chief star of Corona Borealis; the direction north, i.e. toward Caer Arianrhod which is also sometimes called the 'Crown of the North Wind'; southern solstice; northward equinox; harvest basket (shovel-shaped, of rush and osier -- used also as a cradle, a manger and a winnowing fan); revolving the fore-finger to signify someone has died and gone to Caer Arianrhod; turf-cut mazes; 'Troy-town dances' (Easter was the season when Troy Town dances were performed on the turf-cut mazes of Britain); the letter 'A' (Ailm 'silver-fir' in the Beth-luis-nionn calendar writing system) as Goddess of birth; the letter 'O' (Onn 'gorse' or 'furze' in the Beth-luis-nionn calendar writing system), as Goddess of initiation; perhaps originally male-human sacrifice and or king-sacrifice.
Male Associates: brother/consort, Gwydion, bard and magician. Sons, (supernaturally concieved) Dylan-Eil-Ton, Dylan-the-Son-of-the-Wave, Divine fish-child and/or who becomes Lleu-Llaw-Gyffes, The-Lion-with-the-Steady-Hand. Sun heroes, king and tanist.
Titles/Variants, etc:
- Variant,
Arianrod.
- Her name may be cognate with Cretan Ariadne, High-Fruitful-Mother-of-the-Barley, upon Whom She seems to be modelled.
- Perhaps She is equivalent to Irish Dectire, ----, below.
- Daughter of Don, {Teacher}, Who is linked with Danu, She-of-Knowledge.
- She may have a Phrygian counterpart in Nanna, ----, Who is linked with Sumerian Nana, Old-Queen.
- Arianrhod, High-Fruitful-Mother-Who-Turns-the-Wheel-of-Heaven., is Sister of Penarddun, ----, Who is linked with Branwen, White-Bosomed-One.
Source: Ford MOMWT 172, 189-91; Graves WG 56, 97-99, 103, 106, 143, 178, 314, 318, 321, 371; Rhys CFv2 645; Squire CML 260-1.
Dectire, ----.
Geography/Culture: Irish Celtic.
Description: Virgin Mother.
To Whom Sacred: may-fly.
Male Associates: She Concieves Cuchulain by swallowing a may-fly, though some say by Lugh or Her father Conchobhar.
Titles/Variants, etc:
- Perhaps equivalent to Welsh Arianrhod, High-Fruitful-Mother-Who-Turns-the-Wheel-of-Heaven, above.
Source: Mac Cana CM 101, 448; Graves WG 314.
worked on: October, July 1995; August 1991; July 1990.
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