Divine Feminine

Archive for the ‘Triple Goddess’ Category

Not of mother and father
Did my Creator create me
But of nine-formed virtues,
Of the fruit of fruits,
Of the fruit of the primordial God,
Of primroses and blossoms,
Of the flower, wood and tree.

Blodeuwedd is the white Goddess of Death and Life in Her May-aspect, and part of a triad consisting of Arianrhod, Blodeuwedd and Cerridwen.

She represents temporary beauty and the bright blooming that must come full circle through death: She is the promise of autumn visible in spring.

Blodeuwedd was the Flower Maiden, made by men, for a man, in the image of their own desires. She became the perfect wife for Llew but made a choice to be with Gronw. By doing this she took her power back.

She was pursued and, as a punishment, turned into an owl.

Owls are associated with wisdom, and Blodeuwedd has become wise. She accepted herself and turned against that which others wanted her to be.

NanLT, wife, mother, healer, witch, has a personal experience with Blodeuwedd.

I was very much out of touch with my feminine side, having focused so much attention on the masculine. Through Her I was able to discover that there could be strength in femininity. That I could embrace and show myself as a woman without sacrificing my independence.

For Nan’s insight, see Blodeuwydd, Flower Face

She is Breo-saighead the Arrow of Fire.

As a direct granddaughter of Dánu herself, Brighid is ranked high among the Divine Daughters. Her power was the feminine force, and no man was allowed to pass beyond the hedge surrounding her sanctuary.

As a triple goddess she has aspects appealing to all and reigns over myriad aspects of life. However, her aspects are not of the maiden, mother, crone – she has three different aspects which are all parts of the same ageless goddess.

• One aspect of Brighid is of poetess and muse, goddess of inspiration, learning, poetry, divination, witchcraft, occult knowledge.
• A second aspect is goddess of smithcraft, and she carries a cauldron for this purpose.
• Her third aspect is that of healer and goddess of medicine. These three aspects were united through the symbol of fire.

She rules over healing, protection and midwifery, and as the patroness of poetry maintains the filidhecht, bardic lore and all culture and learning. Brighid also represents skill in metal-work and the craft of the smith. She offers protection in battle and valour to the warrior.

Justice, too, is in her hands. One of her most ancient names is Breo-saighead meaning fiery arrow, and within that name is the attribute of punishment and divine justice.

Brighid controls the sacred fire of the smith, for she possesses an unusual status as a Sun Goddess ” Who hangs Her Cloak upon the rays of the Sun and Whose dwelling-place radiates light as if on fire.” As a solar deity her attributes are all skills associated with fire, the benefactress of inner healing and vital energy.

… did Brighid give us whistling? …

The Irish say that Brighid gave us whistling, that she invented this one night when she wanted to call her friends. And that she taught us how to keen the mournful song of the bereaved woman. This links Brighid to the great mother goddesses of the eastern Mediterranean, and like them, she was identified with fertility of the soil, and with the earth itself.

Some rituals and legends suggest that Brighid may date back even beyond the era of the Celts – that she may very well be a more ancient seasonal goddess of the pre-Celtic inhabitants of Britain. In Scotland, legend tells us how the Cailleach kept a maiden named Bride imprisoned in the high mountains of Ben Nevis. But her own son fell in love with the girl and, at winter’s end, he eloped with her. The hag chased them across the landscape, causing fierce storms as she went, but finally she turned to stone and Bride was freed. In such stories, which may date back as much as 3000 years, Brighid becomes a spring/summer goddess whose rule over the land alternated with that of an autumn/winter hag.

In modern Britain today, as the warrior-maiden, Brigantia, she is a symbol of justice and authority, and portrayed as the personification of Britain on the coin of the realm.

She is honoured at any time, at all times, and remembered on the Cross Quarter Day of Imbolc, as the Maiden.

Brighid is the most powerful religious figure in all of Irish history. She has moved through the ages with scarcely a change and traveled effortlessly down the centuries. Over hundreds of generations Brighid moves with grace and power, fulfilling different roles in different times

The Triple Goddesses were replaced by a Trinity, but the Old Ways lingered in worship and Brighid’s role as Mother Goddess was never completely eradicated.

As a Catholic Saint, sunlight radiates from her head, traditionally the portrayal of a Goddess. Themes of milk, fire, Sun and serpents follow her.

After the Christian conversions of many of the Irish people, Brighid was the Goddess they could never be forced to give up. They simply made her Mother of all the new saints of the new religion and she continued to reign as “Queen of Heaven.“