Pagan Portals - Gods and Goddesses of Wales: A Practical Introduction To Welsh Deities And Their Stories

Pagan Portals - Gods and Goddesses of Wales: A Practical Introduction To Welsh Deities And Their Stories

by Halo Quin
Pagan Portals - Gods and Goddesses of Wales: A Practical Introduction To Welsh Deities And Their Stories

Pagan Portals - Gods and Goddesses of Wales: A Practical Introduction To Welsh Deities And Their Stories

by Halo Quin

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Overview

An introduction to Welsh deities through traditional myths and practical exercises. Written by a practising witch, living in the heart of Wales and working with the deities woven into the land, this book contains the major stories and backgrounds for the Gods and Goddesses of the heartland of the Druids. Within its pages you will find information on the major deities and where their stories can be found, alongside suggestions on how to connect with them and weave relationships with them into a modern pagan practice.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781785356216
Publisher: Moon Books
Publication date: 07/01/2019
Pages: 120
Product dimensions: 5.30(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.20(d)

About the Author

Halo has been a practising Faery witch since she was a child and is the author of Your Faery Magic. She is a devotee of the Faery Queen, a lover of the Welsh gods, a storyteller, philosopher, artist and the Ringleader of The Goblin Circus, where Faery magic manifests in art and wonder-tales in the modern incarnation of the old bardic traditions of Wales. She lives in Lampeter, South West Wales.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

How to Use this Book

This book is designed as a starting point, not a comprehensive tome. I have laid it out in a linear journey, but you can skip between sections as they interest you.

I would be very surprised if you agree with everything I've included and I hope that you feel free to write your own correspondences and discoveries in the margins! Cross things out that don't work for you, add in pieces you find elsewhere, let this become YOUR reference book.

In Part One, we cover some notes on the Welsh stories, a brief introduction to the theory and practice of working with gods and goddesses in a neo-pagan context, and other useful contexts. Here are also suggestions for techniques such as altar building and making offerings to inspire you in using the information in each description of the gods.

In Part Two, we reach the encyclopaedic section with the gods. For each group of gods I've included a retelling of the main story they appear in, a description of how they can be encountered today, a list of key attributes, and some suggestions for things you might choose to represent the deity in question. The best way to get to know them is to get in touch with them and build your own relationship so this section gives a starting point for doing this. In 'Theory and Practice' you will also find suggestions for how to use the Visions for each god or goddess to meet the deities directly.

In Part Three, I've included some suggestions for going forward, for deepening your relationship with these beings, and a few closing words.

CHAPTER 2

Sources, History and the Present Day

Sources: The Mabinogion

When people think of Celtic tales they often focus on the Irish myths, but Britain has another rich source of Celtic wisdom recorded in medieval times by monks in Wales, written in and about this land. My main source for the stories within is a collection of these tales known as the Mabinogion (Y Mabinogi, in Welsh). The Mabinogion is a selection of tales from medieval Welsh manuscripts, collected in both the White Book of Rhydderch (Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch) and the Red Book of Hergest (Llyfr Coch Hergest), in the fourteenth century. While they are recorded in medieval times, there are indications that the stories within have older roots in an oral tradition, so we can explore them as gateways to the older, pagan gods of the land.

The four central stories in the Mabinogion which interweave are known collectively as the Four Branches. I've also included a little on some of the beings from the other tales in the collection, and the popular tale of Ceridwen and the Birth of Taliesin which is sometimes included.

I work from English translations of the text, but much of my understanding of it comes from listening to and telling the tales in the modern oral storytelling tradition. In spoken form the stories come to life. The versions of the tales in this book are, as a result, variations on the translations I have studied, influenced by my work with the beings in question.

The Mabinogion and Medieval perspectives

Many of the stories in the Mabinogion deal with challenging topics, including rape, murder, grief, loss, death, betrayal, war and more. They are set in medieval times and so the world in which we encounter the gods is patriarchal and formal. Blodeuwedd's story, for example, is particularly problematic from a feminist perspective; she is made for a man, given to him without consent, and punished when she chooses otherwise. Even here, though, we find patterns which make sense from a mythic context, layered underneath the surface.

We cannot know how these stories played out prior to the recording of them, and so it is worth keeping that in mind, but we can feel our way through the patterns and look for threads that might take us back. In all cases I have tried to look underneath the medieval veneer and our modern understanding to share some kernels which may help you find more about the beings within the tales. In this way I hope you will find useful keys to meeting the gods of Wales today.

It is possible that the stories were once very different, with clear illustrations of the beings as deities of the land, of sovereignty, of the turning seasons, and more. It is also possible that they were never like this. Regardless, today, we can find imagery, archetypes and energies which have taken many of us into relationships with powerful beings who, now if not before, bring us back to the land and the magic of life.

Modern pagan practice

Christianity came to these shores a great many years ago, converting the pagans of the land. Today there has been a modern resurgence of interest in non-Abrahamic religions of our ancestors embodied in the Neo-Pagan movement. Many people are finding a home in this movement, with its emphasis on relationship with the spiritual, a reverence of nature and a love of the tales which bring us home to the gods and the ancestors.

Much of neo-paganism is either heavily influenced by Wiccan practice, which in turn draws on ceremonial magic, or reconstructionist practices which attempt to recreate the practices of pre-Christian times. It need not be, however. There is a lot of space within neo-paganism for developing your own way of doing things, for finding what works for you and your community. None of these paths are better than the other, though respect, integrity and honour will carry you far in any of them.

My own practice is spirit-based, working through the stories to find direct contact, in order to build bridges between the worlds. I have studied Witchcraft, Druidry, Wicca, Core Shamanism, Heathenry, and other occult practices. As such, my personal practice would often be classified as eclectic but to the best of my ability I am guided by the magic of the land, the spirits and gods, and the stories in which they appear. I tell you this because it influences my approach but I also hope that this encourages you to find what works for you, rather than taking my words as gospel or as a reconstruction.

If in doubt, ask the gods, the ancestors and the spirits of the land!

CHAPTER 3

Theory and Practice

Theology: Gods vs Demi-god and apotheosis

Theology is a tricky topic. There is not a universally accepted definition of what a god is, for starters, or where they come from, or whether they even have an independent existence from the humans that talk about them! The beings written about herein, then, may or may not 'actually' be gods.

In most instances in this book the word 'god' has been used to keep things simple, but it is important to remember that there is no evidence that all the beings written about here were even considered to be gods when the tales found in the Mabinogion were written down. In fact, at the time they were written it was generally from a Christian perspective, so the divine or semi-divine status of beings may well have been played down. The line between divine and mortal is traditionally thinner than one might think in today's, (post-)monotheistic, culture, as can be seen in ancient Greek texts where there are cases of mortals becoming gods (a process known as apotheosis), and in Norse legends many of the gods will die in Ragnarok. Even if Rhiannon was not originally a goddess, today she is certainly approached as one in the neo-pagan community and thus perhaps she was once a mortal ancestor who has undergone apotheosis to take on a role which we call 'god'.

There are also different ways to cut the cake, so to speak. For example, Kristoffer Hughes describes the three categories of 'Magical Allies' as being:

Gods and Goddesses Demigods/goddesses (half deity, half mortal)
Genius Loci, or spirits of place (including ancestors)

Whereas in the American Druid Fellowship (ADF) there are the three kindreds:

Shining Ones (gods, goddesses, and demigods – our elder kin)
Noble Ones (landspirits, Genius Loci, the Fair Folk and others of this ilk)
The Beloved Dead (ancestors, of blood, spirit, culture or choice)

This, then, might be something to consider when you approach the beings written about here. It might be that you are happy to relate to them as gods and leave the philosophising to others, if so that's great! Your relationship and practice is the most important matter at hand here. If it interests you to think about these things, however, here are some suggested questions to get you started:

What is a deity to you?

As you read the descriptions, would you classify these beings as 'gods', or as 'demigods', Ancestors, Faeries, or something else? Perhaps some of them fit under several categories (they certainly do in my work with them!) or perhaps you prefer not to classify them and to simply be with them.

How do you feel about the idea of apotheosis? Can a mortal reach divine status? Can a being become a god if they are treated as one? Or if they pass a certain challenge?

Is 'godhood' a part of the essence of a being, (like being physical, or red) or is it a role, like being a priestess, a father or an artist?

I have no answers to these questions, but part of the glory of a pagan path is that you get to find your own understanding of what works for you. (Including coming across and adopting a useful model developed by a tradition, or leaving the whole question in the realm of 'ultimately unknowable'!) The main thing to be aware of is that there is no clear evidence today that definitively labels these gods as deities, but there are plenty of practising pagans who have wonderful, supportive, deep relationships with them as such, and you can too.

There is also the ontological question of the way in which these beings exist; are they independent of us? Are they people in the way we are, or are they forces of nature which wear masks to appear like people? Are they even just psychological constructs, or archetypal forces of the collective Unconscious which speak to us? Ultimately we must navigate our own understanding of what exists, in every case including the nature of gods. My approach is that they have a reality in my life, which I feel very powerfully and which has a real, practical effect. That's enough reality for me!

Relationship & Devotion

In neo-pagan practice there are various ways to approach a deity, but all of them involve relationship. We can build relationship with the powers of the world and the beings of the land and the legends and, in doing so, allow ourselves to tap into the magic that they carry or embody. How, then, do we build relationship with gods?

The stories are quite clear on the importance of respect. The very first tale in the Mabinogion starts off with one Lord disrespecting another, and then having to make amends. We can take respect as a central tenet in building good relationships with spirits of any kinds. Without many records of how (or if) these beings were worshipped, we cannot reconstruct what our ancestors would have done. We can, however, draw on modern practices developed from anthropological studies, ceremonial techniques, and instinctive human behaviour to support our relationship building and, as long as respect for the gods and each other is kept in mind, we can't go too far wrong.

Any relationship must be based on knowing one another, so the first step is to read their stories, explore their lore, and come to understand a little about these gods in theory. In doing so, you may begin to notice their presence in your life; the song on the breeze with Gwydion's voice, the steadiness of Rhiannon in the hike along a path, the stars overhead wheeling with Arianrhod's magic. You may want to keep a note in a journal of things you notice which feel like it might be them moving through your life, feelings you have, pieces of lore or poetry or images that resonate with their power for you. In doing so you begin to get to know them in a way that is integrated into your life. This can be an act of devotion in itself, an offering to them to show them your sincerity and a gift to yourself which allows you to connect with the mysteries they embody and express.

Altars and Shrines

A traditional way of honouring gods and other spirits is by building a shrine (a devotional focus) or an altar (a space for magical workings). We do it naturally in collections of photos of family, fridge magnets which inspire us to joy that could be considered a shrine to delight, or in more obvious altars with statues or candles or bowls for making offerings. These can be very simple spaces with a single image or object representing the god in question, a picture hanging on the wall that reminds you of the landscape of Wales where they live, a single, scented plant, or complex Welsh dressers with shelves representing the different layers of the Welsh cosmos filled with statues and candles and objects for each deity and spirit you wish to connect to. There are some suggestions under each deity's section for representations connected to them which you can experiment with.

If there is a particular deity you wish to work with already, skip now to their section and consider their story and the list of correspondences and representations for them. What else might you add to this list? Clear a space, on a shelf, a windowsill, or even in a box of some kind, and collect an object or image or two that speaks to you of that god. This can be a good focal point for devotion, a place to read their tales, or somewhere to say prayers or do workings with them. Shrine building can be a little addictive, so you may find that you end up with every spare surface occupied by a god! Let it be something that evolves over time. These are never finished pieces but living homes for the gods and their mysteries to come to visit you and enter your life. You might like to think of your household shrines as guest bedrooms for the gods.

You can vary the kinds of altars you build for different senses and different locations. A box altar may be more suitable for your home, from which you can take items to set up temporarily, and then replace the items instead of leaving them out. You can use tactile objects for this such as feathers, thumbstones, and statues, or items such as a selection of small bottles containing perfumes or scents connected to the deities in question for you. A windchime or bells hung in a slightly drafty place will chime to remind you of them, and perfume diffusers are a safer permanent alternative to scented candles or incense if you want to leave it going permanently. You can keep hand-sized bells, singing bowls, rattles or small gongs on your altar in a small space for a sound-based interaction. You may have a specific song that you sing, or a specific album you play, when you light a candle, or hold a particular stone. You could also keep salt, spices, specific teas or similar according to how you feel they work with the gods you are building a relationship with. For Ceridwen in particular, for example, I like to brew and drink a cup of tea in her honour.

Altars are permanent or semi-permanent spaces in our lives which we set aside for connecting with non-physical beings, but what you keep in your space and how you interact with it will be completely personal to you.

Offerings and Prayer

If a shrine is like a guest room for the gods, offerings are the meals you put on for your guests and prayer is your conversation starter.

Once you have a space set up, what do you do with it? You might make an offering to the god in question such as incense, a glass of drink or a plate of food. These things are gifts from you to them and the energy of what is given feeds the spirits. Offerings are often given in the spirit of reciprocity – either to thank them for giving something useful to you, or in the hopes that they will do so in the future. Other reasons for offerings might include: to soothe a spirit that is being a nuisance, or to get them to leave, to strengthen them, as a gift out of love or a sense of duty, to mark a special occasion, or purely to reinforce a relationship. There are actions or objects included for each deity as suggestions to get you thinking about what you personally might offer the deity in question.

A time-honoured way to get to know a god is through prayer; speaking to them and listening to the responses. Prayers can be spoken, written, or thought, or expressed through dance, movement or other forms. Use the method of expression which is most comfortable for you. You might introduce yourself and ask to get to know them better, you might say thank you for something you feel they've already given you somehow, or you might ask for help with something in their domain. You might also offer up a praise prayer, where you just say how awesome they are, which is often considered to be a good offering. I've included prayers in the sections for the gods which you can use if they resonate with you, but it is often more meaningful if you speak from your heart or write your own words.

Listening may initially be trickier. We're often not encouraged to listen to disembodied beings so we've not necessarily developed the knack. You might find it easy, but if not, once you've said your prayer or made your offering relax and open yourself to feeling what kind of response they might be giving you. There might be an atmosphere, you might get a sense of a colour, a phrase, a scent, a symbol. Allow what comes to you to come, make a note of it and look at the patterns that emerge over time. You can also try divination such as tarot, runes or ogham, to receive the response through more tangible methods, or you can request a meeting in your dreams and write down what you dream of the following morning. Over time you will find a way that works for you and it will become much easier.

(Continues…)


Excerpted from "Pagan Portals Gods and Goddesses of Wales"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Halo Quin.
Excerpted by permission of John Hunt Publishing Ltd..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Table of Contents

Preface: Creoso y Gymru/Welcome to Wales 1

Chapter 1 How to Use this Book 3

Part I The Backdrop 5

Chapter 2 Sources, History and the Present Day 7

Sources: The Mabinogion

The Mabinogion and Medieval perspectives

Modern pagan practice 8

Chapter 3 Theory and Practice 11

Theology: Gods vs Demi-god and apotheosis

Relationship & Devotion 13

Altars and Shrines 14

Offerings and Prayer 15

Pilgrimages 17

The Visions and the Stone 18

Working with Almost-Lost Gods 19

Part II The Gods 21

Chapter 4 The First Branch and the Gods of Annwn 23

Story: Pwyll's Descent

Arawn, King of Annwn 25

The Lady of Annwn 27

Story: The Arrival of Rhiannon, Lady of the Otherworld 29

Rhtannon, Queen of Dyfed 33

Pwyll, Penn Annwn 35

Chapter 5 The Second Branch and the Protectors 39

Story: Brân and Branwen, a Tale of Heartbreak

Brân fab Llyr 42

Branwen ferch Llyr 44

Chapter 6 The Third Branch and the Skilled Ones 47

Story: Manawydan ap Llyr, the Master Maker

Manawydan fab Llyr 51

Pryderi - Lord of Dyfed 53

Chapter 7 The Fourth Branch, the Skies and the Seasons 57

Story: The Lady of the Flowers

Arianrhod ferch Dôn 62

Blodeuwedd 64

Gwydion fab Dôn 67

Math ap Mathonwy 69

Lieu Llaw Gyffes 71

Chapter 8 The Hidden Tale and the Holders of Mystery 75

Story: Birth of Taliesin

Ceridwen 76

Taliesin 79

Chapter 9 The Mabinogion and Beyond - The Others 83

Creirwy and Afagddu

Dylan

Cigfa 84

Elfin

Gronw

Efnisien 85

Teyrnon Twryf Lliant

Gwyn Ap Nudd

Myrddin/Merlin 86

Elen of the Ways

Modron and Mabon 87

Dôn

Llyr

Part III Further Threads 89

Chapter 10 Looking Forward 91

Author's Note: Happily Ever After 93

Appendix I Pronunciation Guide 95

Appendix II The Houses of the Mabinogion 98

Glossary 100

Bibliography and Further Reading 102

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