Rhiannon

Rhiannon has always been one of my favorite goddesses, especially so within the Welsh pantheon. She is known as one of the most bountiful and merciful goddesses within the pantheon, an anomoly amongst the Celtic/Gaulic deities. In some traditions she is a fary goddess and in others she is the fierce sister to the MorRhiaghan...the goddess Macha. Rhiannon may be called upon by women seeking to have children, women who have lost children, women suffering abusive marriages, and those suffering from sustained grief. Also a fertility goddess of vegetation and domestic animals, she is most closely associated with horses but also with wrens in her Crone aspect. Rhiannon is known to grant life but also to ease one's suffering in death. As a goddess of earth, she may be called upon to aid failing crops, domestic animals, or to ease one's financial state. As a sea goddess, she may be called upon to ease troubled waters and emotional stability. Her role may also be extended to the realm of dreams and death.

The most recognizable tale of Rhiannon stems from the Mabinoginon in which her marriage to Pwyll produces Pryderi who later became known for his battles with Bran the Blessed, his rule as King of Dyfed, and later the battle of the pigs in which he battled Gwydion and was killed in battle.

Rhiannon's role as both a goddess of mercy and her connection to both white mare and night mare began with her birth as the daughter of the Horned god and a white mare created from seafoam as the first waves of the ocean hit land. This union between earth and sea (god of vegetation and animals, creature of the sea) formed a part of the holy triad, earth, sea, and sky. Her totems, the wren and mare further exemplify her connection with the triad, her own divinity being the sky (heaven). As a part of a ninefold sisterhood, herself a triple goddess, she shares an aspect with Macha (Crone goddess), and with Ellen, the Horned Goddess of animals, pathfinding, and fields. Her mother triplicity also shares an aspect with Modron (the celebration of Mabon is reserved for this and all related aspects). Both Macha and Modron share an association with the Irish war goddess MorRhiaghan. Both MorRhiaghan and Rhiannon share the name Great Queen and associations with death, the sea, dreaming, and fertility.

The association between MorRhiaghan and Rhiannon can be best seen in their association with dream magick, the sea, and terror. As Macha the Night Mare, Rhiannon travels the dreaming realms as a black horse bringing terror to unwary sleepers. However, she is not directly responsible for the contents of those dreams. She merely assists us in better knowing ourselves by greater understanding of our subconcious. This role may be further solidified in her connection with Ellen, the pathfinder. Those who have lost their way appeal to Ellen ( later canonized as a saint as Saint Helen)), to both find their footing, direction in life, and for protection along life's travels. Nowhere can this be best done than within the dreaming realms.

As goddesses connected to the sea, the name Mor Rhiaghan is translated into 'sea queen' or great queen of the sea. In some respects she is described as a mermaid, and as others as a seabaring shapeshifter although primarily she is known for her work on land as a  goddess of fertility, death, magick, and war. While both goddesses did not share the same appeal among the Gauls or the Roman invaders they did share aspects. Both MorRhiaghan and Rhiannon share associations with birds as Rhiannon's wrens sang the dying to sleep to ease their passing and MorRhiaghan's crows, ravens, and vultures carried the souls of the dying soldier to their final resting place.