A Chairde, Friends,
I was recently a guest on the mythical treasury that is the KnotWork Myth & Storytelling Podcast with my dear friend, Marisa Goudy.
Here, I shared a tale of the goddess, Arianrhod, the ‘Silver Wheel’, daughter of the great Welsh mother, Dôn. This comes from the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the great epic of Welsh mythology. It begins with King Math and his ‘virgin footholder’, Goewin, until we encounter Arianrhod in the middle of the myth, and then end with Blodeuwedd, ‘Flower Face’, who is transformed into an owl as a form of punishment, though in ways it liberates her from the daytime clutches of the men - Math and Gwydion - who create her.
One of the most potent motifs in this tale, is the casting of the three tynghedau by Arianrhod. A tynged is a ‘destiny’ or ‘fate’ or what in the Irish tradition is known as a geis or geas, a ‘taboo’ or ‘spell’ that prohibits the recipient from carrying out specific actions, or in the reverse, requires them to take these actions. More often than not, it is women who cast these spells.
This is a myth where women fight for and are punished for their sovereignty, and yet still, we feel the energy of their self-liberation, of holding onto the fortress under the moon.
There’s more in the podcast on my own personal experience of Arianrhod:
How stories choose their tellers - Jen had prepared a different tale entirely, and then this telling of Arianrhod insisted on being told
Jen takes us on a beautiful tour of the moon’s monthly cycle as a map of our own becoming
Arianrhod as living initiator: Jen maps the three refusals: name, arms, marriage - onto her own creative journey toward the Sunset Journal, a ritual practice rooted in beginning the day at dusk
Reclaiming the night: Jen gives up the 5am productivity myth and discovers that creating by moonlight, as a confirmed night-owl, born just before the winter solstice is simply becoming more of her nature
Watch or Listen
To watch:
To Listen:
More Episodes
This was my fourth time being on the podcast since 2022. If your ears are singing for more, you might enjoy:
The Sunset Journal
On the latest podcast, I mention my upcoming self-care journal, The Sunset Journal on how to begin your day in the ancestral way. If you’re curious to learn more, you can read about this concept here:
And sign-up to the waitlist here. The published journal will be ready at Lughnasa.
Croí isteach,
Jen x