Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings! For this week’s Femme Fatale Friday, I have decided that I will focus on the Welsh Celtic Goddess Cerridwen and the most famous part of her story, the chase of Gwion Bach after he imbibed the three drops of Awen meant for her son. As she could only brew the potion once and it was supposed to give her son inspiration and knowledge, she was utterly irate that the youth she had employed to stir the cauldron would spoil it by taking the drops of Awen meant for her son, even though it was by accident. The drops had splashed onto his hand and he instinctively stuck his fingers inside his mouth to soothe the burn, but knew he was in trouble when the rest of the cauldron spoiled immediately! Of course, he also knew this because he now had that ultimate knowledge. Each phase of the transformational chase can be exemplified by one of the four elements of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.
When Cerridwen happened upon the situation she became absolutely irate and in her fury gave chase to Gwion. The first transformation to take place was Gwion transforming himself into a hare in order to quickly get away from Cerridwen, as he now had the knowledge of how to shapeshift. However, Cerridwen also could shapeshift and turned herself into a greyhound to chase Gwion as the hare. This part of the chase is exemplified by the element of Fire because Cerridwen’s anger is a fiery rage that cannot be abated! The next transformation took place when Gwion changed into a salmon and jumped into a lake. Cerridwen transfigured into an otter and attempted to pull him from the waters. This part of the chase is exemplified by the element of Water because Gwion is not only a fish trying to hide in the lake, but also because he is delving into the waters of the unconscious, learning about his own shadows and fears during the pursuit! The third transformation had Gwion transformed into a wren in order to fly away free from Cerridwen’s clutches. Yet, she transformed into a hawk in order to fly after him, nearly getting him but failing when he made his final transformation. This part of the chase is exemplified by the element of Air because they are both birds taking flight into the sky but also because the element of Air is associated with intellect and strategy. Gwion is learning greater strategy after delving into the waters of the unconscious! The final transformation saw Gwion transforming into a stalk of grain before Cerridwen could catch him when he was a wren. Even with Gwion hidden within the other grains, Cerridwen did not give up her pursuit and became a black hen and pecked up all of the grain, finally defeating her former servant. This final part of the chase is exemplified by the element of Earth not only because Gwion is literally the grain of the Earth, but also because Cerridwen’s devouring of him in this form led to her becoming pregnant with him. Pregnancy is associated with the Earth element in many ways, which is why Mother Goddesses often have associations with this element. The body of the Earth herself is often considered the Great Mother!
Gwion would later be born again from Cerridwen as the Great Bard Taliesin! By going through the trials of the Great Goddess Cerridwen, Gwion went from being a simple servant boy to becoming a spiritually enlightened individual. The Goddess won the chase, for she is Divine and much more powerful than Gwion, but she would genuinely become his mother birthing him into his new life as a Divinely Inspired Bard! The story can be read as a parable to teach spiritual seekers of today how they can also become more enlightened through the will of the Great Goddesses!
The fiery fury that began the chase can also be seen in the fiery passion of desire to become more attuned to our spiritual natures. As spiritual seekers, we must be willing to dive into our own personal waters of the unconscious and confront our shadows, as in the second part of the chase. Once we have alchemized some of our shadows (I say some because there are always new shadows that come forward which must be dealt with as they appear), we gain a greater understanding of the self. This is what happens in the third part of the journey, the ability to analyze and strategize to move forward on the spiritual path. Finally, once we have worked through much of this pain, if we are lucky, we can be held by the Goddess as a nurturing mother, as at the end of the chase!
I hope that you have enjoyed reading my thoughts on how we can view the chase of Cerridwen as a spiritual journey. What part of the chase resonates most with you right now? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is Cerridwen. I found the image on https://www.pinterest.com/pin/295619163011538708/.
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Further Reading
- Avalon Within by Jhenah Telyndru
- The Avalonian Oracle by Jhenah Telyndru
- Cerridwen: Celtic Goddess of Inspiration by Kristoffer Hughes
- The Book of Taliesin
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