Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings!    This week’s Femme Fatale Friday post is about the Welsh Celtic Goddess Arianrhod.   Her name means “Silver Wheel” linking her to the Moon, the cycles of seasons, and the evolution of time!  I have decided to format the post slightly differently than most Femme Fatale Friday content.    Instead of simply recounting the tale of the Goddess with my own insights and interpretations sprinkled throughout, I will be breaking it down into three sections, one for each of the three Destinies she placed upon her son Lleu Llaw Gyffes.     I feel that the reasoning for placing these Destinies tells us much about her as a Goddess and serves to illustrate her role as a Goddess of Cycles teaching the importance of change, even while she herself remains unchanging! 

~ Destiny 1: He Will Not Have a Name Save for One That Arianrhod Herself Gives Him ~

~It all began with the unexpected birth of her two sons when she was tasked to be the foot holder of her uncle Math, where she had to have her virginity tested by stepping over his wand.    Her first son is the one that proved she was not a true maiden, he was named Dylan of the Waves by Math before he crawled into the Ocean.   Yet, as she was running away in embarrassment, another small thing falls from her.   This is taken by her brother Gwydion, who puts it into a chest until the thing that fell from Arianrhod is shown to be a young boy, whose Divinity is proven by his ability to grow at twice the rate of a normal boy.    Gwydion raised the boy as his own before taking him to Arianrhod’s own court, at Caer Arianhrod where she rules, and she refused to acknowledge her son.    I want to note that some scholars have interpreted her refusal to acknowledge her son as a possible case of his conception being non-consensual on the part of Arianrhod, or even incestuous with Gwydion truly being Lleu’s father.   I think that this interpretation, no matter how upsetting it is, holds a lot of merit, given that rape does occur in other Celtic myths, like the Irish story of Aine.    So, I feel when looking at it from a pan-Celtic angle it makes sense to interpret Arianrhod’s reasoning this way, and I do feel so much empathy for her if we hold this interpretation of her tale as likely.    After all, she was betrayed in this way by her own family!    

Back to the Destinies she placed upon her son.    She did this after refusing to acknowledge him.    The first of her Destinies is her refusal to name her son.    Gwydion tricked her into naming him by disguising both himself and Lleu so that Arianrhod did not know it was them and having her comment on Lleu’s talents.   These words she spoke of the boy “Lleu Llaw Gyffes” served to become his name!   

~ Destiny 2: He Will Bear No Weapons Save for Those Arianrhod Herself Gives Him ~

~It is through another trick by her brother that Arianrhod armed the young boy.    Gwydion had used trickery in his fury that his sister would not only not recognize her own son, but also place curses upon him that would prevent him from taking his place in society!   It was understood in Welsh Celtic Society that you could not take your place if you did not have a name or arms to bear, making Arianrhod’s first two Destinies true curses upon the young Lleu, further proving the possibility that she may have had a deeper reason to not want to be involved in her son’s life!

~ Destiny 3: He May Take No Wife From the Race of Women on Earth ~  

~This final Destiny that Arianrhod laid upon her son was one that she was not tricked into fulfilling, but it is one that lead to the birth of another Avalonian Goddess, making it the most important one in terms of The Mabinogion and the Avalonian Path!    When Lleu Llaw Gyffes had grown to be old enough to take a wife, Gwydion along with his uncle Math, both powerful magicians, formed a beautiful young Goddess from flowers.    She was either formed from three or nine blooms depending on the telling.   Her name was Blodeuwedd!    It is Arianrhod’s decision to place these Destinies upon her son that would cause the rest of the events of the Fourth Branch of The Mabinogion to take place, even as she herself faded from the plot line!    

This is what truly proves the innate power of Arianrhod as a Goddess of Time, Cycles, and her namesake “Silver Wheel.”    She is there to spin the web of fate and destiny for others, but she herself remains unchanged.    She ends the story as she began, ruling over her own court at Caer Arianrhod.    Her presence at the court of her uncle Math set the plot into motion and her placing of the Destinies upon her son encouraged her brother to figure out a way to thwart them, but she herself remained as she ever was.    She was no longer a true maiden, whether or not we interpret her conception of her sons to have been consensual or not, but her place as an independent Goddess ruling over her own island court had been brought full circle.   She very literally began and ended her time in the story in the same place, and happily so!

~I hope that you have enjoyed reading my thoughts on Arianrhod.    How do you interpret the tale of Arianrhod?   What are your opinions about her story?    Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is Arianrhod.   I found the image on https://aminoapps.com/c/pagans-witches/page/blog/arianrhod-celtic-deities/3Weg_KoEuBuwRopQ2RB1DpZl8RDkBq4vBkd.

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
• The Mabinogion translated by Sioned Davies