Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings.   Today’s post is about deepening into the energy of the Queen of the Underworld during the Dark Half of the Year!    After we have experienced Samhain and been immersed in the New Moon in Scorpio, we are well into the Dark Half of the Year.   Now is the time when we journey into the depths of our own darkness and the Shadow of our souls.

Over the course of this last month, the feeling of diving into the depths of the Underworld within ourselves is overwhelming.    When we deepen into ourselves, we go to meet the Underworldly Goddesses and uncover our own traumas.    As a Priestess of Morgan le Fay, I have an intimate connection to the Chthonic, that is the Underworld and deities of Death.   Morgan le Fay is known to be a Goddess who desires to ignite Transformation within her Devotees.    She is also a Goddess who is a Psychopomp, given that an important part of her tale is ferrying a wounded and dying King Arthur away to Avalon where he will remain until his country needs him most, being the Once and Future King after all.

After Samhain, the energy of Death and Morgana in her Queen of Death aspect becomes heightened.    This is especially true of the time between Samhain and the Winter Solstice, for at Winter Solstice the light begins to come back a little bit each day until Spring comes.    Of course, Morgan le Fay is not the only Goddess associated with Death and the Underworld who you may feel at this time of year.     While Morgan le Fay is my Matron Goddess, and therefore the Goddess I feel the pull of most strongly, I also feel Persephone in her Queen of the Underworld aspect very deeply beginning around Samhain and continuing on throughout the Winter months.    Persephone is obviously one of the most iconic examples of a Queen of the Underworld, whose duality of being both a Spring Goddess and also reigning as a Queen of the Dead in the Underworld, makes her a very intriguing deity!

Most Queens of the Underworld are also Psychopomps, as being able to transition between the liminal place between the living and the dead, is an important part of being an Underworldly figure.    In the case of the Celtic Underworldly deities, the concept of ruling over the dead is slightly different than the more straightforward vision of the Underworld in Greek myth.    In Greek myth, the Underworld is ruled by Hades, with Persephone by his side ruling jointly, where Thanatos and Hermes act as Psychopomps bringing the dead souls to the Underworld.   The Underworld is sectioned off into different parts, based on where the dead deserve to end up, with Tartarus being the part of the Greek Underworld where those who were damned ended up!    

Now, in the Celtic Otherworld, we do not see anything that straightforward, this is not a singular Underworld sectioned off and ruled by a Divine Royal Couple.    Instead, the Celtic Otherworld is not just a place for the Dead.    The Otherworld is also a world of the Fae Folk, a world that the living could easily access and possibly get lost in while not being dead themselves.   That is what leads us to the interesting parts of how Avalon, the Holy Otherworldly Isle of Morgan le Fay,  is described from its earliest written references.    Avalon is a Faeryland, a resting place of the Dead, and a place where the living humans could live for a century or more in great health!    As you can see, the Underworldly energy of Celtic belief is very unique compared to other ancient Underworlds.    Exploring Avalon in her aspect as an Isle of the Dead during meditation is one of my favorite ways to honor this deepening into the Queen of the Underworld energy.

I hope you have enjoyed this short post about Underworldly Queens.   Who is your favorite Underworld Queen?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!            

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

• Vita Merlini by Geoffrey of Monmouth
• Le Morte D’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
• The Mabinogion translated by Sioned Davies
• Avalon Within by Jhenah Telyndru
• Mythology by Edith Hamilton
• Bulfinch’s Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch
• Persephone’s Pathway by Jennifer Heather