Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings. Today’s post is about Awen, the Divine Inspiration of the Celts! The word Awen is Welsh and was famously used to describe the brew of Cerridwen. Cerridwen brewed the potion of Awen to give to her son who was born terribly ugly, in the hopes that he would have a better place in society by having the gift of Divine Inspiration! Of course, the three drops of Awen were taken by Gwyon Bach while the rest of the potion was spoiled. This is how the chase of Cerridwen began and how Gwyion Bach became the great poet and bard Taliesin! Many view the story of ‘Cerridwen’s Chase’ to be a tale of Initiation into Mystery Traditions.
Awen as a concept goes beyond the tale of Cerridwen and Taliesin. Awen is the overarching idea of Divine Inspiration, making it a concept that we can possibly view as related to the Greek concept of the Muses, and to the Irish Faery Women, the Leanan Sidhe, the Faery Lovers who impart inspiration to their mortal lovers during sexual relations! Awen is a spark of inspiration that seems to come from the Divine as much as it may have come from deep within ourselves. I find that when Awen comes up for us spontaneously, it can feel very much like a Kundalini Awakening, in its sheer force and spiritual blessing!
I have even seen Awen personified as a Goddess manifest in physical form, as seen in The Celtic Goddess Oracle Deck by Gillian Kemp. Listing Awen as the Goddess of Inspiration with her origins in Wales, stating that she governs over Remembrance, Memory, and Illumination. This is a very interesting way of viewing Awen, as a literal deity, even if there is no proof that the ancient Celts ever saw Awen this way, or that modern Welsh people would agree with this assertion. This deck’s guidebook further discusses Awen’s association with Prophecy and Intuition, which is certainly true of the concept of Awen, and the brew of Awen which can gift these qualities. The only thing we know is that the concept of Awen is a deep blessing of Divine Inspiration which is still discussed very commonly in modern Wales and discussed at length by great Welsh magickal practitioners, like Mhara Starling!
Another Oracle Deck that embraces Awen, this time the concept of Awen without the need to personify it, is The Faery Forest: An Oracle of the Wild Green World by Lucy Cavendish. This deck places the keywords, Gift, Divine Inspiration, and Awakening on the card of Awen. The guidebook to the deck also states that another translation for the word Awen is ‘flowing breath’. I really love the way this particular guidebook describes Awen, with Lucy Cavendish defining Awen as “a mystical force that offers us a moment where there is a sudden surge in newfound knowledge, inspired thought, the ability to awaken our dormant talents, and a sense that before we were given the gift of Awen, we were like sleepwalkers.” For me, this definition gets to the very heart of what Awen is, a brilliant and potentially overwhelming gift, but one that we are beyond blessed to have come to us. Furthermore, I would add to the definition my own statement, that Awen is a Gift from the Faery Queens, blessing the World with Enchantment through Specially Selected Artists, Poets, Priestesses, Enchantresses, and Magicians of all sorts!
I hope that you have enjoyed this brief overview and exploration of the Welsh Celtic concept of Awen, but there is so much more, like the Druidic symbol I put in as the image for this post. But I will leave the discussion of that symbol for another day and another post. Have you been blessed with Awen spontaneously at any point in your life? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the Druidic Awen Symbol, with its three rays, which is so deeply linked to Druidry that some do not know it is an Awen symbol, only one used by Druids. I found the image on https://www.pinterest.com/pin/symbolism-of-awen–462815299212871935/.
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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/Watching
- The Celtic Goddess Oracle by Gillian Kemp
- The Faery Forest: An Oracle of the Wild Green World by Lucy Cavendish
- Welsh Witchcraft by Mhara Starling
- The Mabinogion translated by Sioned Davies
- The Fairy Bible by Teresa Moorey
- https://youtu.be/rm3OO4auJUI?si=YPH4o8r0Kj7A5d9O (This is an excellent video by Mhara Starling, from her YouTube, which discusses the concept of Awen from a native Welsh perspective! Definitely a must watch to better understand Awen!)
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