Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings. Today’s post is an exploration of Starlings, Owls, and Ravens as Sacred Birds in The Mabinogion and their relationships to Faery Queen Goddesses! This post also serves as a reason to explore exactly why I chose to name my Patreon tiers after these Sacred Faery Birds.
STARLINGS
~In the second branch of The Mabinogion Branwen tamed and trained a Starling over the course of three years to send a message to her brother, Bran the Blessed King of the Island of the Mighty (Britain). This is how she asked for her brother’s help when she had been so maltreated by her husband, the King of Ireland, and what began a war between the two nations! This aspect of Starlings as messengers and Sacred Helpers to the Goddess is part of why I have always personally viewed Starlings to be the Adar Rhiannon. After all, the Adar Rhiannon, that is the Sacred Birds of Rhiannon, do make an appearance at the end of the same branch of The Mabinogion in order to soothe the souls of the seven survivors of Bran’s troops! With the beautiful and Sacred nature of the Starling, I just had to name my three-dollar tier after them, as a reference to Rhiannon and Branwen.
OWLS
~In the fourth branch of The Mabinogion Blodeuwedd is punished by Math and Gwydion for the attempt she and her lover Gronw made on the life of her husband Lleu Llaw Gyffes! She goes from being the Flower Goddess, who was called forth from the Otherworld by Math and Gwydion to be Lleu’s wife in the first place forming her body from the blooms of Broom, Oak, and Meadowsweet, to becoming an Owl. She is the keen-eyed Bird of the Night! Now, fully her own sovereign Goddess, flying on her glittering White Wings, most commonly viewed as either a White Barn Owl or a Snowy Owl, and full of immense Sacred Knowledge to share with us! The connection between the Owl and Blodeuwedd, a Faery Queen Goddess to whom I am a Priestess, made the bird an ideal choice to be the name of my nine-dollar tier.
RAVENS
~In the second branch of The Mabinogion both Bran and his sister Branwen are named for the Sacred Bird, the Raven, with Bran’s name meaning Raven and Branwen’s name meaning ‘White or Holy Raven’! The Raven is also Sacred to the Isle of Avalon and to Morgan le Fay in particular, another Faery Queen Goddess to whom I am a Priestess and my Matron Goddess. The prevalence of Ravens and Crows in Welsh Celtic lore, the Arthurian legends, and Avalonian lore lends to them being possibly the most Sacred of all of the Sacred Birds I have discussed here today! That is why I have chosen them for my top thirteen-dollar tier on my Patreon. I also have another personal belief, like with Starlings being the Adar Rhiannon, that the White Raven, and White Crow, can be associated with Guinevere, as her name means ‘White Phantom’ or ‘White Fay’, making for a lovely balance between her and Morgana as the Faery Queen Goddesses of the Arthuriad! To be honest, when I personally see a White Raven and a Black Raven together, my first thought is not Branwen and Bran, but Guinevere and Morgan le Fay.
~I hope you have enjoyed this exploration of Starlings, Owls, and Ravens as Sacred Birds of the Faery Queen Goddesses. If you want even more explorations of countless aspects of Sacredness to Faery Queens, please consider joining my Patreon, Avalonian Rose Faery Mysteries, which is linked down below! Which of these Sacred Birds do you feel the greatest pull towards? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a gorgeous picture of a White Raven. I found the picture on https://www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFuckingLit/comments/ce4dxl/rare_white_raven_spotted_on_vancouver_island/?rdt=44195.
LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: https://patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
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
- The Mabinogion translated by Sioned Davies
- Once and Future Queen by Nicole Evelina
- Le Morte D’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
- Ladies of the Lake by Caitlin and John Matthews
White Rose of Avalon 