Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings.   Today’s post is about how the birth tales of Arthur and Galahad are mirror images of one another!   Now, the story of the conception and birth of King Arthur is very commonly known to those of us who study the Arthurian legends.   The tale of Galahad’s conception and birth is quite equally well-known, or nearly so.

Recently, when I was thinking about both of these tales, it occurred to me that I had yet to write about how much the stories have in common.   That is why I decided that I had to cover that today!    I also think that part of why I wanted to cover these stories today is that my own birthday is on Sunday, so this seems to keep with that sort of energy and theme.   I will begin with a brief overview of the tales and then pick out their similarities in bullet points.

Conception & Birth of King Arthur

~Now, the tale of Arthur’s conception and birth began when Uther Pendragon fell in love with Igraine, who was already married to the Duke of Cornwall.   This romantic obsession led to war between the two men, and an opportunity for Uther to seduce Igraine.   Arthur was conceived when Merlin glamoured Uther Pendragon to make him appear to be Gorlois the Duke of Cornwall.   This is how Uther was able to bed the beautiful Igraine, with her thinking she was sleeping with her own husband!   Gorlois was killed in battle and Igraine married Uther after Arthur had been conceived.   Now this is a very uncomfortable story, seeing as how Igraine did not consent to sleeping with Uther and was deceived, and then to find out she was widowed and pregnant led her to having to marry the man that had seduced her and bedded her without her knowledge.   I know that it is a highly upsetting way to conceive a child, and I felt that it needed to be addressed before moving forward.   When Arthur was born, he was taken by Merlin to be raised away from his parents and taught by the wizard.   Arthur would fulfill his destiny of being the Once and Future King after the death of Uther.   Of course, in the end, Arthur had to die in the process of fulfilling this destiny!   Arthur was betrayed by Lancelot and Guinevere’s affair, and mortally wounded by his own son Mordred in battle, only to be taken to Avalon to be healed of his wounds and await the time when his country would be in need of him again!

Conception & Birth of Sir Galahad

~The story of Galahad’s conception also begins with an unrequited love situation.   Elaine, the Grail Maiden, became infatuated with Lancelot, but the Knight only had eyes for Guinevere.   This led Elaine to become desperate to sleep with the man she loved.   Galahad was conceived when Elaine was glamoured to appear as Guinevere so that she could seduce Lancelot.   Once again, this is a disconcerting and uncomfortable way to conceive a child, as Elaine had seduced and deceived Lancelot into believing he was sleeping with the woman he actually loved!   It is just as wrong as what Uther did all those years prior, but at least it was not followed by the death of Lancelot’s true love or a forced marriage.   However, their son was born with a great purity of heart.   Galahad was also born with the destiny to achieve what his father could not, due to the illicit love Lancelot bore for Guinevere.   Galahad was so truly pure of heart and body, that when he went on a Quest with Sir Bors and Sir Percival, he became the true Grail Knight.   Just like Arthur, Galahad died in the process of fulfilling his destiny!   

Similarities & Mirrors

• Both had one parent hopelessly in love with the other, and willing to use trickery to get what they wanted.
• Both were conceived via enchantment, with one being the father using the enchantment and the other with the mother using enchantment.
• Both had massive destinies placed upon them due to the unique and magickal nature of their births.
• Both had to be ‘better than their fathers’ to achieve what their fathers could not due to these destinies.
• Both died in the process of fulfilling these large destinies!

~I hope you have enjoyed this look at the birth stories of Arthur and Galahad as mirror images of one another, signaling their unique destinies.   What is your favorite part of the story of Arthur?  What is your favorite part of the story of Galahad?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a gorgeous painting of the Grail Quest.   I found the image on http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/king-arthur-sir-galahad-and-graal.html.   

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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

• Le Morte D’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory