Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings.   This week’s Femme Fatale Friday post is about Nimue, the Queen of Avalon and Lady of the Lake!   I thought it was appropriate to discuss her today, as I associate her energy very much with the Autumnal Equinox, which is on Sunday, September 22 this year.

Nimue is best known for being the lover of Merlin, who imprisoned him in the Arthurian tale of the Beguiling of Merlin.   However, it is also Nimue who fostered the orphaned Lancelot in Avalon!   She has such a diversity in the way she is viewed, which I find utterly fascinating and very appropriate for this transitional point in the Wheel of the Year.

Nimue differs from other Arthurian Faery Women in that she is often seen in a positive light, aside from her trapping of Merlin.   She is not derided for her sexuality and falling in love with the wrong man, like Guinevere and Iseult.   She is also not demonized for desiring the downfall of Camelot like Morgan le Fay.   Nimue is still incredibly magickal, but the way she uses her gifts is not seen in a negative light, as Morgan’s use of her gifts is.   Instead, she is the one who gifts the sword Excalibur to Arthur, and it is to her the sword must be returned upon his death, right before Morgan arrives on the Barge of Avalon to ferry Arthur to the Holy Isle.   The gift of Excalibur alone shows the positive nature of Nimue’s magick, as the sword is unbreakable, and the scabbard prevents the wearer from harm!   So, yes, Nimue does use magick against Merlin, but overall, that is the only time she does something wicked with her magick, and even that may not be so wicked after all, depending on the telling.   Certain variants of the tale state that Merlin asked to be imprisoned as he grew bored of daily life, and other tellings state that Merlin was being obsessive in his love for her, and she needed to imprison him for her own protection.   

Finally, I want to discuss Nimue and Lancelot.   As I already mentioned, she is the one who fostered Lancelot in Avalon.   Nimue took in the young orphaned boy and raised him to be the ideal Knight of the Roundtable.   This is why Lancelot is given the surname du Lac, as this refers to him being ‘of the Lake’ just as Nimue is the Lady of the Lake!   The fostering of Lancelot is a classic feature of Celtic lore, as great warriors are most often fostered by powerful Faery women acting as teachers and readying them for the day they will fulfill their destiny.    Another prime example of this kind of fosterage is the story of the Irish hero Cú Chulainn, who was taught by the warrior woman Scáthach in the Ulster Cycle tales.    Nimue serves that very similar role to prepare Lancelot to fulfill his destiny as a great Knight of the Round Table, possibly even preparing him to be the lover of the Queen as well (given that was also part of his destiny).   Whether or not Nimue knew of what would happen between Lancelot and Guinevere, one thing is certain: she cared for the boy and made sure he was ready to be a great warrior!

I hope you have enjoyed this short examination of Nimue and her role in the Arthurian legends.   What is your favorite aspect of her tales?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the High Priestess card from Le Tarot arthurien, which features the Lady of the Lake on the card!   I found the image on https://www.amazon.com/tarot-Arthurien-Claire-Duval/dp/2849338001.  

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

Further Reading

• The Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
• Le Morte D’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
• The Ulster Cycle