Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings. Today’s post is about Faery Queens as Shapeshifters. During the Dark Half of the Year, it is the ideal time to work on Shadow Work and on more introspective forms of magick. Shapeshifting is, in fact, a form of meditative magick that can be performed to honor Faery Queens! When in a meditative state, we can transform our Spirit (or Astral Self, or whatever you would like to call the form of yourself there in the meditation) into different animals or transform our Spirit’s physicality to have different physical attributes, like wings and Mermaid tails. This is why even guided meditations sometimes feature the listener transforming into a bird, a horse, to have wings, or to gain a Mermaid tail! I personally sometimes find myself transforming in these ways when I am communing with Faery Queens, as many Faery Queens I am devoted to have Shapeshifting abilities themselves.
Morgan le Fay and Melusine both have significant Shapeshifting abilities. Morgan le Fay can transform into a Raven, as shown in Vita Merlini, and Melusine’s whole story contains transformation, with Her Mermaid form and Dragon forms taking center stage! Blodeuwedd is also seen as a Shapeshifter, as she has both a humanoid and Owl form. Rhiannon can be interpreted as having the ability to Shapeshift into the form of a Horse or Bird, given her connection to those animals. However, I will note that Rhiannon’s ability to transform is less literally stated in her tales than in the others.
Now, you may wonder why exactly Faery Queens so often have the ability to change shape. The answer to that query is actually quite simple, and it is all hinged on Liminality! The Liminal is a huge part of Faery, and that means that Faery Queen Goddesses themselves have a very Liminal nature. The Liminal is the in-between, the misty unknown Twilight realms, anything that is not fully concrete and certain. This easily describes the nature of Faery Realms and the nature of Faery Beings!
Changing shape is an easy way to exemplify the Liminality of a Faery Queen’s nature. She can alter appearances in order to enhance magickal practices. Changing shape is also very related to Faery Glamour, as Glamour is the changing of appearance more generally. Still, Shapeshifting is a more intense version of Glamour, and Glamour is an essentially Faery type of magick!
The alternate forms a Faery Queen can take show us much of that Queen’s particular energy. Morgan le Fay is a psychopomp and can take the form of a Raven (or Crow), a bird known to be capable of traveling through the Veil. Melusine has a Mermaid (and Serpentine) form showing the nature of deep sexuality and fertility, and a Dragon form showing a fiery nature that will protect boundaries. Blodeuwedd is turned into an Owl when gaining great Sovereignty and hard-won wisdom, aligning with the energy of the Owl. Rhiannon’s story is littered with alignments between her Faery Queen energy and Horses, with a Mare birthing a Foal when Rhiannon births Pryderi and Rhiannon acting as a Horse offering others rides on her back during punishment. It is easy to see why we can interpret the story as Rhiannon changing shape, and it exemplifies endurance through all of her suffering.
I hope you have enjoyed this short look at Faery Queens as Shapeshifters. Who is your favorite Faery Queen who shifts shape? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a lovely artwork of Morgan le Fay with a Raven. I found the artwork at https://www.deviantart.com/beckystonehouse/art/Morgan-le-Fay-552905939.
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
- Vita Merlini by Geoffrey of Monmouth
- The Mabinogion translated by Sioned Davies
- The Romance of the Faery Melusine translated by Gareth Knight
- Melusine; or, the Noble History of Lusignan by Jean d’Arras