Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings.   Today’s Mermaid Monday post is about the importance of Water in Celtic lore, legends, and magick.   Now, this is a very large topic, which I have covered in several previous posts, with this post being a short overview of this topic to give some insights into several aspects of the importance of Water in Celtic spirituality instead of deep dives into specific aspects.    

Water is one of the most common portals to Faerylands of all sorts, and that includes each of the Celtic Otherworlds, and it is common for Faery Queens and Faery Women to have watery associations.   The Gwragedd Annwn, the Welsh Lake Maidens, live underneath the lakes, and their homes are often described as Portals to the Otherworld.   The Arthurian Lady of the Lake arose from her lake to gift the sword Excalibur to King Arthur, and it was to her that Excalibur had to be returned when he lay dying.   That is the classic image we have of an arm reaching out of the water to catch the sword, which is so often depicted in Arthurian films!   Moreover, this is connected to actual Celtic warriors tossing swords into bodies of water as offerings to the Gods.   The Lady of the Lake goes by many names, and she is the Divine Feminine in the nurturer and protector aspect within the Arthurian legends, as she not only gifted Excalibur to Arthur but also raised an orphaned Lancleot in Avalon!   Next, let’s look at other Watery Faery Queens and Faery Women of Celtic and Arthurian lore and legend. 

Obviously, my beloved Matron Goddess Morgan le Fay is a Watery Faery Queen and the Lady of Avalon, the Holy Isle of Apples.   Morgan le Fay is an example of the more dangerous side of the Divine Feminine in the Arthurian legends, as she often is shown to plot the downfall of Camelot, but she still becomes the Lady of Avalon by the end of the tale, and it is her who ferries Arthur to Avalon on the Barge as he lay dying!   This shows her aspect of being a psychopomp and healer.   Another great example of a Watery Faery Queen is my beloved Melusine, as she is a Faery Queen and Mermaid Goddess of Avalon.   Melusine spends every Saturday in Mermaid form (or Serpentine form, depending on the version of the tale) and also has an aspect of being a Lady of the Fountain at the time of meeting her husband, Raymond.   The Lady of the Fountain, or the Well Maiden, is a type of Faery Woman who is often found throughout Celtic legend and lore, with another great example being Laudine, the Faery Queen and Lady of the Fountain who would become the wife of Yvain in the French Arthurian legends!   The Lady of the Fountain is a Faery Queen, or Faery Woman, who tends the Sacred Fountains and Wells.   She is often there to aid a Knight on his quest by bestowing gifts upon him if he can pass her test!   Besides these Arthurian and Avalonian examples, there are also the tales of the Welsh Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach.   The Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach is another example of a Lady of the Lake, being a Gwragedd Annwn.  As I mentioned above, a Gwragedd Annwn is a Welsh Lake Maiden.   The tale involves a man falling in love with her and having to prove his worth to marry her and receive blessings, but there is so much more to this tale that I do not have time to cover here.   Beyond that, Morgan le Fay’s name is linked to the Welsh Water Faeries, the Mari-Morgens, with the name Morgan (or Morgen) translating to mean ‘Sea Born’!   

As you can see, the importance of Water, Bodies of Water, and Water Faeries to Celtic lore, legends, and spirituality is a very profound one.   I hope you have enjoyed this short overview of some of the reasons why Water held such importance in Celtic lore.   What do you find to be the most interesting thing about Water, Water Faeries, and Water Folklore from Celtic lands?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a lovely Well Maiden artwork. I found it at https://rebeccacampbell.me/the-well-maidens/. 

LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries 

Further Reading

• A New Dictionary of Fairies by Morgan Daimler
• The Fairy Bible by Teresa Moorey
• The Mabinogion translated by Sioned Davies
• Le Morte D’ Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
• The Arthurian Romances by Chretien de Troyes
• Vita Merlini by Geoffrey of Monmouth
• Melusine by Jean D’Arras
• Water Witchcraft by Annwyn Avalon
• The Way of the Water Priestess by Annwyn Avalon