Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings.   For today’s blog post, I am going to be focusing on discussing Sulis, the Goddess of the Thermal Springs in Bath!   

Now, you may have noticed that I titled this post, Meeting Sulis.   There is a very good reason for that, as I have recently, about a month ago now, met Sulis during meditation.   I have researched her before, and I certainly knew quite a bit about her, which is why I think I so easily recognized her.   In the meditation, Melusine was also there and introduced me to Sulis, which is always wonderful, as this gives confirmation on who the Spirit or Deity you are meeting is!

I was quite blown away by her presence, as she was mostly quiet the whole time I was with her, but her presence was incredibly strong and steadfast.   I can certainly see why she has been worshipped as both a Solar and a Water Goddess for so long!   In my experiences with her so far, she has appeared to literally glow Golden, radiating the warmth of the Hot Springs in Bath, England, that are Sacred to her.   The very strength of her presence also helped me to make sense as to why the Romans syncretized her with Minerva, as Sulis certainly has the quiet power that would remind the Romans of their Goddess of Wisdom and War!

So, now that I have shared a bit about my experiences with Sulis, thus far, I want to discuss a little bit about her as a Goddess.   As I already noted, she is a Goddess of the Sun and Waters, and in particular, her Sacred Site is the Thermal Springs in Bath, England.   The name Sulis is stated to mean ‘Eye of the Sun’ or ‘Goddess of the Gap’.   The former alludes to her nature as a Celtic Solar Goddess, and the latter refers to Sulis as a Goddess who governs over the Liminal spaces between!   Even her very associations with both the Sun and Water speak to this betwixt and between state of ruling over not one or the other, but both.   Beyond this, Sulis is a Goddess of both Healing and Curses, as people certainly go to Thermal Springs for Healing, but there have also been many curse tablets found to Sulis!   

The fact that Sulis was entreated upon to curse people is very interesting, as it shows her as a dispenser of Justice.   This is likely another reason that the Romans would have syncretized her with Minerva, as Minerva’s nature as a Goddess of War had her deeply tied to strategy and Justice.   It is said that one of the main reasons someone would write a curse tablet to Sulis was to punish a thief, as this tapped into her energy as a Goddess of Justice and Vengeance.

Although Sulis is a very British Goddess, given her Sacred Springs being located in Bath, she was worshipped throughout the Celtic world.   She even holds resonance with other Goddesses, besides Minerva.   This includes imagery of Luna, the Roman Goddess of the Moon, in Sulis’s Temple.   The reason for this is likely alluding to Sulis being a Goddess of the Liminal, both of the Sun and the Underworld, with the Moon being the counterpart to the Sun.   There are also several other Goddesses possibly linked to her, including Nor’Nour, Sillina, Xulsigiae, and the Sulias and Suleviae.   The latter two obviously have names that are etymologically similar to Sulis, so the connection makes sense.   For more information on her connections with other Goddesses, I highly recommend Annwyn Avalon’s Celtic Goddess Grimoire.

So, yes, Sulis is quite a stunning energy, a powerful Goddess who governs the Liminal in so many ways.   I am very happy to have met her in meditation, and would love to one day visit her Thermal Springs in Bath.   I hope you have enjoyed this reflection on my meeting with Sulis and the discussion of her nature as a Goddess of the Sun and a Goddess of Water.   Have you ever worked with Sulis?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a photo of the Gilt Bronze head from the Cult Statue of Sulis Minerva from the Temple of Bath.   I found the picture on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulis.         

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

Further Reading

• Celtic Goddess Grimoire by Annwyn Avalon
• Encyclopedia of Spirits by Judika Illes
• https://feminismandreligion.com/2013/06/16/sulis-celtic-sun-goddess-of-healing-and-prophecy/
• https://earthandstarryheaven.com/2016/12/07/sulis/
• https://orderwhitemoon.org/goddess/Sulis/Sulis.htm