Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings.   For today’s blog post, I have decided to discuss the overlap between Solar Goddesses and Water Goddesses!

It is a very interesting aspect of Celtic myth that there are many Goddesses who are associated with the Sun.   While there is the common dichotomy of Moon as feminine and Sun as masculine amongst much of Western myth, and in many aspects of occultism, that is not the case in Celtic lore.   While you may be able to point to an example like Arianrhod, whose name means ‘Silver Wheel,’ as an example of a Lunar Goddess of the Celts, she is one of the only examples of Celtic Lunar Goddesses!

Instead, you can find so many examples of Solar Goddesses.   There is Rhiannon, who is famously often cited as a Lunar Goddess in modern practice, but her origins are most definitely Solar, with her Golden Veil as she rode her horse to meet Pwyll.   However, I do understand that Rhiannon’s nature as a Faery Queen whose Birds can lull the living to sleep and raise the dead does give some nighttime associations, and therefore seemingly Lunar ties.   So, I do get why modern practitioners would have begun to work with her in this way.  Aside from Rhiannon, there are Grainne and Aine in Irish myth.   These sisters famously both have ties to Solar energy!   Finally, there is Sulis, who is the Goddess associated with the Thermal Springs at Bath, England.  

Now, it is Aine and Sulis that I want to focus on as far as Solar Water Goddesses go.   You see, both of them hold an association with the Sun, but both are also deeply tied to Water.   As I noted, Sulis is the Goddess of the Thermal Springs, so her very Sacred Space shows that she has a she rules over Sacred Water, but also has an association with heat, and that hints at her Solar ties!   As for Aine, she is famously celebrated at Midsummer in Ireland, due to her very well-known nature as a Solar Faery Queen Goddess.   However, she also has ties to being a Mermaid!    You do not get much more obviously tied to both Water and the Sun than that.

Now, we clearly have these examples of Watery Solar Goddesses, but that still begs the question as to why they would have both of these energies.   After all, most of us think of Water as cool and damp, quite the opposite of the warmth of the Sun.   Yet, there is still a link, is there not?   Do not most of our favorite Sunny Summery activities involve Water?   We go to the beach, the swimming hole, the lake, the creek, to cool off in the heat of Summer.   We are enchanted by the way that the sunlight glistens on the water.   

And it is that very image that I believe proves my point best.   The Sun makes the Water glitter, together they show the true magick of Nature!   Whenever I see Sun Glitter, it brings joy to my heart as a moment of pure enchantment.   The Sun also provides a bit of illumination as we dive into the depths, and the Water cools us from the Sun’s heat.   The two balance one another and allow the other to truly shine!   And shining is exactly what Solar Water Goddesses do best.   They truly are showing us just how liminal they are through the fact that they are tied to both Water and the Sun.   In fact, Sulis is even called ‘Goddess of the Gap’ because she rules over the in-between!

I hope that you have enjoyed this short reflection on Solar Water Goddesses.   Who is your favorite Watery Solar Goddess?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a Sulis Minerva painting by Claudia Olivos.   I found the art on https://olivosartstudio.com/product/sulis-minerva-reproduction-on-canvas/. 

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

Further Reading

• Encyclopedia of Spirits by Judika Illes