White Rose of Avalon

Legend

  • Immortality: Gift or Curse?

    Poe, Dickinson, Polidori, Stoker, Shelley, and Le Fanu.    All of these authors have written about immortality, both as a gift and as a curse.   The nineteenth century was a big time for supernatural tales, as a reaction to all of the technological advancements. The curse of immortality has been used in literature featuring…

  • Beltane

    Beltane is also known as Calan Mai in ancient Welsh Celtic societies.   It is the celebration of the beginning of May, and of the fertility of the land, and people.   Many goddesses and faerie queens are associated with Beltane.    They include Blodeuwedd, Rhiannon, and Maeve.   Guinevere is often associated with the…

  • Celtic Knots

    Triquetras and other Celtic knots are symbols that have many meanings and associations.  Celtic knots are intricate woven patterns utilized in many ways for centuries.    They were used in motifs in architecture, and on tombstones and other religious artifacts.   In ancient illuminated manuscripts they were painted in beautiful details by Celtic monks, and…

  • The White Goddess

    The book The White Goddess by Robert Graves is considered one of the most influential books in modern Goddess worship.   It was even influential to men who created modern forms of paganism.    The book got its day in the sun in the 1960s among the counterculture.    It is also a very controversial…

  • Ancestral Mythology

    The concept of ancestral mythology is a very intriguing one.   This is the mythology that our physical ancestors would have believed in.   We each have a deeper connection to the myths and folktales of our own ancestors than to those of other cultures.   This makes for an innate feeling of interest (for…

  • Celtic Astrology

    Celtic astrology is always something I have been more intrigued by than the more widely used zodiac signs.    I feel that my Celtic astrology signs, both animal and tree, are more in line with my personality than Virgo is.    I am a Swan and a Vine in the Celtic astrological traditions.    It…

  • Reincarnation

    Note: I just want to start off this post by saying that this is officially my 100th post here on White Rose of Avalon!     I cannot believe I have already reached this milestone.    I would like to thank all of my returning readers, and welcome all my new readers!    I also…

  • The Blodeuwedd and Guinevere Connection

    Blodeuwedd and Guinevere have many commonalities in their tales.   Both could be seen as sovereignty goddesses that had marriages that gave kingship to their husbands.   Both had marriages that began as happy, but devolved into unhappiness on the part of the wives.   Both found true love when they were already married, and…

  • Banshee

    Banshees were the wailing women of Celtic belief.   These faery women had cries that could pierce the ears of the listeners, and served to herald death.   The goddess the Morrigan is considered the first banshee.   Many television series have been inspired by the story of the banshee.    In Ireland many families…

  • Faeries as Fallen Angels

    There was a common belief held into the early modern times (circa the turn of the 20th century) that the fae were actually fallen angels.   This particular belief was among many beliefs that were held onto by citizens of Ireland.    One version of the story goes that during the fall from grace angels…