White Rose of Avalon

Morgan le Fay

  • Fata Morgana

    A fata morgana is a type of mirage seen by sailors.    It appears like a mystical structure just above the sea, and it appears quickly.   The reason I want to talk about this particular type of mirage is the origin of its name.    It is named for Morgan Le Fay, and in…

  • Gawain and the Green Knight

    The tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval one (14th century) written by an anonymous author.   The title was interestingly only given centuries later.   It has since been translated by many great poets and scholars!    This summer, the much awaited film (that was supposed to premiere last year…

  • Morgause: Mother of Mordred

    Morgause is one of the sisters of King Arthur in the Arthurian Legends.   It is her, instead of Morgan Le Fay, who is given to be the mother of Mordred in the earliest tellings.    I have discussed Morgan as Mordred’s mother previously.   Morgan and Morgause tended to get conflated as time went…

  • Morgan Le Fay as Morrigan

    Morgan Le Fay can be seen as an Arthurian take on the Irish Celtic goddess the Morrigan.   The Morrigan is a death goddess and a war goddess.    She was often associated with battlefields and warriors.    The Morrigan was a crow goddess who was deeply connected to this bird, which makes sense given…

  • The Uses of 3 and 9 in Celtic Belief

    The Celtic beliefs placed a large amount of significance on the numbers three and nine.    Both numbers appear in many different myths and symbols within Celtic culture!    The number three is the triple goddess, maiden mother and crone, that is utilized in some variation by most ancient cultures.    The number nine is…

  • Camelot: The Musical

    In 1960 Lerner and Loewe premiered a new musical entitled Camelot.   The musical was based on the successful Arthurian novel Once and Future King by T.H. White.   On stage the role of Arthur was originated by the great Richard Burton, and the role of Guinevere was originated by Julie Andrews.  On an interesting…

  • Excalibur

    Excalibur is the mystical sword of Arthur.    Gifted to him by the Lady of the Lake, the sword helped Arthur win many a battle.   The television show Once Upon a Time took a unique look at this sword.   In that series Excalibur was part of the blade of the dark one, the…

  • Sovereignty

    The definition of sovereignty is the right to rule.   This is something that played a huge role in both Arthurian legend and royal history!   In ancient times sovereignty was represented as a goddess of the land, and many early myths and legends feature a marriage between kings and goddesses of sovereignty. Within the…

  • Morgan Le Fay

    Morgan Le Fay was the half-sister of King Arthur in many tellings of the Arthurian legends.   She was a faerie woman and sorceress, and is often depicted as an evil figure.   She is mostly depicted as the mother of Mordred, although sometimes Morgause is his mother.   In popular culture Morgan featured in…

  • Faerie Brides

    The tradition of faerie woman luring men into Faery to be with them is a long one.   Equally long is the tradition of faerie woman leaving Faery to be married to human men on earth!    That’s right today’s subject is faerie and human couplings!   Countless fairytales, myths, legends, and poems present the…