At the bottom of a crystal blue lake in northern Wales dwelt a beautiful goddess called Cerridwyn. Cerridwyn made a magickal brew in her cauldron which gave her great power. One day a man named Gwion found himself at the bottom of this lake and discovered the goddess stirring her brew. Cerridwyn soon gave Gwion the task of tending her cauldron .
Gwion stirred the bubbling ingredients for a year and a day. As the last days passed the greal in the cauldron became more and more condensed as the potion grew stronger and as the last day closed, the cauldron held only three drops of the magick brew. Gwion continued to tend the cauldron and wait for the goddess to return. Suddenly, the last three drops flew up out of the cauldron and burned Gwion's finger. To ease the burning, Gwion stuck his finger in his mouth and immediately realized the power of Cerridwyn.
Gwion knew that Cerridwyn would be very angry with him for consuming her magickal brew, so he fled the lake in terror. Cerridwyn returned to find an empty cauldron and was very angry, so she followed Gwion. Using his new power, Gwion transformed himself into a mouse, but Cerridwyn became a cat and continued to pursue him. Again and again, the two changed shapes. At last Gwion became a grain of wheat, but Cerridwyn transformed herself into a hen, and catching Gwion at last, she ate him.
Cerridwyn returned to Lake Bala, but soon discovered she was pregnant. When she delivered her baby, she learned that it was the reborn Gwion. She cast him into the sea in a little boat from which he was soon rescued by a wealthy landowner. The man renamed the baby Taliesin which means radiant brow and adopted the little boy. Taliesin remembered all the knowledge he had gained from Cerridwyn's magick potion and became a renowned bard, counselor and magician in Wales.
This story of Cerridwyn seemingly portrays her in a very negative light in human terms, but this is a magickal story and must be looked at from a magickal perspective. So what exactly happened in the story? Cerridwyn introduced magick to mankind. Cerridwyn didn't have to allow Gwion to tend her cauldron, but she did. She didn't have to arrive back at the cauldron too late, but she did.
There can be no doubt that it was in her power to prevent this incident from occurring, but she didn't. Instead, she took into her body the essense of a human and gave new life to humanity. With that life, she gave magick to the world. Then she returned the new magickal being to his world so he could spread that magick to his fellow men and wemmyn. Indeed, Cerridwyn gave all of earth's creatures a very precious gift. For now, we can all see the world through magickal eyes, we can all live magickal lives, and with Cerridwyn's power we can all transform ourselves and our world. The brew in Cerridwyn's cauldron is no longer hers only. It has become a communal cup ever flowing, ever growing.
Though the myths about Cerridwyn (also Cerridwen, Caridwen, Ceridwen or Kerridwen) seemed to have originated in Wales, this moon goddess was revered by most Celts, particularly those on the British Isle. She was the Welsh Great Mother, the Goddess of Nature and the Moon Goddess. Welsh bards called themselves Cerddorion (sons of Cerridwyn).
The potion in her cauldron contained six plants for knowledge and inspiration called greal (from which the word grail originated). This was a very powerful potion because Cerridwyn was/is a very important goddess. She has power over death fertility, regeneration, inspiration, magick, astrology, herbs, science, poetry, spells and knowledge. Because her power is so diverse, she has been classified as a triple goddess.
She is an excellent goddess to use when doing spellwork for creativity, fertility, and magick. She is also excellent for initiations and moon festivals, particularly full moon and dark of the moon rituals. She can assist with enchantments and the develoment of psychic abilities. Cerridwyn is an excellent goddess to use for spells for vegetaive growth for herbs, plants, gardens, and woodlands. Inspiration for writing, particularly poetry, can be gained from Cerridwyn. She can also help with life transitions like birth and death. Her sacred animal is the white sow. Cerridwyn is a very useful goddess for receptive witches.
I discovered paganism 9 years ago and have been studying ever since. I can always find something interesting to read or to learn related to paganism. I have been practicing witchcraft on and off for 3 years. Just over a year ago, I committed myself to a magickal life and nothing has been the same. I see the world through new eyes. Trees greet me, and I embrace them.
I am a member of a small coven which practices eclectic magick. Because all the members of the coven come from a Celtic background, we have reclaimed our heritage and embraced the religion of our ancestors. For this reason, the Celtic pantheon is our primary pantheon, but we honor all god/desses.
The coven honors the god and goddess equally, but as hard as I try to be fair, I still favor the goddess. Perhaps it is because I am a feminist. Or perhaps because, being raised Christian, it took me so long to find the goddess that I don't want to surrender any part of her power, her feminity. The goddess influences everything about my life. She has brought me back to my love of learning. She challenges me. With confidence and inspiration, I meet her challenges. Creating this home page is one of the toughest challenges I've had so far (Did I forget to mention I'm a near computer illiterate? Or at least, I was about web and graphic creation when I started this page in May of 1997.), but I am doing it. I am doing it because I want to honor the goddess in all wemmyn (and men too), because I want to grow, and because I want to acknowledge my life transformation as I continue to tread the goddess path.
One of the most frequent questions that people ask me is "Are you Wiccan?" My answer to that is a difficult one. I consider myself a Witch, but not necessarily Wiccan. Much of my personal ritual is less formal than Wiccan ritual. I focus much more on the religious aspects of paganism than on the ceremonial and magickal aspects. I tend to lean more toward shamanistic rituals when I am doing my rituals alone. Deep meditative states produce the best results for me, and I do most of them lying down. I usually don't (Gasp!) cast a circle either when I am doing these rituals. However, I do incorporate many of the elements of Wiccan ritual into some of my personal practice, and my coven, of course, does Wiccan rituals. It isn't such a shoking answer, I don't suppose, for an eclectic Witch ;~)!
I am the daughter of the moon, desendant of the Goddess Cerridwyn. I am a womyn, a wife, a mother (to one marvelous dog-ter), a student and a teacher, a poet, maiden, mother and crone, a dreamer, a realist, a goddess, a child, everything that was and everything to be. I am the earth, the water, the air, the fire, and the spirit. I am Witch Carridwyn, come dance with me...
Last Updated on February 22,1998 by Witch Carridwyn
This page has been up since March 10, 1997.
