Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

RHIANON

Celtic Goddess (Welsh, Cornish). In myth Rhiannon's name translates as "Divine" or "Great Queen". Rhiannon's original name is thought to be Rigatona (Gaulish) also meaning "Great Queen" indicating a much higher status in the Celtic pantheon than she enjoys today. Some sources say she was once a sun Goddess. Stories about her also aappear in the Mabinogion. She is a potent symbol of fertility yet she is also an Otherworld death Goddess a bringer of dreams and a moon deity who is symbolized by a white horse. Her father was Heveydd the Old and she was married to both Pwyll and Manann.

Rhiannon riding her pure white horse appeared to her future husband Pwyll three different times before he was allowed to catch her. Though promised in marriage to Gwawl Ap Clud a minor sun diety she was determined to have Pwyll. He went to ask for her hand but instead was tricked into giving her to Gwawl as a matter of honour. A year and a day later Rhiannon used her Magick a bit of conspiracy and the guise of honour to get away from Gwawl. Gwawl followed them but Pwyll caught him up in a bag and then tried to have him slain by telling everyone he was a badger.

Rhiannon was falsely accused of killing her infant son Pryderi who was actually kidnapped. All six of her handmaids fell asleep when the child disappeared and fearing they would be punished for their negligence killed a dog and smeared her with the blood, sat bones near her bed and accused her of eating the child. She was deemed guilty but Pwyll instead of having her killed stood her at the gate of his city to carry people in on her back like a horse.

Her lost child was returned years later when a servant discovered him on Beltane. His relieved parents named Pryderi which means "trouble." In her guise as a death Goddess Rhiannon could sing sweetly enough to lure all those in hearing to their deaths and therefore she may be related to Germanic stories of lake and river faeries who sing seductively to lure sailors and fishermen to their deaths. Her white horse images also link her to Epona and many scholars feel they are one and the same or at least are derived from the same archetypal roots.

She is associated with mares, silver, blood, the waning mooning, jasmine, moonstones and the colour white.

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc