Arianrhod
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In Welsh mythology, Arianrhod ("silver wheel") was a daughter of Beli and Don.
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Mythic Representation
She was in the court of Math ap Mathonwy, a king who needed to rest his feet in the lap of a virgin unless he was at war, or wanted to be. When one of his virgins, Goewin, was raped by Gilfaethwy, she was replaced with Gilfaethwy's sister, Arianrhod - who immediately gave birth to a young boy (Dylan) and a blob. Dylan was a sea-creature who immediately moved into the ocean. The blob, however, was placed in a chest by Gwydion, Arianrhod's brother. Arianrhod created three geases: only she could give him a name; only she could give him weapons; he would have no human wife. Arianrhod denied him the three aspects of masculinity. Gwydion raised him anyway, even without a name. Later Arianrhod saw him killing a wren with a single stone. She said that he was a bright lion with a sure hand and he took the name Llew Llaw Gyffes ("bright lion with a sure hand"). Gwydion then tricked her into arming him. Llew created his own woman out of flowers, Blodeuwedd.
Etymology & Fundamental Nature
The reconstructed lexis of the Proto-Celtic language as collated by the University of Wales [1] (http://www.wales.ac.uk/documents/external/cawcs/pcl-moe.pdf) suggests that the name is likely to be ultimately derived from the Proto-Celtic *Arganto-rotoā . This Proto-Celtic word connotes the semantics of ‘silver, wheeling one.’ This apparent semantic connotation has led Dr. John Koch at the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies to suggest that this personality may well personify “cyclicality” or “precession”.
Parallels?
If the theory is correct that Arianrhod is in fact a personification of “cyclicality” or “precession,” this allow one to draw parallels with such beings as Astraea, Aine, Aericura.
Bibliography
- Ellis, Peter Berresford, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology(Oxford Paperback Reference), Oxford University Press, (1994): ISBN: 0195089618
- MacKillop, James. Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0192801201.
- Wood, Juliette, The Celts: Life, Myth, and Art, Thorsons Publishers (2002): ISBN: 0007640595
External Links
[2] (http://www.mythome.org/celtic.html) [3] (http://www.paralumun.com/celticgod.htm) [4] (http://www.daire.org/names/deities.html) [5] (http://www.wales.ac.uk/documents/external/cawcs/pcl-moe.pdf)
- Arianrhod (http://www.shadowdrake.com/celtic/arianrhod.html)
- "Arianrhod" from Encyclopedia mythica online (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/arianrhod.html)fr:Arianrhod