Tuesday, May 29, 2007

The Goddess Branwen

Branwen is the Welsh "version" of Venus or Aphrodite. She is the Goddess of love and beauty, dying of a broken heart after the death of her brother Bran. She's the Lady of the Lake and seems to correspond with the first chakra.

According to Encyclopedia Mythica, she is one of the three "matriarchs of Britain" (http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/celtic/articles.html). One web site I found (http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/celtic/articles.html) says that while Branwen is usually thought of as the maiden, she has a number of the mother qualities as well.

Birds, particularly starlings and ravens, play an important part of Branwen's story. Heck, her name even means "White Raven!" The full moon in June belongs to Branwen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branwen)!

Finally, I found the following information from Wikipedia very interesting. "At Llanddeusant, Anglesey on the banks of the Alaw can be found the cairn called Bedd Branwen, her supposed grave. Now in ruins, it still has one standing stone. It was dug up in 1800, and again in the 1960s by Frances Lynch, who found several urns with human ashes. It is believed that if the story of Branwen is true then it must have taken place during the Bedd Branwen Period of Bronze Age British history."

Branwen, help me become content in my own universe. Help me to create and give love and friendship. Help me grow and learn to know my inner self.

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