The legend of Taliesin and the Cauldron of Ceridwen

This is probably the most profound of old Welsh legends. There is a 6th century parchment containing one of Taliesin's poems , "Y Gododdin" at Jesus college Oxford. There is no doubt that a Poet by the name of Taliesin existed. His story is allegorical. A careful reading reveals the training that a Bard went through, here at the hands of a Welsh Goddess, before being transformed from Gwion Bach (Lttle Innocent) to Taliesin (Radiant Brow) Poetry is described as having a "Fire in the head"
The following is taken from the original Welsh with frequent reference to English translators to make sure I was getting it right.

 

Gwion Bach

In the early days of the reign of Arthur, there lived a man of noble birth called Tegid Foel. He lived with his wife Ceridwen on an island on the lake that is still named for him today, Llyn Tegid. They had two children, a daughter Creirwy, fairest maid in all the land and a son Morfran. As Creirwy was fair, he was foul. The ugliest man in the world, he was known as Afagddu (Utter Darkness) for only in the darkest part of night could he be looked upon. His mother despaired that he would ever find favor in the noble courts of men unless he had some merit to counter his ugliness.

So Ceridwen bore herself to the hidden city of glass and there consulted with the Fferyllt and from their wisdom and arts she returned home and at the edge of the lake she began to boil a cauldron of inspiration for her son. She found a young boy, Gwion Bach, to stir the cauldron and fetch the wood for the fire and an old blind man, Morda, to keep the fire kindled. She instructed them that they were to keep it boiling for a year and a day, during which time she, according to the phases of the moon and the alignment of the stars, gathered herbs to put in the cauldron at their appointed times.

One day, towards the end of the year, as Ceridwen was making incantations, three drops of the charmed liquor flew out and landed on the hand of Gwion Bach. Because of the great heat he instinctively put his hand to his mouth. In the instant that he did so he foresaw all that was to come and he knew that his greatest danger lay in the wrath of Ceridwen. Gwion fled.

When Ceridwen saw that her labor of the year was lost and that Gwion Bach now had the blessings of the potion, she chased after him to kill him. When Gwion saw Ceridwen chasing him he turned himself into a Hare. For the cauldron, among many other things, had given him the power of Fith Fath, the shape changer. Ceridwen changed herself into a Greyhound and was almost upon him when he leaped into a river and turned himself into a Salmon. Ceridwen turned herself into an Otter and was almost upon him again when he jumped out of the river and became a wren. Ceridwen followed as a Hawk and gave him no rest. Just as she was about to swoop down on him he saw a barn with a pile of wheat on the floor. He dived in and transformed himself into a grain of wheat and hid from her. Ceridwen turned herself into a red crested black hen and pecked at the wheat until she found Gwion and she ate him.

When she returned to human form Ceridwen discovered that she was pregnant and for nine months she bore Gwion in her womb. When she delivered him she found she was unable to kill him because of his great beauty. So she wrapped him in a leather bag and cast him into the sea. This was on the 29th day of April.

 

Taliesin

In those days, between Dyfi and Aberystwyth lay the weir of Gwyddno Garanhir. Gwyddno had an only son named Elphin. Elphin was the most unlucky of men. It grieved his father for it seemed that Elphin was born in an evil hour. Everything that Elphin attempted came to naught and good fortune was never with him.

That year Gwyddno allowed his son alone to draw from the weir. For the weir had never given less than one hundred pounds of fish at that time of year. In so doing Gwyddno hoped to turn around his son's bad fortune. The next day when Elphin went to look there was nothing in the weir. He was about to turn away when he saw a black bag caught in the nets. With the aid of the weir guards he drew the bag out and within was a child whose brow was shining with a radiant light. Then one of the weir guards exclaimed "Gweled y Daliesin" (Behold the radiant brow) Elphin replied "Then Taliesin (Radiant brow) he shall be named." Then Elphin carried the boy in his arms and carefully rode with him back to his house. All the way lamenting that he still had no good fortune and nothing to show but an abandoned child.

Then did Taliesin speak for the first time and foretold honor for Elphin and the first words he spoke were a poem called "Y Dyhuddiant" (The consolation)

"Fair Elphin, cease to lament let no one be dissatisfied with his own,
To despair will bring no advantage. No man sees what supports him;
The prayers of Cynllo will not be in vain God will not violate his promise
Never in Gwyddno's weir was there such good luck as this night
Fair Elphin, dry thy cheeks, being too sad will not avail
Although thou thinkest thou hast no gain, too much grief will bring thee no good.
Nor doubt the miracles of the Gods
Although I am little I am highly gifted
From seas and from mountains and from the depths of rivers
The Gods bring wealth to the fortunate man.
Elphin of lively qualities, thy resolution is unmanly.
Thou must not be ever sorrowful, better to trust in the Gods than to forbode ill.
Weak and small as I am, on the foaming beach of the ocean,
In the day of trouble I shall be of more service to thee than three hundred salmon.
Elphin of notable qualities be not displeased at thy misfortune
Although reclined thus, weak in my bag, there lies a virtue in my tongue.
While I continue thy protector thou hast not much to fear.
Remembering the names of the Gods, none shall be able to harm thee."
And from that time forth Elphin had good fortune and was of good cheer wherever he went.

The in-between Times and Places

Magic happens in the in-between places and times.
Those places that we all know about, we recognize them in one way or another but they cannot be pinpointed:
The edge of the sharpest knife; you’ll find it when you touch it but to precisely locate the place that is neither the left side nor the right, the edge that is there but nowhere.
The border between one man’s property and another’s; wars have been fought and lawsuits abound when it is encroached upon but where is that place that is neither his nor his? That in-between place, we know it’s there, the place that is nowhere but full of potential.
There are in-between times; the time when one thing stops and another begins. It isn’t there it’s a no-time, but it exists.
Every 28 days the visible area of the Moon grows larger. Then, the moment of the full Moon is also the moment when it begins to wane. How do we catch that moment when the Moon is full?
On June 21^st or thereabouts the Sun is at its strongest. For half the year the day has been getting longer and the night shorter. There is a point when the Sun has beaten back the night and the night is at its weakest. The moment of the Sun’s greatest power is the moment when it begins to lose and the night gains strength for another half year.

The opposite takes place around December 21^st. This is the time when despair gives way to hope. This is the time when the ground is as hard as a stone, when trees appear dead and nothing can grow. Only the Holly and the Pine give any hope that all is not lost. Then, at the moment of darkest night, when the Sun is at its weakest, is the moment when the Sun again begins to gather strength. There is a moment that does not seem to exist in the apparent world, but we know it is there. That moment when the world changes.
Two other very powerful times occur around March 21^st and September 21^st. This is when the World is perfectly balanced between day and night. Both are of equal length, but the moment, that time when the emphasis of the season moves from one pole to another, it is there, it happens but we can’t catch it.
One of the most celebrated of the in-between times occurs on October 31^st. Known as Calan Gaeaf in Welsh and Samhuin in Irish, it is the moment when Summer turns to Winter. That no-time but important time. The last harvest is in; it’s time to prepare for the long winter nights. Christianity decided to celebrate all of the Saints on November 1^st. “All Saints Day” so October 31^st became “All Hallows eve” or Halloween.

For our ancestors, and perhaps even today, the highest number of deaths would take place in the Winter. So it seemed only natural to suppose that the spirits of those departed would use this moment as a gateway into our World to greet those who would soon be joining them.

The Quest for the Gateway

This is the secret of the in-between; they are gateways to other Worlds, times and places. Myth and legends from every people tell of those who have gone on a quest to find these other Worlds. In Welsh, pre-Christian legend, Arthur and his companions cross into Annwn, the place where the spirits of the dead go, on a quest to bring back the Cauldron of rebirth. A tale that later got “Christianized” into the quest for the Holy Grail.
Up until 200 years ago the people of South West Wales would tell of how at Calan Haf, the Spring equinox, islands would appear off the coast seen from the Presceli mountains. It was even said that people from these isles would come to the mainland and trade at the markets.
The quest to be at the gateway and to find these other Worlds is fraught with danger. To enter the World of the Spirits is to risk leaving our body behind and never coming back. The World of the Fae is enchanting. Time moves very differently there. Who is to say when or where we would return even if we are able to, although the bridging of Worlds is a powerful metaphor particularly in Welsh Myth. In the story of Llew Llaw Gyffes he can only be killed if he stands in such a way and at such a time that he bridges Worlds. Bendigeidfran, the giant King, made his own body act as a bridge to get his comrades to safety, another metaphor for bridging worlds. It gave rise to a Welsh saying still popular today; “Tra bod ben, bid bont” If you would be a leader, be a bridge. Taliesin, the greatest of the Welsh bards was taken from the sea at Calan Mai, or Beltain as the Irish say, another powerful in-between time.

All of the above is fable, it is Myth and legend but is there truth to be found in these ancient tales? Do these gateways really exist? Does it matter if they do or not? For the first two questions, the answer is that only those who have gone through them and come back know for sure. For the third question; No, it does not matter at all. Those who stand in the no-place in the no-time risk going no-where. This is the world we are born into; this is the universe where we belong. It is fine to have your head in the clouds provided you keep your feet firmly on the Earth.

But what about being aware of the things most people are not aware of. It doesn’t require learning or developing a skill, it only means paying attention. How about noticing that those no-times and no-places are all around us, those times and places that are nothing, yet filled with potential. How about noticing that at times and places we walk through and live through these in-betweens. Every now and again each individual becomes aware of something no one else is aware of.
 Being aware of things that no one else is aware of brings experiences that no one else has. Being truly aware is being truly alive.

To be truly alive is to live in a Magical world and the Magic never ends

Arianrhod, Goddess of the Silver Wheel

Arianrhod, the old tales tell us, lives in a castle of glass Caer Arianrhod it lies hidden deep within the mountains of Snowdonia. There she spins the web of life.

These old Welsh legends have meanings within secrets within mysteries. Arianrhod features prominently in the tale of Llew Llaw Gyffes,  (Lion with a sure hand) in the tale she lays on him three Tyngedau (fates or destinies.)  This gives us a very clear idea of what the web of life is and what is really happening.

The web of life is the firmament above us; the silver wheel are the stars. The stars move around in the sky and this is the web She weaves with the fate of us all entwined within the movements of the celestial web. When Arianrhod gave young Llew his fate She was foretelling what was woven in the silver wheel.

What Arianrhod tells Llew is that he must pass through the three manifestations of the God; Youth, warrior and sage. To be a youth he must have a name that only she can give. So his name is written in the stars. Secondly to be a man he must have weapons and armor, today we might say the “Tools of the trade” whether it be the physical tools of the Carpenter or the education of the Professor. These are the weapons and armor we need to survive. Thirdly he was fated to marry a woman not of the race who walk the Earth. In fact he was to be wedded to the Earth, to the spirit of the land. This is the mark of the sage, to be consort to the land.

These tales were written down after the conversion of the British Isles to Christianity. It was necessary to hide the true meanings so the story is told in such a way to disguise the divine nature of Arianrhod and of her role as the spinner of the web. She is the guardian and architect of the silver wheel that spins above us constantly announcing our Tynged.  

Just as Gwydion presented Llew to Arianrhod, we may go to someone like Gwydion. Someone who is close to the silver wheel, a person with real knowledge of the movement of the stars. Through a genuine and honest interpreter we can gain the knowledge of our fate and the wisdom to work with that fate. The story points out that there was acceptance of the fate but there was no surrendering, there was no giving in. What was done was the successful working within the challenges to bring about the desired result. There is a great lesson in this also.

We must face with courage the decrees of Arianrhod accepting our place within the great web of life, knowing that as one strand grows thin and breaks, another will be spun. So tonight, when you look up at the great silver wheel above your head, know that you and I are joined in the great web of life, eternally a part of the great mystery and wonder that is spun in the castle of glass on the silver spinning wheel of Arianrhod.

Ceridwen and blind Morda

I was in a group discussion the other day when the question of Ceridwen arose. People had a number of questions about the story. Not surprising really, It is one of the most profound of the old Welsh legends. It tells of the birth of Taliesin, the greatest of the ancient Welsh poets or Bards.  The legend has it that an old blind man, Morda is his name is set to stir the cauldron of Awen. To make sure it doesn’t boil over. Morda falls asleep and three drops of the precious liquid fall on the thumb of a little boy.

 Just so we don’t get lost in translation; the boy’s name is Gwion Bach, literally “Little innocent” The old man is Morda, “Sea Father” Ceridwen is a lot trickier. The oldest manuscripts write her name as Keridvan or in modern Welsh spelling Ceridfan. “Fan” means place Cerid could be “loving” or it could mean “Crooked” or “Bent.” This would seem to reference the crescent moon. There is a deep study here and we have by no means uncovered all of the secret lessons hidden in this legend.

The part of the story that had almost all of my friends questioning was in regard to the action of Ceridwen. When she discovers that the Awen was taken by the young boy, the legend states that she beat Morda until his eye fell out. In Pagan groups Ceridwen is viewed as a Goddess. In fact there is ample evidence from legends and other sources to convince us all that she has always been a Goddess, so what is this passage all about? How could this be the behavior of a Goddess? I had to remind my friends of an important part of the story. Morda was blind. She was beating out the eye of a blind man. So what good was the eye to him? There are meanings within meanings inside these old tales. We are lulled into thinking that blind means “Not-seeing” Instead we should ask; “What was he blind to?” If we think of this part of the story as Morda losing that which prevented him from seeing clearly, then we realize that Morda also went through a transformation gifted by the grace of the Lady. It all revolves around a question that everyone in my group thought they had the answer to. The question of; what was in the Cauldron? What was it that Morda was stirring for a year and a day?

Almost everyone thinks it was the Cauldron of Inspiration. It is not.