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Rhiannon, the Celtic Goddess of the Moon was a Welsh Goddess. Her name derives from Rigantona,
meaning “Great Queen”. She is an embodiment of Life, Death & Rebirth, for in her realm there is
no death without regeneration. According to the myths, Rhiannon was promised in marriage to a
man she didn’t love. Instead, she chose the mortal Prince, Pwll. One day he was standing on top
of a hill overlooking his lands. Just then he saw a veiled lady on a white horse galloping at a
slow steady pace. Enchanted by the vision of the beautiful young goddess, he mounted his horse &
rode off to greet her. As he drew closer she seemed to get further & further away from him, even
thought her pace remained the same. His horse began to labor so he called out for her to please
wait. She did. He gazed upon her beautiful face and instantly fell in love. She invited him to
come to the great feast her Father was having in a month & claim her as his bride. He agreed.
At the feast Rhiannon gave Pwll a magical bag & told him to go to the man she was promised in
marriage to & trick him to get inside. He asked the man to fill the bag with food, but the more
food that was put into the bag the less full it was. The man was baffled. Pwll told the man if
he stood in the bag & said “enough” 3 times, the bag would be full. He complied. When he climbed
in, Pwll tied up the bag & said the only way he would let him out was to release his pledge on the
Goddess Rhiannon. He did. Pwll & Rhiannon were married that night. 1 year later, they had a son.
Legend has it that the son was kidnapped & Rhiannon was blamed for the loss of the child. For
punishment of her crime, she was to sit by the castle gate with the weight of a horses collar,
greeting guests with the story of her crime and offer to ride them on her back to the castle.
She endured this punishment for 4 years with no complaint. One day a Nobleman & his wife heard
of the story of the young queen and her courage & traveled to see her. When the strangers arrived,
they had a child with them. She offered to ride them on her back. To Rhiannon’s surprise they lifted
her onto there horse. The child then handed Rhiannon a woven child’s gown. Rhiannon recognized it as
her own child’s gown. The Nobleman had then told her a story of one night when he was helping a mare
in labor. He heard a child’s cry in the field. He & his wife raised the child as there own. When they
heard the rumors of the Great Queen, they knew the child belonged to Rhiannon & Pwll. The goddess
Rhiannon was restored to her place of honor. Although she has suffered for a crime she did not commit.
She was filled with forgiveness and understanding.
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The story & symbolism of Rhiannon represents steadfastness & forgiveness. You will often see pictures
of Rhiannon riding a white horse with 3 song birds flying next to her. In other myths she appears as
Vivien, the Lady of the Lake. She demand that we honor our instinctual & animal selves as a source of
creativity, abundance, and order.
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