Kristoffer Hughes - Cerridwen: Celtic Goddess of Inspiration

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

Cerridwen: Celtic Goddess of Inspiration 2021 by Kristoffer Hughes.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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First e-book edition 2021

E-book ISBN: 9780738764238

Book design by Rebecca Zins
Cover design by Shira Atakpu
Cover illustration by Fletcher Sibthorp/Debut Art Ltd.

Interior illustrations by Llewellyn Art Department

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hughes, Kristoffer, author.

Title: Cerridwen : Celtic goddess of inspiration / Kristoffer Hughes.

Description: FIRST EDITION. | Woodbury, Minnesota : Llewellyn Publications,

2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: The

witch goddess Cerridwen is the focus of devotion and reverence among

witches and Pagans around the world. This book traces Cerridwens roots

through layers of history and myth, and it provides hands-on exercises

and visionary rites to help you realize her power in your own magical

practice. Welsh Druid Kristoffer Hughes shows you how to evoke the magic

of ecstatic poetry and song as you join the lineage of magical bards who

have explored the secrets of Awen and Cerridwens cauldron of

inspirationProvided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020053588 (print) | LCCN 2020053589 (ebook) | ISBN

9780738763828 (paperback) | ISBN 9780738764238 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Mythology, Welsh. | Ceridwen (Welsh mythology) | Goddesses,

CelticWales. | WitchesWales.

Classification: LCC BL980.G7 H8355 2021 (print) | LCC BL980.G7 (ebook) |

DDC 299/.1612114dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020053588

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020053589

Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific reference will continue or be maintained. Please refer to the publishers website for links to current author websites.

Llewellyn Publications

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

2143 Wooddale Drive

Woodbury, MN 55125

www.llewellyn.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

Contents

A A A

: The Quest for Cerridwen

: Beginning the Chase

: The Power of Mythology

: The Quest for Meaning

: Cerridwen and the Welsh Bardic Tradition

: The Four Eras of the Welsh Bardic Tradition

: Songs of Praise: Cerridwen and the Gogynfeirdd

: The Book of Taliesin

: The Chair of Cerridwen

: Cerridwen: Whats in a Name?

: Cerridwen and the Cauldron

: Witch?

: Cerridwen and the Mabinogi

: The Zoomorphic Faces of Cerridwen

: A Pig by Any Other Name

: Initiatory Transformation

: The Children of Cerridwen

: The Deification of Cerridwen

: Cerridwen and the Deep Mysteries

: The Narrative Spirit: Yr Ysbryd Adroddol

: The Prophetic Spirit: Yr Ysbryd Proffwydol

: The Enchanted Spirit: Yr Ysbryd Swynol

: The Awen

: Whats in a Word? The Meaning of Awen

: The Awen-Filled Legacy of Iolo Morganwg

: The Song of the Awen

: Cerridwen, Annwfn, and the Andedion

: Cerridwen and the Bardic Mysteries

: Ritual & Practise

A A A

I CerridwenMam yr Awen

Prologue

T he flicker of moonlight on water appeared like molten silver; the brilliance of each wave crest stirred my heart and imagination, for they appeared like creatures. Unknown and alien, they would rise from the fathoms of the lake and sip at the glistening rays of our nearest satellite. Their eventual lapping on the shores would sing another song as two worlds collided, and yet there upon the lakes inky surface stood the epitome of an even deeper world.

Her face was obscured by the fluid fabric of her immense cloak that moved about her form sensuously, making love to her bodily contours and each molecule of water that caressed her. Tendrils of black fabric stretched out in all directions about her, seemingly unaffected by the constant pull of land to water. The trees whispered about me, their chitter-chatter telling of other mysteries unknown to me, and yet we shared something within this moment: they understood what I was seeing, and I, in a language alien to me, could understand their connection to this being that stood impossibly upon the lakenot within it but upon its surface.

The figure on the lake moved her right arm, long, slender, and black as night, and held aloft a staff of darkened wood, which twisted up from the lakes surface. Her presence felt as ancient as the valley that surrounded me. Clouds passed over the moon, and the silver crests became jet-black and almost solid, to the extent that even their lapping changed its tune. A sighaudible, loud evenseemed to rise from somewherethe lake? The being? The trees? Who could tell, but something stirred, something changed. A sudden flash to my right and a burst of yellow appeared in the curtain of night that hung adorned with stars in the deep blue Welsh sky. It was accompanied by a delayed boom as something unknown sucked the sound from the moment, only to expand it back into being a second later. Three bodies of light streaked across the sky towards the sharp peaks of Aran Benllyn. Mouths gaped in awe at the sight. From the depths of space, meteor lights burst into our world, bringing with them stories of unknown places a million light-years away. Before us stood someone from another world, and yet at this juncture they expressed themselves here, on the shores of Lake Bala. The world of humankind, the world of origins, and the world of deep mystery collided.

The figure lifted both armshad she seen the meteor crash to the mountains behind her or had she sensed it, did she call it? What magic was this? In awe, I fell to my knees before the figure on the lake and whispered: