Cethlenn, the Dark-Veiled One

When I took the name Kethlenda, a variant of the name Cethlenn, upon first becoming Pagan, I knew next to nothing about the Lady for whom I had named myself. I knew she was an Irish prophetess. I knew she was said to have crooked teeth; I have crooked teeth myself, and naming myself after her was a self-esteem move; if she could have a physical flaw and still be a goddess, then so could I. I later found that she was the queen of the Fomorii, the Irish sea gods, often hated and feared, constantly at war with the sunnier Tuatha De Danaan. She was the wife of Balor, the king of the Fomorii, the god of the evil eye. Still, I learned nothing from books about the nature of Cethlenn; not enough has survived.

What I now know of her, I found through trance. I cannot prove any of this material by listing references; my principal reference is my own mind. I finally met Cethlenn while reading Ted Andrews' Enchantment of the Faerie Realm, which recommends using faery tales as meditative tools helpful in getting to know the faeries. I chose an Irish tale called "The Enchanted Lake" for my meditation. The story involves a young man who dives into a reputedly haunted lake in order to retrieve a lost ring. He swims to the bottom of the lake--and finds himself on dry land. There, he sees beautiful gardens and fields, tended by young men who had drowned in the lake in the past. The men sing of their queen, praising her beauty and bounty. The young man continues on his way. As he approaches an underwater castle, out comes an unattractive woman. The author dwells upon her weight, and upon her misaligned teeth. She returns the ring to the man, and then asks him to marry her. He says no, and returns to the surface with the ring. As I read the story, it dawned on me, deep in my intuition, that the faery woman was Cethlenn. I had also read enough "Loathly Lady" legends to know that the hero is always better off if he kisses the lady than he is if he does not. So, in my meditation, I shapeshifted into a young man, and re-enacted the protagonist's journey. The lady asked me for a kiss, and I gave it to her. She immediately turned into my personal image of a beautiful woman (yes, I know these things are highly subjective). She and the young man (me) then lived happily in her castle. I asked her if she was Cethlenn, and she said yes.

If you're reading this page, you're probably a pagan, or thinking about becoming one. I'm sure you've felt the touch of Cethlenn--she is that part of each of us that remembers the faery realm of the spirit, that longs to return to the depths of the Mother's waters. Her true beauty is not seen in our society--the person who seeks her is branded "crazy", "foolish", or even "evil". We have cloaked the Lady in a dark veil of ugliness, and turned her into the huge, jagged-toothed Devourer who threatens to engulf us in madness and send our souls to hell. And so most of us ignore her. But to the few who recognize her true worth, and "marry" her--that is, commit to dive deeply into the mysteries of spirit--she shows her true beauty. And what does she require? She asks her mates to tend her gardens. We continue on our search, growing and learning, and reap the beauty of Cethlenn's realm--a beauty most will never see.

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