Blodeuwedd
Source; Hrana Janto: The Goddess Calander
August 1993

        "Not of father nor of mother/Was my blood, was my body." Blodeuwedd, the beautiful Welch Goddess of Spring was made of flowers and given life through a magician's spell, according to one legend. Nine was her magic number; she was made from nine different flowers; mountain primrose, broom, meadow sweet, cockle, bean, nettle, oak, thorn and chestnut. She was created because the Welch hero/god Lleu Llaw Gyffes could not have a human wife. This was due to a curse put upon him by his mother, Arianrhod. After Blodeuwedd and Llew Llaw were married for a time, she fell in love with a hunter and chose him for herself. She and her lover plotted to kill her husband, but when the spear entered his side, he did not die; he became an eagle. Llew Llaw's uncle found him and restored his human form, swearing revenge. The uncle found Blodeuwedd and turned her into an owl as punishment. Some say this version dilutes the spring goddess' ancient role as the Earth, who needed the blood sacrifice of her consort, the sacred king, to rejuvenate her. Her owl form was associated with wisdom and lunar mysteries, and with strong goddesses like Athena and Lilith.

Bloduewedd by Jessica Calbreth
Celtic Goddess Collection
Bloduewedd
Jessica Galbreth

Bloduewedd/Wlodwin/Blancheflor---Wales. "Flower Face"; "White Flower." Lily maid of Celtic initiation ceremonies. Also known as the Ninefold Goddess of the Western Isles of Paradise. Created by Math and Gwydion as a wife for Llew. She was changed into an owl for her adultery and plotting Llew's death. The Maiden form of the Triple Goddess, her symbol was the owl; Goddess of the Earth in bloom. Flowers, wisdom, lunar mysteries, initations.
Source; Conway, DJ. Magick of the Gods & Goddesses.
St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications

Blodeuwedd
Blodeuwedd was created out of flowers by Gwydion to wed Llew Llaw Gyffes. She betrayed Llew, either because she had no soul, being nonhuman, or because she resented being his chattel, or because the triplet of one woman and two men must play itself out in Welsh myth, and Llew Llaw Gyffes must die. At any rate, she fell in love with Goronwy and, wishing to be rid of Llew, she tricked out of him the clearly supernatural and ritual manner in which only he could be killed: neither by day nor night, indoors nor out of doors, riding nor walking, clothed nor naked, nor by any weapon lawfully made. She asked him to explain this, and he did: he could be killed only if it were twilight, wrapped in a fish net, with one foot on a cauldron and the other on a goat, and if the weapon had been forged during sacred hours when such work was forbidden. Blodeuwedd convinced him to demonstrate how impossible such a position was to achieve by chance, and when he was in it, het lover Goronwy leapt out and struck. Llew was transformed into an eagle and eventually restored to human form, after which he killed Goronwy. Blodeuwedd was transformed into an owl, to haunt the night in loneliness and sorrow, shunned by all other birds.


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