K is for Kerridwen ( pagan Blog project)

Kerridwen

A Welsh Deity

I have worked with this particualr Goddess, She is the Goddess of Transformation and magic. She is also the Crone aspect of the tripple and as such is associated with the underworld. She is very Simmular to Hekate. I love her story in the Mabinogion. I have heard the story told in welsh and english by a very talented bard and druid and was enchanted. 

Very basically Kerridwen has two children a beautiful girl who is beyond compare and who does well because of her looks. She also has a son who is very ugly and is the compleate opposite to his sister. As a mother Kerridwen is very concerned about her son and how he struggles so she decides to help him as she is very wise in magic and herb law. She decides to make a potion to make her son not only clever but a most gifted individual, as she cant fix his looks she thinks maybe imparting some of her grate knowledge will make him usefull and powerfull and thus give him statous. 

She sets up a coldren in the woods near her house and sets a fire underneath it, she puts secret herbs and plants in but she needs the potion to be stired constently so she hires a local boy Gwionbac to stir the potion whilst she gathers the rest of her ingredients. This potion takes a year and a day to compleate so he sits for all that time watching over the couldren and looking after its contents carefully.

Kerridwen has put all she needs to in the potion and leave Gwion to stir and acidently he dets three drops of potion on his thumb which he sucks off because its hot. This is where his problem begins, the rest of the potion is now useless and the gift that was ment for her son has unintentionaly been given to Gwion. 

He does a runner knowing shes going to be mad (a cross mother is a scary thing) she goes after him presumably to clobber him one for not being thoughtfull enough, and this is where things get interesting they both change into different animals three times they change. I cant be sure of two of the changes but the last is this Gwion turns into a grain of corn and hides in a pile of it, Kerridwen turns into a mother Hen and eats it all.

Nine months later she gives birth to Talisesin the most gifted bard and Druid like good bloke. She is above all a mother and so she cant harm him so sends him off to be adopted. 

I am sure that this story is repeated much better online but of hand that is about as much as I can remember. 

Personally I find her to be quite approachable for working with particually if one is struggling any aspect of transformation this can cover a grate many things but she is good at helping one find a center and making sence and the best of the opportunitys that are often presented and missed in the midst of big upheaval.

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