Our Water Deities represent the essence of life.
Water has great beauty, and it holds grave dangers.
We cannot live without it.
It heals us, and still it can take our life away from us.
It is consciousness and revelation.
It is a source of immense creativity.
The Lady of the Lake guides us to the mysterious realms of emotion and cleansing.
Sketch drawing by Gwendolyn
The lake is flowing,
The water’s glowing.
She is showing her light.
I must go to her,
As if I knew her
I will walk through her tonight.
I am descending
Without pretending
There is no ending in sight.
Her waves caress me
Her waters dress me
I am Priestess...
now I take flight.
by Gwendolyn
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The Lady of the Lake is best known through the Arthurian legend.
Two of her most common names are Nimue and Vivienne, and she has strong ties to Morgan Le Fey.
According
to Arthurian legend, she was the foster mother to Sir Lancelot. It
is told that Merlin was in love with her and taught her all of his
powers. She became his student, his scribe, and his lover.
She recorded his prophecies and she became more powerful than
him. She imprisoned Merlin inside of a glass tower, either to
protect him or to bind him – no one knows for sure. Whatever the
reason, she did love him. And she was among the queens who
escorted Merlin’s beloved King Arthur to Avalon as he was mortally
wounded and lay dying.
Oil pastel by Gwendolyn LaFae
In Celtic Society the Lady of the Lake was extremely popular for her
influence over the essence of life itself. They celebrated the
beauty of the lakes and springs. The way the water danced and
flowed was a sign of the Goddess and her supernatural powers. It
was common for them to throw offerings into the waters, such as
valuables and weapons. Imagine seeing Excalibur, the powerful
sword which belonged to the Lady of the Lake , slowly descend down into
the waters by her hand. This practice of giving offerings to the
Lady of the Lake continues today in the form of “wishing wells.”
Nowadays, The Lady of the Lake is remembered as “Lady Luck.”
Pray Peace
Personal note:
I have wanted to do a project on The Lady of the Lake since I began
Goddess lessons.
I have had a fascination with the Arthurian legend since I was a child.
I have read numerous books and papers, seen most of the movies made,
and I wrote my college term paper on this legend.
The male characters remain consistent in each version of the story,
however when trying to focus on the females, I noticed the story lines
for the female characters are not consistent.
Her names, her roles, her actions and motives, they all change with
each version of the legend.
So what does this tell me?
We as Goddess are not easily defined.
We are versatile and hard to categorize.
We are capable of fulfilling any role, and all roles.
To me, The Lady of the Lake is the essential presence in an incredible legend focused on male characters.
Without her they would not have a story, and without her versatility, they would not have a great story.
Resources:
http://www.britannia.com/history/biographies/nimue.html
http://www.elfhill.com/leighann/writings/brigid.html
Gwendolyn LaFae’s
obsession with the King Arthur Legend
This page is the creative property
of Gwendolyn, 2006
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