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Within the Celtic Tradition, storytelling has long been a favored occupation. Long held as the embodiment of the most ancient Welsh legends is the Mabinogion. It is in the Mabinogion, we find the story of Blodeuwedd.
The Goddess Arianrhod deems that her son, Llew Llaw Gyffes will never marry a mortal woman, so Llew’s uncles, Math and Gwydion create the lovely Blodeuwedd from the flowers of the oak, broom and meadowsweet to be Llew’s bride. Shortly after their marriage, Llew leaves his wife and travels to see his uncles, leaving her alone in their castle. After a time, a hunting party travels nearby the castle and Blodeuwedd sends a messenger to inquire the name of the leader, whom she is told is Gronw Pebyr, the lord of Penllynn.
After hunting all day, the party comes to find themselves at the gates of the castle and Blodeuwedd invites them in. Once Gronw and Blodeuwedd lay their eyes on each other, they fall deeply in love. At the time in which Gronw must depart, they begin to talk of how they can be together forever and Gronw advises Blodeuwedd to determine the means in which her husband could be put to death.
After Llew’s return, Blodeuwedd confides her fears of his untimely death to Llew. Llew consoles her by telling her that he can not be easily slain, except by a wound. And the spear wherewith he is struck must be a year in the forming. And he cannot be slain within a house or without, nor can he be slain neither on horseback nor on foot. He can only be slain by making a bath for him by the side of a river, and by putting a roof over the cauldron, and thatching it well and tightly, and bringing a buck, and putting it beside the cauldron. Then if he places one foot on the buck's back, and the other on the edge of the cauldron, whosoever strikes him will cause his death.
Soon after this discourse, Blodeuwedd sends to Gronw Pebyr telling him to begin making the spear. After a year in the making, the plan was ready to be launched. Blodeuwedd went to her husband and asked him again about the validity of the method of which he could be killed. To calm her fears, he agreed to show her. Therefore, Blodeuwedd had the scenario he described created and at the moment he had his foot on the edge of the cauldron and his other foot on the back of the buck, Gronw emerged from the shadows and strikes him with the spear. Immediately, Llew turns into an eagle and flies away.
When the news of Llew’s demise reached his cousins, they were greatly saddened and they sought out the eagle, which they changed back into a man. After his return to human form, Llew was in a sickly state and took over a year to heal and become whole again. During this time, Blodeuwedd and Gronw were living together in the castle in which Llew and she had lived.
Once healed, Llew is determined to get his possessions back and he and his cousins storm the castle. Blodeuwedd and her maids run into the forest and looking back to see their pursuers, fall into a lake. They were all drowned except Blodeuwedd herself to whom Gwydion said "I will not slay thee, but I will do unto thee worse than that. For I will turn thee into a bird; and because of the shame thou hast done unto Llew Llaw Gyffes, you shall never show thy face in the light of day. And thou shall not lose thy name, but shall be always called Blodeuwedd." And even now the owl is called Blodeuwedd.
Many researchers and historians see Blodeuwedd as the symbol of betrayal or a representative of the May Queen, who was wedded ritually to the king who would be sacrificed to her, but her story can be interpreted in a different way.
Blodeuwedd was the Flower Maiden, made by men, for a man, in “the image of their own desires, feelings and ideas about what a Lover should be.” Blodeuwedd married Llew and became the perfect wife and mate. When she meets Gronw, something deep within Blodeuwedd came alive. She embraces and declares her feelings of love and makes a choice to be with Gronw. Blodeuwedd takes her power back and in this act, becomes the Mother aspect of the Goddess - a woman who is strong in who she is and who embraces her power; the power to nurture, to heal, and to love with abandon.
After Llew is killed, she is pursued and as a punishment, turned into an owl. Owls are associated with wisdom. Blodeuwedd has become the Crone. She has learned what happens when she accepts herself and turns against what others want her to be. Blodeuwedd was “transformed into the diametrical opposite of her previous self. From a meek, gentle, smiling, benign, beautiful and perfect mate, she became a solitary night predator, maw gaping in silent flight, screech cutting through the forest. In a positive sense, we may say that she became assertive, independent, self-realized - and wise.” The lesson of Blodeuwedd is that we must leave behind our youth and innocence and claim the Feminine Divine in order to transform and become wise.
http://www.orderwhitemoon.org/goddess/Blodeuwedd2.html
The Goddess Arianrhod deems that her son, Llew Llaw Gyffes will never marry a mortal woman, so Llew’s uncles, Math and Gwydion create the lovely Blodeuwedd from the flowers of the oak, broom and meadowsweet to be Llew’s bride. Shortly after their marriage, Llew leaves his wife and travels to see his uncles, leaving her alone in their castle. After a time, a hunting party travels nearby the castle and Blodeuwedd sends a messenger to inquire the name of the leader, whom she is told is Gronw Pebyr, the lord of Penllynn.
After hunting all day, the party comes to find themselves at the gates of the castle and Blodeuwedd invites them in. Once Gronw and Blodeuwedd lay their eyes on each other, they fall deeply in love. At the time in which Gronw must depart, they begin to talk of how they can be together forever and Gronw advises Blodeuwedd to determine the means in which her husband could be put to death.
After Llew’s return, Blodeuwedd confides her fears of his untimely death to Llew. Llew consoles her by telling her that he can not be easily slain, except by a wound. And the spear wherewith he is struck must be a year in the forming. And he cannot be slain within a house or without, nor can he be slain neither on horseback nor on foot. He can only be slain by making a bath for him by the side of a river, and by putting a roof over the cauldron, and thatching it well and tightly, and bringing a buck, and putting it beside the cauldron. Then if he places one foot on the buck's back, and the other on the edge of the cauldron, whosoever strikes him will cause his death.
Soon after this discourse, Blodeuwedd sends to Gronw Pebyr telling him to begin making the spear. After a year in the making, the plan was ready to be launched. Blodeuwedd went to her husband and asked him again about the validity of the method of which he could be killed. To calm her fears, he agreed to show her. Therefore, Blodeuwedd had the scenario he described created and at the moment he had his foot on the edge of the cauldron and his other foot on the back of the buck, Gronw emerged from the shadows and strikes him with the spear. Immediately, Llew turns into an eagle and flies away.
When the news of Llew’s demise reached his cousins, they were greatly saddened and they sought out the eagle, which they changed back into a man. After his return to human form, Llew was in a sickly state and took over a year to heal and become whole again. During this time, Blodeuwedd and Gronw were living together in the castle in which Llew and she had lived.
Once healed, Llew is determined to get his possessions back and he and his cousins storm the castle. Blodeuwedd and her maids run into the forest and looking back to see their pursuers, fall into a lake. They were all drowned except Blodeuwedd herself to whom Gwydion said "I will not slay thee, but I will do unto thee worse than that. For I will turn thee into a bird; and because of the shame thou hast done unto Llew Llaw Gyffes, you shall never show thy face in the light of day. And thou shall not lose thy name, but shall be always called Blodeuwedd." And even now the owl is called Blodeuwedd.
Many researchers and historians see Blodeuwedd as the symbol of betrayal or a representative of the May Queen, who was wedded ritually to the king who would be sacrificed to her, but her story can be interpreted in a different way.
Blodeuwedd was the Flower Maiden, made by men, for a man, in “the image of their own desires, feelings and ideas about what a Lover should be.” Blodeuwedd married Llew and became the perfect wife and mate. When she meets Gronw, something deep within Blodeuwedd came alive. She embraces and declares her feelings of love and makes a choice to be with Gronw. Blodeuwedd takes her power back and in this act, becomes the Mother aspect of the Goddess - a woman who is strong in who she is and who embraces her power; the power to nurture, to heal, and to love with abandon.
After Llew is killed, she is pursued and as a punishment, turned into an owl. Owls are associated with wisdom. Blodeuwedd has become the Crone. She has learned what happens when she accepts herself and turns against what others want her to be. Blodeuwedd was “transformed into the diametrical opposite of her previous self. From a meek, gentle, smiling, benign, beautiful and perfect mate, she became a solitary night predator, maw gaping in silent flight, screech cutting through the forest. In a positive sense, we may say that she became assertive, independent, self-realized - and wise.” The lesson of Blodeuwedd is that we must leave behind our youth and innocence and claim the Feminine Divine in order to transform and become wise.
http://www.orderwhitemoon.org/goddess/Blodeuwedd2.html