Branwen is the Welsh/Manx Goddess of Love and Beauty. She is also called the Lady of the Lake in some traditions. Here is the myth of Branwen.
The Myth of Branwen according to the Mabinogion of Wales Branwen
is the daughter of Llyr and Penarddun, sister of Bran and Manawydan, and
half-sister of Nisien (Lover of Peace) and Efnisien (Lover of Strife). Matholwch,
King of Ireland wished for Branwen's hand in marriage to create an alliance
between Ireland and Wales. Bran agreed, and the wedding occurred. Angry that no
one had consulted him concerning the marriage Efnisien mutilated Matholwch's
horses. Matholwch considered this a grave insult and commanded his men to return
to their ships in order to return to Ireland. Bran tried to make amends for the
insult by replacing each of the mutilated horses, and by giving Matholwch a
staff of silver as tall as he and a platter of gold the size of his face.
Despite these gifts Matholwch was still angry. Bran then gifted him with the
most prized possession of Wales: a magical cauldron that would restore the dead
to life. This seemed to appease Matholwch and Branwen went with him to Ireland.
Matholwch returned to Ireland with Branwen. where, within a year she bore him a
son, Gwern. Even this did not bring any warmth into the marriage as resentment
about the insult lingered and the Irish began to complain about their foreign
queen. She was soon banished to the
kitchen, where she was given the dirtiest work to do, and boxed on the ears by
the butcher daily. To keep Branwen's situation from reaching Bran Matholwch
banned all ships from sailing to Wales and imprisoned any incoming Welsh crews.
This lasted three years. During
this time Branwen trained a starling to speak and sent it to Wales, where it
told Bran of her plight. He immediately sailed to rescue her.
In Ireland, Matholwch was told of an unusual apparition - a forest had
materialized in the sea! No one could explain to the terrified Matholwch what
the sight meant, so he called for Branwen. She explained that it was Bran's navy
with Bran himself wading through the water at the forefront. An alarmed
Matholwch came up with a plan to rid himself of Bran. He built for Bran the
first house ever that was big enough to hold him. From every pillar of the house
he hung a sack containing an Irish warrior. At a signal from Matholwch the
warriors would emerge and slaughter Bran and his army during a great banquet.
Bran was very impressed with the house but Efnisien was suspicious of the sacks.
Matholwch told him that they were just sacks of flour but he wanted to inspect
them. Upon close inspection he felt the shape of a man's head. Efnisien squeezed
the head between his thumb and forefinger until they met in the middle. He did
the same to each of the sacks in the house before finally declaring himself
satisfied.
Somewhat disgruntled at Efnisien's actions, Matholwch had to abandon
his plot. The banquet went on as planned though. During the banquet,
in which Matholwch agrees to abdicate his throne to Gwern, Efnisien
asks if he may caress the child. Permission is granted and Gwern
approaches Efnisien from across the banquet hall. When the child came
within arms reach Efnisien grabbed him and threw him into the fire.
Immediately the banquet turned into a bloody brawl of which the Irish
soon had the upper hand because they had the magical cauldron that
would restore the dead to life. Efnisien, repenting, sacrificed
himself by hiding under a pile of Irish corpses and being thrown
along with them into the cauldron. Since no living thing could be
placed into the cauldron it shattered into 4 pieces killing Efnisien
at the same time.
After 3 days of bloody fighting Bran's army was victorious, but at a
terrible cost. His huge army had been reduced to only 7 men - among
them were his brother Manawydan and Pwyll's son Pryderi. A poisoned
arrow in the foot fatally wounded Bran. On the Irish side only 5
pregnant women remained to repopulate the whole island. Realizing
that the two kingdoms had been destroyed on her account, Branwen
sailed to Aber Alaw and died of grief.
Branwen means "white raven" in Welsh, and she has been equated with Venus, Aphrodite, and Diana, and also is considered in Wales to be the Morning and Evening Star. She is one of the five Goddesses of Avalon and is considered one of the three matriarchs of Britain (along with Rhiannon and Cerridwen) The Full Moon in June is Branwen's Moon. She also is honored during the waxing moon of each month. She is considered to be a Maiden aspect of the Goddess although she has many Mother attributes. Branwen is the Goddess of Love and Beauty. She is also considered the Lady of the Lake and is the embodiment of the Land. She is the Goddess of sovereignty and should be included in any ritual that deals with the Land or earth. Call on Branwen when you need help starting a new project, are looking for inspiration, or are faced with a new beginning. In the Avalonian tradition Branwen corresponds with Spirit Elementals and the 1st (crown) chakra. Some symbols that are associated with Branwen are The Cauldron, The Starling, The Waxing Moon, and The White Raven.
I have a tape of music by Ceredwen and one of the things that I love about her music is she sings in Welsh. On her O' Mabinogion album, her songs, Yng Ngolau Ddydd (In the Light of the Day) and The Revenge of Bendigidfran, she sings the myth above… it is haunting and beautiful.
The boats were heading for them
Swimming quietly towards the land
They came from Ireland
Thirteen boats in all
Sitting on the rock was Bendigeidfran, the son ofLlyr
Waiting to greet them, the mystery
Who were these men?
In the light of the day, the King ofIreland
Came to marry Branwen
In the light of the day, looking for a maiden to love
On the beach the two kings met
Hoping to unite the two islands
Branwen was to marry
She, the most beautiful girl in all the land
They went in their droves to Aberffraw
They feasted in tents, the union was nowcomplete
Branwen, unaware of herdestiny
Was so happy to marry the handsome king
In the light of the day, the king returned to Ireland
With the pretty maid Branwen.
Branwen was punished for the wrong done to Matholwch
To work in the kitchen from morning 'til night
The butcher so cruel slapped her face everyday
But her spirit was strong in spite of her pain
For three years Branwen suffered
Then
Sending a message to her brother
The Starling flew to tell of her plight
Chorus:
Hearing of Branwen's shame
He made up his mind to free her
With his men to Ireland
Across the water he went
Revenge, Branwen must be saved from Matholwch's island
Revenge, Branwen must be saved from her husband's arms
The swindherd's were working on the seashore
Looking at the wonder in front of their eyes
A mountain was walking slowly towards them
And the trees at its side followed behind
Bendigeidfran was the mountain
Walking silently towards the land
Pulling a forest of ships behind him
To save Branwen from this man
(Chorus twice)
