"I wish to tell you Arianrhod's story, but before I can do that I must tell you a little historical information. Arianrhod is the Welsh Moon Goddess, also known as the Mother Goddess. Arian means 'silver' and rhod means 'wheel', so in some circles she is known as the Goddess of the Silver Wheel. Upon the silver wheel are the signs that we recognize as the Zodiac, which represent the progression of the moon through the year. The Celts known as wise in the ways of the seas and stars measured time by nights not by days; the Celts based their calendar on 'The Silver Wheel.'"

"The moon is the archetypal symbol of all that is female, representing the Mother Goddess and her connection to the womb, creation, death, and rebirth. The dead are transported to Emania, the moon-land, upon the Silver Wheel, there to either spend eternity or await rebirth."

"Now I will let Arianrhod tell you her sad tale of betrayal."

I am Arianrhod, my mother was the Mother Goddess Don, my father her consort Beli. My mother was the ruler of the realm of magic known as Caer Sidi. Upon my birth, I became ruler of the Moon and Stars known as Caer Arianrhod, you may know it as the Aurora Borealis. Time passed and I became lonely in my kingdom in the heavens. So one beautiful day I rode down to Earth in my white chariot to see for myself the effects of the tides which were under my control. The events that followed have been twisted through the retellings of the generations and I wish to set the record straight.

Upon my arrival, I was extremely shocked to see my brother Gwydion in attendance to my mother's brother King Math. My Uncle was dealing with a curse that had been put upon him in ages past. I came to understand this curse, as my Uncle had foul habits, but that comes later in this tale. According to the curse, he would die if either he wasn't involved in battle or his feet weren't in the lap of a virgin. As it so happened, his most recent virgin had been raped during his latest absence, so he was in desperate need of a new foot holder. My not so adoring brother suggested in front of the assembled court that I act as King Math's new foot holder. King Math had the audacity to ask me in front of his whole court if I was a virgin! I did not wish to become the foot holder for my Uncle. The look in his eye had not been the look that an uncle should give his niece. After all, I was a Goddess and I had duties. I had only visited Earth on a sort of holiday. My brother stood there with a horrible smirk on his face. Now my honor was being called into question. I answered that of course I was a virgin! Gwydion whispered in the King's ear. Then the King asked me to prove I was a virgin! The proof he required was for me to step over a magic wand. I didn't trust my brother, but at the time I was unaware of the repulsive thoughts that resided in my Uncle's mind. The events that followed were indeed evil.

King Math placed his wand on the floor directly in front of his throne and commanded me to step over it. I moved forward to comply with the ultimatum. The memories of what happened next are as horrid to me now as they were then. As my right foot left the floor to step over the wand, time stopped for everyone in court except for my Uncle and me. Everyone was frozen, EVERYONE in the entire Kingdom was a living statue, even my worthless brother. My Uncle grabbed me, threw me on the floor and raped me. Within moments I felt life inside me, the child grew at a terrifying rate. I feared my skin would fail to stretch and would burst. My uncle laughed at my terror, resumed his seat on his throne, and ordered me to resume my former position as well. He then told me to step over the wand. As my right foot left the ground and horrible searing pain ravaged by body, my Uncle laughed again as I suffered. As my right foot touched the ground on the opposite side, time resumed, and a child fell to the floor from my womb. The people of the court, including my brother, stared at the squirming creature. As my left foot left the ground, time stopped again, another round of searing pain ran through me like a sword. As my left foot touched the ground, once again time resumed, and another child fell to the floor. Terrified I rushed to the door to escape my uncle as well as the jeers and hisses of the women. I looked back as I exited the room and to my horror, I watched my brother scoop up the second boy and put him in a chest next to the throne, while the King grabbed the first boy.

So severely traumatized was I by the events of the last few minutes…or was it hours… days…or months... I functioned on instinct alone. I had no concept of time nor reality at this point. I could make no sense of these events or even grasp whether or not they had really happened.

A very kind man Nwyvre, found me huddled up against the massive doors of his castle, shivering and rambling incoherently. He took me in, cared for me, and helped me to regain my hold on reality. Through news from my uncle's court, Nwyvre learned that indeed the children were real. I felt nothing toward them but loathed them as the abominations they were. I was grateful at least to hear that the mother waters of the sea reclaimed the child taken by my uncle.

The record of my quest to set right the wrong done to me can be found in the book of Mabinogion. The time came rather quickly that I rode the 'Silver Wheel' back to live on my lunar home forever.

"That was so great!" exclaims Amy. "I could almost see Arianhrod sitting there telling her story."

Everyone grabs their stuff and readies to leave.

"Dude, that uncle was an absolute slime ball! I'd like to get a couple of dozen friends and really mess him up!" states Ephraim, which elicits a laugh from the group.

"Yea, he was a low life," agrees Amy. "You just don't think of Goddesses being victimized like that."

Delia adds, "Yea, they're supposed to be strong and all-powerful and stuff. How could she be so easily overwhelmed?"

A young woman, wearing a black cloak, with long flowing red hair, and a band of gold encircling her head with a medallion in the middle of her forehead, walks past them, turns back and pauses at their table. Softly she states, "Some mysteries are not meant to be solved… " She looks directly into Nina's eyes and smiles, "Only questioned fully…" She then turns and leaves the coffee shop.

Ephraim jumps up and runs after her; moments later he's back. "She's gone, she just vanished, I reached out to touch her shoulder and she just wasn't there..." a breathless Ephraim reports.

Amy says sheepishly, "You don't think that was…."

"No, it can't be…" Andy replies.

Delia asks, "Is it possible…?"

Nina sits back down at the table, a smile on her face. "Some mysteries are not meant to be solved..." She looks around the table at her new friends.

In one voice they reply, "Only questioned fully..."

I found many, many sources of the story of Arianrhod, and all of them left me with several unanswered questions. How did Arianrhod get pregnant? How did she give birth instanteously? Or was it all an illusion? So using the above mentioned sources as a backdrop, I constructed the event of King Math's ability to distort time in order to provide an answer to my questions.

Images
Arianrhod, Goddess of the Silver Wheel
Artist - James Wappel

Arianrhod
Artist - Norma Peters