Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1836 – 1911)

Went and got cookies because I’ve had a shit week and my cat stole one from the box!!

PBP. G. Gilfaethwy and Goewin.

I’ve mentioned a few times that I’ve developed my own schedule of ritual and holy days, and that I’ve used the traditional eight sabbats of Neo-Wicca as markers for when to honor the gods of my pantheon.  Beltaine belongs to Gilfaethwy, who is one of the hardest deities for me to understand, while Yule belongs to Goewin.

In the Mabinogion, Gilfaethwy is the brother (sometimes listed as the twin) of Gwydion.  Their exploits kick off all the events of the Fourth Branch; to simplify it, Gilfaethwy lusts after Goewin, an avowed virgin, and Gwydion starts a war so Gilfaethwy has an opportunity to take Goewin for His own.

I’ve seen translations of the myth that state that Gilfaethwy “seduced” Goewin, but the translations that ring more true to me (and this seemed to be corroborated by the small amount of work I’ve done with Them) say that Gilfaethwy raped Goewin, that She had no voice or agency in what happened to Her.  That interpretation of events definitely colors my view both of the Mabinogion and of the gods themselves.  (Disclaimer:  UPG ahoy!)

I consider Gilfaethwy (who, to me, appears as an extremely genderfluid being) as the Primal Force; the id of the gods.  Xhe goes after what Xhe wants, with no thought to consequences or what anyone else thinks or feels about it.  Xir energy is almost destructive in its force; supremely creative but with underpinnings of danger.  It’s the closest to ecstatic creative madness as I’ve ever come.  Xir feast is Beltaine; a time of primal urges and setting aside rational thought to use mindless passion.

Goewin, in contrast, is the Lady of Sorrows.  Of the goddesses in my pantheon, Goewin is the one who understands pain and trials and tears, and She is the one who brings comfort in dark times.  She is the veil that drops down to separate you from the world, and within that veil She gives you the strength to heal your hurts.  She is the lady of Yule; She is the seemingly endless darkness, and She is the spark of light and hope at dawn.

"And Cain says, “When you split me and my brother in the womb, you did not divide us evenly. He got kindness, and I got longing. He got complacence, and I got ambition. I want to kill him sometimes. I think sometimes he wants to die.”

- Nathaniel Orion, "Hevel"

MY GREATEST ENEMY IS NO ONE BUT MYSELF

“Adoration of the Mystic Lamb”, by Hubert van Eyck and Jan van Eyck (1432); // “Juda’s Kiss”, by Gustave Doré; // “Briseis Restored to Achilles in his Tent Discovers the Body of Patroculus”, Léon Cogniet (1815); // “Ophelia”, by John Everett Millais (1851)

THE HEART

midst the hearth (through the harshest winters and through kinder days, lay's the future of a grief that stays-) set in stone. (the intentions of a cruel world, for it intends to insinuate-) the ripeness of glory.

the world is an exceptionally cruel test by him, the all-gracious. to those, who bear such pain and to pass such test, is one who deserves to accompany his throne and no more. but to those who cannot bear such burden, know there is none that blame you.

In this strange world, one is at peace so the other can bathe in their own suffering, and one will receive award for bearing pain and other punished for enjoying their day. This is the story of a family filled of Lion Hunters, and from the scriptures of the last remaining daughter of Artos.

Pola Negri in "Forbidden Paradise" (1924)

"RECLINING GRETCHEN" ROBERT LONGO // 1985 [charcoal/graphite/ink on paper | 57 × 95"]

Linda Pastan, from Insomnia: Poems; “Fingerprints”

A view of Rome (detail), Franz Knebel (Swiss, 1809-1877)