AUTUMN 2007
THE JOURNEY
A fool, a cup and a wounded fisher king
The mermaid at Clonfert Cathedral
The appearance of a white hart
The mythology of the Rowan tree
AUTUMN 2007
THE MYTH OF BOANN AND DAGDA
A Naiad. John William Waterhouse. 1893.
When Dagda and Boann beheld eachother they fell in love but since they had other mates, their love was unexpressed. As Time passed, their love and desire grew. In order to lie with Boann, Dagda understood he must first separate her from the ever-watchful eye of Nuada. Samhain was close at hand, a time of enchantment, a time when the veil grows thin. Knowing this, Dagda arranged to meet Boann at the gateway between worlds on the first sunset of Samhain. Soon enough for the days and the seasons, yet not nearly soon enough for the impatient lovers, the day arrived. As the sky robed itself in red and gold, the two lovers met and, joining hands, stepped through the veil.
All night long Dagda and Boann played at lovemaking and by sunrise, she carried the promise of a child inside her. Fearing the retaliation of Nuada, Dagda found a way to conceal the pregnancy. He took out his magic harp and played. His music so bewitched Time and Space that they refused to move forward, choosing instead to remain with the lovers and spiral around them unceasingly. In this way, nine months expired in the Otherworld, while in the mortal world, only one day actually passed.
At the completion of her days and months, Boann gave birth to a son and named him Angus, which means ever young. Destiny had marked this child for great things. He would become a healer of souls, the god of love and poetry and ecstasy. However, knowing that it was dangerous for them to raise their son together, Boann and Dagda separated the next day and the fairy folk carried the baby Angus to a secret place far, far away.
Notes
Boann and Dagda are deities of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the God-like ancestors of the Celts. Boann is a fertility goddess associated with the River Boyne. Boann means Illuminated One of the sacred White Cow. Her mate is the powerful Nuada (also known as Elcmar or Nechtan), who was keeper of the sacred well. Dagda, which means All father, is the god of abundance. He possesses three magic objects. The living harp with which he controls the seasons and the weather. The cauldron of endless abundance. A two-headed club which can both create and destroy. His mate is the fearsome triple goddess of war, the Morrigan.
