Post by Heron on Apr 11, 2016 16:11:53 GMT -1
March: Blodeuwedd
Festival of Blodeuwedd, a Welsh divinity created from flowers who was the beloved of Lleu and Gronw and later transformed into an owl by Gwydion.
I know this goes back to my recent chiding from Heron over perception/definition of Gods as opposed to some other form of Spirit etc. etc. ;-) But is it the case then that as a group you perceive Blodeuwedd as a goddess - a Welsh Divinity?
I would have loved to have joined you last week (and was hopeful until Thursday that I might!) and have had a chance to discuss this in person. This is the sticking point for me, in terms of the difference between myself and everyone else here - the quantitative or qualitative difference between some notion of Spirit with a Sphere of Influence and those beings we might define as Gods.
By what definition or evidence/general support or custom does Blodeuwedd become Divine - a goddess?
Perhaps this would be better as a different thread if anyone felt like responding?
I'm sorry of I seemed to chide you Francis, I certainly didn't mean to. !
I'm not sure that I see the dividing line between a god and a land spirit as at all distinct. There are examples in the more explicit Greek mythology of nymphs being regarded, in different contexts, both as semi- and fully- divine or even of being 'promoted' to full god status.
As a being created by Gwydion out of flowers Blodeuwedd doesn't on the face of it seem to be a goddess so much as a being composed out of the landscape by Gwydion's magic. So a land spirit given fleshly form? If so she could, especially after her transformation into owl form, perhaps become a goddess. I wouldn't personally want to insist either way. If she only exists in that landscape then she is perhaps best thought of in what you term as a "spirit with a sphere of influence". But if anyone says she speaks to them outside of that sphere then I'm not going to argue. Her story is certainly powerful enough to attain mythic status, and there are plenty of examples of gods assuming different identities in different contexts, but I'll leave it to others to say if they find her to be a primary deity in her own right.