Devotions – Rigantona

MidWinter Vigils

Rigantona rides through winding paths in forests of Annwn
far away, yet Rhiannon’s shadow haunts the empty woodlands here;

Epona retreats to the deeps of the worlds as the Sun sinks low in her arms;

There is mystery in identity and these are propositions that shift
in the darkness of Midwinter;

Here, in the Nemeton, the meaning is clear
as questions dissolve in her presence:

The image of her riding,
The sense of her dwelling,
The gathering dark as a candle flame flickers,
The hope that is held in the glimmering light,
that it will be re-born;

Brigid guards the hearth-fire
to release the ice-locks
from her silver streams
on a bright day
beyond this silent night.

Temenos/Nemeton

TEMENOS & Temple area of Caerwent Roman Town

It is a place set aside, made over,
where two worlds touch
as one acknowledges the other.

To go there is to dwell
for a moment that never passes
but contains time out of time.

It is a locus of worship
in visionary space
built and enclosed,

In a room, in a garden,
or in the mind
where Rhiannon lifts her veil.

There is revelation, enchantment
when she rides through forests fair
and so here where the song

Of her birds is clear far out
over a singing sea, yet close:
encompassed in liminal space.

Spoken in the Nemeton

Mayday – the portals open –

Rhiannon rides across the land

Enchanting groves of birdsong

Where Mabon will play the Summer long.

Water Avens

Geum rivale

I grew this, in dedication
by my garden altar,
sewing the seed
by the welling water
of Mererid’s spring
keeping the pot wetter
than I would
for any other.

The first year
there was no flower
but I tended the leaves
on into the winter
and now, with the spring
the petals of liminal colour
bide their time to open
but are suddenly here, brighter

In the mind than it would seem
from their contained power.
So I wait upon them,
each new flower
as it comes, finding a way
to be itself far from any lake or river:
A testament to a sacred space
where things are placed to be made over.

Rhiannon

Palpitations at hoofbeats pounding
- near or far? –
at the limits of listening;
Susurrations of birds singing;

A rider passing
across
borders of perception:

Close as the light
of a distant star

YULETIDE

epona-beasts

Eponalia: 18 Dec. in the Roman Calendar	Epona on the shadow paths as dwindling daylight fades to longest nights before and after Solstice. These are the paths of transformation, of renewal
Solstice = ‘Still Sun’	as light shifts slowly from the stillness; Epona opens the way along the paths to another cycle of time, another year
Day length hardly moves at solstices,	for light to grow, for green leaves to burst from buds on every bough, from seeds yet to break through sodden soil and spring
but changes quickly at equinoxes.	brightly into life again – Bidden out of the dark below by the light of the risen sun.

The Well and The Stream

Ffynnon Sanctaidd, Llanfihangel Genau’r Glyn

Every time I look into the well the level is the same placid equilibrium: it never rises nor falls. No water is drawn from it these days, not for drinking nor for healing. Little rain runs in around the slate cover over the grill that tops the shaft. Around the edges a shiver might be seen on the flat surface beneath, the dark water inscrutably responsive to enquiry, keeping an elusive counsel.    This is a tranquility that comes from a remembered past, dwelling on an interaction with the human world that is commemorated but no longer practised, though I bring it to my visits and ask a blessing still.

Yards away from the well the stream that has tumbled down through the woodland above rushes over the bank and crashes noisily to its channel below when in full spate, or ebbs back to a trickle after a dry spell. It is not constant like the well and demands human attention, so has to be actively taken account of, especially in times of flood.

~~~

In the well
the pool lies still
beneath the grill cover

At the falls
the stream fills
the air with living water

~~~

YEW

Yew Tree, Llanfihangel Geneu’r Glyn

Bringing darkness from the Deep into the World, this Yew above ground reaches for the sky, silhouetting tangible darkness against the light, its green needles black against the blue : Not-World reaching into World, Not Yew becoming Yew. Ancestral presence alive in the World. Sticky red aril taken by birds, sweetening their Otherworld song, surrounding seeds carrying their poison through on the way to ground, rooting where the dead lie still, quick as they rise in the sap of Yew.

For another expression of this insight see the poem on Cronicl Yr Awen
HERE

Gorsedd Arberth

Gorsedd-Arberth-from-below copy

Camp Hill Field, Narberth

There are two suggested locations for Gorsedd Arberth, where Pwyll watched Rhiannon riding across the landscape from the hill top and declared “there is some magic meaning here”, and from where Manawydan and Rhiannon saw the enchantment fall across the land of Dyfed, and where Manawydan met the Otherworld emissaries and succeeded in releasing Rhiannon and Pryderi from captivity. One of these locations is Crug Mawr near the estuary of the River Teifi. ‘Crug’ often signifies a mound or tumulus of prehistoric origin. This particular tumulus is also mentioned by Giraldus Cambrensis, writing at about the same time as the manuscripts of Y Mabinogi. He says that “A tumulus is to be seen on the summit of the aforesaid hill, and the inhabitants affirm that it will adapt itself to persons of all stature and that if any armour is left there entire in the evening, it will be found, according to vulgar tradition, broken to pieces in the morning.” Gerald uses the name Cruc Mawr and makes no mention of Gorsedd Arberth or any of the events described in the Mabinogi tale.

The other, more likely, location is at Camp Hill near the small town of Narberth, the site of an Iron Age enclosed hill fort now completely buried. On a quest to find it I was not hopeful. It is located on private land with no apparent access but I thought it might at least be possible to view it from a distance. But no view was possible from the main road below and I began to think that we should have attempted the view from farther away, perhaps from the ramparts of Narberth Castle overlooking it from a distance. Then we came across a lane running up to a farm in what looked like the right direction. Not a public road, but we ventured up to see if we could get a view from there. We met a car coming down from the farmhouse . The driver stopped and asked what we wanted. At this point my partner inexplicably fell into the thorn hedge and gave a cry. The woman in the car suddenly changed her challenging attitude and looked concerned. Recovered, we explained what we were looking for. The woman visibly hesitated for a minute and then told us we could continue up the lane and take the gate through the farmyard and go on into the field. After she had driven off we did this and on the way I asked my partner what had happened to make her fall. She said she didn’t know but it felt like she was gently pushed.

The result was that we were able to spend some time alone in the field and absorb the atmosphere without fear of being challenged for trespassing. The photograph above is one I took after taking in the shape of the land, the low hill and the woodland beyond, where I imagined Rhiannon riding at her stately pace though no-one could catch her until she allowed Pwyll to do so. There is no visible trace of the Iron Age fort which has long since been covered in earth, though aerial photographs taken by archaeologists¤ show the outline of it. That such a place might still have been visible in medieval times when the Mabinogi story was set down, and that it would have had magical associations, is quite possible. That it could also have been a sidh, or place of transit to and from the Otherworld, would also explain it as the location of the events that the tale says occurred there. Certainly for me it is an epiphanic place both in the memory of my visit there and in the way I have been haunted by it ever since. So the photograph I took is like an ikon for religious contemplation. The visit was one of a number of exploratory pilgrimages I have undertaken, including a suggested location for the place in Glyn Cuch where Pwyll met Arawn, which was also a significant experience. But the visit to Camp Hill still retains its devotional focus after many years.

ˉĞÃ̶

¤ Referenced at : https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/304260