On the surface, Arthurian Legend has little to do with Italian witchcraft. Geography aside, there is enough contrast in literature and tradition. But what if we're discussing the King's half sister, Morgan le Fay?Morgan's spirit seems to be concerned with borders, oceans and transition. For this reason, I refer to her as a spirit of transcendence. When the Normans arrived in Italy during the 11th century, they applied her name to a famous illusion off the Straits of Messina. These straits, it should be known, separate Sicily from mainland Italy. In The Odyssey, the epic poem by Homer, the straits are home to Scylla and Charybdis, two notorious monsters bested by Odysseus. It is here, according to Italian folklore, that Fata Morgana keeps a home.
As an ambiguous sorceress, Morgan was established by writers like Geoffrey of Monmouth and Sir Thomas Mallory. According to tradition, she plotted against Arthur and stole the famous sword Excalibur. She is also a healer, credited with curing her wounded brother and presiding over a sisterhood on the isle of Avalon. Morgan's acts vary depending on who's (re)telling the story.
Further back in Celtic lore we have Modron, a Welsh spirit who shares many of Morgan's kinder roles and the names of her children. Like Jesus, Morgan is a synchretic mystic who made herself divine through associations with older spirits. The Irish Morrigan (a warrior who can take on the form of a crow), Greece's Earth Mother Gaea and the Welsh sorceress Cerridwen have also been linked to Morgan le Fay.
Call upon Morgan to help you attune with glamoury, enchantment, and the Great Work. She can also teach you to appreciate synchronicity (according to Malory, she learned magic as a nun) and change. Morgan makes an excellent mentor. Her energy is easy to recognize. She's likely to appear to you in many forms.
No comments:
Post a Comment