#vita merlini

[ruiniel]

Tried a digital redraw of Christian Waller's Morgan Le Fay, c.1927

She who is first of them is more skilled in the healing art, and excels her sisters in the beauty of her person.  Morgen is her name, and she has learned what useful properties all the herbs contain, so that she can cure sick bodies.  She also knows an art by which to change her shape, and to cleave the air on new wings like Daedalus; when she wishes she is at Brest, Chartres, or Pavia, and when she will she slips down from the air onto your shores. 

—Vita Merlini or The Life of Merlin, c. 1150

"Quarum que prior est fit doctior arte medendi

Excedit que suas forma prestante sorores

Morgen ei nomen didicit que quid utilitatis

Gramina cuncta ferant ut languida corpora curet

Ars quoque nota sibi qua scit mutare figuram

Et resecare nouis quasi dedalus aera pennis

Cum uult est bristi- carnoti- siue papie

Cum uult in uestris es aere labitur horis"

[liminalpsych]

Development of Arthur - Geoffrey of Monmouth

1138 - Historia regum Britanniae and 1150 - Vita Merlini, by Geoffrey of Monmouth

Physical appearance

In battle, wore "a golden helmet with the carved likeness of a dragon upon the crest"

Carried the shield Pridwen, "which had the image of blessed Mary, Mother of God, painted upon it, keeping him always mindful of her"

Wielded Caliburn, "greatest of swords, which had been made in the isle of Avalon"

In his right hand during battle, carried the spear known as Ron, "long and broad and keen in warfare"

Personality

At 15 years old, described as "a youth of outstanding virtue and largesse. His innate goodness made him exhibit such grace that he was beloved by all the people". Possessed "both great courage and generosity".

"Such an outstanding man that no one could match him in virtue" according to Merlin

Takes counsel from advisors and vassals, listens to them, takes their advice into consideration.

Willing to engage in mercy if asked sufficiently, but more inclined to mercilessness as a default, and swift to punish treachery. E.g.: let the surrendering Saxons go back to Germany, then hanged all the Saxon hostages when the Saxons turned back around and attacked the Briton countryside. E.g.: had made the decision to let none of the Picts and Scots live, but the bishops and clergy of those lands approached him and begged for mercy, such that "pity finally moved him to tears".

Fierce fighter and battle-leader, even at a young age, often even rushing into the front lines to inspire and rally the troops and successfully killing… lots of men. (470, in one of his first campaigns.)

Loyal and protective of his vassals.

Rejoiced at being universally feared after his conquests, and desired to "submit all Europe to his rule", so he conquered Norway, Denmark, and Gaul (over the course of a 9-year campaign). Eventually also fought and defeated the forces of Rome (though didn't get to conquer all of Rome due to Mordred interrupting by taking over Britain).

Unhesitant to accept single combat, and would even seek out challenges (for example, fighting two different giants in single combat and winning). "For King Arthur possessed such strength and courage that he scoffed at bringing the entire army against such monsters. He wanted to impress his men by vanquishing the creature himself" and so would do stuff like get Bedivere and Kay to steal away with him so he can fight a giant in single combat

Eloquent and well-spoken, able to give speeches "bedecked with a truly Ciceronian eloquence".

Intelligent and well-educated.

Had a portentous dream (about a dragon and bear fighting), not very good at interpreting it though.

Reasonably devout Christian.

Family

Wife: Guinevere, "from a noble Roman family", who had been brought up in the household of Duke Cador of Cornwall and "surpassed all the other women of the isle in beauty."

Mother: Igerna, married to Gorlois the duke of Cornwall when Arthur was conceived. Her "beauty surpassed that of all the other women of Britain".

Father: Uther Pendragon, who was disguised as Gorlois when Arthur was conceived, then later married Igerna after Gorlois' death. Poisoned to death by the Saxons after defeating them. Buried in Stonehenge (the "Ring of Giants") next to his brother Aurelius.

Sister: Anna, "whose sons and grandsons will later rule the kingdom of Britain" per Merlin's prophecy. Married Loth of Lothian, lord of Leis, "a most experienced soldier, wise and mature".

Another sister? Possibly a half-sister from Igerna and Gorlois? Unclear and unnamed, but married Budicus the king of the Armorican Britons over in what's now part of France.

Nephew: Hoel, king of the Armorican Britons. Arthur and Hoel were very fond of one another, "united by love and a common blood", and Hoel was a strong ally. Arthur dropped everything to rally to his rescue when he was ill and besieged, and they showed affection to each other more than Arthur is described as doing with anyone else in Geoffrey's narrative. (I get the sense based on the timeline and interactions that they're of similar ages, but I don't have evidence of that.)

Nephew: Gawain, son of Loth of Lothian and Arthur's sister Anna.

Nephew: Mordred, son of Loth of Lothian and Arthur's sister Anna.

Brother-in-law: Loth of Lothian, Earl of Lothian and King of Norway

Paternal uncle: Constans, eldest brother of Uther, prior king of Britain before Vortigern and Vortimer, former monk, puppet of Vortigern, deceased before Arthur's birth.

Paternal uncle: Aurelius Ambrosius, older brother of Uther, prior king of Britain after Vortigern and before Uther, deceased before Arthur's birth.

Grandfather: Constantine, king of Britain before Constans, deceased before Arthur's birth

Grandmother: Unnamed woman from a noble family "who Guithelin had personally raised"

Timeline

Arthur's birth prophesied by Merlin to Uther, along with the birth of his sister Anna.

Conceived at Tintagel Castle in Cornwall when Uther lay with Igerna while disguised by Merlin as her husband Gorlois, who he was at war with at the time (because he wanted Igerna).

Uther and Igerna marry shortly thereafter, as Gorlois died in battle while Uther and Igerna were conceiving Arthur. They "lived together as equals bound by mutual affection".

Arthur's sister Anna is born to Uther and Igerna.

Uther becomes ill and places Loth of Lothian in charge of the armies to fight the invading Saxons. Uther is carried in a litter to command the battle when Loth is unable to command the Britons successfully, manages to mostly succeed until the Saxons assassinate him by poisoning a spring.

The leaders of the various provinces of Britain ask Archbishop Dubricius of Caerleon to crown 15-year-old Arthur as king.

Arthur "upheld the ancient custom" of gift-giving to soldiers who joined him until he ran began to run out of gifts, so then he attacked the Saxons to distribute their riches among his men.

Drove out the Saxons, then also the Picts, Scots, and Irish from Britain (the Britain of the time, which is now Wales and some of England).

Rebuilt the churches that the Saxons had destroyed.

Married Guinevere.

Subdued Ireland and Iceland, and then the kings of Gotland and Orkney surrendered to him before they could get invaded.

12 years of peace, during which Arthur invited "all the bravest men from the farflung reaches of his domain to join his household," and cultivated "such refinement in his court so that people far and wide sought to emulate it," and "every young nobleman was tempted to hang himself unless he could dress or bear arms like the knights of King Arthur's court".

Possibly around this time is when Arthur fights the giant Retho atop Mount Aravius, when Retho challenges him to single combat to add to Retho's kingly beard collection? (Retho was collecting beards of kings to make a fur coat.) Timeline is unclear here.

Conquers Norway and Denmark. Establishes Loth as king.

Spends 9 years conquering Gaul, holds court at Paris, gives Neudtria (Normandy) to Bedivere and gives the province of Anjou to Kay.

Big fancy feast/tournament/celebration at Caerlon, is ceremoniously bestowed the royal crown. Rome sends a delegation to threaten Britain, tell Arthur to come to Rome in August, and that Britain still owes Rome tribute. The Britons are outraged, Arthur tells Rome they should give Britain tribute instead.

Rome advances towards Britain. Arthur leaves Britain under custodianship of Mordred and Guinevere and invades Rome.

Arthur sneaks off with Bedivere and Kay to fight and kill an unnamed giant in single combat while waiting in Gaul for the rest of his armies to arrive.

The Britons defeat the Roman forces somewhere between Paris and Rome. Arthur winters in the Allobroges, continuing to conquer the area, and wants to cross the mountains to invade Rome when summer comes.

Arthur receives word that Mordred has "proven himself to be a tyrant and a traitor", seized the throne of Britain, and "now took his wicked pleasure with Guinevere, who had broken her marriage vows".

Arthur returns to Britain and wages war against Mordred, who's allied with the Scots, Picts, Irish, and Saxons. Guinevere joins the nuns at a church in Caerleon when hearing of Arthur's arrival and victories.

~542 C.E.: Battle of Camlann. Mordred is killed Arthur is carried off by Merlin, Barinthus, and maybe others to Avalon to be healed by Morgen. Constantine, son of Duke Cador of Cornwall, becomes king.

Other notes

"The Boar of Cornwall" in Merlin's prophecies refers to Arthur.

Most described court events were at Tintagel or Caerleon.

Merlin does not show up in Arthur's story after his conception. In "The Life of Merlin", Merlin implies that he helped bring Arthur's body to Avalon as well.

[tiodolma]

ok smh taliesin tells merlin of avalon

The island of apples which men call “The Fortunate Isle” gets its name from the fact that it produces all things of itself; the fields there have no need of the ploughs of the farmers and all cultivation is lacking except what nature provides. Of its own accord it produces grain and grapes, and apple trees grow in its woods from the close-clipped grass.

The ground of its own accord produces everything instead of merely grass, and people live there a hundred years or more.

There nine sisters rule by a pleasing set of laws those who come to them from our country. 49 She who is first of them is more skilled in the healing art, and excels her sisters in the beauty of her person. Morgen is her name, and she has learned what useful properties all the herbs contain, so that she can cure sick bodies.

She also knows an art by which to change her shape, and to cleave the air on new wings like Daedalus; when she wishes she is at Brest, Chartres, or Pavia, 50 and when she will she slips down from the air onto your shores. And men say that she has taught mathematics to her sisters, Moronoe, Mazoe, Gliten, Glitonea, Gliton, Tyronoe, Thitis;

Thitis best known for her cither. Thither after the battle of Camlan we took the wounded Arthur, guided by Barinthus 51 to whom the waters and the stars of heaven were well known.

With him steering the ship we arrived there with the prince, and Morgen received is with fitting honour, and in her chamber she placed the king on a golden bed and with er own hand she uncovered his honourable wound and gazed at it for a long time. At length she said that health could be restored to him if he stayed with her for a long time and made use of her healing art. Rejoicing, therefore, we entrusted the king to her and returning spread our sails to the favouring winds.”

[farieshades]

🙂

What are some (say 5 if possible) major differences with the Merlin Lore and the BBC show Merlin?

To make this easier, I’ll list Lore that is, then what the Show has then expand. And I also, perchance, may have ended with 8 rather than 5....  

Now, the lore shifts depending on Author, as such, we have examples of different characters doing the same acts (Lancelot and Mordred) while some characters end up with multiple versions of names due to the myths transforming across lands and space and time (Bedivere/Bedwyr/Bédoier/Bedevere or Caradoc/Caractacus/Caradog Freichfras/Carados Briefbras or Walwanus/Gwalchmei/Balbhuaidh/ Gawain/Hauwaine/Gwaine and possibly more important to what I’m referring to Guinevere/Gwenhwyfar/Gwenivar/Gwynnever/Guenevere/Guenever/Gwen) 

1. Lancelot and Gwen. 

In the show we get the nice blossoming relationship that starts early on. Lancelot is all the things that Gwen comes to love in Arthur, and Lancelot is, as half the characters are, smitten with Gwen. He stands aside, in the show, letting Arthur have her [which is a bullshit interpretation, Gwen has agency, she chose Arthur but whatever]. In the Lore, however, this is more of where Shade!Lancelot shows up, as the Lancelot-Guinevere love story shows up. This is first seen in the 12th century Lancelot, The Knight of the Cart, in which the reader is introduced to adultery being committed with an already married Queen and a knight that was sent to protect her. Now, Chrétien de Troyes’ work invented this affair to counter Mordred-Guinever’s affair (as Mordred is often depicted as Arthur’s nephew in early works), after introducing Lancelot in his earlier work Erec and Enide (roughly 1170).

The Lancelot-Gwen story gets really popular in the 13th century, specifically in France, probably because Lancelot is a french addition, but anyway, this is roughly where we get Sir Thomas Malory’s adaptation which brings in Lancelot as a youthful teen who is knighted by Queen Guinevere and later rescues her from Maleagant (which is similar to The Dark Tower episode in a way) and afterwards the affair between the two eventually leads to the fall of Arthur and themselves. In Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur Guinevere is often portrayed as, honestly, a bitch [lots of annoying jealousy, deciet, adultery]. Within the works Lancelot falls into Madness and later, once revealed as a betraer of his King (for multiple reasons), Lancelot kills several knights and escapes, but then returns to stop Guinevere’s execution at the stake and in the time of battle, Gaheris and Gareth, brothers of Gawain are killed, Gawain falls into a rage that pressures Arthur to confront Lancelot and eventually causes lancelots death at some point. A very long winded thing that is drawn out and also includes Mordred sometimes. 

2. Geoffrey of Monmouth

Not really a ‘difference’, more of a nod to the British cleric from Wales who helped develop and popularise the Arthurian stories. The show has him working the library in Camelot (which is roughly anywhere from 410AD to 1066AD I’d have to imagine with the Anglo-Saxony problems occurring in post-Roman Britania) whereas the actual Geoffrey would have been roughly born 1095, dying maybe 60 years later. His depiction, interestingly, is often that of a bearded old man, not because this would be exactly how he looked, but in the era beards were a show of knowledge and wisdom (and ‘oh look at me I’m old and know things’) which has a standing tradition which goes back to ancient Greece when the beard was a symbol of masculinity and virility and being beardless was a symbol of youth and effeminacy (and possibly further back but I know ancient greek stuff so I’m sticking with my knowledge), although, in the show, he definitely looks maybe 100 but that might be just me looking at him like “wow he’s old.”

Anyway, his works were so influential that there is the idea of Pre-Geoffrey and Post-Geoffrey arthurian works (or rather Pre/Post Galfridian as that is his name in latin and classical languages are how works that clerics wrote are usually done thusly). Historia Regum Britanniae, the wonderful history of the kings of Britain from the settlement of Brutus of Troy, descended from Aeneas, to the Julius Caesar invasions and to real kings and fictional kings. Most of the work is based off other works like Historia Brittonum (attributed to Nennius), Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Bede), and De Exidio et Conquestu Britanniae by Gildas, along with oral works that would be traditionally passed down in communities. Now, it wasn’t his only work that remains prominent in the Series we know, as Prophetiae Merlini (Prophecies of Merlin) are utterances attributed to Merlin which have some popping up relevance in the show. Not much, to be sure, but we do have the White/Red dragon fight from this (with Aithusa/Kilgharrah not actually fighting however, but the symbolism is there).

3. Morgan Le Fey and Lancelot

In the show we briefly get this touched on with Shade!Lancelot doing a heckin bow of loyalty to Morgana (whom shall be referred here as Morgan) and kinda having heart eyes. However, in Prose Tristan, Lancelot is Morgan’s love interest/desire although he refuses her obsessive advances as he is in love with Guinevere. However, Morgan courts, drugs, enchants, and even goes so far as imprisoning Lancelot to keep him with her (in a parallel to Morrígan and Cú Chulainn). Now to the ‘shade’ aspect, there is a nice parallel to Queste del Saint Graal in which, within a vision Lancelot (and the audience) see a vision of Hell with Morgan controlling demons in the afterlife, which is similar, but also wildly different than the necromancy Show!Morgana has done to Shade!Lancelot.

4. The Isle of the Blests

This is the best parallel and difference watchers of the shows can see I’d imagine. Of course, in the show we have the Isle of the Blessed where members of the Old Religion would have gone to worship, the Isle was inhabited by high priestesses of the triple goddess and their Blood Guards and held at one point, most of the artifacts that Arthur and Merlin stumble across (Rowan Staff, Horn of Cathbhadh, Cup of Life which would be better known as the Holy Grail). 

In our wonderful vast accounts of Arthurian lore, however, the Isle of the blest, or perhaps the Fortunate isles, is synonymous with the Isle of Apples, or as we more commonly know it, Avalon. Of course, in the show, Avalon was the land of the otherworld, of the sidhe, but in the lore, the isle of Avalon was where women live who know all the world’s magic. Rather, this was also where Morgan lived with her nine sisters. From Geoffrey’s Vita Merlini, we see Morgan connected with Avalon, specifically in the role of a healer to Arthur after having been injured at the Battle of Camlann, and Morgan, as the leader of the nine magical sisters (unrelated to Arthur at this point), heals him after Taliesin delivers him there [Really it’s not until the late 12th century when morgan is transformed into the supernatural elder sister of Arthur]. 

This account, however, of nine sisters (supposedly named Moronoe, Mazoe, Gluten, Glitonea, Gluten, Tyrone, Thiten, and Thiton)  is very similar to the nine Gaulish priestesses or druidesses of Île de Sein, in which the Roman Chronicaler Pomponius Mela noted that the maidens venerated a god of prophecy and were known for their powers of 'sight' and as healers, along with having the ability to shapeshift into animals and raise storms at sea. On the note of sisters, however, it should be noted that Morgan, or rather Morgana, gains multiple different sisters from Morgause and Elaine of Garlot, along with the interesting history that surrounds Gwyar (as either a replacement for Morgause or Anna, a mother of Gawain/Gwalchmei ap Gwyar, and supposedly daughter of Amlawdd Wledig.)

5.Sir Ector Vs King Uther

In many of the lore surrounding Arthurian legends, Arthur is raised by Sir Ector as a brother of Sir Kay after joining the house as a baby to keep him safe from assassins (which Disney’s Sword in the Stone kinda gets at). Often times, when Arthur finally ascends to the throne, Sir Kay rises very quickly in prominence at court (although it’s said Kay has magic of indurance in that “nine nights and nine days his breath lasted under water without sleep” and “when it pleased him he would be as tall as the tallest tree in the forest [...] because of the greatness of his heat, and when his companionswere coldest, he would be as fuel for them to light a fire”). Although, he’s not the best knight around, nor a good role model in his actions. Nevertheless, Sir Ector is, in the works of Robert De Boron and Thomas Malory, given Arthur by Merlin who, with permission (usually or believed) by Uther and Igraine, brought Arthur to safety. Merlin doesn’t reveal the identity of the boy to Ector, and Ector raises him as a son, next to his own. This differs of course from the Princely raised Show!Arthur the audience watches. Not the biggest difference about, for Sir Ector is actually not that big of a ‘player’ in the scheme of their universe, but it is interesting to note nonetheless.

6. Minor Characters: Tristan and Isolde / Elaine of Astolat

Tristan and Iseult/Isolde have an entire prose cycle (Prose Tristan) based around them, and this was limited to a few scenes in the show. Understandable, as we are focusing on Arthurian progression from Prince to King, but the characters are based off the Cornish Knight Tristan falling in love with the Irish Princess Iseult (daughter of another Iseult, cause we love repetitive names in families. Definitely keeps family lines clear to see). Now, some versions have them ingesting a love potion, others have it as true love between them. Nevertheless, Tristan isn’t supposed to be in love with her because he’s delivering her to Cornwal to marry his uncle, King Mark. In one version the potion was supposed to be ingested by Iseult and King Mark to make a love-match between the two, but things got fucked up. Anyway, most times Iseult does marry King Mark and then we got adultery on the side which then the king’s advisors catch onto and try to convict them of. And this does madness stuff and what-not and at some-point you have a Hepheastus moment where King Mark is trying to trap Ares and Aphrodite, sorry, I mean Tristan and Iseult for proof. Tristan is to be hung and Iseult is to be burnt at the stake (or sent to a leper colony or both), anyway, Tristan escapes, rescues Iseult, and now they’re in the woods as outlaws. Which, in the lore they sometime return to have Iseult marry Mark properly as Tristan fucks off to adventure somewhere and Iseult has a happyish marriage until Mark dies and Tristan returns. Anyway -- Kinda similar to what we see, we just have them at the outlaw part of existence when Tristan is cursing the name of his Kingly Uncle and swearing off nobility. 

Elaine of Astolat/Ascolat supposedly is a figure who dies from unrequented love of Lancelot - bear with me - and drifts down the river to Camelot in a boat in the Mort Artu 13th century French romance - bear with me - while clutching a lily in one hand and a letter in the other. Elaine is found by King Arthur’s court, the letter is read, Lancelot feels ashamed and pays for a burial. The reason I mention this is it’s a similar death scene to many of the imporant characters we see die in BBC Merlin, and in particular, Lancelot and Freya. One, very important to Merlin, not quite an unrequited love, but near enough. The Other, the very man who broke Elaine’s heart in the prose. 

7. Princess Gwenhwyfar

I’m using this name as a nod to The Dragon’s Call, in which when Gwen introduces herself to Merlin in the stocks, that is what the subtitles say. The lore surrounding Gwen is wild. She is a villainour opportunistic traitor. She is a loving wife. She is ‘if she were a spice she’d be flour’. And she is a fatally flawed but noble and virtuous lady. Too many versions. Each author changes her character the most as compared to literally all others. The biggest shift from Merlin’s show to the lore, however, is Gwen is never a servant/maid, and she is Elyan the White’s sibling. The main thing here, I’d say, is her father King Leodegrance (in some versions) and sister Gwenhwyfach (false Guinevere). Different traditions have her with different family (Cywryd of Gwent / Gwythyr ap Griedawl / Gogrfan Gawr (specifically Gwenhwyfar ferch Ogrfan Gawar Drwg yn fechan, gwaeth yn fawr or ‘Gwenhwyfar, daughter of (G)Ogrfan Gawr, bad when little, worse when great ) / Garlin of Gore / King Madaglan (although he is an uncle I think?)) Lots of fathers nevertheless. Too many. Head hurts trying to look at genealogy for Gwen. Now, in addition to this, as mentioned above, Elyan the White (Helyan le blanc/Elain/Elayn/Helain/Hellaine/Helin - the pale / le blank) is the son of the Knight Bors the younger, and his mother Claire, daughter of King Brandegore. Anyway, with Elyan, he doesn’t interact much with Gwen until having to help his cousin Lancelot rescue her after the affair is exposed, then also joins Lancelot in exile, and later, (following the vulgate cycle) he becomes Emperor of Constantinople. 

8. Excalibur/Caliburn

Arguablly these are the same sword with different names. However, typically, Caliburn is the Sword that is stuck in the stone while Excalibur is given by the Lady of the Lake after Caliburn breaks in a fight. Although, then again, naming issues. Caliburn is the latin from the Breton Kaledvoulc’h, Welsh Caledfwlch, and Cornish Calesvol. The name Excalibur derives from the Caledfwlch, however the two are still depicted as different swords most often. Generally, the sword in the stone is the whole divine right of kings bullshit that keeps monarchy in power for most of history. Sometimes when Caliburn breaks in a fight, Merlin takes the same sword to the Lady of the Lake to make it whole again, reforged into Excalibur (nearly seen in the name ex-calibur(n) - out of caliburn). From what we watched back in… 2009-2013+ Excalibur is forged by Tom, Gwen’s father, breathed magical by Kilgharrah, given by Merlin (accidentaly to Uther), tossed into the Lake, returned by Freya (thus given by the Lady), then struck into Stone to give Arthur belief that he had god’s will on his side because of old prophecies that Merlin definitely made up but made everyone believe.

[marsprincess889]

From Rohini/Mrigashira to Jyeshta _ Morgan le Fay and The Morrigan

I've always been drawn to and fascinated by the Arthurian legends. Its characters are as vivid as they come and still serve as the original archetypes to the tropes that they inspired.

One very popular character is Morgana or Morgan le Fay. She's the original ambiguous witch, the polarizing character who is multi-faceted but easily recognized. The character Morgan le Fay and the goddess Morrigan have been closely linked together.

I did a little research on actresses that have played her in various adaptations and three nakshatras were prominent, especially as a certain placement. While there were other nakshatras that arose, such as Dhanishta, Magha and Revati, the ones I'm going to talk about were prominent in the most famous adaptations and not just as primary placements.

So, let's begin with exploring her place in the Arthurian Legends a little bit. In most instances, she's king Arthur's sister, protecting him and generally being a benevolent goddess/enchantress, but in later versions of the legends, she exhibits a dual nature that is capable of both good and evil. Morgan le Fay means "Morgan the Fairy", so her magical abilities and identity are indicated in her name. She's first mentioned in Vita Merlini (The Life of Merlin), a Latin poem dating around the year 1150, believed to be written by Geoffrey of Monmouth. There she's depicted as a great healer and that trend continues for a while with the chivalric romances written by Chrétien de Troyes, a French troubadour. In Le Morte d'Arthur, written in the 15th century, she's Arthur's half sister, sharing a mother- Igrayne with him. She marries unhappily and takes on numerous lovers, including Merlin(despite being his apprentice) and has unrequited love for Lancelot. She also has a hatred for Arthur's wife- queen Guinevere. In that same century, Thomas Malory makes her the biggest enemy of Arthur, who tries to usurp the throne and takes part in his downfall. In the end, she reconciles with Arthur and takes him on his final journey to Avalon.

This is a very brief exploration of her character, but her traits, including her ambiguity are apparent. She's both a helper and an enemy, but most importantly, Morgan le Fay is an enchantress.

The nakshatras that arose most prominently in the charts of actresses who've played Morgana were Rohini, Mrigashira(Snake yonis) and Jyeshta(the nakshatra that's opposing them both). The most consistent pattern in their charts was the Rahu-Ketu axis in Rohini or Mrigashira and Jyeshta. Most of them had Exalted Ketu in Jyeshta, with a couple examples where it was flipped and Rahu was debilitated in Jyeshta, and mostly they had Rahu in Mrigashira, and sometimes Exalted Rahu in Rohini. The most famous portayals of Morgana were actresses also with a primary placement in one of those three nakshatras.

Helen Mirren in Excalibur (1981) - Ascendant in Mrigashira.

Helena Bonham Carter in Merlin (1998)- Sun in Rohini

Katie McGrath in BBC'S Merlin (2008-2012) - Moon Conjunct Rahu in Rohini, Ketu in Jyeshta

Other examples:

Alicia Witt in The Librarians- Jyeshta Ascendant

Elizabeth Hurley in Marvel's Runaways- Rahu in Mrigashira and Ketu in Jyeshta

Whoopi Goldberg in A Knight in Camelot- Rahu in Jyeshta, Ketu in Mrigashira

Joanna Lumley in Prince Valiant- Rahu in Mrigashira, Ketu in Jyeshta

Julianna Marguiles in The Mists of Avalon- Sun in Mrigashira

There are other examples, but i've listed the more famous ones and you get the gist.

The good? The bad?

The witch.

As i've said, her character is most famous for her moral ambiguity. The snake yoni nakshatras- Mrigashira and Rohini are a great representation of Morgana's benevolent, Morgan le Fay aspect. They're both internally satisfied and preoccupied with more gentle matters, with Rohini sitting completely in the sign of Taurus and Mrigashira bridging the signs of Taurus and Gemini. Both nakshatras are opposite Jyeshta- the nakshatra sitting fully in Scorpio, concerned with everything occult and being constantly dissatisfied, hungry for more, never trusting anyone, in a stark contrast to the abundant nakshatras of Rohini and Mrigashira. Jyeshta can be associated with Celtic goddess Morrigan. For those who don't know, The Morrigan is a triple goddess consisting of three separate goddesses: Badb, Macha and Nemain. The Morrigan is the goddess of war and death, heavily associated with crows, just like Jyeshta nakshatra.

I want to focus on my favorite Morgana- Katie McGrath from BBC's Merlin and analyze her story and character arc, including how they relate to the snake yonis and Jyeshta.

Morgana in BBC's "Merlin".

Morgana in "Merlin" starts off as a sweet, helpful ward of the king Uther Pendragon of Camelot. In this adaptation, we're immideately introduced to the fact that magic is banned and the punishment for practising it is harsh. During the beggining of the pilot episode, we see Morgana sympathizing with the punished and defending them against Uther, exhibiting honorable traits such as bravery and fairness.

Morgana watching the execution of a magic-user

She's an ally to Merlin, Arthur and Guinevere (who in this adaptation begins as Morgana's servant), frequently helping them even if it means going against the king and eventually, especially if so.

As time goes by and she discovers her magic, her hatred for Uther and her thirst for power grow.

SPOILER ALERT

At the end of season 3 she usurps the throne, revealing that she has been betraying the king and her old friends for some time. That's the beggining of her transformation, her tapping into her own abilities and power and embracing dark magic.

Katie McGrath has Moon and Rahu in Rohini and Ketu in Jyeshta. The beggining of her character becoming the archetype of the goddess Morrigan is marked by the reveal of her true alliance and also by the change of her appearance. After that episode, she no longer wears beautiful dresses or is adorned by ornate jewelry, nor is her hair shiny. Her hair became dry and disheveled, she started wearing all black and became scary looking, her appearance matching her true nature, completely embodying the Jyeshta archetype.

The nakshatra of Jyeshta is where we master the battle and the art of war (I explore Jyeshta in this post). It's ruled by the goddess Dhumavati- the old hag who is eternally hungry and dissatisfied, not unlike Morgana in the later seasons. If before she was just a suspect or a traitor, later her name was enough to induce terror in anyone. Her arc is very telling of why both the snake yonis nakshatras(Mrigashira and Rohini) and Jyeshta came up most in the charts of the actresses who have played this character. It's the transition from the benevolence to enmity and the constant back and forth between the good and the bad that defines the character, her magical and occult abilities(associated with Jyeshta) being a consistent characteristic. In the end, she's remembered as an independent figure, having no real ally other than herself, forever ambiguous and morally grey, a truly iconic female character that's been remembered for nearly a millenium. We're still telling her story, and I think we will be telling it for a long time to come.

That's it! If you enjoyed this post please reblog, comment or like, especially reblog and comment. If you like Arthurian legends, Merlin or just enjoy vedic astrology then let me know your opinions. BBC MERLIN FANDOM IF YOU END UP HERE PLEASE INTERACT WITH ME I'd love to talk about the show and please, do tell me what you think about this post.

EDIT: So I've been informed in the comments that Katie's birthday is most likely wrong, but the overall statistic hasn't really changed, those three nakshatras are still dominant.

Love you all, take care.

[allmythologies]

arthurian mythology: morgan le fay

in many legends morgan le fay is portrayed as a witch who can fly and change into shapes. but in alternate versions of the story, she is part of the entourage who carry king arthur away to the isle of avalon upon his death. the view of her as healer has its roots in the earliest accounts of her and perhaps to her origin in celtic mythology. in the vita merlini, she is said to be the first of nine sisters who rule the fortunate Isle or the isle of apples and is presented as a healer as well as a shape-changer.

[mask131]

Arthurian myth: Merlin (1)

Loosely translated from the article "Merlin" of the Dictionary of literary myths, under the direction of Pierre Brunet.

The literary fortune of Merlin was often dependent of the Arthurian literature. However, through its various resonances, the character gained its own seduction and its own popularity that allowed him to return outside of a medieval setting, gaining the status of an autonomous literary myth. He was at first the prophet of the Briton revenge, the one who had initiated the Round Table and who had inspired the errant-knighthood. Through his unique position between good and evil (he is born of a devil and a virgin), between life and death (his paradoxical survival within a “prison of air” or his vault), he embodies in modern times the enigma of History and of the future. Finally, he is the enchanter: causing or suffering many metamorphoses, he is a mythical builder and engineer, and sometimes a warlock/sorcerer. Merlin stays one of the prime heroes of the world of magic.

I/ Origins

The name and the character of Merlin appear for the first time within two Latin-written works of the second quarter of the 12th century, by the Welsh cleric Geoffroy of Monmouth: the “Historia Regum Britanniae” (1136) and the “Vita Merlini” (1148).

Nothing allows us to claim that a character named Merlin (Myrddin in Welsh) existed before these works. The very name of Merlin might have been an invention of Geoffroy, based on the name of the city of Kaermyrddin (today’s Carmarthen). It is also possible that Geoffroy used the phonetic similarity between the city and a “Merlin(us)” which belonged to the Armorican tradition (or more largely the continental one). However, Geoffroy of Monmouth did not start out of nothing. In the middle of the 12th century, Robert of Torigny, library of the abbey of Bec, claimed that two Merlin existed: a Merlin Ambroise/Ambrose (Ambrosius Merlinus) and a Merlin Sylvestre/Sylvester (Merlinus Silvester). This opinion was renewed thirty years later by Giraud of Cambria. Thes two names seem to correspond to two different traditions that Geoffroy joined:

1) “Merlin Ambrose” designates a character of the 6th century named Ambrosius. Gildas (in his “De Excidio et conquest Britanniae) made him the descendant of a Roman consulate family. Nennius( “Historia Britonum” presented him as a child born without a father, and whose mother had sex with an incubus – a tradition maintained by posterior authors. Nennius also provided the motif of the child revealing to the king Guorthigirn (Vortigern) the existence of two underground dragons preventing the building of his citadel. Discovered by the agents of the king at Kaermyrddin, the young Ambrosius interpreted the battle of the monsters as the omen of the long battles between the Briton and the Saxon. When Geoffroy retells this scene, he explicitly identifies Merln to this Ambrosius (“Merlinus, qui et Ambrosius dicebatur”).

2) “Merlin Sylvester” appears mainly in the “Vita Merlini”, and he seems to be the heir of older Celtic traditions. These traditions, shared by both Scotland and Ireland, depict a prince who lost his sanity and ran away into the forest, living there a wild existence while gaining supernatural powers. In Scotland it is Lailoken, known through the “Life of saint Kentigern”: on the day of the battle of Arfderydd (located by the “Cambriae Annals” at 573), this character, companion of the king Rodarch, heard a celestial voice condemning him to only have interactions with wild beasts [Translator’s note: The expression in French here is unclear if it speaks of human interactions or having sex, and I unfortunately can’t check the original Life of saint Kentigern right now]. Several predictions were attributed to him, predictions that the “Vita Merlini” places within Merlin’s mouth. Another incarnation of the “Merlin Sylvester” can be find back as early as the 8th century: in Ireland, the legendary king Suibne, turned mad after the battle of Moira, lived in trees (from which he ended up flying away), and shared similar traits with Lailoken. Similarly, in the Armorique there was the prophet Guinglaff, known through a verse-work of the 15th century “Dialogue entre le Roi Arthur et Guinglaff”.

The link between Merlin and those “wild men” becomes even more apparent thanks to several Welsh poems bearing the name “Myrddin”. Three of them belong to the “Black book of Carmarthen” (Welsh manuscript of the end of the 12th century) : The Apple-Trees (Afallenau), the Songs of the Pigs (Hoianau) and the Dialogue between Merlin and Taliesin (Ymddiddan Myrddin a Thaliesin). If the prophetic passages of these texts cannot be older than the Normand invasion, several lines where the bard talks to the trees and animals of the Caledonian forest (especially his pet-boar), complaining about his loneliness and his sorrow, could be the remains of a poem between 850 and 1050, which could be the oldest record of the Merlin legend.

Despite these many obscure origins, it seems that even before the publication of the “Historia Regum Britanniae” Merlin had awakened a certain interest within Geoffroy’s entourage, since Geoffroy decides to publish in 1134, due to the demands of several people including the bishop of Lincoln, a fragment of an unfinished work of his: the “Prophetiae Merlini”. Inspired by the Books of the Sybil, by the Apocalypse and by the prophetic imagery of Celtic and Germanic tribes, these “Prophecies”, that Geoffroy claimed to have translated from the language of the Briton, is first a record of several events that happened in Great-Britain since the Saxon invasion until the reign of Henry the First. Then, they announce in an obscure fashion the revenge of the Briton, and a series of disasters prefacing the end of the world. This text was a huge success: until the end of the Middle-Ages, these “Prophecies” were commented and quoted as equals to the holy Christian books. Alain of Lille, the “Universal Doctor”, wrote a commentary of the Prophecies in seven books. Merlin, first the great prophet of Wales, then of Scotland, was adopted in the 14th century by the England, which completely forgot the anti-Saxon origins of the character, and took the habit of beginning almost every speech by quoting a Prophecy of Merlin.

The ”Historia Regum Britanniae”, after the story of the two underground dragons and the text of the Prophecies, attributes to Merlin the building of Stonehenge, in the memory of Briton princes treacherously killed. Finally, it tells of how the prophet gave to the king Uter Pendragon magical potions that gave him the appearance of the husband of the duchess Ingern. A trick that allow the birth of the future king Arthur. As early as this first work, Merlin appears at the same time as a prophet and a wizard: a character claims that no one can rival with him when it comes to predicting the future, or accomplish complex machinations (“sive in futuris dicendis, sive in operationibus machinandis).

The ”Vita Merlini”, told in verse, completes Merlin’s biography by telling adventures of a very different tonality. Seer and king in the south of Wales, Merlin became mad after a deadly battle, and lived in the woods like a wild beast. Only the music of a zither can appease him. Led to the court of king Rodarch, chained in order to be kept there, he proves his gift of second sight throughout several “guessing scenes”. Before returning to the woods, he agrees to letting his wife Guendoloena marry again. However, on the day of the wedding, he appears with a horde of wild beasts, riding a stag. Ripping one of the antlers of his ride, he uses it to break the head of Guendoloena’s new husband. The rest of the text depicts Merlin as being saved by his sister Ganieda: he performs a series of astronomical observations and makes prophecies about the future of Britain. His disciple Thelgesin (identified with the Welsh bard Taliesin), back from the Armorique, joins him and they talk lengthily about nature. Finally, Merlin regains his sanity thanks to the water of a stream that just appeared, but he refuses to rule again and stays faithful to the forest.

[user7038634357]

"... a strange madness came upon him. He crept away and fled to the woods, unwilling that any should see his going. Into the forest he went, glad to lie hidden beneath the ash trees. He watched the wild creatures grazing on the pasture of the glades. Sometimes he would follow them, sometimes pass them in his course. He made use of the roots of plants and of grasses, of fruit from trees and of the blackberries in the thicket. He became a Man of the Woods, as if dedicated to the woods. So for a whole summer he stayed hidden in the woods, discovered by none, forgetful of himself and of his own, lurking like a wild thing."

from Vita Merlini

[malorydaily]

"Malory treats the theme of magic, which runs throughout much of his source material, with similar caution. [Eugene] Vinaver notes that he appears to have ‘deliberately avoided, as far as he could, any excess of the supernatural’. This is seen most obviously in the Morte’s omission of the circumstances of Merlin’s birth as they appear in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Vita Merlini and Historia Regum Britanniae, and the Suite de Merlin. While the earlier texts relate his fiendish paternity and suggest that his ‘magic never entirely escapes from associations with the demonic’, Malory simply omits Merlin’s origin story. This leaves his supernatural abilities, and the resistance of ‘the damesel [...] that hyght Nenyve’ (125) to him as a ‘devyls son’ (126), largely unexplained, heightening the sense of ambivalence that accompanies the character. [D.L] Hoffman suggests that ‘the untold tale of Merlin’s birth haunts the opening of Malory’s Morte D’Arthur’, enhancing the sense of mystery surrounding Malory’s depic- tion of him. This sets a precedent that will recur throughout the Morte: despite Malory’s attempts to omit elements of the weird inherent in the Arthurian story, they repeatedly creep back into his text."

– Anna Caughey, 'Virginity, Sexuality, Repression, and Return in The Tale of the Sankgreal' in Arthurian Literature 28

[chazz-anova]

OC(s) as misunderstood women from mythology/folklore

tagged by my dears @cassietrn and @inafieldofdaisies for this awesome uquiz! thank yall! 💙🪻

Baba Yaga In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga is a supernatural forest witch who usually appears as a decrepit old woman. She varies between acting as a benefactor and a villain, either helping the hero of the Slavic myth or hindering them. Baba Yaga is also cast as a Mother Earth figure, having an influence on the natural world. You are multifaceted and adaptable. You show many faces to the world depending on what is needed. You are very driven and have an incomparable presence in the lives of those closest to you. You may have difficulties with the way people see you, but those who love you can attest to how good a person you are.

Morgan Le Fay Morgan Le Fay, also known as Morgana, was a sorceress in Arthurian legend. In many legends, she is portrayed as a witch who can fly and change into shapes. Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Vita Merlini (c. 1150) named her as the ruler of Avalon, a marvelous island where King Arthur was to be healed of his wounds, and it described her as skilled in the arts of healing and of changing shape. You are extremely versatile and adaptable. Like Morgan, you may change parts of yourself to suit the current situation. You are multifaceted, but you don't always let people see your complexity because you fear judgment. You believe yourself to be a bad person, but those nearest to you find you warm, loving, and kind.

Lilith Lilith, from Jewish folklore, was the first wife of Adam. One story tells that Lilith refused to lay beneath Adam during sex. She believed they were created equal, both from the dust of the earth, thus she should not have to lay beneath him. After Adam disagreed, Lilith fled the Garden of Eden to gain her independence. In most manifestations of her myth, Lilith represents chaos, seduction and ungodliness. You are independent and courageous. You may be seen as bold and brash, but in reality your solitude is important to you. You don't like being tied down. You pride yourself on being honest, but this may cause hurt feelings in others. You prefer confrontation to letting things fester. Those closest to you admire your drive and your ability to speak your mind.

tagging @afarcryfrommymain @socially-awkward-skeleton @simonxriley @dumbassdep @nightwingshero and anyone else who'd like to do it!

[simonxriley]

OCs As 'Evil' Women In Mythology/Folklore.

I was tagged by the wonderful @corvosattano to take this uquiz for some of the kiddos. Thank you! 💜

Tagging @playstationmademe @nightwingshero @chazz-anova @detectivelokis @nightbloodbix @jinfromyarikawa @shegetsburned @voidika @leviiackrman @chuckhansen and anyone else that wants to do it!!

Antigone

In Greek mythology, Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus. After the quarrel between her brothers ending in them both being killed, Antigone is determined to bury Polynices despite King Creon's wishes, and is punished. For defying Creon's wishes, she is sentenced to be buried alive in a tomb. You are, above all, resilient. You have known grief in your life, but you face your trauma with your head held high. You are immensely strong, intelligent, and passionate. You don't believe in irony or indifference. You are brave and inspire awe in those who closest to you.

Baba Yaga In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga is a supernatural forest witch who usually appears as a decrepit old woman. She varies between acting as a benefactor and a villain, either helping the hero of the Slavic myth or hindering them. Baba Yaga is also cast as a Mother Earth figure, having an influence on the natural world. You are multifaceted and adaptable. You show many faces to the world depending on what is needed. You are very driven and have an incomparable presence in the lives of those closest to you. You may have difficulties with the way people see you, but those who love you can attest to how good a person you are.

Medusa

Medusa is a gorgon in Greek mythology who has the ability to turn men to stone and is beheaded by Perseus. Different versions of her story involve her being impregnated in the temple of Athena by Poseidon, then turned into the legendary monster by a vengeful Athena. Her name comes from the ancient Greek word for "guardian". Like Medusa, your legend precedes you. You are well known and beloved by those in your circle. You have known pain in your life but you're resilient and have come through the other side all the more loving and kind. Love is important to you, whether the presence or the absence of it. Those closest to you know you as warm and strong.

Morgan Le Fay

Morgan Le Fay, also known as Morgana, was a sorceress in Arthurian legend. In many legends, she is portrayed as a witch who can fly and change into shapes. Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Vita Merlini (c. 1150) named her as the ruler of Avalon, a marvelous island where King Arthur was to be healed of his wounds, and it described her as skilled in the arts of healing and of changing shape. You are extremely versatile and adaptable. Like Morgan, you may change parts of yourself to suit the current situation. You are multifaceted, but you don't always let people see your complexity because you fear judgment. You believe yourself to be a bad person, but those nearest to you find you warm, loving, and kind.

[vyragosa]

Hi! I’ve seen a few of your posts mentioning Merlin, and I’d love to know what this is from? I’ve been trying to narrow it down but there’s a lot of media to go through. Thanks!

talked a fair bit about merlin from fate grand order if that's the one, or i generally also read la vita merlini and various retellings and his general involvment in other stories or even his appearance to bradamante is dear to me, or the poems of the rotten enchanter, i love the figure of merlin in general as archetype of the powerless seer in the face of human cruelty so whatever it was, it was about that!

[liminalpsych]

Vita Merlini

So "The Life of Merlin" by Geoffrey of Monmouth is… weird. I don't quite know how to feel about it.

If you're a big Merlin fan, or a Morgan le Fay fan, it's worth a read. My understanding is that this is the first appearance in literature of Morgan le Fay, called Morgen in this text.

If you're just reading the literature for general Arthuriana, or anyone other than Merlin, you might be able to just skip it. If you want to read Geoffrey of Monmouth but don't want to slog through the entire Historia, maybe just read Vita Merlini since it summarizes all the Arthurian bits from the Historia anyway.

I read Faletra's translation (it's just included in the appendices of his translation of the History of the Kings of Britain). He says this about Vita Merlini: "The Life of Merlin was the work of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s later years, written around the year 1150. Unlike the “humble” prose style of The History, it was composed in elegant Latin hexameter verse and embellished with considerable descriptive passages, expositions on natural philosophy, and rhetorical flourishes; Geoffrey perhaps thought of it as his tour de force. It narrates the madness of Merlin at the end of his lifetime, having lived many years past the days of Vortigern and Arthur."

It's got still more prophecies, some by Merlin and some by his sister (???) Ganieda. He's also married (???). This is just kind of… dropped on the reader partway through, we're not given any context or background to his marriage.

Ganieda is married to Rhydderch, king of the Cumbrians. She's cheating on him with someone (we never get any more details on this lover), which Merlin tells Rhydderch about. Ganieda thinks quick and discredits Merlin's words by having a boy show up in three different disguises (one of which is a girl), and Merlin prophesizes a different death for him each time. She reveals that all three were the same person, and Rhydderch agrees with her that Merlin's words are not trustworthy in his madness.

(Of course, the boy grows up and then dies in a way that fulfills all three prophecies. But Rhydderch and Ganieda don't hear about that, I don't think, so the ruse works out for Ganieda.)

Merlin's wife is Gwendolena. She seems to love Merlin a lot, but he just wants to go live in the forest forever away from pesky humanity. Gwendolena has a full on breakdown when Merlin keeps insisting on leaving. He finally says she can just go remarry whoever, and he'll show up at the wedding with a bunch of gifts, so long as the guy she remarries doesn't show up in front of him because he'll probably kill the guy in a fury. (And he does, when the guy shows his face upon Merlin arriving on the back of a stag with a bunch of gifts.)

Rhydderch eventually dies just as the bard Taliesin arrives, and Ganieda grieves and decides to go be a forest-dwelling prophet like her brother. Taliesin and Merlin talk about natural science as Geoffrey understood it. Merlin becomes sane again and no longer has the gift of prophecy, but then Ganieda starts prophesying at the very end of the story.

We do get a little bit of Arthur, Avalon, and Morgan le Fay from Taliesin's lengthy speech. He describes Avalon as the Isle of Apples and expounds upon it at length.

"The inhabitants live to be a hundred years or more. Nine sisters govern that place, administering a very pleasant law code over those people who come to them from our lands. The foremost among these sisters is most learned in the art of healing, and she surpasses them all in beauty. Her name is Morgen, and she has learned the helpful properties of all the various herbs in order to cure the bodies of the sick. She also possesses the great skill of being able to transform her appearance and to sail through the air with new feathers, just as Daedalus did. She can be at Brest or Chartres or Pavia whenever she desires. And she can also glide down to your shores at will. It is said that she taught mathematics to her sisters, whose names are Moronoe, Mazoe, Gliten, Glitonea, Gliton, Tyronoe, and Thiten, who is best known for her cithara."

Taliesin additionally says, "We carried the wounded Arthur to the Isle of Apples after the battle of Camlann, guided by Barinthus, who knows all the seas and all the stars of heaven". They received a welcome from Morgen, who inspected Arthur and said he could return to health if he stayed in Avalon for a very long time.

Taliesin and Merlin's conversation provides a summary of the Arthurian parts of the History of the Kings of Britain, plus a bit extra. A lengthy summary. Nothing new if you already read the History.

All in all, it was interesting enough as a perspective on Merlin, with a different version than the modern narrative of his life, history, and relationships. It was tedious reading in parts; Geoffrey got very flowery and ornate in his writing, and tried to be Herodotus a few times. But it's pretty short, too, so it's a quick read if you don't mind the periods of tedium.

[tiodolma]

Huh, so Merlin just f*cked off somewhere and never came back?

YES

HE'S JUST GONE FROM UTHER'S COURT AFTER UTHER MARRIED IGRENA.

In Vita Merlini, which is the sequial of historia regum brittania it seems he went along to a different war with a different king called Peredur.

The war was devastating and it affected merlin so much that he goes mad in the woods.

...merlin has a sister called ganieda here and also a wife

[megraen]

OC(s) as misunderstood women from mythology/folklore

Tagged by @cassietrn

Tagging: @socially-awkward-skeleton @miss-jennifer-cormier @ladykatie512 @glitchinginthegarden

Lady of the Lake

In Arthurian legend, the Lady of the Lake; also known as Nimue, Viviane, or Ninianne; is a medieval British sorceress. Her story varies greatly, from the mother of Lancelot to the killer of Merlin to the bestower of Excalibur upon King Arthur. In all versions, she is an enchantress of great power. You may seem innocent to some, but you can be vengeful when necessary. People don't realize that you hold great drive and resilience. You are, beneath all, kind and benevolent; but people don't want to get on your bad side as you are very protective of yourself and those you love. Above all, you do things with love and passion and don't believe in indifference. Those closest to you know you as a steady and good soul.

Morgan Le Fay

Morgan Le Fay, also known as Morgana, was a sorceress in Arthurian legend. In many legends, she is portrayed as a witch who can fly and change into shapes. Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Vita Merlini (c. 1150) named her as the ruler of Avalon, a marvelous island where King Arthur was to be healed of his wounds, and it described her as skilled in the arts of healing and of changing shape. You are extremely versatile and adaptable. Like Morgan, you may change parts of yourself to suit the current situation. You are multifaceted, but you don't always let people see your complexity because you fear judgment. You believe yourself to be a bad person, but those nearest to you find you warm, loving, and kind.

La Llorona

La Llorona ('the crying woman') from Mexican folklore is the ghost of a woman who steals children in order to drown them. She walks along the water wearing white, weeping for her son who she killed in a fit of madness. She is often described as a lost soul, doomed to wander the earth forever. There are things in your past that haunt you. You may sometimes be overcome by grief, but those who know you would describe you as resilient. You are highly emotionally expressive and introspective; the smallest things may lead you to tears. You are not bold, but you make up for it in compassion and warmth. You may make yourself too small, but this is something you can work on.

Lady of the Lake

In Arthurian legend, the Lady of the Lake; also known as Nimue, Viviane, or Ninianne; is a medieval British sorceress. Her story varies greatly, from the mother of Lancelot to the killer of Merlin to the bestower of Excalibur upon King Arthur. In all versions, she is an enchantress of great power. You may seem innocent to some, but you can be vengeful when necessary. People don't realize that you hold great drive and resilience. You are, beneath all, kind and benevolent; but people don't want to get on your bad side as you are very protective of yourself and those you love. Above all, you do things with love and passion and don't believe in indifference. Those closest to you know you as a steady and good soul.

Lilith

Lilith, from Jewish folklore, was the first wife of Adam. One story tells that Lilith refused to lay beneath Adam during sex. She believed they were created equal, both from the dust of the earth, thus she should not have to lay beneath him. After Adam disagreed, Lilith fled the Garden of Eden to gain her independence. In most manifestations of her myth, Lilith represents chaos, seduction and ungodliness. You are independent and courageous. You may be seen as bold and brash, but in reality your solitude is important to you. You don't like being tied down. You pride yourself on being honest, but this may cause hurt feelings in others. You prefer confrontation to letting things fester. Those closest to you admire your drive and your ability to speak your mind.

Lady of the Lake

In Arthurian legend, the Lady of the Lake; also known as Nimue, Viviane, or Ninianne; is a medieval British sorceress. Her story varies greatly, from the mother of Lancelot to the killer of Merlin to the bestower of Excalibur upon King Arthur. In all versions, she is an enchantress of great power. You may seem innocent to some, but you can be vengeful when necessary. People don't realize that you hold great drive and resilience. You are, beneath all, kind and benevolent; but people don't want to get on your bad side as you are very protective of yourself and those you love. Above all, you do things with love and passion and don't believe in indifference. Those closest to you know you as a steady and good soul.

[werewolf-transgenderism]

me 🤝 Vita Merlini Merlin 🤝 "he went mad; and once more his derangement filled him with a desire to go off to the forest, and he longed to slip away"