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Queen Fand



I call upon the guardians of Manannan. They arrive galloping on their horses. One suggests that if I wish to speak with Queen Fand, I should offer her a gift. I visualize a crown made of delicate filigree work, higher in the center, and studded with aquamarines. From it falls a veil of peacock feathers. The guardians approve.

They create a golden road for me, and I travel it to the world of shimmering light, and wait at a great arch made of mother of pearl worked in spiral shapes. The light within it starts to swirl like a chambered nautilus, with the delicate colors of the sunrise tellina shell. There is a balance of aqua and peach and gold and white. It is Queen Fand's entranceway.

She stands before me in a Greek-style dress in pleated silk with a jewel-encrusted rope belt and scandals. It is an underwater environment yet I can breathe. I offer her the crown for her collection, and she smiles and accepts it.

She says,

Welcome. I am happy to speak with you. I rarely speak with human beings, except to bless heroes and be a guide to treasure. It seems to be a modern concern, this interest in the individual personalities of gods and goddesses. It used to be that people were only interested in favors and treasures.

I came originally from another land, when Manannan came into being as an emanation of the great god Lir. I was not created with him. But when there was the great white light in the beginning of our world, Manannan became involved in the worlds of blue-green light. I came from the gold and white light, in the form of a white rose with a golden center. It is still a form that I like.

Manannan came as a great wave to impress me but the two different manifestations did not relate well. So he became a sparkling river to nourish me, and to scatter droplets on my petals. I became a shining fish in his river holding the knowledge of the worlds, and he became a current to create a joyous ride bouncing me along in his waves. I became a white swan to ride upon him, and he became a brilliant blue wave with white foam to embrace me. This was our romance, the chase through the many worlds of the gods who are able to change their forms. When we made love, I was the light upon his waters.

Our wedding took place beyond the realms of time and space, in the great chasms of infinity where creation flows like a waterfall. I was the goddess of light in robes of mist; he was the lord of form, with horse and swords as shining symbols.

So we are united and we have different roles. I am the Lady of Victory, who gives the gift of success to warriors. As the Queen of the Ocean, I give treasure. As the Lady of the Lake, I give enchanted swords. Our world is full of valuable things, and sometimes I bestow them on worthy people.

As Lady of Victory, I give success in battle, and ownership of land and property. While war and the battlefield are male areas, I give the fruits of those activities. It is by being tested in battle that nobility and honor are shown, and equally cowardice and deceit. I see these and determine who deserves the crown and its land. Sometimes I am called sovereignty, but the crown and the sword are more than simply signs of rulership. They are the obligations of the ruler to his people. If the rules are violated, I take away the crown and sword, and the ignoble ruler is cast down.

The crown signifies the treasures of the deep, the jewels of compassion and honor and defense of the weak. They come from the ocean's depth, from our land. The sword is the treasure of the land which comes to the warrior from the lake, river, or stream. It signifies the power of the ruler to name his territory, to create boundaries, and to determine his land. The sword is the limit of power, like the rays of the sun that come out of the sun. The power of the ruler goes no further than the limit of his sword.

If you wonder what gods and goddesses do, much of it is design. We design things both for our own world and for others. Manannan has created beautiful palaces in our own world. I work more with kings and warriors and mages on earth, but silently. I do not blow conch trumpets and announce my name and skills. But I come to the brave in battle and guide them to jeweled swords, to the righteous and give crowns of responsibility, to the artists and dreamers and give images of beauty.

With the worldly shift from courageous and noble leaders to wealthy and political ones, I have come less often. But I still come to inspire storytellers, and writer and musicians even though our worlds have been separated.

As god and goddess, Manannan and I have different spheres of influence, but we do not dominate each other. We are creators and builders of worlds of beauty and virtue.



Introduction | History | Manannan Mac Lir | Merlin | Taliesin | Building the Realms of the Fair Folk | Lir and Danu | Lugh and the Morrigan | Anya, Daughter of Manannan | Manannan's Ocean Kingdom | Aengus, The Poet God of Love and Romance | The Ancient Roads to the Fair Folk | Manannan's Horses | The Society of the Fair Folk | The Place of Transformation | Traveling Between the Worlds | Research Methodology | Conclusion

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