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.
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.
