Celtic Goddess: Morgan le Fay

Graell Corsini:

Morgan, sovereign Goddess of Avalon.

Morgan le Fay conjures our mythic memories of Merlyn’s Apothecary, the Faery Barge crossing through the Mists of Avalon, the spark of light at the tip of Excalibur, and the moist scent within the dank castle walls of King Arthur. Her hooded cloak and Seer’s glance peeking out behind an ancient Oak tree, sends shivers up my spine.

Morgan holds the attributes and titles of the Morrighan, Faery Queen, Sea Priestess, Prophetess, Healer, Teacher, Shapeshifter, Enchantress, Priestess of Avalon, Morgana, Goddess of War and Death, Goddess of the Holy Well, Sex Goddess, Raven Queen, She of the Sidhe, Phantom Queen, Sorceress, Moon Goddess, Queen of the Witches, Otherworld Queen, Mermaid, Trickster, Mother Goddess, and Lady of the Lake. 

She is Empowered. 

She is Fierce. 

She is Magic incarnated. 

When I feel Morgan le Fay begin to enter my body, it is as if She rises from the space between my cells. She is of the Otherworld. The Inner world. The liminal space that resides at the precipice before leaping into the abyss. 

The energies of Morgan Le Fay have pierced through my Veils since 1991 when I became a practicing Priestess in this life. She naturally came through me when I began channeling her in the Ritual Theatre events at my former Goddess Temple in Mt. Shasta California, and She continues to visit me, specifically at Samhain and Beltane rituals at my present-day Goddess Temple of Ashland Oregon. She of the Fae pulses in my Halfling blood. She is the sound in the seashells, She is the ash anointing my head after a Red Tent ceremonial fire is no longer ablaze, She is the tantric heartbeat that inspires my song catching. 

Morgan appears in writings as early as the 1100’s where her qualities were mostly all mystical and healing. She was known as King Arthur’s magical protector and saviour. Her healing anointments were applied to his Knights, and her embodiment of an Eternal Nymph fed her ambiguous nature as a creature of the night with Raven wings. 

Throughout the twelfth-fifteenth centuries, her healing, loving, protecting character waned into one of evil, manipulative, and destructive, especially of King Arthur and his Beloved, Guinevere.  

In my own personal scrying of the story passed on through the centuries as the Patriarchy increased, so did the demonisation of Morgan le Fay. I observe a warping of the Feminine and a bent categorising of an empowered woman into one of consistent malice. A Sister of Priestesses, suddenly turned into a jealous, competitive, and disruptive enemy. This “great reversal’ of the Goddess traditions wreaks havoc on Her. Turning woman against woman and a confidant to the High King, into his greatest tempter of Death. If we look deeper into these Codes, we can see that Death is the doorway to Rebirth, and just as the Cycle goes, I am ready to re-write Her story, through my own Embodiment of She. 

We find remnants of the Morgan/Morgen throughout the British Isles, as well as with the Breton people of France. Her sensual hips traveled with the ancient Celts throughout all of Europe as the essence of the Crone, Warrioress, and Seductress. She is an exquisitely beautiful Elder, yet frightening through her Sovereign and Power-filled Presence. Her courage, stealth, grace, loyalty, wisdom, stamina, and crystal-clear Vision of the larger picture at hand is astounding. 

While standing on the Tor of our holy Isle of Avalon, with the wind whipping and the Ravens hovering, we can feel her strength. When we take the path towards the Faery Forest and climb the uncharted territory to the Egg Stone and wrap our arms around the remaining final pebble left of the ancient massive standing stones from the Circle atop, we can feel ourselves enter the spiral stairway reaching down into her etheric underwater Castle within the Tor. Contemplate that this Dragon Egg is sitting at the entrance of Her womb. 

Morgan, often translated to Queen, or “of the Sea”, is directly related to Avalon. Morgue, mortuary, morte, are all connected to her name. Avalon is known as the Isle of the Dead, and She as a Death Queen, with the original waters that surrounded the Holy Isle, presided over 9 Priestesses, who were prophetesses and healers. Avalon was an Oracular Center, much like Delphi of Greece. I personally believe that She resided within the Druidic Priestess College there and was a Woman of the Well, quenching the spiritual thirst of many. 

In these times now, Morgan le Fay is a perfect role model, for any person wanting to reclaim their full power. 

Morgan Le Fay’s character changes over time. We ourselves experience this each Moon cycle, as well as we age each decade. Her power is misunderstood, Her benevolent healing remedies went from good to malefic.

I encourage you to journal about your own dualistic behaviours. What can be shed and what can be reclaimed at each Dark Moon? 

Morgan is known as a great herbal healer, the trees associated with her are the Apple, Yew, and Blackthorn. All trees symbolising magic and death. Her plants are herbs for both healing, and ones that are poisonous. 

Remember, it is said that the snake’s venom can heal the one that has been bit by the snake. There is a reciprocity here that sometimes is too painful for us to see in our soap opera worlds filled with drama. Sometimes the “poison” we are receiving from others, may be the exact medicine we need to heal. 

I encourage you to journal how this concept may relate to you in your life right now, and what you can do to embody the crystal-clear Vision of Morgan le Fay to fly above and circle round to see the much bigger picture at hand, and re-write/re-birth your own story. 

Morgan is at the Centre of the Wheel, as well as an equal to Her sisters. She is the Lady of the Lake, the Queen of the Witches. She is to be respected. She is to be revered. She is to be honoured for the long path of sacred living She has endured to wear the cloak of Priestess in a realm of twisted fates. Her astonishing ability to ride the waves of human emotions, when she is of the Faery, of the Moon, of the watery landscapes, is incalculable. 

I encourage you to step into the Centre of your own Wheel in life. Navigate from a place of being the Captain of your Ship, practice your own Healing modalities, create enchanting environments to live, pray, and work in. Study to be a Death Doula and bring the Sacred to mortality and remind those around you of immortality. Re-ignite healthy Magick into your life, partnership, and family. Increase your libido by exploring Eco-sensuality with yourself or your Lover. Learn to Shapeshift into the person you have always dreamed of becoming. Reach into the back of your Raven’s throat and make your Soul Sound. 

Morgan teaches us how to protect, heal, and manifest what we need for a truly joyful life. She leads us into the inner mysteries and magic of our Priestess Lineage. May you receive Her, remember Her, and embody Her aspects that resonate most for you. 

Invocation to Morgan:

 

Raven, Healer, She of the Sea

Drop your Cloak and Fly with Me

 

Apple, Sword, Moon, and Spell

Herbal Salve and Wishing Well

 

Morrighan, Wytch, Lady le Fay

I call you Forth, On this Day.

 

Teach me to Shapeshift and to Save

Rebirth my Death, Enter my Cave

 

I am Enchanted, I feel your Feather

Raven’s Branch, remain my Tether

 

I shall Return, and give the Scry

Transmute the Battle, Transform the Cry

 

Apple, Blackthorne, Yew, and Tor

Dragon Eggs within the Moor

 

Wailing, Whispering, She of the Sidhe, 

Faery Queen, Goddess, I invoke thee.