A HIGH PRIESTESS OF AVALON.
Her Story

So many versions of Arthurian legend exist. Did Arthur himself really exist? When? Where? Different versions and interpretations abound: early Welsh, later French, and ancient Celtic tales overlaid by Christian retellings.

I like to call her by the Celtic name Argante. It means 'Silver One' . That to me is her name in her goddess incarnation.

Her name changes with the version of the story. In some, she's Vivian. In others, she's Morganna or Morgan Le Fay. Occasionally, she's Nimue or Niniane.

Most legends agree she lived on Avalon, a lost island. There's debate over where Avalon was. Some say Glastonbury, England. Some say Wales.

Wherever it was, in some versions, she fosters Lancelot there. That's where he got his title, Lancelot du Lac, In others, she fosters Arthur himself on Avalon.

The painting on the left is "The Lady of the Lake" by Lancelot Speed, 1919.
Morgan and King Arthur

In some versions she was Arthur's friend. In others, his half-sister, or his aunt. She was his foster-mother, his lover, his mortal enemy, his guardian.

She gave him his sword, Excalibur, or Caliburn. Some say she came for Arthur after he received his mortal wound, and took him away in a barge. Some say he waits in Avalon still.

According to her entry in Encyclopedia Mythica, she was the fairy sister of King Arthur.

The Encyclopedia of the Celts calls her "The Queen of Avalon, an elf, to whom, according to the poet Layamon, Arthur went after his last battle."

Here's the verse:

 

"I shall go forth to Avalon
to the fairest of maidens,
To Argante [Morgan] the queen,
the comeliest of fays,
And she shall heal my wounds
and make me healthy
And sound by preparing for me
health-giving potions."

Was She Real?

She's a goddess, a faery queen, an elf. I believe these mythical identiies all stem from a real person, or, as you will see, several real persons. She's so many people, with so many names: Vivian, Morganna, Nimue, Argante. Perhaps the answer is simple. There were several Ladies of the Lake.

Her genealogy bears this out. I found her on Ancestry.com as the daughter of Igerna, a.k.a. Ygerna ferch Amlawdd. Igerna - also known as Igraine - is also King Arthur's mother, with her second husband Uther.

The painting on the right of Morgana is from "King Arthur and His Knights" by Louis Rhead. Image from Art Today.



According to this genealogy, she is indeed three people. To put it another way, Igraine had three daughters: Morganna, Anna, and Elaine. That makes them all half-sisters to Arthur.

Igraine also had a sister, named Gwyar. Gwyar married a man called Gereint. They had a daughter, Tegau. That makes Igraine Tegau's aunt, and the ladies of the lake Tegau's cousins. For more on her, and what she has to do with me, click here.

The painting on the left is "Merlin and Nimue. How by her Subtle Working she Made Merlin to Go Under the Stone to Let her Wit of the Marvels There: and she Wrought so There for him That he Came Never Out for All Craft he Could Do" by Arthur Rackham, 1917.
What She Can Mean to You and Me

They say water is dreams. If so, then Argante is their queen. She rules over intuition and imagination. Are you looking for inspiration? You may find it here in the Spirit Garden, at her side.

You may find wisdom too. Argante, like Persephone, Etain, and Epona, is no stranger to life, death, and rebirth. Perhaps most important of all, in almost all her guises, she's a teacher. She trains priestesses. She's wise. Perhaps if you keep the surface of your mind still, like an unruffled lake, she will teach you too.

Sometimes, when I feel the presence of the goddess in my life, I think it's her. I have always felt a kinship with her and her priestesses at Avalon. I hope you can encounter her,too, here in the Spirit Garden.

 

 

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