Mother of the Rivers

A waning moon river ritual, audio meditation and journalling prompts with the Celtic river goddess

I’ve decided to turn off paid subscriptions. That endeavour hasn't been very successful and I'm losing subscribers rather than picking them up, and putting myself under pressure I can't deal with right now to produce more and better posts. I would rather keep my little community here and enjoy posting when I can than earn a few dollars a month. So, enjoy this post and meditation which was originally for paid subscribers! I would welcome your feedback on these more interactive features; do you want/enjoy them? Do they add to the post or distract? Thank you!

Our ancestors, from the Paleolithic to the Iron Age, have regarded water as sacred, hardly surprising given that an abundant water source would have been essential for a community to flourish and indeed, for its very survival. From the Bronze Age onwards, people increasingly settled along rivers or near lakes and bogs. Water was associated with the Otherworld by the Celts, perhaps because water would have seemed to have a mysterious origin; miraculously gushing forth from the ground. (Beck, 2015)

As we moved into the modern world, water continued to have a symbolic and magical aspect. It is one of the four elements in magical traditions and one of the three realms of Land, Sea and Sky in the Celtic tradition. It is typically associated with healing, serpents, the West and the Feminine.

The Celtic mother goddess Modron/Matrona, who I have written a lot about here, was associated with water, with both rivers, fords and wellsprings, and votive offerings to her were found across Gaul at springs believed to have curative properties. A meaningful way to connect with her energy in the present age is through her aspect as a water goddess. She is perhaps first and foremost specifically a River goddess.

As well as her original association with the River Marne, there are various river names in France and across what were Gaulish territories which are derived from the name ‘Matrona,’ including the La Moder. Beck (2015) believes that, rather than all being dedicated to the same goddess persona, Gaul had a tradition of ‘mother-rivers’ which can be found in other Indo-European traditions. The Vedic Rig Veda gives rivers the epithet ‘matritamas’ or ‘the mothers par excellence.’ In the Iranian Avesta, they are the ‘mataro gitayo’ or ‘living mothers.’

The Avesta also mentions a mother goddess figure called Aravadi Sura Anahita, and describes her as ‘life increasing and holy…who sends down …a flow of motherly waters…that run along the earth.’ She is shown on a relief as bestowing a flower garland around the neck of a king, suggestive of a Sovereignty function.

River and water goddesses were often seen in Celtic Sovereignty myths, where they may also represent the goddess of the land, who offers a drink of her life-giving water to the chosen king. The king, in order to keep her approval and his right to rule, must in turn guard and protect the land. In the medieval text the Elucidation, when the king does not uphold his end of the bargain – or violates the goddess – the water runs dry and the land becomes the Wasteland.

As well as being associated with life and healing, rivers were also associated with funerary rites. Coffin boats have been found in rivers across Gaul, including in the Marne, where a five meter oak pirogue, or ‘tomb-boat’ was discovered, containing a human skeleton and weapons that indicate the deceased was an esteemed warrior or king.

Serpents – such as those depicted on some reliefs of the Matronae, the triple form of Matrona– were commonly associated with river goddesses, which seems to make sense when we consider that serpents were associated, in some of humanity’s oldest myths and rituals (Coulson et al 2016) with life-giving water and healing. Only later were serpents widely demonized and seen as symbolic of evil.

It may be that the serpents came before the river goddesses, as our ancestors, particularly in the Paleolithic, were animistic, assigning spirits to natural phenomena such as trees, mountains and rivers. When they started to give images to these spirits, they were often animals before they took human form. River goddesses tended to be local tribal deities before their worship grew and spread, and are likely to have originally been what we now call ‘genius loci’, or ‘spirits of place’.

Beck, Noemie. The River Goddess in Celtic Traditions; Mother, Healer and Wisdom Purveyor (2015) Melannges en l’honneur de Pierre Yves-Lambert hal-03275671

Coulson, S, Segadika, P, Walker, N. Ritual in the Hunter-Gatherer/Early Pastoralist Period; Evidence from Tsodilo Hills, Botswana (2016) African Archaeological Review 33 pp205-222

A River Ritual for the Waning Moon

River rituals, or simply spending time near one, are an ideal way to connect with the energies of Goddess, and a simple river ritual can be a powerful way to physically and symbolically release stress and worry. Rivers, with their flowing nature, are often associated with the movement of time and the release of energy. Here is a simple ritual outline you might find helpful, that is also great to do with children.

Find some natural biodegradable materials to represent your worries (e.g., leaves, twigs, flower petals, or small paper made from natural fibers). You will also need a pen that uses non- toxic, biodegradable ink if you wish to write down your worries.

Travel to a local river where you can safely access the water. As you travel, try to maintain a mindful state, noticing the environment around you, the sounds of nature, and the rhythm of your own movements.

Stand, sit, or kneel at the edge of the river, wherever you feel most comfortable and stable. Hold the biodegradable material in your hands and close your eyes. Take several deep breaths, each time imagining your stress and worry flowing from your body into the items you are holding. You may also like to write or draw your stresses onto the material.

Open your eyes and one by one, place your items into the river. As each one begins to float away, visualize your stress and worries being carried away by the water. You may want to say a simple affirmation or chant as you do this, for example:

“River flow, take my stress, carry my worries, leave me refreshed.”

After you have released all your items into the river, take a moment to feel the earth beneath your feet. Imagine roots extending from the soles of your feet down into the ground, anchoring you and drawing up a sense of calm and strength from the earth. Thank the river for helping you in this ritual of release.

Meditation and Journalling Prompts

If you don't have access to a river, or if you want to continue the ritual theme in meditation, you can try this short meditation below, which visualises the same scenario. I have loosely adapted this from a key ACT meditation called ‘Leaves on a Stream.’

After your ritual or meditation, you might like to journal on the following prompts:

1. Does anything feel stagnant in your life right now? Where do you need more movement, more flow?

2. Reading the text above about rivers and goddesses and serpents, does anything stand out to you, is there anything you want to find out more about? Do you know of anything similar in your own culture or geographical area?

3. What did you give to the river? What do you want the river to bring to you in it's place?

Blessed be