Arianrhod - Celtic Goddess of the Moon, Time and Fate

Arianrhod:  Goddess of the Moon – Celtic (Welsh)
Aranrhod, Arianrod
 
Name meaning: Silver wheel
 
Origin: Celtic / Welsh
 
Goddess of the moon, time and fate, fertility and rebirth (reincarnation) in Welsh Celtic Mythology. She rules the northern land of Caer Sidi (revolving kingdom).
 
Parents: Don (Danu / Irish) and Beli Mawr
 
Emblems and articles: Silver Wheel of Time, the moon, the Corona Borealis and weaving implements. She is also sometimes associated with owls and with spiders as she is considered a weaver of fate.
 
Consort: Nwyvre
 
Children: Dylon and Lleu Llaw Gyffes
 
Arianrhod is the keeper of The Silver Wheel or Silver Wheel of Time. On the oar whee, Arianrhod carries the dead to Emania, a heavenly realm also known as the Corona Borealis. In Welsh tradition it was while in Emania that Arianrhod would decide the fate of the dead before their being reincarnated.
 
˜*Your creepy bit of history – When the god Math attempts to test Arianrhod’s virginity before appointing her the honorary virgin tho holds his feet in her lap (wait, what?) he makes her step over his magician’s rod (quit with the snickering). As she does this, she spontaneously gives birth to twin boys (talk about a surprise!) - the sea spirit, Dylan who flees into the ocean and Lleu who was raised by Arianrhod’s brother, Gwydion.

  Sources: For more interesting facts about the moon goddess, Arianrhod, check out these great sites: www.goddess-guide.com www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk and www.nancylankston.com

Role in the Tides of Atlantis world: Arianrhod is mentioned in Moontide, book 1 in the Tides of Atlantis series and even shares familial ties with a main character. Ronan tells Cindy an entertaining tale that features the moon goddess and her ship of souls that is on its way to Emania.
 
Excerpt from Moontide: (This is from  the tale that Ronan tells Cindy)

***
“According to the old sailor, one night when leaving a pub, the lunatic captain was making his way back to his ship, but the fog was so thick that he couldn’t see past his face and he stumbled aboard the wrong vessel. It was a grave mistake to make, because the ship he boarded belonged to a fairy queen.”
“Fairy queen?”
“Mmm, a goddess, to hear the old sailor tell it. On her silver ship she’d come to Earth to take the souls of the dead to Emania.
“Emania,” Cindy repeated the name, her interest growing, “what is that?”
Ronan shrugged.
“I asked the very same question. The codger said it meant, ‘moon land,’ but the story goes on.
When the Captain finally realized that he was surrounded by the faces of the dead travelling to a land of enchantment, he let out a bellow of fear, crying out that he was there by mistake. This ruckus caught the fairy queen’s attention and she had him brought to her. When it was discovered that he’d made his way onto her ship by accident, she considered what to do with him. Being a fair queen and the goddess of time and order, she didn’t wish to send him to Emania before his time. She decided to return him to his own ship on the provision that he seek out and obtain a specific stone of enchantment for her. It belonged to the people of Emania she said and had long ago been lost. Supposedly, it found its way into a sea cave off the coast of the Mediterranean. The captain agreed to find the stone for her and she released him to his ship.
Blissful was the captain because he knew that the gem the fairy queen had sent him to find was none other than the same stone of everlasting life that he himself sought. He wasted no time in setting course for warm waters. When he arrived, he followed the queen’s instructions and found the stone just where she said it would be. But the captain never had any intention of relinquishing it to her, instead, thinking to keep the stone and its magic for himself.
The queen learned of the captain’s treachery and caused a great storm to rise up, sinking his ship and drowning him and his crew. All except for one mate,” here, Ronan slipped back into his portrayal of the drunken old sailor, “and I be he—Davy Tackett, the sly dog that swam away from the wreckage with nothing save his own scurvy neck and this trinket, sir. I had it from me cap’n that night before the sea took him to his final restin’ place. I’m willin’ to give it ta you, sir, for a price—the gemstone of a moon goddess and fairy queen herself.”