Have you heard of the bard Taliesin? A great legend of the Celts he was, though he came from humble beginnings, the story of his birth is woven with Goddesses, magic, and luck... So takea seat by my fire, and I will tell you the story of the birth of Taliesin...
The Goddess Cerridwen, a formidable and wise crone she was, had a son named Afaggdu who was as ugly as he was stupid. His name meant "Utter Darkness," and Cerridwen, Goddess though she was, could not devise of a plan to turn him into the handsome and wise man she wished him to be. For, like all mothers, Cerridwen wanted the best for her son. And as a Goddess,
she meant to get what she wanted.
So Cerridwen began to craft the most powerful of all spells, and in her magic cauldron, she began to collect all the herbs and ingredients she would need. This spell was to be so powerful, that the person who first tasted of it would be gifted with all the knowedge in the world.
One of the conditions of the spell was that the cauldron had to simmer for a year and a day, and all of the ingredients had to be added at specific times. And so the Goddess put an old blind man to work feeding the fire, and a young servant boy named Gwion to work at stirring the brew. And so it went on for a year and a day...
On the last day of the spell, a bubble in the cauldron burst, sending a few scalding drops onto Gwion's finger. The boy cried out in pain and instinctivly put his finger into his mouth to cool it, and in the process he tasted of Cerridwen's brew. At that instant, Gwion gained the knowledge that was meant for Afaggdu.
Cerridwen, out hunting for a final herb to add to the pot knew suddenly that all her hard work had been for naught, for only one person could drink of the brew. When she returned to her home, Gwion had already fled, terrified of the Goddess' wrath. Enraged, Cerridwen took off after the boy, resolving to kill him the moment she got her hands on him.
Gwion, now gifted with all the knowledge of the world found himself with a great understanding of the magical arts as well, and so the boy turned himself into a hare and ran into the bush to escape Cerridwen. But the Goddess changed herself into a fast hunting hound, and his ruse didn't slow her.
So Gwion came to a stream and changed himself into a quick-swimming trout, but Cerridwen changed herself into an otter and was fast behind him. The trout leaped from the water and became a swift sparrow, but Cerridwen became a hawk.
Just as her talons were outstretched to catch the boy, Gwion spied a wheat field, and so he turned into a grain of wheat. But Cerridwen became a hen and gobbled him up. And so, she thought, that was the end of the boy Gwion.
Not long afterward, however, Cerridwen found herself with child. And for nine months she carried the babe she knew to be Gwion. Cerridwen intended to kill the child as soon as it was born, and in due time she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, and her plans were foiled because she loved him instantly.
But Afaggdu had not forgotten that this child had stolen the knowledge meant for him, and he resolved to kill it. Cerridwen knew of his plot and had to devise a way to protect the child. So the Goddess crafted a tiny boat and laid the baby inside and set him adrift into the sea.
No one knows how it was that the baby survived his journey on the ocean. Perhaps the magic of Cerridwen protected him, of the fey of the ocean may have taken pity on the beautiful child.
However it happened, the baby finally came to rest on the shores of what we know today as Wales. The craft was found by a man named Elphin, nephew of Maelgwyn, King of Dyfed. Resolved to foster the child as his own son, Elphin named the boy Taliesin, which means "Shining Brow."
And such was the birth of Taliesin, born once to a mortal, again to a goddess, and fostered in royalty. Taliesin, who was to become the greatest of the Celtic bards.
