Today’s Goddess is a little less questionable than yesterday’s was! Even though I love the deck that I’m using for these daily insights I do sometimes question the information that comes with them because of the more “new agey” ties that they have. Sometimes when you’re looking at these new age sources you’ll find a lot of creative licenses taken to make things either more likable, more palatable or more useful. Plus everything seems to have to do with healing something and being over the moon about your womanliness. This isn’t to say that these things are inherently bad, because they do have value and purpose, but that doesn’t mean history should be changed to make a less than loving Goddess more like your favorite Grandma rather than the Hag Goddess she is just so you’ll listen to what she has to say!
So with that said, today’s Goddess is neither a Hag or an overly loving Mother Goddess. She is, however, a Goddess that was first attributed to the Romans and then became more connected to the Celts. The big thing that I’ve seen in connection to her a few times is that she is sometimes portrayed as a specifically Celtic Goddess, which by her name alone should open one up to questioning this as her origin. Today’s Goddess is…
Coventina
The associations that Coventina have magickally come from a sort of hodgepodge of associations from Britannia. To the Irish she was seen as one of the forms of the Lady of the Lake since she presided over lakes, rivers and other bodies of water. In Scotland she was given the association with being an Underworld Goddess as she was said to be the Goddess of birds that could travel to and from the Otherworld. An Underworld association could also be connected to a Goddess of the waters when taken into the consideration the idea that the waters are often one of many travel-ways to the Otherworld. And, of course, the Romans associated her with wells and springs. Most of the history on her is lost but it is believed that her origins are more Roman than Celtic and that she became connected to the wells and rivers of Britannia and became somewhat of a land spirit, taking on different aspects and attributes that connected her specifically to the areas where the bodies of water were.
Conventina is specifically tied to Hadrian’s Wall, a stone wall that was built around 122 to act as a protective barrier for Roman Britain at the time from invasions from the Picts. The wall served as the northernmost boundary of the Roman Empire through the early fifth century. There is a wellspring along the wall near Carrawburgh (located in Northumberland which is in the Northeast of England). Here she was honored with small shrines where offerings of coins and other small items were tossed into the wells as offerings while those making the offerings would ask for wishes and blessings. So anytime you’ve ever tossed a coin in a well or fountain and make a wish, Coventina is the one that hears it and works to help bring your desires to you.
Now comes where we see some modern-day, new age evolution of Coventina. It is true that the Celts did associate Coventina. They saw the bodies of water as being connected to the womb and the Great Mother and they felt that the power of the Mother’s waters could heal, restoring health and balance. So the connection of Coventina as a healer isn’t completely off. However her association with detoxification and cleansing the mind and body is something that our newer associations with water may be bringing us.
Today Coventina is seen not only as a granter of wishes and giver of prosperity but as a healer who reminds us that our body is made of mostly water and we need to care for it with a gentleness in the same way that the waterways need gentle caring. Much like the waters of the ocean have their own ebb and flow, so too do our bodies and we are best served by listening to those messages that it brings.
Now, with the changing seasons and the transitions happening around us, it’s a good time to being making changes in our lives for the better. It’s time to being purifying the waters of our bodies of the toxins and chemicals that we put in them every day. And it’s not always on purpose. Of course, if you’re using alcohol and/or drugs in excess, you know as well as anyone that these are not good things for your mind, body or spirit. But not all of these chemicals are intentionally ingested and we forget about things like the smog and exhaust we inhale while out on our city streets, the things that are in the processed food that we eat each day without thought, even the chemicals that we might be taking in from the mass produced incenses, candles and ritual oils we use! It’s time to make changes to lessen those things from our lives and eliminate the toxins in our bodies that slow us down, make us tired, and make us less able to think clearly.
Start today by eliminating one thing from your diet that you know isn’t healthy for you. Soda is one of the easiest to eliminate. Drink water, even flavored waters, or natural juices instead. Some people have a hard time letting go of that bubbly, high fructose syrup cocktail, so start slowly by transitioning to nature sugar sodas (they are a lot easier to find than you might think). Then slowly wean off those to water and other natural drinks. Since today is Mabon, look around your altar. Are you using incense that was made by you or otherwise Witch-crafted or was it something mass produced and sold in bulk somewhere? If you’re using manufactured incense look on the label for ingredients or go online and see if you can find out what the company uses in their produces. Are they using chemicals to help the burning of the incense? Are they using fragrance rather than essential oils? If they aren’t using natural products, switch to something else or make your own magickal incense. It’s fun and SO much cheaper in the long run too!
These are small steps, but they are the steps that get you on track to bigger changes in the future. Other things you can do is begin a detox diet, start adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet or begin making other changes that are going to bring you closer to a natural way of living. In the process you can go to a body of water and leave an offering or toss in a coin and ask for Coventina to help guide you and bless your efforts to change. She is listening and she is granting your wishes.
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