A Story of Ancient Goddess Boann - a Story for Spring

Written by Eva Greenslade based on writings from Amantha Murphy's book Way of the Seabhean, and from various Irish websites about the river Boyne.

As always sit back, with a cuppa and let your imagination run wild....

The sun shone bright on the newly birthed earth, birthed from the sun and moon. Viewed only from the stage of the gods, the first people of Ireland, Tuathe De Danan.

The newly formed earth was waking up in the suns warm light, emerging from the darkness of the night sky.

The first seeds quickened in the soil, and shoots of grass, saplings of trees, and many other plants emerged through the untouched virginal earth. Yet the earth had so little water she became dry and plants struggled to grow.

A maiden sat with the gods, she was a woman who could touch the heavens, the earth, she could touch molten rock of the new earth, and touch the ice of the stars, she was called Boann. Boann saw the earth wasn’t yet in balance, as it was without water, so she decided to reach up beyond the stars into the icy cold space to the milky way and with a touch it merged with her whole being, and flowed through her body.

She came down to earth, a love in her heart grew for this beautiful land the gods were creating, with this love she felt the let down in her breasts and the water began to flow out of her breasts on to the land, creating the rivers, and streams, and seas, the water of her blood, flowed across the bones of the dry earth created by the sun and moon.

With the flow of water balance was created, and life on earth was almost as bright and beautiful as Tir Na Nog – the realms of summer. A realm Boann knew well. The sun the moon the stars and the gods, rejoiced.

After some time, the earth gave birth to more children, to fish in the waters, to birds, then her children began to walk on legs, six, eight, four, then two legs. Two legs helped her children reach the branches of trees, helped them run, and carry the gifts of the earth, these other limbs helped them to also carry their babies who were born too early to be able to walk. Earth was pretty pleased with herself. Balance was still maintained. All creatures lived to keep the balance and the cycles of life.

The Tuathe De Danann lived in a beautiful part of the earth, where wild lands covered with rolling hills and blankets of forest, a place they called Danu. In the wilds of Danu, the maiden Boann, lived also a god. She felt so free, she loved these lands, the beings of earth, and her people so much. She enjoyed being human, she chose to marry, a man, called Elcmar.

Her marriage though, became loveless, the passion didn’t grow and the balance within the maiden shifted into a darkness. The lands began to dry and crack around her. She had unbeknown to her caught the eye of another, the Dagda, he approached her to bed her, he was so taken by her beauty, and she by his, But due to her marriage she had to refuse. The Dagda wanted to lay with her so badly he sent her husband on a mission, he then stopped the suns movement for two days and lay with Boann. Boann and the Dagda bore a child together through their love, a son, Aengus.

The lands became dryer and dryer, Boann knew she needed to return to the place where she had once brought the waters down from the milkyway. She left her son with her people and walked a day and night to the place she remembered.

The maiden arrived at an avenue of apple Trees which lead her to a little well, known by now as the Well of Segais. This well was surrounded by Hazel trees. The people had told stories of magic from this well, whereby the hazel nuts would fall from the branches of the trees into the water and salmon that lived below the well, ate the nuts would be filled with earths wisdom and knowledge, the knowledge of the mystery of life that only the gods knew. The space was so beautiful, the sun shone so bright, This was a place she recalled well, a place where the distant memory returned to her, a vivid memory of her entire being having once been connected to all, to the sun, the moon, the stars, the very place she stood when the milky way flowed through her breasts. She felt so happy. She danced barefoot in the grass around the well, she danced around and around, enjoying the freedom of the connection to all in that place, sun and breeze on her skin, the earth below her feet. Boann danced circling the well, she danced spinning anticlockwise, once, then twice, then three times around the well before she lowered her bucket down in the well.

No sooner had the bucket touched the stream at the bottom of the well, the water began to rise, it rose up and out of the well, covering the grass, the hazel trees, then Boann herself. Caught in what was now a huge torrent of water she lost her footing and was swept away, the water ran town the hill from the well covering everything in its wake. It continued until it met the sea. Then it settled.

The torrent of water had formed a huge river through the land to the sea. Boann had become part of the river itself, she felt every part of her being once more connected to all in pure bliss. Boann once more touched the waters wisdom carrying the great mystery from the milkway, she was now the blood of the earth, giving life to all creatures, to all beings with the very same liquid s, flowing with life she had brought down from the milkyway to bring about balance in the beginning. Boann was now restoring balance once more, as if it were her destiny, nourishing the earth from her breasts for all life, all beings, not just the son born of her womb.

To this day you can feel the ancient wisdom connected to all when you stop for a moment to listen to, to watch, to touch, and drink the waters that flow from the earth.

You can feel her wisdom, the wisdom from all time, as she flows through your veins giving you life and restoring your balance.

In spring you feel the sweet taste of life in her fresh waters as earths energy rises in all living forms.

Life without water is no life, and life without balance cannot be.