Ceridwen

Ceridwen was a Welsh goddess of unknown attributes. Some would call Ceridwen a witch, and she was often depicted as an old hag. She had the ability to shift-change.

Ceridwen was the wife of Tegid Foel. Ceridwen was the mother of a daughter named Creirwy, and had two sons, Morvran ab Tegid and Morfran (Y Fagddu or Afagddu). Creirwy was the fairest maiden in the world, while Morvran was ugly but a strong warrior. However her youngest son, called Afagddu or Avagddu ("utter darkness"), was extremely ugly (and perhaps deformed) such that no one would accept him in the noble society unless he was gifted in wisdom and poetry.

From the cauldron of inspiration, known as Amen, Ceridwen was determined to make her son the wisest and most inspirational bard from three drops of her brew.

However the brew would take a whole year to make, so he had two servants to keep the fire lit and continuously stirred the cauldron. One of the servants was named Gwyon Bach (Gwion Bach). Her plan was in ruined when three drops scalded Gwyon Bach's thumb, making Gwyon put his finger in his mouth. Gwyon instantly gained the knowledge and skill of the bard, instead of her son Afagddu.

Ceridwen in rage, set out to kill Gwyon. Gwyon and Ceridwen went through several metamorphoses of different animals. Gwyon as a hare, Ceridwen as a greyhound; he as a salmon, she as an otter; he as a bird, while Ceridwen had transformed into a hawk. When Gwyon turned himself into a grain of seed, Ceridwen as a hen, swallowed Gwyon, and became pregnant.

When Ceridwen gave birth to a son, she knew her child was really a reincarnation of Gwyon Bach, who retained the memories of his previous life, as well as his skill as a bard. Ceridwen had intended to kill the infant, but could not bring herself to perform such a murder because of the baby's beauty. So Ceridwen put the baby in a leather bag and threw him into the sea.

Elphin (Elffin) rescued the child from the weir, and he named the infant (Gwyon Bach), Taliesin.

See Taliesin in the Mabinogion.

Not much is known about Ceridwen beyond the story of Taliesin, though her name and her cauldron appeared frequently in allusions of medieval Welsh literature.

Nothing more was said about her son, Afagddu. In the story of Culwch and Olwen, it mentioned that Ceridwen's other son Morfran also fought in the battle of Camlann, sustaining no wound because he was so ugly that the enemies thought he was a demon and would not come near him. Morfran had hair on his face like that of a stag.