sandrobotticelli:

ARIANRHOD (Aranrhod, Arianrod) [silver wheel]: a renowned beauty of Welsh literature whose story may be based on that of an earlier moon goddess. Assumed to be the daughter of Dôn, she was the sister and lover of Gwydion; in the Triads her father is given as Beli. She claimed to be a virgin so that she might become the footholder of Math. When the asserted virginity was tested, she gave premature birth to twins, Dylan, who escaped into the sea, and Lleu Llaw Gyffes, who became the object of his mother’s scorn. Gwydion rescued the child and reared him carefully. According to folk tradition, a reef off the coast of Gwynedd (formerly Carnarvonshire) called Caer Arianrhod is the remains of an island castle where Arianrhod was tricked into giving Lleu the arms she intended to withhold. This reef is only visible at very low tides, such as the neap tides in the first and third quarters of the moon. Caer Arianrhod is also a popular Welsh name for the constellation Corona Borealis, an asterism which resembles a waxing crescent moon. Arianrhod had other brothers, Gilfaethwy and Caswallon, with whom she did not have intimacies. R. S. Loomis suggested that Arianrhod may be a counterpart of the Arthurian figures Lunete and Morgawse.

(via saevitas)