Her lute hangs shadowed in the apple-tree,
While flashing fingers weave the sweet-strung spell
Between its chords; and as the wild notes swell,
The sea-bird for those branches leaves the sea.

But to what sound her listening ear stoops she?
What netherworld gulf-whispers doth she hear,
In answering echoes from what planisphere,
Along the wind, along the estuary?

She sinks into her spell: and when full soon
Her lips move and she soars into her song,
What creatures of the midmost main shall throng
In furrowed surf-clouds to the summoning rune:
Till he, the fated mariner, hears her cry,
And up her rock, bare-breasted, comes to die?

Melusine is known best in Magickal mythology as a Nixie, or Mermaid, with a Serpent tail or fish tail; however the Name Melusine is mentioned in “Charge of the Goddess” along with the names of Athene, Bride, Astarte and other goddesses as Names of Diana, Queen of All Witches.

Many intriguing legends surround Melusine, who sometimes appears with wings, and is believed to be a beautiful, enchanting but potentially dangerous Spirit, living in and around fresh water springs and streams.

Queen Melusine was considered to be a Succubus by Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism, and his misguided followers, as Melusine was often believed to be  involved in marriages with human men. Of course, with such fear of sex (and of women power and witchcraft) as Luther and his followers had in the middle ages, all the pre – Christian Pagan Deities were “changed” by them to being evil, alien monsters or devils.

Some things change, others stay the same?

For example, human love of  the Goddess of humans will forever be reality, whilst change is a constant universal dynamic and stagnant medieval spiritual doctrines will become ever more impractical and retrogressive as Time marches us on into the New Age of the Daughter. 

 Anyway, Melusine is pictured as being very similar to Lilith,  and was also charged with the ridiculous accusation of being a baby-killer by the medieval religionists.

 It is to separate fact from fiction and to re-write History into the correct Herstory in the sense that in my opinion, Melusine is in reality,  Lilith’s sister, a Dragon Goddess; Queen of Faeries and a manifestation of The Great Goddess of Many Names.

I come to this conclusion by simply comparing mythological stories from very different areas of the world, very different cultures and cultures that are separated by thousands of miles and thousands of years, and identifying what the tales and myths have in common despite these differences between the people and the places these legends come from. There is a huge difference between co-incidence and synchronicity – and thus it is no mere co-incidence that the Herstory of the Mermaid and Siren is practically identical all over the world. Except that in the beginning, the River Maidens were not seen as evil, but merely as guardians of the sacred. Guardians of the most high thing!

In Jewish tradition, Agrat Bat Mahalath, is seen fearfully as the most dangerous manifestation of Lilith, and rules the Western quarter, also the element of Water. Jewish men were warned not to go out and swim on a Saturday, the Sabbath day, for fear that Goddess Agrat, also known as Queen of Demons, and ruler of a legion of 180,000 Demons who live in and around lakes, rivers and streams; will take their souls.

Jewish folklore has many tales of marriages between ‘Demons’ and humans who then often live in the Yenne Velt (the Other World), also accessible through mirrors, seen as Magickal gateways to the Land of the Demons and the symbol of Lilith.

The term demon derives from the ancient name for a Daimon, the guiding , helpful and tutelary spirits of humankind. Belief in a personal Daimon was never questioned, but openly pronounced and glorified by of the most wise , such as Plato  and Aristotle, even in later, more patriarchal times.

Jewish people have the belief that water attracts Demons and that mirrors, having a reflective surface similar to water, also hosted the Daughters of Lilith, the Lilin.

It is said that Lilith lives in every mirror.

Agrat Bat Mahalat means, literally, “Agrat, Daughter of Mahalat”. Mahalat is the Goddess who rules the Southern Quarter. In the original meaning, the South represented Arabia and Ethiopia (Africa) as well as the Element of Earth. Originally, this Goddess was known as Allat, Daughter of Ma’nat ~ and is Ereskigal, and Allatu

Goddess Na’amah is Lilith’s sister, ruling over the Eastern Quarter, the element of Air, and the Lands of the East.  Lilith Herself is said to rule over the North and the Element of Fire.

Melusine is associated with howling winds and wild, untamed stretches of rivers and sacred waters, and is the Queen of Sirens and Mermaids throughout Europe. Melusine is also known as a Siren, as  to listen to her sweet songs and  haunting melodies on the wind was a sometime fatal attraction for men passing by rivers or lakes especially at night or in the evening shadows... and devout men were warned never to swim especially alone for fear of being lured and ensnared by the Nixies or Lorelei, the entrancing Siren Spirit of the Rhine river and it’s tributaries.  Under no circumstances were consorts allowed to enter Melusines’ chambers on a Saturday or there would be consequences, just as in many other tales of such marriages.

There are many stories of Faeries and Humans entering into marriage together, or humans disappearing for years on end and sometimes returning with healing powers from the Land of the Fay. 

 In some types of ceremonial Magick , Niksa is called upon and heralded as the Ruler of the Element of Water (West). Before the medieval religions tightened their grip on freedom of religious thought,  Melusine and Her daughters were venerated as the guardians of sacred fresh water, often the places of power where fresh water - obviously essential for life to continue - springs from the ground as pure as rock crystal, also called the Lifeblood in many ancient cultures.

As an aside, did you know that humans consist mainly of water?

The fresh water symbolizes the essence of the Horned God of Nature, whilst saltwater is of Tiamat, the Great Mother. Tales of the dreaded Mermaids and Nixies, of Loreleii and the Sirens who lure innocent men to their doom  were(are) actually distorted Christian versions of the truth -  and that these ‘Demons in mirrors’ represent the Old Goddess and God and Pagan spirits as seen through the eyes of twisted Rabbis, monks and Priests who wished to diabolize everything about the Old Religion.

" The great Tao flows everywhere,

all things are born from it"

~ Laozi

Nyx is the primordial Greek Goddess of the waters, as water is the highest good .Nixie, the Mermaid Queen is a logical progression of Her Name and mythos as Goddess of the Dead, and the deep, dark waters of the primal Abyss ; the silence that many fear or are not comfortable with as it represents our deepest Inner being and the complete silence of the Dark Goddess.

Yemaya of the African currents, is the Mother Goddess of the Seas, from whence all things came onto land

In Britain, the Lady of the Lake was a Siren just like Melusine, who spirited away Lancelot to raise him in the ways of the Neighbours.

 Goddess Sedna is the Inuit Goddess of the Oceans. Sedna is quite rightly regarded as a Goddess , and is concerned about the excessive amounts of soap suds which end up in rivers, lakes and seas. Very hot water kills all germs, and it would be nice if we all just stopped contributing to one of the main sources of pollution in our waters. All creatures in and around the water are suffering because of human selfishness and non-consideration for the fragile living environment!

The Nagas, or Serpent Kings and Dragon Queens of Ancient North-Western India and throughout the Orient are very similar in appearance, and in their actions and characteristics, to the Mermaid and Nixies of European folklore in many ways.

In their aspect of Guardian Dragon of the waters, the Nagas are still venerated at just about every reservoir, river and lake in Thailand and throughout China.

This is genuine image of Dragon Lights, a fairly common occurrence in the Orient. These lights are generated by the Dragon guardians of the waters, the Nagas.

The Dragon is the guardian of Life, while at the same time, causes Natural disaster and massive destruction if angered by humans – if humans interfere with Nature in a destructive manner, ignore the sacredness of all life and disrupt the natural energies of the land.

The Dragon is Tiamat, the Dragon Creatrix of Mesopotamia, the Primal Creatrix Goddess who brought all things into being and emerged from the Primeval sea to destroy and create life.

Ma-Nu is the primal creatrix of ancient Mesopotamia, who is Tiamat

The Nommo fish of Africa is a representation of Mami Wata, also venerated by the Names of Mami and Au-Set in later times, as the antediluvian civilization developed

Nuwa and Fu Xi, the Dragon King, the creators of all that is.

The Royal family of Japan is said to be descended from the Dragon of the Sea.

 The Goddess Atargatis is Cybele, the All-Mother , often portrayed as a Goddess with the tail of either sacred fish or serpent.

Lilith is the Serpent in the Tree of Life; and the Siren, singing songs which no man could ever resist

There are many examples of the ancient Divinities and Deities manifesting as fish and serpent.

This is not because the serpent was seen as evil and sly by the ancients. On the contrary, the Serpent is the first created of the Great Goddess, and symbolizes Wisdom, Immortality of Spirit, Renewal, Change, the Cycles of Existence and Eternity. The very energy which makes things grow, and the Life Force which flows throughout all things in the universe.

 The magnificent Coral reefs of the world’s oceans, now in danger of extinction as a result of pollution,  over- harvesting of corals and overfishing; are said to be generated by Mermaids.  Of course, instead of the sailors being entranced by the absolute natural beauty of the living Coral Reefs, they saw reefs as only being places of danger, places where ships run aground and sink into the depths.

This brings to mind the legend of Medusa, originally a golden Sea Goddess of North Africa.  According to later Greek legends, after Perseus had evidently cut off the head of the Goddess,  Medusa’s decapitated head dripped with lifeblood that grew into beautiful Red Sea coral wherever it touched the water.  What makes Coral grow, I wonder… Have a quick look underwater, and make up your own mind – is Nature “evil”?

In Southern Africa, it is believed that the Water Nymphs, also known as the Water Maidens, occasionally abduct villagers when they go down to the river to fetch water, grabbing them suddenly and dragging them down into the depths of the mainstream.

The abductees often appear some time later, even a period of years down the line, where the person is changed in subtle ways by the Nymphs, having gained healing powers and powers of divination and prophecy.They often appear as if dreaming or preoccupied – often they will be speaking to themselves.

If Pork, which is seen as the food of the dead, is given to the charmed person, they will disappear back to the land under the waters forever.

In ancient Greece and the Middle Orient, the river nymphs are seen as the Spirits of the dead, and if pork is ever fed to the person who has come back from their underwater realm, that person will return to the land of the dead forever.

In Zululand, the River Goddess is known by the Name of Mamlambo, and manifests as a Serpent, often an unusually large Cobra that swims upstream with it’s hood extended and raised above the water. Offerings of Beer are made before a crossing is attempted. The Mamlambo, is Mami Wata, often appearing to people as a beautiful  River Maiden, part serpent or fish, part lovely woman. The Goddess often manifests as a Tornado, which is seen by Africans as a giant, destructive Serpent which arises from the waters – again, the tornado only comes when there has been a man-made imbalance due to interference in the natural world.

As Melusine can transform into a Dragon, and as the Dragon is the symbol of Paganism as the symbol of the Creative force and Feminine power of the Universe; Melusine, the Serpent Goddess of Europe, emerges as a unique manifestation of the Goddess, celebrating the source of life, ever-flowing from the Abyss of infinite Darkness, the well-spring of all creativity  and wisdom.

In the Beginning, the Earth arose from the Sea, and thus water is seen to be the origin of all Life. In Sumer, the word Mari meant both “sea” and “womb”.

The seas were synonymous with the Cosmos, as the Milky way is believed to be the celestial river of Light which flows from the breasts of the Great Mother.

The theme of water and spiritual resurrection is reflected in the long list of Deities clearly identified with water. Aphrodite, Tiamat, Atargatis, Decento, Isis (known as Mari by ancient sailors), Mami Wata , Kali, The Virgin Mary and naturally, Melusine.

Aphrodite, The Goddess of Love and Death,  is the Goddess with the dolphin and the Moon as Her sacred symbols. The dolphin and the Moon carried the souls of the deceased through and into the Underworld.

The Dolphin is also the symbol of Androgyny, and indeed, Aphrodite was often portrayed as Androgynous.

The Goddess was often pictured riding on a giant fish. This is because the fish is a primal symbol of Goddess, representing life after death and Fertility ~the Life force of spiritual nourishment, along with the grains of the Harvest..  Over time, the Goddesses and Gods who were always pictured as Serpents or Fish, or other sacred animals, became to be visualized as having human characteristics.

The Dragon has the scales of a Carp, you know!

Goddess Scylla

The Fish, blended into beautiful and alluring Goddess, was the origin of Mermaid and Siren.

So actually, the fish, which has been adopted by modern-day Christians as the spiritual body of Christ, was always the ages-old symbol of Goddess and thus, the Mermaid!

Prior to the advent of official Christianity, of course both Goddess devotees, Pagans and the early Christians would partake of the body of the Fish, which provides spiritual nourishment. After a while, though, it was only the Piscean Christ which was deemed acceptable by Church and society. The waters are enough for all in Spirit  :)

Mermaids and Merman

The Fish as symbol of the Divine Feminine dates back to an unknown antiquity. The Feminine God Enki, the Winged Serpent was naturally always known as the God of Wisdom and manifests as a Merman.

The fables and myths of the medieval religions , which promote the false ideas of Goddess being as a baby-killer  and abductor of “innocent men”,  are nothing more or less than that – fables – scripts to schlock-horror flicks;  designed to make people fearful of Goddess and , of course, their own Shadows… what a shame. Come on,  live,  have fun and join us for a swim sometime!

But be warned!*&*! ~ once you're mine, there’s no going back…

Penny for your troubles, dearest?

‘Swim, swim, swim, without resistance;

In this way you will find the balance”

~Deng Ming-Dao