Oengus/Mabon (Youthful Champion, Son of Light)
Oengus is one of the Tuatha De Danann, son of a secret union between Daghdha and Bóinn, the river goddess. Falling in love with a girl he sees in a dream, Oengus finds her and heroically wins her. Oengus and his counterpart in the Welsh tradition, Mabon, represent the youthful championing of innocence, virtue, and love.
Invoking the Defence of Innocence, Love, and Virtue.
In Irish myth, Oengus is the heroic champion. Variously known as the son of the goddess or the son of light, Oengus is one of the Tuatha De Danann, a race of supernatural beings forced to dwell underground with the coming of the Celts to Ireland. In the mating of the river goddess, Bóinn, and the Good God, Daghdha, Oengus is conceived. In order to hide their secret union, Bóinn and Daghdha cause the sun to stand still in the heavens for nine months, giving the appearance that Oengus is conceived and born on the same day. Imbued with the armour of the sun, Oengus becomes a wondrous youth, the champion of love, innocence, and virtue.
As a young man, Oengus dreams of a young girl he does not know. Upon awakening, he is passionately in love with her and sets out searching the countryside to find her. When at last he finds Caer ("Yew Berry"), she is living in a lake, a portal to the Otherworld. Caer and her girl companions are shape-shifters, and every other year, at the festival of Samhain, they turn into swans. All of them have lovely chains around their necks, except Caer's is made of gold. Though Oengus begs to marry Caer, her marriage signals the father's death and he adamantly refuses. Only at Samhain, when the thresholds between the worlds are as thin as veils, might he escape with her. Waiting until Samhain, Oengus turns himself into a swan and he and Caer fly away together, circling the lake three times to enchant the inhabitants to sleep for three nights and three days.
In the Welsh tradition, the youthful champion is the son of the Modron, the mother goddess. He is called Mabon, taken from his mother at the age of three days and held captive in a prison by Arthur for uncounted centuries. When, countless ages later, he is released, Mabon is older than any living creature. Of supernatural birth, he is destined to be a champion of the right and those on quest for the sake of love: Mabon's assistance allows Arthur and Culhwch to overtake Twrch Trwyth, a fierce wild boar, and to seize the scissors, razor, and comb between its ears. It is a quest within a quest, and only by securing this extraordinary prize can Culhwch wed Olwen, the object of his impassioned love.
Born of supernatural origins, Oengus and Mabon are prefigured champions, each a wondrous child, who has grown older to overcome the impossible.
IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS ORACLE, you are a champion of unpopular causes. You want to live honourably and honestly even if it costs you time and money. Pursuing honest work and maintaining faithful relationships are extremely important to you. Male or female, you are developing the noble character of a knight, striving from a sense of fidelity and virtue on behalf of everyone. In this matter, you are capable of great accomplishments, overcoming obstacles that would seem hopeless and fearful to most people.
Having drawn this oracle, you may also be facing a situation that tempts you away from virtuous actions and toward an easier and more convenient course. Do not mistake expediency for virtue. As with champions, you are being tested. Look closely at the situation, seeking to see the good, innocent, reliable, and honest. Any gain from acting cheaply or deceitfully will be temporary and vacuous. Rather than acting imprudently, act from a sense of principle. Whatever your age, the oracle promises you a youthful energy to champion an honourable cause, action, and outcome.
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