While I was doing some reading my mind wandered to the Dragonlance Trilogy of books, and the Goddess of Healing Mishakal which was able to work through her clerics to heal using her magical energy. Then I got to thinking, I wonder if there is a Goddess of Healing I can look to for guidance and inspiration as I become a Reiki Practitioner. So I Googled and I got this info about the Irish Goddess Ãine:
Ãine (pronounced Aw-nee) Goddess of Healing, The Spark of Life, Vitality, Fertility, Protection, Prosperity…was a goddess of the Celtic peoples and later in christian times she became known as a fairy queen. There is an ancient cairn and three small ring barrows known asMullach an Triuir on the summit of Cnoc Ãine which is near Knockainy village in Co. Limerick. She was revered up until the 19th century when men and women brought large torches of hay up to the summit of Cnoc Ãine where they circled the ring barrows anti-clockwise before going down again and sprinkling the ashes of the torches over their fields and livestock.
Among herbalists and folk-healers Ãine was understood to be responsible for the vital spark of life which they understood traversed the entire body every twenty-four hours.
When I first embarked on my spiritual quest for the Goddess about 15 years ago, she first revealed herself to me as Ãine, and I looked to her as my patron Goddess. Since then I’ve worked with Morgan le Fey, and lately with Freyja as the Goddess of my ancestors. Now I’ve come full circle, and it is to Ãine that I will look to for aid as I study healing techniques. I have always had a porcelain swan on my altar to represent her, and there she remains.
Incidentally, there will be an animated movie coming out this fall, the first of the Dragonlance books: “The Dragons of Autumn Twilight” and Lucy Lawless will be the voice of Goldmoon, healer and cleric of Mishakal.
I wonder if the goddess Mishakal is based at all on Mielikki, the Finnish goddess of the forest whose name, at least, has been borrowed by role-playing gamers. Info about her can be found at:
http://www.henkimaa.nu/finndex/kalevala/people/mielikki.html
I loved reading your blog. It is very inspiring. Just an fyi Ãine is actually pronounced awn-ya …just a little thing but coming from Ireland and it being my mothers name I thought I would mention it.
Peace,
Ellie
Hi Ellie,
Thanks for the correct pronunciation…I had been told that Ãine was pronounced awn-ee, but now I know better! It’s prettier sounding too, and it never felt quite right with the other way.