← Home
The Mabinogion · 156 of 191 · tr. Lady Charlotte Guest

Tale MATH THE SON OF MATHONWY-a

THIS IS THE FOURTH PORTION OF THE MABINOGI Math the son of Mathonwy was lord over Gwynedd, and Pryderi the son of Pwyll was lord over the one-and-twenty Cantrevs of the South; and these were the seven Cantrevs of Dyved, and the seven Cantrevs of Morganwc, the four Cantrevs of Ceredigiawn, and the three of Ystrad Tywi. At that time, Math the son of Mathonwy could not exist unless his feet were in the lap of a maiden, except only when he was prevented by the tumult of war. Now the maiden who was with him was Goewin, the daughter of Pebin of Dôl Pebin, in Arvon, and she was the fairest maiden of her time who was known there. And Math dwelt always at Caer Dathyl, in Arvon, and was not able to go the circuit of the land, but Gilvaethwy the son of Don, and Eneyd the son of Don, his nephews, the sons of his sisters, with his household, went the circuit of the land in his stead. Now the maiden was with Math continually, and Gilvaethwy the son of Don set his affections upon her, and loved her so that he knew not what he should do because of her, and therefrom behold his hue, and his aspect, and his spirits changed for love of her, so that it was not easy to know him. One day his brother Gwydion gazed steadfastly upon him. “Youth,” said he, “what aileth thee?” “Why,” replied he, “what seest thou in me?” “I see,” said he, “that thou hast lost thy aspect and thy hue; what, therefore, aileth thee?” “My lord brother,” he answered, “that which aileth me, it will not profit me that I should own to any.” “What may it be, my soul?” said he. “Thou knowest,” he said, “that Math the son of Mathonwy has this property, that if men whisper together, in a tone how low soever, if the wind meet it, it becomes known unto him.” “Yes,” said Gwydion, “hold now thy peace, I know thy intent, thou lovest Goewin.” When he found that his brother knew his intent, he gave the heaviest sigh in the world. “Be silent, my soul, and sigh not,” he said. “It is not thereby that thou wilt succeed. I will cause,” said he, “if it cannot be otherwise, the rising of Gwynedd, and Powys, and Deheubarth, to seek the maiden. Be thou of glad cheer therefore, and I will compass it.” So they went unto Math the son of Mathonwy. “Lord,” said Gwydion, “I have heard that there have come to the South some beasts, such as were never known in this island before.” “What are they called?” he asked. “Pigs, lord.” “And what kind of animals are they?” “They are small animals, and their flesh is better than the flesh of oxen.” “They are small, then?” “And they change their names.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →
Themes
Animismcosmology

The doctrine and worldview that natural phenomena, places, and objects possess inherent spirit, soul, or personality — and that the cosmos is populated by countless local, plural, embodied divine agents: kami in mountain and tree, sidhe in cairn and well, landwights in field and stone, nymphs in spring and grove, haltija in forest and lake, lares and penates in household and threshold, Iamblichean daemons in element and place. Distinct from monotheism (single transcendent God), pantheism (one underlying substance), and emanation_hierarchy (cascading single source); animism's signature is the plurality, locality, and embodied-in-landscape character of the divine.

The mention of pigs with magical properties like changing names suggests inherent spirit or agency within natural beasts.

All passages →
Cosmic Sympathycosmology

The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.

The wind is described as carrying human whispers to Math, indicating a hidden affinity between natural elements and human speech. [quarantine-w4: cosmic_sympathy x celtic — see rellm data/quarantine/dossiers.jsonl]

All passages →
Emotional Epistemologysoteriology

The doctrine that emotions constitute a valid and necessary mode of knowing reality, complementing or surpassing intellectual cognition.

Gwydion deduces Gilvaethwy's internal passion by observing the physical changes in his aspect and spirits caused by love.

All passages →
Shapeshifting Transformationtheology

Form-mutability as a constitutional property of divine and preternatural beings — gods, heroes, spirits, and their human practitioners possessing inherent capacity to alter form across human, animal, plant, or elemental states. Loki and Odin's transformations in Norse, Math's pigs and Blodeuwedd's owl-shape and Pwyll's exchange with Arawn in the Mabinogion, the Greek Proteus, the Indian dasavatara, Vainamoinen's bird-flight in the Kalevala, Ovid's metamorphoses, the shamanic and witch's capacity for ritual form-change. Distinct from anthropomorphism (divine taking specific human form, single embodiment) in that anthropomorphism establishes a stable form whereas this concept establishes form's plurality and instability.

The passage explicitly mentions pigs that change their names, a detail cited in the concept definition as an example of form-mutability in the Mabinogion.

All passages →
Word Power Incantationpraxis

The doctrine and practice that spoken or sung word carries causal-magical force — that uttering names, formulas, songs, or incantations alters reality directly rather than merely communicating about it. Vainamoinen's runo-songs that move mountains and command iron, Norse galdr, Vedic mantra, Shinto kotodama, the magician's barbarous names in the Greek Magical Papyri, Iamblichean arcane signatures and inexplicable symbols, biblical creation-by-word. Distinct from sacred_names (the ontological power of names themselves) and prayer (address to the divine); word_power_incantation is the magical-causal efficacy of the spoken word as such.

Whispers are described as becoming known to Math if met by the wind, attributing causal-magical force to spoken words.

All passages →
Related passages · 11 parallels
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XVIII-b
“A certain thing of this kind also may take 71 place in the harmony and crasis of the universe: for the same things may be the salvation of the whole, through the perfection of the things inherent and the recipients; but may be noxious to th…”
Shared concept: Cosmic Sympathy — The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 365 (part 1)
“Section 45 45. From this discussion it becomes perfectly clear that the individual member of the All contributes to that All in the degree of its kind and condition; thus it acts and is acted upon. In any particular animal each of the lim…”
Shared concept: Cosmic Sympathy — The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination. (derived)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 53 (part 11)
“They are never erring, perpetually recurring numbers, unveiling, to him who studies the secrets of Nature, a truly divine System, an intelligent plan in Cosmogony, which results in natural cosmic divisions of times, seasons, invisible influ…”
Shared concept: Animism — The doctrine and worldview that natural phenomena, places, and objects possess inherent spirit, soul, or personality — and that the cosmos is populated by countless local, plural, embodied divine agents: kami in mountain and tree, sidhe in cairn and well, landwights in field and stone, nymphs in spring and grove, haltija in forest and lake, lares and penates in household and threshold, Iamblichean daemons in element and place. (derived)
western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVIII (part 5)
“If we consider the emotional nature of man as self-contained, as serving life and not serving knowledge we shall never understand its true content and significance. Emotions serve knowledge. There are things and relations which can be kno…”
Shared concept: Emotional Epistemology — The doctrine that emotions constitute a valid and necessary mode of knowing reality, complementing or surpassing intellectual cognition. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter III
“Since, however, every part of the heavens, every sign of the zodiac, all the motion of the heavens, every period of time according to which the world is moved, and all things contained in the wholes of the universe, receive the powers which…”
Shared concept: Cosmic Sympathy — The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination. (derived)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 12 (part 6)
“" The Dhyanis ( Pitris ) are those who have evolved their BHUTA ( doubles ) from themselves , which RUPA ( form ) has become the vehicle of monads ( seventh and sixth principles ) that had completed their cycle of transmigration in the thre…”
Shared concept: Shapeshifting Transformation — Form-mutability as a constitutional property of divine and preternatural beings — gods, heroes, spirits, and their human practitioners possessing inherent capacity to alter form across human, animal, plant, or elemental states. (derived)
western_esoteric|The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite)|Page 53
“§ 2. Concerning the Forms of Infernal Spirits in their Manifestations Having regard to the nature and antecedents of the Intelligences with which Black Magic professes to be concerned, it must be highly important that the operator should kn…”
Shared concept: Shapeshifting Transformation — Form-mutability as a constitutional property of divine and preternatural beings — gods, heroes, spirits, and their human practitioners possessing inherent capacity to alter form across human, animal, plant, or elemental states. (derived)
western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|The Elements and Their Inhabitants-e
“The imagination of the Greeks peopled the regions of earth and sea with divinities, to whose agency it attributed the phenomena that our philosophy ascribes to the operation of natural law." Thus, in behalf of the plant it worked with, the…”
Shared concept: Shapeshifting Transformation — Form-mutability as a constitutional property of divine and preternatural beings — gods, heroes, spirits, and their human practitioners possessing inherent capacity to alter form across human, animal, plant, or elemental states. (derived)
western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic I: The Doctrine (Éliphas Lévi)|8. Realization-c
“The Astral Body is not always of the same sex as the terrestrial, that is, the proportions of the two forces, varying from right to left, seem frequently to belie the visible organization, producing seeming aberrations of human passion and…”
Shared concept: Word Power Incantation — The doctrine and practice that spoken or sung word carries causal-magical force — that uttering names, formulas, songs, or incantations alters reality directly rather than merely communicating about it. (derived)
western_esoteric|Psychic Self-Defence (Dion Fortune)|8. The Risks Incidental To Ceremonial Magic-e
“Enough must be hinted, however, to reveal what, under certain circumstances, may be experienced. I do not think it in the least likely, however, that the Qlippotic demons will be encountered save through the use of ceremonial magic. They…”
Shared concept: Word Power Incantation — The doctrine and practice that spoken or sung word carries causal-magical force — that uttering names, formulas, songs, or incantations alters reality directly rather than merely communicating about it. (derived)
western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic II: The Ritual (Éliphas Lévi)|Introduction-f
“But when science and philosophy, reconciled with faith, shall unite all the various symbols, then shall the magnificences of the antique worships be restored to the memory of men, proclaiming the progress of the human mind in the intuition…”
Shared concept: Emotional Epistemology — The doctrine that emotions constitute a valid and necessary mode of knowing reality, complementing or surpassing intellectual cognition. (derived)