BRITANNIA
The early Celtic people believed that the spirit of the land was peronified by the Goddess of Sovereignty, who bore the same name as the land she represented. The physical appearance of teh Goddess often reflected the landscape and its current state. In the winter months she appeared as a dirty weather-wonr hag, with hair of lichen and arms and legs that resembled the bare limbs of trees. In the spring and summer shbe became a fertile, radiant beauty. In many of theold tales, Sovereignity would first appear in her repulsive guise and test the would-be king. If she deemed him worthy of her, she would transform into her floral beauty of spring. The king's first duty was to the land, and upon taking the crown the king underwent a solemn ceremony in which he was bound in a sacred marriage to the land--a vow that the welfare of all depended upon. As the story of the Fisher King illustrartes, if the king failed his responsibilities or was wounded, Sovereignty would transorm t...