Back to Source - When the Rivers Were Goddesses

While our ancestors may traditionally have viewed the nation’s rivers as sacred, our current activities mean these vital waterways have never been in more need of our help.

As environmental activist George Monbiot’s revealed in his recent documentary ‘Rivercide’, livestock farms and privatised water firms are filling the country’s arteries with pollution to a vast and devastating extent.

Surfers against Sewage claim there is evidence of untreated waste material regularly being poured into our seas. In 2019, untreated sewage was discharged 200,000 times into UK rivers and nearly 2,000 times into UK coastal waters during the May to September bathing season alone.

The sheer volume of sewage and run-off entering the system has resulted in the UK being ranked just 25th out of 30 European Union countries in terms of coastal water quality, with only 14% of the country’s rivers currently in a good ecological state.

But the fact that a mere 3% of England’s inland waterways are accessible to the public - the equivalent of a mere 1,400 out of a total of 42,700 miles - means it is only possible to guess at the true scale of the problem. 

It wasn’t always this way

But it wasn’t always this way. According to US author Richard Rohr in his book ‘Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self’, our ancestors lived in what he described as “a naturally enchanted universe”, which they honoured and took responsibility for in an act of co-creation to ensure their own continuity and that of the world they lived in. In other words, nature, which included the rivers and streams, was held to be sacred.

Water was also considered a guardian of health, in that it was cleansing and provided fish and plants to eat. Rain was valued for watering crops and for being the medium in which food was cooked. Certain springs were believed to have healing properties

The element of water was so deeply embedded in our ancestors’ consciousness that they imbued it with spiritual qualities. In fact, our wells, springs, and rivers were traditionally associated with deities or forces of nature.

In the 17th century, poet Michael Drayton wrote the Poly-Olbion, a poetic journey through the landscape, history, traditions and customs of England and Wales based on the oral traditions and ancient writings he had gathered. William Hole engraved the work’s frontispiece and maps relating to several counties (see image), in which various locations and rivers were depicted with their own muses and goddesses.

The ancient river goddesses

The Goddess Sabrina, for example, was linked to the River Severn. Rivers, such as the Braint, Brent, Brit, Bride and Brue, were associated with Brigid or Brige. The rivers Dee, Mersey and Ribble were linked to Belissama; the Don to Danu and the Itchen to Ancasta.

The river Medlock is connected to Mam or Mamma; the Thames to Belinus, or Isis at the river Cherwell, and Njord Tamesis at the Tidal Thames. The Tamar is associated with Tamara; the Wear to Condatis, and the Wharfe to Verbeia.

The North Sea, meanwhile, is tied to Nehelennia, while wells and springs are often dedicated to the Roman Goddess Coventina or the Celtic Goddess Brige and Sulis (her Celtic names) or Minerva (her Roman name), as is the case at the thermal springs in the city of Bath.

The importance of ritual practice

This deep spiritual connection with the waterscape was also celebrated through ritual practice. At Flag Fen near Peterborough, a huge causeway was built across the wetlands and ritual offerings were deposited into the water. These included valuable items, such as swords, spearheads, gold earrings, tiny pins and brooches.

There is evidence that such items were intentionally destroyed before being offered up in a kind of ‘killing’ to put them beyond further use, such as daggers discovered that were broken in half and placed on top of each other.

Such activity suggests ritual placement may have occurred when people made particular requests or offered thanks when their prayers were answered. Offerings would also likely have been made to protect the waters or complete a pilgrimage, with many objects coming from much further afield than Flag Fen itself as a result.

Ritual goods, which include the Battersea Shield and a large quantity of weapons predating the Roman invasion, have been found in the River Thames. Because the Battersea Shield’s bronze sheet is considered too thin to be effective in battle and shows no signs of damage, it is thought to have been cast into the river as a votive offering.

Honouring the sacred

As to which fresh water sites were considered the most sacred, these were often located close to human settlements. Researchers suggest the sheltered lands with abundant food supplies that were located near the warm spring of Blick Mead, which never froze, may be the reason why Stonehenge developed into such an important sacred landscape and site of ancestral return. Algae, which grow on the local flint in spring, turn a vivid magenta colour and may have been suggested magical properties.

Honouring sources of water in order to protect and ensure their flow remains with us to this day in the tradition of dressing wells or tossing coins into wishing wells or fountains for good luck.

But what can we do today to help to return to, heal and deepen our respect for our often broken relationship with nature in all its forms?

Sacred Earth Activism, which supports direct action with sacred ceremony and ritual, offers some pointers here. Its aim is to raise awareness of the need for practical solutions to today’s problems  – which include the great work being done by a wide range of different groups cleaning sections of our beaches and rivers – and support it with sacred rites. The objective here is to hold space and enable people to connect with the power of the earth and water for guidance and protection.

So get involved and help do your bit for the rivers too:

What: Sacred Earth Activism’s Back to Source event - A day of ceremony and sacred action by coordinated groups across the UK to honour and help heal our relationship with our sacred rivers

When: World Rivers Day on 26 September 2021

How: Click here to find out more

Come to our Briefing meeting on 6th September.

Members of Sacred Earth Activism’s Water Protectors group invite you to either create, or participate in, a coordinated ceremony to honour your local river. Interested parties ranging from people actively involved in clean-up operations to members of the pagan and Druid community are also being encouraged to take part too.

Because as US commentator Van Jones so aptly put it: “It’s in that convergence of spiritual people becoming active and active people becoming spiritual that the hope of humanity [and the natural environment] now rests.”