How do we live with the parts of ourselves that pull in opposite directions—whether it is the pull between duty and desire, safety and freedom, or comfort and becoming? In this offering, I trace the golden thread of Celtic horse mythology as it winds through stories of the Goddesses Rhiannon, Macha, Epona, and Étaín—each a mirror of the human soul navigating paradox. These ancient tales don’t hand us tidy answers, but they illuminate how true power often lives in our willingness to hold tension without collapse—to honor both wildness and wisdom, longing and responsibility, light and shadow. These goddesses don’t flee contradiction—they ride it—and in doing so, remind us that wholeness is not found in resolution, but in the courage to live braided, broken, and beautifully whole.

Many maritime myths are stories of love and loss, where the ocean is not just a backdrop but a character in her own right. Like a great mother who bears witness to sorrow, her saltwater depths cradle and honor the tears that fall. Just as salt has long been used as a healing salve, the sea itself becomes a balm—ritualizing grief and softening it into something the heart can hold, both for those who live the tale and those who witness it.