Do not doubt yourself. You can trust yourself. Developing self-trust is a necessary part of positive growth. You will be able to succeed in your goal if you believe in yourself. Sometimes you need to say no.

The Welsh goddess Rhiannon was a graceful young woman who married Pwyll, a Demetria’s king. When Pwyll first saw her, she was riding a stunning white stallion, her hair loose and fair, her smile sweet. He fell deeply in love with her, and they wed. Soon a baby prince was born to the happy couple.

Pwyll’s mother, who had up until now had the undivided attention of her son, became jealous of their love and kidnapped the new baby. She put fake blood on Rhiannon’s hands as she slept in order to frame her for the baby’s disappearance.

When the household awoke and found the baby prince sing and blood on Rhiannon’s hands, the immediately presumed she had done away with the child. Pwyll’s mother accused Rhiannon of hurting the child, goading everyone else to think that way too. Even though Rhiannon did not remember committing such a crime, she doubted herself and spoke aloud that it must have happened. Pwyll was brokenhearted yet could not sentence the woman he loved to death, and instead Rhiannon’s terrible punishment was to forevermore carry visitors to the castle on her back just as a horse would.

Thankfully, only a season went by until Rhiannon began to build the strength and self-trust necessary to question what had actually happened that night, coming to full recognition that she could never harm her child. Soon after, Rhiannon found the young prince, and so her mother-in-Law was banished. Rhiannon was happily reunited with her king and became a wise and powerful queen, never again doubting her own self or her own wisdom. Horses were made sacred to her and honored as a symbol of her hard work and transformation.

Like Rhiannon, there may be times in our lives when we doubt ourselves and even perhaps hand our power over to others. Self-trust is such an important thing to develop – it builds our confidence and makes our decisions easier. Sometimes, it is necessary to say no to someone even though that person would like us to say yes. Self-trust, the ability to know what is best for us and what our capabilities are, helps us cope better in a situation like being bullied or pressured into something that we are not sure we want to do.

As Rhiannon is a moon goddess, the full moon is a good time to do this invocation for more self-trust. You might also like to dress in white or silver. If you are lucky enough to have a horse, groom it and carry some of its hair in your pocket. If you have a piece of jewelry with a horse charm, wear it. If you don’t have access to a horse, print out (or draw) a picture of one and pop that into your pocket.

Create a circle around yourself. You can do this any way you like. For example, you might want to drop some flower petals or glitter around you ina circle. If you go outside to do this, draw a chalk line around you or arrange some leaves in a circle.

Sit down with a straight back or choose to stand in the middle of your circle.

Know that you are safe and loved within this space that you have created. Know that Rhiannon on her horse is with you.

Say:

Rhiannon, you were once like me. You doubted yourself. Fill me with self-trust. So more it be!

Shut you eyes and imagine being filled with trust in yourself. Breathe in deeply and imagine you’re breathing in the power of self-trust. On the exhale imagine breathing out any doubts or worries you may have.

Repeat this a number of times until you feel confident and all those niggling worries and doubts have left you.

Open your eyes. Notice how different you feel! More confident! Now thank Rhiannon and know that as you step out of the scared circle, you have more power that ever before to move out into the world in a more positive way.

Reading from the deck “Goddesses and Sirens” created by Stacey Demarco