Efnysien and Nisien:
I Would Know My Light and Shadow
We encounter Efnysien and Nisien in the second branch of the Mabinogi; they are the twins of light and shadow. Within the text we are introduced to them as being the half brothers of Brân, Manawydan, and Branwen, the children of Llŷr; with him they share the same mother (Penarddun), however, their father, Euroswydd—whose name means “Golden Enemy” 52 —was responsible for the imprisonment of Llŷr, which is recorded in the Triads of the Island of Britain. In the second branch of the Mabinogi, we are introduced to the twins of light and dark:
One of these men was good, and he would make peace between two war bands, even when they were at their most angered. His name was Nisien, meaning “the peaceful.” Yet the other, he would provoke conflict between two brothers, even when they were at their most amicable. His name was Efnysien, meaning “hostile enemy.” 53
Little more is mentioned of Nisien, while his brother, on the other hand, takes over the rest of the tale; although the second branch is commonly called The Mabinogi of Branwen, the daughter of Llŷr, it could just as well be called The Mabinogi of Efnysien. He pushes our buttons, he retaliates against his stepbrother’s audacity to give Branwen away in marriage to the king of Ireland, and as a consequence he mutilates the horses of Matholwch of Ireland, an act which also directly attacks the sovereignty of the land and the goddess. He is unruly, hostile, and uncontrollable—and, like it or not, he is a part of all of us. This demigod is a vital teacher.
Within any spiritual or religious tradition there is a requirement to know ourselves intimately, deeper than the normal, mundane opinions we have of ourselves and of those around us. It is imperative on any spiritual quest that we do not fall into the trap of fooling ourselves, of thinking and behaving in a manner that is untruthful or a poor reflection of who we are.
Dion Fortune, a pioneering occultist of the early twentieth century and a woman deep in wisdom, sight, and intellect, once said, “If you could choose to be a blacksmith’s forger or an occultist, choose to enter the forge rather than the lodge!” 54 A strange phrase, perhaps, but on closer examination there is much wisdom in those words, for ultimately the blacksmith’s forger requires skill to learn a process and apply it as a craft and an expression of art and creativity; the occultist, though, needs to develop the skills to know themselves inside out, and that is no easy task.
We all hide skeletons in our closets; we all harbor deep pools of the darkest, smelliest shit that bubbles and groans within us—but of course shit will assist the growth of the most amazing array of old English roses that radiate the sweetest aroma, joyfully caressing those who come within feet of them. We can mirror that; we too can utilize our own shit in a manner that is positive and constructive, but of course before we can do that, we must stick our fingers in it and have a good poke about! Efnysien can teach us how. By listening to him and working with him, we can make sense of our own festering pits of allegorical excrement.
We are many things at many times to a plethora of individuals that touch our lives. As human beings, we can be fickle, tough, romantic, fantasists, deeply in love one minute and riddled with anger and frustration the next. We are products of our environments, and the circumstances and situations that swim in and out of our lives that mold us, affect us, and transform us cause us to be who we are—or at least seemingly who we are. We can be good actors and at times transparently poor ones too! Each individual who touches our lives—who comes into contact with us—perceives us according to their own experience of that connection, causing us to be a million and one things to a countless amount of people.
To see an element of the spiritual in nature, and to see human nature reflected within that, is a fundamental aspect of my own spiritual path, but sometimes I don’t like myself, I don’t like the world, I don’t want to be sociable and pleasant, I don’t want to be good and sweet. I want to scream out in frustration at times—to throw something across the room, to feel angry towards another individual, to feel envious or jealous of something or someone. But, then again, nature itself isn’t all sweetness and light either, it just is, and it doesn’t apologize for it.
Sometimes I think we swim against the tides of our being so much that an antagonistic, self-annihilating, destructive energy rises up from the depths that is not at all conducive to our well-being. It is imperative—not only in my spiritual and magical practice, but in every path of my life—that I listen intently to what sings from within me. I believe that this is the key to awakening the song of the spirit, which allows us to sing our songs with honor, without fear of judgement or condemnation, and without pacifying others or ourselves, for that matter.
Efnysien’s actions were extreme. They demonstrated the unrestrained power of the shadow unleashed, demanding to be heard regardless of the consequences, and we see examples of this suppression of the shadow in our current society. Acts of violence result from the unleashing of the shadow that has never been listened to, and the consequences can be terrible; even practitioners of magic may sometimes revert to immensely destructive methods to pacify the unacknowledged shadow. But if we listen to it—if we give it the time that it needs to be heard—if we look to Efnysien, we learn that it is an essential aspect of us, and only at its most unruly will it destroy.
Efnysien wanted to be heard, and his teachings are applicable to us today. Giving the shadow the voice it needs in a controlled and honorable manner will serve to pacify it and prevent its uncontrolled escape; attempt to crush it, to ignore it, and it will rise in a tumult of destructive energy, whether through cruel and angry words or acts of violence. Our shadow is essential, and for any magical practitioner it is imperative that we understand the nature of our shadow and the power it can have over us if we ignore it.
But the nature of the twins of light and shadow has another story, captured in Efnysien’s twin brother, Nisien, the peaceful. You will note that Efnysien shares the “enemy” quality with his father Euroswydd, and yet Nisien has broken the mold, or so it would seem. In the same manner as good news never makes it onto the evening news program, bad news always takes precedence, always packs a bigger punch, and yet every single day of our species’ existence sees enormous acts of kindness, compassion, and love taking place. Nisien is the peaceful spirit who shines within our spirits; he is that part of us who inherently and instinctively knows we are all a part of the same divine origin, we are all connected, and that to cause harm to another is no different than harming ourselves. By understanding the nature of the shadow and giving it the voice it needs to prevent its uncontrolled uprising, we also begin to listen to the voice of Nisien; one begins to affect and influence the other.
Our world can be a cruel and merciless place; acts of violence plague society, so much death and carnage, cruelty and war. It is the unruly shadow suppressing the voice of the peaceful. But Nisien exists within us; we are all capable of bridging divisions and realizing that there is so much more that can unite us than tear us apart. But in a competitive world this is tricky business, and even Paganism and magic are not immune to the force of the hostile enemy. One will often come across the unruly shadow who is determined to be a better Pagan than you are; “bitchcraft” abounds even in this beautiful, soulful tradition. But by working with the twins, by getting to know and understand our light and shadow, we are moved to live honorably.
Exercise
Bright Lights Cast Dark Shadows
Take a long strip of paper, at least three feet long; one of the best items to use is a roll of wallpaper lining, available from most hardware and home improvement stores (in the UK, wallpaper lining is unbleached paper with no chemicals). Place the paper on the floor before you and have at hand a large felt-tip pen. Starting from the top of the paper and working down, without giving it too much thought, begin to externalize aspects of your own shadow and light.
- What are your most endearing and beloved qualities? How did they arise?
- What qualities do you not like about yourself? How did they arise?
- Can you identify circumstances from your past that gave rise to these qualities?
- Who are you in fact? Not to others, but to you? Who are you when the doors are closed and the world has averted its eyes?
- What are the things that anger you? Have events in your past caused you to react angrily or with unruliness? Identify them.
- What are the things that really, truly, maddeningly grind on your nerves?
- What are your most charitable qualities? Where do they arise from?
- How do you express your most sublime qualities?
Write; write in frenzy, articulating your innermost shadows and light, aspects that you would never dare share with anybody else. Keep going until you reach the end of the paper, and right at the bottom write the words “I would know my light and shadow.” Now look back at what you have created. It will no doubt be a mish-mash of all sorts of ramblings and thoughts. Bear in mind that you are not vanquishing anything here; you are simply acknowledging. Melancholy, mood swings, lethargy, depression—all start when we stop giving voice to the shadow. Efnysien cannot live fully without Nisien, and vice versa; they are dependent on each other for balance.
If you ever feel down, take to this little exercise and externalize what hides within you, give it a voice. Allow the twins of light of shadow to express themselves. Listen to them.
Fold the paper and burn it in your cauldron or on a bonfire with a handful of pine needles. (If burning the paper poses difficulties, it can be buried in the earth instead.) Smell the smoke and the healing quality of giving voice to light and shadow as you recite this englyn:
Twins of light and shadow, bring your gifts to me this night
By wounded horse and the gifts of peace, lend to me your might.
Efnysien
Spiritual Function: Shadow aspect, perception, gut instinct, sacrifice.
Magical Ally Function: Shadow work, discernment, protection, courage, dealing with anger and negativity.
Nisien
Spiritual Function: Peacefulness, harmony, reconciliation.
Magical Ally Function: Call when working peace and healing magic, to end arguments and heal rifts.