Tradition / Region: France, Luxembourg
Alternate Names: Melusine, Melusina
Category: Mermaid
The Myth
Long ago, the fairy Pressine married a mortal king on the condition that he would never look upon her while she gave birth. He broke his promise, and Pressine left him, taking their daughters to the Isle of Avalon. When her daughter Mélusine learned of her father’s betrayal, she punished him with magic. For this act, Pressine cursed her: every Saturday, from the waist down, Mélusine would become a serpent. Only if a husband swore never to look upon her on that day could she live in peace.
Years later, a nobleman named Raymondin, grieving after accidentally killing his uncle, met Mélusine beside a forest spring. She comforted him and promised him prosperity and glory if he would marry her and swear never to seek her out on Saturdays. Raymondin agreed.
Their marriage brought great fortune. Mélusine built magnificent castles in a single night and bore many sons. The lands flourished under her care. For years Raymondin kept his oath, but at last suspicion overcame him. He spied upon her on a Saturday and saw her in her bath, beautiful above but coiled into a serpent below.
Though he kept silent at first, he later denounced her publicly in anger, calling her a monster. With a terrible cry, Mélusine transformed into a dragon and flew from the castle tower, vanishing from the world of men.
It is said she still returns to watch over her children, and that her wailing is heard around the towers of her descendants whenever death approaches their house.
Gallery
Sources
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Melusine. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 14, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melusine
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive
Other
- How to Invite The Mélusine