The Morrgan

The Morrígan

“Thou hast no power against me," said Cúchulainn. "I have power indeed," said the woman; "it is at the guarding of thy death that I am; and I shall be," said she. The Cattle-Raid of Regamna, from the Yellow Book of Lecan

The Morrígan is depicted in the Irish cycles as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the wife* of the Dagda, and a goddess ruling over the spheres of fate, death, war, and land. She is often associated with ravens, crows, and heifers, whose forms she takes.

Name & Epithets: Morrígan, Morrígu, Mórrígan (Middle Irish— “Great Queen”), Mór-Ríoghain (Modern Irish)

Role as a Goddess of War

The Morrígan is seen in the Cycles as bringing victory in war, or foretelling death in battle. In the Cath Mage Tuired, which describes how the Tuatha Dé Danann overthrew the tyrannical Fomorians, she proclaims the victory of the gods over their enemy and foretells the end of the world. In the Ulster Cycle, she is the sometimes-patron, sometimes-enemy of the hero Cúchulainn, whose death she prophesies after he offends her, and then reminded of his fate by taking the form of an old woman washing his bloodied clothes in a creek.

Role as a Sovereignty Goddess

Sovereignty goddesses in Irish tradition represent the land itself, and thus marriage to one creates a legitimate rule or guardianship over that land. In Early Medieval Ireland (and perhaps before), a king’s coronation would include a symbolic marriage to the land, thereby granting himself power and legitimacy. The Morrígan is one such sovereignty goddess, or at least perceived as one by the 12th Century, as the Book of Invasions names her the sister of Ériu, Banba, and Fódla, personifications of Ireland married to each of her three kings.

Role as a Triplicate Goddess

The Morrígan is inconsistently referred to as one of three or a combination of three figures. In the Mythological cycle, she is named as the sister of Badb (’crow’), a war goddess, and Macha, a land goddess. Together, they are called the three Morrígna. Macha is also the name of several other figures, and Badb appears barely distinguishable from the Morrígan. Whatever the case, the names appear less like the archetypal ‘Maiden, Mother, Crone’, and more like simply different aspects of the goddess given different titles, as is common in Irish religion.

*Marriage with the Dagda

The fact of her “marriage” with the Dagda is contentious but well-supported by the texts we have access to. One of her best-known stories from the Cath Mage Tuired is the Dagda’s pact with her before the battle against the Formorians. This part of the text is often mistranslated as the Dagda meeting her [for the first time] at a certain point in the year, when really a perhaps more accurate translation would be “On this day [near Samhain] the Dagda met her yearly.” Additionally, the “union” described between her and the Dagda does not appear to be purely sexual. The word used, ‘oentaith’ is difficult to translate but probably also refers to a general agreement/pact [dil.ie/33541], not unlike a modern marriage. Additionally, as a king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a ceremonial marriage to a sovereignty and agricultural goddess such as the Morrígan would be appropriate for the Dagda and make sense to an early Irish audience.

My UPG with the Morrígan

Recommended reading + Sources

Cath Mage Tuired [Translation] [Original]

Book of Invasions

The Cattle-Raid of Regamna

While I believe heathens are free to worship and acknowledge whichever gods and spirits feel right to them within the pantheon, choosing not to worship Loki because you “don’t want to invite chaos” is the height of hubris.

Remember that even Frigg and Odin could not prevent chaos, and remember what happened when they tried.

Chaos, like many things in life, will find you whether you invite it or not, so maybe show it some respect every once in a while x0x

E X C U S E Y O U No but really, I've always enjoyed Private World way too much, and I hope more and more people realise how gay-ahem-great it is.

Okay, there are these two musicians from the Netherlands called Nick & Simon. Their idols are Simon & Garfunkel, and they’ve shot a 5-episode documentary of them going to New York to step in some of Paul and Artie’s footsteps, like visiting their childhood neighbourhood, interviewing some people who knew or played a role in Paul and Art’s life, etc. They also often play S&G songs for their interviewees and so on. In the 4th episode, for example, they went to the elderly home where Art made recordings for Bookends, and they also interviewed some of the residents there; it was lovely. In the last episode they met Ron Delsener who confirmed Art wore a toupet for the Central Park Concert. A+++ content all around!

I missed the first two episodes on tv, and there are restrictions of me watching it from Belgium, so I had to be a bit creative, but the other day I finally got my hands on the second episode, where they take a picture in front of Paul’s childhood home, and then they also go to Art’s childhood home. Which is now owned by another family, and they could go inside, though the new owner seemed a bit reluctant to let them.  

That new owner, who - granted - is a bit of an odd bloke, starts talking about a BOX WITH PAPERS AND DOCUMENTS THAT ART’S FAMILY LEFT THERE and they subtly ask if they can see the box. 

Listen, I would kill for that box. It has some clippings of Tom & Jerry, letters Art wrote or were written to Art, job applications that he did, a diary of some sorts, and lyrics or poems that he’s written. LYRICS THAT ART HAS WRITTEN. UNRELEASED LYRICS (at least I think they’re unreleased, and I think they’re written by Art…like can you imagine if these were early S&G lyrics???). Like, why is no one screaming about this???? 

I grabbed a screencap of one of the papers with lyrics that the new owner showed and brightened it a bit. I hope it’s visible. Let’s weep, okay. 

Could this be Art’s handwriting? 

Here are the lyrics:

Now I recall, words that we(re) said

Times that we shared, tears that were shed

Sad (little) eyes, a child’s gentle frown

Silky brown hair came atumbling down

Secrets we shared, safe in our own ??

All this is gone, faded away

Bright burning love, ashes of grey

How could we tell, in the warm summer sun

Spring would turn cold, and winter would come.

Gone are the days, gone is our own private world

There are chords, too. As far as I can see, written in blue ballpoint pen beneath these words. Was this a song that Art had written?

There was more. There was a stamp from the time he called himself Artie Garr. There was a letter addressed to him. There was another poem/song that we could briefly see on the screen. I’ll see if I can make something of it.  

I died, okay. 

I always find their sarcastic remarks and banter charming.

"art *cough* is dying from an incurable disease but- I need the money"

some interview yt has recommended! a lot of sarcasm, banter, and talking mostly about their breakup and tour after the get-together. the interviewer is a bit...rude (that might just be me not understanding sarcasm) and has the worst thumbnail bc they're smiling half the time in the interview

im just so so soft for this

Well, I'm forever in your debt @breakaway1975 , thank you SO much! I had trouble understanding "age of the beatniks", "gab on the phone", and "maybe i sigh for you both night and day through", now it finally sounds clear. And, isn't this song the cutest? Why didn't he write more, damn!

🤕

Well well well, hello Brother.

"At his side lived his brother, the irreverent and violent Seth."

Found another illustration by Marguerite Divin, which I love, this time from the myth of Isis and Osiris.