An Morrigan - Tumblr Posts

An Mórrígan is the first Goddess I approached many years ago, and my journey with her is far from over.

Someday I'll write more about my UPG, but for today let's just say that this really resonates with me. 🖤

My UPG with the Morrígan

This is, of course, purely anecdotal and should not be taken as fact, just my experiences with and perceptions of the Morrígan.

I often hear the Morrígan described as a frightening goddess, and I don’t think that’s completely untrue. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think she’s “dangerous” or “not for beginners” or whatever other nonsense the witchtok-ers are spewing these days, but I and a friend of mine both had a first encounter with her that made us uncomfortable and even afraid.

For me, it was more frustration than anything. I was the one who reached out to her first. Specifically, I asked if she wanted to form a working relationship with me, and if I would be allowed to add her to my hearth cult. I got an obscure response, but what I got was basically: “Not yet.”

There was something I had to do, some challenge I had to face, before I could work towards earning her favor. I could worship and offer her all I liked, but to create that reciprocal relationship I wanted meant I had to earn her trust. Honestly, I was frustrated. It drove me crazy. I attempted numerous things. I started working out regularly, changing my diet, so many things that I had been told were issues of mine that I needed to work out to create that perseverance the Morrígan would want from me, but… nothing. Silence.

The thought of her kind of slipped from my mind when my depression and anxiety worsened and I ceased to really have any kind of consistent religious practice at all. I didn’t encounter her again until after I managed to get myself out of that slump.

Taking responsibility for myself, taking advantage of my opportunities, and accepting the help that was offered to me took strength. It took courage. That was the Morrígan’s test, I realized: not just to get myself treatment, to help myself, but also to recognize that getting that treatment was an accomplishment grown from a power I didn’t know I had.

With this revelation came to me, I had already begun encountering the Dagda. I decided to welcome them both into my hearth cult at the same time, after the Dagda implied to me that they came as a package deal.

These days, the Morrígan isn’t as frightening to me, but she does bring with her a certain aura of darkness and power, that incites excitement and reminds me of my own autonomy and my accomplishments.

Other things I’ve noticed about her:

Ever since I started working with her, I have gotten sooo many compliments on absolutely everything. I once asked her to let other people see the gifts she’s given to me (AKA my new-found and hard-earned confidence), and I would like to think those gifts are the source.

She absolutely loves cows. This is substantiated by the texts, because of course cattle were so important for the ancient Irish, but I get the impression that, ignoring their practical uses, she also likes cows because they’re adorable and beautiful creatures. I see her in the eyes of every calf I pet at my local dairy farm!

She’s sometimes called “the jealous wife of the Dagda”, but I believe this is a misnomer. What I get from their relationship is that they love each other deeply, but she doesn’t really care about his extra-marital activities. Actually, as an asexual (non-repulsed) individual, I see that reflected a lot in her. Just a very “sex is good but turning into corvids is better” attitude.

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

𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖆𝖓 ; 𝖌𝖔𝖉𝖉𝖊𝖘𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝖜𝖆𝖗, 𝖉𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍, 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍𝖈𝖗𝖆𝖋𝖙⚰️

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cr. artists of photos

I think about this often, and yes, year after year it makes (more) sense.

For a long time I thought it nonsense that someone with chronic illness be chosen solely by old deities of war and death, but now it makes all the sense in the world.