The Irish War Goddesses

Pro:  MOR EE [gh]an;  an Morrígan – an [W/V]OR EE [gh]an  (The “O” is short when spelled “Mor” and only long when spelled “Mór.”)  In Old Irish lenition is not often spelled out and with some letters can be implied, the “g” in such words is never hard, it woudl read as the Middle or Modern Irish “gh,” that is is a voiced velar fricative. This is essentially a non-existent thing in Modern English, so think sort of a “swallowed y”sound.. so MOR EE yan.  Even for those of us not use to it, it’s an almost natural sound between “EE” and “an” in this case. Consider that modern Irish “queen” is spelled “ríonn.” When the Irish article is used or when adressing Her, the M is lenited and in Old Irish this is not typically spelled out with “h:,” so it becomes  nasalized W/V. Think of “mh” as in modern Irish “Samhain“) *

I noted above that the title of the Morrígan is the most popular and, therefore, the one which the most misinformation is spread, especially with the help of the internet.  The most common misconception is around the meaning of the name/title as spelled here.  “Morrígan” is often translated today as “Great Queen” which simply does not fit this spelling. “Mórrígan” would be translated as such, but not “Morrígan.” The accent marks do mean something. This latter spelling, with “mór” meaning “great,” meaning “big/large” not so much importance or grandness. The “Mórrígan” spelling is found primarily in place names and is likely a late folk etymology, and these things associate Her with being extremely large. The manuscripts tend to show that Morrígan, which translates to “Phantom Queen,” is the older spelling and fitting with Her attributes.

Therefore, if someone means “Great Queen” they could be spelling it with the “ó.” rather than the “o.” Always.  Note most people also pronounce the first syullable with a long “o” which also would be in the spelling “Mór” while “Mor” would be short, yet everyone insists on using one spelling and the other pronunciation (the second part is pretty much always wrong) and meaning.

Again,, evidence stands that the “o” spelling and “Phantom” translation is older and it is the one we focus on in this work, for all the reasons. It is also why I continue to use the Old Irish spelling, as “Mor” as “phantom” appears to be lost in the modern form. For the “Great Queen” one could modernize it to “Mór Rion,” however.

The Morrígan, is one of the most featured Goddesses in the texts and is one who is actually referred to as a Goddess (in Tochmarc Emire for example).  A Goddess of war, victory and prophecy, She is often confused as being also a Goddess of sex and sovereignty, because She has sex with the Dagda before the Cath Maige Tuired  (CMT)  and offers it to Cú Chulainn in the Táin Bó Cúalnge (TBC). However, neither are bound to be king, although Dagda had formerly been, and it is victory not sovereignty She offers. I believe it’s clear that when She offers this it’s not always wise to accept, for it a hard won victory is more honorable for a warrior proving themselves. The idea that She is a Sex Goddess seems to be due to Her having sex in these cases, but She does not fit this description as there is no evidence that She is concerned with the sex life of others.

She is associated with crows, ravens and other blackbirds, She appears as such as well as a heifer, an eel and a wolf.  Based on the last and Her interest in the Cú Chulainn, the Hound, I believe She may have been one of the Deities that the Outlaw war bands may have worshiped (and yes, some of my own experiences, which I wrote about in “The War Goddess’s Bitch”).  Her relationship with Cú Chulainn is the best example we have of a relationship between warrior and Patron Deity. It is often a difficult one, often mistaken by modern Pagans as a hostile one. She tests him and She berates him, to incite him to greatness, and in the end She tries to save him from the death he had chosen when he took up arms for the first time.

The problem remains of just Who is the Morrígan and it is confusing. The title is associated with three War Goddesses, Badb, Macha and Anand, who are three of six daughters of Ernmas in the Lebor Gabála Érenn: The Book of the Taking of Ireland Vol IV (LGÉ) Here the title “the Morrígan” seems to be most often used along with or in place of “Anand’s name, however, it’s also used for Macha as well and there is one entry which makes Anand and the Morrígan the third and fourth of three sisters. This latter is likely a transcription error as it makes little sense. However, the confusion in the LGÉ itself, along with the fact that the Morrígan and Badb are conflated at many points in the Ulster Cycle, do hint at the possibility of the title having been used for more than one Goddess. My theory, rather unprovable, is that these all may have been territorial Goddesses who sometimes bore the title for the people in Their territories, turned into a “family” by the scribes to try to make some sense of Them while attempting a sense of unity.To confuse things more, “morrígna” in the plural and lower case may also refer to a class of female Otherworldy beings that are not quite Goddesses.  Let’s add to this that the same is true of  “badba” in the plural, which seems to be used for both clearly Otherworldly beings but also witches who may or may not be human or Otherworldly or possibly somewhat both.

When I speak of “the Morrígan” as one of three Goddesses, I am usually thinking of Anand.  When singular, it is mostly that I am a mere human and it could be any of them and I am not sure which.  I might, however do the same with Badb.

Anand/Anann (Ana/Anu)

This name is actually often left out completely when the War Goddesses are discussed either in the Pagan community or by academics.  Sometimes, just the title “the Morrígan” is used but, oddly, sometimes the name “Nemain” is substituted although She is not one of the Daughters of Ernmas, apparently due to confusion about the Bé Néit (see below).

Perhaps the problem is that because Anand is often conflated with *Danu or Danand, and *Danu is so commonly thought to be a Great Mother Goddess progenitor and this becomes uncomfortable for some.  While there is also a Danand who is clearly a different being among the TDD in both the CMT and the Cath Maige Tuired Cunga, the connection is made in the LGÉ IV. There one entry describes the Morrígan as being Anand and to having given Her name, Danand, to the Tuatha Dé Danann (TDD) through Her sons. (LGÉ IV, pg. 128, 129)  However, this doesn’t mean She is the progenitor of the TDD, only that They were named for Her.  The NeoPagan “tradition” of *Danu as a Primal Great Mother was well questioned in Alexei Kondratiev’s , “Danu and Bile: The Primordial Parents?”  and more on the history can be found found in John Carey’s “The Name ‘Tuatha Dé Danann’” Éigse, Vol. 18, prt. 2, pg. 291-94.

Therefore, I find the evidence for Anand being the Morrígan, or one of the Morrígna, is strong while Danand is also a separate Goddess of Magic within the TDD.  But neither are “Primal Great Mother of the TDD,” as there is no such Primal Great Mother.

Badb

Pro: BADHV  a more modern pronunciation is BIVE *

It is translated as “scald crow” or “hooded crow” and is also, when used in lower case, can mean “witch” or “battle demon.”  The name is often used interchangeably with the Morrígan in the CMT  and the TBC. To add to more confusion, in Compert Con Culainn the name is used for Cailitín’s daughters, who have no relationship to the daughters of Ernmas, as well as there being a reference to a Washer at the Ford who is called Badb’s Daughter.  This is one reason many people mistakenly believe that “the Morrígan” fed Cú Chulainn dog meat and brought about his death, that was Cailitín’s daughters who were seeking vengeance for their father’s death in the TBC.  Badb’s Daughter’s identity is less problematic, but it’s still debatable as to whether this is a unique relative, that is Badb’s daughter and Anand and Macha’s niece, or if it is meant to be the Morrígan who surely did mourn his death.

Macha

Pro ma [ch]a  (“ch” as “loch” “a” as in “sofa”) *

The name means “pasture” possibly specifically a “enclosure to feed cattle”  This name is used for at least five different individuals, although many scholars and Pagans will insist there are only three, perhaps because “we all know everything Celtic comes in threes”…except when it doesn’t…and as we shall, see five is perhaps the most likely alternative).  One is the daughter of Ernmas, who is at one entry in the LGÉ is identified as the Morrígan. The others are Macha daughter of Partholón,  Macha wife of Nemed, Macha Monruadh (who I discuss in “‘By Force in the Battlefield’: Finding the Irish Female Hero” in the first issue of Air n-Aithesc) and  Macha ingen Sainrith meic Inboith (who is associated with horses as noted in Warriors for the Horse Goddess).  I tend to not think that they are all the daughters of Ernmas, although they may reflect Her however, there are many varying opinions on their relationship to each other.

Bé Néit

Pro:  BAY NADE (“n” is nasalzied,  rhymes with “made”)  ***

The “Wives of the (War God) Néit,” or possibly “the women of war.”  While the Morrígna are usually noted as three sisters, in this case They are a pair. Perhaps Néit could be seen as the third, although usually He is not always actually there. There may be one wife or two, and the names vary and they may be some combination of Badb, the Morrígan, Nemain or Fea.  There is some possibility that Nuada is a variation and therefore Macha would also be such a wife, as They “die” together in the CMT not unlike how Badb and Nemain “die” with Néit at Ailech in the LGÉ.

Nemain

Pro: NE ven   (again the  “m” is is  nasalized “v”) ***

The name is something like “warlike fury.”  As already noted, She is often used to replace Anand but is actually not in any of the material as a Daughter of Ernmas, but is listed as Their niece in one genealogy.  She is sometimes one of the Bé Néit, usually with Fea or Badb and in this latter combination They shriek over the troops in the TBC. It is perhaps due to the way WM Hennessey used “Badb” as the encompassing title of the three daughters of Ernmas, rather than the Morrígan, and the frequent combination of Badb Nemain that created decades of the name “Nemain” being used to replace “Anand” by academics which is still done in both academics and the Pagan Community.  However, I  feel the best evidence is for Her being a fourth War Goddess. Of course, if this is a territorial  Goddess issue, then Her people may have called Her their “Phantom Queen.”

Fea

FA (a as in “father” the “e” is not pronounced and serves as a “glide vowel” between the “f” and the broad “a”) **

The meaning is likely “woe.” Again, a niece in the genealogy and one of the Bé Néit. It may also be that this is another name for Badb, however, I feel She a fifth War Goddess, again possibly the Morrígan of yet another area.