{"id":44,"date":"2018-08-28T00:47:22","date_gmt":"2018-08-28T00:47:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dunsgathan.net\/feannog\/wp\/?page_id=44"},"modified":"2024-09-15T15:12:18","modified_gmt":"2024-09-15T19:12:18","slug":"the-war-goddesses","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.dunsgathan.net\/feannog\/the-war-goddesses\/","title":{"rendered":"The Irish War Goddesses"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Saigh Lambert\u00a0 and yes, it IS copyrighted<\/a> and is not free for reposting, please link directly instead<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Buy<\/a>If you find this article helpful, please remember this was work to put together and I have animals to feed and vet<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Several years go I tried to write a short piece on the Morr\u00edgan and Her sisters. Concise does not work well with Them. It ended huge, but created this site to house it.\u00a0 Just as I finished it and had it edited, I came upon a call for submissions for what became\u00a0 By Blood, Bone and\u00a0 Blade: A Tribute to the Morr\u00edgan<\/a><\/em> (Nicole Bonivusto, ed, Asheville, NC: Bibliotheca Alexandrina, 2014) and I submitted it and it was accepted.<\/p>\n

However, to try to be concise, which is pretty much impossible with these Goddesses:<\/p>\n

The Morr\u00edgan is one of the most popular Irish Deities.\u00a0 Or at least the title is, often the \"TheGoddess described is not remotely similar to the Irish Goddess(es) who bore it originally.<\/p>\n

There are three directions this takes, one by those who do not follow Her is that She is too bloodthirsty, too evil, too dark, too ______ and no one should ever have anything to do with Her. The other two are the descriptions by followers, one being that,\u00a0 yes, She is Dark,\u00a0 maybe She is a Warrior, She is a strong guardian of women, She helps with “shadow work,” She is a psychopomp.\u00a0 The third claim that both the others, as well as the academic evidence of Her as a War Goddess,\u00a0 is maligning a loving, warm, sweet, protective Great Goddess.\u00a0 However, none of these images are reflected in the early Irish evidence we have for Her.<\/p>\n

When She called me over a quarter century ago, I felt it was clear I needed to learn about the culture in order to properly worship Her. Or I could keep practicing Wicca and pretend to worship Her while deep down knowing She was ignoring me.\u00a0 Ironically, this means that Celtic Reconstructionism, which many mistakenly believe denounces all Unverified Personal Gnosis (UPG), was instigated by UPG. (and UPG is always a part of CR methodology, it’s just identified as such rather than claimed as lore or tradition).\u00a0 It is an ongoing process to try to see things from the view of a past culture and also see where it fits today, but I believe that this is important if we are to worship the actual Deities of our Pagan past and not reinvent them into what we desire.\u00a0 For many years I felt I was not to speak or write too much about Her or this path. A few years ago, however, I felt a change, felt it was time to share.<\/p>\n

It’s impossible to really discuss the Morr\u00edgan, Badb and Macha in a concise way. As I noted when i tired I ended up with “Musings on the Irish War Goddesses” which takes up 35 pages in the anthology before getting to the endnotes and bibliography which adds another 26. Please note the following will be short on references, all can be found in more detail in my essay and much of the source material I used is listed here<\/a> And, yes, I do hope those reading this site might read my essay as well.<\/p>\n

Let’s start with, yes, They are War Goddesses in the Irish tradition. They are not “only” War Goddesses, because that itself implies a one-dimensional concept of warriors<\/a>, based far more on modern stereotypes than the reality of early Irish culture. They are completely immersed in chaos, conflict and battle. Other “aspects\/functions” all intersect with the Gaelic concepts of warfare. Sovereignty is not about the modern personal concept, but of actual territorial rule, which involves defense and, yes, sometimes invasion. Cattle are as much a reason for war as they are a “symbol” of fertility.\u00a0 Prophecy, shape-shifting and magic are tools of the Gaelic warrior.\u00a0 Everything ties in.\u00a0 I’m not going to insist that everyone must worship them through f\u00e9nnidecht<\/em>, or even through a traditional Gaelic lens, I am not going to dictate to others on that although it certainly what I am called to do and precisely what this project is to recreate. The number and identities of the War Goddesses is often confusing.\u00a0 As I noted, today emphasis is on the name or title “the Morr\u00edgan,” with many, especially but not exclusively Pagans, considering the others to be aspects of Her.\u00a0 However, this concept of “aspects” is really a modern concept, especially when we try to force it into Robert Graves invention of Maiden\/Mother\/Crone which they do not fit at all.\u00a0 Ascribing Dum\u00e9zil’s tripartite function system also falls apart. They are sisters, daughters of Ernmas, although we do not know if this was true before Christian clerics tried to gather what were once likely territorial and “tribal” Deities together into a extended family.\u00a0 And there are more than three once we look at a more extend family, nieces and “co-wives,”. But clearly, They are individuals, for all that “Morr\u00edgan” and “Badb” are titles which, confusingly, may are assigned differently in various texts.
\n——————-<\/p>\n

The Morr\u00edgan<\/em><\/h2>\n
\n

Pro:\u00a0 MOR EE [gh]an;\u00a0 an Morr\u00edgan<\/em> – an [W\/V]OR EE [gh]an\u00a0 (The “O” is short when spelled “Mor<\/em>” and only long when spelled “M\u00f3r<\/em>.”)\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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 “r\u00edonn<\/em>.” 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\u00a0 nasalized W\/V. Think of “mh” as in modern Irish “Samhain<\/em>“) *<\/p>\n

I noted above that the title of the Morr\u00edgan is the most popular and, therefore, the one which the most misinformation is spread, especially with the help of the internet.\u00a0 The most common misconception is around the meaning of the name\/title as spelled here.\u00a0 “Morr\u00edgan<\/em>” is often translated today as “Great Queen” which simply does not fit this spelling. “M\u00f3rr\u00edgan<\/em>” would be translated as such, but not “Morr\u00edgan<\/em>.” The accent marks do mean something. This latter spelling, with “m\u00f3r<\/em>” meaning “great,” meaning “big\/large” not so much importance or grandness. The “M\u00f3rr\u00edgan<\/em>” 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 Morr\u00edgan<\/em>, which translates to “Phantom Queen,” is the older spelling and fitting with Her attributes.<\/p>\n

Therefore, if someone means “Great Queen” they could be spelling it with the “\u00f3.” rather than the “o.” Always.\u00a0 Note most people also pronounce the first syullable with a long “o” which also would be in the spelling “M\u00f3r<\/em>” while “Mor<\/em>” would be short, yet everyone insists on using one spelling and the other pronunciation (the second part is pretty much always wrong) and meaning.<\/p>\n

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<\/em>” as “phantom” appears to be lost in the modern form. For the “Great Queen” one could modernize it to “M\u00f3r Rion,” however.<\/p>\n

The Morr\u00edgan, is one of the most featured Goddesses in the texts and is one who is actually referred to as a Goddess (in Tochmarc Emire<\/em> for example).\u00a0 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<\/em>\u00a0 (CMT)\u00a0 and offers it to C\u00fa Chulainn in the T\u00e1in B\u00f3 C\u00faalnge (TBC<\/em>). 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. <\/a>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.<\/p>\n

She is associated with crows, ravens and other blackbirds, She appears as such as well as a heifer, an eel and a wolf.\u00a0 Based on the last and Her interest in the C\u00fa 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”).\u00a0 Her relationship with C\u00fa 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<\/a>, and in the end She tries to save him from the death he had chosen when he took up arms for the first time.<\/p>\n

The problem remains of just Who is the Morr\u00edgan 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 Gab\u00e1la \u00c9renn: The Book of the Taking of Ireland<\/em> Vol IV<\/a> (LG\u00c9<\/em>) Here the title “the Morr\u00edgan” 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 Morr\u00edgan the third and fourth of three sisters. This latter is likely a transcription error as it makes little sense. However, the confusion in the\u00a0LG\u00c9<\/em>\u00a0itself, along with the fact that the Morr\u00edgan 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, “morr\u00edgna<\/em>” in the plural and lower case may also refer to a class of female Otherworldy beings that are not quite Goddesses.\u00a0 Let’s add to this that the same is true of\u00a0 “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.<\/p>\n

When I speak of “the Morr\u00edgan” as one of three Goddesses, I am usually thinking of Anand.\u00a0 When singular, it is mostly that I am a mere human and it could be any of them and I am not sure which.\u00a0 I might, however do the same with Badb.<\/p>\n

Anand\/Anann (Ana\/Anu)<\/h3>\n

This name is actually often left out completely when the War Goddesses are discussed either in the Pagan community or by academics.\u00a0 Sometimes, just the title “the Morr\u00edgan” 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 B\u00e9 N\u00e9it (see below).<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 While there is also a Danand who is clearly a different being among the TDD<\/em> in both the CMT<\/em> and the Cath Maige Tuired Cunga<\/em>, the connection is made in the\u00a0LG\u00c9<\/em> IV. There one entry describes the Morr\u00edgan as being Anand and to having given Her name, Danand, to the Tuatha D\u00e9 Danann<\/em> (TDD<\/em>) through Her sons. (LG\u00c9<\/em> IV, pg. 128, 129)\u00a0 However, this doesn’t mean She is the progenitor of the TDD<\/em>, only that They were named for Her.\u00a0 The NeoPagan “tradition” of *Danu as a Primal Great Mother was well questioned in Alexei Kondratiev’s , \u201cDanu and Bile: The Primordial Parents?<\/a>\u201d\u00a0 and more on the history can be found found in John Carey’s \u201cThe Name \u2018Tuatha D\u00e9 Danann<\/em>\u2019” \u00c9igse<\/em>, Vol. 18, prt. 2, pg. 291-94.<\/p>\n

Therefore, I find the evidence for Anand being the Morr\u00edgan, or one of the Morr\u00edgna, is strong while Danand is also a separate Goddess of Magic within the TDD<\/em>.\u00a0 But neither are “Primal Great Mother of the TDD<\/em>,” as there is no such Primal Great Mother.<\/p>\n

Badb<\/h3>\n

Pro: BADHV\u00a0 a more modern pronunciation is BIVE *<\/p>\n

It is translated as “scald crow” or “hooded crow” and is also, when used in lower case, can mean “witch” or “battle demon.”\u00a0 The name is often used interchangeably with the Morr\u00edgan in the CMT<\/em>\u00a0 and the TBC<\/em>. To add to more confusion, in Compert Con Culainn<\/em> the name is used for Cailit\u00edn\u2019s 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.\u00a0 This is one reason many people mistakenly believe that “the Morr\u00edgan” fed C\u00fa Chulainn dog meat and brought about his death, that was Cailit\u00edn\u2019s daughters who were seeking vengeance for their father’s death in the TBC<\/em>.\u00a0 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 Morr\u00edgan who surely did mourn his death.<\/p>\n

Macha<\/h3>\n

Pro\u00a0ma [ch]a\u00a0 (\u201cch\u201d as \u201cloch\u201d \u201ca\u201d as in \u201csofa\u201d) *<\/p>\n

The name means “pasture” possibly specifically a “enclosure to feed cattle”\u00a0 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).\u00a0 One is the daughter of Ernmas, who is at one entry in the LG\u00c9<\/em> is identified as the Morr\u00edgan. The others are Macha daughter of Parthol\u00f3n,\u00a0 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<\/em><\/a>) and\u00a0 Macha ingen Sainrith meic Inboith (who is associated with horses as noted in Warriors for the Horse Goddess<\/a>).\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Those being the Three Daughters of Ernmas, there are other designations and names of War Goddesses which are related, interchanged and confused.<\/p>\n

\n

B\u00e9 N\u00e9it<\/em><\/h2>\n

Pro:\u00a0 BAY NADE (“n” is nasalzied,\u00a0 rhymes with “made”)\u00a0 ***<\/p>\n

The “Wives of the (War God) N\u00e9it,” or possibly “the women of war.”\u00a0 While the Morr\u00edgna are usually noted as three sisters, in this case They are a pair. Perhaps N\u00e9it 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 Morr\u00edgan, Nemain or Fea.\u00a0 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 N\u00e9it at Ailech in the LG\u00c9<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Nemain<\/h3>\n

Pro: NE ven\u00a0\u00a0 (again the\u00a0 “m” is is\u00a0 nasalized “v”) ***<\/p>\n

The name is something like “warlike fury.”\u00a0 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.\u00a0 She is sometimes one of the B\u00e9 N\u00e9it<\/em>, usually with Fea or Badb and in this latter combination They shriek over the troops in the TBC<\/em>. It is perhaps due to the way WM Hennessey<\/a> used “Badb” as the encompassing title of the three daughters of Ernmas, rather than the Morr\u00edgan, 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.\u00a0 However, I\u00a0 feel the best evidence is for Her being a fourth War Goddess. Of course, if this is a territorial\u00a0 Goddess issue, then Her people may have called Her their “Phantom Queen.”<\/p>\n

Fea<\/h3>\n

FA (a as in “father” the “e” is not pronounced and serves as a “glide vowel” between the “f” and the broad “a”) **<\/p>\n

The meaning is likely “woe.” Again, a niece in the genealogy and one of the B\u00e9 N\u00e9it. It may also be that this is another name for Badb, however, I feel She a fifth War Goddess, again possibly the Morr\u00edgan of yet another area.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I do realize that this may not make anything clearer, in fact it may likely muddied things up for many. All I can say is, welcome to my world.\u00a0 Confusion is a part of dealing with the War Goddesses, after all.<\/p>\n

\n

Credit: Some pronunciations were put together by me with the help of *Caera Aislingeach, some with the help of **Carly McNamara (via Maya StClair)<\/span><\/span> who also verified no hard “g” in middle of OI words, others gleaned\u00a0 from Sengo\u00eddelc Old Irish for Beginners by David Stifter, A First Old Irish Grammar and Reader by Kim McCone and the excellent and highly recommended pronunciation guide in ***Ireland’s Immortals: A History of the Gods of Irish Myth by Mark Williams. All mistakes are my own….learning always.<\/p>\n

\"Wolf<\/p>\n

copyright \u00a9 2015, 2017 Saigh Lambert<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Saigh Lambert\u00a0 and yes, it IS copyrighted and is not free for reposting, please link directly instead If you find this article helpful, please remember this was work to put together and I have animals to feed and vet Several years go I tried to write a short piece on the Morr\u00edgan and Her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"spay_email":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/Pad6Py-I","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dunsgathan.net\/feannog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/44"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dunsgathan.net\/feannog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dunsgathan.net\/feannog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dunsgathan.net\/feannog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dunsgathan.net\/feannog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.dunsgathan.net\/feannog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/44\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1279,"href":"https:\/\/www.dunsgathan.net\/feannog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/44\/revisions\/1279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dunsgathan.net\/feannog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}