#morrigu

Who is The Morrigan?

The Morrigan is known to many as the Triple Goddess of Death, The Phantom Queen, The Great Goddess, Great Queen, etc. Calling The Morrigan as one entity is similar to how Christians believe in the Father, the Son, and The Holy Spirit. She is three sisters and yet she is one goddess. It's ok if it is hard for you to grasp, humans weren't meant to understand gods.

(Known mostly in Irish mythology, there have been other figures in various Celtic mythology that are similar to her such as Morgan Le Fey.)

Etymology:

The name Morrigan, or Morrigu, is the anglicized of the Gaelic name Mór-Ríoghain, which means "Great Queen" in modern Irish.

The old name has been linked to the proto-indo-european word Mór (terror) and Ríoghain could relate to the Latin word Regina (queen). This is not fact, just speculation.

Skills and Strengths:

While gifted in many things, she is most known for her roles in battles, fate, and death.

Weapons:

Magic is seen to be her most used form of fighting. This includes shapeshifting, raining blood on her enemies, and more.

Symbols:

Inverted Triangle

Triple Spiral

Snake Coils

Owls

Crows and Ravens

Vultures

Faerie Rings

Fae

Holy Days: Samhain is a popular holiday for The Morrigan due to her significance with death.

Family:

It's not entirely known who her family is, though many believe her to be the wife or lover of the Dagda.

Siblings have included Ériu, Banba, and Fódla, who make up the triple goddess of spirit and sovereignty of Ireland.

Badb and Macha (or sometimes Neiman) who, along with the Morrigan, make up the triple goddess of war.

As well as the Glon, Gnim, Coscar, Fiacha, and Ollom, her brothers.

What is known is that she is the daughter(s) of Ernmas.

First Appearance

Sadly, not much is known for sure about this Great Queen. She first appears in Lebor Gabála Érenn (The book of invasions) which talks about the migration of the Tuatha Dé Danann to Ireland.

The earlier inhabitants, the Firbolg and the Fomorians, of the island didn't like the presence of these new beings and they found themselves at war, first with the Firbolg. Though the battle was hard and lives were lost (such as Ernmas, her mother) the Tuatha emerged victorious.

Later the new god of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Lugh asked the Morrigan for a prediction about the conflict arising between them and the Fomorians. She predicted that they would go to war.

Later her husband, the Dagda, would ask for a stronger prediction of this war to which she replied that though they would win the war, a terrible price would be paid. She also foretold that she would kill the Fomorian king Indech and bring fistfulls of his blood to the River Unshin.

The battle with the Fomorians ended with a poem from the Morrigan.

Ulster Cycle

The Goddess would also appear many times in the Ulster Cycle, a series of Old Irish myths and legends.

She appeared in the story with Cú Chulainn and after a series of events and his own foolishness, she prophesizes his death.

Later, as he is dying, Cú Chulainn ties himself to a stone with his entrails so that he can die standing up. Only once a crow has landed on his should do his enemies actually believe his is dead.

You can guess who the crow was.

Goddess of Death

Most widely know as the Goddess of Death, this title alone does not describe her. She was widely worshipped as being a goddess of earth and sovereignty.

It has been said that her breasts create the he hills in County Kerry called Da Chich Annan.

Author's Notes:

I wish there was more material I could offer here. Sadly there is so little written works left from ancient Ireland that have been found. This is just a run-down on the goddess and what you may need to know if you're looking into her.

If you have any links or texts that are credible that you would like to add, please let me know.

Links:

Mythopedia

Druidry