THE MORRIGAN IN THE TÁIN BÓ CÚAILNGE AND BEYOND ©
by Carolanne Kennedy, FS, SGB
The Táin Bó Cúailnge (translated “The Cattle Raid of Cooley”) was recorded in Old and Middle Irish. It is the central story of the Ulster Cycle, which is one of the four great cycles that make up the corpus of Irish mythology. It is an Irish epic-like saga “believed to be set in the fourth century.” (Pg 111, Raftery) It may have been written down in the Bangor, County Down, monastery centuries later. It was originally told and repeated through the long-standing Irish practice of the oral tradition.
The central figures of the Táin, as it is often called, are Queen Maedb, her husband Ailill, the bull Donn Cuailnge, a teenaged Ulster hero Cuchulainn, and The Morrigan.
The story begins with a husband and wife, Ailill and Maedb, comparing their wealth and possessions. It is determined that Ailill is superior to Maedb in only one area, he has a prized bull, Finnbhennach. The tale relates that Finnbhennach was scorned for being born into Maedb’s herd because she was a woman and so he took himself off to Ailill’s herd. Isn’t this interesting? Who scorned the bull? Why did he feel scorned because he was born into a woman’s herd? The female is regarded as less than the male. The bull believed staying in a woman’s herd was beneath him. Bulls were very highly regarded. The conversation between Queen Maedb and her husband Ailill indicates an underlying belief system where although a woman is Queen she is still considered of less value then a man, at least to a bull.
Having a prized bull in your herd meant you were in the top echelon of society. Cattle herds were the measure of wealth at this time. Only the most important people would have owned a prized bull. This insured their ability to reproduce a healthy herd, which was the primary measure of wealth in Celtic society.
Queen Maedb decides to increase her wealth and status by launching an invasion into Ulster to steal their bull Donn Cuailnge. This begins the Cattle Raid of Cooley. Maedb’s army does capture the Ulster bull but the teenager, Cuchulainn, appears and challenges members of her army to single combat. Although he defeats many champions he is himself defeated at the end of the battle. Maedb does eventually take the bull to Connacht.
The story relates the men of Ulster were under a curse and could not fight, therefore Cuchulainn must fight for them. This traces back to the Curse of Macha. The King of Ulster forced the very pregnant Macha to run a great race against the king's fastest horses. She begs to be allowed to give birth first and then to run the race. This mercy is denied her. She runs the race, wins and dies giving birth to twins immediately afterwards. Before her death she curses the men of Ulster. When they face their greatest need they will suffer the pangs of childbirth and be unable to defend themselves. This is the situation that comes upon the men of Ulster. As Queen Maedb goes against them in battle the only one able to defend Ulster is the youth Cuchulainn, he has immense physical strength and their hopes are set on him.
There is another prominent figure in the Táin, The Morrigan. Before the war recorded in the Táin begins the young Cuchulainn is awakened from a dream by a great cry from the north. This encounter is recorded in The Táin Bo Regamna, or as it is also called The Morrigan’s
Cow Raid. One version of this story is found in the Yellow Book of Lecan. He goes out to investigate who is making the cry and comes upon the Morrigan driving a chariot with a cow in tow and a man walking beside her. The young man asks who they are and the woman answers. During her answer the youth interrupts her and inquires why the man does not answer him. It is the man he wishes to speak with. She attempts again to converse with Cuchulainn but he rebuffs her. She then hides her true identity from him and tells him she will wound him in the upcoming Battle of the Táin. He brags he will defeat all that come against him including her. The youth has shown a lack of respect for the goddess. He is young, proud, and foolish.
Who is this Morrigan? She is a triple goddess of Ireland.
She is seen as “...the three mother goddesses of war... with her sisters, ...Macha and Badb, the essential goddess of battle.” (Pg 143-4, Dillon & Chadwick)
She was present at many battles in Ireland’s history. She once promised the Dagda she would “...summon the magicians of Ireland to cast spells on behalf of the Tuatha De and to destroy...the Fomorian king.” She chants a poem at the battlefield and “...the battle breaks and the Fomorians are driven into the sea.” (Wikipedia)
She sometimes appears as a crow and is often considered a war deity comparable to the Germanic Valkyrie. She is certainly connected with fertility and the land. One of her aspects, Badb, means crow or carrion crow. Crows were known to eat the flesh of the dead on the battlefields. She is also associated with the bean shidhe. In her aspect of Macha she is connected to war, kingship, and horses. The three names are interchangeable; Macha is sometimes seen as Morrigan, the Great Queen.
The Great Queen gives the young Ulsterman one more opportunity to embrace her. She appears in the guise of a beautiful young woman. She offers to have sex with him, as she did with the Dagda before turning the tide of the battle for him. Cuchulainn rebuffs her. This was his last opportunity to embrace The Morrigan. He makes it very clear he is depending on his physical strength in the battle. He is overwhelmingly confident in his ability to win out over all challenges. He shuns her feminine power of rebirth and of life itself; he seals his own fate. In their next encounter she is an ancient hag and again he is rude and dismissive. She then begins her battle with him. She appears as an eel and trips his feet. He wounds her and eventually heals her again, although he had said previously he would not. At their next encounter she is the Washer-at-the-Ford.
She is washing, “...the clothes and arms of Cuchulainn, who would soon be dead.” (Pg 2, Dhighe)
The Morrigan does not kill the youth, his refusal to develop and intimate knowledge of her, leaves him unable to heal from his exhaustion and the wounds received from months of hand to hand combat. She comes from the Faery mound, she is Otherworldly. She offers him the blessings that come from knowing her. He has not been taught the importance of knowing her or the wisdom an intimate knowledge of the Goddess brings. The connection to the Divine Feminine has surely been lost during this epic time. Young men of this era rely on their bodies, at the very least this young man does.
Is this not similar to our own time? Many embrace their physical life. They work their bodies to strengthen them. Keep fit, keep healthy, keep strong, this—we believe—is the primary source of life. What if this belief system is only part of the story? What if an intimate relationship with The Great Queen is also essential to life, health and strength? Much is written about holistic health techniques—of balancing the body, mind and soul. There are lots of strategies and techniques available to increase health and vitality. Again, what if this is only part of the story?
What would it mean to call upon the Morrigan today?
First, let us understand she is available to us today.
She imparts the life-giving energy of new growth, new blessings, new powers of transformation.
The Morrigan is rooted in the time of the Great Mother Goddess. She has been worshipped under a great variety of names everywhere across the millennia. She comes from the Sidhe today and walks the earth, crying from the north, calling for anyone who will hear and come to meet her. Her age-old presence as the Washer-at-the-Ford is always with us. Always there are battles and always she manages the transformation from life to death to life.
Her primary role as the Great Goddess is creation, rebirth, and transmutation. What battle is on the horizon in your life today? Is it related to work, health, or relationships? The Morrigan awaits you. She can aid in clearing your path. She can assure you restored vitality and healing when your need is greatest.
Hear her voice crying from the North Country!
See her coming towards you in her chariot.
Feel her wrap her arms around you.
Love returns to her children.
She comes to us as a Maiden;
Vigor and the power of spring in her hands.
Call her name.
Walk beside her.
Learn from her.
She comes to us as Mother;
Nurturing and healing in her hands.
Call her name.
Walk beside her.
Learn from her.
She comes to us as Crone;
Wisdom and knowledge in her hands.
Call her name.
Walk beside her.
Learn from her.
Know this;
She is here,
The Great Mother has come.
Embrace her,
Welcome her blessing into your body, mind and soul!
Carolanne Kennedy was born eldest of seven children in a fishing village on the Avalon Peninsula off the Island of Newfoundland. From a young age she experienced a deep connection to the land and sea. She first learned of the Faery Folk from her Grandmother. When she was a teenager her family moved to Ontario.
She completed a diploma in Business in June 2000 and earns her living working in accounting. She received her certificate as a Faery Shaman from Society of Celtic Shamans in July 2000 and has walked with the Ancients ever since. She is also a Certified N.L.P. Practitioner. She is enrolled in studies with the University of Celtic Wisdom.
Throughout the year she holds Celtic Shaman workshops and on occasion does individual counseling sessions. She loves all things Celtic.
Anyone wishing to contact Carolanne can do so at her email address lorracc42@yahoo.com
. Or visit her at: The Wisdom Tree - Celtic Learning Center
Bibliography
Cuchulain of Muirthemne, Lady Augusta Gregory (1902)
The Cattle-Raid of Cooley (Táin Bó Cúalnge),
"The Ancient Irish Epic Tale Táin Bó Cúalnge" (1914), Joseph Dunn, London: David Nutt.
Táin Bó Cúalnge Recension I, Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition: T301012 Author: [unknown]
Táin Bó Cúalnge from the Book of Leinster, Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition, Author: [unknown] File Description compiled by Donnchadh Ó Corráin Funded by University College, Cork and Professor Marianne McDonald via the CELT Project.
Táin Bó Cúailnge, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Morrígan, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Morrigan, by Danielle Dee
Macha (Irish mythology), Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Badb, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hildr, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Timeless Myths, Ulaid Cycle
Pagan Celtic Ireland: The Enigma of the Irish Iron Age, Barry Raftery, Thames and Hudson Ltd., London, 1994
The Celtic Realms, Myles Dillion and Nora Chadwick, Phoenix Press, London
The Celts: Prehistory to Present Day, John Davies, Cassell Illustrated, 2002
The Morrigan in the Táin Bó Cúailnge and Beyond copyright © 2006 by Carolanne Kennedy, all
rights reserved. Used with permission. Top of Page
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