Goddesses: The Mórrigan

In Irish-Celtic mythology, the Mórrigan is the goddess of war and fate. Among her many powers, her ability to shapeshift inspires bravery in her comrades and fear in her enemies. The Mórrigan is often depicted as a crow, a popular symbol of death for the Celtic people. She is most known for being able to foresee the future, especially in relation to death and victory on the battlefield.

For Further Reading:

• Celtic Goddess: Morrigan
• The Mórrigan
• Celtic Hero: Cu Chulainn

This month, we're talking about Goddesses: mythical figures who have shaped culture, history, and imagination around the world.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Wamanica. This month, we're doing something a little different.
We're talking about goddesses, mythical figures whove shaped culture, history
and imagination around the world. Today, we're talking about a
goddess who embodies the bloodthirsty, savage nature of ancient Irish warriors.

(00:27):
Her ability to shape shift made her a friend and
a foe on the battlefield. Let's talk about the Morigon.
In ancient Irish Celtic mythology, the Morgan is the goddess
of war and fate. She belongs to a tribe of
pagan Irish gods called Tua de Dannan. They reside in

(00:49):
a supernatural realm below the Earth called the Other World.
The Morgan is many things. In some tales, she's one goddess.
In others, she's three goddesses, five Macha and Nevin. The
Morgan is also not limited to her human form. At times,
she could appear as a beautiful woman or a hag,

(01:11):
but she also shape shifts into any living creature. She pleases,
a mammal, a fish, and most symbolically, a crow or raven.
Crows and ravens signal war and death to the Celtic people.
Her ability to embody so many different forms makes her
a deceitful and unpredictable character. The Morgan revels in all

(01:34):
things war. She incites it, she participates in it, and
ultimately she can end it, often through death. Her name
has been interpreted to mean phantom queen or queen of nightmares,
and she lives up to it. Coming into contact with
the Morgan is often a sign of impending death. When
the Morgan shrieks, it's an omen of death and terror

(01:56):
to come. If that sounds famili because she's possibly the
precursor to the Banshee, a supernatural female spirit in Irish
folklore whose loud and visceral wail predicts the death of
a family member, The Morrigan's premonition of death often came
in handy before and during battle, as the story goes,

(02:16):
in the Second Battle of moy Turad, the Morrigan's tribe
was attacked by the Fomorians, a group of supernatural demonic pirates.
The Morgan first warned her husband Daga, another war god,
of their attack plans. Then she took matters into her
own hands by distracting one of the main Femorian warriors
so that her tribe could kill him. In another version

(02:38):
of the story, the Morgan brutally murdered the Femorian warrior
herself to inspire fear in the enemy warriors. She passed
out handfuls of the deceased warrior's blood to his fellow pirates.
But it was rare that the Morgan actually participated as
a warrior in battle. In a famous tale from the
Ulster cycle of myths, the Morgan prophesied the death of

(03:00):
a warrior hero and demigod Ku Cullen. When Ku Cullen
was just a teenager, an opposing army invaded the Kingdom
of Ulster. Their aim was to steal a sacred bull.
An ancient curse paralyzed the warriors of the kingdom, and
Ku Cullen was left to defend the territory on his own.

(03:21):
Knowing he couldn't stop a united advanced Ku Cullen challenged
the enemy to one on one combat. He beat warrior
after warrior by transforming into a fearsome ball of destruction
and chaos. At one point in between matches, he met
a beautiful young woman who tried to seduce him Blinded
by his battle duties, he rejected her. What he didn't

(03:42):
realize is that this young woman was the Morgan. The Morgan,
unfazed by this rejection, transformed into multiple different animals to
attack ku Cullen in each form an eel, a wolf,
and a cow. The Morgan suffered an injury from ku
Cullen's defense. Finally, ku Cullen defeated every member of the

(04:02):
opposing army. He was basking in his victory when he
came across an old woman milking a cow. She had
very distinct injuries, but Kukullen thought nothing of it. The
woman offered him several drinks of milk from her cow.
Ku Cullen blessed her after each drink, and with each blessing,

(04:22):
her injuries magically healed. As the last wound healed, her
true identity was revealed. Ku Cullen realized the old woman
was the Morrigan, never a good sign for a heroic warrior.
The Morrigan alerted Kukullen to his imminent death and left
him to sit with it. Ku Cullen was called to

(04:43):
battle again in his twenties. After taking the field on
his usual frenzied way, he was fatally wounded. Having made
a promise to die on his feet, he pinned himself
to a standing stone. The Morrigan's prophecy had come true.
She appeared as a crow and landed on his shoulder.

(05:03):
When the Morgan foretells your death, there's nothing anyone can do,
not even Ireland's greatest warrior hero to escape the fate.
The Morgan was religiously important to an annual festival known
as the Sawyn Festival. On the eve of October thirty first,

(05:26):
the ancient Celtic people gathered to celebrate the end of
the harvest season and the beginning of the new year.
Sawwen celebrations included large feasts and opening up ancient burial
mounds and hopes of communicating with the other world. If
the Morgan and Docta had consummated their relationship during this
time of year, it signified the success of the tribe

(05:46):
and the health and prosperity of the new year's harvest
and livestock. So the Morgan can be a symbol of
death and life. All month We're talking about goddesses. For
more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at Wamanica
pot Podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister
and co creator