The Morrigan: Celtic Goddess
The Morrigan is a Celtic 
Triple Goddess, The Goddess of Magick & Might, The Goddess of War & Battle, Queen of the Otherworld, Phantom Queen, Dark Goddess, The Great Queen, Faerie Queen & others that refer to Her and/or her sister(s). She rules birth, rebirth, death, transformation, change, balance, the light & the dark, shadow work, circle of life, fertility, protection, sovereignty, witches, Magick, and more.
The Morrigan is the term given to Goddess Morrigan, one of the triple Goddesses in Celtic mythology. She is also a singular goddess. She represents the circle of life and is associated with both birth and death. Her name translates to âgreat queenâ or âphantom queenâ. She was a shape-shifter and looked over the rivers, freshwater, and lakes. She is also described as being the patroness of revenge, magic, priestesses, night, prophecy, and witches.
To truly gain a more insightful understanding of who Morrigan is, it is important to understand the Celtic culture of that era. The Celts idolized warfare, and women were warriors up until 697 CE, often fighting in battle or helping the wounded. Protecting their families and their land (viewed as female 
) was a dominant aspect of the Celtsâ pride and was reflected in the Morrigan.
She is often a triple goddess but this varies by source. In Celtic mythology, the number three has incredible significance. At times, Morrigan is featured as one of three sisters while other times she is a singular figure.
The Celtic Goddess is mysterious and dangerous and chooses who she aids carefully, and accountability is expected. With shapeshifting and prophetic abilities, The Morrigan is a modern beloved goddess of magic and witchcraft. And just like any powerful seeress, she has a mischievous nature.
Badb
Badb is associated with the crow and was said to take its form. Her Goddess aspect would be the Crone. Badb would be seen on the battlefield before the war as a harbinger of the fate to come and would take an active part in the battle, striking fear into the hearts of her enemies. She would create confusion amongst the soldiers and feed off the resulting chaos. The battlefield was referred to as the âGarden of Badbâ, and her arrival could mean ruin for whole armies, or for one specific person.
Badb would scream and wail to terrify her enemies, in a similar way to the Beansidhe or Banshee, and was known to appear as a âwasher at the fordâ, washing the armor of those who would fall in battle.
Badb by herself is the Goddess of war, chaos, & death. One of the most telling links between the Morrigan and the banshee is the way the fairy is depicted in nearby Scotland.
As an omen of death and bloodshed, the Morrigan may have served as the inspiration for one of the most iconic creatures of later Irish folklore. From the Old Irish ben sidhe, the word banshee can be translated as âwoman of the fairy mound.â These mounds, the sidhe, were said to be where the Tuatha DĂ© Dannan made their homes after the arrival of the Gaelic kings.
The mythologies and folklore of Scotland and Ireland are closely related, so the Scots have their own version of the banshee. There she is sometimes known as the bean nighe or bean nigheachain.
The bean nigheachain of Scotland appears as a washerwoman scrubbing the clothes and armor of those who are about to die in battle. This is the same form the Morrigan 
takes in one of her most well-known Irish myths as sister Badb.
NĂ©main
After the defeat of Macha, alongside the Morrigan and Badb sisters, NĂ©main appears. She, with the sound of her voice, led the soldiers into battle. But not only that, but her songs also accompanied the fallen towards the kingdom of the dead. Often, NĂ©main and Badb were seen as the same deity. In general, these charming Irish goddesses, thanks to their similar characteristics, have often been confused with each other; this made it difficult to be able to delineate their distinct and mysterious figures.
Macha
Macha is another aspect of the Triple Goddess the Morrigan. She is the other sister that is the goddess of fertility, motherhood, strength, vengefulness, feminine power, success, protection, & death.
Shortly after Cruinniucâs wife died, she simply showed up at his house and started taking care of the family and the household. Not long after, Macha got pregnant. She promptly warns her new husband not to tell anyone about her real identity if he wants her to stay and raise a normal family with him. As luck would have it, though, Cruinniuc ran his mouth during a chariot race and boasted that his wife could run faster than all of the kingâs horses combined. Upon hearing this, the king summoned Macha and forced her to compete with the royal horses, even though she was very much pregnant at the time. She pleaded to the king to postpone the bizarre race until after sheâd given birth, but the man wouldnât budge. Despite her situation, Macha ended up winning the race but suffered great pain because of it. As soon as she reached the finish line, she wailed in pain while giving birth to twins: a boy named âTrueâ and a girl named âModest.â
Humiliated and hurt, Macha cursed the men of Ulster nine times nine generations thereafter to suffer the pain of childbirth in their time of worst peril. In effect, none of the Ulstermen, aside from the demigod Cuchulainn were able to resist the invasion of Ulster.
The story shows that the goddess Macha can be vengeful when disrespected, and how unworthy kings inevitably face short, disastrous reigns.
Symbols for Macha include the color red 
, horse 
, crow/raven , acorns
Morrigan
It is difficult to find the exact origin of Morrigan in existing texts. Some say that she was the wife of Dadga. Many say that she was part of the Tuatha de Danann or the tribe of the Goddess Danu. The tribe was a mythical race living in Ireland and were descendants of the goddess Danu. Dagda, was a powerful leader. Morrigan often helped to protect the people from invading armies by blowing a layer of fog 
over the land and decreasing visibility.
Samhain
Morrigan met Dagda, the King of the Tuatha de Dananna, at Samhain. The Dagda had a home in the north and he was told to meet a woman there before the battle. He found the woman washing herself in the river Unis of Connacht, which flowed just to the south of his home. She had nine loosened tresses on her head and captivated the king instantly. The Dagda spoke with her and they slept together. Morrigan then told Dagda that he should summon Erinâs men to meet her and that the Fomorians would land at Mag Scetne. She aided the Tuatha de Danann in their battle and once they had won, she proclaimed the victory to the royal heights of Ireland.
Correspondences
-
Colors: Black
, Red 
, Purple 
-
Animals: Ravens/Crows , Horses , Serpents
, Dragons 
-
Foods: Red Meat/ Red Juices/Red Wine/Mead/Apples
/Pomegranate/Milk 
-
Herbs/Plants: Mugwort, Yew, Rowan, Clove, Sage
- Incense: Dragonâs Blood, Sage
- Sabbat: Samhain
-
Zodiac: Scorpio
-
Moon Phase: Dark Moon
-
Symbols/Items: Sword, Knife/Athame/Boline, Triskele , Triquetra
, Triple Goddess (not triple moon, not Maiden, Mother, Crone), Storm Water, Number 3, crow feathers
- Crystals/Stones: Bloodstone, Jet, Clear Quartz, Obsidian
How do you know that Morrigan is calling you?
- If you feel the need to win your fights
- If you feel strong and empowered right after having evoked her
- If you dream of a crow or see crows, especially in 3s
- If you see the number three showing up over and over again
How do you honor Morrigan?
- Create an altar for her
- Use a crow image to honor her
- Try to win your fights
- Try to defeat your inner demons and be successful (shadow-work)
- Cast protection spells
- Place a statue of Morrigan on your altar
â Spells8/Infinite Roots
Lessons: Goddess Morrigan
Prayer to the Morrigan at Sunset
Witch, Hekate, & Morrigan⊠Oh My! (Oil Recipes)
Bean SĂ 
A Herald of Death
â External Web Links
The Morrigan Playlist - Lora OâBrien: Ogham Academy
â Meditation (Guided)
Morrigan Meditation: Awakening the Warrior Spirit
Meeting Macha by: @SilverBear
The Morrigan - Transformation Meditation by: @SilverBear
Meditation with the Morrigan: Reclaim Divine Power, Raise Vibration
â Books (Further Reading)
Pagan Portals: The Morrigan Meeting the Great Queen by Morgan Daimler
Pagan Portals: Raven Goddess: Going Deeper with the Morrigan by Morgan Daimler
The Morrigan: Goddess of Magick & Might by Courtney Weber
Celtic Lore & Spellcraft of the Dark Goddess: Invoking the Morrigan by Stephanie Woodfield
The Book of the Great Queen by Morpheus Ravena
This is a beautiful piece about Her and a really valuable resource for anyone hoping to begin working with this deity. Great work and thank you so much for sharing! 
She has been hanging around me for a little over a month now. I have learned so much & Iâm always looking to learn more about Her it seems.
)
for the Morrigan 
I use them all & some of the books that I have read (more than a few 
) are FREE on Kindle Unlimited. I prefer an actual turn the page book, but Free is Free. 
