Read an Excerpt
The Cailleach
Pagan Portals
By Rachel Patterson John Hunt Publishing Ltd.
Copyright © 2015 Rachel Patterson
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-78535-323-9
CHAPTER 1
Birth of the Cailleach
She is ancient ...
She is the landscape beneath our feet
She is the mountains and the hills
She is the rock and stone that leads down to the shore
She is wisdom
She is knowledge
She is mysteries
She is the old hag
She is The Cailleach
Within the pages of this book I hope to give you an introduction to the mysteries, myths, legends and magic of the ancient hag goddess the Cailleach.
The Cailleach – goddess of the ancestors, wisdom that comes with age, the weather, time, shape- shifting and winter.
She is said to have shaped the landscape by dropping boulders from her apron, which given that she is often portrayed as a giant should have been a fairly easy task. Later on stories also began to surface that reported the Devil as being the one with an apron who drops stones to shape the landscape. Not sure the image of the Devil wearing a pinny with the apron strings flapping in the breeze works for me, but it may have been an attempt by early Christianity to cover up the pagan stories of the Cailleach.
Her time is Samhain to Beltane, which is when she is at her most powerful – and powerful she most certainly is for in my experience she is a strong, feisty, no-nonsense, and kick-bottom goddess with a wicked sense of humour. Towards the end of autumn when the weather starts to get that clear, fresh and chilly air you can feel her draw near.
Often referred to as a Neolithic goddess, her origins seem to lie in ancient Britain. However, traces of her can be found across Europe, still as part of Celtic tribal history, but also in places such as Greece, Spain and Portugal. Some suggest that she was originally a Spanish princess named Beara and others that she originated from the Hindu mother goddess Kali, but some believe she travelled across from the continent, who is right? (I don't have the actual answer to that question ...)
Although she rarely appears in myths with other deities she is occasionally linked with the goddess Brighid/Bride as her opposite. In a couple of legends she is also said to have married the Celtic sea god Manannan. She is usually put into the Celtic pantheon (I have done so myself on occasion) possibly just to put her somewhere, but there are traces of her long before the Celts. She is, as far as I can make out, one of the most ancient deities and has survived for thousands of years. An old Irish poem states: 'There are three great ages; the age of the yew tree, the age of the eagle, the age of the Cailleach.'
The word Cailleach has several meanings or translations such as:
Hag
Crone
Old woman
Veiled one
Witch
Older wiser woman
Biting old woman
Old wife
In Gaelic there seems to be suggestion of a link between the word 'Cailleach' and the word for 'chalice'. The chalice possibly being later thought of as a cauldron, which is a symbol for rebirth and symbolic of the womb.
In most texts the word 'Cailleach' seems to translate as 'veiled one' and the prefix 'Caill' also means a 'covering'. It suggests that an older woman wore a 'cover chief' or 'calle' upon their head, perhaps referring to a veil or headscarf, and of course the veil also symbolises hidden mysteries.
There are many, many stories about a Cailleach, whether they are one and the same figure or a group of figures I will let you decide. She may just have had slightly different names in each region such as:
Cailleach Bheur – the sharp Cailleach/genteel old lady (Scotland)
Cailleach ny Groamagh – the old gloomy woman (Manx)
Cailleach Groarnagh – old woman of spells (Manx)
Cailleach Beara/Bheare/Bearra (Ireland)
Caillagh ny Gueshag – old woman of the spells
Cailleach Uragaig (Isle of Colonsay, Scotland)
Cailleach Bheirre/Beira – the sharp Cailleach (Ireland)
Cailleach Beinne Bric/na Bric – old woman of the speckled mountain/protector of the deer (Scotland)
Cailleach Mor/Mhore – great old woman (Scotland)
Cailleach Mhor Nam Fiadh – the Great Cailleach of the deer (Scotland)
Cailleach na Mointeach – Cailleach of the Moors (Scotland)
Cailleach Usig – water Cailleach
Carlin (Scotland)
Beira (Scotland)
Cally Berry (Northern Ireland)
The Hag of Beare/Digne (Ireland)
Cailleach Nollaigh – Christmas old wife (Scotland)
Mag Moullach
Gentle Annie (NE Scotland)
Bronach or Brenach – ugliness (W Ireland)
The Blue Hag
The Bear Goddess
The Boar Goddess
Owl-faced
Ancient Woman
The Woman of Stones
She is probably most well known for her landscaping, with many mountains, caves, rivers and landmarks named after her. She is therefore strongly associated with the elements of both earth and water.
As a water goddess the Cailleach rules over lakes, rivers, oceans, streams and wells, and holds responsibility for floods as she also controls the weather, particularly storms. Stories of the Cailleach storming (pun intended) down the mountainside in a fury hurling lightning rods and bolts of thunder are plenty.
She is also linked with the wise woman who played the role of midwife and layer-out of the dead. Several stories I found linked her to Christian times when it was said she appeared as a nun ... although this could be confusion caused by her Gaelic name meaning 'hood' or 'veiled one', which after Christianity arrived was the term given to nuns reflecting the hooded wimples they wore.
The Cailleach is at her most powerful during the winter months, bringing the cold weather, icy winds and snow with her. She is said to often ride a wolf (sometimes a wild pig) across the sky bringing the snow and riding the wolf through the lands crushing any signs of plant life. But she is also seen as the midwife for the dying year, keeping the seeds of new life safe and warm beneath the earth, caring for them throughout the winter months so that they may become new life in the spring.
The 25th of March was known as Latha na Caillich, Cailleach Day or Lady Day. Right up to the 17th century in Scotland this date was celebrated as New Year's Day and contests would be held to drive out the winter hag.
On 1st May on the Isle of Man, mock fights were held between the harsh forces of winter and the promising light of summer, with summer always winning of course. This represented the hag goddess fighting with her sisters over the rights of the land.
In February (around Imbolc) in Orkney, the Gyros festival happens where two of the boys in the village dress up as hags and chase the younger children around town trying to catch them and hit them with ropes. The name Gyros may be connected to the Gyre of Carling, one of the Cailleach's many guises.
On 1st November the Reign of the Old Woman Cailleach was celebrated in Celtic countries (in Ireland it was known as 'day of the banshees'). Another celebration is held on the eve of Imbolc to mark 'the end of the Cailleach'.
In Spain the feast of St Agatha was celebrated on 5th February to represent the changing of the seasons. The saint was depicted as an old hag who carries winter away in her bag, possibly a link to the Cailleach.
All of these celebrations and festivals seem to be in line with the arrival of spring and the banishing of winter (and then vice versa), which echoes the theme of the Cailleach as a goddess of winter.
As a crone goddess she is often depicted as the stereotypical hag figure often with a blue hue to her skin perhaps symbolising the wisdom of old age, winter, death and experience, but it may also link to the blue woad that the Picts painted themselves with. Her dark skin may be the blackness of the caves, the dark storm or the midnight sky. She is sometimes seen with just one eye that could perhaps represent the weak winter sun, but also her seer abilities and her supernatural influence. It may even be a representation of the moon. Irish myths often carry stories of heroes who only have one eye (along with other abnormalities and disfigurements). The Formorians (Balor springs to mind), who are often seen as the enemy, often have these characteristics. The Cailleach was said to have had many giant sons known as Fooar, perhaps linked to the name Formorians? Folklore tells that a seeker can find divine inspiration by standing on one foot and closing one eye (sounds like a way of falling over to me), but this perhaps reflects the deformities of the gods.
The Yellow Book of Lecan (c. 1400AD) states that the Cailleach had seven youthful periods, married seven husbands (each who grew old and died) and had 50 foster children who founded many tribes and nations. It also tells that the Cailleach Bheara was also known as Bui or Boi meaning 'yellow'.
She is sometimes said to have red teeth and nearly always has white hair. This woman has lived through it all, seen it all, done it all and got the T-shirt.
In a few stories the Cailleach also displays her abilities as a seer and often as a trickster – most definitely with a wickedly naughty side.
She is also said to be a goddess who governs dreams and inner realities and she is the goddess of the sacred hill, the Sidhe – the place where we enter into the realm of Faerie. She has also been connected to the 'bean sidhe' (or banshee) in some tales.
There is mention on occasion in stories that the Cailleach was once part of a trinity with her two sisters and known as a triple goddess, the Cailleach Bheare being joined by Cailleach Bolus and Cailleach Corca Duibhne. In Scotland they spoke of Beur Cailleachan in the plural as powerful beings that lived in the lochs. A Gaelic song mentions the three Cailleachan of the Scottish Hebrides.
Some of the stories tell that Cailleach Bheare is the wife of the god Lugh, but that she outlives many husbands and remains youthful while they grow old and pass away.
In her right hand, some stories say that she carries a magic rod (or hammer), which she uses to turn the blades of grass into ice. Sometimes it is described as a staff that she bangs on the ground to bring the cold and winter. It is said once signs of spring start she flies into a rage throwing her wand beneath a holly tree ... giving the reason why grass doesn't usually grow under holly trees.
If you listen to all the stories the Cailleach has lived in many places, which include a lot of mountains such as Ben Nevis, Ben Wyvis, Ben Breac, Ben Cruachan, the Paps of Jura, Schiehallion, Lochnagar, Caistel Caillich and Beinn na Caillich – all hill tops.
She can appear to be fearsome and she is most definitely powerful as the hag of winter, woman of stones, bone mother, a goddess of death, the dark mother, the harvest goddess, an ancestress who rules the dark half of the year and is as ancient as the earth itself, but she does have a nurturing side; she is the spirit of the land and allows us to peek at the wisdom we need to let go of what no longer serves us and look forward to what is yet to come. Let's not forget that to have rebirth there must be death first. Without the Cailleach culling the plants in the winter they would not survive the harsh weather.
CHAPTER 2
The Cailleach in Scotland
In folk stories from Scotland it is said that the Cailleach rises at Samhain and brings with her the snow, ice and harsh weather until Imbolc when she turns back into stone. The stone remains damp as it contains her life essence. She is also said to spend her entire time chasing after her son or in some stories her lover.
She is also considered to be the daughter of Grainne, or the winter sun. The old Celtic calendar had two suns, 'the big sun', which shone from Beltane to Samhain, and 'the little sun', which shone from Samhain to Beltane eve.
There are many stories and place names associated with the Cailleach in Scotland and the Hebridean islands. In some parts of Scotland she is known as the Carlin and occasionally referred to as Queen of the Witches.
She is said to have created a huge amount of the Scottish landscape by wading through the surrounding waters up and down the country dropping large boulders from her creel (apron) to make the islands and using smaller rocks to create the mountains. Some of these are Beinn Cailleach Bheur in Argyllshire, Beinn na Caillich on the Isle of Skye, Loch Awe in Argyll and Bute and mountains in Lochaber. A large furrow down the side of Beinn na Cailliach called Sgriob na Calliach (furrow of the Cailleach) is said to have been created when she stumbled and slid down the hill. Other place names in Scotland refer to her, such as Cailleach Vear – a rock off Mull, Sgeir Cailleach – Jura, Ceum na Caillich – Arran, Cailleach Head – Ross, Carlin's Loup near Carlop and Creagan Biorach na Cailliche Moire on Lewis to name but a few.
One story tells of the Cailleach Bheur as a blue-faced hag of winter who ages in reverse. She starts out old, gnarled and ugly and gradually becomes young and beautiful, perhaps symbolising the progression of winter to spring.
She is known sometimes as 'Grandmother of the Clans' or 'Ancestress of the Caledonii Tribe'. The legends of the Caledonii tribe talk about the 'bringer of the ice mountains', the great blue old woman of the highlands. She was a mountain giantess who protected the tribe and kept them safe.
Scotland was called Caledonia, a Latin name given by the Romans; some suggest that this translates as 'the land given by Cailleach'. I suspect the name referred to the Pictish tribe – the Caledonii that lived in the area during the Iron Age and Roman times. The Roman historian Tacticus tells that the Caledonii had 'red hair and large limbs' and were a fierce people who were quick to fight off invaders.
The tribes inhabiting Caledonia flew to arms, and with great preparations, made greater by the rumours which always exaggerate the unknown, themselves advanced to attack our fortresses ...
Tacitus, Life of Cnaeus Julius Agricola, c AD98
The Cailleach Life Story
She was the first living being in Scotland after the ice had melted, thousands of years ago. The Cailleach had the first plaid and being the first it had no checks, stripes or colour and was as pure white as the snow. She would spread the plaid on the hills to create the snow-covered tops. Being immortal she was unable to die, but grew weary with living and changed herself into a giant, laying herself down for an endless sleep.
Time passed – months, years, decades – and soil collected over her body and the plants started to grow creating a glen, which became a great mountain.
And when the mists draw across the mountain it is said that the Cailleach has drawn a veil across her face.
Mountain Springs
Mountain springs were said to be a sanctuary for the Cailleach, she would visit them to renew her strength or to perform rites of passage for the seasons. One story said that the Cailleach came in the dead of the night to the Well of Youth (near Loch Ba of Mull) and drank 'before bird tasted water or dog was heard to bark'. Her longevity was believed to have come from the water of life. However, one of the stories tells that a dog barked before the Cailleach had bent to the water and she crumbled into dust.
The Shepherd and the Dog
Here is a slightly different version of the Mountain Springs story.
A shepherd, knowing that winter and the Cailleach were on the way, began to keep his dog inside the house at night. But one night, as he slept, the dog escaped. In the morning the dog was still outside and, seeing a person pass by, barked loudly. As the bark bounced off the surrounding cliffs it echoed with such strength that the Cailleach, who was standing on the loch shore, keeled over falling down into a heap of bones. The shepherd heard the dog bark and ran out of the house and down to where the Cailleach lay. He realised she was dying and sat cradling her in his arms. She seemed to be trying to say something so he leaned in closely and she whispered: 'It was early the dog spoke, the dog spoke, it was early the dog spoke across Loch Ba.'
Note: Two stories with similar themes suggest that the Cailleach drank the waters of youth to explain her great age or perhaps that she drank the waters to become a young maiden again and then gradually aged to that of a hag until she drank of the waters again to symbolise the cycle of the seasons and of life.
Taber Cailleach
A fountain in Banffshire called the Taber Cailleach, Well of the Old Woman, became a place of pilgrimage. People would visit and leave offerings and also walk nine times around the well of virtue before walking around the menhirs that stood beside it.
Muileartaich
The water form taken by the monstrous Cailleach Bheur of Scottish Gaelic tradition was known as the Duan na Muileartaich.
Her face was blue-black, of the lustre of coal
And her bone tufted tooth was like rusted bone.
In her head was one deep pool-like eye
Swifter than a star in winter
Upon her head gnarled brushwood like the clawed
old wood of the aspen root.
From Campbell, Popular Tales of the West
Highlands, Vol 3
The Muileartaich was said to be a demon and a reptile being; a destroyer, but also a giver of life. Some stories tell of a creature that is half human and half lizard. The Scottish Muileartaich is able to raise winds and storms and one story tells how she came upon a cabin where hunters were gathered.
She asks to be allowed to sit and warm herself by the fire and then begins to swell in size. The hag demands snuff from one of the hunters, but he doesn't offer it to her, instead pointing his dirk (a long dagger) at her. She jumps and begins to choke him. The hunter's dogs spring at her and she tells him to call them off. She pulls a white hair from her head to tie them up, but the hunter uses his garter instead. The hag goes after him once the dogs are tied and says 'tighten hair', but the hunter replies with 'loosen garter'. The dogs pursue the hag and she backs out of the door. They chase her for a while until she turns and fights. The dogs return to the hunter all mangled and plucked clean of hair.
This myth is often connected with the Fians and then later Manus (Magnus Bareleg).
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Cailleach by Rachel Patterson. Copyright © 2015 Rachel Patterson. Excerpted by permission of John Hunt Publishing Ltd..
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