Amongst the Tuatha Dé Danann we find mention of the Badb, or Badhbh in modern Irish. She is listed, along with her sisters Macha and The Mórrígan, as a Goddess of battle and death. Said to take the form of a hooded or scald crow the Badhbh flies over the battle fields of Eireann and that her raucous cries cause the weak of heart to quail in terror.
In Irish, the word Cailleach originally signified a nun, coming from the latin word 'pallium' which means veil. Over time it came to mean 'old woman' or 'hag'. MAybe its not hard to see how this, added to the ancient beliefs of power and mysticism, then filtered through the lens of the popular media representation, leads us to it's current use for 'witch'.
Ireland has long been regarded as a place somehow caught between two worlds. This world, a place of mortality and the mundane, and the Otherworld, a realm of magic, fantastic beasts, and Immortal beings. Today we take a look at one of these 'Sidhe', 'Fae' or 'Fairy folk' of Ireland.
Medb is a multi-faceted figure of Irish lore, linked with priestess work in the Otherworld, the sovereignty of Ireland itself as a goddess, and the rites of judgement and right rule. The Banshenchus (the Lore of Woman) manuscript, may have described her best; "Glorious, perverse, extravagant and liberal".
Amongst the Tuatha Dé Danann we find mention of the Badb, or Badhbh in modern Irish. She is listed, along with her sisters Macha and The Mórrígan, as a Goddess of battle and death. Said to take the form of a hooded or scald crow the Badhbh flies over the battle fields of Eireann and that her raucous cries cause the weak of heart to quail in terror.
In Irish, the word Cailleach originally signified a nun, coming from the latin word 'pallium' which means veil. Over time it came to mean 'old woman' or 'hag'. MAybe its not hard to see how this, added to the ancient beliefs of power and mysticism, then filtered through the lens of the popular media representation, leads us to it's current use for 'witch'.
Ireland has long been regarded as a place somehow caught between two worlds. This world, a place of mortality and the mundane, and the Otherworld, a realm of magic, fantastic beasts, and Immortal beings. Today we take a look at one of these 'Sidhe', 'Fae' or 'Fairy folk' of Ireland.
Medb is a multi-faceted figure of Irish lore, linked with priestess work in the Otherworld, the sovereignty of Ireland itself as a goddess, and the rites of judgement and right rule. The Banshenchus (the Lore of Woman) manuscript, may have described her best; "Glorious, perverse, extravagant and liberal".
