Hello. My name is Rachel Nic Aoidh and welcome to the fifth and final part of our five part series on Animals. Last week, we spoke about the Cows of Ireland. This week we will be finishing up with ravens and the goddesses associated with them.
In Irish Mythology, ravens are highly associated with darkness and death, especially with the deaths of warriors on the battleground. Their association with death and war can be reflected in a raven’s tendency to eat carrion, much of which can be found in the aftermath of battle. This eventually led to the mistreatment of ravens, as harbingers of death, as well as the common notion in Irish culture that the main attribute of the Raven is its connection to the Otherworld.
Birds in general were seen as a link to the Otherworld, and they were thought by druids to possess knowledge about all things past, present and future.
One of the many practices of Druids was the practice of Divination. Druids foretold many future events. Often, they practised Divination by the voices of birds; from the croaking of the raven to the chirping of the wren. The wren particularly was considered to be a great prophet, that it’s name in Irish, Drean, is derived from drui-én, meaning the ‘druids of birds.’
Many Celtic war goddesses oftentimes took on the form of a raven. Badb, Macha and Morrigan are all goddesses associated with Ravens. These three war goddesses are all sisters and they make up the trio that are known as The Triple Goddess.
Badb is a war Goddess who was known to take on the form of a crow. She was sometimes called Badb Catha, or in english, Battle Crow. In many Irish legends, Badb is associated with war and death, and often appeared to foreshadow bloodshed or participate in battles, where she would create confusion amongst the soldiers.
In many ways, Badb is a great comparison to the Banshee. As a harbinger of death, she would appear under many different disguises. In the story of Togail Bruidne Dá Choca, she appears under a guise to foreshadow the killing of Cormac Condloinges. She takes the form of a ‘washer at the ford’ — a woman who washes Cormac’s chariot and harness in a ford which was considered an omen of death. The cries of the Badb are also seen as an ill omen. Cormac’s impending doom was foreshadowed with the words, ‘The red-mouthed badbs will cry around the house, / For bodies they will be solicitous’ and ‘Pale badbs shall shriek’.
She was also seen to actively participate in war and battle; oftentimes the battlefield was referred to as ‘The Garden of the Badb.’
The Morrigan or Morrigu is another sister of the The Triple Goddesses. Her name has been translated to mean ‘great queen’ or ‘phantom queen’. She is seen mostly as a Goddess of Battle and War. Like Badb, she is widely associated with war and fate, especially with the foreshadowing of death or victory in battle. She would incite warriors to do brave deeds and would strike fear into their enemies. One of the most known stories of the Morrigan would be the story of how she foretold Cú Chulainn’s death.
The Goddess first encountered Cú Chulainn in the Táin Bó Cuailgne, where he was defending Ulster from Queen Medh and her army. As a terrrifying war Goddess, it’s no wonder why the Morrigan would be attracted to one of the most fearsome warriors to set foot on Ireland. One day, she attempted to seduce him. She approached him under the guise of a daughter of a king and offered him her eternal love. Despite the Morrigan’s beauty, Cú Chulainn turned down her advances.
This outraged her, so she set out for revenge on him. She used her shape shifting abilities to turn into different animals in an attempt to wound him during combat. Each of these attempts failed, with Morrigan coming out of the other end wounded the worst.
Cú Chulainn met Morrigan once more again before his death. During his last battle, he was gravely injured. With the little energy he had, he tied himself to a boulder with twine, and a last attempt to scare away his enemies. The Morrigan, disguised as a raven (or some say a crow), landed on his shoulder and it is said that only then did Cú Chulainn finally drift to sleep for good.
There is an old Irish proverb ‘To have a raven’s knowledge,’ which means to have a seer’s supernatural powers. The raven is considered one of the oldest and wisest of all animals, and this is evident in these stories. The raven was of great importance when it came to battle, and as a talking bird, they were often crucial to prophesying.
This was our story on Ravens and the end of our series on Animals.
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