Part 2 – the Tain Bo Cuiligne
So the big cattle raid that the Morrigan predicted in the Tain Bo Regamna, which we re-told in part 1, has now come to pass. In this part we are going to look only at the actions of the Morrigan in dealing with Cu Chulainn – keep in mind though this is not her only appearances in this story, nor even her most important ones in my opinion.
We begin with the story of…
So, for those who haven’t read the Ulster Cycle consider this a slightly abridged re-telling of the Morrigan’s interactions with Cu Chulainn, beginning with the encounter that sets up their encounters in the Tain Bo Cuiligne
In the Tain Bo Regamna….
Cu Chulainn wakes up to the sound of a cow bellowing. Leaping out of bed naked he runs outside with his wife Emer chasing him carrying his…
Its an interesting thing that many of us who follow, work with, honor, or are otherwise connected to the Morrigan tend to associate her with the colors red, white, and black. At first one may wonder why, as there isn’t any straightforward text or piece of evidence that says ‘the Morrigan’s colors are such and such’. However, if we look at the total of the evidence, that is all the textual…
ODRAS
Odras, úais ind ingen,fris’ indlem laíd lúaidme,Odornatan airmemeic Laidne meic Lúaidre.
Ban-briugaid ba brígachin gnímach glan gúasach,céile cáem co cruthachtdo Buchatt balcc búasach.
Bóaire cáid Cormaicco roblait in Buchatt,dúiscid búar co m-blaitnecach maitne for muchacht.
Fechtus luid dia éssea ben glésse gasta,Odras rúad co romét,do chomét búar m-blasta.
Moch dia m-boí ‘na…
My oldest daughter asked me today, what do fairies eat?
Like everything else to do with Themselves there’s actually no one simple answer and it depends a lot on what sort of fairy we’re talking about. There’s also been a lot of speculation, even going back to the 17th century and the writings of rev. Kirk, that fairies may not eat our solid food at all, but rather absorb the essence of the…
Ängsälvor by Nils Blommér (1805)
One of the challenges in understanding the Norse and Germanic material is that many different Otherworldly beings are translated into English as "elves", just as many different Irish beings are called fairies. The Norse word Alfar appears in German as Alp or Elb, and English as Elf, while in modern Icelandic they are known as both alfar and Huldufolk (hidden…
Labels are always a fun game to play in Paganism, Polytheism, Heathenry, what-have-you. On the one hand they can be helpful in defining how we see ourselves and what we believe and do – on the other they are only ever a general description and as often as not they divide us instead of bringing us together. I have many labels for myself because my beliefs are complex and layered, and the terms I…
"To make my small elves coats." Illustrations to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A. Rackham, common domain
Among some people in modern belief elves and fairies are often assumed to be entirely insubstantial, that is they are described in the same terms as ghosts or other incorporeal spirits and are said to have no physical forms that can be touched or interacted with. This view has…
So its late summer and once again there’s a flare up in the Heathen social media sphere relating to racism. Sadly this is nothing new. In fact three years ago, also in August, I wrote a previous blog partially about my opinion of racism. This is not a new issue.
This particular iteration came up when the Asatru Folk Assembly, a large US Heathen organization, made a public statement which has…
So its late summer and once again there’s a flare up in the Heathen social media sphere relating to racism. Sadly this is nothing new. In fact three years ago, also in August, I wrote a previous blog partially about my opinion of racism. This is not a new issue.
This particular iteration came up when a large US Heathen organization made a public statement which has widely been interpreted as…