#cailleach

[nocnitsa]

Cailleach- Illustration by John Duncan in Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend (1917).

[artemis-potnia-theron]

How I perceive different deities' energies: (pt. 2)

(based on personal experiences)

Bast 🐈‍⬛: Velvet. Roses. Incense. Aloe vera. Coconut milk. An enchanted vapor that fills the room like a fog, and suddenly its like I've known you for centuries. Light footsteps against wood floor. The humid steam of a sauna. Hot rocks against skin. An abundance of flowers; bouquets from the soul. Black mirrors and purple cystals.

Skadi 🗻: Breathing in winter air. Sharp and crisp within my lungs. Goose bumps. Cloud puffs of breath on a frigid morning. Wolves calling to each other. Dandelions. The whirl of an arrow loosed from its bow. Freshly fallen snow. Thick boots. Leather.

Fenrir 🐺: Righteous fury. Red behind the eyes. A pounding in my chest. An ancient drumb beat. Raw, red meat. Satiated hunger. An ache in my legs like I've been sprinting for a lifetime. Bone shards. The rage of the wronged. A long-fought battle. Bittersweet victory.

Freyja 🏵: My aunt's house. Plush fabric. A banquet. Cherry wine. Waves of gold. A concealed dagger. Calla lilies. Tough love and long embraces. Embroidered silk tapestries. A jewel encrusted mirror. Rosemary. Sun-catchers. Lace.

Kybele 🦁: Mountain mist. Echoing laughter. A voice that sings from somewhere just over the horizon. Dawn breaking. Roasted meat. Whiskey. Frenized dance at dusk. Breathing hard, almost panting. A sting. A balm. Cornflower. Daisies. Queen Anne's lace.

Inanna 🌟: A blue, purple light somewhere in the night. The brightest star in the sky. A river that flows between her and I and you and waves of souls that came before us. A beckoning song and a voice that comes from the heavens. An rare orchid.

Demeter 🌾: Divine rage and divine love. Wind through fields of wheat. Sun-dried tomatoes. Corn boiling in the pot. Hot summer wind. Dried grass. Being carried to my room as a child while I fell asleep. A sweet ache. A mother's touch. Trust, and a torrent of fury when that trust is broken.

Ereshkigal 🦉: Damp earth. Echoes. Owl talons. Quiet as a tomb and breathless whispers. A fluttering of wings in pitch black. Something dancing at the corner of my eye. Strength. Peace. Sterness. Beauty like the cosmos. She demands respect from every tounge.

Persephone 🥀: A funeral shroud. Bioluminescent fungi. Sweet, overripe fruit. Flowers growing from a corpse. Bones in bird nests. A hand clasping mine in the night. The smell of rain. Learning to live with my grief. A fate I no longer run from.

Cailleach Bheur ❄️: Fennel tea. Blizzard air. A lit cabin hearth while the storm rages outside. An heirloom quilt over my shoulders. Quiet. Contemplative. Resolutely austere. She knows all the answers, but she will have her silence. Burning coals. Shepherd's pie. Baked nuts. Glowing silver.

[birdsofrhiannon]

Cailleach by Shelly Mooney

[wyrmzier]

The Cailleach and Her Elk

A sticker design for the upcoming Angelology IV: Angels of Extinction hosted by the wonderful @ultrainfinitepit

This sticker is part of a four pack set depicting the four seasons. My design is the winter theme.

The Cailleach is a celtic goddess of winter. Described to be a one-eyed hag with blue skin who roams the land bringing snow and mountains as she collects kindling to last her all winter. The Cailleach is also known to turn into and herd deer. For the theme of the campaign, I chose the extinct Irish Elk to be her companion. When the Celtic Isles were Christianized many of the old gods were likened to Fallen Angels by the clergy which I felt was also appropriate to the theme.

The Cailleach is shared among Ireland, the Isle of Man, and Scotland and has some regional differences. I tried to include elements of the Scottish and Manx Cailleach but there was so many symbols of hers I wish I could've included them all. Maybe I'll make a full piece of her one day along with her counterpart the goddess of summer Brigid (who is most likely an aspect of the Cailleach). But my inspiration definitely comes from my darling Ireland ❤️

Here's a video of my process:

I hope you enjoy and make sure to keep a lookout for Angelology IV!

[ancestorsalive]

Ancient Ballachulish Goddess from Scotland.

Ballachulish is a small seaside village in the Scottish Highlands where this figure known as the Ballachulish Goddess was found. She is now in the National Museum in Edinburgh.

She is a figure carved from a single alder tree with stones for eyes and was dug up from the peat in Ballachulish and found with a stand of woven branches like the ones behind her. She may have been the Cailleach as this mountain was near where she stood looking out to the straits of Loch Linnhe.

[mabinogifantasylife]

Cailleach concept art

[amylouioc]

Stories about the Hag of Béara (also referred to as the Cailleach, an Irish word for ”witch “ or “crone”) are mainly found in parts of Cork and Kerry, and they take many forms.

Many view her as an aspect of the trio goddess, or Brigid’s opposite. While Brigid rules over the summer months, the Hag of Beara is said to rule over the winter period. Every Samhain she is reborn as a young woman and prospers throughout winter, before beginning to age once more come spring. By the time Summer rolls around, she is an old lady.

[mallaichte]

the cailleach, bringer of winter 🌨️

[smokingcaterpillar]

Uhhh wtf I finally just met Cailleach?!?!?! (I couldn’t sleep, and Loki basically was like yep, let’s go, we’re doing this) Completely out of nowhere. But I have been contemplating on when to officially reach out to her, I just didn’t expect it to be tonight/this morning!

She wants to work with me on my feelings of inadequacy/ feeling burdensome/ etc. No matter how sweet Loki is and no matter how often he reminds me that I’m worthy of love, I just can’t seem to accept it. Ever. So I’m guessing he figures I need some tough love from the Crone 😆

And holy shit? (upg) She is fucking. hilarious. I did not expect that.

And her personality honestly reminds me of Caribbean abuelas. She’s warm, but she says it like it is and takes no shit. I want her to adopt me istg.

Sorry I’m rambling but gods I’m just on cloud nine and so excited about her 🤩

Hail Loki, God of Gifts, for this truly was one 🥹

[persephonewraith]

Thig an nathair as an toll Là donn Brìde, Ged robh trì troighean dhen t-sneachd Air leac an làir.

A time for preparation and making plans, as the sun starts to return and the days grow longer.

Imbolc is the time when Cailleach, the divine hag who rules over the weather, gathers her firewood for the remainder of winter. If she intends for the winter to be cold and long, she'll ensure the day of Imbolc is bright and dry so she can gather more firewood. A dreary Imbolc indicates a sooner return of spring and milder weather.

It's a good time to think about the year ahead, and make changes that allow good things to happen.

[vacantwoodsenthusiast]

I bought a set of prayer beads that I'm going to devote to the Cailleach and I'm just vibrating with how excited I am. I know we're coming out of the season for her but with all the storms we've been having I still find her presence when I look.

[misspjsuperior]

The Celtic crone goddess Cailleach of the British isles gathers Her firewood for the winter’s remainder during Là Fhèill Brìghde on February 2nd during Imbolc. (Imbolc/g starts sunset February 1st and lasting until sunset February 2nd.) The Cailleach will make sure the weather that day is bright and clear if she intends to make winter last longer so she can gather plenty of firewood to keep herself warm in the coming months. Traditionally folks celebrate stormy or especially frigid weather on Là Fhèill Brìghde since it means The Cailleach has decided sleep in and will soon run out of firewood ensuring a sooner end to winter‘s chills.

It was the Dutch who brought a similar Indo European legend about a badger to America where the badger became a groundhog, native to their “new world” upon ancient Turtle Island, which is where the Groundhog Day tradition based in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, USA came from. Cailleach is by contrast decidedly human in form, said to have snowy white hair, often veiled, her name translated from Gaelic literally as “old hag”. She is mother of weather, most poignantly storms. She rules over winter as a seasonal deity in balance with fire-wielding, milk-laden Brighid who then in turn oversees the time between Beltane and Samhain, from May 1st to November 1st. Imbolc is known as St. Brigid’s Day honoring the awakening of spring but it is still within the dominion of the divine crone Cailleach, depicted here in my watercolor sketchbook in honor of Imbolc.

[birdsofrhiannon]

Cailleach

[nehalenniaspeil]

ogham transliterations ~ irish deities [2/2]

Gráinne, Morrígan, Medb, Nemain, Badb, Ernmas, Tailtiu, Cailleach

note: ogham should be read from bottom to top

[justinhubbell]

jthemthey.com/radical-acceptance

January, February, and March are three months of the year that I once referred to as "SAD Months" or "Seasonal Affective Disorder" months. It was like that for some years, I'm willing to say a full decade. Crunching the numbers, that's 30 months of feeling miserable. And?

And I just got sick of it.

Was I doomed to repeat history? To feel SAD every year until death do us part? ...Was that REALLY the plan?

So. I decided. I was getting off the ride, never to return. Been there done that—thank you but no-thank-you—and I would spend three months of the year doing whatever I needed to do to travel in the opposite direction I once traveled.

This is my second year free from the SADs and I don't miss them at all, and if I can use Witchcraft to alter toxic/unhelpful narratives than so can you?

And I won't say The Cailleach is a cruel Goddess? But. She firm tho. Not much wriggle room.

[renaissance35]

Ok I'm definitely going to finish this, ok that's the first thing. But I decided to finish my 12 days of Christmas but just chibi style and both of these pieces only took me about 13 mins but again I was out of time. And it's ok I finished two at least and will be finishing the other 10 don't worry.

I'm still proud of this and if you love it leave tip.🎁 If you'd like to see more follow me🎄 Merry Christmas and have a happy new year 🎊 👋

PS by the way the first picture is of the yule goat, the second piece is a Irish winter goddess named, Cailleach. Her depiction is an old hag with a hammer or fishing basket, or a blue giantess w/ white hair and one eye and a staff. I just mixed the two and made it cute☺️