Cailleach ~ Nature Goddess of the Dark Half of the Year
The Cailleach is a dark nature goddess, particularly well-known in Scotland. The name is often translated as “old wife” but literally means “veiled one”. Such a name is often applied to those who dwell in hidden worlds. She represents the cutting winds of winter and the north, but rules from Samhain (or Halloween) until Candlemas, hence why her soup is appropriate for late fall.
In pagan traditions, the Goddess is represented as the Triple Goddess; maiden, mother and crone. As a crone figure, the Cailleach appears as a hag, and being a goddess of winter, she is described as terrifying to behold, wielding a magic hammer which she uses to strike blades of grass into ice. She has one eye, seeing into the supernatural worlds, and dresses in grey. As with many dark goddesses, folklore places her with wars, as such beings would be called upon to bring enchanted winds and storms to disrupt the enemy during battle.
To some, the Cailleach may appear simply a frightening hag of darkness. But the Celts saw the carnage and bloodshed of battle as a means to replenish the earth, fertilising it, and it is here that we find what we can work with through the Cailleach – fertility, death and rebirth.
Some legends say that she changes into a boulder at the end of winter, while others connect her with the goddess Brighid. It is said that she drinks from the Well of Youth in the woods of a magical isle, and turns into a beautiful woman at Imbolc (February 1st), for she is but one face of the maiden, Bride, whose special day is celebrated at Imbolc. Thus the crone becomes the maiden once again, continuing the perpetual cycle of life.
