MORRIGAN

MORRIGAN: The Megalithic Mother Goddess and 'The Phantom Queen'.

Don't attempt to mix it with The MORRIGAN. You are very unwise to mess with her and her sisterly accomplices. She was one of the original members of the TUATHA-DE-DANANN (People of the Goddess DANU) who chose Ireland as their Headquarters. This was good preparation for battle and shenanigans as the Fir Bolgs had to be defeated first.

As a shape-changer she can turn from ravishing beauty to hag, from battle crow to BEAN-NIGHE, all in triple time. This has caused a great deal of confusion to careless mythologists and innocent Godcheckers. Some sources claim there is three of her. But as her sisters BADB and NEMAIN usually join in the fray, this is not surprising.

There could have been more as FEA, FOTLA and NEMAIN, other warrior Goddess compatriots with shapechanging abilities, were hardly likely to sit on the sidelines when things got exciting. With crows wheeling and shrieking and startling transformations going on, who is going to stop to count? Especially when you are fleeing in terror, knowing they always picked the winning side.

When MEDB The Queen of Connaught employed the MORRIGAN Mob in her battle against Ulster and CUCHULAINN, more confusion was caused — as MEDB is similar to BADB. BADB was not as bad as MEDB, and the MORRIGAN forces used fear itself as a weapon rather than adding to the slaughter.

MORRIGAN does have a loving side to her nature, and gave the Irish Hero CUCHULAINN every chance to make love not war. But would he listen? That's why he is now only commemorated as a statue of a dying warrior with a MORRIGAN crow on his shoulder. Who knows what she could be saying to him?

Far from fading away, The MORRIGAN is still exceedingly popular and has many followers. There no longer seems to be a pecking order for battle crows; she is more into utilising Earth energy — which is very nice to know. A Dark Green Goddess from the Emerald Isle.

Sláinte!