Visions of the Cailleach: Exploring the Myths, Folklore and Legends of the pre-eminent Celtic Hag Goddess

by Sorita D'Este, David Rankine

Overview

Standing astride the British landscape looms the giant blue form of the Cailleach. Whether she is seen as a benevolent earth-shaping giantess, harsh winter hag goddess, shape-shifting crone, guardian of sacred wells and animals, or ancient bestower of sovereignty; the Cailleach appears in many roles and manifestations in myths and legends across the British Isles.

The authors have tracked the Cailleach across thousands of years through folklore, literature and place names, uncovering startling references which hint at a hidden priestess cult worshipping the Cailleach from ancient times through into the twentieth century. By exploring her myths and legends, they demonstrate the hugely significant role of the Cailleach in the early history of the British Isles. The demonization of the Cailleach through the Middle Ages by the Christian Church paralleled that of women and witches, and is reflected in various other supernatural hag figures possibly derived from her and discussed in detail, such as Black Annis, Gyre Carling, Mia Lia, Nicneven and the Old Woman of the Mountain.

Looking beyond the veil of the sacred landscape, the vision of the Cailleach confronts the seeker in hills and rocks, lakes and wells, burial chambers and stormy skies. Now finally the primal elemental power of the Cailleach is revealed in her full glory, in the tales and places of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man; as well as in traces of her presence in England, Wales, Jersey, Brittany, Spain and Norway. This unique and ground-breaking work brings together for the first time the wealth of folklore, stories and legends regarding this most significant of British supernatural figures, whose myths and wisdom are as relevant today as they have ever been.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781905297245
Publisher:	Avalonia
Publication date:	03/25/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	148
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.32(d)

About the Author

Sorita d'Este is an author, researcher and priestess who has devoted her life to the Mysteries. She is the author of numerous books on both the practice and history of magic, plus mythology, folklore and witchcraft. In late 2000 she co-founded the StarStone Network with David Rankine, which was dedicated to the study of Initiatory Witchcraft, Ceremonial Magic and the Mysteries of Hekate. With him she co-authored Hekate: Liminal Rites (2009), a compendium of magical practices historically associated with Hekate. With contributions from students, friends and practitioners from around the world she compiled Hekate: Keys to the Crossroads (2006) and Hekate: Her Sacred Fires (2010). In 2010 she wrote the Rite of Her Sacred Fires, a simple devotional ceremony which has become a worldwide annual celebration in honour of Hekate, celebrated at the Full Moon of May each year by many hundreds of people and now translated into 30 languages. She is also the Keybearer and founder of the Covenant of Hekate - www.hekatecovenant.com.Sorita lives on a hill in Glastonbury from where she works as a publisher and writer. She is often distracted from work by her son, her love of gardening, and interesting visitors from different spiritual and esoteric persuasions. To find out more about her work visit: www.sorita.co.uk

David is an author, researcher and qabalist based in Weston-super-Mare, UK. He is the author or co-author of numerous books published by Avalonia, including The Complete Grimoire of Pope Honorius, The Grimoire of Arthur Gauntlet, A Collection of Magical Secrets, The Book of Treasure Spirits, The Book of Gold, Climbing the Tree of Life, The Cosmic Shekinah, Practical Qabalah Magick, The Isles of the Many Gods, and The Guises of the Morrigan. With Stephen Skinner he has produced works such as The Veritable Key of Solomon and the Goetia of Dr Rudd, both highly regarded groundbreaking works which make available previously unpublished source materials for the first time.

Table of Contents

Introduction

CHAPTER 1: Origins Set in Stone

The European Origins of the Cailleach

From Spain to Ireland

A Maltese Origin?

The Irish Manuscripts

Name Connections

Goddess or Spirit?

The Different Names of the Cailleach

The Possibility of a Priestess Cult

CHAPTER 2: Earth Shaper

1. The Cailleach in Scotland

2. The Cailleach in Ireland

3. The Cailleach in England

4. The Cailleach in Wales

5. The Cailleach on the Isle of Man

6. The Cailleach in Jersey

7. The Cailleach in Brittany

8. The Cailleach in Norway

CHAPTER 3: Water Witch

1. Predicting the Weather

2. The Cailleach in the Carmina Gadelica

3. Summoning the Water

CHAPTER 4: Crone of Winter

1. Winter Customs

2. The Cailleach and Bride

3. The Woman of the Mist

CHAPTER 5: Oldest Spirit

1. The Cally-Berry

2. The Cold May-day Monday

3. The Cailleach Bhéarthach and the Walker

4. The Cailleach Béarra’s Box

5. Never Ask A Woman Her Age

CHAPTER 6: Lady of the Beasts

1. The Lucky Poachers

2. The Cailleach and the Stupid Deer

3. The Cailleach’s Song

4. The Story of Mongan

5. The Old Woman Outwits the Devil

6. The Cailleach Ends the Viking Age

7. The mark left by Cailleach Béarra

CHAPTER 7: Shapeshifter

1. The Cailleach Bheur and Loch Bà (I)

2. The Cailleach Bheur and Loch Bà (II)

3. Thomas the Rhymer

CHAPTER 8: Bestower of Sovereignty

1. Princess Beara

2. Niall of the Nine Hostages

3. The Adventure of Daire’s Sons

4. The Daughter of the King under the Waves

CHAPTER 9: Seer & Foreteller of Doom

1. The Caillagh ny Gueshag

2. The Golden Apples of Lough-Erne

3. Foreteller of Doom

CHAPTER 10: Malevolent Cailleach

1. The Gyre Carling

2. The Cailleach of Gleann na mBiorach and the Black Bull

3. The Cailleach Bhéarthach and Donnchadh Mór Mac Mánais

4. The Cailleach Mhore of Cilbrick

5. The Heron of Lock a-na-Cailleach

CHAPTER 11: Possible Cailleach derivatives

1. Black Annis

2. Glaistig

3. Juan White

4. Mala Lia

5. Muilidheartach

6. Nicneven

7. St Bronagh

Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

"As a real bonus, the book is well written. The style is easy and intelligent. It wears its scholarship lightly, but is robust. There are plenty of references and a great bibliography. All this makes the book something of a rarity in times when many scholarly works are badly written and dreadfully biased (and professional academics are some of the worst culprits); and when many books on myth, folklore and spiritual matters seem to rely so heavily on something the author might once have seen on television or has written in their first flush of enthusiasm for a new found path without actually having any deeper understanding of the subject on which they expound." G. Talboys, Author

"Authors Sorita d'Este and David Rankine present in this small but superbly researched tome a wealth of lore concerning the Cailleach. Tracing her myths back beyond the time of the Romans, they note how the land of Portugal acquired its name through the Cailleach myth, and they relate folktales of her from Iberia to Scotland. The Cailleach is a crone, perhaps the crone manifestation of the triple goddess. She is as old as the hills and a bit of a trickster, though she works her tricks for good and for the defense of those decent folk she favors. She is fair and always takes a payment for her deeds, in the manner of the faerie folk. She operates through nature. Her wealth is in the form of wool and grain, and her treasured red deer. She is undoubtedly a primal being who exists with the green world in a very profound and integrated sense. As I read this tome, I could not help but think of the Cailleach as the natural counterpart to the Green Man." Cliff Seruntine, Author

From the Publisher