Tales from the Cailleach: Tipping the Balance at Equinox.

A short walk today, just as far as the thorn. 

The Equinox sunrise gilded the stones within my mound this morning.

Photo: sunlight at Spring Equinox inside Cairn T  © Clare Tuffy http://www.newgrange.com 

Seed-sprouts rise from the earth, tiny leaves curl on branches.
Still, there is a breath of snow in the air and on these grey days I don’t stray far from the hearth.

The fire awakened, I sit staring into the flames, warmed by memories of SAMHAIN past. 

Since then I have a ready smile for neighbours and laughter in my eyes. 

They do not know the cause but I see them sniffing the air as they pass, sensing sea tang, their faces puzzled by the seaweed fond across my threshold. 

The phone rings, reflections shatter.

Two voices, so like my own, whisper down the line.

“ Tonight, is it?”

I nod my reply.

“Yes, we’ll tip the balance. ”

Later, fire banked, I listen to the house as it sighs and settles into the night.

Once the tale was told of we three Hags who push up new growth from the land at Equinox, it’s almost true that story.
My sister-selves and I labour when light and dark are equal but not beneath the earth.

As shadows deepen, eyes close, breathing slows and I gently slip away.

Needing neither broom nor steed I rise to travel rimed roads. 

Sleep blankets the villages I pass, a quiet night in this world.

Over frost bitten bog and pitch river I gather speed to soar above the rising hill.

Photo © Lynda McCormack 

A feathering of snow flakes as I settle upon Sliabh na Caillíghe, where once we leapt and hurled 

the stones that now bear legends.

Upon my chair I scour the sleeping island with keen eyes.

Photo: Courtesy of © Anthony Murphy http://www.mythicalireland.com 

Yes, the land is ready, ripe for growth. 

I release my howl of greeting high into the darkness.  

A chill blast bearing laughter replies, my sister-self on Gullion. 

A moment later the screech of Bheara answers and we three Hags are ready.

The tipping point approaches.

At the mound, breath hoar frost on stone, I enter black stillness.

In this womb, the air, already laden with the scent of meadowsweet yet to bloom, 

shifts as I trace shapes within the stones. 

Patterns once danced upon the land in rhythm with earth, sea and sky.

We three move as one. 

Goodness in seed, grass and grain.

Sunwise circling.

Goodness in flower, fruit and branch.

Weaving words.

Goodness in grain, nourish our people.

A sudden surge. 

A torrent, the yellow of ripening sun, is birthed across the land. 

The point of balance tipped.

The land awash with vigour once again.

Cailleach at Sliabh na Caillíghe © Jane Brideson.

***

Next morning, I stir the embers back to flame and place the kettle on the stove, my work complete 

till harvest.

Stepping out the sky is washed pale blue and Seán stops the post van by the gate. 

“ Not a bad morning,” he says, “ there’s a feel of spring to the air. ”

Handing over the bills he stays to chat until the kettle sings. 

“ No tea for me today. ” 

Leaving he sniffs and mutters, “ is that the sea ? ”

I look to the sky. 

From the west a cloud formed like a wave rolls across the hills.

Inside two cups sit ready.

Manannán comes.

My first story of The Cailleach at Samhain is here: The Lament of the Old Woman

Tales from the Cailleach: The Lament of the Old Woman at Samhain.

I am known to my neighbours as the mad one who talks to the fairies and it is said I walk the roads 

whilst others sleep.

These same neighbours come to me for help with the troubles of country living; a sick mare, a lame cow or the strange event that preys upon the mind.

At these times I make the tea, stand the pot on the hearth and let the silence brew. 

I suggest a simple explanation for the opening door, the chill at the fireside or a room the dog won’t enter. 

Most times they are satisfied.

With others a pinch of truth is all that’s needed to recall piseogs and buried knowledge that goes on long into the night.

So I live amongst these people, not quite accepted by them, for I do not go to mass as they do 

nor hail the priest as father.

I keep to my own ways, spirit unbounded by men with rules and robes.

Now and then I catch a sharp glance from some busy farmer as I visit mound and thorn but they do not guess my secret.

Three times a year I leave my home in darkness, needing neither broom nor steed, I rise from bed 

to fly above the sleeping townland.

Whitethorn scent may rise to meet me or, as tonight, turf smoke greets my flight across grey fields.

Image by Peter Gordon at http://explorelight.com

Skimming winding river I am observed but not by human eyes. 

Deer, owl and hare all know my ways, the night is ours.

Over hidden valley and bald mountain top I rise to settle on the tumbled cairn. 

Below land stretches away in shades of darkness undisturbed.

A sigh, long and deep, escapes me. 

Eyes close to invoke Samhain long past when the people knew and held us close.

Heart heavy with old memories, sorrow gnaws at my breasts and I nurse it. 

Alone, unloved, forgotten in this modern world.

Bitter wind shakes me from the past. 

Keen-eyed again, I stretch my sight to spy the distant horizon. 

Far off, a shift, a smudge, disturbs my vision.

A wisp of smoke.   A soar of sparks.   Now a flare of yellow red. 

Tlachta’s fire is kindled !

One by one other heights reply; 

Teamhair, Cruacháin, Uisneach, Sliabh na Caillí, Cruachán Aigle and Binn Ghulbain. 

Sliabh gCuillinn, Sliabh Dónairt, twin fires upon Dá Chích Anann. 

Hill top beacons burst with fire. 

In valleys tiny flames wake as dormant village cross-roads ignite. 

A million flames, a rosary of fire across the land.

The old ways are remembered!

Three calls from sharp-mouthed Raven cleaves the silence, The Great Queen rises from her cave. 

Beneath Brí Éile Brigid’s forge is lit anew as one by one, across the night, mounds open 

and those who have never left return.

Here, upon the Height of Ireland, I stand tall again and at my side Manannán shares his secret smile with me. 

The tide has turned.

Samhain greetings to you all!

This story was inspired by reading ‘The Lament of the Old Woman of Beare’, an Irish poem written in the 10th century,
which led me to wonder if The Cailleach lived amongst us and if so, what sort of neighbour would she be?

This virtual film relates a version of the poem translated by the Celtic language scholar Kuno Meyer. 

In the ancient past the Samhain fire was ceremonially lit by the Druids on Tlachtga, the Hill of Ward in Co. Meath. 

It is believed that answering fires were also lit on other prominent places across the landscape.

In more recent times the Tlachtga ceremony has been rekindled and this short film shows part 

the ceremony in 2015. 

The Cailleach - Hag of the Mill & Mother of the Herd.

Cailleach an Mhuilinn, The Hag of the Mill.

For much of last winter and earlier this year I have kept company with the Cailleach, the Old Woman, the Hag, who appears in many guises in folklore, landscape and myth. 

Her great age, her ability to fly, to shape shift into animal form, her role as a Sovereignty goddess and her links to wild animals marks the Cailleach as a supernatural being, an ancient goddess. 

As Hag of the Mill she is associated with grinding corn and the harvest.

In many places the last uncut stalks of corn were plaited, cut and hung above the door at home as protection. 

This action was known as ‘cutting the cailleach’. 

In others areas it was believed she took the form of a hare who sheltered in an uncut corner of a field to avoid the scythe.

I painted her in her guise of The Hag of the Mill as she appears in Buile Suibne,

‘The Frenzy of Sweeney’, a tale recorded in the 1670’s. 

Rather than illustrate her part in the tale literally, I wanted to portray her energy and wildness. 

You can read the text of Buile Suibhne, translated by JG. O’Keefe HERE

Briefly Suibhne is described as the king of Dal Araidhe in the north east of Ireland. 

When news reached him that St. Ronan Finn was building a Christian church on his land and chanting psalms the pagan Suibhne, having no time to dress, left his home naked and expelled the cleric.

After throwing the psalter into a nearby lake Suibhne is cursed by Ronan to constantly wander Ireland, flying naked throughout the land until killed by a spear.

So he spends seven years leaping from hill to hill, living amongst trees and existing only on watercress. Suibhne appears to lose his sanity but he is eventually caught and left in the care of his kinsman, the miller Loingseachan.  

Suibhne is locked in a bedroom at the miller’s hostel until one day, during the busy harvest when all hands are needed, he is entrusted to the care of Lonnog, The Hag of the Mill. 

She is ordered not to speak to the captive but Lonnog has her own plans. 

She teases the king about his madness and he responds with tales of his freedom and the great leaps he once took across the hill tops of Ireland. 

Finally the Cailleach challenges him to make one more leap, this time through the skylight of the room. Suibhne does so and pursued by the Hag, is free once more. 

Detail - Teach Duinn, Donn’s House of the Dead, identified as Bull Rock, off the coast of  Co. Cork.

They visit Teach Duinn in the west, then travel across the landscape, with the Mill Hag driving him on, revealing to him his past life as a ‘madman’.

Detail - The Cailleach as bringer of winter, mother of the herd.

During their time together Suibhne recounts his meetings with the famous stags of Ireland, remembering his great adventures in the wild and although the king despises the Hag for bringing him back to his old ‘madness’, he recognises Lonnog as an ancient one, the progenitor, Mother of the great herds of deer.

“ O mother of this herd

thy coat has become grey,

there is no stag after thee

without two score antler-points.”

Finally, to be rid of the Hag, Suibhne leaps to Dunseverick on the Antrim coast where he jumps again, followed by the Hag of the Mill.

Detail - cliffs at Dunseverick, Co. Antrim.

The king survives by falling into the sea but the Cailleach lands on a cliff, her body broken, 

she falls into the water. 

After many more adventures St. Ronan’s curse descends upon Suibhne, he is killed by a spear wound and at death the pagan king is given the Christian sacraments.

But what of the ancient Cailleach ?

Later her body washes up on a beach and at that liminal place, between sea and land, 

she is carried away by her Otherworld kin, “the devil’s crew”. 

To this day the Hag, The Old Woman, is remembered and honoured at wild, lonely places across Ireland and at this time, when the harvest is over and winter is almost upon us, perhaps she haunts those places still.

Harvest offerings to the stone Cailleach, The Old Woman of Beara, who looks out to sea from the Beara Peninsula.

Portrait of a Wise Woman.

Bean Fasa, Wise Woman © Jane Brideson 2015.

Inspired by the Wise Women of Ireland & the stories of Biddy Early

Model: Mary Kelly

In the past, within rural communities, women guided people through life's changes.
At child birth women would turn to the Handy Woman, Bean Ghúline, the country midwife,
who had visited the Otherworld to refine her skills.
At death it was the Keening Woman, Bean Chaointe, who provided an essential service at funerary rituals.
For life's troubles in between the Bean Fasa, the Wise Woman, was consulted.

The portrait includes Biddy's cottage, hearth & famous blue bottle.

One function of the Wise Woman was that of Bean Leighis, woman healer, who diagnosed the maladies of people
and animals. Her knowledge encompassed cures for bodily ailments as well as mental disorders
and afflictions which had their cause in the Otherworld.

Detail of herbs: 1 Beirbhéine Vervain, 2 Caorthainn corraigh Valerian, 3 Samhadh bó Sorrel, 

4 Athair Thalún Yarrow 5 Beathnua Baineann St. John's Wort. 

Also Airgead Luachra, Meadowsweet & Iúr sléibhe Sage.

Click HERE to read more about the uses of these herbs.

Often an older, single woman, she was a source of wisdom, particularly regarding the Good People from whom she gained her knowledge.
It was the local Wise Woman who was called upon when mysterious injuries or illnesses appeared, when the butter wouldn't come or a changeling was thought to lie in the crib.
Accounts tell of these woman being in regular contact with the fairies, gathering herbs at dawn
and dusk, often attended by a spirit and having the ability to foresee the future. 

Detail - hare & fairy mound.

Accounts tell of several Wise Women transforming into a hares.

One Bean Fasa, in Co. Kerry, was described as frequently falling into a trance at funeral wakes, returning to the assembled company with knowledge gained from the Otherworld.

Detail - Hag Stone.

It was believed that some could see the Good People 

when looking through a natural holed stone. 

The folklore surrounding these figures describes them as almost supernatural elders and
stories of their exploits span many generations. Some were real women, such as Biddy Early,
whilst others appear to be mythical. 

Detail - Biddy Early's cottage under a full moon. 

Water from the well, once near the roadside, flows beneath.

Folklore concerning Wise Women, such as Máire Ní Mhurchu of Bheara, often portray them as personifications of  THE CAILLEACH.

Indeed, the Wise Woman, who often opposed the church and man-made law, was a powerful female, an authority figure viewed in oral tradition as an embodiment of our ancient goddesses.

The Wise Women of Ireland are remembered and honoured by those who visit the places associated with these real and mythical women.

Offerings at Biddy early's cottage © Jane Brideson.

The Hag of Bheara at various times of the year with offerings © Jane Brideson.

I will be producing Art Cards & Prints of  'The Wise Woman'.
To pre-order & for more info please contact me HERE
or on my Facebook Page THE EVER-LIVING ONES


Information about the following Wise Women - Máire Ní Chearbhaill of Carbury,
Máire Ní Mhurchú of Bheara, P Ní L of Tuosist, Eibhlín Ní Ghuinnníola of Dingle,
Máire Liam of Kilworth & Biddy Early of Clare, can be found in
Gearóid Ó Crualaoich's 'The Book of the Cailleach'.

Spring & The Three Hags.

Cailleach Bheara - a commission for a resident living near the Bheara Peninsula, Co.Cork.

At the Spring Equinox, when the hours of daylight and darkness are equal, it feels that we are held
at a place of balance between Summer and Winter.
Here the past few days have been full of sunlight and gentle warmth as the crows build their
nests and the trees begin to green but this morning saw a frost return to the land.

In Ireland we have no evidence or folklore to support the idea that the Celts celebrated a festival
at this point in the year, however an old story from Coolea, Co. Cork tells of the three Cailleach,
Old Women or Hags, who are responsible for the development of growth during March.
The tale begins on Brigid's Day at the start of February when one Hag, described as
a 'veiled one', stands under the ground attempting to push up the vegetation whilst the two other
Hags stand above ground to keep it down.
After the middle of March the single Cailleach below is joined by another and both push up the
plants together whilst one Hag remains above ground to resist.
By the end of the months all three Hags are beneath the land pushing up the new growth for Spring.

In a time before the Celts, the Neolithic people were aware of the Equinoxes and
this knowledge of astronomy and the landscape can be seen at many sites across the island.

 Spring Equinox solar alignments at Grianán of Aileach, Co. Donegal & Gossan Stones, Co. Wicklow.

The most well known of these sites is probably Cairn T on Sliabh na Caillí, "the hag's mountain"
in Co. Meath, part of the Loughcrew Megalithic complex. 
The sun's rays at the Equinox sunrise shine down the passageway of the cairn to illuminate an 
inner chamber.
Slowly the light travels across the rear stones shining on the megalithic stone carvings...

© Clare Tuffy

bringing the sun into the body of the land and into the place of the ancestors ...

The Cailleach painting : here

until the home of the Cailleach returns to darkness once more.

To see this special event please watch Michael Fox's video below :

For more information on the Grianán of Aileach please visit the Unknown Swilly blog HERE
The Gossan Stones can be found HERE

Time of The Cailleach

Watercolour, gouache & pastel on watercolour paper 20" x 27".

Model: Siobhán ní Ghabhann.

"Three great ages; the age of the yew tree, the age of the eagle, 

the age of the Old Woman of Beara (Cailleach Bheara)." - Old Connacht proverb

When daylight decreases and the cold wind nips at my nose as I walk along the frosty road I know 

that it is the time of The Cailleach.

Cailleach means 'old woman, hag or veiled one' and she also known in Ireland as
Cailleach Bhéara,  Cailleach Bhiorach, Cailleach na Huibhe, Boí / Buí & Sentainne Bérri.
She has many different guises in folklore: she is the bean ghlúine - the midwife, the bean fasa -
the wise woman and the bean chaoínte - the keening woman.
She is also the hag who is embraced by the hero to become the beautiful Goddess of Sovereignty.
The Old Woman may originally have been a lunar goddess associated with the sea, the formation
of the land and various horned animals especially deer and cows.

1 On the left, beneath the waxing moons and the Bealach na Bó Finne, the Milky Way

can be seen Slieve Gullion, Co. Armagh where the southern cairn, the largest, is known as 

the Calliagh Berra's House and to its north lies the Calliagh Berra's Lough. 

She is said to have tricked Fionn McCool into jumping into its waters and when he emerged he 

was transformed into an old man. 

Beneath the mountain is a small herd of red deer, the only species native to Ireland, believed to have had a continuous presence here since the end of the last Ice Age, c. 10,000 BCE.

2 On the right, beneath the waning moons, lies Cnóbha, Knowth, Co. Meath. 

The mound is also known as Cnoc Buí where it is believed that the ancestor, Buí,
'cow like one' is buried.

3 An Cailleach sits at the centre of the painting within the west recess of Cairn T,
Sliabh na Caillí, part of the Loghcrew passage tomb complex in Co. Meath which dates
from around 4,000 BCE .

She is surrounded by the many, richly decorated stones which line the tomb and around her neck
hang some of the objects discovered in excavations of the complex.
Above her is a carved stone set into the roof and beneath it the 'Equinox' stone of the recess which is illuminated by the rising sun at the Autumn and Spring Equinoxes.

4 The complete complex of Loughcrew spreads across the lap of An Cailleach.

Patrickstown Hill is on the left, Carnbane East with Cairns T, U and V visible at the centre and Carnbane West on the right, showing Cairns D and L. Altogether there are the remains of 25 cairns here, each aligned to various astronomical events, with Cairn T on the highest peak commanding views over 18 counties.

Several of the mounds originally had a mantle of white quartz & must have been an impressive sight 

in sunlight or under a full moon. 

5 Her hands are placed in the crack of the sill stone as she connects the earth, the sea and the moon. 

6 To the left is the pale Calendar Stone found at Cairn X on Patrickstown Hill, thought to show
both solar and lunar cycles.
On the right is kerbstone 15 from Knowth also thought to be a Calendar Stone depicting the
suns' annual journey.

7 Below this is Carrauntoohil, Co. Kerry with the Hag's Tooth just visible.
To the left is Oiléan Buí, Dursey Island off the Bheara Peninsula, Co. Cork.
Close to the coast of the island is a rock standing in the sea known as Bó Buí, Buí's Cow,
which is said to have been turned to stone by An Cailleach herself.

 Carrantuohill & Hag's Tooth - wikipedia

8 At the centre bottom is An Cailleach Bhéarra, The Hag of Beara, a metamorphic rock

unlike any other in the area.

There are many stories about The Hag of Beara locally, one being that she turned herself to stone 

so that there would always be a hag on Beara. 

Another tells that she stands on the hillside above Coulagh Bay gazing out over the Atlantic 

watching for the return of her lover Manannán Mac Lír.

If you visit her today you will find offerings of ribbons, flowers and crystals adorning the rock 

in honour of the Cailleach Bhéarra.

Photo © Jane Brideson

To find out more & take a virtual tour please visit:

http://www.voicesfromthedawn.com/loughcrew/

http://www.voicesfromthedawn.com/slieve-gullion/

Information on The Wild Deer Association of Ireland can be found HERE

For a fascinating study of the Cailleach see: 

"The Book of the Cailleach: Stories of the Wise Woman Healer" by Gearóid Ó Crualaoich.