From the Greek and Roman culture of Helios, Sol, and Apollo (see my previous post on these gods), we now move north toward the colder climate of the British isles, to meet a deity who came to personify this time of the year…
the Cailleach.
artwork by Thalia Took
In Irish and Scottish mythology, the Cailleach is a divine hag, and the name basically means “old woman.” However, in much the same way that Sol Invictus came to represent various solar deities of Roman mythology, the Cailleach has come to represent various mythological figures found throughout the area of Scotland and Ireland.
In Scotland she was known as the Cailleach Bheur, also known as Beira – the Queen of Winter. Bheur meant “sharp or shrill,” as she personifies the cutting winds and harshness of the northern winter.
She was a hag said to live in the Scottish Highlands, which she is believed to have created while striding across the land and accidentally dropping rocks from her apron. Other legends say that she created the mountains intentionally, to serve as her stepping stones. Associated with winter, she was reborn on every All Hallows Eve and returned to bring the winter and the winter snows. She carried a magical staff, which froze the ground with every tap. She was also guardian to animals throughout the winter, and returned to the earth by turning to stone on Beltane Eve. In other traditions she changes into a young maiden, suggesting the changing phases of an earth goddess. Her sacred trees were the holly and the gorse bush, under which she traditionally threw her staff before turning to stone.
The above legend describes the Cailleach’s relationship with the seasons, and links her up with another Celtic goddess – Brighde, also known as Brigid. The Cailleach was seen as ruling the dark, winter months of the year… which in the Celtic calendar began at Samhain on November 1st and ended at Beltaine on May 1st. Brighde thus ruled the light, summer months of the year, which occured from Beltaine (May 1st) through Samhain (November 1st). Some interpretations saw the Cailleach and Brighde as two different faces of the same goddess, while others saw them as two separate distinct deities in their own right.
There are many other legends related to the Cailleach which we will explore in later posts, but the important thing is that we recognize and honor her at this time of the year, as the Old Woman who brings the frost and snow and bitter winds of Winter. Whether or not you enjoy such weather, the Cailleach plays an important role in the changing of the seasons, and the neverending turning of the Wheel of the Year.
Welcome to you, Old One
Welcome to the snow and ice,
The bitter cloud of your breath,
The pillow-feathered snow
Welcome you in this Winter day.
May your blessing hold us,
May your chills avoid us,
May the bright promise of each clear day
Remind us of your gifts.
Old One, cold one,
Though we fear your storms,
Yet we welcome you
Into our winter hearts,
With your cleansing breath,
To blow away the old year
And usher in the new.
John Matthews
“Invocation to the Old One”
The Winter Solstice
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Hi Ocean ~
This series is a good read, and I’m learning a lot! Thanks for posting these very interesting and educational articles.
I do have a question, tho. In your earlier post on the Meaning of Solstice, you said that the Light Year and the Dark Year were divided by the solstices. But here, you say they are divided by the Sabbats of Samhain and Beltaine.
Which one is correct?
Good question, FireSpirit.
Actually, both are correct. It depends on which culture you are referring to, and/or what Pagan Path you are discussing.
This is a kind of tricky question to answer, because we don’t really have any actual historical documentation or evidence to back up many of our theories. As I stated in my post on the Meaning of Solstice, we don’t know for certain that the ancient pagans of the past actually did practice the concept of a Dark Half and Light Half of the year… or if this was in fact invented in later times by romanticists with their own (possibly erroneous) interpretations of what those practices might have been.
This is why I encourage those with a true interest in understanding Paganism and particularly the history of the development of modern-day Neo-Paganism and its true relationship to ancient cultures to do a lot of reading and studying and keep an open mind to the truth, and not merely their own fantasies of what the Path is all about.
But getting back to your question, according to modern belief, there are two schools of thought regarding the Dark Half vs. the Light Half.
Those cultures which practiced a more solar-astronomical viewpoint tended to revolve their practices around the solstices, and thus their halves would be divided by the Winter Solstice and Summer Solstice.
On the other hand, it has been the traditional belief that the Celts were a natural-fertility focused culture, and as such only celebrated the four Greater Sabbats – which are Samhain, Imbolc, Beltaine, and Lughnasadh – and did not incorporate the solstices and equinoxes into such celebrations.
Thus, the commonly held belief is that in the Celtic tradition, the Light Half and Dark Half were divided by the corresponding Sabbats of Samhain and Beltaine, and this of course divided the year in a much different manner than did other traditions which used the solstices.
There’s a lot of new information coming to light (no pun intended) these days which suggests that a lot of what we formerly claimed were “ancient ways” are in fact probably less than one hundred years old, and certainly less than a thousand. Even the pagan Wheel of the Year with its eight sabbats is a modern-day invention – how far any of these festivals are rooted in pre-Christian traditions of the British Isles or elsewhere is open to serious debate.
So really, it’s all up to you. While this Yule Series attempts to share information about customs and traditions which are believed to have possibly influenced modern-day celebrations, we have to be very careful in stating that something actually is or derives from an ancient practice or belief, simply because we don’t fully know and probably never will. We can make educated guesses from studying what evidence we can find, but that’s about as far as it goes.
The harsh fact is… a lot of what Neo-Pagans of today believe and practice is based more on mythology and folklore than on any historical fact. Of course, this flies in the face of the romantic ideals that many of us wish to have about the Pagan Path, but if we wish to be true to ourselves and our spirituality, then we have to acknowledge such harsh realities, as bitter as they might be to swallow.
[…] PYHÄ. Some Ponderings on Tolkien and the Inklings from The well at the end of the world. Check out The Yule Series – Old Woman Winter at Deaf Pagan Crossroads. Life by Nate talks about Biblical cosmology in The Bible and Ancient […]
Thank you for information. I am learning about on this one. Thank you , Ocean !
Happy Yule !
HI Ocean.
I think there used to be a widespread belief,especially here in rural areas of Ireland that the Cailleach hid in the corn/wheat fields and when it came to the time of harvesting great care was exercised in cutting the last ‘stook’ of corn. Some kind of ritual was perfomed where the ‘stook’ was eventually taken from the field and hung across the door of the farm house where it remained there until the following year. It was then taken down, as I understand, and given as fodder to the farm animals. I hope I’ve got that right -and if I havent I’m sure someone more knowledgeable will correct me if I’m wrong. I remember reading about it many years ago in a book written by Professor Estyn Evans. I think its title was ‘Ulster Folkways’ or something like that. I think the traditon was still active up to the 1930’s. In the past I’ve had the opportunity to question older people about it but the only one who had an experience of it was my recently deceased aunt; she was what was known in Ireland at the time, a ‘servant girl’. i.e a girl who worked in or around a farm and she remembered it.
Joe
Hi Joe!
Thanks for sharing. I’m always interested in learning about beliefs and traditions surrounding this “Olde Tyme Religion” and the ancient myths, legends, folklore, etc. Especially when it pertains to Ireland! I had the opportunity to actually visit Ireland last year and loved it…can’t wait to return.
Thanks again for sharing, and feel free to comment at any time here at the Crossroads!
~ Ocean