The Irish War Goddess Macha is one of the three Morrigans. The Morrigan exists between the worlds of life and death. She is one of the original members of the Tuatha De Danaan (People of the Goddess Danu), an intimidating and fierce Goddess of sovereignty. Dating back to the Copper Age, she was the dominant Dark Death Goddess of Ireland, Wales and Britain. In Celtic mythology, the Morrigan - the Goddesses Macha, Badb, and Anu - are associated with war, battlefields, death, and sovereignty she/they shape-shift into crows or ravens. Ravens possessed knowledge from the Otherworld and their speech resembled human speech. The Druids performed bird augury, studying the flight patterns and behavior of ravens and crows. Birds were regarded as prophetic and their ability fly from the earth symbolically represented the spirit when freed from the body.* When a crow consumed the meat of the fallen warriors, the crow guided those souls to the underworld. In Ireland, the popular phrase “raven’s knowledge” refers to an oracular gift to see and know all things, and to possess strong intuition. Their magickal qualities included prophecy, knowledge, eloquence, and trickery. The Celts prayed to the forces of nature for protection.Ĭarrion birds, mainly crows and ravens, were renowned in Celtic religion, and were representative of death, the underworld, and rebirth they were also associated with the sun and light. Animists, they believed that there was a soul in all plants, animals and natural phenomena. The people of ancient Ireland, the British Isles, and Western Europe were a proto-Celtic tribal group who date back to the Iron Age. They represent death, the underworld, and the darker aspect of life most mortals fear.

It is small wonder the that Goddess Morrigan (and other Deities such as Odin, Apollo, Bran the Blessed, Shani, as well the Raven of Native American and Siberian mythologies) favored these notorious carrion birds for their intelligence and cunning.

Now, I tense whenever I pass the crows on the nature path.Ĭrows and ravens have been both loved and reviled as they have flown next to humans for thousands of years. After that, the crows ceased their cawing and stopped following me. A few weeks later, my familiar pet guinea pig Minerva was put down for her illness. I left them offerings of bread and shiny silver items. When I left the path to go home, they cawed and continued to follow me. Whenever I walked the nature trail behind my apartment, they cawed at me and followed me. “I have fled in the shape of a raven in prophetic speech.”- John Matthews and Caitlin Matthews, The Last Celtic Shaman.

Morrigan crow