“Victory over oneself is the primary goal of our training.” – Morihei Ueshiba
Last post, the concept of the Morrighan as “just” a War Goddess was challenged. Today I’d like to devote a second day to discussing her by widening out the meaning of war in Celtic myths.
In reading Celtic mythology too often it can seem like a cavalcade of bloody battles. Indeed the Celts were fierce warriors who fought plenty of battles, however mythically speaking there are some cues that the battles fought in the myths are not simply physical battles, they symbolize far more than this.
Ireland is divided into 5 provinces, and a deeper spiritual meaning is assigned to each. To the east is Leinster symbolic of prosperity. To the south is Munster where Music dwells. In the west Connacht, the seat of knowledge. To the North lies Ulster the place of battle. And in the center is Meath where the High King at Tara reigns and we find sovereignty. When reading an Irish myth, the place the story occurs as well as where the figures in the story come from are clues to what is happening below the surface of events. It is in these clues where the meaning of the story can be sought.
Battle lies to the North. But what sort of battle are we talking about, really? What does it mean to be a warrior? Battles temper and test us. In battle we are forced to become more than we thought we were. Yet caution is needed here because battle is a double edged sword. On the one edge is blind aggression, the shadow side of battle. This is battle undertaken in anger, fueled by blind hatred. Interpersonally, this is the argument meant to belittle and tear down the other. At the level of countries this is projecting our unwanted qualities onto the other side and seeking to wipe them all out. Intrapersonally this could be an addiction, seeking to escape or wipe ourselves out from a place of deep self-loathing. Though it may seem forgotten in the modern world, there is an honorable side to battle.
There is the sort of battle undertaken to defend the weak. In battles of this nature the goal is not to destroy the enemy for we know that aggression only leads to more aggression. Rather the battle is to resolve conflict. To achieve this requires skills of discernment, refinement, and understanding. There will be times when these will fail and we are left with the option of controlled aggression, but it is minimal and as a last resort. Interpersonally this battle is the attempt in a conflict to understand one another and resolve differences lovingly. Intrapersonally, this could range from stopping our addiction, facing ourselves and our choices and achieving greater peace in our hearts.
This sculptural necklace represents the gentler lessons the Morrighan is trying to teach us.
In the two myths we have discussed, the Battles of Moytura and The Cattle Raid of Cooley, there are clues that the Morrighan is a warrior of the more enlightened sort. Note that both of these stories mention the north. In fact it is the Ulstermen (north) who raid the cattle of Connacht. In the Battles of Moytura, the Tuatha de Danann arrive in Ireland in a mist from the north. The Morrighan is one of the Tuatha, whose race symbolizes peace and balance. In the Second Battle of Moytura, she and the Tuatha are battling the Fomorians, a race symbolizing chaos and destruction. So already there are clues that the Morrighan is an enlightened warrior.
This enlightened warriorship becomes more clear when we take a closer look at her relationship with Cu Chulainn in the Cattle Raid of Cooley. Cu Chulainn is a typical adolescent, albeit with near godlike powers (being the son of Lugh). His brashness gets him into trouble in almost every tale he is in. In the Cattle Raid the Morrighan certainly prompts him into the battle by stealing the magical cow that sets off the events of the story. When she first appears to him in the story he rebuffs her rather dismissingly, but regrets this decision once he finds out who she really was. She curses him and then when he is fighting Ferdiad, she attacks him three times. I believe here she is teaching him a bit of a lesson, holding him accountable, and testing him spiritually so that he will grow from his adolescent ways.
It seems then that he has made an enemy of her until he is on his way to the battle that will mean his death. The Morrighan first appears to him as the Washer at the Ford, an omen of death. When he does not turn back, she sabotages his chariot in an attempt to keep him from the battle. And finally, when he is dying she keeps him company in the form of a raven. Clearly she is attempting to teach Cu Chulainn by tempering his brashness and changing the way he battles. She has mixed success.
So what have we learned about her. As the Crow she shrieks, raising a furious din, calling us to battle. Our own souls make this noise when we encounter a situation requiring a psychological fight. She foretells battles where things might not go well for us by appearing as the Washer at the Ford, how many warnings do we get when we are battling with aggression or anger that we should make a different choice. And despite our failings someone is always there with us during painful transitions. The Morrighan would like to be our ally in battling bravely and honorably, but we so often force her into a much rougher role.
Click here for Part 1 of the Morrighan discussion.
