Goddess Cailleach

 

Cailleach: Scotland's Hag Goddess. 

Cailleach, the heavenly hag of Scottish Gaelic mythology, is the maker of mountains, hills, and valleys. 

• Cailleach, a landscape and wilderness builder, wields a hammer or staff that freezes the ground during the winter months. 

• She is the embodiment of winter, imprisoning spring and governing the period between the end of the harvest and the start of spring. 

The advent of Brigid and the holy flames of Imbolc bring an end to her rule. 

• She is revered by hunters seeking for fresh meat during the dark months of the year because she protects wolves and deer. 

• She is the source of nightmares, terrors, and, ultimately, death. 

• Cailleach is depicted as a blue-faced crone, so close to death that her face resembles a skeleton. 

• She was a renowned magician, healer, and midwife.