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The Morrigan in Irish Mythology
The Morrigan or mór rigan can be directly translated from Old Irish as “great queen” (mór, great; rígan, queen.) She is one of the most complicated figures in Irish Mythology, the archetypal Goddess of war, death and passionate love.
The Morrigan artwork by James McPartlin
As the goddess of war and sovereignty, the goddess of the land and its rivers and its animals, only through appealing to her can a warrior become king or an army succeed. Only through her intercession can Ireland be taken by one tribe or another, so sometimes, The Morrigan appears in the form of a carrion crow, flying above the Celtic warriors.
Three was a sacred number in ancient Celtic mythology and religion. The triskel, a figure composed of three spirals, signifies the three-layered nature of a human soul, and is itself a central figure in ancient Celtic symbolism. The Morrigan (or Morrígu, Mórrígu) is often described as a triplet of goddesses, Badb, Macha and Anaan who are daughters of the Irish goddess Danu, as such, they are part of the Tuatha (tribe or people) Dé Danann, or Children of Danu. Part of what we hope to do as Irish traditional musicians is to keep the Irish tradition alive – so as likely descendents of the mythological Tuatha Dé Danann, we chose to celebrate our Celtic roots by naming our band The Mórrigan.