The Morrigan is one of the prime examples of a triple goddess. The name Morrigan comes from the Irish M\u00f3r-R\u00edoghain, meaning “great queen” or “nightmare queen.” This goddess is typically depicted as three individuals though any one of them may also appear by themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most often associated with war, fate, and death, the Morrigan has a powerful reputation as a deity of battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Morrigan’s name has a somewhat disputed origin. “Mor” may stem from the Old English maere, from which we also get the word “nightmare.” Later writings show the name with a s\u00edneadh fada (a lengthening diacritic mark) over the o, which ties it to the Old Irish word m\u00f3r, which means “great.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No matter whether the Morrigan is a Great Queen or a Queen of Nightmares, her legends are often bloody ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This triple goddess is made up of Badb, Macha, and either Nemain, Anand, or Fea. All three are sisters, and their depiction as a sovereignty figure may come from the Irish Mythological Cycle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In it, Ernmas, the granddaughter of Nuada, has three elder daughters named Banba, F\u00f3dla, and \u00c9riu (all epithets for Ireland). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ernams also had three other daughters, Badb, Macha, and the Morrigan. Banba, F\u00f3dla, and \u00c9riu were all married to Irish kings, symbolizing a ruler’s marriage to the country and people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Banba, F\u00f3dla, and \u00c9riu are the primary sovereignty figures here some of this idea appears to extend to the Morrigan as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This goddess also appears as the washer-in-the-ford, a figure of an old woman washing bloody clothes in a river. If the viewer recognizes the clothes as their own, it foretells their coming doom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In one version of C\u00fa Chulainn’s death, he sees her cleaning his own bloody armor before he goes into battle. In fact, the Morrigan crosses paths with C\u00fa Chulainn multiple times — in some stories he injures her, in others, he disrespects her. He is warned of his coming death in battle in each case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of her legends are similar and involve foretelling of death or loss in battle. She is said to sometimes choose to influence the outcome of a war by instilling courage in the hearts of fighters, or even joining in the fighting herself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She’s so strongly associated with battle that the piles of the severed heads of the losing warriors were even called “Macha’s acorn-crop.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Interestingly, she is also a fertility figure. While she is most often depicted with crows or ravens as a battle-goddess, she is also a shape shifter strongly associated with cattle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her role is not only to engage in bloodshed and influence the outcome of battles, but to embody the protection and prosperity of the land through both fertility and warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though the two are sometimes conflated, she has no relationship to the Morgan le Fay of Arthurian legend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n