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The Morrigan, Irish god of war, battle, crows, and death. One of the first of the Tuatha dé to be born of the union between Donn and Danu. She’s married to the chief Irish god the Dagda. Overseeing battles and wars in the form of a crow, she could foretell the future and was seen both as an omen of victory and of doom. Warriors fated to die are said to have visions of the Morrigan washing their bloodstained armor. The Morrigan originates a trinity of emanation goddesses named the Morrigna, each of which represent an aspect of her character. The first is Badb Catha who presides over war and omen, next is Macha who reigns over royalty and rulership, finally Nemain who embodies the frenzied rage that comes in both battle and love. The origin of these emanations differs in myths, in some they’re the daughters of the Morrigan, in others they’re described as her sisters. One of the Morrigna once appeared to the hero Cú Chulainn in a disguise, offering their love to him. Cú Chulainn instead disrespectfully insulted her. Angered by this, the goddess revealed herself as one of the daughters of the Morrigan and as retaliation for Cú Chulainn’s rude rejection she prophesied the hero’s death, much to his dismay.
Despite being called the Dagda’s envious wife, there aren’t any legends about that alleged jealousy despite the Dagda’s many other lovers. The Morrigan is one of the two goddesses in Irish mythology to fill the mother and earth goddess tropes, with the other being her mother Danu. Like her husband the Dagda, the Morrigan holds many titles and names, chief among them the epithet of “the Phantom Queen”. Her association with love and war could link her to being a long removed descendant of the Semitic Anat and Astarte, much like the Mesopotamian Innana. It’s believed by most researchers that the banshee originates from legends of the Morrigan, transformed under Christian influence. The Morrigan was used as a comparison to Lilith by Irish missionaries, specifically Lilith in the original context given by the Bible.
