Order of Our Lady of Salt

The Morrigan (a name that could be translated as either “Great Queen” or “Phantom Queen,” both entirely appropriate) is one of the Tuatha Dé Dannan, or Children of the Goddess Danu.

Like many Celtic goddesses, the Morrigan is complex and at times may even seem contradictory. She is a warrior Goddess, but her tools are usually magic in warfare and subterfuge, rather than the sword itself. She is a goddess of battle, but also of fertility.The idea of sovereignty, magic, and warfare are often linked in Celtic mythology, and can be seen reflected in later trinities, such as that of Eriu, Banba and Fotla. She is a goddess of prophecy and fate—but is not above directing her foretelling through her own influence. She is Goddess of the Sacred Land, charged with its protection.

The Morrigan is a shape shifter, fluid and mercurial in temper and her favors. She is seen alternately as a beautiful woman and an aged crone, as a raven on the battlefield foretelling warrior’s deaths, or a cow in the fields, symbolizing fertility and sovereignty. She could make the land bloom or make it barren.

The OOLS will be performing a ritual to The Morrigan on Monday, February 13, 2012. Join us! For more information on Goddess Service, click the Service Info tab above.

Illustration by Salt Lake City-based artist, Kristopher Scott.