Ethereal Chronicles

The people had slept in silence until a great tremor rumbled through the town, shaking the ground beneath them. They did not dare turn on their lights, knowing all too well who had come to pass by. Instead they peered cautiously through their windows, looking out at the enormous woman who strode across the hills.

On her back she carried a sack, which dribbled great boulders across the landscape as she walked. Every few steps or so she hesitated, and as she did so those boulders began to pile up, forming new mountains that slowly enclosed the majority of the town.

She ventured this far every year, on the festival of Samhain, to mark the beginning of her wintery reign. It was she who slammed her great staff upon the earth, kissed it with layers of frost, and wept tears of ice that blanketed the land in thick, white snow.

She continued to walk, moving as though in slow motion, until she reached a particularly large mountain. There, she settled upon her throne, leaning back to survey the world with a large, singular eye, her white hair spilling out around her to blend seamlessly with the paleness of the snow.

The Cailleach is a Celtic hag of Winter.

APPEARANCE AND ATTRIBUTES

Cailleach is not an evil spirit, though her appearance is undeniably unsettling. In Scotland, she is a one-eyed giantess with blue skin, long white hair, and coppery teeth. On her back, she carries an enormous wicker basket filled with massive rocks and stones, which she uses to build mountains. In her hands, she wields a sturdy hammer, which she uses to shape the hills and the valleys.

Mountains may have been intentionally built to serve as stepping stones for the giantess, or they may have been formed from the rocks that tumble from her wicker basket as she walks. Her throne is said to sit atop the mountain Ben Nevis, the highest peak of Scotland.

The Cailleach is, as noted before, a spirit of Winter, whether a Queen or its very personification. To herald Winter’s arrival, it is said that she washes her plaid for three days and three nights, after which her plaid is as pure and as white as the snow which now covers the land.

Additionally, the Winter Queen is also responsible for the herding of deer, bringing frost with her magical staff, and above all delaying the arrival of Spring.

Her appearance varies across different regions of the Celtic world. On the Isle of Man in Wales, she takes the form of an enormous bird, carrying sticks in her beak. As a personification of Winter, she may also express her power through nature’s elements, especially in their most destructive forms. In these cases, she is not a singular figure but a multitude, known as the ‘Storm Hags’, who are particularly active during the windy and rainy days of Spring.

FESTIVALS AND IMPORTANT DAYS

Cailleach works alongside the Celtic goddess Brigid, who presides over the Summer months while Cailleach governs the Winter period between Samhain (November 1st) and Bealltainn (May 1st). Alternative beliefs suggest that Cailleach and Brigid are not separate beings but are rather two distinct personas of the same goddess.

Upon Brigid’s arrival, Cailleach turns to stone, only to thaw once Winter arrives.

Imbolc falls on February 1st, and it is on this day that Cailleach gathers more firewood for the remainder of Winter. If the day dawns bright and sunny, then it is said that Cailleach intends to prolong winter for a while longer, and keeps the day bright so that she has more time to collect firewood. If the day is unpleasant, then it is a sign she is still asleep, and thus will have little firewood to keep the remainder of Winter going.

The longest night of the year marks the end of Cailleach’s reign as Queen of Winter. During this time, she makes a trip to the Fountain of Youth to restore her strength and regain a more youthful appearance for the coming Winter.

THE CAILLEACH IN IRELAND

The Labbacallee Wedge Tomb is both the grave and former home of Cailleach, where she lived with her husband, Mog Ruith. One legend tells of her throwing a boulder at him in a fit of rage, pinning him to the bottom of a river.

Slieve Gullion in County Armagh is home to a nearby lake, where Cailleach tricked Fionn Mac Cumhail into diviving into the water in order to retrieve a lost ring.