What We Know About The Morrigan From Irish Myth

 Continuing my series on what we know about various Irish gods just from the older mythology, today we're tackling a complicated, but popular, one: The Morrigan. This will be a list of some things we know about her based on various manuscripts, not modern belief or folklore, which will offer a base to understand the older views on Herself. 

                                                 Sketch of the Morrigan by me circa 2016(ish)

Things we know about the Morrigan from Irish myth:

• She is always referred to with 'the' before her name
• Her other name may be Anann, although this is uncertain (LGE)
• She was a shapeshifter who could assume many forms, including: eel, heifer, wolf, raven, crow, 'black bird', young woman, old woman (TBR, TBC, CMR)
• The only time she appears in a human shape that isn't explicitly called a disguised form, she is described as a redhaired woman (TBR)
• She is married to the Dagda (CMT, D)
• She has at least two children, Meiche with an unknown father, and Adair by the Dagda (D, AE)
• She was said to have 26 sons and 26 daughters, in context likely followers or dedicants (SG)
• She was one of three sisters grouped together which included Macha and Badb; this group is referred to as the 'three Morrigans' (LG, B, CMT1, SC)
• Her mother was Ernmas and her father was Dealbaeth (LGE)
• She is a magic worker among the Tuatha De Danann (B, CMT1, CMT)
• Her magic is oriented to battle, success, and weakening enemies (CMT1, CMT, TBC)
• She prophecies (CMT)
• She engages directly with enemies, possibly martially and definitely magically (CMT1, CMT, LGE)
• She accompanied warriors to the front lines (CMT1)
• She incites kings and warriors to fight against oppression (CMT)
• She arranges situations to disrupt the status quo when necessary (B, TBC, TBR)
• She was prayed to for success in a cattle raid (D)
• Uaimh na gCait at Cruachan in Roscommon is her particular home (TBR, D)

Sources:

CMT1 - Cét-Cath Maige Tuired

CMT - Cath Maige Tuired

LGE - Lebor Gabala Erenn

TBR - Táin Bó Regamna

TBC - Táin Bó Cúailgne

CMR - Cath Maige Rath

D - Dindshenchas

B - Banshenchus

AE - Apraid a éolchu Elga

SG - Silva Gadelica

SC - Sanas Cormaic

Fairy Facts: Each Uisge/Water Horse

 For this fairy facts we will be taking a look at the water horse, an Otherworldly horse with a taste for human flesh, among other prey. This being is found across a range of folklore but here we will focus on Irish and Scottish specifically. If you are interested in other versions you'll need to research those cultures as well, but I'm trying to keep this relatively short and concise. 

Name: Water Horse, Each Uisge, Each Uisce, Aghisky

Description: a white or dark horse, sometimes more like a pony, of exceptional quality and appearance

Found: in various folklore including Irish (each uisce) and Scottish (each uisge), associated with lakes and similar bodies of water

Folklore: The each uisce in stories is usually seen wandering alone and tempts humans to ride on it. If kept away from water it is safe to ride or even hitch to a plow and seems to have a docile temperament, but if it gets the scent of a lake or other body of water it will bolt, taking the human with it. In some stories it is said that the rider cannot dismount once the each uisge is headed towards water and when it gets into a lake, etc., it drowns the helpless human and eats them. In other stories it will also prey on cattle, sheep, and other horses. One Irish account describes an each uisce in a lake crying out and causing a horse to run into the water where it was summarily devoured. 
  Usually seen alone there are Irish tales of groups of these beings living together in lakes. On land they are also known to interact with or join mortal horses safely. 

   Like many fairy-type beings the each uisce is effected by iron; shoeing one with iron horseshoes will bind it from harming you and it can be killed with iron. In other stories they may be tamed with a bridle that has silver on it, if the bridle can be fastened onto their heads. Otherwise they have few weaknesses. 

Where It Gets Muddy: There is some overlap and confusion between each uisge and kelpies. In some Scottish folklore the two terms are used interchangeably or kelpie is used to translated each uisge, but there are also differences in their folklore. It is unclear whether they should be understood as different types of beings or as the same thing under different terms. Kelpies, unlike each uisge, are known to shapechange into a human form, in which they will seduce humans. Usually the human will realize the true nature of their lover when they notice water plants in the kelpies hair or see that their hair never completely dries. In some stories they are known to wed a human although it usually ends badly. 

What They Aren't: Despite some artwork that depicts them this way there are no stories of Each Uisge as half horse half fish beings or as sea monsters. Similarly they are not monstrous in appearance, skeletal, or decaying. Like the cait sidhe they are better understood as a fairy in the form of a horse than as a horse, as they are intelligent and may be able to shape shift into a human form.