5 Ways to Connect with the Cailleach

Who is the Cailleach?

The Cailleach is a Scottish and Irish goddess of Winter, storms, and seasonal change. Often depicted as an old woman with a blue face, one eye, and wild hair, the Cailleach (meaning ‘hooded one’ or ‘veiled one’) uses a hammer to shape the world. While she walks the earth bringing storms and snow, she freezes the ground with her staff.

As well as meaning ‘veiled one’, the name Cailleach also means ‘old woman’ or ‘hag’ in Gaelic, which reflects her primal wisdom. She’s incredibly ancient, and is one of the very first deities of the region (some legends even name her the mother of all gods and goddesses). She came before many of the more well-known Celtic gods and goddesses, and created the mountains and valleys by dropping stones from her apron or basket, to either shape the landscape or use them as her stepping stones.

Because of her great age, she’s known by a few names and pronunciations region to region. Bone Mother. Dark Mother. The Hag of Winter. She does it all!

In Scotland, she’s also called Beira the Queen of Winter, or Cailleach Bheurra in Scottish Gaelic. The Cailleachan are a destructive group of wild ‘storm hags’, who bring in the violent storms of Spring. 

In Irish, she’s named Cailleach Bhéara. The words bior or beur loosely mean ‘sharp or shrill’, so this likely refers to the howling winds of Winter the Cailleach brings each year. She’s connected to the bean sidhe, or banshees, and has other names across the British Isles: Milucra, Digde, and Bui to name a few.

Throughout Ireland and Scotland, many ancient sites and landmarks are connected to her. Scotland’s Callanish Stones on the Isle of Lewis is a series of standing stones arranged in a circle and thought to be a sacred site dedicated to the Cailleach. 

In Ireland, the Labbacallee wedge tomb (or Leaba Chaillí meaning ‘the hag’s head’) is a Bronze Age burial monument, and thought to be where the Cailleach lived with her husband Mogh Ruith after she pinned him down with a huge boulder. She’s also thought to be buried there.

The Cailleach and Brigid

Regardless of her name, the Cailleach is known for one thing – Winter. As the personification of this relentless northern season, she resists Spring, freezes lakes and ground, and controls the migration of geese and deer.

She rules Winter between Samhain and Beltane, with some worshipping her as the Crone aspect of the triple goddess, Brigid. During Imbolc – the beginning of Winter’s thaw, and  Brigid’s typical time to shine – we can usually tell if the Cailleach is ready to give up her reign. 

How? 

If Imbolc has fair weather, then the Cailleach is out and about collecting more firewood to get her through a few more weeks of Winter. This means we can’t trust that Winter is over. But if Imbolc has bad weather, then it means the Cailleach is holed up in her house, unable to collect more wood to sustain her reign, and therefore needing to retire her Winter rule. 

This transfer of power between the Winter and Summer goddesses was vital to agricultural success. While Imbolc is considered ‘Brigid’s Day’, the Cailleach has always played an equally important role, since Brigid cannot commence her Spring until the Cailleach gives up her Winter.

They’re two sides of the same coin.

Working with the Cailleach

Despite her fierce reputation, the Cailleach is ultimately the benevolence of nature. She ensures the balance and harmony of the natural world – it can’t always be sunshine and flowers! She’s the keeper of the earth’s secrets, and an enduring figure in Celtic mythology.