{"id":22445,"date":"2021-05-30T03:00:36","date_gmt":"2021-05-30T09:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=22445"},"modified":"2021-05-29T14:14:10","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T20:14:10","slug":"raven-goddess-going-deeper-with-the-morrigan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/05\/raven-goddess-going-deeper-with-the-morrigan.html","title":{"rendered":"Raven Goddess: Going Deeper with the Morrigan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Raven Goddess: Going Deeper with the Morrigan<\/em><\/strong>
\nby Morgan Daimler
\nMoon Books \u2013 October 2020
\n104 pages
\nPaperback<\/a>: $10.95. Kindle<\/a>: $6.49<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m rather late getting a review done for this book (sorry, Morgan), but don\u2019t let my negligence give you the impression this is a book I \u201cconveniently forgot to review.\u201d This is an excellent addition to the references available on the Great Queen and I highly recommend it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Morrigan is the Irish Goddess of sovereignty, of battle, and of the aftermath of battle. She is perhaps the most active deity in our world today. I\u2019ve been hearing about Her for a decade, and hearing directly from Her<\/a> for almost as long. She calls different people to do different things<\/a> for Her, and although She is best known as a Battle Goddess She calls people to be more than warriors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, these calls don\u2019t come with an instruction manual. The Morrigan is big on telling people what She wants them to do for Her and not very big on explaining who She is. And while there are a few good resources on the Morrigan, there are many others rooted in pop culture and other ahistorical sources.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m often asked for book recommendations. I\u2019ve been recommending The Morrigan: Meeting the Great Queens<\/em><\/a> by Morgan Daimler ever since it was published late in 2014. It\u2019s one of Moon Books \u201cPagan Portals\u201d series of short introductory works \u2013 it\u2019s a summary of the literary and etymological sources we have for the Morrigan. It\u2019s not a book that tells you everything you need to know about Her, but it\u2019s a good introduction and it points you toward the sources you need to read for yourself if you feel called to Her.<\/p>\n

Raven Goddess: Going Deeper with the Morrigan<\/em><\/a> is the follow-up book. It\u2019s also part of the Pagan Portals series, so it\u2019s short and easy to read. More importantly, it focuses on clearing up some of the misconceptions and misinformation about the Morrigan.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The first of those misconceptions is the idea that the Morrigan isn\u2019t really a Goddess. Daimler shows that the words used for Her in the original Irish are those used for a divine person, and that there is at least one reference of someone praying to Her. The Morrigan was understood to be a Goddess in ancient times, just as She is today.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the misconception that Morgen le Fay (from the Welsh Arthurian stories) is another form of the Morrigan. To quote Daimler \u201cthe short answer is historically there\u2019s no connection between the Morrigan and Morgen le Fay.\u201d The names are similar in English, but \u201cin Irish and Welsh the two names sound very different.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a whole chapter on The Morrigan and Cu Chulainn. As Daimler says:<\/p>\n

There is possibly no subject relating to the Morrigan that causes more confusion or contention than that of the relationship between the Morrigan and Cu Chulainn.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Daimler provides their own translation of the Irish texts, which clears up some problems in earlier translations. More importantly, Daimler says:<\/p>\n

I personally don\u2019t think the proclamation of love or offer to help him are genuine, but you can decide for yourself.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I have previously interpreted this story as telling us that when a Goddess offers Her help you should take it. This translation is forcing me to reconsider that.<\/p>\n

I appreciate the discussion of sovereignty, especially the realization that its meaning has changed in a society that is no longer ruled by kings who marry the land.<\/p>\n

We each have the capacity to be completely in control of ourselves and our own actions, to live by choice and not by chance, and in doing so to live in right relation to the Goddess of Sovereignty and earn her blessing in our life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I really appreciate the rejection of the Morrigan as either a Mother Goddess or as a Sex Goddess<\/a>. I see those claims too frequently. They are simply not supported by the accounts we have of Her, nor by the contemporary experiences of Her followers.<\/p>\n

The final chapter is \u201cWays to Feel More Connected.\u201d Ancient stories are on the list, as are prayers, offerings, and keeping shrines. So are some sites sacred to the Morrigan in Ireland. I\u2019ve been to a couple of them, including Uaimh na gCat, the Cave of Cats<\/a>. It\u2019s a very special place. Especially after the past year of not traveling much, I\u2019m hoping I can see these sites again before too long. Maybe next year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
me coming out of the Cave of the Cats \u2013 Rathcroghan, Ireland \u2013 2018<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You don\u2019t have to travel to Ireland to meet the Morrigan \u2013 my most intense experience of Her was in my back yard here in Texas. But if you can, it\u2019s something special.<\/p>\n

Other Morrigan Resources<\/h2>\n

The Morrigan: Meeting the Great Queens<\/em><\/a> should be the first book you read. This book\u00a0Raven Goddess: Going Deeper with the Morrigan<\/em><\/a> should be the second. They\u2019re inexpensive, easy to read, and they tell you what you need to know about who the Morrigan is \u2013 and who She isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Then tackle The Book of the Great Queen<\/em><\/a> by Morpheus Ravenna (2015). This is an extensive analysis of the literary, historical, and archeological records of the Morrigan and the Celtic societies in which She was first worshipped. It\u2019s significantly longer (484 pages) and denser than Daimler\u2019s books, which is why I recommend you start with The Morrigan<\/em> and Raven Goddess<\/em>.<\/p>\n

After you read these three books you should feel confident that you can tell the good books from the not-so-good ones.<\/p>\n

I also recommend The Morrigan: Celtic Goddess of Magick and Might<\/em><\/a> by Courtney Weber (2019). It\u2019s a more experiential and subjective book than the others. But it\u2019s full of good stories, both ancient and contemporary.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s it for books. The other books on the Morrigan I either have not read, or have read and do not recommend.<\/p>\n

One other resource of note is Lora O\u2019Brien of the Irish Pagan School\u200b. Lora brings a native Irish approach to her work with and for the Morrigan. Some of the material on her website<\/a> is free, while other material is part of her paid classes.<\/p>\n

\n

For those who care about such things, I received an early electronic copy of Raven Goddess<\/em>\u00a0so I could provide a cover blurb. I bought the copy you see in these pictures, because I\u2019m not fond of e-books and I wanted a physical copy for my shelves. In any case, I don\u2019t review books differently based on how I get them \u2013 my only obligation in a review is to you, the reader. My honest opinion is that Raven Goddess: Going Deeper with the Morrigan<\/em> is an excellent addition to the resources we have on the Great Queen and I highly recommend it.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m rather late with this review, but Raven Goddess: Going Deeper with the Morrigan is an excellent addition to the resources we have on the Great Queen and I highly recommend it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":22451,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[34,3677,577,29,4,5,8,3680],"class_list":["post-22445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books-2","tag-books","tag-great-queen","tag-morgan-daimler","tag-morrigan","tag-pagan","tag-paganism","tag-polytheism","tag-raven-goddess"],"yoast_head":"\nRaven Goddess: Going Deeper with the Morrigan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I\u2019m rather late with this review, but Raven Goddess: Going Deeper with the Morrigan is an excellent addition to the resources we have on the Great Queen and I highly recommend it.\" \/>\n<meta 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