These Pagan Portals are all current works in progress, serialised here on the Pagan Collective blog with each chapter being open for comment. In due course the entire script will be published as a Pagan Portal book.

Pagan Portals Macha: Chapter 7 – Macha in the Modern World

“Badhbh Mácha ocus an Móirríoghan a dtrí baindée”
– Foras feasa ar Éirinn

Badb, Macha, and the Morrigan [were] their three goddesses

In this final chapter we will be looking at various understandings of Macha in the 21st century, from appearances in media to common misunderstandings to ways you might connect to her today, if you are interested in doing so. This builds on everything we’ve discussed so far and offers both a view of her in the 21^st century as well as options for those seeking to actively work with or honour this complex goddess.

Macha is not as present in modern media as the Morrigan herself is but she does make a few appearances, which I will discuss here. Looking at these kinds of media appearances can provide a deeper understanding of Macha and also show the ways that she is understood and depicted outside of pagan belief.

Macha in Fiction

The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O’Shae – Macha has a minor role in this novel, appearing as one of the Morrigan’s sisters, who is in the guise of a motorcycle riding eccentric.

Sons of Macha – the third book in John Lenahan’s young adult series is named for Macha. The series itself is about a teenage boy who discovers that he is from Tir na nOg and has a series of adventures in and out of the human world.

Macha in Movies/TV

Song of the Sea – Macha is the name of the antagonist in this animated movie about a boy and his half-selkie sister. Known as the owl witch she is chasing down all Otherworldly beings on earth and turning them to stone, after first turning her own son into a mountain when his grief overwhelmed him. She sees this as a mercy, where she is removing people’s feelings to keep them from feeling any pain or anguish. Called the ‘Owl Witch’ she appears as a very owl-like old woman.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina – while Macha doesn’t make an onscreen appearance in the show her name is invoked in a long list of female spirits to aid the witches in an exorcism spell. She is invoked along with Nemain and Badb, and in a wide group that includes goddesses, spirits, and famous human witches of the past.

Common Misunderstandings About Macha

Although Macha is one of the Morrigans and the pre-eminent goddess of Ulster there are some significant misunderstandings about her, which in some cases radically change how people understand her. Below I will list the misinformation and then discuss the idea, hopefully helping to show where the truth may be.

• She isn’t one of the Morrigans – this idea is surprisingly common and one that I run across constantly even in books. While some texts keep Macha in the group and place Nemain as the Morrigan’s name, others exclude Macha and take Nemain in her place alongside Badb and the Morrigan. This is particularly odd because Macha is explicitly called one of the Morrigan in source material: “Badb, Macha and Mórrígain are the three Mórrígna” (Hennessy, 1870, p. 36) leaving little doubt about how she was historically understood. This may come from Macha strong connection as an individual goddess to Ulster or perhaps her less explicit connection to war in contrast to Nemain. Despite that though there is little doubt that Macha is one of the three Morrigans and was widely acknowledged as such across the sources.
• She isn’t a war goddess – something I’m running across more often recently is the claim that Macha isn’t a war goddess at all but only a sovereignty and fertility goddess. I suspect it may be rooted in the fact that of the three Morrigans Macha has perhaps the most complicated associations and the strongest overt connection to sovereignty. Despite this she is inarguably connected to war, particularly Macha of eth Tuatha De Danann and Macha Mongruadh who appear in their stories engaging in battle directly and, for Macha of the Tuatha De, with magic.
• She’s a crone goddess – this one can be found in both older pagan books and modern websites (likely drawing on the older books). For example Edain McCoy’s book ‘Witta’ claims that Macha is interchangeable with the Cailleach and an aspect of the crone goddess; perhaps because of this people working within a maiden/mother/crone dynamic sometimes choose to place Macha as the crone. However – unlike the Morrigan and Badb – Macha never appears or is described as an older woman in any of her stories, she always appears as either a young woman or a woman in her prime. She is also distinct from the Cailleach with little to no overlap in their stories or folklore.
• She isn’t a goddess – this one is applied to Macha in particular and all the Irish gods in general, and does require some nuance to unpack especially with Macha. Because she has various appearances across myth and at least one of those is as a human character the argument is made that she is a deified human, that is a human who was turned into a god over time. In a wider sense some apply this argument to all of the Tuatha De Danann, seeing them as entirely deified human ancestors. Alternately some, like author Mark Williams, argue that all of the Irish gods, Macha inclusive, are literary creations constructed after the pagan period by Christian authors and commentators. This is a grey area which people will have their own views and opinions on but I think its important to acknowledge she was called a goddess in some original texts, showing that at least in the medieval period she was understood to be a deity.

Connecting to Macha as a Modern Pagan

For some people reading this book is likely only an academic exercise, a way to learn more about an intriguing deity, and that is entirely fair. For others though this book may represent an attempt to begin connecting to Macha or deepening an existing connection, and for those people I want to offer some possible methods to achieve those goals.

Altars and shrines are a great way to begin initially connecting to a deity and one of the first things I always suggest. My approach is to see an altar as an active place of worship and a shrine as a passive one, but I do acknowledge that the literal definitions of these terms are basically synonyms, so other people may not distinguish between them. In any case, you can begin by setting aside some space for her, decorated with things you associate with her or feel relate to her. At its simplest this might mean a picture of the mound at Emhain Macha or artwork representing her. If you have the space and feel motivated to you can also make a more complex space perhaps with an altar cloth in her colours, imagery or statues of her or things you relate to her like horses, and tools including an offering plate or bowl, candles, and incense burner. The only real limits here are your available space and imagination.

My own altar to Macha features a cloth in a red and black Celtic knotwork pattern, a statue I have painted myself, candles, a small horse statue and small raven statue made of clay, an offering plate, and a bronze sword blessed to her. The statue was originally of a Welsh goddess and depicts a woman sitting on a throne nursing twins. I painted it based on my idea of Macha and use it to represent Macha of the Sidhe. When I am connecting to or honouring all three Morrigans I use three of Dryad Designs Morrigan statues together, with each painted differently to represent Macha, Badb, and the Morrigan.

Prayer can be an important and powerful way to feel connected to a deity or spirit. It is a way for you to speak to them and also to listen. Prayers can also bring a sense of support during troubled times and allow us to both honor a being and ask for certain types of help from them. They build connection, nurture a sense of belonging, and may give us a feeling of power when we are otherwise powerless. With that said I am offering here a small selection of prayers that I have written for Macha; I encourage people to write their own as well.

A prayer I wrote to Macha, for strength in difficult times, when I was struggling to stay strong as a parent caring for a chronically ill child:

“Macha, warrior, queen, goddess,
you were a mother too,
help me now to be strong
you ran against horses
while laboring and won;
let me find the strenth to
endure my own race
Macha, help me be strong
Give me the courage
to keep running”

An invocation of Macha:

“I call to you, Red-haired Queen,
Lady of sovereignty
I call to you, Woman of the Sidhe,
Who runs swifter than any horse
I call to you, Battle Goddess,
Who gathers heads as trophies,
Fertile plain, racing mare, battle crow,
Macha, be with me now.”

A prayer to Macha:

“Macha, Druidess of the Tuatha de Danann,
Skilled in magic, great in power, full in knowledge,
Guide my feet on my path, as I honor the old wisdom
Guide my hands in offering, as I honor the old Gods
Guide my heart in strength, as I honor the old ways.”

Invocation to Macha

Great Goddess, Mighty Macha,
Clearer of plains
Speaker of prophecy
Lady of the Holy People
I call to you
Warrior and Druidess
Wielder of fierce magic
Queen of the Tuatha De
I call to you
Sun of womanhood
Swifter than steeds
Lady of the Sidhe
I call to you

(Each verse above could be used as a stand-alone with the first line if preferred).

Guided Meditation to Meet Macha

“Relax and breathe deeply…in and out…in…and out…

Feel the solid earth beneath you. Let your spirit move down, out, into the earth. Fill yourself with the energy that rests deep in the soil…When you feel empowered by this energy pull your spirit back up, out of the earth.

You find yourself sitting on the ground at twilight.  Next to you is a staff of Rowan carved with symbols. The ground is warm beneath you, but the air is starting to chill as darkness falls. There is a light wind and you can smell the scent of a fire somewhere in the distance and of fallen leaves close by. You hear the sounds of birds calling to each other as they settle in to roost for the night and the murmuring of water over rocks. Although it is deep twilight and the world around you is dark you can see clearly. You are sitting in a field between an old forest and a river. At the other end of the field the shape of a hill rises up, a gentle curve in the earth.

As you look at the hill something catches your eye, flickering like firelight. You stand up, pick up the staff, and move towards the light…as you walk across the field towards the hill the light grows. As you get closer you can see that the light is coming from a door that opens up into the hill midway up the incline. Using the staff to help, you climb up the hill to the door.

At the entrance to the hollow hill you meet a guide who greets you and welcomes you into the hill, leading you through the doorway and into the hill. You step through into an open expanse of grass with a forest at its edge. You walk towards the woods and enter beneath the trees following a wide path. Your guide leads you on and on, until you reach a small clearing.

Your guide gestures you forward and as you cross into the open space a figure emerges from the far side. She is beautiful, her red hair tumbling around her shoulders, dressed as a warrior and bearing a sword at her side. She watches you with an amused expression to see what you will do next. You bow your head slightly as a sign of respect and then greet Macha.

(Take time here to experience whatever occurs and let the experience unfold organically).

When you have done what you need to do your Guide gently tells you it is time to leave. You bow to the goddess again and then step back carefully into the trees, turning to make your way back through the woods. The path leads you back, twisting and turning, the trees close on each side. Finally the greenwood path opens up into the wild field you first crossed and you cross it again to return back to the hill you started from. Your Guide leads you back through the hill and hall to the entrance you arrived at.

At the entrance you say farewell to your Guide before stepping out the door. As you do the door closes and the doorway vanishes into the hill. You are standing alone on the now in the dark night. Carefully you climb down the hill and walk back across the field. The night is silent now, and dark, and the wind is cold. Put down the staff and sit down, resting on the earth.

Feel the solid earth beneath you. Let your spirit move down, out, into the earth. Fill yourself with the energy that rests deep in the soil…When you feel empowered by this energy pull your spirit back up, out of the earth.

Return to your body; feel yourself solidly back in mortal earth.

Relax and breathe deeply… in…and out…in and out…

Move slowly, reconnecting to your body, until you are ready to open your eyes.

Write down everything you saw or experienced in your journal.

Macha in My Life – Macha’s Sword

I dedicated myself as a priestess of Macha about 15 years ago, as she had been a strong presence in my life for a long time prior to that. For several years after that dedication I knew that I needed to find a bronze sword for ritual use, but I never felt a huge need to get it done, just a general sense that eventually it would be needed. In late 2013 that sense started to become more urgent, and I realized why after finding out that I had to have a sword for a ritual I had volunteered to participate in at the Morrigan’s Call Retreat. I cannot work with iron so finding a bronze blade became a top priority and complicated the quest. This is the story of Macha’s sword and how I came into possession of it.

I knew that the only realistic option would be to commission the sword and several people recommended that I check out Neil Burridge’s website because he specifically works with bronze and does make blades on commission. His selection is good and the quality was vouched for by multiple people so I decided to email him. Because he offers replicas of blades found in Britain and I was looking for an Irish blade I requested the closest sword in style to what I wanted. I was pleasantly surprised when the sword maker contacted me and opened a dialogue offering an opportunity for me to explain exactly what I was looking for, and even more pleasantly surprised when he offered another option, a slight variation on one of his stock swords. This blade was very similar, he said, to an archaeological find from the Nooan area of Inchiquin in Ireland and he provided a link with some information. The find was associated with Lake Inchiquin, itself a place rich in fairy lore, and I was pretty quickly won over to the idea.

This all occurred around Imbolc of 2014 and I knew I needed to get the blade within a few months; however I was forewarned that the actual forging might take some time. Things proceeded faster than expected though and I was contacted again on the 14th of that same month and told that the blade had been cast. That day Cornwall, where the sword was being made, was experiencing severe storms similar to what in the United States would be called a hurricane and it was in the midst of this storm and its immediate aftermath that the sword was made. It seemed entirely appropriate that this sword, intended to be dedicated to Macha, was born in a storm with all that energy around it.

It also came about that the sword was blessed by its makers at a holy well in Cornwall, the Madron Well. Triple blessed, actually, being taken to a clootie tree at the site as well as laid on the stones of the well itself and dipped in the waters. I felt extremely lucky and honored that this was able to be done for the blade, but somehow also not surprised; at this point it was clear that the sword wasn’t an ordinary commissioned piece. It had a spirit of its own already and a sacredness to it.

After being forged, hilted and blessed it was duly packaged and began its journey across the ocean. This was a rather nerve-wracking process, as it ended up being held in customs for several weeks, and the idea of it being lost in transit was rather appalling as it could never have truly been replaced. But finally a few days shy of the spring equinox it arrived safely. (I’ll add here – if you ever order a sword from over-seas anticipate it being held in customs and be prepared for a longer wait time. Expecting the delay won’t make it any less stressful, but at least you’ll know it takes longer than usual).

The blade was blessed here and dedicated to Macha on the equinox. It traveled with me to the Morrigan Retreat in June of 2014 (and many subsequent years as well) and played its part in a ritual for Her – and truly has proved to be a sacred thing of Hers. It rests near Her statue and devotional items on my altar now, until it is needed again.

References
Hennessey, W., (1870) Ancient Irish Goddess of War

For more details: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/authors/morgan-daimler