Morrigan: The Goddess of Battle, Guardian of the Departed







In the ancient religions of this dark land, people believed in two worlds, there was the mortal world wherein all living creatures dwelt, and then there was the Otherworld.

 The Otherworld was said to be the world in which all the fairies, the little folk, the good people dwelt. It was where the gods lived and these immortal creatures could cross the veils between worlds and come visit the mortal folk. The Otherworld was also believed to be the place where the recently deceased returned after death.

 Mortals could only enter this world once they had passed away (hence the term) from the mortal world but getting to the Otherworld required assistance and this usually came in the form of Morrigan, the goddess of death, guardian of the departed.

 So who was this strange and powerful woman?

 Morrigan was an ancient goddess who came from the legendary faerie clan of the Tuatha De Danann who once ruled over Ireland before men came with their steel and swords. She features heavily in Irish mythology as the war goddess who presided over battles and took away the dead.

 She possessed shape-shifting abilities and could appear in the form of a crow or raven, an animal she is very strongly associated with.

Despite being a harbinger of death, Morrigan was never been seen as an evil figure. Some people saw her as a protector and she was believed to protect certain people in battle. Although a frightening deity she was doing a service to the mortal folk by herding them to their next journey after death.

About the Author

S.J.Budd is a writer of all things weird and creepy. Previously her tales have been featured on Deandman's Tome,  Sanitarium Magazine, Dark Gothic Resurrected, Liquid Imagination, Aphotic Realm, Aurora Wolf, Aphelion, Blood Moon Rising Magazine, The Wild Hunt, Danse Macabre, Shadows at the Door, Inner Sins, Bewildering Stories, Siren's Call and many more.
She lives at www.sjbudd.co.uk  and  @sjbuddj 
Spells and Persuasions, her debut collection of short stories of horror and dark fantasy is available now in paperback and kindle from Amazon


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