Lessons from the Cailleach, Goddess of Winter

The Cailleach is an ancient giantess who is said to have created the world itself. She is a part of many creation myths within the Celtic traditions, but there’s evidence that she’s even older than that—the oldest of the wizened old crones.

She is always understood as old and wrinkled. In some stories, she marches around throwing boulders out of her apron, creating the landscapes of Scotland and Ireland. In others, she has a magical hammer, much like the Norse god Thor, and hammers the landscape into place. When she’s complete with it all, she places a pure white blanket over the land, creating the snow.

In these creation myths, the world was once a land of ice. It was nothing but snow, frozen rocks, and icy seas. The Cailleach created everything, including nine other Cailleachs to help her. The original giantess is often referred to as Cailleach Bheur—a word that means something like “sharp” or “shrill” and recalls the sound we make when the winter winds whip up: Brr.

The word cailleach means a veil or cowl—the kind of hood an old woman would wear to protect her ears from the cold. She is often said to have blue skin and rust-red teeth as well as a single eye that had the second sight. She mirrors the Norse god Odin, who sacrificed one of his eyes to be able to see all, and the fierce Hindu goddess Kali, whose name sounds similar to that of the Cailleach and who is blue-skinned with a bloodied mouth.

Winter as a Time of Creation

Like many ancient goddesses, the Cailleach is related to an aspect of nature—in this case, the cold, bitter winter. While she has her destructive side, she is also the mother of all the gods and goddesses and everything else. She is the ultimate creatrix.

Especially in more northern climates like Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man where the Cailleach is known, the winter solstice can be dramatic, with daylight only lasting about seven hours. Many cultures acknowledge this moment of the year as the death of the sun but also celebrate it as the moment when the sun is about to be reborn; to grow in strength until the summer solstice, when daylight is more than 18 hours long.

Throughout the bitterly cold month of January, the Cailleach is said to travel the skies on a giant, wild wolf. The Cailleach presides over the wild winter landscapes, but she must do this so that the sun can be reborn again in the spring.

Respecting and Learning from Winter

In some versions of the Cailleach’s stories, she battles with Brigid, goddess of the springtime, twice a year. At Samhain, the harvest festival on November 1, we are at the midpoint between the autumnal equinox, when night and day are equal, and the winter solstice, when the light is at its lowest. On this day, the Cailleach is said to win her battle, taking over the land and turning it into a winter wonderland.

On May 1 at Beltane, the midpoint between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, Brigid prevails, and the world begins to warm up, providing the plants and food needed for another season of harvest. In some versions of this tale, the Cailleach is Brigid: A simple drink from the magical Well of Youth and she transforms each year into the beautiful young Brigid, aging into the Cailleach as the year goes on.

One legend holds that on February 1, the Cailleach plans to extend winter as long as she can, so she heads out for firewood that day. If it’s a bright, sunny day, she’ll collect plenty, and the winter will last a fair bit longer. If it’s overcast, it’s said that she’s sleeping, and that spring will come early. Some of us celebrate February 1 as Groundhog Day, where we wait to see if a certain ordained groundhog will see his shadow (a sunny day) and run back into his hole, predicting six more weeks of winter, or if he’ll wander outside a while without a shadow, predicting an early spring.

When many of us think of a goddess, we think of someone young and beautiful. But the Cailleach is a cranky old hag who fiercely protects her winter creatures and her beloved icy landscape. She reminds us of the power of a crone, a woman of wisdom and age, who can still be powerful even within her striking ugliness. She also reminds us that we should respect the winter and not just complain all season long. From the Cailleach’s perspective, the winter is the beginning of everything, where life gestates before it can bloom. Before the summer sun burns out our capacity for harvest, she brings the cool back to the land, righting the balance of a world that thrives on cycles, the ebb and flow of sun and dark, summer and winter, life and death. This winter, remember the Cailleach—and don’t get in her way.

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