Ancient Hag, Wise Grandmother,
You of Wisdom, like no other,
Help me weigh choices with precision,
To make a good and fair decision
Show me what I need to see,
Shed some light on what should be.
And should I turn a deafened ear
Open it so I can hear
Help me feel what I should know.
Show me now which way to go.
Guide me in what I just do.
This, Old Crone, I ask of You.
So Mote It Be
By Patti Wigington, About.com
In Celtic mythology, the Morrighan is known as a goddess of battle and war. However, there’s a bit more to her than this. Also referred to as Morrígu, Morríghan, or Mor-Ríoghain, she is called the “washer at the ford,” because if a warrior saw her washing his armor in the stream, it meant he was to die that day. She is the goddess who determines whether or not you walk off the field of battle, or are carried off upon your shield. In later Irish folklore, this role would be delegated to the bain sidhe, who foresaw the death of members of a specific family or clan.
The Morrighan often appears in the form of a crow or raven, or is seen accompanied by a group of them. In the stories of the Ulster cycle, she is shown as a cow and a wolf as well. The connection with these two animals suggest that in some areas, she may have been connected to fertility and land.
In some legends, the Morrighan is considered a triune, or triple goddess, but there are a lot of inconsistencies to this. She often appears as a sister to the Badb and Macha. In some Neopagan traditions, she is portrayed in her role as destroyer, representing the Crone aspect of the Maiden/Mother/Crone cycle, but this seems to be incorrect when one looks at her original Irish history. Some scholars point out that war specifically is not a primary aspect of the Morrighan, and that her connection to cattle presents her as a goddess of sovereignty. The theory is that she can be seen as a deity who guides or protects a king.
In modern literature, there has been some linking of the Morrighan to the character of Morgan Le Fay in the Arthurian legend. It appears, though, that this is more fanciful thinking than anything else. Although Morgan le Fay appears in the Vita Merlini in the twelfth century, a narrative of the life of Merlin by Geoffrey of Monmouth, it’s unlikely that there’s a connection to the Morrighan. Scholars point out that the name “Morgan” is Welsh, and derived from root words connected to the sea. “Morrighan” is Irish, and is rooted in words that are associated with “terror” or “greatness.” In other words, the names sound similar, but the relationship ends ther
Home Protection prayer to The Morrighan
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
Protect this land from those who would trespass upon it!
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
Guard this land and all those who dwell within it!
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
Watch over this land and all contained upon it!
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
Goddess of battle, great goddess of the land,
She who is the Washer at the Ford, Mistress of Ravens,
And Keeper of the Shield,
We call upon you for protection.
Trespassers beware! The great Morrighan stands guard,
And she shall unleash her displeasure upon you.
Let it be known that this land falls under her protection,
And to do harm to any within it
Is to invite her wrath.
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
We honor and thank you this day!
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
By Patti Wigington, About. com
Hecate (sometimes spelled Hekate) was originally a Thracian, and pre-Olympian Greek goddess, and ruled over the realms of earth and fertility rituals. As a goddess of childbirth, she was often invoked for rites of puberty, and in some cases watched over maidens who were beginning to menstruate. Eventually, Hecate evolved to become a goddess of magic and sorcery. She was venerated as a mother goddess, and during the Ptolemaic period in Alexandria was elevated to her position as goddess of ghosts and the spirit world.
Much like the Celtic hearth goddess Brighid, Hecate is a guardian of crossroads, and often symbolized by a spinning wheel. In addition to her connection to Brighid, she is associated with Diana Lucifera, who is the Roman Diana in her aspect as light-bearer. Hecate is often portrayed wearing the keys to the spirit world at her belt, accompanied by a three-headed hound, and surrounded by lit torches.
The epic poet Hesiod tells us Hecate was the only child of Asteria, a star goddess who was the aunt of Apollo and Artemis. The event of Hecate’s birth was tied to the reappearance of Phoebe, a lunar goddess, who appeared during the darkest phase of the moon.
Today, many contemporary Pagans and Wiccans honor Hecate in her guise as a Dark Goddess, although it would be incorrect to refer to her as an aspect of the Crone, because of her connection to childbirth and maidenhood. It’s more likely that her role as “dark goddess” comes from her connection to the spirit world, ghosts, the dark moon, and magic. She is known as a goddess who is not to be invoked lightly, or by those who are calling upon her frivolously. She is honored on November 30, the night of Hecate Trivia, the night of the crossroads.
The Goddess is the universal mother. She is fertility, endless wisdom and love. She is all aspects of nature, harmful and helpful. Wiccans acknowledge both aspects of Her nature. The Goddess has three aspects; The Maiden (Anu, Elaine, Blodeuwedd), The Mother (Badb, Arianrhod, Margawse), and The Crone (Morgan LeFey, Cerridwen, Macha). The Maiden is innocence, Springtime, renewal, youth, dawn and the continuation of all life. The Mother is the richness of life, nurturing, Summer, the day and a teacher. The Crone is darkness, night, the rest before the continuation of life, wisdom, counsel and reincarnation. Each of these aspects shows different stages of a women’s life, and each can be placed with the phases of the moon; The Maiden being the waxing moon, The Mother the full moon and The Crone the waning moon. (2)
The Goddess of the Wicca is the Great Goddess. She is the Ground of Being, the Mother of All Living; the Creatrix, and the Destroyer, for She is ever Dual. She is the Earth Mother, the Lady of the Moon, and the Star Goddess. She is Queen of Heaven, Queen of Earth, and Queen of the Underworld. She is the Triple Goddess: the Virgin, the Bride, and the Hag, called the Three Mothers in Celtic regions.
The three aspects of the Triple Goddess are usually described as the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone; it must be remembered that the connotations of age associated with those titles derive from the experience of humans, who are subject to age and death; the Goddess is eternal: ever-changing and ever self-renewing, She will be young or old as She pleases.
As the Virgin, She is the Creatrix, the Lady of Birth and Death, the Star Goddess, the Queen of Heaven, the Giver of Inspiration, the Initiatrix.
She is Diana, Lady of the Moon and the Wild Things, Ever Virgin unto Pan: virgin unto the All, and therefore wed to None.She is also the Virgin Mother; and Her blue and white colors, and title “Queen of Heaven”, were borrowed by the Catholic Church for the Virgin Mary. Hers are the Waxing Moon, Venus as Morning and Evening Star, and all the vast starry realm; Her sacred color is White.
As the Bride, She is the Preserver, the Lady of Growth and Fertility, the Earth Mother, the Goddess of flocks and herds, Lady of Love and Fruitfulness and the fertility of the land; as Goddess of the Land She is also the Goddess of Sovereignty, and it is only by Sacred Marriage to Her that the King holds the right to the Throne. Hers are the Full Moon, the Earth, fruits and flocks and fields; Her sacred color is Red.
As the Hag, She is the Destroyer, the Lady of Decay and Death, the Goddess of Night and the Underworld, and also the cave and the tomb. For that which is born must also age, and decay, and die; and out of that which is dead and decaying arises new fertility, for life feeds ever on life. She is the Sow who eats Her own young, the “Nightmare Fertility and Death in One”, the Great Necessity by which the food chain and the cycle of life continue. Hence She is also the Goddess of regeneration. Hers is the Waning Moon, the dark night, the silence of the shadows, the midnight crossroads, and the wailing of the widow; Her sacred color is Black.
The Goddess is the Queen of all Witcheries: She is the Enchantress, the Shape-Changer; She is Isis, the “Lady of the Words of Power”; She is Cerridwen, the Sorceress at Her Cauldron; She is Hecate, the Mistress of the Magick of the Dark Moon. She is the Great Lady. She is the Goddess.
Excerpt from:
1. I acknowledge that there is one Goddess in essence, Creatrix of all existences; Her forms are infinite, She manifests Herself in our love, and we are all Her lovers.
2. Treat all beings with reciprocity, for the Goddess lives in them as well as in us.
3. Tolerate other religions and do not compel others to join the circle of the Goddess: the Goddess will draw those to Her who are ready and hear Her call.
4. Worship Her by restoring balance to Her planet.
5. Eat mostly grains, vegetables and fruits, so that there will be enough food for all; when you eat thank the Goddess, the provider of all energy. It is not forbidden to eat animal flesh in moderation, but when you do so you must thank the animal that you eat as well.
6. In the circle of the Goddess create consensus while respecting diversity of opinion. On the path of the Goddess there are many paths.
7. In your home create a sacred space for the Goddess to please Her. Meditate on the Goddess three times a day, at rising, at noon and at sundown.
8. Sexuality is Her sacrament; enjoy this gift and bless those who you share it with love and affection. Remember that overcoming jealousy is the cause of cessation of the cycle of rebirth.
9. Announce the religion of the Goddess to the world through good works, honest words and selfless acts of beauty and love.
To set out on the path of the Goddess, you need only recite the first principle three times, and say three times ‘blessed be’. The Goddess will enter your heart and you will feel her love, and when that happens you are in the circle of the Goddess.
Book of the Goddess by Anna Livia Plurabelle at sacred-texts.comCrone Chant for Good Judgment
Hymn to the Morrigan
by Isaac Bonewits
O Morrigan, we call your name Across the dusty years.
You speak to us, of blood and lust. You show us all our fears.
You are a goddess, old and wise. Of holy power you have no dearth.
Beneath your wings : Black, Red and White, We learn of death and birth.
You walk about, this ancient land, Your hungers raw and clear.
You make the crops, grow rich and strong, As well your geese and deer.
A flirting maid, a lusty hag, A mother of great girth :
Without the touch of your black wings, We cannot heal the earth.
You float upon, a blood red wave, Of swords and spears and knives.
Your voice inspires, fear and dread, That you’ll cut short our lives.
You try the warriors’, courage sore, Our inner souls unearth.
Without the touch of your red wings, We cannot know our worth.
You fly above the silver clouds, To Manannan’s shining Gate.
You lead the dead along that path, To meet our final fate.
The joke’s on us, we find within, A land of laughter and of mirth.
Without the touch of your white wings, We cannot have rebirth.
I am the Great Mother, worshipped by all creation and existent prior to their consciousness. I am the primal female force, boundless and eternal.
I am the chaste Goddess of the Moon, the Lady of all magic. The winds and moving leaves sing my name. I wear the crescent Moon upon my brow and my feet rest among the starry heavens. I am mysteries yet unsolved, a path newly set upon. I am a field untouched by the plow. Rejoice in me and know the fullness of youth.
I am the blessed Mother, the gracious Lady of the harvest. I am clothed in the deep, cool wonder of the Earth and the gold of the fields heavy with grain. By me the tides of the Earth are ruled; all things come to fruition according to my season. I am refuge and healing. I am the life giving Mother, wondrously fertile.
I am the Crone, tender of the unbroken cycle of death and rebirth.
I am the wheel, the shadow of the Moon. I rule the tides of the oceans and of women and men. I give release and renewal to weary souls.
I am the Goddess of the Moon, the Earth, the Seas. My names are many, yet know that by all names I am the same. I pour forth insight, peace, wisdom and understanding. I am the eternal Maiden, Mother of all, and Crone of reckoning, and I send you blessings of limitless love.
Author Unknown
Hear ye the words of the Star Goddess;
she in the dust of whose feet are the hosts
of heaven, and whose body encircles the universe
I who am the beauty of the green earth,
the white moon among the stars, and the mystery
of the waters call unto thy soul;
Arise, and come unto me.
I am the soul of nature who gives life to the universe.
From Me all things proceed, and unto Me all things must return.
Before My face, beloved of gods and of men, let thine
innermost divine self be enfolded in the rapture of the infinite.
Let My worship be within the heart that rejoices,
for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are My rituals.
Therefore let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion,
honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you.
To thou who thinkest to seek Me, know that thy seeking and
yearning shall avail thee not unless thou knowest the Mystery.
If that which thou seekest thou findest not within thee,
thou wilt never find it without.
For behold, I have been with thee from the beginning; and
I am that which is attained at the end of desire.”
– from Doreen Valiente’s “Charge of the Goddess”
Folk Names:
“Tree of Enchantment”,”Osier”,and”Sough Tree”
Lore and Divinatory Aspects:
The Willow is associated with the elements of water, the moon, and the gods Artemis, Ceres, Hecate, Persephone, Hera, Mercury, Belili, Circe, and Belenos.
Willow is associated with death, femininity, love, and healing. It posesses the powers of love, divination, friendship, joy, love, peace, protection, and healing.
Magical Usage:
For love magic, protection magic, healing magic, and peaceful magic. Used to create loyalty, make friendship pacts, treaties, or alliances. Used for intuition, knowledge, gentle nurturing, and will elucidate the feminine qualities of both men and women.
Its leaves are used in love attraction sachets and moon magic wands from its wood. Used to dowse for water (underground), earth energies, and buried objects.
Used combined with sandalwood to invoke spirits. Placed in homes, it protects against evil and malign sorcery. Carried, the wood will give bravery, dexterity, and help one overcome the fear of death. If one needs to get something off their chest or to share a secret, confess to a willow and your secret will be trapped.
Willow wood is good for magical harps. Good for planting and lining burial graves for its symbolism of death and protection. If one wants to know if they will be married, on New Year’s Eve, throw your shoe or boot into a willow, if it doesn’t catch in the branches the first time, the individuals has eight more tries, if they succeed, they will wed.
Medicinal Usage:
Dioscorides (1st c. A.D.) discovered its use against pain and inflammation. The Hottentots discovered its use for rheumatic fever.
Willow bark is used to treat rheumatic conditions, gout, heartburn, to stop internal bleeding, gargle for sore throats, skin problems, wounds, and burns.
The purple willow is most effective for lowering fevers.
Black willow bark can be made into an infusion as a sexual sedative and to treat gonorrhoea, relieve ovarian pain, and to curb nocturnal emissions or as a tincture for hysteria, hysteria based on genital organs, nymphomania, spermatorrhoea, satyriasis, erotomania, and lascivious dreams.
Sallow or Goat willow eases indigestion, whooping cough, catarrh, and to disinfect bandages. It is a good eyewash, and if taken orally will clear the skin and face of blemishes, or applied to hair for dandruff. Its flower essences will remedy bitterness and resentment.
Other Uses:
Tender shoots are good for baskets. Willow rods were used as thatching in European traditional homes. Willow protects riverbanks from erosion (Peachleaf Willow), drys the soil in soggy/flooded gardens, and its charcoal (Crack Willow) is used in gunpowder.
At night, particularly at the dark of the moon, this goddess walked the roads of ancient Greece, accompanied by sacred dogs and bearing a blazing torch. Occassionally she stopped to gather offerings left by her devotees where three roads crossed, for this three-fold goddess was best honored where one could look three ways at once. Sometimes, it was even said that Hecate could look three ways because she had three heads: a serpent, a horse, and a dog.
While Hecate walked outdoors, her worshippers gathered inside to eat Hecate suppers in her honor, gatherings at which magical knowledge was shared and the secrets of sorcery whispered. The bitch-goddess, the snake-goddess, ruled these powers and she bestowed them on those who worshipped her honorably. When supper was over, the leftovers were placed outdoors as offerings to Hecate and her hounds. And if the poor of Greece gathered at the doorsteps of wealthier households to snatch the offerings, what matter?
Some scholars say that Hecate was not originally Greek, her worship having traveled south from her original Thracian homeland. Others contend that she was a form of the earth mother Demeter, yet another of whose forms was the maiden Persephone. Legends, they claim, of Persephone’s abduction and later residence in Hades give clear prominence to Hecate, who therefore must represent the old wise woman, the crone, the final stage of woman’s growth- the aged Demeter herself, just as Demeter is the mature Persephone.
In either case, the antiquity of Hecate’s worship was recognized by the Greeks, who called her a Titan, one of those pre-Olympian divinities whom Zeus and his cohort had ousted. The newcomers also bowed to her antiquity by granting to Hecate alone a power shared with Zeus, that of granting or withholding from humanity anything she wished. Hecate’s worship continued into classical times, both in the private form of Hecate suppers and in public sacrifices, celebrated by “great ones” or Caberioi, of honey, black female lambs, and dogs, and sometimes black human slaves.
As queen of the night, Hecate was sometimes said to be the moon-goddess in her dark form, as Artemis was the waxing moon and Selene the full moon. But she may as readily have been the earth-goddess, for she ruled the spirits of the dead, humans who had been returned to the earth. As queen of death she ruled the magical powers of regeneration; in addition, she could hold back her spectral hordes from the living if she chose. And so Greek women evoked Hecate for protection from her hosts whenever they left the house, and they erected her threefold images at their doors, as if to tell wandering spirits that therein lived friends of their queen, who must not be bothered with night noises and spooky apparitions.
The New Book Of Goddesses and Heroines by Patricia Monaghan..
HEKATE THOU MOTHER OF MIGHT
by Jeanne Riegler
“Hecate, thou mother of might
Goddess of magick, of storms, of night.
Moon maiden, mother and crone
Dispensing justice from they lofty throne
Watching now with piercing eye
As thy moon palace doth glide the sky
All of life on the planet Earth
Selecting, weighing and measuring it’s worth
Grant us of thy wisdom sublime
Reveal to us the secrets of time
Help us winnow truth from lies
Harken now, please hear out cries
Hekate, thou mother of might
Goddess of crossroads, bearer of light
Moon maiden, mother and crone
Descend unto us from they lofty throne
Walk amongst us and reveal now
The mysteries of thy shining brow
Past, present and future merge
Let us feel thy power surge
Bestow healing upon this planet
Release the songs of thy stones of granite
Help us, strengthen us, in our resolve
To banish all hate, let it dissolve
Hekate, thou mother of might
Goddess of love, giver of sight
Moon maiden, mother and crone
Ensconced upon thy lofty throne
Acknowledge us, who by our own choice
Have chosen to listen to thy voice
Help us spread wisdom, truth, love and light
To save Earth from her desperate plight
We bide the Wiccan Reed to fulfill
“And ye harm none, do what thou will…”
Help us grow in serving thee
As we will, so mote it be.
Hekate, thou mother of might
Robed in splendor, beauteous, bright
Moon maiden, mother and crone
Shine upon us from thy lofty throne.”
One of the things that most of us have in common–whether we call ourselves Pagans, Witches or Wiccans–is a belief in the female divine. Many of us also acknowledge the existence of a male divine, albeit one that bears little resemblance to the God we may have grown up with, but it is Goddess worship which sets us apart from other religions and brings us together in this one.
But which Goddess? There are so many names by which we call her, it can be hard to decide which of the Lady’s incarnations is best suited to our own practice and personality. Yet for many of us, the search for our personal Goddess is part of the path we walk as Pagans. How can we know which Goddess to call on in our prayers?
The first question to ask, really, is does she need a specific name at all? Some Pagans are happy to simply refer to their female deity as “Goddess” in the abstract, without attaching any particular name or tradition to her. (I often do that myself, although I have one Goddess who I worship primarily, and often call on others for specific tasks or holidays.)
There are a few benefits to this approach: it is simple and easy, you can be sure that your prayer will get to Goddess in one form or another, and you don’t have to worry that you are addressing the wrong deity for your magickal work.
There is certainly nothing wrong with calling on a general all-purpose Goddess. After all, most people who talk to “God” don’t call him by any particular name. If you are just starting out, or haven’t figured out a specific Goddess who seems right to you, then it is absolutely appropriate to address your prayers and spells to “Great Goddess,” “Mother of Us All,” “Lady of the Moon,” or any other generic term for the feminine one.
Reference:
Excerpt from “Finding Your Personal Goddess” By Deborah Blake Llewellyn’s 2012 Magical Almanac
When Lady Luna shines above
Full and silver, bright with love
Witches draw her down for power
At the midnight witching hour.
The Sacred Herbs Of The Goddesses:
Aphrodite: olive, cinnamon, daisy, cypress, quince. orris (iris), apple, myrtle
Arcadia: rue, vervain
Artemis: silver fir, amaranth, cypress, cedar, hazel, myrtle, willow, daisy, mugwort, date palm
Astarte: alder, pine, cypress, myrtle, juniper
Athena: olive, apple
Bast: catnip, Vervain
Bellona: belladonna
Brigit: blackberry
Cailleach: wheat
Cardea: hawthorn, bean, arbutus
Ceres: willow, wheat, bay, pomegranate, poppy, leek, narcissus
Cybele: oak, myrrh, pine
Demeter: wheat, barley, pennyroyal, myrrh, rose, pomegranate, bean, poppy, all cultivated crops
Diana: birch, willow, acacia, wormwood, dittany, hazel, beech, fir, apple, mugwort, plane, mulberry, rue
Druantia: fir
Freya: cowslip, daisy, primrose, maidenhair, myrrh, strawberry, mistletoe
Hathor: myrtle, sycamore, grape, mandrake, coriander, rose
Hecate: willow, henbane, aconite, yew, mandrake, cyclamen, mint, cypress, date palm, sesame, dandelion, garlic, oak, onion
Hekat: cypress
Hera: apple, willow, orris, pomegranate, myrrh
Hina: bamboo
Hulda: flax, rose, hellebore, elder
Irene: olive
Iris: wormwood, iris
Ishtar: acacia, juniper, all grains
Isis: fig, heather, wheat, wormwood, barley, myrrh, rose, palm, lotus, per sea, onion, iris, vervain
Juno: lily, crocus, asphodel, quince, pomegranate, vervain, iris, lettuce, fig, mint
Cerridwen: vervain, acorns
Minerva: olive, mulberry, thistle
Nefer-Tum: lotus
Nepthys: myrrh, lily
Nuit: sycamore
Olwen: apple
Persephone: parsley, narcissus, willow, pomegranate
Rhea: myrrh, oak
Rowen: clover, rowen
Venus: cinnamon, daisy, elder, heather, anemone, apple, poppy, violet, marjoram, maidenhair fern, carnation, aster, vervain, myrtle, orchid, cedar, lily, mistletoe, pine, quince
Vesta: oak
Greek Spider Goddess.
A Lydian girl skilled in weaving, she dared to challenge Athene to compete with her. The contest was held, and Arachne’s work was faultless: impudently, it portrayed some of the Gods’ less reputable deeds, including Athene’s father Zeus abducting Europa. Furious, Athene turned her into a spider, doomed eternally to spin thread drawn from her own body. But the Spider Goddess is more archetypal than this story suggests: spinning and weaving the pattern of destiny like the Moerae or the Norns, and enthroned in the middle of her spiral-pathed stronghold like Arianrhod. Athene here represents Athenian patriarchal thinking, trying to discipline earlier Goddess-concepts.
Gods/Goddesses– Bel, the Dagda, Don, the Dagda, Bel, Cronus, Uranus, Zeus, Jupiter, Saturn, Amen, Osiris, Ra, Pachacamac, Cerridwen, Danu, Macha, Morrigu, Brigit, Anu, Badb, Rhianon, Demeter, Hera, Rhea, Hecate, Aphrodite, Gaea, Juno, Venus, Ceres, Ops, Bona Dea, Cybele, Isis, Mut, Nut, Coatlicue, Kuan Yin, Ishtar, Astarte, Inanna, Cerridwen, Danu, Morrigu, Anu, Margawse, Growth, Demeter, Gaea, Boreas, Eurus, Ceres
Color– Indigo, Black
Incense/Oil– Holly, Juniper, Yew, Myrrh, Cypress
Animals– Goat
Spirits– Dragon
Stones– Onyx, Jet
Metal– Lead
Plants– Reeds, Solomon’s Seal, Oak, Yew, Beech, Comfrey, Elm, Holly, Ivy, Horsetail, Juniper, Mullien
Wood– Oak
Planet– Saturn
Tarot Cards– Four Queens, Four Threes
Magickal Tools– Sword, Wand
Direction– West
Rituals– Stabilization of Thought and Life, Help with Groups, Comfort, Goddess Power, Developing Power of Faith
Witches Of The Craft® 
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