"The Morrigan Rising": Gotta' Vent!

[MacMorrighan]

Okay, this happened a while back, but it still really bugs me, so...I gotta' vent!

I have come acrossed an absolutely hidious magazine by a sect of (sadly increasing) Pagan Celtic/Heathen white female seperatists that invoke the Name of my Goddess: The Morrigan Rising! However, due to my personal aversion of this publication, there's no way in Her Holy Name that I'm about to give them more attention by posting their link, here.

However, it appears they are not above plagiarism, as they quote the following passage from a well known article re: the Goddess directly on their website's home page:


The Morrigan is the goddess of battle, strife, and fertility. Her name translates as either "Great Queen" or "Phantom Queen," and both epithets are entirely appropriate for her. The Morrigan appears as both a single goddess and a trio of goddesses. The other deities who form the trio are Badb ("Crow"), and either Macha (also connotes "Crow") or Nemain ("Frenzy"). The Morrigan frequently appears in the ornithological guise of a hooded crow. She is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann ("Tribe of the goddess Danu") and she helped defeat the Firbolg at the First Battle of Mag Tuireadh and the Fomorians at the Second Battle of Mag Tuireadh.

I just wish I could remember who wrote this so that I may inform them-- I sure as Avalon wouldn't want something that I've written associated with such an organization!

Indeed, the rising number of white seperatists that are becoming Pagan is alarming-- there was even an academic book written on this subject! How utterly heart breaking...

One thing's for sure: I'll be having a lengthy chat with the Goddess about this situation in the hopes of satisfactoroliy resolving it! Of all possibilities, the exiustance of such a publication was the furthest thing from my mind! And now, because of a book I am writing, I suppose I will have to ask those that I survey (once I've got it written) how they feel abut this publication, specifically, and racial diversity or white separatism, etc. (while noting that I do not hold such beliefs myself, knowing how quick some folks are to judge, or read between lines that aren't there, and coming up with wild assumptions-- that's how rumours get started!). However, as many people I want to respond this this survey (yet, never underestimate the apathy of many modern Pagans, or our collective ability to care less and atendancy to sit on our hands) I hope that this publication does not get ahold of it, for fear that it would permanently alter and ruthlessly skew my research results! That is my only authentic concern...

Oh, and of couse the home page ends with a "Hail Morrigan"! I'm sorry if this, for whatever reasons, seems non-PC (Hey, I've seen some reactions that would surprise you: some might take offence at my inability to accept them for no other reason than that they are Pagan!) but I am deeply disturbed that they would invoke my beloved Goddess as a seeming Patron to racists! And, I am highly ofended by that! In fact, it was only checking back at that site (so I could quote the above passage correctly) that I saw the "Hail Morrigan" bit!

Though, I guess I take it quite a bit more personally, because I was Bashed by the local skin head/neo-Nazis while attending college about 6 or 7 years ago! The Cops actually warned me that my life was in danger, and I should leave town-- they didn't even offer to try and protect me in any way.

Whew... Thanks for letting me blow off some steam!

[Morr]

Here is the link to the original author of that piece of information about The Morrigan:

http://www.morrigan.net/morrigan.htm

I have not stumbled upon this group, and its a shame that they dont see the truth of what The Morrigan and Celtic culture teaches us.

Mother can't be pleased I am sure...

[MacMorrighan]

Mother can't be pleased I am sure...

Totally! And, thanks for the link, I'll contact the author in question immediately!

[Morrigan_Wolfwind]

Oh gods. Those last two sentences were complete GIBBERISH, and I'm not talking about the weroieutojrbt43490!!@@11eleven!!! kind of gibberish.

I think I'm actually glad I haven't found any pagan magazines, if that's the kind of thing I have to watch out for.

To be honest, it reminds me of what fanfiction writers call "fangirls."

[MacMorrighan]

Oh gods. Those last two sentences were complete GIBBERISH, and I'm not talking about the weroieutojrbt43490!!@@11eleven!!! kind of gibberish.

I think I'm actually glad I haven't found any pagan magazines, if that's the kind of thing I have to watch out for.

To be honest, it reminds me of what fanfiction writers call "fangirls."

Oh, please rest assured, that every other popular Pagan magazine, such as the UK's The Cauldron [my personal facourite], Circle, Pan Gaia, etc. are wonderful, whereas this 'zine is obviously not! So, please, be at ease, my friend.

Take Care,
Wade

[Morrigan_Wolfwind]

Yay. Thanks for the reassurance. Too many big words there; doesn't the Morrigan appear as a crow OR a raven OR a horse?

And this part of the site I found utterly ridiculous:

"An Old English poem, Exodus, refers to ravens as choosers of the slain. There are links between ravens, choosing of the slain, casting fetters, and female beings in many sources. "

Ravens do not CHOOSE the slain, they just roam the battlefield and peck at the corpses! When Cu Chullainn finally died, a raven landed on his shoulder and confirmed that he was dead!

And speaking of Cu Chullain, I cannot believe so many things have been glossed over in this:

"She appeared to the hero Cúchulainn (son of the god Lugh) and offered Her love to him. When he failed to recognize Her and rejected Her, She told him that She would hinder him when he was in battle."

She made sure he died. And in the versions I read, Cu Chullainn was not the son of Lugh; he rose to glory because he took up arms on a certain day, and anyone who took arms on that day would have a short but glorious life.

"Cú's misfortune was that he never recognized the feminine power of sovereignty that She offered to him."

Just because that site is NOT about Cu Chullainn does not mean you can somehow avoid typing the rest of his name! Cu Chullainn had a wife, Emer. Though he would MARRY no one but her, that didn't stop him from having a lot of affairs with other women. However, I'm pretty sure after his affair with Fand, they both went through quite enough, and Cu Chullainn stopped flirting.

You'd have to be pretty damn brave to try and flirt with the Morrigan, in my opinion.

Also, I've never heard of a confession of love from the Morrigan to anyone, much less Cu Chullainn. After describing her as a goddess of death and the underworld, I don't know how they got that bit of (possibly false) information.

[MacMorrighan]

Yay. Thanks for the reassurance. Too many big words there; doesn't the Morrigan appear as a crow OR a raven OR a horse?

Well, She is a Cow-Goddess and has the capacity to shape-shift into a cow (or heaffer, rather), while She has folkloric associations with Horse, and may be cognate with other Horse-Goddesses [eg. Epona and Rhiannon], while through the Macha She is also associated with Horses.


And this part of the site I found utterly ridiculous:

"An Old English poem, Exodus, refers to ravens as choosers of the slain. There are links between ravens, choosing of the slain, casting fetters, and female beings in many sources. "

Ravens do not CHOOSE the slain, they just roam the battlefield and peck at the corpses! When Cu Chullainn finally died, a raven landed on his shoulder and confirmed that he was dead!

Honestly, I must agree with you about this. Far to many people-- especially Pagans-- accept the alledged "War-Goddess" model at face value and refuse to question it, because they (women, especially) find such "harshness" empowering. Recent academic evidence is gradually over-turning this!!!

Can you beliueve that I have been told by othes, upon stating that I have felt The Morrighan's unconditional love for me (what I would, now, term "ecstacy") is nothing save for a "self-imposed dillussion from living in a Christian society/culture" [paraphrasing]. Further, they beraded me, "If you had ever really felt her "love" your hair would be shock-white, and you would be dead! Her's is not a gaze I would like to attract anytije soon!"


And speaking of Cu Chullain, I cannot believe so many things have been glossed over in this:

"She appeared to the hero Cúchulainn (son of the god Lugh) and offered Her love to him. When he failed to recognize Her and rejected Her, She told him that She would hinder him when he was in battle."

She made sure he died. And in the versions I read, Cu Chullainn was not the son of Lugh; he rose to glory because he took up arms on a certain day, and anyone who took arms on that day would have a short but glorious life.

This part of the prose has been reiterpreted by Prof. Maire Herbert* as a clerical redaction of the earlier Tain Bo Regamma, i an effort to make him appear mor "heroic" as She only threatens him with these forms in that tale.

* She disposes this unquestioned "War-Goddess" ideology; read her article "Transmutations of an Irish Goddess" in Miranda Green's The Concept of the Goddess.


"Cú's misfortune was that he never recognized the feminine power of sovereignty that She offered to him."

Just because that site is NOT about Cu Chullainn does not mean you can somehow avoid typing the rest of his name! Cu Chullainn had a wife, Emer. Though he would MARRY no one but her, that didn't stop him from having a lot of affairs with other women. However, I'm pretty sure after his affair with Fand, they both went through quite enough, and Cu Chullainn stopped flirting.

You'd have to be pretty damn brave to try and flirt with the Morrigan, in my opinion.

Well, The Morrighan's sexuality, being an Earth-Goddess, or Genius loci, is an exemplification of Her fecundity-function, as well as Her role as Sovereignty-Goddess (as well as Her translutation from youth to Divine Hag). So, "bravery" really needn't be implicate in "flirting" with Her, or developing any sort of a relationship what so ever! :fpeace:

Also, it is seemingly over-loked that both Cu and Fer Diadh had a homosexual relationship with each other.


Also, I've never heard of a confession of love from the Morrigan to anyone, much less Cu Chullainn. After describing her as a goddess of death and the underworld, I don't know how they got that bit of (possibly false) information.

Well, I deeply love the Goddess, and have felt Her direct love for me in return! Otherwise, why worship The Goddess?

Generally, out of simplicity, and in adopting a Classicist ideology, Pagans have, for the most part, taken to making the Gods rather "simplistic" and making them, for example of "War" or "Love" or "Death" for example. However, to the consternation of many such Pagans, this is reallt inappropriate-- they are far more complex than that! :broomride

All my best,
Wade MacMorrighan

[zionwood]

Indeed, the rising number of white seperatists that are becoming Pagan is alarming-- there was even an academic book written on this subject! How utterly heart breaking...
i don't think this is particularly new. I think Hitler was into Teutonic deities, for example. (No offense to those who worship such deities. Hitler ended up besmirching at least few different religions, methinks.) But yes, when people use a religion or deity for such an end, that's awful.
(now i know how mad I should be when people invoke Jesus' name for such unsavoury purposes.)

[Meadhbh]

Bite, claw, hiss. Those kind of people make me sick. And whats worse is that they give the rest of us a bad name. If you surfing the internet and come across this group or one like you can't be blamed for assuming that most groups are like that. Its always the groups with the least amount to say that have the biggest mouths or so it seems.