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Cailleach
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In Gaelic myth, the Cailleach is a divine hag, associated with the creation of the landscape and with the weather, especially storms and winter. The word literally means 'old woman, hag', and is found
Illustration by John Duncan in Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend (1917)
Illustration by John Duncan in Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend (1917)
Ceann na Caill, The Hag's Head, on the southernmost tip of the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. One of many locations named for the Cailleach.
Ceann na Caill, The Hag's Head, on the southernmost tip of the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. One of many locations named for the Cailleach.
Ben Cruachan, highest point in Argyll and Bute, home of the Cailleach nan Cruachan
Ben Cruachan, highest point in Argyll and Bute, home of the Cailleach nan Cruachan
The Corryvreckan whirlpool (Scottish Gaelic: Coire Bhreacain - 'whirlpool/cauldron of the plaid') washtub of the Cailleach
The Corryvreckan whirlpool (Scottish Gaelic: Coire Bhreacain - 'whirlpool/cauldron of the plaid') washtub of the Cailleach
Sheela na gig
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A sheela na gig is a figurative carving of a naked woman displaying an exaggerated vulva. These carvings, from the Middle Ages, are architectural grotesques found throughout most of Europe on cathedra
Cailleach
…is sometimes interpreted as 'hag' is the Irish síle, which has led some to speculate on a connection between the Cailleach and the stone carvings of Sheela na Gigs. In Scotland, where she is also known as Beira, Queen of Winter (a name given by 20th-century folklorist Donald Alexander Mackenzie), she is credited…
A 12th-century sheela na gig on the church at Kilpeck, Herefordshire, England
A 12th-century sheela na gig on the church at Kilpeck, Herefordshire, England
Sheela na gig from Ireland in the British Museum (12th century)
Sheela na gig from Ireland in the British Museum (12th century)
Sheela na gig on the south-west pillar of the presbytery in St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney, ca. 12th to 13th centuries, Norman and Romanesque.
Sheela na gig on the south-west pillar of the presbytery in St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney, ca. 12th to 13th centuries, Norman and Romanesque.
Sheela na gig on town wall in Fethard, County Tipperary, Ireland
Sheela na gig on town wall in Fethard, County Tipperary, Ireland