In Celtic mythology, particularly within Gaelic traditions of Scotland and Ireland, Storm Hags (Cailleachan) are elemental personifications of the destructive forces of nature. They are most commonly associated with the Cailleach, the ancient "Veiled One" and Queen of Winter, who rules the darker half of the year.
Key Aspects of Storm Hags:
- The Cailleach: The central figure, a divine, ancient goddess of winter, storms, and landscape creation, also known as Beira, Queen of Winter.
- Elemental Personification: The Cailleachan embody wind, sea, and thunder, raising spring storms as winter fades.
- Landscape Creators: They carve mountains, valleys, and rivers by hurling stones, shaping the very land.
- Winter's Power: They bring the cold, frost, and snow, but also represent the necessary rest and cyclical death before spring's rebirth.
- Regional Variations: Similar figures appear across the Celtic world, like the Manx Caillagh ny Groamagh (hag of gloominess) and the Irish Hag of Beara.
- Symbolism: They symbolize the wild, untamed aspects of nature, sovereignty, and the deeper, chthonic forces of the earth, linking death with knowledge and renewal.
Key Figures and Roles
- The Cailleach (The Great Hag): The primary storm hag who ushers in winter by washing her great plaid in the whirlpool of Corryvreckan, turning it white with snow. She is a creator-destroyer who shapes the landscape by dropping boulders from her apron.
- The Cailleachan (The Group): In Scottish lore, these are a group of hags who raise fierce windstorms, especially during the "period of the Cailleach" in late spring (A’ Chailleach) to prevent the coming of summer.
- The Thunder Hag: One of the Cailleach's sisters who drives a black chariot drawn by red hounds, hurling fireballs that ignite forests.
- Muilearteach (The Sea Hag): A terrifying one-eyed ocean hag with blue skin and iron teeth, associated with Atlantic gales and dangerous riptides.
- Gentle Annie: A deceptively named wind-hag from the Cromarty Firth, whose "gentle" title is a euphemism to avoid her wrath.
Characteristics and Symbols
- Appearance: Often depicted as immensely old with blue or stone-coloured skin, a single eye, and matted hair like frost-covered brushwood.
- Tools of Power: They carry a slachdan (magic staff or hammer) to freeze the ground and shape mountains.
- Animal Associations: They are frequently seen riding wolves or wild pigs through the winter sky.
- Seasonal Cycle: The Cailleach rules from Samhain (late autumn) until Imbolc (early spring), when she either turns to stone or transforms into a young maiden, often identified with Brigid, the goddess of spring.
Examples & Legends:
- The Cailleach's Plaid: In Scotland, she washes her plaid in the Gulf of Corryvreckan, and its spreading causes winter's harshness.
- Stone Formations: Mountains and rock formations like Carraig na Lathí (Hag's Lake) are said to be the petrified forms of these hags.
- Rituals: In Glen Lyon, stones representing the Cailleach and her family are moved seasonally to ensure the glen's fertility, a tradition continuing today.