The Morrigan – Faery Queen of Samhain

Prior to my trip to Ireland in 2018, I had an encounter with the Morrigan during a Shamanic Journey Workshop I was leading on Shamanic Chakra Journeys. A popular workshop I lead, where we journey through each of the portals of the Seven Chakras. It often occurs that while I drum for the group, I experience my own journey concurrently, as I keep my attention focused on the energy of the group. The Morrigan, which means phantom queen or great queen, has made her presence known to me even stronger since my return from Ireland in 2018, by visiting in dreams. One in which she even showed me how she wants her altar to be prepared and placed. She had me promise to visit her sacred site in Ireland in 2019. I continue to learn how to work with her energy and allies. She shows up in many forms, including as a black wolf, crow, raven, white horse, cow or river eel. I find it interesting how much of her energy showed up for me in the chakra journeys. The Morrigan encompasses ancient Celtic Goddess(es) energy associated with at least three Sacred Sisters of Sidhe. I am still getting to know the multiplicity of the Morrigan, and feel honored to carry her energy within me.

If you would like to discover the natural paths of your energy, together with your animal spirits, ancestral guides, ancestral lands, and spiritual connections you carry, this workshop may be a place to find out! Below I offer a personal sharing of the kinds of journeys that can come through, when you attend a workshop I offer.

In the 1st Chakra located at the base of the spine, and connects us to the Sacred Tree of Life. It gives a place in life, to where and who we are rooted, such as ancestors, family, community, career, vocation. In it, I find a beautiful Black Wolf with Golden Eyes looking back at me.

Traveling up toward the 2nd Chakra into the creative energy center, connecting with sensuality, partnership, emotional body, the flexibility of going with the flow. I am standing on a beach, drumming as a guide, during a Shamanic Journey, for a soul friend I am collaborating with to work on a big international project. We are consciously envisioning the project together.

In the 3rd Chakra of the solar plexus, connecting with intellect, will power, personal empowerment and agency, I find a Black Cloaked Crone, with a pile of ancient books, set on a table, with a human skull nearby, guarded by crow.

In the 4rd Chakra of the Heart, a place of loving kindness, compassion, forgiveness, empathy, clarity and understanding, I see the Moon close up, like I am standing on the Moon. A ruby throat humming bird hovers over my heart, it begins to circle the Moon many times, as in many moons ago. I suddenly see a White Buffalo running on the prairie. A Native Indian holding a long staff, now stands next to the buffalo. He approaches me alongside the buffalo, and hands me a sacred pipe.

In the 5th Chakra of the Throat, a place of speaking truth and listening, decision making, and self expression. I see a speckled fawn running through a forested meadow, taking me to a red buck with huge red antlers.  I then see a dark Cloaked Crone with a red face, her red arms stretching out around the fawn. She holds the energy of fawn, with its gentleness, vulnerability and innocence, with her protective anger and wisdom of death. The energy of balance with gentleness is present when speaking truth. The undeniable truth of death and fierce wisdom of crone. Death has a way of making the truth known. The Morrigan has colors of red and black, and she has the Crone as one of her shapes. She protects the innocent and vulnerable, the stag is a trusted ally who shows up often when I teach.

The 6th Chakra is also known as the 3rd eye, and is located at the point between both eyes, it holds the energy of psychic premonitions, dreams, imagination, spiritual awareness and intellect. In this chakra, a previous dream opens up with a red haired Sidhe, she carries me in a small boat, guiding us into a mysterious sea cave lagoon. We come upon a vortex in the water, where magical mermaids swim in circles. I dive into the vortex as a portal and transform into a mermaid. In another circle swirling below, entry to the faery realm is possible. I join in swimming with another mermaid, who takes me to an island near a light house, which shines across from another shore. On the island, the Crone is there with a number of priestesses, who are dancing and singing in a sacred ceremony of initiation. I am taken to a stone wall, made of many colors, and step through it as a portal. I am now in the realm of the Shining Ones, on the Isle of the Blessed. I can see many light beings here.

Finally in our journeys through the Chakras, we arrive at the 7th Chakra, a place of spiritual light, cosmic consciousness, trust and grace. Here I find myself in an ancient Stone Temple bathed in Sunlight, where my dream warrior, from a prior dream, comes to meet me at a tomb city carved into the side of a mountain. Inside a dream temple and dreaming school, He shows me 8 Golden portals of light to travel through, and while I do a Lion lays next to me guarding my sleeping body. I later researched this place and discovered it was Telmessos, Anatolia, a center of dream divination known as the City of the Sun, where dream diviners were taught in a dream school in this tomb city, interwoven with the living.

I am so grateful for the Morrigan visiting me in dreaming. She demanded I come and honor her at her sacred site, which at the time, I knew nothing of, and I did not know when or how I would be able to go to Ireland, but it all came together magically, when I was invited in 2019 to teach a retreat in County Claire on the Wild Atlantic Way, on Dreaming with the Otherworld. May dreams continue to guide the ways between the worlds. Samhain Blessings!

The Cave of the Goddess

The Cave of the Goddess

Oweynagat the Cave of Cats in Rathcroghan, Ireland, entrance to the underworld, home to the Goddess Morrigan. The inscription over the portal, in the ancient Ogham language says, “Fraoch, son of Medb” Photo credit Valley Reed.

On Beltane Eve 2019 I had the following dream;

The Dream World is the Real World

I am standing beside a Sorrel filly with her overgrown Winter coat. I am standing close enough to reach over and touch her coat, and I can hear her every breath. I am amazed how real this all appears inside this conscious dream. I realize more deeply now, the Dream World IS the Real World!

I am suddenly transported to another setting, standing before a cave, where 2 blue frog headed nymphs stand guard holding a sword between them as gatekeepers to the Cave of the Goddess. I hear the voice of the Goddess ask me, is it still the real world? I say, Yes!

The nymphs tell me, “You must pick up the Sword of Truth to enter the Cave of the Goddess”.  I choose truth and take the sword from their hands.

Now I am walking along a dirt path alongside a field of flowers. I see an egg shaped stone at my feet. I bend down to pick it up and it fits perfectly in the palm of my left hand. The stone is embossed with the ancient seal of the Goddess, covered over by some green moss.

Now I am inside the stone of the Goddess. I can see cracks and crevices inside this ancient stone, and I hear the voice of the Goddess once again. She tells me, “You must let go of the broken places inside, where you protect your heart. You must open up and trust.” As she speaks I see a golden light fill all the cracks and crevices inside the stone, and I can feel the light of the Goddess inside of me, filling all my broken places with her golden light.

In reflecting on my dream, my research takes me to Greece in search of the blue headed frog nymphs. I find a story about the frog headed nymphs of the Goddess, on the Greek Island of Melos. The God Zeus turned the Meliai nymphs into frogs, for burying the body of Euphorion, who had tried to fly to Heaven. The island of Melos is also where the famous statue Venus de Milo was discovered, in a volcanic cave.

The Greek Goddess Hekate is associated with Frogs, Horses, Dogs, and Snakes, Bat, Crow, Owl, Dragon. Her Tools are Torch, Sword, Keys and her domain is the Underworld, the Crossroads, and Creatrix of the material world as known in the Chaldean Mysteries and as such she is a Mistress of Magic. She is part of the Greek Eleusinian Initiation Mysteries as Torch bearer for Persephone as she makes her Ascent from out of the Underworld. Hekate is known as the Queen of witches, and tonight on Beltane eve is the perfect night to honor her and call on her in dreams.

The Morrigan is of ancient ancestry of the Faery folk clan of the Tuatha de Danann in Ireland. A Triple Goddess of the Otherworld, whose sacred cave is “Oweynagat” said to be the entrance to the Underworld. She came to me in dreams past and guided me to honor her with a visit to her sacred place. I was able to do so in the Summer of 2019. I am on the path of the Goddess, broken open and trusting in the signs and seals that will deliver me to my destiny.

Valley Reed© 2020