Reviewed by Jennifer Lawrence
Although the original peoples that worshipped the Morrigan have been in the ground for centuries and are long since dust, that is not the same thing as saying that the goddess herself is gone. Indeed, she has never truly been gone, but over the last year or two, there has been a veritable explosion of new reverence for this complicated and primal goddess, so much so that it might be said that 2014 was — and 2015 will be — the Year(s) of the Morrigan. Rituals, prayers, and even conferences to the Morrigan have abounded in the last couple years, and it seems likely that the continued interest in, and love of, this particular goddess will only continue to grow in the months and years ahead.
Author Morgan Daimler, a devotee of the Morrigan for a decade and a half, has written an excellent book for those wishing to get to know the goddess. Part of Moon Books‘ Pagan Portals series, it packs a wealth of both well-researched, footnoted lore and personal experience into its 79 pages. Daimler starts by pointing out that the Morrigan is both a single deity and a group of goddesses, each with their own name and role. She delves deeply into each goddess’ original mythography, noting where it is incomplete or conflicting, and relating additional information that has been gleaned from archaeological discoveries. The book’s seven chapters do an excellent job of discussing the historical material on the Morrigan, the associations each of the goddesses of the Morrigna have, and very carefully discuss the often-conflicting lore (for example, there are no less than five different and important individuals in Irish lore bearing the name Macha).
