07/12/2025
The goddess for the winter time in Ireland is the Cailleach.
In Ireland we pronounce her name as kyle - yakh or cal - yakh and she is associated with the stones and mountains of the land. She is said to be frozen in death in in county Kerry (in the south west of the country), into a rock, which is known as the “hag of beara”
Cailleach more accurately means veiled one.
She is associated with winter and is the counterpart to Bridget (Brighid/Brid) goddess of Spring (Yeshuas foster mother).
She is the archetypal wise woman who embodies a journey from barrenness to life - reminding us that life emerges from the void. In the stillness and darkness of winter, life is continuing, to emerge in the spring.
I think the name hag or crone has pejorative tones, I prefer to call her, the wisdom keeper, the grandmother, the guide, the soul of the land.
Image courtesy of Bard Mythologies Ireland
