She Comes to the Doorway 
Searles O'Dubhain

Sun Jan 28 15:11:23 2001
She Comes to the Doorway *br*(Copyright Searles O'Dubhain, Imbolc - 2001)*p*There are many religions and magical traditions that present the Moon as being a place/pathway for souls that is also a symbol for a goddess. Some of these cultures also acknowledge and honor a "Queen of Heaven" who is a star/heavenly goddess and who is also an over-ruler of the Moon. *p*In Vedic astrology, these goddesses are respectively: Apas (the Water Goddess) for the Moon and Parvati (The Great Goddess) for the Queen of Heaven. Parvati is the kundalini that flows from out of the ether, while Apas is the Vasu (ruler of space) that represents the container. The two of these, in my opinion, parallel the Druidic concepts of "bríg and bua." They represent the potential for magical energy that is inherently possible in any action and the flow of magical power into a working from a source, once it has been triggered. *p*Miranda Green in _Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend_ has this to say about a possible Celtic Moon Goddess: *p*"The Roman goddess Diana was a moon goddess, and because of its monthly cycle of waxing and waning, both Diana and the moon were associated with women, especially in childbirth. There is some evidence that this link between the moon and human fertility was maintained in the Celtic world: Rhineland Mother-goddesses appear in the iconography wearing lunar amulets; and a small clay figurine of a Mother-goddess with a dog at Cologne wears a moon pendant." *p*In Irish mythology, it is Bóann and Brighid who are associated with childbirth. Brighid is the foster mother of the Gael and the gods (as I've noted in a message on the Aonach Ceilteach message board in The Summerlands):*p*The Genealogy of Brighid*p*Radiant flame of gold, noble foster-mother of the Three Gods of Danu. *br*Bride the daughter of Dagda the good, *br*Son of Elatha, son of Delbáeth, son of Nét, *br*Son of Iondaoi, son of Allasi, son of Tait, son of Tabhairn. *br*Every day and every night *br*That I say the genealogy of Bride, *br*I shall not be killed, I shall not be harried, *br*I shall not be put in cell, I shall not be wounded, *br*Neither shall the Three Gods of Danu leave me in forgetfulness. *br*No fire, no sun, no moon shall burn me, *br*No lake, no water, nor sea shall drown me, *br*No arrow of fairy nor dart of fay shall wound me, *br*And I under the protection of her sacred mother Bóann, *br*And my gentle foster-mother is my beloved Bride. *p*Bóann is the mother of Aonghus by the Dagda and she is the mother of the three strains of the harp: Goltrade, Gentrade and Suantrade, by Uaithne (the Dagda's harp or harper). Bóann is also noted for her lap dog Dabilla who followed her to her tryst with the Dagda and was washed away with her when she contended with the well of Segais. Dabilla was said to have been broken into two large stones that stand on opposite sides of the Boyne. It is thought that the dog represents a guardian of the home or an aid in healing when connected to Celtic Mother-goddesses. The Mother of the Irish Celtic deities is called by many names in the mythology. Among these names are Danu, Dana, Anu, Ana, Morrigan, Éithne, Ériu, and Brighid. I also contend that Bóann is cognate with the roles of these goddesses in Irish myth as she was also the wife of The Dagda and the mother of many of the most famous Irish deities: Angus, Bríg and Ogma to name only three. Danu is the Mother of the Irish deities according to Cormac (and most other scholars on the matter). Her name translates as "Waters from Heaven" while Bóann's name and nature tie the White Cow to the River Boyne that bears her name. In one case we have the Holy Water that flows from heaven while in the case of Bóann this water flows from the Well of Segaís, through the Irish landscape as the Boyne, and passes by the Brugh na Bóinne, the home of the gods. Among them all., Brighid is the faithful daughter, the dutiful wife, the source of the flame and the foster-mother of both people and gods.*p*As I've noted, Bóann is said to be the wife of the Dagda in the traditional Irish literature and she also is said (at other times) to be the wife of Nechtan (who is himself thought to be Nuada of the Silver Hand). The Brugh na Bóinne area is not just one passage grave or mound but many, many passage graves. There are the three passage graves that dominate the others. Within them and on them are to be found symbols that can be interpreted to represent the Sun, the Moon and the stars (Martin Brennan among others). Like Newgrange and the Sun, there is an astronomical tie in between Knowth and the Moon *p*(http://website.lineone.net/~tom.dunne/Knowth.htm): *p**** Beginning of quoted material *** *p*"A map of the Moon, 10 times older than anything known before, has been found carved into stone at one of Ireland's most ancient and mysterious Neolithic sites; Knowth. Dr Philip Stooke of the University of Western Ontario, who prepares maps of asteroids based on spacecraft observations, and also maps of the moon, identified the carving. Before this discovery, the oldest map of the moon was by Leonardo da Vinci, drawn around 1505. So, the Knowth map is ten times older. *p*Knowth, already a major research centre for understanding prehistoric man, will now become one of the most important scientific sites in the world. "The people who carved this moon map were the first scientists", says Dr Stooke. "They knew a great deal about the motion of the moon. They were not primitive at all". Knowth was obviously built by people with a sophisticated understanding of the Sun, Moon and Stars. *p*Investigations at Knowth almost 20 years ago, showed that at certain times the moonlight could shine down the eastern passage of the tomb, and remarkably, the moonlight would also fall on the Neolithic lunar map. "*p**** End of quoted material *** *p*The patterns of the stones carved at these sites presents testimony to the mind that spans cultures as well as language. It is a major teaching of mine that humans have a universal language that speaks directly to the subconscious. So it is with what I've said about Bóann and the Brugh na Bóinne her home. I can't (yet) point to a stone at Newgrange and say that *here* is testimony that she was a goddess associated not only with a river and the land through which it flows, but also with the Moon that shines down upon it. Twenty years ago no one in modern times had recognized the lunar significance of Knowth. Who is to say that there is no such connection at Newgrange?  I expect that we will find such an association one day in stories like The Tale of the House of the Two Vessels which also appears in my book (Ogham Divination, A Study in Recreating and Discovering the Ancient Ways of the Druids):*p*The House of the Two Vessels*br*(Tighe Dá Mheadar)*p*The House of the Two Vessels is a tale about Brugh na Bóinne and Éithne. In this tale, she is the foster daughter of Angus mac n’Og. She is the most beautiful of women and is attacked by a visitor to the Brugh. This attack causes her spirit to leave her heart and she loses all appetite. Angus goes to his own foster father for help in finding a solution. Together they are able to gain respectively the dun cow of Angus and the speckled cow of Manannán from 'India' in the east. When Éithne visits Emain Abhlach (the Isle of Apples) she milks the speckled cow and drinks its milk from a golden cup. At home in the Brugh, she milks the dun cow and drinks in the same fashion. This tale is about the nurturing of spirit through a sacred fluid (the milk of the two cows that are significantly from India where soma is the sacred drink of the Moon). The dun and the speckled colors of the cows indicate that they are liminal in nature. Their associations with Angus and Manannán reinforce this characteristic (Angus is the God of Dreams and Love while Manannán is the Opener of the Ways and the guide of the spirit across the sea’s depths). Another significant part of this tale is how Éithne loses the ability to be invisible while bathing in the Boyne. This happens when the other maidens of the Sídhe leave before her. It is at that point that she appears before humans until her eventual death. This tale as it has survived has a lot of Christian elements (that I’ve removed from it). To me, it seems to have originally been about the Moon disappearing and reappearing in an eternal cycle. It also is nourished on two separate occasions during its life as evidenced by the two in-between states of the quarter Moons (the dun and the speckled cows). Éthne is the young Moon in the Brugh while Bóann is the fullness of the Moon.*p*Bóann is the mistress of the Brugh that bears her name. She is the White Cow of the Moon. She represents the intuitive mind. When she traveled tuathal around the Sun Well of Segaís the waters of wisdom were invoked, rising from the depths to flow over the land. Bóann lost and eye, an arm and a leg in this adventure. She reveals her intuitive nature in the story about Angus and Caer Iborméith, his dream lover. Bóann was able to discover her whereabouts and to convince The Dagda to assist in the search.*p*Brighid is the breath of wisdom and life. She is the wind that comes out of the fire and flows into the fire again. She is the "Fiery Arrow" that encompasses the surrounding space of all being. She is the hearth, the fire and the ashes. She is the center of life. She is the fire of heart, hearth and health. She is the fire in the head and also the fire on the mountaintop. In all of these ways, she is a light to guide us through the pitfalls that could otherwise trap us.  She is the warmth that nurtures our growth while she is also the passion that gives rise to creation itself.*p*Bóann is also the "Woman of the White Cows" or the "White Cow" herself. The relationship between the "White Cow" and the heavens is well attested in the Irish name for the Milky Way. There it is called the "Way of the White Cow" (Bothar Bó Finne, sometimes also translated as the "Track of the White Cow"). The associations of a long held European belief that this "milky" track and the path of recently departed souls is not too different from a similar European belief that the Moon is the intermediate home of departed souls. Here are the URL's of a few diverse websites that discuss these associations: *p*http://www.indigogroup.co.uk/edge/royalrds.htm *br*http://www.inishbofin.com/heritage.htm *p**** quote from the second of the above URL's *** *p*"The origins of the island's initial colonisation are still obscure. The most common and basis version relates how two fishermen lost in fog, landed on an enchanted island and lit a fire. The flames broke the spell and the mist lifted to reveal an old woman driving a white cow along a shingle beach, which ran between a lake and the sea. She was observed to strike the cow, whereupon it turned to stone. Another tradition has that the old women and the cow emerge from the lake every seven years or alternatively to forewarn of some impending disaster. The lake in question is Loch Bo Finne (Lake of the White Cow) in West Quarter village. " *p**** end of quote *** *p*This woman appears to be the Cailleach but perhaps she is a goddess of sovereignty instead? In any event, the associations of magical events in the night are well attested concerning white cows (and other white animals). These manifestations are indeed seen to be Otherworldly in many Celtic tales. I am not alone among modern-day Celtic Pagans in equating the White Cow to the Moon rather than to the Milky Way (though perhaps the Milky Way is the pathway that the White Cow took when she came to earth?). I agree that having an ancient citation or two would greatly bolster my case for the correspondence between Bóand and the Moon. If the Dagda is the Sun (an idea embraced by MacKillop and O'Rahilly, as well as many earlier Celtic scholars) then what heavenly body does he mate with (a hypothetical question that could lead to an answer)? *br*Equating a father god and a mother goddess to a bull and a cow or a stallion and a mare as well as the Sun and the Moon seems to be a universal tendency in many of the world's religions. Here's a site addressing this topic (and a quote from it): *p*http://www.mension.com/oracle/mcclath.htm *p*"A regular system, too, pervades the whole of this animal symbolization. By whatever creature the Great Father was represented, the Great Mother was invariably typified by the corresponding female. If the one was a man, the other was a woman; if the one was a bull, the other was a cow; if one was a horse, the other was a mare, &c. All represented, in pairs, the Great Father and Mother, who during their various "Changes and Transformations", had successively passed through each by transmigration. Further, as this deified first man and woman were supposed to have assumed the forms of all animals, these not only became their symbols, but the Great Father and Mother themselves were severally designated by the names of these animals, according to sexual difference; e.gr., a bull, a cow, a dragon, a fowl, a dog, a swine, a bee, a serpent &c" *p**** end of first quote *** *p*"Even Confucius said that this divine father and mother were the Sun and the Moon, 'The Yin and Yang (i.e. K'een and Kwan) are synonymous with the sun and moon.' " *p**** end of second quote *** *p*"The Egyptians and Greeks depicted their Isis and Io with the horns of a Cow; and hence as Herodotus states, they venerated Cows as being the hieroglyphic of their Magna Mater. 'The male kine, therefore, if clean, and the calves, are used for sacrifice by the Egyptians universally; but the female they are not allowed to sacrifice, since they are sacred to Isis. The statue of this goddess has the form of a woman with horns like a Cow; resembling thus the Greek representations of Io.' (Rawlinson's Herod. lib.ii. ch.41.) Io is the same as Isis, and both are the Moon. (Ibid. note.) Both the Egyptians and Hindoos (like the Chinese) declare the Cow to be a type of the Earth, and she is pronounced to be a symbol of the Moon, because the shape of her horns resembles a crescent, and hence the Moon is sometimes represented with the face of a heifer, and as riding in a chariot drawn by bulls. Hence also sacred cakes dedicated to the Moon were made in the form of an Ox. The Hindoo Parvati is precisely the same character as the Egyptian Isis. One of her titles in fact is Isi, and both these goddesses are alike symbolized by a Cow, and are alike declared to be the Moon, and the Earth, and a ship (or Receptacle). Plutarch states that the Egyptians regarded their Osiris as the Beginning, Isis as the Receptacle, and Horus (their son, the First Man) as the completion. In like manner the K'een or Heaven of the Chinese is regarded as the Great Beginning (T'ae-ts'u. ðChin. Rep. Vol. xvii. 630); Kwan or Earth as the Great Receptacle in which all things are stored up; and their son, the First Man, is considered to be the completion of the san tsai or "Three powers of Nature." The sacred Cow of Isis had a lunette stamped upon her, and her horns were polished in order to represent a boat-like crescent." *p**** end of third quote *** *p*The Greeks, the Phoenicians, the Hebrews, the Egyptians and possibly the Hindus sometimes saw the Sun and the Moon as being symbolic of their chief male and female deities. I believe that the Irish Celtic veneration of The Dagda and Brighid/Bóann/Danu is a culturally specific manifestation of this almost universal Indo-European belief and symbolism (especially when Celtic culture derives from or was influenced by many of these same cultures).*p*In my own personal practice of Draíocht (Druidism/Druidry), I see these Moon and Star goddesses as being Bóann (She of the White Cows) and Danu (Waters from Heaven). In some Celtic practices, these different aspects of the two goddesses are bound together in the persona of Brighid (Bride, Brigit). She is Bóann and Danu, as well as the Cailleach and the Flower Maiden. She is the harsh container and its drink, both necessities for drinking from the fountains and flows of Otherworldly power and knowledge. She is the drink and the cup that nourish us all.*p*While Brighid is the comfort of life and the Cailleach is sometimes its hardness, the travails and lack of plenty at the end of winter is also due to the miserly rule of Bres, husband of Brighid and once king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. When the Fomorii were defeated at the second battle of Magh Tuired (Moytura), Bres was captured during the battle. Lugh spared his life when he promised to instruct the Dé Danann in the art of agriculture. He is responsible for the flow of milk from cattle as well. He is a major God of Agriculture. Bres’s lack of hospitality may well be associated with the bleak end of Winter’s harshest weather, when supplies would have been low (or non-existent). He directly contrasts with the hospitality of the home and hearth that is associated with his wife, Brighid.*p*In this time of Imbolc and the first flowing of milk, let us keep in mind that the harshness of our lessons forms a space within us,. It becomes a cauldron or cup,. This space within is an empty cauldron, which is also our potential for learning. It is our hunger and thirst for wisdom and life. If we are also open to learning and growth at this time, then our expanded awareness will receive wisdom to fill its cup. When we look at the Moon against the stars. Let's remember that Brighid is the cup through which we receive the Waters of Heaven. Isn't every Magical action a making of new space for creation to occur? Isn't the formation and birth of a Magical Creation the result of that cup being filled by the power of the gods? Don't we have a dual responsibility in all workings of Draíocht to both create the cauldron through the intention of the mind and to fill it through the flows of spirit? *p*At this time of the harshness of winter, when the Wolf Wind cuts along with the Plover, it is time to open the doorways to Brighid, our foster mother of wisdom, our goddess of healing, creation and poetry. The Cailleach, through the harshness of darkness and cold, has winnowed the chafe that was in us and has removed the fat from our storehouses, so that the Bride of Spring can once again grow the flower mantle that will renew us in the promise of light. Bride comes! She comes to the doorway. She comes to the home and the hearth. She comes with the promise of spring and the hope of prosperity. As we smoor the fires of our hearths and smooth ashes of the fire's bed, let us each make ready for the footstep through the doorway that will be a sign for each of us. Bride comes! She comes through heat of fire and harshness of cold to the fires within the home, the hearth and the heart. Have we made a place for her? In the beginning, it was Bóann that gave birth to the Young Sun (Aonghus mac n'Og) yet it is Brighid who causes the milk of life to flow forth from the Paps of Anu. She is our foster mother of Light.*p*Let us give thanks to the Generous One who causes Bres to relinquish his miserly hold on the "Waters of Heaven",  "The Milk of Life", and the prosperity of the Land.  Hail Brighid of the three fires!*p*She comes to the Doorway.*p*Searles *br*