Folklore Workshop – Crows – The Morríghan

Each Tuesday afternoon workshop will centre around the myth or folklore topic of that week. The aim will be to discuss ideas surrounding that belief or narrative and to come up with a finished piece using any of the methods and materials that are available. You will have access to paper/card, printing materials (linocut, block, mono or collagraph), paints, drawing materials, 3D resources (clay, paper mache, wire, wool), paints and other bits and pieces. You will have an experienced artist to help you develop your ideas and produce your artwork.

In Celtic mythology, the crow is heavily associated with the Morríghan, a warrior goddess who shapeshifts into a crow to oversee battles and predict doom. Historically across Europe, these birds were frequently associated with witches, dark magic, and omens of death because they are scavengers often found lingering near battlefields. The Morrígan is frequently depicted as part of a trio of goddesses, where her most combative aspect, Badb, literally translates to “Battle Crow”. In this form, she would fly over conflict, her caws stirring warriors into a frenzy and her presence foretelling the outcome of the fight. She used her avian form to observe battlefields, determining which warriors were fated to die and acting as a guide for the souls of the fallen into the afterlife. Legend tells that she occasionally appears at rivers as a washerwoman, washing the bloodstained clothes of men fated to die in battle. Spotting three crows or ravens in folklore is heavily tied to the Morrígan, thought to represent her triple-goddess nature and signal her proximity to the observer’s destiny.