The Celtic festivals of Samhain and Beltaine play an important part in my Dark Goddess trilogy. I also included a myth involving two goddesses that are linked to these important festivals. Samhain, which means “Summer’s End’ was celebrated by the ancient Celts on November 1st. This marked the end of the warm seasons with the reaping of the wheat fields and culling of the herds to prepare for the harsh winter. Beltaine means “Good fire’ and was celebrated May 1st to welcome back the sun and warmer months of plentiful food and milk.

‘The Cailleach’ is believed to be a pre-Celtic earth goddess. She was worshipped by the ancient Celts as a winter goddess and a goddess of sovereignty. Her name means “veiled one’ and she ruled the winter months. I chose her because she is a Celtic goddess known in Ireland and Scotland, which corresponded with the settings of my story. She is usually an old hag, but there are Irish myths that show her as a beautiful young maiden. In legends, she appears to the hero as a hideous old woman in her aspect of Sovereignty to test his heart for kingship.

Brigit is a Celtic sun goddess and a member of the Tuatha de Danaan. Her associations with metalworking (fire) and light are appropriate for rituals welcoming back the sun, healing and inspiration. To the ancient Celts, she was a triple-aspect goddess of poetry, smith-craft and medicine. In pre-Celtic beliefs, she represents the Maiden””new beginnings. In her earliest incarnation, she was called Breo-Saighit (Fiery Arrow). She is known in Ireland, Scotland and Britain with variations of her name: Brigid, Bride, Brigantia. There are many stories about her as she is an enduring goddess and is still worshipped today as St. Brigit (Brigid). Her festival is held on Imbolc (Feb. 1st).

In the myth I used for my trilogy, the two goddesses are imprisoned by the changing seasons and forced to “sleep’ during the months their reign ends. Cailleach ruled in winter months, awakening at Samhain. Her reign ended on Beltaine when Brigit awoke to rule the summer months. The part that interested me about this legend is that they may have been two different faces of the same goddess. I drew on this myth and put my own spin on it.

http://kelleyheckart.com/winters_requiem.html

Winter’s Requiem, Book 3, Dark Goddess Trilogy, Celtic historical/fantasy

Blurb:

Three different women, one ancient curse”¦

An ancient curse is revealed, leading Domelch, Brigit and Cailleach into certain danger amid a web of deceit. Can they break the curse and put the shattered pieces of their lives back together?

Excerpt from Winter’s Requiem (PG):

The warriors gathered in preparation for the twilight hunt, a special rite for the warrior elite. Grooms readied horses, fitting them with bridles and colorful riding blankets. Quivers hanging from harnesses, attached to the riding blankets, bulged with throwing spears.

Women brought their warriors skins filled with mead and leather pouches of bread and cheese. Cailleach looked on with jealousy burning in her veins as the king’s daughter handed Aethelfrith food supplies. The princess smiled sweetly up at him and fluttered her gold-tipped lashes.

“Why do you not serve your man?” one of the women said, watching her with curiosity.

“I…” Cailleach looked to Ungild for assistance.

“My mistress hails from a land where a noblewoman does not serve anyone.”

“Oh.” The noblewoman stared at Cailleach with a mixture of awe and indignation.

Aethelfrith took Cailleach gently by the arm, pulling her to a private spot behind a wide oak. “I will not be able to concentrate on the hunt unless I know you will be warming my bed upon my return.” His hands rested on her shoulders, warm and reassuring.

“I will be waiting for you with eagerness.” The half-truth slipped easily from her lips.

The affection in his eyes put an ache in her heart.

“You are the most beautiful maiden here.” He stroked her cheek.

“Am I?” Recalling the image of the lovely princess flirting with him ignited the embers of suspicion.

“Yes.” He cupped her chin and dipped his head, kissing her on the lips in a tender crush.

His tender kiss stirred feelings in her she wanted to forget, the ache in her heart building. Human emotions threatened to render her weak, and she understood what a powerful emotion like love could do to a person. Just one kiss could make her forget her true purpose for being there with him.

“Aethelfrith, there will be plenty of time for love play, but the beasts stir in the wood awaiting our spear points,” Theodbald called.

Laughter and coarse remarks ensued from the warriors.

“You’d best go now.” She smiled.

His warm hand touched her cheek. He left in a flash of white sheaths and glinting metal. The horses and riders galloped out of the meadow under a rising moon in a flourish of shimmering manes, tangled tails and glinting blades. Hooves pounded the heath, bridles jangling in the gathering gloam. The sounds of the warriors faded away, leaving an eerie hush behind in their wake.

“Ungild, I am retiring to my room for the night. I will not need your services.” Cailleach concentrated on concealing her thoughts, hoping the old woman would not detect her deceit. Wrapping herself in shadows, she pretended to walk toward the hall to the royal quarters, but instead slipped silently into the woods.

She’d been careful not to use magic around the mortals, but tonight she had no choice if she was to test Aethelfrith’s heart. Concealing herself among thick bushes, she stepped out of her clothes. Her naked skin prickled in the cold autumn night, but the feeling of being naked filled her with a sense of freedom””freedom from the binding fabric, freedom from the laws of mortals.

Calling on her powers, she used all of her concentration and strength, aware of her weakness in this foreign land. Her body tingled with the transformation, her flesh twisted and shifted, sprouting black feathers.

The raven let out a harsh cry, ruffling her feathers and taking flight. Happiness filled her at the freedom this shape gave her to slip undetected through the night, soaring on wings across the treetops. The cold air bounced off her insulated body, her wings slicing with ease through a night illuminated by a full moon. The sounds of pounding hooves and jangling bridles reached her ears and she changed course, flying toward the river. Below outstretched branches, she spotted Aethelfrith and his band of warriors. They emerged from the woodlands into a clearing in pursuit of a stag.

Cailleach flapped her wings faster to increase her speed so she could keep up with the swift hunters. She recalled the thrill of hunting, her heart fluttering with excitement. The riders spread out around the fleeing stag in a skillful formation, cutting off its escape. The majestic beast fell under the might of the roaring spears.

Alighting on a nearby branch, Cailleach waited for the warriors to gather their prize stag, knowing they would probably stop to rest now.

A small fire sparked below. The warriors gathered around for warmth. Drinking horns gleamed in the moonlight, laughter carried up into the night.

It was time. Cailleach shrugged off the nervous jitters surging through her body, uncertain of what she wanted to happen. Spreading her wings, she landed on the ground, calling on more magic. Her body shifted, her flesh pulling and shaping into the sagging flesh of an old, ugly woman. In this tormented body, she did not have the same joyful feelings as she embraced in the raven’s body. The gnarled, painful joints twisted in a hideous angle, the naked flesh wrinkled and sagging. A sudden terrifying thought filled her that her senses about Aethelfrith were wrong. If he failed her test, she might not have the strength to change her shape back and she would be stuck in the hideous body.

It has to be this way. It has always been this way.

Naked and limping through the trees, she emerged before the warriors who sat in a circle around the fire. All heads turned toward her.

“Who here will give warmth to a lost, cold old woman?” Her voice sounded like a raven’s harsh croak. She parted her lips in a smile, revealing blackened and chipped teeth.

Theodbald looked at her with disgust. “Old woman, you will find no warmth here. Be off with you,” he barked, waving her away.

“Wait.” Aethelfrith stood, peering at her. “Take this to cover yourself.” He took off his cloak and approached her, draping it across her naked shoulders.

She looked at him, hoping he would see through the guise. Her chest tightened in apprehension. “Would you warm an old woman’s frozen lips?”

He gazed at her as if looking right through her. Cailleach’s heart quickened. He pressed a kiss to her lips, awakening the magic.

Her body changed, the bent, swollen joints straightening, the sagging skin tightening into the shape of a young, beautiful woman.

“What is this?” He stared wide-eyed at her.

“King of the land of Bernicia, I am Sovereignty and your seed shall be sown over every kin,” she said, hardly able to keep from revealing herself to him.

He peered at her, recognition glimmering in his eyes. “Frige?”

She gave him an enigmatic smile and called on the magic to change her shape into a raven. The cloak landed in a heap on the ground at Aethelfrith’s feet. Her transformation used the last of her powers until she could rest and gain more strength. The raven stared up at him and let out a parting croak. Flapping wings carried Cailleach away into the moonlit night, her thoughts troubled. She should be happy that he had the heart of a king, but something didn’t feel right.

A blanket of mist sparkled and shimmered beneath the ghostly splash of moonlight over the river dividing Bernicia from Gododdin. The fog emitted an unearthly radiance, parting as if opening a doorway. She tried to turn to avoid entering the strange mist, realizing it was a trap, but the fog surrounded her. In her weakened state, Cailleach’s magic was nothing more than a harmless ember that faded into a cold ash. She experienced a sense of confusion, the cold, wet mist capturing her.

Cailleach struggled to escape the trap. She sensed that Badb had tricked her, luring her here with magic. Badb knew Cailleach was unable to resist the temptation to test the prince for kingship and would be too weak after working such strong magic to be able to escape the trap. The fog encircled Cailleach with a memory, one she wanted to close her mind against. She tried to fight the powerful, magical pull.

I cannot escape from my past.

****

‘Ms. Heckart draws the reader into the pages and enchants them with her words.’

Karen McGill, Coffee Time Romance

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating…Sensual…Otherworldly

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A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse”¦

All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in Dark Age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach. http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html