Macha* "She shines in all of us. She burns us all within." —from Casting the Circle by Diane Stein Macha (mah-kuh), the old woman of winter and the end of the cycle. Macha is an odd deity in that she is rarely worshipped, but given acknowledgement widely. She is the goddess of winter and the end of the life cycle. In visions, she appears as a withered old woman with rheumy eyes and a scowl. Needless to say, she is rarely worshipped. She represents the end of life, and of the winter in all things. She governs an aspect of life which, while unpleasant, is part of the natural order of things. It was Macha, in a younger form, who cursed the warriors of Ulster to feel the pangs of childbirth whenever their country was threatened. Although not worshipped per se, she is mentioned at Samhain, as it is the end of the year, and her time. The name Emhain Macha, Navan Fort in Co. Armagh, means the "Twins of Macha" and the terrible story of how these twins were born explains how, in ancient times, whenever Ulster was in danger, its menfolk suffered the pangs of childbirth. The story begins in a remote part of Ulster, in the heart of Pictish territory, somewhere north of where Ballymena is now, and south of Ballymoney. Crunnchu was a wealthy farmer living out in the wilds in solitude and isolation. In spite of this he prospered, and his wife bore him many sons who helped him on his farm. However, while some of the boys were still very young he was widowed, but he did not remarry, and he lived alone. One day, while lying on his couch taking a rest after eating, a beautiful young woman came to him, exquisitely dressed in the finest silk, swift and elegant in her movements. She did not speak to him, but immediately bent down to the hearth and started to kindle a fire. All day she walked around the house, not saying a word, and in the evening she found a bowl for kneading dough, and a sieve for flour and she made bread. She prepared meat too for the household and fed the men. At nightfall she took up the milk pails and went out to the cow byre. Coming back into the house with the pails full she turned to the right inside the threshold to bring good luck to the family and the house, then went to sit in a chair beside Crunnchu. When the men and boys went to bed she stayed behind at first, banking down the fire; then, turning again to the right she went to Crunnchu's bed and awakened him with her light touch. So she continued, living with him, and caring for him until she became pregnant. At this time the men of Ulster used to hold a great assembly or fair, known as an "aonach", when all of them would gather together to celebrate their unity, and one-ness, the word "aonach" coming from "aon", meaning one. Now while his wife was pregnant Crunnchu decided to go to this fair like everyone else. "No, do not", said his woman, whose name, he had discovered, was Macha. "Do not go," she said, "because if you do you will tell everyone who I am and that will be the end of us." "I promise", he said, "that I will not mention you or refer to you in any way." The field was full of people, with their horses and chariots, and banners flying over the crowd. Everyone was dressed in their brightest clothes - blue, orange, red, and green. There were competitions and games of all kinds: horse-racing, throwing the dice, spear-casting, parades, displays, cavalcades. In the middle of the afternoon, which was the high point of the fair, the king's chariot and horses were brought before the crowd. The king challenged any riders to race against his team but his equipage beat all comers. The bards and poets recited their praise poems to the king, gravely intoning their descriptions of his valour and prowess, and extolling the achievements of his team of horses. Crunnchu was listening to all of this and he grew restless, knowing that his wife was better than anyone or anything in the field that day. Eventually, he could restrain himself no longer and blurted out: "My wife, Macha, can run faster than the king's horses." "Seize him and throw him into the dungeon", he said "and fetch his woman to see if she is as good as he says." Everyone laughed. But the king remained grim and determined. Messengers were sent. When they got to Crunnchu's isolated farm, Macha knew that trouble lay ahead. "We've come", a messenger said, "to give you the opportunity of releasing your husband, who has been locked up for boasting that you were faster on your feet than the king's team of racing horses." "This is terrible", she said. "I am pregnant and going into labour even now. That was a stupid thing for him to say." "True," said the messenger, "but he will die unless you race." "What will be will be," she said. When she got to the fair, they all stared. "It is wrong for you all to be looking at a woman in my condition. I should not be here. I cannot race in the throes of my birth-pangs." "Well", said the king turning to a group of laughing men behind him, "who will go to give the farmer a good hacking? You either race or he dies." "Just wait, even for a little while, until I bring forth what is inside me," said Macha. "No, now, you race this moment", said the king. "You and your kind will regret this forever", she said. "Your shame will last for nine generations. Alright, bring the horses and set them here beside me." And so it was done. The horses were brought up and the race begun. She ran so fast that by the time she reached the end of the course she had cleared enough space to allow her to cross over in front of the galloping horses. Then she collapsed and screamed out in pain as she writhed on the ground. A girl and a boy were born there in the field, and these were the two that gave Emhain Macha its name, the Twins of Macha. As the woman howled in agony, all energy left the men standing looking on, in silence and shame. She spoke: "What you have done is your own disgrace. When things go hard for Ulster you will all be as weak as a woman when her time has come. And you will continue that way for as long as a woman spends in labour: five days and four nights. And this curse will last for nine generations." And so it was. So that when Medhbh of Connacht attacked Ulster seeking to carry off the bull of Cooley, all the men were laid low by this debility; all that is except Cu Chulainn, the defender of the north, for he was British, and therefore not one of the men of Ulster.   * Courtesy of George Treanor, Secretary of the Irish Heritage Group See Also: Goddesses of War Page last updated 26 Jul 2008 Snowflake Background and Graphics by Aine's Cauldron Website Design  and Myths & Magic logo by Míchealín Daugherty   Copyright © 2008 Ireland's OWN. All Rights Reserved.