Tell me, Fair Lady, will winter be long?

Tell me, Old Hag, will my love be back?

Tell me, Dear Mother, will I know the joy of bearing his child?

Cailleach,

the female personification of wild nature. As creator of the landscape, she also controls the weather, winter in particular, determining the intensity and length of this season. Her name means veiled one or hooded one, which in Gaelic mythology means aged or burdened. In Ireland, this Old Hag-Goddess of the old wintertime folktales is known as An Cailleach (literally, an old woman). In Scotland, she’s known as Cailleach Bheur (meaning, genteel old Lady), the blue-faced hag of winter. But in Manx Gaelic, she’s Caillagh Ny Groamagh (which means, old woman of gloominess). This last version of the Old...

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