Beira, Queen of Winter: The First Cailleach (Scottish Folklore)

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In Scotland, a common word for an old woman, especially one with connections to second sight and divination, was Cailleach. But the literal translation of Cailleach is “the veiled one”. For centuries these mysterious veiled women were worshiped as gods, there were legends and tales of the Cailleach or divine crones before united Scotland, the old Pictish and Gaelic tribes would pay tribute to the old gods of the land. The Cailleach, always took the form of old women and were often referred to as the great hags or crones, once again, in Scotland the gods were less worshiped and more feared, they were beings of unimaginable power and human life was not a great concern to the old ones. Tributes were paid, so that the Cailleach would leave you and your livelihood alone, rather than to grant benevolent gifts like many other gods of the world.
The divine hags of Scotland were associated with the creation of the country and the formation of the hills and lochs, they were also in control of the weather and the seas. Over Scotland there were many of these old female gods, each with there own name and powers, but when most people hear the word Cailleach one specific being comes to mind, a god more powerful than all others, A woman known in all corners of Scotland, Dark Beira Queen of Winter.

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References:
Briggs, K.M. (1967) The Fairies in English Tradition and Literature. University of Chicago Press.
Macgregor, A. (1937) Highland Superstitions. Stirling, Eneas Mackay, 43 Murry Place. 1901.
Mackenzie, D.A. (1912) A Highland Goddess. The Celtic Review, 7(28), 336–345. https://doi.org/10.2307/30070410
Mackenzie, D.A. (1917) Wonder Tales From Scottish Myth and Legend. Frederick. A. Stokes Co, New York. ISBN:978-1-4400-3973-7
McKerracher, A. (1988) Perthshire in History and Legend, John Donald Publishers, ISBN 0859762238, pp55-56
Mingren, Wu. (2016) Beira, Queen of Winter. Ancient Origins. [https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/beira-queen-winter-006053]
Rabbies “Rabbie” (2019) Beira: Scotland’s Most Powerful God. Rabbie’s Travelfeels. [https://www.rabbies.com/en/blog/beira-scotlands-most-powerful-god]
WalkHighlands (2021) Ben Cruachan, Walk Highland, Munros. [https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/munros/ben-cruachan]
Weewhitehoose, Author “Fee” (2007) Older Than Time: The Myth of the Cailleach, The Great Mother [https://weewhitehoose.co.uk/study/the-cailleach/]
Whirlpool-Scotland (2021) The Corryvreckan Whirlpool. Scotlands Maelstrom. [https://whirlpool-scotland.co.uk/]

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