Owls are mostly nocturnal and so the realm of darkness and night is their usual domain. This is the place of mystery, ancient wisdom and the unknown.
Owls in folklore are also connected with the moon, which is a symbol of the feminine and fertility, with the moon’s cycles of renewal.
The word “cailleach” means 'veiled one', 'old crone," or 'old woman/ hag/witch".
Owl in Gaelic language is Ulchabhán and also “cailleach oiche”, which I love! The 'night crone'.
It's a beautiful name connecting the wisdom of the Cailleach to the owl. In folklore, the owl is often a guide to and through the Underworld, a creature of keen sight in darkness, and a silent and swift hunter.
Sometimes, when we are going through transformations and changes in our own psychological selves, we are in the process of cultivating metaphorically, eyes to see in the darkness, to trust the darkness and the wisdom inherent within. That's the beauty too of the Cailleach. She knows places of transition and transformation very well.
Wisdom is attained and gleaned in those transitions and transformations. The darkness, the beautiful places of wisdom, the Cailleach, and the owl.
Grá mór, Eileen x
Photography- Martine Minet
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