The Cailleach

The Cailleach is one of the oldest figures in the mythology of Scotland and Ireland. She shapes the land and keeps the seasons turning.

She is often described today as a symbol of nature’s power.

But in the older Gaelic understanding, she is not a symbol at all. She is that power – alive, present and always changing. She is the land, the weather and the deep rhythms that shape all life.

She is an active presence in an animate world where humans and the rest of nature are always interconnected.

In The Cailleach Awakens – a book of story, poetry and artwork – writer Karen McMillan and illustrator Margaret Kerr imagine Her return to a modern world that has lost its sense of connection to the earth. Through image and word, they invite Her presence into our time – not only as a force of reckoning, but as a keeper of memory and a guide to renewal.