B is for Badb

"Nothing in the universe remains stagnant; everything is constantly changing, moving around the wheel of life. Without death, there can be no rebirth. I am the deathblow and the midwife of the soul. It is to I you will come at this life's end, and it is through me that you shall be reborn."

-Celtic Lore and Spellcraft of the Dark Goddess-

Rebirth is something that I've always felt closely connected to. Even growing up with the Christian concept of eternal life, I still felt oddly drawn to the aspect of rebirth. For me, it seemed like a natural progression of life, even if that meant death was a part of it. Up until this point, I was never introduced to the Morrigan, much less the aspects of such a deity. As many Pagans, I knew the aspects of the Triple Goddess, and I've worked with them frequently. Badb however, is different than most concepts of the Triple Goddess. Getting to know the aspect of Badb has been challenging, and yet very rewarding.

Badb is both the Maiden, and the Crone aspect of the Goddess. When getting to know any aspect of the Morrigan, this can be quiet confusing. As I mentioned in another post, Anu is the Virgin Goddess of the Morrigan, while Macha remains associated with death. This causes an interesting mixture of elements, where life of the Maiden is celebrated so closely with the Crone. When I first started getting to know this aspect, it was that concept that most appealed to me. Invoking an aspect of death into daily life often seems ill advised, and so the transition was made easier focusing on the rebirth aspect of it all.

The Crone aspect of Badb though, cannot be missed. Badb  is pictured as a fair lady, though white and red mouthed. In later tales, Badb was a phantom all together. Without digging too far into it, I suspect that Badb is fair, because the Maiden aspect of the Goddess is fair. What I did find though, is that Badb, being connected with death, took on many of death's appearances. Her pale white skin, is often because white was later connected to death. Where many of us in the United States are accustomed to black being the color of death, white is still that color for many other cultures across the world.

For me, it would seem obvious had such an aspect entered my life early. It wasn't until further study however. that I discovered Badb had been there all along too. When I was young, I had an affinity for wolves. That spiritual connection to wolves later opened many of the doors for me now, but at the time I didn't think anything of it. Badb is strongly connected to wolves, and so now I welcome that aspect of her into my life more openly. It wasn't until middle school though, that I was introduced to Badb's true nature, the Crone. The Banshee is perhaps one of the strongest aspects of Badb's nature, and one that I feared into my teenage years.

As I grew to know what it meant to be Pagan, and specifically Wiccan, the Crone aspect no longer frightened me. I don't remember when I fully embraced death as a part of life, but it was shortly before my choice to become Pagan in general. In fact, one of the last aspects of Badb was important to me starting out my practice. I was apprehensive to come out as a Pagan, and so my altar and tools consisted of a couple candles, and a deck of tarot cards. For the first few years, acts of divination were the only ways I felt close to the One. As I matured as a Pagan, tarot cards found a place on my altar. I wouldn't trade my first deck of tarot cards for all the other tools in the world.

Looking back, the presence of Badb has always been there. There are even some aspects of Badb that I wouldn't trade for the world. Whether one chooses to look at her as the Maiden, or the Crone, I think there is a part of her that everyone meets. I think there is something special about considering Badb as the Midwife of the Soul. Badb is said to be keeper of a cauldron, much like any other aspect of the Morrigan. For Badb, it is the cauldron of the Otherworld. She offers us rest for a time, and then sets us on our path once more. It is her life giving force that makes her perhaps, one of the brighter aspects of the Morrigan.