In this final episode of 2025, we journey into the deep winter realm of the Cailleach: ancient creator, storm mother, and crone of transformation. Through story, mythic reflection, meditation, and song, this episode explores solitude, sovereignty, aging, creative power, and the wisdom of seasonal rest.

The episode opens with an original myth inspired by the many incarnations of the Cailleach across Celtic lands. She appears as sculptor of mountains, shaper of storms, and guardian of winter stillness. The story traces her creation of the land, her relationship with Brida (who will later become Brigid), and the moment when time and the coming of spring ask her to release her reign...

Following the story, we explore the historical and mythological roots of the Cailleach, her presence in the landscapes of Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Iberia; her association with stone circles, mountains, animals, storms, and winter; and the ways her image has shifted over centuries of retelling. This episode offers a reclaiming of the Cailleach not as a malevolent hag, but as a sovereign force of nature and a bearer of deep feminine wisdom.

A gentle, open-ended guided meditation invites you inward, into the crystal cave beneath the mountain, to rest, to dream, and to listen deeply. The episode closes with “Mother Winter,” an original lullaby to the grandmothers, written and performed by Bronwyn. This is an episode for slowing down, honouring age and experience, and remembering that there are seasons for both labour and rest.

Resources:

• Visions of the Cailleach (Sorita d'Este and David Rankine)
• The Cailleach: Bearer of the Seasons (Gearóid Ó Crualaoich)
• Pagan Portals: The Cailleach (Rachel Patterson)
• The Lament of the Old Woman of Beara (original text in old Irish from 1337 but you can read a more modern translation here https://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/beare.html )
• And if you really want to delve deep, you can take an entire course on the Cailleach through the Irish Pagan School, found here: https://irishpaganschool.com/p/cailleach-lore )

Journal Prompts:

1. Where am I being asked to slow down or rest at this time of year? What about in this season of your life?
2. What wisdom has age, experience, or hardship already given me and how might I honour it more deeply in my life?
3. Where might rest itself be an act of creation in my own life right now?
4. What am I ready to step away from or allow to recede, like winter giving way to spring?