Samhain 101: The Morrigan of Deeply Rooted
“We call to the Morrigan of Deeply Rooted, in her aspect of death—
Great Queen of the Faeries,
Sovereign Raven of Battle,
She who fights for the good of the land and its people.
You lend us your sacred armor
To face our ordeals with grace.
We call you this night, when the veil is thin,
To honor your name, your memory, your land.
Grant us your blessing
As we pass into the realm between worlds.
Morrigan of Deeply Rooted, Phantom Queen, guide of souls—
You are the fire of passion,
The light of inspiration,
The chill in the air,
The breath of winter.
We call to your Faerie Court, the Tuatha de Dannan,
Watchers of our earthly deeds.
Let us tread lightly in your land,
And walk with respect.
Stand with us as we honor the ancestors of Kin, Road, Ghost, and Host.
Hail and Welcome!”
Who is The Morrigan of Deeply Rooted?
This blog is dedicated to The Morrígan. Through her ordeal, I am made stronger. I also dedicate this writing to anyone suffering with mental health, addiction, grief, or any other soul who is going through it. It is also dedicated to my teacher, Oak Bear, Daniel Moeller. Thank you for helping me understand the process and use of ordeal therapeutically, and for introducing me to a different side of The Morrígan.
This Samhain, the Morrígan of Deeply Rooted walks with us. When a deity and a people are united through the land, they begin to see each other through a new lens. Place shapes presence, and presence reshapes place. In this article, I want to share both the traditional significance of the Morrígan in Celtic lore and my own understanding of how she moves through Deeply Rooted.
Envision her
If you’ve never worked with the Morrígan, let me paint a picture. She is the Phantom Queen: a specter of strength, a voice of prophecy, and a victorious Goddess of battle. In our ritual, we call her in her aspect of Death. She is the crow upon the battlefield, the voice of endings, and the one who prepares us for the ordeals we must face. In vision, I have seen her as a tall, raven-haired woman with piercing blue eyes, wearing a red fedora, a red cloak, and black angel wings. She has many faces in the lore, and it is fascinating to see how our ancestors perceived her through their own vantage points.
At Deeply Rooted, the Morrígan is more than a myth—she is a living presence, shaped by both people and land. She comes in dire moments, lending her armor to those who are willing to face their challenges head on. She is a tireless warrior for the good of the earth. And when the land is not treated with respect, the Morrígan—and the fae folk who walk with her—make their displeasure known. Here, machines may fail, tools may vanish, and boundaries are made clear in ways impossible to ignore.
She is the Challenge at the Gate
She is the voice of truth, calling us to act when we would rather look away. Like the Sovereign Queen of Battle from Celtic history, she makes herself known. At times her presence is as fierce as a violent summer storm, carrying the scent of plum blossoms on the air. At other times she is the icy breath of Samhain winds. She may whisper to us around the bonfire or roar in the depths of winter, pushing us to shovel the driveway together when the snow becomes too heavy for one person to bear.
This is why, in our Samhain ritual Dance with the Dead, we honor her not as a distant figure from mythology, but as a vital force within the land of Deeply Rooted. The Morrígan has come to many of our clergy before me, setting before them ordeals that either tempered them into strength or revealed that their path lay elsewhere. She has always been a watcher and a guardian of this church.
In her presence, we call to the ancestors, weaving the lives of the living with those of the dead. For the greatest challenge we all face is what lies beyond the veil. Samhain is the time to speak her name and ask her aid in whatever ordeal lies before us. She stands with those who live in truth, who act with integrity, who seek healing. But she will not suffer those who invoke her name for vanity or spectacle. She values those whose words align with their deeds, who work for the well-being of the people, the animals, the fae, and the land.
When we chant, “Hail the Kin, Hail the Road, Hail the Ghosts, Hail the Hosts,” we speak not only to the ancestors, but to the Morrígan herself. She walks the Road between the worlds—through the Summerland and into mysteries we can only guess at. She keeps the memory of our Kin. She shepherds the Ghosts—our beloved animal companions and the livestock who gave of themselves for our survival. And she reigns as Queen of the Hosts, the fae folk of Deeply Rooted.
At Deeply Rooted Church, the Morrígan is not only remembered—she is encountered. She is of our land, of our people, and of our path forward.
