Mabon Blessings! | An Ancestral Struggle With Clan Gillian of Duart and McLean of Lochbuie (September 23, 2023)
"The merciless McDonald - Worthy to be a rebel, for to that,
The multiplying of villainies of nature
Do swarm upon him, from the Western Isles,
If kerns and gallowglasses is supplied."
- Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 2.
Merry Meet!
It is my favorite depiction of The Morrigan and the one I was led to use personally to represent her by The Morrigan herself! Mickie Mueller has some great products featuring this image. Check them out! No, I'm not getting paid to insert any of this. I truly enjoy her work and her YouTube Channel.)
The quote above from Shakespeare is speaking about the mercenaries of Clan McClain who were part of the Gallowglass.
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These gifts I speak of have been gifts I have asked for and things I have needed. The Morrigan has been with me over 30 years now when she picked me when I first became a Witch. As many of you already know I am Wiccan and follow a solitary Celtic path, and this is the path I have followed since the beginning of my journey into Wicca. I have been truly blessed this whole journey as I am truly blessed this Mabon.
This is truly fitting for the Spirit and Season of Mabon. As the Autumn Equinox is upon us now, and a light and darkness are equal in measure, my struggles to find answers and some truth into family and ancestor matters that have been plaguing me for a very long time is coming to fruition now and I'm finally getting some of those answers. This situation in itself is a struggle between the light and the darkness, where they are both in equal measure and is symbolic of the two family factions and that struggle within them. It is also symbolic of their attitudes with each other in this whole situation. Unfortunately it's also fitting because of the spirits of my ancestors attitude towards me. I'm not going to make the ancestral blessings this year because of the situation spiritually with these ancestors. I wanted to but their energy stopped me. I wanted to know why, what had I done to them to cause these harsh negativity and feelings towards me and especially my spiritual work? The Morrigan has gifted me with a solid answer, one I think I deserve!
There have been members of my family here in the United States that, when they found out that I had decided to follow the Wiccan Path, wanted me to break the generational curse upon our family. That is no small task! There are several parts to this and also this curse has been deadly. I appreciate the confidence and now nearly 30 years later after the ask came, this blog is about my progress. More about this will be explained in detail in my upcoming book about my path (maybe.... right now their attitudes are so sucky I'm not sure I want to experience any more of it!). It has been a long, mysterious, and great one to follow!
My channeling work with most of these spirits of Clan McLean has brought me nothing but heartache because of their attitudes toward witches themselves. This is very hypocritical because within the castle even today you can find things that they do that would be considered witchcraft, yet they do it anyway but don't call it that. Their spirits have forbidden me from putting up an ancestral altar to pay homage to them, or even getting a Scottish dirk with anything on it associated with the clan to use as my boline for ritual work. This is all coming from the side of the McLeans of Duart. The McLeans of Lochbuie seem to be another story because I've already found other Wiccans within their Clan not even looking for them. I do know for a fact that when the McLean's of Duart was picking committee members in the United States that they appointed a member who was Wiccan but upon finding out that she was Wiccan, they immediately kicked her off the committee and shunned her within the family, making her a social outcast.
The saying goes be Scottish and be proud but I'm not proud of this. How can I be? Especially when I find signs of witchcraft within their own castle but then wanting to do it but not wanting to call it that and shun anybody else who does. There are a few exceptions to everything I just told you within the family and I will speak of them as well.
I have had many spiritual experiences and experiences with spirit itself during this whole process, which was also a great help to my paranormal research as well but that is another story altogether. I have met and even photographed these spirits that I speak of. I know beyond doubt that they are real and that this struggle is real. I know that this is the truth. I love these spirits and these ancestors whether they love me back or not.
The Morrigan has asked me to do something and in the asking me to do something she has given me the gift that I have asked for. It is an answer to a question that I have had for the whole 30 years that I have been working in The Craft. You see, there was a generational curse on our family. I'm just now beginning to get to the truth of it because the family has a history of not talking about it and I was told off by the household of the Clan Chief when I asked them about it! I thought this was not only rude but weird, but now that I know more about it from a neutral standpoint and a neutral party I can see why their attitude is like that. I'm not saying that their attitude is right I'm just saying that now I see it more clearly.
Many moons ago our family split into two clans in Scotland: Clan Gillian of the Battle Axe (Clan McClain of Duart), and Clan McLean of Lochbuie. I'm a descent of Ewen McClain of Gillian. There's been fierce battles between the two family sectors, in one form or another, ever since the first battle that split the family into two Clans.
(McLean of Lochbuie, "To conquer or die.")
I've never agreed with nor have been a fan of the family split, but you cannot tell them that and get away with it! As the saying goes, "You can put a McClain on a hill and if that McClain decides that they want to sit on it, you can blow it up with dynamite and they would just crawl back up on the rubble." For the record I consider myself a part of both sides of the family, all of them are family to me! I'm refusing to participate in the rift. My ancestors fully disagree with my decision and actually call me a traitor. I can hear these words with my physical ears as I write this blog post and many times before this, also. My heart is broken.
I know these things that I'm going to tell you are true because I have had them verified and very big ways three different times. You see, I had two strokes last year. I've also had memory problems because of health conditions in the past. This Mabon has been no exception and my memory of this has been restored. Hail Great Goddess Morrigan! She herself restored my memory of this so my answers could be confirmed in a huge way. When major events happen and they happen more than once you can be sure that is confirmation that it is real and true and also that this is the path that you're supposed to follow. Now I've had the same confirmation about the truth of this family rift and the answer to the question that I have asked for many years come to me in this form. I know that this is the correct and true answer!
During the 14th century..... That's right, it goes way back that far. Clan McClain (McLean) became a dominant force in the western Scottish isles. In that time, the Chief was Lachlan "The Wily" of Duart.
This particular story focuses on Hector "The Stern" of Lochbuie who had a son named Ewen (pronounced "Hugh") of the Little Head. It is thought that they named him such because they believed him to be a fool. They thought everything that Ewen did was foolish and even though he was the son of a chief there wasn't much respect for him in the clan. They also thought that his most useful action was an arranged marriage between him and a somewhat older woman of Clan McDougal which would prove to be a detriment to Ewen. The woman gained the nickname of The Black Heron because of a domineering personality and she didn't suffer fools lightly. Ewen would suffer greatly because of this marriage.
She was on his back picking at him night and day. There was no end to her dominance and nagging. Constantly she would say, Ewen, confront your father. It is you who should be chief!
Hector, the chief of Lochbuie, was now old and The Black Heron was determined that Ewen inherit the castle and all its lands instead of his cousins. Day after day The Black Heron would demand that he confront his father and day after day Hector simply listened and thought it was nonsense.
Hector's answer was simple each time. He told him that he would see what time brings and left it at that which was no good to Ewen's wife. One day Hector could take it no more.
When that time came a verbal conflict ensued between Father and son and Ewen finally took the flat of the blade of his sword and cracked Hector in the head with it, running off in fury. This action meant that Ewen had challenged him to a duel. Hector refused to fight his own son so he sent word to his brother Lachlan. He wanted his advice on what to do with his challenging son.
When the news arrived, his brother Lachlan was furious. He said that it didn't matter if Ewen was his nephew or not, that he had disrespected the whole of the clan and he would pay for that. So, Lachlan issued a challenge to Ewen - bring any man that is loyal to you and meet me on a field of battle.
This is exactly what Ewen did. The Black Heron sent word to her father about the challenge from Lachlan. Pretty soon a small army of McDougal's began to arrive. They made camp in the woods.
The evening before the battle Ewen needed to calm his nerves and find some peace of mind if he was going to be a great warrior in battle the next day against the McLeans of Duart. While walking he came upon a woman at a small stream and she was washing clothes. Her visage was a terrible sight to him. It frightened him greatly and he looked at her through the eyes of fear. Perhaps he should have looked at her differently. Things might have went better for him had he a more positive attitude or tried to look for truth in the situation, but usually in situations like this people react exactly as he did.
What he saw was a tall and shriveled creature with a hooked nose, rough calloused hands that ended in pointed claws. Ewen knew that this woman was not of this world and had to be the one of the fae realm called the BEAN-NIGHE, the Fairy Washer Woman who protends death and was currently washing the shirts of those who would soon die. He asked if one of those shirts belong to him. With one slow and deliberate nod she confirmed his worst fears. Ewen was fated to die in the battle against the McLeans (McClain - today's spelling of that particular branch of the family) of Duart.
Ewen was frantic. He called again, "Please, Oh Washer Woman, what can I do to avoid this fate?" Her reply was cryptic. "There is only one thing that will save you from this fate. If on the morning you are given butter for your porridge unprompted only then will you survive this battle."
Ewen was furious with the woman and cursed her as a fool. He thought being a smart aleck would help because now he saw the washer woman as a foe, having not given him the answer that he would like to have heard. He must beat her at her own game! He called back to her in anger saying, "Well then, my men and I will not have porridge for breakfast in the morning and your prophecy will not come true!" After all, how could it come true with no porridge? Ewen of the Little Head returned to camp and slept deeply that night.
Early the next morning he and his men sat in a big tent awaiting breakfast. He watched in horror as the servants brought out bowl after bowl of warm porridge. He panicked. He called to his men that no one touched the porridge and they waited for hours while the porridge got cold. They were waiting for butter that never showed up, fulfilling the Washer Woman's prophecy. Ewen would die in battle that day.
There was no food in their stomachs but yet they left for battle. The warriors were at a great disadvantage on empty stomachs. As he left the tent, Ewen shouted back to his wife, "The servants are terrible! We wait for hours and still we have no butter for our porridge, so we will have no porridge and win the battle nonetheless!" As I said before, the McLeans are a very stubborn and defiant people. Perhaps that is one reason they made the fiercest of warriors! On a side note I do believe that things like attitude and willpower are genetic. I can almost go down through my family line and prove that. Ewen was looking a self-fulfilling prophecy directly in the face while it was coming true and still defying it.
Up in the hills a great battle erupted with Ewen on his steed directly in the middle of it. He drew his sword and charged directly toward his uncle Lachlan, but Lachlan had a great claymore and saw him coming, charging directly at him. He waited. Ewen drew close and as he drew close, Lachlan lifted his sword upward taking off the head of his nephew Ewen as he charged past him. Ewen's body continued charging atop the animal, and that's how he's still seen to this day.
This is the Headless Horseman of Clan McClain. This is the forbidden story that no one will speak about.
Ewen's Spectre it's not limited to the Isle of Mull or Clan Lochbuie, although it is said that when a member of Clan Lochbuie is about to die that he will be seen riding on his horse or the sound of hooves will be heard galloping about. His spectral from is known to roam all over Scotland and sometimes Ireland. It is even speculated that Ewen of the Little Head could be connected to the legendary Irish DULLAHAN, a sinister fae rider who carries his decapitated head under his arm and hunts for the souls of the damned all over Ireland.
The Irish DULLAHAN is thought to be the embodiment of the ancient Celtic god CROM DUBH, or BLACK CROM. He was worshiped by a prehistoric King around 1500 years ago where human sacrifice was given to him, being on well before the tale of Ewen. The CROM DUBH is largely considered to be demonic in nature and was overcome by St. Patrick.
There's no real reason to connect any story thread from Ewen's tale with that of the DULLAHAN or CROM DUBH that I can find.
Some people believe that not only will he be seen or his horse's hooves heard but that Ewen himself will come to take the souls of the dead. Some people look on the positive side and see him as a guide for the souls to take them to the other side safely. This is how I personally view him. But still others claim that he arrives in this world to kill those whose time here is up.
Why are most Scottish legends so dark and full of doom? I'm hard-pressed to find any light in any of these stories and beliefs!
I'm here to tell you right now that The Morrigan is here to offer this family Light. Please take it! More about that part later. On with the story....
In another part of Scottish folklore, Ewen takes a liking to one of his descendants and can be commonly seen riding him on horseback with him. He would do no harm to this young man. He said to converse with him and make omens about the clans successors which, according to legend, have all come true but there is no record of exactly what these omens were.
On the blackest of nights, Ewen was said to have come for a great McLean warrior who had tied himself to a birch tree. When the Headless Horseman reached down to put the warrior on the back of his horse and ferry him off to the other world, the warrior refused to move and the unworldly strength that The Horseman possessed did not matter against the Great McLean. The birch tree bent and creaked but would not give way. For the first time ever The Horseman was thrown to the ground as it galloped away into the night, making Ewen chase it. Some claimed it took him 3 months to recapture the beast and others claimed it took years, but during this time no McLean died. Was it a coincidence? Very well could be. Many years passed before the warrior died and The Horseman returned.
Yet another instance happened on the Isle of Mull in the early 1900s. This time it was involving three sisters: Lilias, Jane, and Marianne. They were very happy living together in their cottage, and one cold winter's evening the local doctor, Dr. Duncan McDonald, was doing his normal rounds when he dropped in to see the sisters. When they opened the door to let him in all four of them heard the clattering of horses hooves coming up the driveway but when they look to see who or what was coming there was nothing there. Lilias yelled, "That's Ewen of the Little Head coming for me!" The next day Lilias died.
One year later Jane died in the house as well. Jane's caretakers swore they heard the sound of hooves in the drive outside but no one ever arrived. They also claimed strange ghostly occurrences in the home. Their items would go missing or the items would move on their own, for weeks they had heard the rattling of bridal chains of a horse until the day that Jane died and then the sounds stopped.
The third sister, the only one left alive, Marianne, no longer wanted to live in the cottage, and who could blame her? She now believed the cottage to be cursed. It is a truly awful thing to believe that the home that you have been living in for so many years and have been so happy in is cursed. That would be devastating, yet this is what Marianne was dealing with now.
She moved to another cottage in 1902 where she died after contracting an illness. It gets stranger from here as well. The ones taking care of her claimed to hear horses hooves on the night that she passed and the neighbors in the surrounding cottages claim to have seen the specter of a headless horseman galloping around the fields near her cottage.
Before the beginning of World War II, the ghost of Ewen McLean I said to have been quite active again. In the area of Lochbuie people clean to hear the galloping of horses hooves near their homes at night and when morning would arrive they would go out and search for horse's hoof prints or tracks but found none. They thought that this is surely an omen and they were afraid that the horse would return. In a few days they got the news then an old woman related to the McLean Chief had died. The older locals were done with the omens and for a few weeks dared not to venture outside. After all, some people did believe that the Headless ghost of Ewen the Little Head would come himself to take away those who were meant to die, and possibly even cause the the death himself. They thought it best just to stay inside. He was said to gallop between Lochbuie and the McLean mausoleum.
Another story was recorded by Chief Murdoch Gillian MacLaine in which he said that near his end of days he began to hear the hooves of a horse riding toward him. Now, Chief MacLaine was never known to be a man of superstition and would not have himself be made out to be one in the end. He firmly believed that this was a local riding a horse or a horse that escaped from a stable. He did send men out to search for it in the fields around his home. His men found nothing, not even hoof prints, even though they had searched everywhere diligently. Some days later he was still hearing the galloping and he became very ill. He called for the doctor who arrived two days later with two nurses, a day nurse and a night nurse who all took up residence at Lochbuie House. In the evening while he was eating his dinner he died. He was long dead by the time the doctor got to him and now the nurse's only job what's to prepare the body for burial, a task which they went about doing gladly.
Very quickly something happened that gave them such a fright that they rushed down the stairs and refused to return to finish their job of preparing his body for burial, and, what's more, they also refused to tell anybody what they had witnessed. Then even more things started happening later that evening when a sense of dread encompassed the whole household. They all gathered in the dining room fearing for their lives with strange sounds of doors banging and creaking floorboards permeated the house. Even more eerily, this creepy night was sealed when the sun began to rise and the sound of a door slamming shut was heard along with the sound of galloping hooves riding off into the distance.
Many many more tails such as these exist throughout the Celtic Isles, and within clans and families. A lot of them are attributed to the haunting specter of Ewen of the Little Head.
I can understand why my family refused to talk about this. I guess some of them still believe that the specter will come and kill them and giving him attention will call him to them. I might have scared the crap out of them when I told them about my photo that I had taken which showed the headless specter of Ewen McLean standing in the woods behind my house. I did not mean to scare them nor did he. I requested him to show up for my photograph and he did. You see, every time that I have seen him he has meant no harm. As a matter of fact, I feel like I have a friend and ally in him. I've also seen his companion riding with him.
I imagine that my sitting there holding this photograph from a 35 mm camera taken with 800 speed film with this picture proving the existence of the family specter in my hand while saying, "Hey guys, I've got proof that your ghost exists and the legends and stories are true," could have caused a few of them to scream and run. That was not my intention but I realize that now. It's not the first time that I've been holding physical evidence like that and the supposed recipients would walk or run away and leave me standing there dumbfounded. Not only that but to this one photograph that I'm speaking about, they reacted in anger. Not cool, guys.
There is Light at the end of the tunnel or else I would not be writing this blog. The light is coming from the Celtic Triple Goddess, The Morrigan herself. You see, she is who I woke up to this Mabon. The good news is that this curse is lifted off of the family and this is coming directly from The Morrigan. However, there are several more curses upon both sides of this family. As with anything it can only be taken one day at a time and one thing at a time.
His spirit is free, but if you make a request of Ewen, he will still carry out his job if that's what you want him to do. He's not gone. He's forever a part of this family. He is a good, positive spirit and can very much be of assistance to us. There's no need to fear him.
There's more to read below, please scroll down and read to the very end of the post.
The curse of the Washer Woman was active now and had come true. Ewen was doomed as a special Headless Horseman.
One of the many descriptions of the BEAN-NIGHE comes from the Isle of Mull where she is described as having unusually long breasts. They would interfere with her washing. It was common practice to have them slung over her shoulder so they would hang down her back. It was said in Mull not to walk away, instead quietly approach from behind and suckle from the breasts claiming to be a foster child she would accept you she would accept you as kin and grant you whatever knowledge you seek. She would even cease her washing at the clothes were that of the new kin or their friend. On the other hand, one who was kin of the BEAN-NIGHE could offer the blood soaked clothes of their enemy and seal their fate.
Known as The CAILLEACHAN MORE, divine haggs, all the workings of nature belong to them.
The Pictish belief and the goddesses of nature seem to be indigenous to Scotland and pre-date the Celtic triple goddess. In the ancient Pictish Traditions there was many matriarchal customs. They recognized secession only by the female line. They venerated the female rulers of nature.
The Morrigan & Clan McLean:
Artist depiction of The DULLAHAN. Sometimes the specter is in female form.
The Morrigan is the good Washer Woman at the Ford. As the Celtic goddess of war and battle, she does have a vested interest in Clan McLean (McClain). Even Shakespeare wrote in Macbeth, about "Gillian of the Gallowglass" in reference to the mercenary warriors of Clan McLean (McClain, quoted above).
She chose me long ago to be her Priestess. She's also giving me my magical name from her likeness and Magic. I'm related to the McClains of Duart (the other main section of the family is the McLeans of Lochbuie to put it simply.) When she first chose me I had no clue why or anything much about my family history to this extent. There's a lot of it that I didn't know until this very day. But this is only a small portion of the larger picture.
She's known about the curse on our family for quite some time. I personally believe that she's been watching over the whole of the McClains on both sides of the aisle.
She is well known as The Washer Woman at the Ford, seen often before a battle washing the clothes of those slated to die in battle. This is her aspect (sister) of Badb, The Battle Crow, depicted below:
She is described as having a horrifying shriek and together with her sisters The Morrigan, and Macha can cause confusing and turn the tide of battle to favor one side or the other.
She is not unlike the BEAN-NIGHE in many ways and has even been associated with the realm of the Fae in the legend of the banshee, but she is more powerful and has a lot more positive aspects. She is a triple goddess, not just a spirit.
She is so much more than just a goddess of Battle and War. She's also a goddess a prophecy and the spirit world. She escort spirits of fallen warriors to the other side. She gives prophetic visions. She heals trauma. She protects what is hers. She guides and directs, bringing Light into the darkness. She gives hope and security.
She has picked Clan McLean through me, their descent and my own search for the truth. She has broken the curse upon the family.
Yet, for this reason my family hates me and my spiritual work......
What's further, look what one of my spiritual role models posted for today on X:
I really don't think there is coincidences! Once again, your spot on, Silver Ravenwolf!
I managed together up a few images and put together a new Pinterest board:
It has taken me all day to write this blog. I'm going to have to extend the rest of my Mabon activities into tomorrow. I truly hope yours has been as blessed as mine has. Finally I have some truth!
Merry Meet, Merry Part, and Merry Meet again!
Blessed Be!
Angelia
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