Book Review: The Morrigan by Courtney Weber

This was another audiobook which I’m finding a really need to get away from as I much prefer having physical copies especially of books I might want to refer to occasionally. It’s easier to flip through a paper or digital book to find something than an audio book.

There are some complaints in the reviews on the reader voice. It would have been nice if the reader had been Irish but, I’m sure, if they went that way, Americans would complain about not being able to understand what was being said. She does have some sweetness in her tone of voice that some feel is too saccharine, and it can make the tone feel less sincere than maybe I’d like it but it’s also not distracting from the words and the message and that’s way more important to me. I cannot comment on pronunciation as I don’t actually know the correct pronunciations of the places and Irish words.

I adore Lora O’Brien, who wrote the forward. I’ve mentioned them a time or six before I think, and specifically their Irish Pagan School. They are a source I’ve come to trust with all things Irish history and folklore and their having written the forward gives the book a bit more credibility in my own head – like I can trust that Weber’s research is solid.

And research matters. There is a great deal of lore and history in this book.

The writing is open, simple, and still somehow flowery and purple. But not in a distracting or irksome way. Some of these books can come across as revisionist style devotionals and that is not what this is. There is a fair amount of the myths as we know them. I have to say ‘as we know them’ because my understanding is that the Irish kept an oral tradition, and it was the Christian monks who wrote it down. That comes, or should come, with a bit of side-eyeing as sometimes things change as it suits the church.

Each chapter has a ritual idea for finding a relationship with the Morrigan, each dealing with certain aspects of the Morrigan – the battle queen, the death goddess, the land goddess, the healer, the shape shifter, even as fertility goddess. I like getting ideas for spellworkings, even if my own tend to not look like what is in the books.

I am really enthralled by the lore that’s included here. Some of it I’ve read or heard before because the Morrigan is a topic of special interest for me. Some of it is new and gives me more to look up and do a bit more research on. Fortunately, there are a lot of people out there interested in The Morrigan so resources are fairly accessible. You just have to watch the veracity of the source material referenced.

I find it interesting how some see the Morrigan as one and some as three. Here is that triple aspect again. Another instance of a three, a trinity. It seems to me that number being something special, something powerful, cross into most cultures in some way.

The last chapter is why I would recommend paper over audio if you’re like me and like to reference things. The meditation is handy to have on audio though. But, I am a visual learner – if I’m listening to something long enough, it can become background noise on occasion. I tend to do my listening – whether audio book, news podcast, or witchy podcast – while I’m doing housework sorts of things. That’s a bit less for the temporary moment as I have broken my wireless headphones enough that they are uncomfortable and don’t stay on my head when I’m doing dishes, no matter how much I tape the band. (Not a fan of earbuds.)

I would say this is written with anyone looking for information on the Morrigan – beginner, intermediate, or advanced. There is something for everyone here. It feels very well researched and with the forward being by a source I have come to trust, I would say it probably is. While I do wish I’d gotten it in print, I’ll likely listen to it again.

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