~ Mab ~
(Information provided by Janine)
(Information provided by Janine)
Throughout a long period of history, Queen Mab has appeared in a numerous selection of differing guises, names and manifestations. She has been known as Mab, Mabh, Medb, (meev) Medhbh, Maeve (maive or mayv) and sometimes linked with the Morrigan, mainly through Celtic Mythology and Legend. She is also associated with the Tuatha De Danaan, who were described as being 'a godlike race' that came into Erin from the northern islands of Greece around 4000 years ago. She was the daughter of Eochu mac Find. Mebd's first consort was Conchobar, before she became queen. She later married Ailill.
In the Celtic tradition, Queen Mab was also known as Queen Maeve. "Maeve" means mead and it was said that Mab gave this blood red wine to all of her consorts. Mead wine represented menstrual blood which was considered "the wine of women's wisdom". In Warwickshire, the word "Mabled" came to mean "led astray by the faeries or elves". In Cymric (the Welsh language) Mab was defined as meaning "small child". Additionally, Mab meant "Drunk Woman" and "Queen Wolf".
Mythologically, Mab was the Queen of Connact; the warrior queen of the Ulster Cycle. She was the combined mother/warrior aspect of the Triple Goddess. The Pagan festival of Mabon was celebrated in her honor each year at the Autumnal Equinox. During the festival, those wishing to be King were not endorsed unless Mab invited them to drink of her mead wine. This ensured that the male king would be well versed in feminism and women's mysteries.
Medb's very promiscuity marks her as a goddess, symbolic of the fertility of Ireland. She is the personification of the land itself and its prosperity. Other indications of her divinity include her ability to shape-shift between young girl and aged hag: in the story of Niall of the Nine Hostages, Medb appears to Niall as a crone guarding a well. She gives him water, and he agrees to mate with her; she is immediately transformed into a beautiful young woman, who grants him the kingship of Ireland. The goddess of sovereignty could also be a deity of death, and Medb possesses this characteristic also. She brings about the death of CuChulain and of her own husband Ailill, infuriated (though hardly fairly) by his infidelity. She incites the former Ulster hero, Conall Cernach, to murder him on the Feast of Beltaine. Medb has other supranormal traits: she has animal attributes, in the form of a bird and a squirrel who perch on her shoulder; she can run very fast; and she is able to deprive men of their strength simply by her presence.
Queen Mab known also in Celtic folklore as 'Queen Wolf; whose name means mead' is widely considered to relate to the Mother aspect of The Triple Goddess expressing love, protection, physical sexuality and fertility but also including the darker sides such as fierceness, revenge and war against her enemies.
