THE TALE OF CAILLEACH CEANN BRITE

One Grimalkin's Origin

(This image is inspired by historical accounts. The captivating figure in the photograph is intended to provide the viewer with a sense of Cailleach's otherworldly beauty.)

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Cailleach Ceann Brite resided in the late 18th century on an island that was situated 150 nautical miles from the coast of Ireland. At 33 years old, she had striking blue eyes and curly auburn hair.

She remained unmarried and childless. She was skilled in healing, alchemy, and potion-making, and had the ability to create curses and spells, as well as the powers of invisibility and shapeshifting. She frequently bathed in creeks and ponds and conducted rituals in her yard, sitting nude within a large pentagram crafted from black salt and white sand.

On a day with a red sky, she was forcibly taken from her cabin, bound, gagged, and then hanged from the sturdy branch of a withering oak tree. Her body was placed in a warped pine coffin and buried beneath that very tree.

A large black cat with golden eyes appeared and sat on her grave as onlookers squinted. The cat mourned her mistress with soft meows while clawing at the grave and emitting eerie, piercing howls.

The cat's body foamed and dissolved into the soil. Thunder shook the sky, causing the ground to tremble. People gasped, made the sign of the cross, and began to pray. With a thunderous crash, Cailleach's arms burst through the coffin and the darkened earth. Her stiff body rose from the expanding pit, with large chunks of soil falling from her bare form, her eyes glowing like blue embers.

She gritted her teeth. Her fists clenched, and her cherry red hair flailed about like a cat-o’-nine-tails. She pointed to the crowd, her finger rotating like a compass needle as she spun about and addressed her murderers. "Foolish swags!." she said. "Do you not know what you have wrought? Namalak, was no MERE CAT! She was a Grimalkin! Once human, but changed by my magic! She has sacrificed her power! Allowed me to become immortal! Her soul and mine are now ONE!

"Behold, all you here who pose as God's apostates! You are but pious fools, theives, liars and whoremongers! I say unto you this day! This shall be your last sunset and sure'in as I live and breathe, you will all PERISH!"

She shook her head as if in pity, and with a piercing bird-like shrill, she levitated 20 feet above the deafened horde. She raised her arms high and chanted in an incomprehensible Celtic dialect.

The rusty sky transformed into slate then became black as coal. Huts, cabins, barns, fences and farm equipment disassembled and scattered about into the midnight sky. Debris flew at many. Some inhabitants had become impaled, while others were decapitated or eviscerated. Lightning and massive hail stones finished the rest.

The ground grumbled and split and the ocean raged into claw-like waves.

Lighting forcked and split the oak from which she was hanged, the two halves smoldering on the earth in green fire as the ground pulsated and puckered.

Surviving villagers shrieked and stood paralyzed, multitues covered with boils, burns, scratches, cuts and flies. Locusts and birds came from down from the skies and tore flesh and muscle from until all remaining skeletized and collapsed into bare bones. Cailleach ascended higher into the torrential sky. Piecing electrical bolts corralled her, her hair undulating like tentacles.

She morphed into a giant winged cat and flapped away into the tumultuous horizon as the island's fissures and chasms opened up. People swayed, staggered and plunged within. Moments after, the island sank immersed in the ocean depths never to be seen again, the earth and water calming. Silence.

Cailleach has seen the birth of the Western World. She has appeared in all the continents in various forms and disguises, however, her preferred guise is either that of a cat or a beautiful woman with bat, or raven wings.

Her numerous abilities include telepathy, telekinesis, and pyrokinesis. She can become bioluminescent, with her bones glowing in various colors through her skin.

Her eyes can shift from ocean blue to blood red, grass green, and canary yellow at will, and they can burn down a building or person with ease.

On my webpage, I display photos and other depictions of her in various forms, as seen by craftsmen since the 1500s. Each artist offers a unique interpretation based on how she appeared to them.

She has been sculpted and painted in various mediums and styles by some of the world's most renowned artists. It is also believed she inspired Shakespeare to create "Macbeth," and she has also been rendered in modern graffiti.

If she comes to you, do not fear her. Invite her in, be polite, and treat her with respect. She may curl up by your fireplace or on a chair, rug, or sofa. She might even sit in your lap.

Do not offer her food or milk. She requires drops of blood from your fingers or limbs. This is her price if you wish to draw her, paint her, tell her a story, hear her tales, or simply enjoy her company.

Do not pick her up or attempt to pet her unless she permits you. She is not a house pet!

She is a storyteller, some tales being her own while others have been shared with her to pass on. She won't mind if you regale a story or two.

For many, she has shocked, disturbed, and amused. She only visits at night. Before you know it, she's gone. If she likes you, she may return.

If she appears in human form, she may be naked, so don't be surprised and don't stare! If this makes you uncomfortable, offer her something to cover herself or ask her to please change her form. She will understand. She may even allow you men, or women, to make love to her. But be warned! Let her make the first move. If she is interested, she will let you know.

Don't be fooled by her casual demeanor. She can be vicious and volatile if provoked. Keep your attitude and negative thoughts in check unless you want to become part of her menu. This will be done more out of contempt than hunger.

Her hypnotic eyes can kill, and her glowing body can blind. She can be as timid as a mouse one moment and as fierce as a tiger the next. She can turn your home into ashes, erase your memory, paralyze you, or banish you to another temporal dimension. Remember this: she possesses the knowledge of time and space and can traverse different realities and realms. You are nothing but a mere mortal.

Sometimes, she shares a portion of her powerful abilities with others. However, this privilege is typically reserved for women and she must view you as worthy. For men, do not ask for any magical favors or displays and do not try to seduce her. Yes, in human or semi=human form, her beauty is indeed stupifying, however it's best to keep your mouth shut and your hands to yourself unless she permits anything physical.