OatsAleBreadA race run in good faithHonour given to a woman who rules
Invocation Approach
Tone
Proud and ungentle
Address
MachaQueen of EmainSun of Womanfolk
Relationship
The land that answers contempt with a curse
Warning
Mock her claim and the debility falls on the people
Resonance
Those who hold sovereignty those who keep horses and fairs
Symbols
BroochHorseTwin coltsEmain macha
Mythology Summary
Macha is a name shared by several early Irish figures: the wife of Nemed, buried at Armagh (Ard Mhacha); Macha Mong Ruad, daughter of Áed Rúad and the only woman in the list of Tara's kings, who laid out Emain Macha with her neck-brooch; and the Macha of Noínden Ulad, the farmer Cruinniuc's wife, forced by the king of Ulster to race his horses while pregnant. She wins, gives birth to twins, and curses the men of Ulster to be as weak as a woman in labour in their hour of need. The Dindshenchas calls her 'the Sun of Womanfolk' and names her among the Morrígna.
Modern Practice
Called on in sovereignty and kingship work, at horse fairs and at Lughnasadh, and by those who will not accept contempt for a claim they have the right to make. The curse is worked with as the reminder that land and people answer mistreatment in kind.