The Elemental Weapons

Each of the four elemental gates is traditionally associated with a martial weapon.  The masculine elements of air and fire are represented by offensive weaponry: the staff (or spear) and the sword.  The feminine elements of earth and water are represented by defensive weaponry: the shield and helm.  These weapons have antecedents in the four suits of the Tarot: swords, staves, coins (shields), and cups (helms).  They are also representative of the four Celtic treasures of Nuada: sword, stone, spear, and cauldron.

The Sword

In the east, the gate of fire, is the forge of Tubal Cain.  Created on this primal forge is that most iconic of forged weapons, the sword.  The sword is a symbol of nobility and initiation.  It is the "sword bridge" we cross to enter the circle of initiation, just as Lancelot had to cross the sword bridge to enter the enchanted country of Melagant.  It is also the "sword that cuts both ways", demonstrating that both initiate and initiator are creating a solemn pact.  In Arthurian legend the sword Excalibur was drawn from a stone, but in the earliest forms of the myth the sword was drawn from an anvil.  In our tradition the "oath stone" of the coven is represented by an anvil in honor of Tubal Cain, Lord of the forge, and the fire of creation.  In the old song "Tubal Cain", we find this refrain:

“Hurra for Tubal Cain,
Our staunch good friend is he;
And for the ploughshare, and the plough,
To him our praise shall be.
But while oppression lifts its head,
Or a tyrant would be lord,
Though we may thank him for the plough,
We’ll not forget the sword.”

The Staff

The staff is the most personal tool of a witch.  It can be a stang, a distaff, a blackthorn blasting staff, a battle staff, a spear, or a simple walking stick.  The form matters far less than the function of the staff.  It is the weapon of the northern gate, sacred to the Black Goddess, who, in her crone aspect walks with a staff.  In her aspect as the spinner of Fate, she bears a distaff, and in her bloodthirsty warrior aspect she carries a spear.

The staff is a truly personal tool of a witch. It is not passed down as a kuthun to students or family.  It is best if the staff is destroyed upon a witch's passing, or that it is given back to earth, water, or fire with the witch's remains.

The Shield

The shield is both a physical and a metaphysical tool.  It can be a literal shield, like a targe, held as a piece of symbolic regalia upon which the symbols of the coven or the witch are emblazoned, or it can be a magical tool which we cultivate through visualization and discipline.  This shield is a semi-permeable barrier of etheric energy that we use for self-defense and cloaking magic.  The shield is a symbol of guardianship of the mysteries.  It is the weapon of the southern gate of earth, and is sacred to the White Goddess.  It is her shining white light which builds the etheric shield, and it is her seelie magic that weaves glamor and cloaking spells that depend on the shield.

The Helm

The helm, upturned, is the cup or cauldron of the western gate of water.  It is the helkapp that Tubal Cain as the Lord of death wears to grant invisibility. The helm is also symbolic of the mask, which we use in transformational magics, and ecstatic ritual.  The helm protects the head, which the Celts perceived as the seat of the soul. Thus, just as the shield protects the physical body from harm, so does the helm, or mask, represent protection of the soul.  It is appropriate, then, that the helm be the weapon of the western gate, that place of rest, that realm of the dead, that healer of the soul.

Faces of the Black Goddess

Names
Kolyo, Cailleach Bheur, The Morrigan, (Morrigan, Badb, Macha, Nemain), Beira, Clíodhna, Nyx, Noctiluca, Bean nighe, Cleena, Mongfind, Hel, Hecate, Kali, Fata, Nicnevin, Gyre-Carling, Beira, The Moirae (Klotho, Lachesis, & Atropos), The Norns (Urdr, Verdandi, Skuld)

Station of the Wheel
North, Imbolc, February, Gate of Air, Storm Moon

Totems
Cat, Willow, Owl

Tools
Spear, Staff, Wand, Athame (Black Handled Knife), Scourge

Kolyo (meaning the "coverer" and "hidden") is Great Mother of All - Ubiquitous, Omnipresent, Immortal and Eternal. In Indo-European Paganism, it is She who drives the Divine Drama and gives birth to the Gods and Goddesses. The Supreme Spinning Goddess, She is the First Timeless Source who regenerates All. A Being and Power older than Time itself, Kolyo spins the threads of Fate.

The word cailleach (in modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic, 'old woman') comes from the Old Irish caillech ('veiled one'), from Old Irish caille ('veil'), most likely an early loan from Latin pallium ('cloak'). The word is found as a component in terms like the Gaelic cailleach-dhubh ('nun') and cailleach-oidhche ('owl'), as well as the Irish cailleach feasa ('wise woman', 'fortune-teller') and cailleach phiseogach ('sorceress', 'charm-worker'). Related words include the Gaelic caileag ('young woman', 'girl') and the Lowland Scots carline/carlin ('old woman', 'witch'). A more obscure word that is sometimes interpreted as 'hag' is the Irish síle, which has led some to speculate on a connection between the Cailleach and the stonecarvings of Sheela na Gigs.

The name may also be related to the Hindu goddess, Kali, who shares many similar characteristics

The Morrígan ("phantom queen") or Mórrígan ("great queen") (also known as Morrígu, Morríghan, Mor-Ríoghain, sometimes given in the plural as Morrígna) is a figure from Irish mythology who appears to have once been a goddess, although she is not explicitly referred to as such in the texts.

The Morrigan is a goddess of battle, strife, and fertility . She sometimes appears in the form of a crow, flying above the warriors, and in the Ulster cycle she also takes the form of an eel, a wolf, and a cow. She is generally considered a war deity comparable with the Germanic Valkyries, although her association with cattle also suggests a role connected with fertility, wealth, and the land. She is often depicted as a triple goddess, but also as a goddess with five or nine aspects. The most common combination of three is the Badb, Macha and Nemain, but other accounts name Fea, Anann, and others.

Clíodhna (Clídna, Clíodna, Clíona, but sometimes Cleena in English) is a Queen of the Banshees of the Tuatha Dé Danann. In Irish literature, Cleena of Carrigcleena is the potent banshee that rules as queen over the sheoques (fairy women of the hills) of South Munster, or Desmond. She is the principal goddess of this country. It is said the wails of the banshee can be heard echoing the valleys and glens at night, scaring those who hear as the wail of a banshee is potent and instills fear in good people.

In Irish mythology, Nemain (or Nemhain, Nemon or Neman) is the fairy spirit of the frenzied havoc of war, and possibly an aspect of the Morrígan.