A Who's Who of World Mythology : Badb


Badb (Badhbh or Bodb) is a Celtic war goddess. In Gaul she was known as Cathubodua (Badb Catha) or Bauth Bodva “Battle Raven.” Her name translates to ‘crow’ or ‘raven’ of battle, and the battlefield is known as the “land of Badb.” Though she is most often depicted as a crow or raven, she is also associated with the bear, wolf, and cow. Some see her as an incarnation of three-fold Morrighan (along with Macha and Nemhain), but in other stories she has degenerated into little more than a bean sidhe. She may appear in gigantic proportions, as a foul hag, or a beautiful young woman.

At the legendary battle of Mag Tured (Magh Tuiredh) and the battle of Contarf in 1014, she decided the outcome. After the battle of Mag Tured, when the Tuatha de Danann fought the Formorians, Badb recounted the events and prophesied doom. She confronted Cuchulainn on his way to his last battle in the form of the “washer at the ford,” an incarnation of the bean sidhe, and also appeared as a death omen to King Cormac. Any warrior might encounter her before battle as an omen that he would die that day.