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Celtic Lore: Shapeshifters of Myth and Legend

Joseph Christian Leyendecker (1874 – 1951), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

This article was first published 11 March 2021 on #FolkloreThursday.com titled, Shapeshifters from the Celtic World by zteve t evans. It has been revised and edited and give different images 3st Feb 2024.

Shapeshifters From The Celtic World

Shapeshifters are found in most mythologies and folk traditions worldwide from ancient to modern times. In such traditions, humans change into vampires, werewolves, frogs, insects, and any other creature imaginable and back again. Sometimes, the transformer controls the transformation and shifts shape at will. Other times, it is an unwelcome event such as a punishment, and sometimes, a magical spell forces it, but there are many varied reasons besides. Shapeshifters can be good or bad, often moving the story forward in a novel way or having some symbolism that the teller wants to convey to their audience. There are many kinds of shapeshifting. Here, we look at examples from Ireland, Wales and Scotland that provide differing glimpses of shapeshifters in action in these three Celtic nations’ myths, folklore, and traditions.


Irish Shapeshifters

In Irish mythology, the Morrigan was a shapeshifting war goddess who could transform into a woman of any age, animal, or bird form. She had the power of prophecy and, as a war goddess, would sing her people to victory in battle. Sometimes, she could be seen swooping over the battlefield as a raven or crow and devouring the bodies of the slain.


In the story of the Táin Bó Cúailnge, or “The Cattle Raid of Cooley,” the Morrigan appears as a crow to warn the bull named Donn Cuailnge that Queen Medb is plotting to abduct him. Queen Medb attacks Ulster to obtain the bull to be resisted single-handedly by the hero Cú Chulainn, fighting a series of duels with her champions at a Ford. In battle, Cú Chulainn undergoes a spectacular change in his form described as “ríastrad” or “warp-spasm” that sees his body twist and contort into the most grotesque and fearsome appearance, terrifying his opponents.


In between the duels, the Morrigan appears before Cú Chulainn as an attractive young woman seeking his love and offering her help. He rejects her, and feeling offended, she seeks revenge by aiding his opponents. First, she turns into an eel and trips him. Next, she turns into a wolf and causes a herd of cattle to stampede towards the Ford. Lastly, she transforms herself into a heifer and leads the stampede, but despite her magical shapeshifting, she fails, and Cú Chulainn manages to wound her on each transformation. Later, she transforms into an elderly woman milking a cow bearing the three wounds. She offers him milk to drink, and he blesses her, healing her wounds, which he later regrets.


Welsh Shapeshifters

There are many examples of shapeshifting in Welsh mythology where a human takes the form of an animal or bird, and even flowers are transformed into maidens. In the story of Math fab Mathonwy, the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, Math and Gwydion created the maiden Blodeuwedd out of broom, meadowsweet, and oak flowers and later transformed into an owl. Earlier, Gwydion had undergone a series of transformations, changing into a stag, sow, and wolf, even producing offspring as a punishment inflicted by Math.


An exciting and extraordinary example of shapeshifting appears in the story of the birth of Taliesin. The sorceress, Ceridwen, brewed a potion to give to her son Morvran ab Tegid that would endow him with great wisdom and knowledge. She gave a boy named Gwion Bach the task of stirring the brew and tasked a blind man with feeding the fire. As Gwion was stirring, three boiling drops spat from the cauldron onto his hand. Putting his hand to his mouth to relieve the pain, he accidentally ingested the drops, becoming endowed with awen instead of Morvran. With knowledge and wisdom provided by the awen, he foresaw Ceridwen’s wrath at the accidental ruining of her scheme.


Knowing he must escape, he transformed into a hare, but she became a greyhound hot on his tail. Therefore, he transformed into a fish and leapt into a river, but she became an otter and closed in on him. Just in time, he transformed into a bird and flew away. She changed into a hawk and again began to close in on him. Seeing a pile of winnowed wheat lying in a barn, he dived into that, transforming himself into a kernel of corn. Transforming herself into a black hen, Ceridwen pecked it all up, including him. With him inside her, she was now pregnant and, nine months later, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Realising the baby was Gwion Bach reborn, she wanted to kill him, but because of the fairness of his brow, she could not. Giving him a slim chance of survival, she placed him in a leather bag and cast him into water. He would later be rescued and became the greatest Welsh bard in history.


Scottish Shapeshifters

In Scottish folklore, selkies and kelpies are vastly different shapeshifting entities from the Irish and Welsh examples we have looked at. Moreover, they are entirely separate entities, having distinctive characteristics, making them intriguing subjects in legends and folktales. First, we will look at the selkie, and then discuss the kelpie.

Transforming Selkie

A selkie changes form from seal to human by removing its seal skin and must put its seal skin back on to revert to its seal form. The female selkie often becomes trapped in a relationship when a man steals her seal skin while she is in human form. With the theft of her seal skin, her power has been stolen, and she cannot transform back into her original form and must live on land as a woman. Sometimes, she will marry but spends considerable time pining for the sea. She may have children, but if she ever recovers her seal skin, she quickly forsakes them and her husband to return to the sea. According to tradition, male selkies are very handsome in human form, and women find them very seductive. The male selkie tends to seek out those women who are unhappy in their marriage, such as fishermen’s wives who wait patiently alone at home for their husband’s return.


Kelpies are a different kind of entity in Scottish folklore. They are dangerous, supernatural horse-like entities with shapeshifting abilities dwelling in rivers, pools, and lochs. According to tradition, lone travelers sometimes encountered them lingering near watery places. They often take the form of a beautiful woman or horse but can also adopt other guises, such as an old man’s. One sign of their real identity can be revealed when water weed is noticed entangled in their hair.


A folktale from the island of Barra tells how an amorous male kelpie transformed into a handsome young man hoping to seduce and marry a local girl. While the young man was sleeping, she noticed he wore a silver necklace, which was, in fact, his bridle. She removed it, and he transformed into a horse. The girl takes it to her father, who is a farmer, and he puts it to work for a year. At the end of that year, she takes it to a wise man, seeking his advice. He advises her she must return the silver necklace to him, which she does, and the horse transforms into the handsome young man. The wise man asks the young man if he would prefer to live as a kelpie or a mortal man. The young man asks the girl if she would marry him if he kept his human form. She confirmed that she would, and the kelpie chose to be a mortal man and married the girl.


Shapeshifters in Abundance

From gods and goddesses to witches and sorcerers to strange, dangerous supernatural entities that haunt the wilds, Celtic mythology and folklore have an abundance of shapeshifters. Examples of transforming humans into animals or vice versa can be seen in the rock art of ancient cultures around the world, predating the Celts. Similarly, in the modern age, shapeshifters are found in traditional and contemporary media, reflecting how this strange and intriguing phenomenon still piques curiosity and strikes the right chord with many people today.

©zteve t evans

References, Attributions and Further Reading

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