Badb

Badb is a figure in Irish mythology known as a war goddess associated with omen, death, and battlefield phenomena. She is most often identified as a member of the Morrígan, sometimes described as one of a triad of war goddesses that can include Macha and Nemain, though traditions vary in how they are grouped. The name Badb derives from Old Irish and generally means “crow” or “raven,” reflecting her strong connections to birds of omen.

Badb’s attributes center on the psychological and prophetic aspects of warfare. She is frequently depicted as a crow or raven who appears to foreshadow or influence the outcomes of battles, spreading fear, confusion, and frenzy among combatants. In some tales she can also take human form or transform into a bird shape to enact her omens and to mock or torment warriors. Her presence signals the war-sphere’s supernatural dimension and the idea that battles are subject to signs from the otherworld.

In the Ulster Cycle and the Táin Bó Cúailnge, Badb and the other Morrígan sisters are shown as agents of doom and omens on the battlefield, often driving heroes toward peril and foretelling death. The myths present multiple, sometimes overlapping depictions of Badb as a divine messenger, a shapeshifter, and a symbolic embodiment of warfare’s fear and fatality.

Scholars view Badb within the broader Celtic pantheon as a representative of the darker, psychic aspects of war and omen. Her imagery has influenced later literature and art, where she continues to symbolize the crow as a harbinger of catastrophe and change.