In the Irish story of the Horned Women, a woman alone at night is spinning while her family sleeps. There is a knock at the door and a witch with one horn enters and begins to spin. As the night wears on, there are eventually 12 witches. They make demands of the woman and the Spirit of the Well advises her on how to get rid of the witches. It involves water, blood of her family and some meal. The woman is empowered to protect her family, house and self from the witches.
Many of our books feature images of helmets with horns. In traditional Celtic imagery, horns were often associated with males involved with war and aggression. With the strong male associations, I didn’t understand the symbolism of the horned witches in the Horned Women. In the Irish Storytelling class, we discussed the relationships between Celtic mythology and Indian mythology. My understanding of the story improved because many of the Goddesses of India feature horns. Hindus believe the horned Goddess Shakti is responsible for creation and the agent of all change. Shakti is existence and liberation.
Through-out recorded history there have been women with horns. Paintings from the 1600 and 1700’s illustrate women with horns. Physicians use the term cutaneous horns to identify the condition. It only rarely occurs and usually develops from a lesion or lesions on the skin. These horns are usually around the face or neck and sometimes can be inches long. This medical oddity occurs more frequently in older people and on commonly exposed parts of the body. Although their cause has been linked with sun exposure, underlying skin tumors has also been suggested. Even with these medical explanations, a person who develops cutaneous horns today may still be the subject internet memes and news sensation.
Today we see images of women with horns in everything from Star Wars movies (powerful Jedi warrior woman) to the medial literature. Is the story Horned Women a medical mystery or a symbolic journey of a woman’s liberation and power?
Leave a Reply