Maria Tanner Cohen

The Chailleach is one of the oldest and most powerful of mythical beings associated with Ireland. 
An Chailleach is the Gaelic word for a hag or old crone, she was also known as the ‘Queen of Winter’ or ‘Daughter of the Sun’ as she becomes more powerful, youthful and beautiful as the days shortened towards winter and the sun becomes weaker. 
She is a creator goddess and many communities looked on the Cailleach with a mixture of reverence and fear ‘she could harness the wild powers of nature, move large boulders around,make mountains, raise the sea and windstorms’.
Her archetype is of the inner self and the one who reveals to us all that we have gathered and become through life’s challenges.
She rules the cycle of time between Samhain November 1st and Bealtaine the 1st of May.
Her time is upon us again, I made this painting to summon the idea of the ancient Chailleach rising in her strength and beauty as the winter spreads out across the land.