Gather around, kittens. I, Maeve, shall tell you of Oweynagat, the Cave of Cats, on the isle of Eire, so far away in the land of men. Pay attention — all cats must know these things!
The humans call Oweynagat the Mouth of Hell, but it is simply one of those places where the Beautiful People and their creatures emerge into the realm of Man. Though it is but a cave to the eyes of the humans, to the eyes of us cats and of the Sidhe, it is the pathway to a great and beautiful palace standing near the borders of The Underworld.
The entrance to the cave is small — five large cats walking abreast with their tails held high might brush the sides and top! Humans, even small ones, must crawl to enter. But it opens to a high and long cave that descends into the earth.
This cave is in the land of my namesake, Queen Medb, who was born to the maidservant Crochan, who waited upon Queen Étain of the Sidhe. Medb ruled over the kingdom of Connacht, and made her palace near to Oweynagat.
Listen carefully, kittens! This is important. If you need to walk between worlds quickly, Oweynagat is a good place to do so.
The Mórrigan, that Crow, she and her creatures often make their way into the human world through Oweynagat to sow war and destruction, and most often on Samhain. For this reason, humans who are clever do not tarry long near Oweynagat at Samhain.
The legends of and around Oweynagat are largely stories of human and godly foolishness, of little consequence to us cats. Our tempers flare and die, we spit and growl and fight, but it is rare for the temper of a cat to change the course of the history of Felinity. We are not like humans or gods, who allow their temper tantrums and foolishness to change their own destinies! Irusan, King of the Cats, found out why paying attention to Man is a terrible thing, and paid with his life. Men talk of little else but money, and so stories of Oweynagat often feature cattle, which were how men in those old days measured riches.
The humans have collapsed the middle of the cave now, but those of us who can walk-through-walls know that you can still reach the Underworld here. And today, on Samhain, the veil between the worlds is especially easy to cross.
The humans don’t remember why they call the cave Oweynagat. They wonder now at the name, and try to link it to the wildcats of the old stories who came to fight human heroes. But I will tell you, kittens, that if the humans go into the cave with no lights, they will remember very quickly! You have but to look up to see the cats of the cave looking back at you, eyes glowing in the dark.
Remember, kittens! Mrwowr – so be it!
Now. Shall we go find some milk for our dinner?
