A Call to Miach, Part 1

In my daily devotionals, I call to four healing Gods and Goddesses: Diancecht, Miach, Airmid, and Brighid. I do my broader healing work under the auspices of Diancecht, healer of the Tuatha de Danann, and his children Miach and Airmid. Miach was the God of Surgery and Leechcraft; Airmid was the Goddess of Healing and Herb craft.
What do we know of Miach? Miach was the son of Diancecht, fabled healer of the Tuatha de Danann.

From the Second Battle of Mag Tuired:

33. Now Nuadu was being treated, and Dian Cecht put a silver hand on him which had the movement of any other hand. But his son Miach did not like that. He went to the hand and said “joint to joint of it, and sinew to sinew”; and he healed it in nine days and nights. The first three days he carried it against his side, and it became covered with skin. The second three days he carried it against his chest. The third three days he would cast white wisps of black bulrushes after they had been blackened in a fire.

34. Dian Cecht did not like that cure. He hurled a sword at the crown of his son’s head and cut his skin to the flesh. The young man healed it by means of his skill. He struck him again and cut his flesh until he reached the bone. The young man healed it by the same means. He struck the third blow and reached the membrane of his brain. The young man healed this too by the same means. Then he struck the fourth blow and cut out the brain, so that Miach died; and Dian Cecht said that no physician could heal him of that blow.

35. After that, Miach was buried by Dian Cecht, and three hundred and sixty-five herbs grew through the grave, corresponding to the number of his joints and sinews. Then Airmed spread her cloak and uprooted those herbs according to their properties. Dian Cecht came to her and mixed the herbs, so that no one knows their proper healing qualities unless the Holy Spirit taught them afterwards. And Dian Cecht said, “Though Miach no longer lives, Airmed shall remain.” (Gray)

So how can this be?

How can a god be killed?

If we look a little further in the text, we find this verse:

123. Now this is what used to kindle the warriors who were wounded there so that they were more fiery the next day: Dian Cecht, his two sons Octriuil and Miach, and his daughter Airmed were chanting spells over the well named Slaine. They would cast their mortally wounded men into it as they were struck down; and they were alive when they came out. Their mortally-wounded were healed through the power of the incantation made by the four physicians who were around the well. (Gray)

So, here we have a contradiction. Earlier in the text, Miach is killed by his father – also a healer. Later, Miach is helping his father to heal the wounded along with his sister. The conclusion that I have come to is that the story of Miach’s death is an addition that was added b y the scribes who transcribed the stories. Do I have evidence of this? No. Is this my intuition? Yes, it is.

Pre-surgery practices

When I or other friends and family members are going in for surgery, I ask them to inscribe Miach’s name, in ogham, on the side of their body on which the surgery is to be done. I, and others, have had good success with this approach. I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to have a on-body talisman for healing.

A Recent Experience with Miach

On Tuesday past, I found myself seated in a dentist’s chair for a root canal. This was my second root canal and after my first experience, I was deeply dreading the events to come. My current dentist assured me that he would do whatever he could to make me comfortable and so we began.

The dentist was right, the procedure was relatively pain-free. However, since the process took a certain amount of time, I was feeling very overwhelmed by it all: the sounds, the feeling, the understanding of what was being done. I was dosed with several different pain killers and nitrous oxide as well and at one point I decide to call out to the healer who I thought could help the most, Miach, God of Surgery and Leechcraft. While I wasn’t being leeched, I was having dental surgery.

I feel Miach’s name right in the center of my body, right about the area of my heart chakra, and I just spoke into that place. The more I spoke into that area, the stronger the feeling grew until the point where it seemed as though I would burst. I released all of that feeling and it pulsed outwards from me out into the universe.

Presence

In what seemed like seconds, I felt the presence of Miach. I have never seen Miach, but I have an idea what he kooks like. A person of slight build, medium height, dark hair, and a face with no features was there, reaching out to me. I could feel his presence surround me and I became oblivious to the drilling and other work that was going on around me. As long as I kept up the internal chant of “Miach”, I felt him right there with me.

As the procedure lessened in intensity, I let up on my call to Miach and I slowly felt his presence withdraw and I felt myself return to the present. When the procedure came to an end, I felt a relief of having the process completed, but I was also thankful that I had a few moments together with Miach.

More Than Just with Dentistry

Do I think that this process only works for dental work? Not at all, I call to Miach for a number of healing-related modalities. For example, when I am having surgery, I inscribe Miach’s name on my body when I go in for the operation. I try to put his name – in ogham – on the same side of the body on which I am having said surgery. If I am doing healing work for others, I ask them to do the same: write Miach’s name on their body, on the same side that the surgery will be performed. Should the surgery is one the midline, I am them to do the inscription on the midline of their body somewhere.

If doing such artistry is not possible, I ask people the exact time of their surgery and envision the name of Miach in ogham inscribed above them and energized – with their permission, of course.

General Requests for Well-Being

What about for general, everyday requests for well-being? I think this methodology does work. Let me give the bullet points:

Begin

1) Feel the healing god’s name right in the center of my body, right about the area of my heart chakra. Speak their name into that place.
2) Continue speaking their name into that area. The more one speaks into that area, the stronger the feeling will grow.
3) When one feels that the crescendo of calling and filling has reached a peak, release that pent-up energy and feeling out into the universe.
4) Once the energy has been released, open yourself for the return of the energy or for the presence of the healing deity. This is especially enhanced, I believe, if one has built a relationship with that deity previously.
5) Once you feel them present, continue to call their name into that center place. Feel the name resonate through you as you feel their presence around you.

End

6) When the time for your procedure or working is complete, begin to lessen the calling of the name, until it is a whisper.
7) As you speak the name a final time, feel them linger for a moment before they depart.
8) Once they have departed, wait a few minutes to return to center in your regular place in the world.
9) Thank the deity for their presence and their help.

Miach did not die at the Second Battle of Mag Tuired. Somewhere, somehow, the story was twisted and changed, yet the mistake can be corrected. Miach is there for you for any healing that you may need. If you need Miach – or any healer – call out to him, make an offering to him, and afterwards, make sure to thank him.

Parts two and parts three of this post will be a short play that I wrote about Diancecht, Miach, and Airmid. I hope it meets with your approval.

Works Cited

Gray, Elizabeth (translated by). “Cath Maige Tuired.” n.d. www.sacred-texts.com. Web. 05 03 2020