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The Cailleach or 'Veiled One' is the title given to the Goddess in her winter or crone aspect. A caille is a veil and the title is given also to nuns and as a respectful term to old women or grandmothers. There are a number of cailleachs of different Celtic regions including the Cailleach Beare, the Old Woman of Beare, in South-West Ireland, and the Cailleach Bheur or Blue Hag of Scotland. Her cult is so ancient that only fragments of it exist, telling how she flew through the skies throwing stones out of her apron which fell to the earth to become mountain ranges. She is the 'Old Woman Tossed Up in the Basket' from folk-song and is associated in many regions with Mother Carey, who throws down the snows. She is frequently seen as at odds with Brigit, the Goddess associated with Imbolc, but stories reveal that the Cailleach renews her youth by changing as the seasons succeed each other. She sometimes appears in the aspect of the Dark Woman of Knowledge, disguised as an ugly young woman who nevertheless possesses great wisdom. The fragmentary myths which remain embedded in Celtic folklore speak of her pursuit of the hero. By harrying him she forces him to grow and develop in wisdom. In Wales the Cailleach is called the Gwrach.

The eve of Imbolc sees the Cailleach's farewell. This is part of the long poem attributed to the Cailleach Beare:

"Three renewings of the world : a woman's womb, a cow's udder, a smith's fire"
Celtic Proverb

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