| “ | All of a sudden, this Jesus character is the hot new thing in town. All of a sudden, our altars are being burned down, and we're being hunted down like common monsters. | ” |
Madge Carrigan was a pagan deity of the Winter Solstice along with Edward.
History[]
Background[]
Much like other pagan deities, she and Edward once had many willing worshipers who gave them sacrifices, taking over a hundred tributes a year, but with the coming of Jesus, they lost almost all of their followers, and without sacrifices they were weakened. They have lived for over 2 millennia.
Season 3[]
Madge makes wreaths out of Meadowsweet, and the people who buy the wreaths are taken for sacrifices. When she and Edward Carrigan find Sam and Dean snooping around in their blood-splattered basement, they take the brothers prisoner and start their ritual preparation for sacrifice. This involves cutting them both to obtain blood. Edward pulls out one of Sam's fingernails and is about to pull one of Dean's teeth when they are distracted by the doorbell, and the brothers are able to escape their bonds. Dean stabs Edward with a branch from a Christmas tree while Sam stabs Madge with another branch, killing them.[1]
Supernatural: Bone Key[]
In this non-canon novel, after learning that Sam and Dean killed Edward and Madge Carrigan, Bobby warns them that the only reason the stake worked is because no one believed in the two gods for centuries, and as an example he says that the greek god Zeus nowdays could "muster up" a lightning bolt at best, but a thousand years ago Zeus could fry Sam and Dean with just a mere look.
Personality[]
The deity takes the form of an ordinary citizen, acting exactly like one (even playing bridge on Tuesdays and Fridays), except during the days leading up to Christmas, where she takes human sacrifices as tributes through a ritual. When she takes the sacrifices, in return she brings mild weather. This is an obvious sign of supernatural because this took place in Michigan in December.
Physical Appearance[]
True appearance
Madge appears as an ordinary human, but when light is shone on her face, her true appearance is revealed.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Weather manipulation - She had very limited influence over the weather, being able to bring mild weather.
- Immortality - As a pagan deity, she was immortal.
- Super Strength - Able to easily over-power and lift a fully grown man. She was able to send Sam flying across the room with a mere backhand hit.
- Super Stamina - As a deity, she never tires.
- Super Senses/Clairsentience - She and Edward were capable of sensing the presence of meadowsweet and traveling to houses where there was meadowsweet
- Super Agility - She and Edward were able to climb up onto the roof of a house, squeeze down a chimney, grab someone, and pull themselves and their victim back up the chimney.
Weaknesses[]
- Evergreen Stake - She could be killed by being stabbed with a stake made from the branch of an evergreen tree.
- Light – When light was shone on her, her true face was revealed.
Appearances[]
- Season 3
- Supernatural: Bone Key (mentioned only)
Trivia[]
- Hold Nickar is a singular deity, Madge and Edward weren't actually two gods, but one, split into the female and male halves. Those two halves being Edward and Madge. This is eluded to when Sam is explaining his lore to Dean, and referring to the god in singular terms. This seems to be a survival method as the only way to truly kill Hold Nickar is if both halves are destroyed, otherwise the god will continue to exist in the remaining half of itself.
- Perhaps, they were so angry about the coming from Jesus, after the coming from Christianity, their very own temples were destroyed and converted into churches in honour of Saint Nicholas.
Lore[]
In the real world, there is certainly lore around the pagan god Hold Nickar. In fact, the god is one of three used by Christians for Santa Claus. Nickar was used for naming sake of Santa Claus (or Saint Nick). Most historians agree that St. Nicholas did not actually exist as a real person, and was instead a Christianized version of earlier pagan gods. Nicholas' legends were mainly created out of stories about a Germanic (Teutonic) god called Hold Nickar.