Responding to another social media question: what are my favorite translations of [old/middle] Irish material?
I don’t know that I necessarily have favorite translations, per se, so much as favorite translators. So if I have a choice I tend to look for work by Kuno Meyers or Elizabeth Gray when possible because they are two of my favorites. Meyers because he footnoted like nobody’s business and…
For day four of my 30 Day Content Challenge I’m answering another question from social media – why Macha and not Nemain?
I’m interpreting this question to mean why is Macha considered one of the Morrigan and Nemain isn’t, which is both a straightforward question and also a layered one.
The simple answer is that we know Macha is one of the three Morrigan because she is referred to explicitly as…
Recently the inestimable Seo Helrune wrote a post titled ‘Restoration Not Re-enchantment’ which made the point that much of our out-of-sync-ness now with the Otherworld is a direct result of christian, particularly protestant, efforts to drive off the Good Neighbours who they believed were demons. Reading her blog has had me thinking over the past week about the deep implications of this for…
I had a dream last night that involved, among other things, seeing a group of small birdlike beings with fangs. They were about the size of ducks, covered in soft fuzzy white-grey downy feathers all over and where their beaks would have been instead they had muzzles full of a multitude of sharp fangs.I have no idea what exactly they were although I feel that they were Otherworldly. They were also…
Netflix recently released a new series, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, based on the comic book series of the same name. I don’t generally get into television much but I decided to give this show a try for three reasons: it’s a sort of spin off of Riverdale which is one of my oldest child’s favorite shows, pre-release buzz said there’d be a non-binary character in the show, and the previews…
I little while I go I started feeling a nudge to create my own divination system with bones. I was driving home and the idea came to me, and I tried to push it aside because it seemed too complicated for me to take on right now, but the idea just kept lingering. I kept getting the idea of using rabbit bones* for this purpose and it just wouldn’t go from my mind. I finally asked for some kind…
I thought it would be fun to do another question and answer blog today so I asked for questions on social media and here they are along with my answers:Rei asks: On the subject of fairies, do you think there are wildly different beings in different parts of the world with different ‘rules of engagement’ as it were? I’ve had some experiences here in Appalachia that do not seem to hold to the same…
Today I’d like to offer two short book reviews of texts I’ve recently read that I enjoyed very much. They are extremely different books, but both valuable I think in their own ways.
The first book I’d like to review today is ‘The Winnowing of White Witchcraft’ by Edward Poeton, with an introduction by Simon Davies.
The book is a new release of a 17th century book that had never been…
It was recently brought to my attention on social media that not everyone may understand exactly what a royal court is or how one functions, and specifically how this relates to the fairy courts. Today I want to address this issue and try to offer some clarity on the subject for anyone who is curious.
‘Riders of the Sidhe’ by John Duncan
It’s important to understand that when we talk…
The following article is an excerpt from my forthcoming book ‘Travelling the Fairy Path’. It looks at material from the ballad ‘The Elfin Knight’ and what we may learn from it as people interested in fairylore. I find it particularly valuable in what it may teach is about the importance of consent for witches when dealing with the Fair Folk in certain situations, particularly sexual ones. We see…