Author Archives: Lairbhan

Goblins

 One of the more well-known types of Fey, by name at least, are goblins but many people are vague on what exactly goblins are. So today lets take a look at goblins, what they are, and some folklore surrounding them.

The word goblin itself dates back to about the 14th century and is believed to possibly come from the Latin Gobelinus, and to be related to the German Kobold; the meaning is given as…

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The Morrigan's Second Prophecy

After the battle of Maige Tuiredh the Morrigan gave two prophecies. This is my translation of the second one.Boí-si íarum oc taircetul deridh an betha ann beus ocus oc tairngire cech uilc nobíad ann, ocus cech teadma ocus gach díglau; conid ann rocachain an laíd-se sís:"Ní accus bith nombeo baid: sam cin blatha, beit bai cin blichda, mna can feli, fir gan gail. Gabala can righ rinna ulcha…

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Muddy Boots, or Setting My Feet on the Path Before Them

my ‘sacred’ boots, which have crawled through souterrains, walked up sacred hills, cleaned a holy well, and delved deep into the Morrigan’s cave

I left for Ireland on October 25th, to help co-facilitate a Morrigan sacred sites tour. I was very excited, and had high expectations of connecting more deeply with the Morrigan, Badb, and Macha on their own sacred ground at places where their…

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Excerpt from Suidigud Tellaich Temra

Suidigud Tellaich Temra

23. ‘A Findtain,’ arse, ‘& Éri cía gabad ca rabad inde?’
‘Ní ansa,’ ar Fintan, ‘Íaruss fis. tuadus cath. airthis bláth.
teissus séis. fortius flaith.’
‘Is fír ém, a Findtain,’ ar Tréfhuilngid, ‘’ at senchaid saineamail.
Is amlaid robái & bias co bráth béos, .i.

24. A fis, a forus, a foirceatol, a bág, a breithemnus,  a
comgne, a cómairle, a scéla, a seanchasa, a…

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The Púca

"[A]n pucadh da ngairir an spioraid phriobhaideach" – Lucerna Fidelium 
(the púca he was called the secret spirit)
 The Púca – also called by a wide array of variant names including Phooka, Pooka, Pwca [Welsh], Bucca [Cornish] and Puck [English] – is a type of being found in folklore across hundreds of years. Some even connect Shakespeare’s character Puck to the folkloric Púca, although…

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Fairy Familiars

 The familiar spirit, often simply called the familiar, is one of the most well known companions of the classical witch. When most people think of the traditional witch’s familiar they automatically imagine a demonic one, however there is a long history of fairies taking the role of the familiar spirit with some witches in Europe, just as some witches met not with the Devil but with the Queen of…

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Popculture, Modern Fiction, and Fairies

In November of 2015 I wrote a blog titled ‘The Influence of Fiction and Hollywood on Paganism’. It was mostly me discussing my own opinions on the way that I have seen media change, or at least influence, pagan beliefs over the decades. Lately different discussions on social media have gotten me thinking that I might want to do a similar blog about the effects of popculture and fiction on fairy…

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Colors, Clothing, and Fairies in Celtic Folklore

There are several colors which have come to be strongly associated with the Good Neighbors over time and today I want to discuss them. Generally they are related to us through descriptions of clothing and of animals, although by far the most detail can be gleaned by looking at clothing descriptions. The clothing itself when described in stories is usually similar to that of the people living in…

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Slánugud na Mórrigna – the Healing of the Morrigan

Slánugud na Mórrigna

And-sin tánic in Mórrígu ingen Ernmais a Sídib irricht sentainne, corrabi ic blegun bó trí sine na fiadnaisse. Is immi tanic-si (mar) sin, ar bith a forithen do Choinchulaind. Dáig ni gonad Cuchulaind nech ar a térnád, co m-beth cuit dó féin na legis
Conattech Cuchulaind blegon furri, iarna dechrad d’íttaid. Dobretha-si blegon sini dó. Rop slán aneim dam-sa so. Ba slán a…

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Álfablot – Honoring the Álfar

"It appears even that to these black elves in particular, i.e., mountain spirits, who in various ways came into contact with man, a distinct reverence was paid, a species of worship, traces of which lasted down to recent times. The clearest evidence of this is found in the Kormakssaga p. 216-8. The hill of the elves, like the altar of a god, is to be reddened with the blood of a slaughtered bull,…

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