I’ve recently had Bridget Cleary on my mind and that along with some synchronicity on social media that brought the subject up in a separate context made me decide to write today about changelings. For those who don’t know, Bridget Cleary was a woman in Ireland who died in 1895 when her husband and several family members and neighbors burned her alive after several days of trying to ‘cure’ her,…
Category Archives: By Land Sea and Sky
The Doubled Edge of Fairywork
Sometimes people ask me why I don’t talk much about personal practice and experience with the Othercrowd, beyond a handful of anecdotes that I repeat and some fairly generic for-public-consumption stories. I’m pretty free with talking about experiences that occured with other people, about being pixy-led, or seeing fairy hounds, or items being taken and returned. And I will talk about the…
Meeting a New Liminal God
I’m on a brief hiatus at the moment, and today is Thanksgiving here in the US, so I am re-posting this from my other blog ‘Into the Twilight’. Its a look at more of the personal side of my witchcraft practice. Enjoy!
Generally speaking in my practice of Fairy Witchcraft I honor two main pairs of deities. From Bealtaine to Samhain the Lady of the Greenwood and Lord of the Wildwood hold sway as…
Stepping Into Brigit – a Review
Many people are familiar with my dedication to the Morrigan but what may not be as widely known is my love of Brighid. It is, by its nature, a different sort of love, but it is just as much a presence in my life in its own way. So when I was asked to help Beta test* a new course ‘Stepping Into Brigit’ designed for people interested in Brighid to learn about and connect to her I jumped at the…
Fairies, Witches, and Dangerous Magic
When many people think of the classical image of the witch it comes with the implicit shadow of the Devil looming over it and an inherent sense of danger. When the folklore is studied in Scotland and Ireland, however, it is not cloven hooves and hellfire that mark many witches but the touch of Fairy and interaction with the Otherworld that made them what they were, and for some of us what we are…
a Prayer to Brighid
Brighid, Lady of healing
May we find wholeness in troubled times
Brighid, Lady of the smith’s flame
May we forge a brighter future from uncertainty
Brighid, Lady of sweet speech
May we raise our voices in eloquence and strength
Brighid of the Hospitalers,
May we support those in need around us
Brighid of the Judgments,
May we act fairly to all, friend or foe
Brighid of the Cowless,
May we…
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…
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…
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…
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…