Of all the beings in Irish – and more generally Celtic – folklore one of the most interesting may be the Leannán Sí. The name literally means ‘fairy lover’* and we see two distinct pictures emerge in mythology and folklore of this type of being, very different in nature although both perhaps equally hazardous in various ways.
‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’ by John Waterhouse
The most well…
I know you have loved mesince before I was worth lovingA shadow in dreams, a glimpseof a fair form in daylight.You who are part of a worldnot my own, yet somehowbelong to me as much as Ibelong to you, inexplicably.A constant presence in my lifeA guardian, a guide, a lover,Never more than a thought away.Perhaps my heart was alwaysyours before it was even my ownAnd so I will send my heart to youas…
"Being associated with a ceann féile (cheif festival), May Eve and May Day were supposed to be times of greater than usual activity among supernatural beings, Every lios ("fairy fort") in Ireland was said to be opened that night, and their inhabitants moved abroad in great numbers, often changing residence at that time." – Seán Ó Súilleabháin, ‘Nósanna agua Piseoga na nGael’
Hawthorn in the…
I write a lot on my blogs and various other places about a more academic view of my spirituality – facts, myths, translations. Hard, verifiable, provable things. Sometimes I think this may lead people to think I don’t get as much into the experiential side of things although I do try to write about that as well – its just harder to talk about the more personal end of things. In reality…
This was inspired by two things – a story called ‘A Guide for Young Ladies Entering the Service of the Fairies’ and a poem by my friend Jennifer Lawrence called ‘Tam Lin’s Garden’. Both are brilliant pieces of writing and you should read them immediately.
People talk about wishes now as if they were cheap things
Spending their desire on casual words and wants that are
lost between one…
Doing this one a bit differently – going to alternate the lines instead of doing separate text.I hope you enjoy it.
Cétnad nAíse ~ Poem of RestorationAd-muiniur secht n-ingena trethan
I invoke the seven daughters of the stormy seadolbtae snáithi macc n-áesmar.
shaping life’s thread from boyhood to ageTri bás flaimm ro-ucaiter,
Three deaths be taken from metri áes dom do-rataiter,
Three…
The subject comes up occasionally – what makes a God a God?
It’s a good question, really, especially if you haven’t thought about it before. I’m pretty strongly against the idea of omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience – basically all the omni’s usually attributed to monotheistic deities – as qualities of individual deities. There’s just a level of cynicism in me that finds it impossible to…
EBEL TRANSCRIPTION1. Cris finnáin dumimdegail imum imacuáirt. nar amtairthea innsét timcellas intuáith2. Raucthi láin induleán mubrond. lurech dé dumimdegail otamind gombond.3. Cris fimieain muchris argalar arches aruptaib banm*beth (+) afraech adamles.4. Cris eoin muchris ralég súidi n*glan. daid ferga fer soid upta m*ban.5. Cris nathrach muchris nathair imátá náramgonat fir naramillet mná.6….
I can’t stand April Fool’s Day, but in the spirit of the holiday (no joke) I thought I’d do a fun short post on the different words for fool in Old Irish and their contexts. Much like my previous blog about the word ‘witch’, saying fool in Old Irish isn’t a straightforward matter because there are a variety of options each with different nuances.
First we have the words which are used for…
Recently a news article hit both the Irish cultural community and the pagan community. Titled ‘Man’s discovery of bones under his pub could forever change what we know about the Irish’ the article discusses an archaeological find, the genetic analysis of the bones found, and one main academic response to it. The response focused on is that of Barry Cunliffe, professor of Archaeology at Oxford…