Faeryfolk
Filed by Aine MacDermot
Faeries of Gaelic Lands: The ‘Sociable’ Faeries
{*Note: these are W. B. Yeats’ classifications.}
l. The SÃdheóg (Sheehogue, Shee, Sith(e), SÃ, SÃdh, SÃdhe, An Slua SÃdhe, Aés SÃdhe, Daoine SÃdhe, Daoine Maithe, Sheagh SÃdhe, Marca SÃdhe, Tuatha Dé Danaan, The Shining Ones, The Gentry, The Good Folk): The faeries of the SÃdhe of the insular Celtic lands (Ireland, Scotland, etc.). The names of all of their chiefs are the names of old Tuatha Dé Danaan heroes and heroines. Generally speaking, these are the early inhabitants of Ireland, who have been called “gods and not gods”, and they are the Ancestors of many of the modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic clans and families.
Tales of these beings can be found in many of the ancient Irish texts: the Red Branch or Ulster Cycle in the Leabhar n hUidhre (Book of the Dun Cow), the Leabhar Laigneach (Book of Leinster), the Leabhar Gabhála Erenn (The Book of Invasions), the Fenian Cycle of tales, and other texts of antiquity. Many of these tales have been published in modern times in books such as The Táin Bó Cuailnge translated by Thomas Kinsella, Ancient Irish Tales edited by Tom Cross and Clark Slover, Celtic Mythology by T. W. Holleston, and many other books. Excerpts of these tales also appear in The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries by W. Y. Evans-Wentz. There are also many websites on the internet with various versions of these tales.
2. The Murdhuacha (Murdhúcha, Móruadh (great wildness or fierceness), Murrúghach, Murúch, Murúchaill, Maighdean-mhara, Muirgen, Merrow, Irish Merfolk): The Irish equivalent of mermaids. Like the mermaids, they are beautiful, though with fish-like tails and little scaly webs between their fingers. They are dreaded by the fishermen because they often appear before storms, but they are gentler than most mermaids and often fall in love with mortals. The offspring of these marriages are sometimes said to be covered with scales, just as the descendants of the Roane of the West Highlands of Scotland, (or the Selkies or Seal People of Orkney and Shetland), are said to have webs between their fingers. Sometimes they come ashore in the form of little hornless cattle, but in their proper shape they wear red feather caps (cohullen druith), by means of which they go through the water. If these are stolen they cannot return to the sea (or loch) again. If the female merrows are beautiful, the males (Murúch-fir) are very ugly indeed, with green teeth, green hair, a red, sharp nose and eyes like a pig. They seem, however, to be generally amiable and jovial characters.
A lively story by Crofton Croker gives a pleasant picture of a merrow, called ‘The Soul Cages’, and it can be read in Crofton Croker’s Fairy Legends of the South of Ireland, Vol. II., p. 30. This tale also appears in Keightley’s World Guide (see Sources below), p. 527-536.
Peter Beresford Ellis in A Dictionary of Irish Mythology, p.167, notes that Muiris Ó Conchúir, chief of the Munster pipers, is recorded as leaving home to live beneath the waves with a mermaid, while St. Patrick is supposed to have turned some women into mermaids because they would not be converted to Christianity.
- Ben-Varrey (behn varra): The Manx name for the mermaid, of which many tales are told round the coasts of the Isle of Man. She bears the same general character as mermaids do everywhere, enchanting and alluring mortal men to their death, but occasionally showing softer traits.
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Lady Aurora wrote:
Do faeries really exist? I mean… I have this unexplainable passion for them, a certain urge to see one. Because my mind keeps on battling with my heart that they DON’T exist, and yet, i feel it in my heart that they are here among us… I also feel that they live within my heart….making me feel like i’m ONE OF THEM>>>>
Posted on 17-Sep-05 at 1:43 am | Permalink
Fiona wrote:
Oh yes, faeries exist in a very real way. I’ve seen them from time to time, as do many members of my family past and present. One of my best friends, who is from a very old Irish family, is waken in the night to banshee calls when someone dies in the family, as did her grandmother and great aunt in the past. In my family we see a lady with bandages all over when there is a death. I saw her last week and I found out one of my great aunts died the next day! I don’t want you to doubt it for a second that fae don’t exist. They most certainly do in a very real way. I feel that a lot of Irish families did see faeires, but it was frowned upon and became a “superstitious peasant belief” and not for “good Christians.” So a lot of stories got untold, and those ways were swept under the rug.
Posted on 25-Sep-05 at 8:11 pm | Permalink
Aine MacDermot wrote:
If you read W.Y. Evans-Wentz’s “The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries”, he makes a very good case for the Fae being reborn into human bodies, quite often over and over within a clann blood line. Personally, I have no doubt They are here among us.
Maybe I’m one.
Posted on 26-Sep-05 at 2:10 am | Permalink
Anto wrote:
I was visited by a flock of faeries one night as I laid down to go to bed. At first I thought the shadow of a head moved on my wall. Then I felt something large was standing in front of me. I called for my friend to come into the room, but he was fast asleep. I then saw stars coming at me. Like a tunnel of them. I rubbed my eyes and they were still there. The stars were wizzing by my head. Some twinkled like a sparkle. The stars turned into some kind of wavy, shimmering scattering of light throughout my room. Once again I rubbed my eyes to see if I was just bugging out. Nope. I sure wasn’t bugging out. So I relaxed and after a minute these things appeared in place of the shimmering light. At first it looked like butterflies. They were a light golden yellowish white color. Their wings seemed to propel them magically. As if gravity didn’t affect them. Their aura was one of a happy greeting. Almost playful. As I lay there I could feel the tears running down my face. I put my hand up and could see, but not feel one of them climb around it. there had to be about forty of them. About 3-4 inch bodies. With wings about the same size. Except there wings were a bit higher than there heads and the bottoms were about to the top of the calf. They stayed for a bit and then the swirling light came back, then the stars and they were gone. They came again the following night and I haven’t seen them since.
I never believed in this stuff before. I am a big sceptic. What I saw those nights was real. I actually saw a flock of beings from myth. Thus, I must conclude that they exist. I have been studying about them ever since.
Posted on 21-Oct-05 at 1:02 am | Permalink
Aine MacDermot wrote:
Anto: I had a similar experience only it was in my yard during broad daylight. I didn’t see them morph into creatures with wings, though. Just tiny sparkles of light, flying around me in all directions in the morning sunlight. It was not raining, there was no wind, and I’ve never seen rain that flies upward/outward/and in circles, so the idea that it was just water droplets in the air was ruled out.
And yes, it was accompanied by a wonderful feeling of happiness.
Posted on 21-Oct-05 at 1:09 am | Permalink
amber wrote:
dude i can’t copy anything!!whats up with that?
Posted on 24-Apr-06 at 10:58 am | Permalink
Aine MacDermot wrote:
dude i can’t copy anything!!whats up with that?
As you can see, I copied your comment. Your inability to copy and paste is likely due to some problem with your own computer. BTW, if you’re not already using it, I recommend Firefox as a browser.
PS: I’m not a dude.
Posted on 24-Apr-06 at 11:10 am | Permalink
Amryn Morgan wrote:
I believe in faeries. I saw three of them (actually, I saw “faerie lights”, not the faeries themselves) but they were three orbs of white light, no bigger than a quarter, with the edges of the bright white light encircled in an electric blue. The two large ones were about the size of a quarter, and the littler one, I’m assuming was the ‘baby’ of the group, was no bigger than a nickel. From that day on, I have believed in faeries and they will always hold a special place in my heart. I am studying Faerie Wicca at the Wiccan school I am enrolled in and I love it. I’ve read that Tori Amos (she’s a singer) believes in faeries as well.
Hugs and faerie dust,
Amryn Morgan
Posted on 28-Nov-06 at 10:10 am | Permalink
spellbell wrote:
do you think that people are actually reincarnated faeries…? I do. I have this recurring dream, since I was a child, that in my bed one night, a woman faerie, with skin, hair and wings the color of moonlight and eyes that were ice blue, beckoned me to follow her. When I did, she took me by the hand and laughed softly, then we rode on towards this island, somewhere in the middle of some ocean, and in the sky I had morphed into a creature with golden hair and skin and pure green eyes, like I have now. There, I ate and drank and knew the faeries by name, and they called to me and frolicked and suddenly… in the forest somethinh happened, and the island was shook and the faeries ran and flew in the black terror, and I was tumbled tumbled tumbled back to the Earth, watching the white woman call out to me silently, large tears in her blue eyes. I woke up with the taste of wine on my tongue, and my face was wet with tears. What’s really odd though, is that my best friend has had the same dream… and we both see faeries constantly.
what could this mean?
Posted on 03-Dec-06 at 2:19 pm | Permalink
Catherine Leslie-Fay wrote:
Sounds like you’ve kinfolk among the Sidhe. You might consider cultivating a magical garden even if it is only on a shelf in a window…
Myself I was taken Underhill when I was 13 and told of my family and the history. I was flabergasted at first but later I began to take my true kin to heart.
I still have folks telling me I’m just Human but I know better then that.
Still have to pay taxes and whatnot but I am walking a gentler path across Earth these days.
Namarie,
Cathrea
Posted on 20-Jan-07 at 4:30 am | Permalink
Pea wrote:
How wonderful to read such dialogue. I too watch the lights, some playful indeed, so very naughty, hidden in the woods, by the wells, and around me. My father was so very ill, and I called on the lights and they came and surrounded this man that I loved so. Beautiful it was as he gained strength as they came. My father healed by the sidhe.
Posted on 25-Mar-07 at 4:31 am | Permalink
Frank wrote:
I believe. Once I sat in a local woodland in the south of England where I live and practiced simple tunes on my Celtic harp. I tired, then fell asleep. In my dream I saw beautiful lights, bands of colour subtly weaving and blending, at the same time the most beautiful sounds beyond my imagining. I awoke and opened my eyes, the vision of colours was replaced by spring folage of the trees above against a pale blue sky but unexpectedly the sounds continued…coming from my harp, but not plucked notes by crude hand but a gentle arpegio of weaving resonance so delicate yet intricate. I turned to look directly and the sound instantly stopped! I believe that the fey were enjoying showing a human just how the harp can be played. I once met a Sidhe, but that is a longer story, they have increadable eyes and talk directly into your soul. I have no doubt that with such ability they can hide from us with ease, or move among us without our being aware. Only the nasty should fear them, the good at heart will simply adore them and our world would be berift of beauty should they ever abandon us.
Posted on 28-Sep-07 at 7:47 pm | Permalink
fairclaire wrote:
I am a decendant of the Dean family from a village in Mayo called Breaghwyanteean(wolf plain of the fairy hill).I’m convinced that our Dean name is a relic of the Tuatha de danaan, and was always told we were from “fairy stock”and to welcome the gifts and responsibilities that came with this heritage.I am only now
beginning to appreciate the richness of this history.This site is a delightful discovery.
Posted on 12-Nov-07 at 1:03 am | Permalink
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Posted on 04-Feb-08 at 4:34 pm | Permalink
Gilly wrote:
anyone who understands dreams??
my family has long been disconnected from its celtic heritage, but recently, i personally have been trying to trace us back and discover where exactly we come from. then i got a dream. i dreamt i was in some forest-like area, very rural, raw, untouched. i was tied in the bottom of a wooden boat, with a savage-looking woman standing over me with a club. she told me, ‘we’re going to wipe out you and all your kind.’ then i saw others around me, in boats and tied down, strong but beautiful creatures, their skin glowing slightly. i connected eyes with a beautiful face, a male with deep blue eyes. i heard his voice in my head, ‘when i tell you, break your bonds and fly. we will all go at once. once we are in the air, they cannot touch us.’ i waited, then suddenly i felt a rush of energy, which must have been his signal. i felt a burning at my wrists as i somehow burned off my bonds, and my body lept into the air with so many others, all beings of light and power. we were flying far above, and finally came to rest in the tall, lush trees of the island. i looked over, and the male was in the same tree as me. his voice was in my head again, and he said, ‘we are free. but they always want to wipe us out. but in the end, they cannot overcome us. they are baser metals, we are refined.’ then i felt the rush of power again, and i awoke with a strength in my body like i have never felt before. does this dream mean anything?? does it have to do with my geneological search? i have never believed in faeries, but since this dream, there is a doubt in my mind. could they be there? here? what have i seen or known?
someone please help me.
Posted on 18-Mar-08 at 12:11 pm | Permalink