Search


Witch Bottles and Irish Folk-Magic Protection
I recently read Andrew Michael Hurley's novel, The Loney, which is a tale of folk-magic and superstition, as well as a dark coming of...


The Irish Keening Tradition: Singing the Soul Home
Keening, which was once an integral part of the Irish grieving process, began to vanish from before the 1880’s. In many academic papers...


The Sheela na Gig - An Ancient Fertility Goddess?
Sheela na Gig’s are stone carvings of women exposing their genitals which are found mostly on church buildings associated with the...


The Folklore of Daffodils and the Return of Spring
I noticed that the first daffodils are beginning to emerge on our local fairy fort, Rathvilly moat, so I wonder if this is a sign of things about to change for the better? Obviously we need the winter and darkness as it is all part of the cycle of things but you do reach a point when the brighter days are very welcome again. Within many folklore traditions the area where daffodils grow wildly is considered to be a magic place and this is certainly the case with Rathvilly moat


Tír na nÓg & The Irish Otherworld
Where, or even what, is Tir na nÓg? Being a Fortean writer who happens to be Irish, as opposed to being an invested scholar or advocate...


Brief encounter with a strange sea creature in the waters off Inis Meáin
"My father was out fishing one night and something came beside the boat, that had eyes shining like candles. And then a wave came in,...


The Secret Fairy-Paths of the Air
In previous posts I wrote about the argument that a person today is so embedded in contemporary life that they have little chance of a...


How can an Owl catch a Mouse underneath a foot of snow in total darkness?
Owls do have excellent vision, but one would need either infrared or x-ray vision to see a small mammal under snow. Instead, owls do much...


An insightful description of the Leprechaun
The Leprechauns are merry, industrious, tricksy little sprites, who do all the shoemaker’s work and the tailor’s and the cobblers for the...


Seasonal Poetry & Prose: 'The Man who Trod on Sleeping Grass', by Dora Sigerson Shorter
In a field by Cahirconlish I stood on sleeping grass, No cry I made to Heaven From my dumb lips would pass. Three days, three nights I...


A Faerie Horse?
"Long ago there lived in the townland of Doon a man named Harty. He had a farm of land near the Shannon. Every morning Harty used to find...


Seasonal Poetry & Prose: 'Dream-Song', by Walter De La Mare
Sunlight, moonlight, Twilight, starlight— Gloaming at the close of day, And an owl calling, Cool dews falling In a wood of oak and may. ...


Seasonal Poetry & Prose: 'Fairy Tea', by D. K. Stevens
‘Twas very, very long ago, in days no longer sung, when giant stood about so high, and pixies all were young. The Queen of Fairies said...


Birds can see Earth's magnetic fields, and now we know how that's possible
The mystery behind how birds navigate might finally be solved: it's not the iron in their beaks providing a magnetic compass, but a...


Ten Love Letters to the Earth, by Thich Nhat Hanh
In honor of the passing of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, we are sharing his Ten Love Letters to the Earth. These meditations are an...


Seasonal Poetry & Prose: 'The Message of the Rain', by Norman H. Russell
When i was a child i was a squirrel a bluejay a fox and spoke with them in their tongues climbed their trees dug their dens and knew the...


A February Goddess: Remembering The Little Things
February the 8th, is the Festival of Broken Needles in Shinto and Buddhist traditions. On this day, women will gather up all of the...


Seasonal Poetry & Prose: 'Feed The Birds', by Sylvia Spencer
Birds of Britain, I watch them fly high beautiful birds as they wing to the sky. They are a star studded spangle of gracious charm. A...


Fairies in the grass: A Priest's view of (and method of thwarting) the Faerie
Imbolc marked the transition between the Winter (earth element season) and Spring (air element season). So, as we journey deeper into the...


St Brigid: Dove Among Birds, Vine Among Trees, Sun Among Stars
Starting next year, we’ve been given a new National Holiday! February 1 is celebrated as St Brigid’s Day in Ireland and to honour our...
