Search


The Amadán - The Most Dangerous Fairy of All?
The Amadán is a denizen of fairy said to be most active during the month of June and a fairy being sometimes linked to the solstice itself. This fairy is also considered to be a companion to those born in this month, (of which I am one!), and often whether they like it or not! A trickster-like being, the Amadán is unpredictable, and accounts of their work and deeds leave no real explanation regarding motives in many cases. The Amadán can appear as either the Amadán na Brui


Moon-Bathing Folklore
As well as a full moon, tonight and tomorrow morning will bring a lunar eclipse. I won’t go into the science of this as there are already...


Blúiríní Béaloidis 10 - The Cow In Folk Tradition
Cattle have been central to Irish farming since the Neolithic period, and in early Ireland were even used as a unit of currency. In this...


The Rise of New Fairy Religions
Recently, there has been an explosion in the growth of new fairy religions, as well as the popularity of fairy worship within mixed...


Dark Bealtaine Folklore and The Fairy Queen
Depending on where you live on this beautiful planet, astronomical Bealtaine will take place on either May 5th or 6th this year. The dark...


Blúiríní Béaloidis 02 - May Day Folklore
The first of May is marked in Ireland (and across Europe more broadly), as a day on which the summer is welcomed in; where garlands of...


Bealtaine, Fairies, and the Pleiades
In a previous post I wrote about the connection between our concepts of the similar patterns which appear throughout the universe,...


Fairies and the Changing Seasons
I had a question put to me recently which I found interesting. Do fairies come and go with the seasons, and might one type of fairy be...


Bluebell Folklore
The bluebell thrives at the start of the warmer weather but will die off from mid-June, when the trees have their full compliment of...


Spring Equinox & The Fairy Hunt
"And beyond them, almost hidden by the moon shadows, were the Lords of the Ever-Living Ones: the antlered helmets of the Wild Hunt, the...


Blúiríní Béaloidis 08 - Wind & Storms In Folk Tradition
Owing to their impact on human affairs, weather occurrences of all sorts were a source of preoccupation for our forebears, who would look...


Blúiríní Béaloidis 12 - St. Patrick In Folk Tradition
The 17th of March sees countries the world over celebrate Saint Patrick's Day - a day which is commonly marked with large parades and...


Fairy Paths and Ghost Roads
A few posts back I wrote about the secret fairy-paths of the air, and how a person might inadvertently get whisked away being caught up...


Blúiriní Bealoidis 28 - Land & Language
Our guest for this edition of Bluiríní Béaloidis is writer and documentary maker Manchán Magan, whose recent book 'Thirty-Two Words For ...


Witch Bottles and Irish Folk-Magic Protection
17th century witch bottle excavated in Bow Lane, Dublin 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 age story. One of the pivotal moments in the book is when a 'witch-bottle' is found and the ominous repercussions that ensue. In case you don't know what a witch-bottle is, a very basic summary is a vessel, usually a glass bottle or small pottery urn, which contains pieces of hair, nails


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 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















