Directed by Guillermo del Toro; Starring: Ariadna Gil …. Carmen Vidal, Ivana Baquero …. Ofelia, Sergi López …. Capitán Vidal, Maribel Verdú …. Mercedes, Doug Jones …. Pan/Pale Man, Álex Angulo …. Dr. Ferreiro, and many more.
An excellent International film in Spanish with English subtitles about a little girl who goes with her pregnant mom to live with her new “step father” who is a ruthless and sadistic Captain of the Spanish Civil War. Set in an historic mill with a prehistoric Labyrinth in the backyard, Ofelia explores and meets a faun and some vicious fey, that put her to a test of 3 ordeals she must complete in order to achieve her place as Princess in the Otherworld. Balanced with the fight and the cruelty of war, Ofelia escapes into a dark and hideous underworld where she must battle her fears to achieve her tests. Its an amazing tale of the worlds within and the treachery of deceit … bloody, gory, and definitely not for children. Artistic, fabulous imagery, and good special effects. A must see! Rating: 5 stars out of 5.
These intriguing fortresses of old have always fascinated me conceptually once I read about them in the many legends and folklore of the Irish Faeries. However, it wasn’t until the last two years that I’ve had the chance to explore these raths of myths and tales in-depth and personally wondering if they are truly gateways into the Land of the Young, Tir Na Nog or the Faerie Otherworld. “Fairy Forts” are the names given especially by the Irish, Cornish, and other residents of the Isles around Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Britain who strongly believe in the faerie folk. This is a localized term for the “raths”, “ringforts”, “lios”, “hillforts”, “rounds”, “earthen mounds”, or circular dwellings found in England, Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, and Wales.
Fairy Forts / Ring Forts (People’s Park, Ireland)
Archaeologists will tell you these came to be around the late Iron Age and were used upwards to the domain of early Christianization of the land when the Island’s residents dwelled in circular structures (perhaps “roundhouses”) within earthen banks or ditches that were used for defense. These were believed to have been topped with wooden palisades, stone or wood buildings, roundhouses, or structures. Many archaeologists believe that these were primarily made of wooden structures that would have decayed, which is why none of the structures remained, leaving only vague circular marks in the landscape. These “fairy forts” or “raths” are simply large mounds of earth, clay, grass, hedges, bushes, gorse, and thorn that are circular in shape like that believed to be a round banked enclosure. Archaeology tells us the circular bank was formerly the base for a high fence or wall of sharpened logs, sometimes with or without a water-filled moat. Inside the circular enclosure, more often than not, are round wooden thatched dwellings. Also within this enclosure was kept livestock during bad weather and to prevent raiding. There are believed to be over 40,000 ring forts in Ireland alone. In 2009, a team of four photographers supported by Wales Arts International took a road trip across Western Ireland to record and photograph fairy forts. These can be seen at www.fairyfortproject.com. Actual “Sidhe,” or Hills, are most commonly interpreted as burial mounds, passage tombs, or tumuli. Human remains have been found in these to support archaeology. ~ Some claim the Tuatha de Danann were the “Danes” who were legendary “fort builders.”
Passage Tomb – Slieve Gullion Forest Park
However, this is disputed by many folklorists and archaeologists, as most of the forts took on Gaelic names. According to Archaeology, the forts are attributed to various times and races. Legend even attributes them to belong to the Firbolgs, Tuatha De Danann, the Celts, and the Vikings, as well as mythological individuals such as Aenghus, Eerish, Eir, Farvagh, Cuchuallain, Midir, Croaghan, ‘Lachtna (820-840 C.E.), Brian Boru (980-1014 C.E.), and King Conor (1242-1269 C.E.). Places throughout the Isles are named after faeries, banshees, and other beings or myths surrounding them. tells a different story opposing the archaeologists’ perspective. The land’s myths, legends, and lore tell that these ring forts were “fairy forts” blessed and protected with Druidic prayers, spells, and magic to protect the “faeries” that lived within or under them. Those who believe in Faeries do not alter or trespass on them.
Legend states that the Tuatha De Danann and Fir Bolg had originally inhabited Ireland as a mythical race of magical folk who dominated Ireland. Around the time of the Iron Age (oddly enough corresponding to archaeology’s dating of raths), when the Milesians came to Ireland and defeated the Tuatha De Danann, the Tuatha was forced to relocate to the Other World, A Faerie dimension, or down below the hills, to Middle Earth as an agreement that only the Milesians ~ the humans ~ could dwell above ground. The Faeries, the “Good Neighbours” had to move underground or to their “Faerie Isles”. They were to retreat into the hills or mounds called “sidhe” which became a word for the “faeries“. These were often described as circular barrows or ringforts. These “hollow hills” have traditionally become known as the home of Faeries. “Sidhe” in Gaelic means “people of the hills.”
According to the Book of Armagh, they are the Gods of the Earth known as the Tuatha de Danann. Sometimes seen as God/desses, other times as Druids or sorcerers, and on an odd occasion as aliens, the Tuatha have rich mythology firmly embedded into Irish lore. Some Irish call them the “Sidheog”. To many Christian groups, faeries are believed by some to be fallen angels who are too good ever to be allowed in Hell and too devilish to be accepted into Heaven. From these myths, these defensive forts were seen to be the domain of the Tuatha De Danann as entrances to their world. They are to be respected and avoided because of respect and fear of “war” retaking place between faeries and humans. The actual mounds are also seen as potential burial or sacred resting places.
As Archaeology has found many burials within such mounds, such as at Newgrange and Tara, hillforts and mounds are avoided out of superstition. A good farmer wouldn’t even mess with the moat, the walls, cut brush from it, remove stones, or damage it. If they did, hard luck and even death could follow. Most respected on these “fairy forts” were the white thorns, the ash, the gorse, or the “sceach” around its boundaries never to be cut for that would most likely lead to death. In MacCraith’s “Triumphs of Torlough” the “fairy forts” are labelled as the lodgings of appalling apparitions. Many stories of the hills lit up by strange lights at night. Sometimes, this is described as the hill rising up on pillars, opening to the night sky, revealing brilliant lights of Faeries processing from one hill to another, especially during Lammas tide (August 2nd through 7th). November 11th, during Hollantide, is when the Manx fear their Hogmen or Hillmen the most as it is the time these particular Fae choose to move from one hill to another.
Hill of Tara
Irish lore and ghost stories tell much about the supernatural stature of “Fairy forts.” Many believe “leprechauns” live in them and hide their pots of gold within the mounds as expressed in Rudyard Kipling’s 1906 novel “Puck of Pook’s Hill”. In addition to the Ringforts, Dolmen were considered faerie homes or dwellings. A legend tells of a lady who lived in one and became deranged, thought her lover was a dragon, and jumped at him. Many unexplained phenomena take place in or around the fairy forts. Local lore tells tales of a man who tried to blast down a dolmen resulting in a septic hand while the dolmen remained unscathed; the local astronomer who tried to blast the Inchiquin Barony dolmen was severely injured with his hand as well; a Templenaraha oratory demolition (which was in a ringfort) collapsed a calf shed onto its occupants for building the unstable structure; the 1840 tale of workmen at Dooneeva who were trying to level earthworks in a fairy fort had apparently turned up dead (though his mystic wife ran to a “fairy spot” to work magic to bring him back to life); The Lissardcarney and Ballyhee fairy forts in Templemaley Parish were always known to be faerie strongholds with troops of faeries garrisoned within them (1839 stories); Songs were reputedly heard from the Cahernanoorane in Inchiquin and Liskeentha near Noughaval; tales of faeries haunting the Tobersheefra holy well; the 1892 tale of Nihill a farmer who wrecked and removed the out wall of a triple stone fort near Quin leading to his father stricken with acute pain and only recovering from it when the work was stopped; a landlord losing the use of an eye from the dust of an explosion when blasting a rock in an earth fort being removed in northeast Clare; and in 2011 developer Sean Quinn found financial ruin after he moved a fairy fort.
Another tale tells of a cow that grazed in a fairy fort and was found with broken legs whose owner then ate its meat only to find the cow in the fairy fort a year later. The farmer was told by the faeries they substituted an old stray horse to make him believe it was his cow as they needed his cow’s milk, and they then let him take his cow home afterwhich he became very prosperous for the loan. Another tale tells of another farmer who couldn’t understand why none of the cows would enter the fairy fort on their property, and upon investigation by his son, found an old fairy in the fort who asked the man to help him get a young human girl to become his wife. The farmer’s son would not give a young girl to the old fairy but instead married the girl himself, leading to rage from the old fairie, who destroyed the farmer’s property. Outraged, the farmer’s son and the girl rode to her parent’s house to tell her three brothers. Her brothers then went to the fort to dig for the old fairy’s house, upon finding his sizeable flat stone, he begged them to save him his home, which they did in exchange for restoring for what he had taken. Some ringforts are more dangerous than others, such as in the case of the Croaghateeaun stone ring wall near Lisdoonvarna. One of the most modern cases of faerie wraith damaging faerie forts was believed to be the invocation of an ancient curse of the Hill of Tara when the government destroyed sites by the construction of the M3 Motorway. In 2007 the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche supposed befell against bad financial luck after signing a order to destroy the Lismullion Henge. By Faerie wraith, he lost his job, was demoted, and held up by an armed gang in the Druids Glen Hotel. The Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, afterward nearly got sucked out of a helicopter when the door fell off. A falling tree at Rath Lugh seriously injured the Chief Health and Safety officer. A worker was killed while being trapped at Fairyhouse, where there have been many accidents on that particular stretch of road. There is much concern about being taken by the fairies.
Fears from stories like these may be responsible for the incredible preservation of these forts, hills, raiths, and mounds across the countryside. In many areas, the raiths and fairy forts are protected by Irish law for heritage preservation, preventing construction or building within 30 meters of them. However, the Irish government and more giant corporations somehow skirt these laws often when they find the need to destroy them for construction projects or building motorways.
Drumdowney Fairy Fort in Ireland
Littering the landscape are also pathways that some call “fairy paths.” Some align these with what they believe to be mystical geo-magnetic gridlines called “leylines”. Many believe these connect together using faerie sites or faerie forts. Many old buildings in Ireland are missing parts of the structure out of the belief that part obstructs a faerie path. Other faerie sites include mounds, isles, wells, and faerie trees or bushes. These sites are often dressed and adorned with “rags” or “wishing trees” with offerings to faeries for blessings.
Today, many believe that milk, butter, and/or honey offerings would appease the Good Neighbours at these places. However, not much histories or archaeological record make that proved to be true. This seems to come more from Swedish folklore in “elf mills,” which is found in the covers of more than one of these structures and large bullauns or basins at others. Modern belief is to leave out food and drink for the faeries, often on plates and cups at the faerie forts. Evidence of this is found at Inchiquin and Moyarta Baronies and on the Shannon bank where the slopes were thrown out and clean plates, water, chairs, and a well swept hearth was left for the faerie guests. Fairy forts, isles, and mounds are not the only doorways to the land of Tir Na n’Og believed to exist. Cave entrances in Ireland are also believed to be passages as well. Two of the most famous are Lough Gur in County Limerick and Rathcrogan in County Roscommon. One of Ireland’s famous fairy forts is at the Knocknashee mountain. Here it is believed, that if you make a wish, turn around three times with your eyes closed, and if you wind up facing Knocknashee when you open your eyes, the wish will come true. A “fairy” amusement park for kids is also at the base of this mountain dedicated to the “faeries.”
Some say the entrance to the Otherworld will appear if you walk nine times clockwise around the fairy fort, mound, or isle during the full moon. Invitations into the faerie domain can be prosperous or fateful. Such invitations, especially food and drink offers, should be taken carefully by humans. Some legends warn that partaking of food and drink will lead to perpetual enslavement and a loss of time, space, or continuum.
Some myths state that after the Tuatha de Danann lost the battle with the Milesians, in addition to being forced underground, they were shrunk in size and stature. They are often described as “human-like” in appearance, sometimes with animal features, paler skin tone, and green eyes. Throughout the history of Ireland, faeries, especially as personified as belonging to the Tuatha, litter the landscape. Some families claim that their ancestors crossed the fae, and thereby invoked neverending hauntings by Banshees. The banshee is often depicted as a Irish female faerie that comes out at night drawing a comb through her long silvery hair screaming and wailing, mainly when predicting the death of one of their family members. Some lore suggests that the Banshee haunts families with surnames preceded by an O’.
The earliest writer of describing faeries was in 1014 C.E. while describing the terrors of the battles between the Norse and Irish speaking of a “bird of valor and championship fluttering over Merchad’s head and flying on his breath” as well as flying dark and merciless bodbh screamingly fluttering over the combatants while the bannanaig or styrs, idiots, maniacs of the glens, witches, goblins, ancient birds, and destroying demons of the air and skies arose to accompany the warriors in combat. A 1350 C.E. writer wrote about the 1286 C.E. King Torlough returning from a successful raid ravaging the English lands around the mountains of eastern County Limerick and northern Tipperary where he was greeted by a lovely maiden in” modest, strange in aspect, glorious in form, rosy-lipped, soft-taper-handed, pliant-wavy-haired, white-bosomed” appearance as the “Sovereignty of Erin” to rebuke the chief for letting de Burgh dissuade him from attempting the reconquest of all Ireland thereby vanishing in a lustrous cloud within an area graced with fairy forts, dolmen, and tumuli. It is also here that it was written that the soldiers of Donchad were also disturbed by phantoms and delusive dreams of lights shining on the fairy forts. Poetry took over describing these battles and the soldiers witnessing the “waves of Erin” groaning “the deep plaint resounded from the woods and streams” as shades were seen and hollow groans heard while gazing at the hills and forts.
I can speak from first hand while sleeping in homes near such forts, that the winds making noises through the shutters and windows, along the rocks and bushes, whisper and cry like a siren in angst. These are the same described in faerie tales of the forts and beings coming up from the underground caverns, streams, hills, and forts. Sightings of Faeries have dwindled significantly from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Though many Irish today still have stories of their parents and grandparents telling them of faerie abductions, sightings, or wrath. Some say the movement of Faeries causes the dusty whirlwinds along the roadside or in the fields. Some places are still reputed to be “fairy hotspots” to this day.
Drumdowney Faerie Isle
One such is the low earth mound at Newmarket-on-Fergus, where one apparition has reliably manifested for the last ten years. This one appears as a little old man dressed in green walking on Ennis road, thought to be a leprechaun perhaps. Much of modern legend has mutated into actual individuals today who claim to have faerie blood, kindred, or to be faeries living amongst humans. This has led to many novels, books, and movies in the 20th century addressing this new lore. This however is not completely new, as many through history have claimed to be of Faerie lineage. A Faerie monarch in Clare was the “Donn of the Sandhills” near the Doogh castle near Lehinch, is listed as a fairy prince named Donn within a list of the divine race of the Tuatha De Danann and family of the Dagda, lineal descendant of the ancient Ana, Mother of the Gods. He was addressed with a political petition in 1730 by Andrew MacCurtin, a well known Irish scholar and antiquarian for neglecting the gentry and praying for any menial post at his court. He was never answered, lived under the hospitality of the Kilkee MacDonnells and the Ennistymon O’Briens. Donn’s heartless conduct supposedly met poetic justice as he lacked a sacred bard and became forgotten through history.
Changelings are another case and another type of faerie within the “Fae” races that are commonly found in folklore and mythology. History worldwide refers to them or some derivative of the belief. Most of the folklore make faeries out to be extremely malevolient towards humans. Much of legend suggests that faeries are envious of humans, often wanting to steal the secrets of their magic, even to the point of changing out human infants with faerie children called “changelings.” The changeling would look “identical” to the stolen child. The only way to tell if it wasn’t your child is if the personality suddenly changed inexplicably. This led to many folk customs, beliefs, spells, and practices to protect children from faeries. Sometimes, these were as simple as dressing up boys to look like girls, placing iron in the child’s bed, dropping a small drop of human urine on a child, keeping dirty water in the house, protective charms, and various woods, herbs, or stones.
Bibliography / References:
Boards.ie: ~ Fairy Forts. Website referenced January 2012. www.boards.ie.
Dunnings Pub: Folklore. Website referenced January 2012. www.dunningspub.com.
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Sinterklaas, Odin, Father Christmas, Sint Nicolaas, Sint Nikolaas, Kris Kringle, De Goedheiligman (The Good Holy Man), or Santa Claus, are they all one in the same? Outside of parallels to Odin, the “Santa Claus” we know today seems to be stemmed from the Dutch belief of a jolly old man that was the Christian Saint “Sinterklaas” accompanied by his blackened sidekick – Zwart Piet. Our story seems to take place in the frosty month of December when this gift giving or coal tossing jolly old man visits the good and bad kids around the world. The original “Sinterklaas” in Dutch tradition would visit the children on December 6th of every year – this quickly was taken over by North America’s Coca-Cola image of the same character as “Santa Claus” to take place on December 25th of every year instead. The original Dutch man would be a town resident dressed up as Sinterklaas – wearing a red bishop’s tall hat, cape, shiny ring, jeweled staff, and elegantly garbed mounted on a white steed with his sidekick “Black Peter”, Zwart Peit, or the Grumpus as a half-man, half-beast carrying a bag full of toys and coal. They would visit houses late at night and knock on doors delivering gifts or coal. The Grumpus would rattle chains and threaten to steal away the naughty children in his big black bag.
The Original Sinterklaas and Zwart Piet: Some say, the original Sinterklaas was modeled after the Germanic God “Odin” who presided over the traditions of Yule. This is believed to have come from pre-Christian times. The parallels modelled towards Odin come from the fact that Odin rides through the sky on his grey horse Sleipnir, and Sinterklaas rides the roof tops with his white horse of many names. Odin carried a spear and had black ravens as his attributes, and Sinterklaas carried a staff and was accompanied by mischievious helpers with black faces. Some of this come from the “Prose Edda” a 13th century manuscript that describes Odin riding an 8-legged horse named Sleipnir that could leap great distances which is compared to today’s Santa with flying sleigh and 8 magical reindeer. It is said, during Yule, children would place their boots filled with carrots, straw, or sugar near the chimney for Odin’s flying horse to eat. Odin would then reward the kindness of the children in exchange of Sleipnir’s food with candy and/or toys. This mutated to hanging stockings at the chimneys. Historically as a real person, there was Saint Nicholas (280-342), the Patron Saint of children who was a Greek bishop of Myra in present day Turkey. Sinterklaas was born in the 4th century in Myra, Asia Minor and became a bishop who was very fond of children. It is said that once a local innkeeper chopped up three young boys into a stew after they ditched paying for a meal at his restaurant. Once Nicholas heard about this, he went to the innkeeper and told him if could find one little piece of each boy that was good, he would perform a miracle and bring them back to life which he did. After that, Nicholas became Sinterklaas going around finding young children who were good to reward them. In 1087 his relics were translated to Bari, in southeastern Italy, where he became known as Nikolaos of Bari. Around this time he became the Patron Saint of Sailors. His legend and tales spread to Italy, Spain, and Northern Europe to where it was a widespread belief by the 11th century and he became the Patron Saint for Children, Unwed maidens, sailors, and the City of Amsterdam. He arrived in Amsterdam via ship on December 5th from Spain and is supposedly greeted by a group of Grumpuses. When one of them became his servant as Black Peter and joined him, is unknown. However, the tradition became so widespread in Holland to honor the old Bishop and Zwart Piet, that parties were established as get-togethers for present exchanges, candles, cookies, and pots of hot chocolate. Every year since on December 5th, people go down to the docks to greet him and great parades, parties, special songs, and pastries are done for his arrival in Amsterdam and Rhinebeck.
Traditions believing in Sinterklaas was brought by Dutch settlers to America both as St. Nicholas and the holiday Sinterklaas. In 1642, Henry Hudson built the first church on the Island of Manhattan and dedicated it to Sinterklaas. In 1664 when the British took over New Amsterdam, they also adopted Sinterklaas and merged it with their observations of “Father Christmas” and the “Winter Solstice”, and so St. Nicholas, Sinterklaas, and Father Christmas were merged into one. As America embraced the jolly fellow, and its literature popularized the mythology, made the myth more popular. Washington Irving’s 1809 Knickerbocker Tales made Sinterklaas a jolly old fella, and the 1822 Episcopal priest Clement Moore who wrote in his poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” introduced a jolly old elf coming down a chimney on Christmas Eve riding a sleigh drawn by 8 tiny reindeer. So forth “Santa Claus” was born from the Dutch “Sinterklaas”. Norse mythology also spoke of a elf called “Nisse” or “Tomte” who would deliver Christmas presents throughout Denmark. He was described as a short bearded man dressed in grey clothes and wearing a red hat. “Father Christmas” in Britain, from the 17th century, was a jolly fat beareded man dressed in a long green fur-lined robe who represented the spirit of good cheer during Christmas, often as the Ghost of Christmas Present as depicted by Charles Dickens in his classic “A Christmas Carol”. After Americanization, he was popularized as a large heavyset white haired old man with jolly cheeks and a smile by the 1863 cartoon of him by Thomas Nast in Harper’s Weekly. White Rock Beverages used a red and white Santa to sell their mineral water in 1915 and their ginger ale in 1923, as well as imaged in red and white on the cover of Puck magazine. It was from this image, that Haddon Sundblom depicted him in his current image in a 1930’s advertising campaign by Coca-Cola to match their colors and logo.
Zwart Piet, or Black Peter, the Bel Snickle, the Grumpus, the Rupelz, Shab, the Krampucz is Sinterklaas’ cohert. Santa rewards the good children, Zwart Piet takes care of the bad kids. Sometimes they carried switches or coal with them in their darkened bags. Sometimes the threat of kidnapping bad children was made known at this time of year. Some say the Grumpus had black faces with colorful Moorish dresses due to the nationality at the time of Sinterklaas. These helpers, called “Zwarte Pieten” or “Black Petes” represented evil, as during the Middle Ages “Zwarte Piet” was a name for evil. The Saint or bishop travels in companionship with a frolicking devil – representing good and evil in their travels together. Early legend states that the Grumpus were derived from Odin’s two ravens, Hugin and Munin who always kept Odin abreadst of what was going on – and when Odin defeated evil, his helper Norwi, the black father of the night, carrying a staff of birch, came to represent the Zwarte Piet. These Grumpuses eventually evolved into the Elves at the North Pole that help Santa Claus in American lore. There is a “Piete” for every function – navigators, acrobatics to climb roofs or down chimneys, toy makers, and inventors. The image of the black faced Zwart Piet in the 1950’s was felt by many to be a racist depiction of slavery, causing further abolishing of the image and mutation into elves. Eventually as “St. Nicholas” or “Santa Claus”, the legendary man with his elves by the 1820’s were believed to live in the North Pole and such a homestead became popularized at the time by stories, songs, and poems.
Traditionally the holiday and lore surrounding Sinterklaas involve madarin oranges, hot chocolate, pepernoten, letter-shaped pastries filled with almond paste, chocolate letters of the children visited, speculaas, chocolate coins, marzipan figures, gingerbread, and cookies in the shape of Sinterklaas. Children traditionally leave Santa a glass of milk and a plate of cookies, though in Australia and Britain often left Sherry and mince pies instead, while in Norway and Sweden he is left rice porridge, and Ireland common Guinness or milk with Christmas pudding or mince pies. Children began writing to Santa Claus along with the evolution of mail. Eventually the post offices of most Western countries began handling the excess mail to Santa and some endeavour to answer each and every letter. In 1955, the Sears Roebuck store in Colorado Springs, Colorado accidentally misprinted a telephone number as a “Santa Hotline” to NORAD that led to NORAD developing a “Tracking Santa” program. Adults as well as children celebrate Santa throughout the world. Individuals dress up as Santa for charity drives, thrift stores, shopping malls, advertising slogans, publicity stunts, and drunken rampages or pub crawls called “Santarchy” or Santa Con. Some Christian faiths have recently started to boycott Santa due to his mixed Pagan and Christian roots or because of his representation for commercialism.
Bibliography:
Bowler, Gerry 2004 The World Encyclopedia of Christmas, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Limited. ISBN 978-0-7710-1535-9 2007 Santa Claus: A Biography, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Limited. ISBN 978-0-7710-1668-4
Illes, Judika 2009 The Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses. ISBN: 9780061350245.
McKnight, George Harley 1917 “St. Nicholas – His Legend and His Role in the Christmas Celebration”
Sinterklaas Rhinebeck 2011 Website referenced December 2011. http://www.sinterklaasrhinebeck.com/.
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It was in 1644 that Aberfoyle’s most loved reverend was born. He was an infamous writer throughout his day, most notable for providing the first translation of the Bible into Gaelic and for the publication of “The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Faeries” in 1691. While dedicated to Christ, he was obsessed with studying the existence of faeries and was rumored to be gifted with second sight. This however, did not settle well with the Faerie folk, especially a Christian trying to release their secrets. He truly believed the Christian God overcame Pagan Beliefs. There is a reason they want to remain hidden. He however did not understand this. He wrote that faerie had “light changeable bodies, somewhat of the nature of a condensed cloud and best seen at twilight.” While minister of the Aberfoyle Parish, he endeavoured a life researching the fae, interviewing folks who encountered them, and tracking down their whereabouts. He discovered that the local hilltop above the Parish was a gateway to the Faerie World which he called “The Secret Commonwealth” or “The Land of the Faeries”.”Faeries” to him, were a small stature race of human-like beings that were pushed back into the mountains and hills by stronger conquering peoples who were later converted into spectral beings. He continuously stated that the belief in faeries was not incongruent to the Christian faith. This location was known as “Doon Hill” or “Faerie Knowe”. Daily, he would walk up to this hill in hopes of discovering the wee folk. He stumbled into their domain, uninvited, an act that is unforgivable amongst the fae. He was warned not to go there. Late at night in May of 1692 the good Reverend Kirk wandered up Doon Hill in his nightshirt. Some say he vanished while more realistic accounts shows that he collapsed and perished. So as a penalty, many believe he was abducted and imprisoned in Doon Hill with a guise that he died of a heart attack in his mortal body. His motionless body was buried in his Parishes’ kirkyard (churchyard).
Some say though, his coffin is filled with stones as his body was taken by the fae. Some also say he is imprisoned in the huge pine tree atop Doon hill or within the legendary catecombs of coal mines underneath the hill. Soon after his death, his cousin, Graham of Duchray, claimed to have been visited by his spirit the following night, relaying the message he was abducted by faeries. Stories are mixed as what was told to be done – as he was warned his spirit would appear at midsummer eve (or during the baptism of his child) pleaing for his cousin to throw an iron horseshoe (or an iron knife) over the shoulder (or at) his apparition, burning the fae holding him, and freeing him from his imprisonment in the Faerieworld. The cousin claimed, the spirit did appear, but regretfully becoming so shocked to see his cousin, forgot to throw the iron, and therefore Kirk was trapped forever. Some say he is now a mediator between the worlds of fae and humans.
Ever since, the church crumbled, the parish suffered, and now the church serves as a roofless open-air mausoleum. Also since, many humans have gone to the top of Doon Hill with “clouties” (silk or cloth) inscribed with wishes or petitions tied to the branches of the pine or surrounding grove trees asking the Fae to grant their wishes. It is also said, if one runs around the great pine tree seven times, the faeries will appear. Numerous other petitions and spells have been done to the fae including offerings of gifts, statuary, hammering coins into the bark, and un-educated human folk tying plastic or waste other than the traditional white pieces of silk. The hill is also littered with quartz pebbles formerly believed to be “faery firestones” and often collected as protective charms or talismans while others believe its taboo to collect moss, sticks, stones, or anything removed from the hill as bad luck. The church was rescued from completed dereliction in the 19th century and two large iron mortuary weights were placed outside the churches entrance to stop grave diggers and thieves from stealing corpses. In 1793 (a hundred years later) a memorial grave was constructed in honor of Reverend Kirk. The grave is believed to be empty (or filled with stones).
There are archaeological rumors that the hill once served as an Iron Age fort but has never been excavated nor proven to be as such. It is also rumored that Doon Hill is riddled with caverns that were once coal mines. These purported coal mines were written about in “Black Diamonds” by Jules Verne, who visited Aberfolyle in 1877 claiming a wall was blasted through revealing a vast cavern stretching for miles in many directions holding an underground town by a subterranean loch.
Upon my visit to the ancient sacred faerie site in the summer of 2011, I assure you that the faeries are quite present, offered gifts to daily, and omnipresent. Nevermore have I been to a site so strongly eminating the faerie, faerie gates, portals, and doorways. The faeries are quite alive and well in these hills. We of course, offered them some home-made scones mixed with sacred well waters from Glastonbury, Sancreed, and St. Nectan’s Falls; had a picnic with the fae, and made our own petitions amongst them. ~ Leaf McGowan.
As I take a career and life journey’s “Walkabout” around Australia and Europe during the Summer of 2011, during my visit to the Australian National Museum I really for the very first time embrace the concept of the Australian Aborigine “Dreaming” and “Dreamtime” that I was first introduced to during my Anthropology of Religion class I took during my college years at Florida State University. Nevermore did the concept “sink” and “settle” in me more than at this time of my life that I could truly say in a “Stranger in a Strange Land’s” true essence of “grokking” the concept fully and spiritually. “The Dreaming” tells of the journey and actions of the Ancestral Beings when they were creating the natural world. An animistic narrative telling of a “timeless time” of formative creation and perpetual creating. This took place during a mythological era called “Dreamtime”. This is a sacred era when the ancestral Totemic Spirit Beings formed “The Creation”. The philosophy is infinite and demonstrates how the past and present is linked together to prophesize the future. The concept of “Dreaming” is often used to refer to a person’s or group’s set of beliefs and spirituality. The Australian Aborigine might refer to “Shark Dreaming”, “Kangaroo Dreaming”, or “Eucalypus Dreaming” and this would refer to particular natural items or life forms in their resident area or country, laying down patterns of life from which to follow. This creates their mythos, their creation stories, and their folklore as to why certain things have come to be. They believe that every person exists eternally in the Dreaming and represents both the spirit that existed before physical life began and is the spirit that exists after death as a “Spirit Being” or “Spirit Child”. The Spirit Being can only exist physically by being born from a mother, entering the fetus during the fifth month of pregnancy. Upon birth, that child is to become a special custodian of the land and country to which s/he was born, required to learn the stories, lore, and songlines of that particular place. Our natural world, especially that which is within one’s cultural heritage, race, and species, is what provides the link between the people and “The Dreaming”. The Act of Dreaming and the stories that are within them carry the truth from the past, blended together with the code for the Law, to operate and facilitate the present. Every story within “The Dreaming” weaved as creation through the “Milky Way” is a complete long complex tale, many of which discuss consequences and our future being. During the Dreamtime, the Australian Aborigines believed that the creators were both men and women who took on spiritual forms. These “cultural heroes and heroines” sometimes defined as spirits, other times as “God/desses”, would travel across a formless land, create sacred sites and significant places of interest during their travels weaving story and songlines that would guide the spirit beings they birthed in Creation. They joined together with various spirits to create the land, the waterways, the geographical features of the land, the skies, the seas, the plants, the animals, the stones, and all the other wo/men that exist. Every event that takes place would leave a record in the land. To the Dharawal, “Biami” the Great Spirit, went up into the skies to watch over their people and to make sure they obeyed his rules. Spirits habitating in waterholes, caves, and other spirit places to watch over or affect those people that lived near them. This was one of the reasons that another tribe would not conquer tribal lands for doing so would place them in a land full of strange and potentially hostile spirits. The Australian Aborigines believed in both good and evil spirits they called “Goonges”. Children would be warned not to go to certain areas for the “goonge will get them”. Same for the oceans, for they too contained spirits underneath the waters and explained deaths at sea, getting caught in a rip current, or attacks by various sea creatures. The Creators, or the Ancestral Spirits, were shape-changers who were half-human, both male and female, who used the powers, great wisdom, and intentions to create all of being. They lived and retired in the sky clouds. The Aborigine believed that every living creature were created by the Creators as “spirit-children” and/or “spirit animals” during the Dreamtime and were assigned to live in particular spirit places. They believed that their own birth was the result of a spirit child entering into the mother’s body and was brought into being during conception by the specific actions or designs of the creators to make spirit children in the Dreamtime. They also believed that after death their spirit would return to the spirit-place to await rebirth. It was in Dreamtime that the Creators and ancestral spirits created the world which we all live. The Australian aborigines embrace all of life and the phenemena that affects if as part of the vast and complex system of relationships that go back to the original acnestral Totemic Spirits of the Dreaming. The Dreaming establishes a culture’s and regional country’s laws, taboos, structures, and history in order to ensure the continuity of life and land in that area. Breaking these cause destruction to the areas that one’s spirit is meant to guard or caretake.
[ This is an update, revision, and expansion of our late 1980’s/early 1990’s pages on the Silver Elves and the Elf Queen’s Daughters we once had published on Geocities, then Faeid.com, then Treeleaves.com, Treeleavesoracle.org, and finally Technogypsie.com. After a bunch of internet research, interviews, correspondence, and discussions, this is the history we have assembled together of all we know about the Silver Elves and the Elf Queen’s Daughters. In addition, those pages are no longer separate and now condensed to a single file since the Silver Elves are now the official representatives of the Elf Queen’s Daughters. The Silver Elves assisted with revisions of this article in February 2011 ]
According to Wikipedia, The “Elf Queen’s Daughters” (EQD) were a group of elves originally operating from the South Bay area of San Francisco, California that later branched off to groups in Seattle, Washington. They had published a newsletter that was themed on “Bringing together male and female elves in celebration of ritual, magic, and the understanding of Fae”. They were Goddess oriented and referred to all of their members as “sisters”. They also possessed similar ecologically-based Pagan beliefs that are common with the modern “otherkin” movement as well as the Church of All Worlds, holding the image of the Earth in like respect to the “Gaia Hypothesis” – as a woman with trees for her hair, rivers for her veins, etc. as their image of the Earth as a physical Goddess, a living breathing Earth. Zardoa, who created The Silver Elves was first awakened by the Elf Queens Daughters in 1975. The EQD taught Zardoa the casting of Astrological Charts, the I-Ching, and various spells of Enchantment. As an EQD Vortex, Zardoa founded the “Elves of the Southern Woodlands” in 1975 in Carbondale, Illinois soon after his visit to the Aurora Vortex. He was soon joined by Morning Moonstar. Later in 1978, Aeona Silversong also joined the Elves of the Southern Woodlands and Zardoa gifted her that name. A few months later in the summer of 1978, Zardoa awakened Silver Flame who became a part of that vortex before she moved to Gainesville, Fl. She was so much a part of the vortex that when the vortex relocated to Gainesville, Florida in 1979, the group did so to be near Silver Flame. Upon relocation, the Elves of the Southern Woodlands changed their name to the “Sylvan Elves” and in 1980 began publishing the Magical Elven Love Letters in order to share knowledge of the Elven Way to those interested. The Sylvan Elves relocated to California in 1981 and took on the title of the “Silver Elves” as they are known today. In 2008 they relocated to Hawaii and are working on volume 3 of the Magical Elven Love Letters, An Elfin Book of Dreams: An Oracle of Faerie, and the Elfin Book of Changes. They are founders and elders of the “Elven Way”.
Faeids. Faeids are Humans, Faeries, or Faerie/Human Breeds or those communicated with by Faeries for the purpose of bridging the gap that has developed between humans and Faeries long ago. As the
mists separate our realms of understanding, belief, and physical contact; the only means to travel between the worlds today are “gateways” that either sporadically appear on the planet, exist within magical grids/leylines/or places, or created through magic and ritual. Faeids are those who walk between the realms or have had invitation or faery luring to do so.
The term Faeid, was put together by Anthropologist Tom Baurley in 1986 while working on his degree and studying the Neo-pagan movement in North America. The term “Fae” or “fay” or “Faerie” come from the French replacing the Old English “elf” during the Tudor period. Spenser and Shakespeare popularized the change. According to Brian Froud, the terms
“Elfland”, “Faerieland”, “Elf”, and “Faerie” were and still are interchangeable words for Faerie. Numerous spellings for the fae range from fae, fairy, fayerye, fairye, fayre, faerie, faery, and often represent the world of Faerie, as a noun, as a geographical location, and for its inhabitants, as well as an adjective describing faerie culture. Baurley took this term, and combined it with the greek work “id” meaning “to know”. Therefore, Faeid translates to “Faery knower” or “Faery communicator”. Faeidism or Faeidry are the rites, rituals, practices, and knowledge of the “faeids” who live a lifestyle or path in life that seeks constant connection with Faeries.
Faeids usually wear the Elven or Faery Staras their symbol. This symbol, given to humanity as a symbol for Faeids to recognize each other by the Fae is ever growing in popularity in the new age, Neopagan, and folk communities. The more you see of these will be signs in the times to come as the understanding of Faeries and their world. The bridge between the realms are being built.
The Faeid Fellowship is an organization for Faeids. It was started in 2000 by Leaf McGowan for the betterment and understanding of the realm of Faery.
Elven Star
or
Faerie Star [originally posted 1987 on geocities; posted on faeid.com from 1991-2000; updated 2/7/2011. Current home location: http://www.technogypsie.com/faeid/elvenstar.html. ]
Seven Pointed Stars, called “Faerie or Elven Stars” represent a gift from Faerie to humans to bridge the understanding between the Mortal human realm and that of Faerieland. The 7 pointed star is known as a gateway symbol, a Gate or entrance between our world and that of Faery, the Otherworld. Each point on the star represents a gateway or path of the Higher Self to prepare one for entrance into Faery. It is also known as a septagram, Heptagram, or “7 pointed star”. It is also a representation of those who believe in Faeries, consider themselves to be Fae, or blessed by the Fae. Originating from Faerie faiths, alchemy, and ceremonial magickal groups – the Faerie Star has been adopted by many old and newer faiths, including some brands of modern day Witchcraft / Wicca such as the Faerie Tradition, Blue Star Wicca, many Otherkin groups (especially Elves), The Silver Elves, Faeidism, Aleister Crowley’s Order of the Silver Star, the Pleidians, and some New Age Cults. It’s first documented use was in the Kabbalah, then with Aleister Crowley, the Ordo Templi Orientis as the Star of Babalon, and by Alchemists to represent the 7 planets and 7 elements of the Universe. Christianity has even used the star to represent the seven days of creation, to ward off evil, etc. It has been found in the Former Georgian Coat of Arms (1918-1921; 1991-2004). The Cherokee Nation has incorporated the symbol into various bands of the Cherokee Nation. Many police entities use the 7 pointed star on their badges, including the Navajo Nation Police. It is employed in the Flag of Australia having 5 heptagrams and one pentagram to depict the Southern Cross constellation and the Commonwealth Star. Faerie Star :
Power, Personal Will, Determination, Prosperity, Justice, the Gate.
Meditation:
Meditations on the Seven-Pointed Star
Draw line from 1 to 6 (1 = The Sun (prosperity, justice, the Gate) )
6 to 4 (6 – Wind Spirits (justice, healing) )
4 to 2 (4 – Magic (Goddess bless, love))
2 to 7 (2 – Tree Spirits (friendship and healing) )
7 to 5 (7 – Success (Gaian Hypothesis))
5 to 3 (5 – the Gateway (balance/entering Faeryland) )
3 to 1 (3 – Water Spirits (creativity, sexuality, Awakening) ) (more…)
“Niamh of the lovely hair” was the daughter of the Irish Sea God, Manannon Mac Lir. She was the Queen of the Tir na n-Og, the mythological race of Faeries who lived in the Land of the Eternal Youth. She would often ride on her Faerie steed “Embarr” across the waves to the West Coast of Ireland. On one of these trips, she met members of the warrior group known as the Fianna. One of the warriors, a bard named Oisin, she came to have a liking for. He fell for her with love at first sight. She quickly took him on her horse with her back to Tir na n-Og.
She was most notorious for having been the Faerie princess who lured off the great Bard Oisin to Faerieland, where they were married, and she had hoped he would have been fine residing in the Land of the Eternal Youth. After three years in Faerie, He grew weary and tired, missing his family, and asked to return to his land to see them. She set him off on the same white magical steed that she brought him to the land of Faerie on, the horse “Embarr” (which means “Imagination”), and warned him not to step foot off his horse when he returned to the human world. He discovered three years in Faerie was three hundred years in Human.
He accidentally fell off Embarr while trying to help some farmers move a big stone, and Embarr ran home across the waves. Poor Oisin immediately became a blind old man who wandered Ireland searching for his family and Niamh. He could never find the entrance to Tir na n-Og again. Niamh waited and waited for him, but Oisin never returned. She had become pregnant with his daughter, Plur na mBan, a beautiful Faerie princess known as “The Flower of the Lady.”
After many years, Niamh returned to the mortal world to search Ireland high and low for her sweet Oisin. She was too late; Oisin had died and disappeared forever. His tomb is somewhere up in Northern Ireland near the Giant’s Causeway. While searching for Oisin, she meets Brittany’s faeries, who invite her to join them. She didn’t but rather sent them a magical moving picture of herself. This upset Brittany Faeries, who placed her in a deep wood where she wandered for a long time with a light on her forehead, eternally lost. After discovering her escape, she experienced great disappointment and anger with Brittany Fae. She returned to Tir na n-Og, presumably casting a magic spell that took all of Brittany’s faerie children with her in revenge.
Oisin and Niamh – Irish Mythology Exhibit – Wax Museum Plus off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland. April 22, 2012. (c) 2012 – photography by Leaf McGowan, technotink.net/photography.
