My Polytheism

I've been a polytheist for a long time now, and an animist, arguably, for longer.

Polytheism is one of those deceptively easy-but-complicated things that a person says that tells you everything and nothing all at once.

I'm a polytheist - but what does that mean? Well obviously that I believe in and honor more than one deity. That would be the easy part. But the nuts and bolts of it is where the complicated comes in, because there is no one way to be a polytheist - honestly I don't think there's any hundred ways to do it beyond that basic believing. And even that gets a lot stickier than we like to think about. I say I believe in many Gods and someone else says they believe in many Gods, but are we even meaning the same thing, is our understanding of those Gods even remotely similar? How do we act on that belief? How does it shape our lives?

To me, the Gods are real, independent, individual Beings - as are the various spirits and other Powers. I see them as having various degrees of influence over the world and my life, not omnipotent but in some cases very close to it. Maybe it seems strange to frame it this way but a key part of my polytheism is an understanding that there are the Gods, the deithe, and the non-Gods, the an-deithe. The world is not simply a matter of humans and deities (defined as some sort of ultimate supernatural power) but rather is full of Powers, some of whom are easily defined as 'Gods', and some that are clearly minor spirits, but many that are in-between, that are not easily defined as either a God-exactly or as a lesser-spirit. Instead of worrying over whether something is a God I developed a system of respect and interaction that includes the spectrum of spirits. My polytheism, you see, is as much about the full range of spirits as it is about the highest Gods. It is about reciprocity, and building relationships. Its about connections. I know my Gods, and I feel that they know me - I give to them and they bless me, I create space for them and they come into it, I speak to them and they reply in their different ways.

Framed picture of landscape scene Germany circa 1945, taken by my great-uncle; Morrigan statue from Dryad Design; fox bone necklace and painted ram skull from the Forge of Awesomeness (Etsy)

I honor Gods from known pantheons, Macha, Nuada, the Morrigan, Badb, Flidais, Brighid, as well as Wodan and Frau Holle. I connect to them through mythology, folklore, language. I study the cultures they belong to, the pagan period they lived in as well as the way they survive today in other forms, hidden in fairytales and tradition. I seek to understand their connections to places and events, their original mythology and power. It matters a lot to me to feel like I have some understanding, even a small one, of the way these Gods were viewed and understood historically. But I also seek them in dreams and visions. I connect to them in the words of modern poets and authors, and I write their story in ink on my own skin.

I honor the liminal Gods, the Gods of Fairy, as well. Are they Gods by the dictionary definition? I have no idea. Do they act as Gods in my life? Yes, in my personal experience they do, and that quite frankly is good enough for me. These Beings are included in my polytheism because as far as I'm concerned they are Gods. Although I do pretty extensively study fairylore the Fairy Gods as such have no existing mythology; I connect to them entirely through experience and personal revelations. They want what other Gods want - acknowledgement, offerings, a place, respect.

My polytheism is a liminal thing, existing on the boundary between hard facts and mysticism, between known named Gods and unknown unnamed Gods. It is a daily round of devotions and offerings as much as it is spontaneous prayer and organic connection. It is rooted in history and study but it is also drinking from the well of inspiration and innovation. It is both new and old. My polytheism, along with my animism, is a foundational belief in my life, something that is key to shaping how I look at the world and how I choose to live my life. My belief in the Gods and my belief in what they want from me - to be an honorable person, to serve others in certain ways, to write about them, to live a life that reflects values I think they respect, and so on - are major factors in making my life what it is.

In daily practice my polytheism is mostly solitary - indeed I would argue and have in the past that those who seek to walk a witchcraft path that deals with or connects to Fairy will find themselves walking a solitary road even if they try to practice with others because our interactions with those Powers can only ever be individual and personal. In one many ways we all walk solitary paths because our spirituality is something that lives within us. It is experiential and those experience, even when shared, are still uniquely personal, and that's okay.

Community temple at the Morrigan's Call Retreat circa 2015

 It is also a polytheism that seeks to build bridges, to connect to others who believe in more than one God. I mentioned at the beginning that my belief may not be exactly like other peoples, and in all honesty I don't think that matters.  One of the ways that I serve Macha, and the Morrigan more generally, is by acting as her clergy at a yearly retreat (the Morrigan's Call Retreat) which sees attendees from across every possible demographic of paganism and polytheism - and She has made it very clear to me that I am to serve all of them in Her rituals. I do not get to pick and choose when Her people come to me in ritual who is worthy and who isn't, who is enough like me in belief and who isn't. If they consider themselves Hers then I act as priest/ess for them to the best of my ability when they enter that space. That was a humbling message to receive and one that taught me that while we humans may by nature try to divide and categorize and label, the Gods have a different view. My job in that context is to serve Her and build Her community, not judge or divide. And so I try to do as She, as They, want. And I try to remember that ultimately we are all doing our best to seek the same things as best we can with the tools and understanding we have.

And that is my polytheism.

Iron as a Protection Against Fairies

Iron horse shoe above a door

Many of the old folktales - as well as the new modern day experiences - show us reasons why people feared and respected the Good People. Living side by side with the Otherworld necessitated not only the wisdom to know how to properly interact if you happened upon Themselves, but also created a wide array of methods to defend against those with malicious intentions and those whose idea of mischief was best avoided. One of the main ones recommended in folklore  as well as today is iron.

There are several ways to use iron to protect yourself and your home from fairies, if it's needed. Lady Wilde suggested protecting infants from being taken as changelings by sewing a bit of iron into the hem of the child's clothes (Wilde, 1888). Another commonly recommended protection for children and babies was to hang a pair of scissors, opened into the shape of a cross, above the cradle (Briggs, 1976). A horseshoe can be hung up over the door way, points up, which not only acts to ward off fairies but is also said to draw good luck. An iron knife or cross is also an excellent protection, either carried or hung up above the door or bed (Briggs, 1976). In Welsh belief a knife, particularly of iron, was so effective a protection that should friendly fairies visit a home all knives were hidden from sight lest they be offended and if a traveling person was attacked by the Fey he had only to pull his blade for them to disappear (Sikes, 1880). Another method found in Germanic and Norse traditions is to hammer an iron nail into a post near the doorway or alternately part of the door frame. Additionally it is said to be as effective to draw a circle using an iron nail or knife around what you want to protect (Gundarsson, 2007).

A more modern, but still useful method, is the use of iron water. Fill a small spray bottle with water and add iron filings, iron dust, or a piece of iron, and allow to sit for a few days. The water can be sprayed into a room or around the home as needed.
As always keep in mind that the use of iron will not effect all fairies, as some - including mine fairies and house fairies - are not bothered by it. For those that are sensitive to it, though, it is a superlative protection. 

Antique iron keys

Those who seek to connect with or encourage the presence of the Other Crowd or spirits must be very cautious about using this metal, as it will drive away those sensitive to it. One should never, for example, cut a plant to be harvested for magical purposes with an iron knife as this will drive away the plant's spirit. We can see this belief illustrated in Pliny the Elder's description of the Gaulish Druids harvesting of Selago (Bostock, 1855). 

True forged iron is hard to come by these days and although it is the best protection steel will also work in a pinch. Steel, for those who may not have known this, is still about 98% iron with only 2% or less of alloy metals added so it can still work as iron would to protect against fairies. Generally the type of item isn't as important as the material in this case so anything made of iron that you can procure can be used for protective purposes. Its also best to remember that fairy is a general term, like animal, that applies to a wide array of beings. Iron is recommended as a superlative protection against faeries, but there will always be those who are not bothered by it. If we were to say that about 80% of fairies can't bear the touch of iron then the other 20% have no problem with it, and those would include mine faeries, forge spirits, and some house spirits; basically any fairy that would naturally exist or dwell near iron or iron ore. Also any of the aos sidhe connected to smithing don't seem to be bothered by iron.

To summarize; ultimately the amount doesn't seem to matter as long as the content is iron. The shape is also not important although it is more often recommended in a form that is sharp - a knife or nail - or combined with a holy symbol like a cross. The placement is best either on the person or very close by, especially near where they are sleeping. When placed above or next to an entrance it is believed that the presence of iron will keep out any Otherworldly beings. Although in today's world iron may be more difficult to find steel is fairly easily obtained and will work as well.

Reference:
Gundarsson, K (2007). Elves, Wights, and Trolls
Wilde, E., (1888) Irish Cures, Mystic Charms, & Superstitions
Briggs, K., (1976) A Dictionary of Fairies
Bostock, J., (1855) Pliny the Elder the Natural History
Sikes, W., (1880) British Goblins: Welsh folklore, Fairy mythology, Legends, and Traditions

  

Morgan's Basic Guide to Dealing with Non-Human Spirits

There are many things about modern spirituality that perplex me but one that I may have mentioned before is the immediate trust that people give to spirits. I know I've mentioned it in my books and in classes so I decided it was about time to devote a blog post to the subject. The most savvy, smart people seem to throw all their critical thinking skills out the window when dealing with non-corporeal beings of any kind and often problems ensue. So let's look at some basics in dealing with spirits.

Morgan's Basic Guide to Dealing with Non-Human Spirits

1. Spirits Lie - I'm putting this one first because it seems to be the single biggest sticking point with people. Spirits lie. Even the Fair Folk, who in my experience don't tell verbal lies will still deceive you into believing that day is night by speaking only the truth in ways that lead you to assume all the wrong things. And spirits who aren't the Gentry can and do flat out lie. There is no reason to immediately assume a spirit is telling you the truth, any more than you would assume a strange human you just bumped into was being totally honest with you. And the problem here isn't just that they can lie, its that they will lie if it suits their purposes and you can really screw yourself over if you believe them. Let me tell you a story that happened about 15 years ago when my mother-in-law and several of her friends decided to play around with a ouija board. They believed they had contacted the spirit of a child from the colonial period, and this spirit immediately began giving them a tragic backstory about being orphaned while it was alive, and dying terribly and wandering the spirit world looking for its mother for the last 300+ years. And asked them to invite it in to give it a place to stay because it was sad and lonely and they seemed so nice...this was already a field of red flags to me when I was being told about it later but of course they believed every word and invited it in. And of course the next day when one person was alone in the house this had occured in the spirit began harassing her, telling her to kill herself, and trying to convince her that the other women were out to get her. And since they'd invited it in they found they couldn't get rid of it (which is where I came into the picture). And if you were wondering no it wasn't a human ghost, it was a negative entity that fed on human pain and misery; everything it had said to them was lies designed to worm its way in so it could influence them and feed on their suffering. The moral of the story - don't trust everything a spirit tells you without trying to verify what you've been told. 
2. Nothing is Free - even free things aren't free. Most spirits work on some kind of barter system, although what they consider a trade may not be what we expect - for example plenty will help us for an exchange of energy that we don't even notice, or for the entertainment value. Others may ask for actual payment in some form, be it a physical offering later, an action done, a task completed, or similar. Some will also help us out on the theory that we then owe them something, a debt that can be called in later. (yes I do deal mostly with the Good Neighbors so I may be jaded) Even the ones who don't work on such an obvious system however, like our ancestors or spirit guides or mentors of different varieties do assume a certain system of obligation or reciprocity is in effect - you can't expect your ancestors to show up and help you out if you consistently ignore them or actively refuse to acknowledge them. Now some people may say that angels and similar spirits operate on a different system, but I'd argue that working with them or calling on them still requires a level of engagement and belief which is, in itself, a kind of payment. Don't underestimate the value of attention as a method of payment and type of coin to spirits - there are theories after all that some types of spirits who require human attention and energy and are lost to human consciousness literally cease to exist, which may be as close to death as previously immortal beings can get (depending again on what kind of spirits we're talking about - some can actually die and be reborn in a new form, others do not seem to die in a sense we understand). As part of this, never assume something - including help or guidance - is free. Ask what the cost is and remember that negotiation is always an option. If you don't ask and just blindly agree then you are accepting whatever terms the spirit wanted, and that's usually not a good idea. 
3. Just Because It's a Spirit Doesn't Mean It Has Your Best Interests in Mind - Seriously on this one. I know some people believe that anything without a physical body must be some kind of enlightened being or guide that is here to help us evolve or something, but that is just not true in my experience (see story in #1). I'm going to be blunt here and I'm sorry if this offends anyone who believes differently, but humans are just not the center of the spiritual universe around which all other manifest creation circles, eagerly looking for a chance to help us be the best we can be. Just like life with other people and animals, some are nice and helpful because they want to be, some will help if motivated to, some are just jerks, and some will actively try to harm us. Much like assuming spirits won't or can't lie, assuming that spirits are only ever trying to help us can cause real problems for us. Its also important to keep in mind that sometimes they are telling you the truth, and sometimes they are not trying to hurt you - they may even really be trying to help - but that doesn't mean that you won't get hurt. Spirits don't always understand what a person's physical limits are, or emotional limits, and their ideas of what's best for us are not always in line with what is actually healthy for us. So you have to keep your own limits and safety in mind all the time and set boundaries that keep you safe. 
4. Manners Aren't Just for Visiting your Grandmother - I am often horrified by the books I see suggesting we treat all spirits rudely, with blunt orders and an assumption that they must obey us. I highly recommend not doing that around the Fair Folk if you like living and having your health. Unless you are working in a ceremonial magic tradition (or similar) that explicitly requires you to summon spirits with coercion, bind them, and force them to do your bidding using commanding language and you understand which spirits that's appropriate with, there is no reason in my opinion to go into spiritual interactions acting like you're reading from the Key of Solomon. There are certain times and reasons to command spirits, even Otherworldly ones, but if you are reading this and you don't already know what those times and reasons are then for the love of all that's holy please don't try randomly getting an attitude with the Gentry; even most miscellaneous non-Fey spirits aren't going to take kindly to it. Putting aside the fact that common courtesy is free and easy, looking at a range of any folk stories demonstrates pretty clearly that having good basic manners gets you much, much further with most spirits than acting like a spoiled, entitled child. For but one example you might read the story of Lusmore. I will note that there is a slight exception in not saying thank you, but there are plenty of other ways to express gratitude, and also that prohibition isn't universal. When in doubt silence is usually a safe way to go, but general polite speech is always a good choice when you do speak. Unless and until you are in a situation where things have already gone sideways and you need to stand up for yourself, that is, and then, as they say, take no crap and enforce your boundaries. 
5. Always Use Protection and Have Good (Spiritual) Hygiene - not just good advice in certain real life situations, its also good advice when dealing with spirits. You don't need to drape yourself in talismans but its a good idea if you are into a spirituality where you will be actively engaging in spirit work - that is intentionally interacting with spirits - to make sure are you cleansing yourself and your space, warding it, and also have some kind of protections. Actively dealing with spirits, whether its playing around with ouija boards, making offerings to house or local spirits, or trying to connect to Otherworldly spirits will attract both things you want and things you don't want. Kind of like putting out a dish to feed local stray cats is going to get you both cats and skunks, raccoons, and possums. You can and should try to be selective in your advertising but no matter how careful and clear you are in what you are willing to allow in and deal with you're still going to occasionally get other things showing up. Maybe they're curious. Maybe they're bored. Maybe you just look tasty and they're hungry. So common sense: cleanse out the space regularly of stagnant energy (just like you'd physically clean it), ward it to keep out what you don't want (just like you'd close your doors and windows to keep out animals and weird people from your house), and have protections (just like you'd lock your doors). For example on the Fire Festivals it was a common tradition in Ireland and Scotland to burn juniper or a similar cleansing herb in the house and barn. This way at least every three months the space was being blessed and cleansed; you can of course burn a blessing herb more often and you can also use other methods like ringing bells to cleanse a space. Space can be warded by walking the boundary with fire or sprinkling blessed water or salt along the border. An individual might bathe in salt water. Hag stones might be worn or hung up for protection, as can iron (although don't use this if you are actively trying to connect to the Fair Folk), and twigs of rowan. Many religious symbols are also worn for protection. 
6. If it Seems too Good to Be True, Be Cautious - to quote Tolkien entirely out of context, "all that glitters isn't gold". Plenty of things look too good to be true precisely because they are, and the more beautiful and tempting a spirit seems the more careful you should be. If it reminds you strongly of someone you have strong feelings for, or of yourself, or in any way hits on emotional triggers for you those should all be big red flags for you to stop and take stock before proceeding. The spirit world is full of tempting things that are, in effect, baited traps. Remember points #1 and #3 and understand that many spirits can change their appearance and that they can and will use this ability to manipulate you. Its also worth keeping in mind that just because something doesn't look attractive is not a reason to assume that it is bad or dangerous. Spirits are not a matter of the inside matching the outside, and I honestly don't know why people assume they will be. Also bear in mind that human beauty standards are not actually a universal measure, so what we happen to find attractive might mean nothing at all to certain spirits (I'm fairly sure Brownies for example don't see their lack of noses as a blemish). Just because you think its ugly doesn't mean it's bad or evil - and just because it's gorgeous doesn't make it good. Most fairies in folklore that seduce and harm mortals show up in darn nice packaging to do so. If something is going out of its way to appear, well, appealing to you then at the least you need to ask yourself why. It might be harmless, a way to establish a connection with you, or it might be hiding a trap. This is not the sort of thing you want to figure out after you've already engaged with the spirit. 
7. Always, Always, ALWAYS, Trust your Own Instincts - again this one should seem obvious but so often I see people not listening to their own gut, to their grief. By all means don't throw common sense out the window and look without leaping - always think things through before acting because we can be influenced without realizing it. some spirits specialize in getting us to do just that, so learning to act slowly and deliberately is a good thing. But generally speaking if something feels bad or makes you uneasy, don't do it or deal with it. At the very least it means its not something you're ready for and at worst its something that is dangerous to you. If your gut is saying bad idea, your gut probably knows something you don't. Don't let your head talk you into doing something stupid, and it doesn't matter if all the cool kids are doing it, or if you've done it before, or if someone told you that you have to do it to unlock the next level of spiritual awesomeness or win a gold star. If it feels wrong trust that it is wrong and try to figure out why. Its not like there's some video game time limit where you have to Do The Thing right now or start over at level 1 again. Take your time and be sure its safe before you do it, agree to it, or go into it. This applies triple when oaths or promises are involved. Because if you do something wrong with a spirit the consequences can be profound and very, very real in the 'real' world. And some mistakes can't be fixed. 

To summarize - treat spirits the same way you would treat strange humans (or animals), with the same politeness and healthy mistrust, apply Wheaton's Law to everything, always read the fine print before signing the contract, and don't do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. Do all that and you have a much better chance of successfully dealing with spirits.
"May the odds be ever in your favor"

Modern Experiences with the OtherCrowd

A couple years ago I wrote a blog called "Experiencing the OtherCrowd" which aimed to share some of my personal experiences with Themselves, the idea being that often people of a more Reconstructionist bent don't talk much about those sorts of things. I had also wanted to show some of my own interactions to give people an idea of what modern fairy experiences could be like since much of the time what gets put out there for mass consumption is of the decidedly twee variety. At the time I offered five particular experiences that I tended to mention in classes I was teaching because they were safe to share - not in the sense of 'Safe For Work'* but rather in the sense of things that had happened that I could talk about with others without fear of offending the OtherCrowd or getting myself in trouble with them, as there is a long standing prohibition about talking too much about them or about interactions with them.

I'd like to update and expand on that previous list with a further 5 safe-to-share experiences. Yes, these did all really happen, and in some cases other people witnessed them and can verify. Yes, these did happen in America. Yes, I am sure these involved beings I would call 'Good Neighbors'. For those who regularly read my writing or attend workshops I teach some of these may not be new. As with the first blog I am writing this to show people that interactions with the Fair Folk do still happen, and that those interactions are not always what some views of the 'fairies' may lead us anticipate.

5) I had been given a small bracelet as a gift by a friend. I took it off one night and when I went to put it back on it was gone. The lesser Fey are fond of taking my jewelry, although so far they've always given it back, eventually, so I was annoyed but not too worried about it. Several months went by and the bracelet still hadn't reappeared; at this point my family was getting ready to move to another town and I was getting worried. I tried everything I could think of, but no bracelet. finally I decided that maybe it wasn't Themselves who took it after all, but I'd just lost it. We moved to the new house and a few days after moving in I walked into the bathroom and the bracelet was lying in the middle of the floor.

small pool at Devil's Hopyard state park (the kind without fairies in it)

4) About 15 years ago I was hiking in a local state park known by some to have a strong presence of the Good People to it. In this same place I'd been pixy-led while I was with a friend, and I know of at least one other person who had also been pixy-led there. This particular day I decided to go off trail at the bottom of the waterfall and hike around the rocky area near the water's edge. I came around a place where the rockface had jutted out and into a small secluded area with a little pool. I stopped; in the pool was a pale, dark haired woman (not human).  She was about waist deep in the water and had been running her fingers through her hair when I walked around the cliff. There was a strong feeling of menace in the air that made my hair stand on end. She looked at me. I looked at her. She told me to get out. I backed up and left the way I'd come as fast as I could.

3) There's twice at least that I believe the Good People have saved my home or my life one way or another. The first time I was in my living room, getting ready to go run some errands when I caught sight of something moving on the wall behind the television, by the outlet where the electronics are plugged in. I walked part way across the room, but there wasn't anything there. I stood for a minute or so, nothing happened, so I went and sat back down. Glancing over the same thing happened again, but I ignored it. The third time it was the more distinctive form of a small person moving back and forth in front of the outlet, so I got up again and walked over this time right up to the outlet. The figure disappeared but a few seconds later the largest cord plugged into the outlet sparked and then started burning. Because I was standing right next to it I had time to pull it out of the wall before anything else caught fire, and the only damage was the cord itself, melted and burned (also probably added some white to my hair).

2) I have had many strange experiences with the OtherCrowd relating to butterflies and moths, also I mentioned the saving my life thing? Several years ago just before going to bed I started to have a severe allergic reaction to something (for which I now have an epipen by the way). I was going into anaphylactic shock, which as a former EMT I recognized, but at the time I was scared and made the very irrational decision not to disturb my husband. I went to bed, with my tongue swelling and each breath a struggle. Suddenly my husband jumped up yelling and turned on the light. He swore that a huge moth had just flown, forcefully, into his face, although he could find no evidence of any moth anywhere. A sense of calm came over me and I told him to call 911 and explained that I needed help. And obviously I lived, although I'll admit things got a bit dicey on the ambulance ride.

1) We have a fairy thorn in my yard - which is its own story, actually. Anyway, one day while doing yard work my husband damaged the tree accidentally. He came in and told me and I was very upset (read; freaked out) and told him to go make an offering right away. I went out myself and offered honey and milk, and asked him if he had had done but he was still in the middle of mowing the lawn. I emphasized he needed to do it as soon as possible. So a week or so goes by and its around 7 one morning. I'm up with my son who was an infant at the time while everyone else is still sleeping when we hear the most Gods-awful loud crashing noise. I rush to the window with the baby and looking down at the driveway see that a roughly 20 foot long branch from an oak tree has impaled my husband's car. I go wake him up, and the first thing I say is something like "Did you make that offering to the fairies like I told you to?" and he says "No I thought you'd done it for me.". So I say, "Oh no. You should have done your own. You'd better go see what's happened to your car."
It was totaled by the way.

*for those unfamiliar with the concept of Not Safe for Work, its internet slang indicating content that may be objectionable in the workplace, for example containing nudity, violence, or swearing. It's sometimes used as a shorthand to indicate content that may not be suitable for all audiences or contexts.

Honoring the Beginning of the Harvest

   Today is Bron Trogain, better known by most pagans as Lughnasadh (Lunasa) or Lammas. Its a multifacted holiday for me, with Irish aspects as well as Fairy aspects. But I like the layers and complexity and I like that it isn't something simple, something easy to sum up in a quick ritual and move on from.

I always know when we are approaching this holiday, simply by watching the world around me. No matter how the year has gone, whether the summer has been hot or mild, whether we have had lots of rain or only a little, it is always right around now that the first leaves start to change color and fall. I watch as the trees go from rich summer-green to the beginnings of yellowing, watch as the the first bare branches start to appear and a handful of withered leaves decorate the drying grass. It's a subtle thing, nowhere near the drama and panoply that will be on display by September, but it is there nonetheless. Even as we enter the hottest portion of the summer the autumn is making its presence known and I see it.

Of course this holiday is very much traditionally about two things; the harvest and the community. These things are strongly present in my area today, sometimes in the same form as they always have been - the harvest is always about gathering and eating the bounty of the earth after all - and sometimes in newer forms that echo the old, as we see in today's harvest fairs. In my area I might add not only harvest fairs but also farmer's markets, a decidedly modern trend that nicely honors the spirit of the season. We gather both our own harvest if we've grown any, or in the case of my family we collect the wild harvest that has grown untended in our yard, as well as benefiting from the wider local harvest, the fresh produce and locally grown foods that are now available and abundant. We go out and enjoy a variety of local country fairs, which feature contests and competitions as well as games and amusements. The local fairs still have a very agricultural focus, with many different farm animals being shown and competing, but also have the air of a carnival with rides and games of skill. Like the old Lughnasadh celebration these fairs are not a one day thing but run for several days and the variety of them from town to town stretch across weeks - usually with a few in early August and the last in late September or early October.

I've written several times before about the way my family celebrates, so I won't get too much into that again here. Basically we harvest berries from our yard and make an offering of some of them to the Gods, spirits, and ancestors. The rest we eat. We have our own at home athletic games, and we decorate our outdoor altar as best we can with flowers, if we can find any, or otherwise with greenery. We hold a small ritual in honor of Macha, and recently we also started honoring Nuada with her after I had a dream about the two being honored together on Bron Trogain. This has been working really well for us and has a lovely feel to it.

Prayer that I heard in a dream

Another aspect of this holiday for me is honoring the Gods of Fairy Witchcraft as we move into the second part of the light half of the year. Now we are basically at the height of the rule of the Gods of summer, the Lady of the Greenwood and Lord of the Wildwood. Life is flourishing and we are at a point when we - and all animals - have the greatest abundance of food available. The young born this season in the wild are maturing and the trees and plants are producing their own fruits and seeds in order to carry on their respective species. It is a time of fertility and of celebrating the joy of being alive even as we harvest what we need to ensure continued survival. As hot and dry as the world may seem at this time* it is teeming with life and potential - and also with the need to look forward to the coming darkness that is only a short three months away. This year we celebrate Bron Trogain and honor the Gods of the Light today and tomorrow we honor the Gods of the winter on the Dark moon, the time each month to remember them. This is uniquely good timing I think as it reminds us in the midst of Summer's heat and abundance that Winter's cold and scarcity is always with us as well (just as the reverse is also true).

Fairy Witchcraft altar to the Summer Gods

The harvest has begun and we are plunging into the depths of summer, the hot days which will ripen the grains and grasses and keep our harvest on its ancient schedule. We move on from here to the equinox, then to the final harvest where we will say goodbye to summer at last and welcome winter. As always I watch the changes in the world around me, my fingers stained red with berry juice, and think of my own harvests, of fruit and of less tangible things. I pray to the Gods, to Macha and Nuada, for their blessings on me and my household. I pour out offerings and leave flowers at my Fairy thorn and ask that there always be friendship between myself and the Other Crowd.

And a dark brown moth flutters past, then back, then alights on my shoulder for several moments, resting in the shade where I stand as I hold perfectly still, before resuming its flight through the hazy air.


*in my area, of course. Your situation may vary greatly so adjust for your own circumstances, and I do encourage you to give thought to how this does apply to you where you live. Those in the southern hemisphere will be celebrating Imbolc now and not see the point of this post for another six months, but perhaps reading this then may be more useful.

The Seelie and Unseelie Courts

   By many accounts the beings of Fairy are divided into two courts, the Seelie and Unseelie. This is often simplified as the 'good' and 'bad' fairies, or as F. Marian McNeill says the 'gude wichts'* and the 'wicked wichts' and was initially a Lowland Scottish belief that later spread (McNeill, 1956). I think we lose the nuances between the two when we try to reduce them into such blunt terms as good and bad (or worse good and evil) and also that many modern people may not fully understand the concepts of seelie and unseelie. So let's look at what exactly seelie and unseelie mean, and how the two courts were traditionally understood, as well as the likely original roots of both as a single entity. 

two beeches, one red, one green

The words seelie and unseelie come to us from Scots, itself an amalgam of a variety of languages found in the Lowland areas of Scotland. Although its most often seen today as 'Seelie' it also appears in older texts in a variety of forms including seely, seily, sealy, with seely being the most common (DSL, 2016). It is often a term in Scots dictionaries associated with the fairies and given as an adjective to describe both a fairy court and the disposition of individual fairies themselves. Meanings for seelie are given ranging from happy, blessed, lucky, fortunate, and good natured, as well as having connotations of bringing good luck (DSL, 2016; Jamieson, 1808). In contrast unseelie - also spelled oonseely, onseely, unsealy, or unseely - means dangerous, unlucky, unfavorable, unhappy, unholy, and ungodly (DSL, 2016). The word unseelie, in the form of unsely, can be found as far back as the 16th century meaning unlucky or miserable but has generally been applied to times, places, and animals (DSL, 2016). I have been unable to find any older references to unseelie being applied to fairies. 

The Seelie court is described in relation to the fairies specifically as the "pleasant or happy court, or court of the pleasant and happy people" and is also given as a general term for all fairies (Jamieson, 1808). In folklore the Seelie court can act benevolently at times for no reason other the sake of kindness, as we see in the 1783 ballad of Allison Gross, where the eponymous witch of the story punishes a man who refused her sexual advances by bespelling him into the shape of a worm. The unfortunate man is cursed to circle around a tree every day in this form, until one Halloween "when the seely court was riding by" and the queen stops, picks up the worm, and uses her magic to restore his original shape to him (Child, 1882). They are also know to be extremely generous to those whom they favor and to be kind to the poor, giving bread and grain as gifts (Briggs, 1976). It was believed that members of the Seelie court would help those who propitiated them and that this help took various forms including the fairy doing work for the human around their home or farm (McNeill, 1956).  Despite its reputation as generally kindly the Seelie court was known to readily revenge any wrongs or slights against themselves, and even a fairy who would be considered Seelie, such as a Brownie, could be dangerous when offended or harmed. The Seelie court is not known to harm people without reason though and generally will warn people at least once before retaliating against offenses (Briggs, 1976). 

The Seelie court can also act in ways that go against what we would consider goodness, or at least in ways that bring harm to humans, without a clear reason. We see this in the Ballad of Lady Mary O' Craignethan where the Lord's daughter is quite deviously kidnapped by a man of the sidhe to be his bride; the Lord then curses the fairy folk, wishing that the Devil may take three of them instead of one as his tithe, and swearing to cut down every oak, beech, and ash in the country to which the priest begs him "dinnae curse the Seelie Court" (Sand, Brymer, Murray, & Cochran, 1819). This illustrates that it was in fact the Seelie court that was believed to be behind the kidnapping, although as we shall see later the term Seelie court itself may have served as a euphemism for all fairies, rather than a specific term only for the benevolent ones.

The Unseelie court is for all intents and purposes the antithesis of the Seelie court, as implied by the name. The Unseelie court is described as always unfavorable to humans and is closely linked to the Sluagh sidhe, the malicious Host who torment people and cause illness and death where they visit (Briggs, 1976). The Sluagh itself is strongly tied to the dead and is known to kidnap hapless mortals and force them to help with the Host's entertainment, usually harming other humans, before dropping them in a location far from where they were grabbed. The Unseelie court is comprised of many solitary fairies of a malicious nature, those who feed on or enjoy hurting mortals for sport, although not all Unseelie fairies are solitary (Briggs, 1976). The Unseelie court was seen as constantly ready to cause harm or injury to mortals and were avoided as much as possible, and many different protections existed against them (McNeill, 1956; Briggs, 1976). 

However just as the Seelie court could cause harm if motivated to, and sometimes without having any clear reason at all, so too the Unseelie court's denizens may occasionally  act kindly towards humans without any obvious rhyme or reason. For example Kelpies are usually considered Unseelie by most reckonings, as they trick people into riding them only to kill and eat the person once they have gotten back to their watery homes, however in several stories a Kelpie will fall in love with a mortal girl and put aside his own bloodthirsty nature for her sake. In one such story the Kelpie even put up with being tricked by the girl, captured himself and forced to work in his horse form on her father's farm for a year, and still loved her enough in the end to choose to marry her (McNeill, 2001). So while it may be convenient and often expedient to divide the Other Crowd up into the two courts based on how they relate to us, we should be very cautious about seeing the division as a hard line or seeing a perceived placement in one court or another as a non-negotiable indicator of behavior.   

As mentioned above the term seelie may not have been as specific in the past as it is today and when we look at its usage in older ballads and stories seelie often appears as a euphemism (DSL, 2016). That means that just like calling Themselves 'Good Neighbors', 'Mother's Blessing', or 'Fair Folk' it isn't done because they are those things but because we want them to be those things towards us. In other words we are using a euphemism - a nicer term for something generally considered not nice at all - to try to invoke the nicer aspects of them. To remind them that they can be nice. There is long standing and deep belief that what we choose to call the Fey directly relates to how they will respond to us and interact with us. As this 1842 rhyme illustrates:
"Gin ye ca' me imp or elf
I rede ye look weel to yourself;
Gin ye call me fairy
I'll work ye muckle tarrie;
Gind guid neibour ye ca' me
Then guid neibour I will be;
But gin ye ca' me seelie wicht
I'll be your freend baith day and nicht."
(Chambers, 1842)
[If you call me imp or elf
I counsel you, look well to yourself;
If you call me fairy
I'll work you great misery;
If good neighbor you call me
Then good neighbor I will be;
But if you call me seelie wight*
I'll be your friend both day and night]
It should also be noted that the term unseelie referring to fairies is newer than the term seelie and does not appear in the Scots dictionary at all with this connotation, while seelie clearly does. The oldest reference I could find to seelie for fairies is from a story dated to the late 1500's referenced in a book from 1801; in the 'Legend of the Bishop of St Androis' it says:
"Ane Carling of the Quene of Phareis
that ewill win gair to elphyne careis;
Through all Braid Albane scho hes bene
On horsbak on Hallow ewin;
and ay in seiking certayne nyghtis
As scho sayis, with sur sillie wychtis"
[one woman of the Queen of Fairies
that will take goods to Fairyland
through all broad Scotland she has been
on horseback on Halloween
and always in seeking certain nights
as she says, with our Seelie wights]
This reference uses the term Seelie as a generic for fairy with no obvious distinction as to benevolence or malevolence, as do the other ballad references, supporting the idea that at some point there was likely only the concept of the single Seelie Court, used as a euphemism for all fairies. We see much the same in a 1564 lecture by William Hays discussing woman labeled witches who dealt with fairies where he refers to 'celly vychtis' [seelie wichts] and in a 1572 witchcraft trial account where a woman talks of an infant stolen by the 'sillyie wichts'. In both examples seelie wicht is being used as a general term for fairies, almost certainly in a euphemstic sense, especially in the second case where they were not actung at all benevolently. Much like the Welsh calling their fairies Tylwyth Teg [Fair Family] or the Irish use of the term Daoine Maithe [Good People] the Scottish Seelie Court [Blessed court or Happy court] may initially have been a way to speak of the fairies so that should their attention be drawn they would be more likely to be well disposed towards the speaker. This concept, at some later point was divided into seelie and unseelie to better define those beings who either meant humans well, generally, or meant humans harm, generally. While it may seem strange to us now, it is entirely logical that in the past people would have used the euphemistic Seelie Court when referring to the fairies, but not had an inverse negative concept as it would have been seen as impossibly dangerous to even speak of such a group and risk drawing their attention and facing their wrath for it. This could also explain why the idea of the courts as such is unique to Lowland Scots lore and more generally Scottish folklore. It is not found in Welsh or Irish fairylore** where euphemisms like 'Mother's Blessing' and 'People of Peace' are still used by preference. 


*wicht or wight is a general term in Scots that means both any living being as well as any supernatural being

**although I believe in recent decades the idea of the two courts has spread to Ireland, it isn't found in older material to my knowledge and I was unable to find a single reference to the two courts in any of my Irish folklore books. The Irish system is based on a multitude of sidhe (fairy hills) ruled by different kings and queens, with each being its own kingdom in a way. All the Irish Fair Folk, it seems, are ambivalent in nature and cannot easily be placed into a grouping of 'good' or 'wicked'.

References:

DSL (2016) Dictionary of the Scots Language
Briggs, K., (1976). A Dictionaryof Fairies
McNeill, F., (1956) The Silver Bough
Child, F., (1882) The English and Scottish Popular Ballads
Jamieson, J., (1808) An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language
Chambers, R., (1842) Popular Rhymes, Fireside Stories, and Amusements of Scotland
Sands, Brymer, Murray, and Cochran, (1819) The Edinburgh Magazine and Literary Miscellany, vol. 83
Dalyell, J., (1801) Scottish Poems of the Sixteenth Century
McNeil, H., (2001). The Celtic Breeze

Fairy Witchcraft Ethics in the Context of a Gaming Alignment

"Out-worn heart, in a time out-worn,
Come clear of the nets of wrong and right"

 - W. B. Yeats

 There's a running joke among my friends - or at least it started out as a joke - that I consider myself 'Chaotic Neutral'. It grew out of my adopting the gaming alignment term for my particular approach to ethics within my practice of Fairy Witchcraft (specifically, because Druidic ethics would definitely be more Lawful Good). If you're guessing at this point that I have previous experience playing rpgs you would be correct. I had started to refer to myself as Chaotic Neutral because I found some aspects of the gaming alignment actually fairly descriptive of both situational ethics and fey ethics and also because I thought it was funny. Over time people began to ask me, quite seriously, what it meant and it shifted from something that was purely a jest to something more solid. Which is oddly a very Chaotic Neutral thing for it to do. But lets back up a bit for people who don't know what Chaotic Neutral is.

 This is the standard gaming definition. At its core Chaotic Neutral is neither good nor evil by the traditional definitions of the terms, but neutral; they do not generally seek to actively help others out of altruism nor do they seek to actively hurt for the sake of malevolence. Neutrality in this case isn't a lack of choosing sides, but a lack of commitment to either ultimate purpose, which is where the chaotic aspect comes in, because someone who is Chaotic Neutral can choose to act in either direction, to do good or to harm, if the situation seems to warrant either. There is an emphasis on balance and the need for both good and evil in the world. Chaotic Neutral emphasizes following your own whims, indulgence, and the value of the self. Independence, self-reliance, unpredictability, randomness, and freedom are key aspects of this alignment.

As to Fairy ethics and Fairy Witchcraft ethics (excerpted from my book Fairycraft): "Ethics in Fairy Witchcraft, as with so many things Fairy, are tricky, and may best be described as situational ethics, where there are few hard and fast rules but rather the situation dictates the correct moral response. Generally speaking a person should strive to be kind, take responsibility for their own actions, be generous, compassionate, brave, and honest because these are qualities fairies respect. However in some cases it is also good to be clever even if that involves deception, if you can pull off being tricky in an honest way, because fairies also admire people who can outsmart their adversaries. 
In any dealings with the Otherworld it is essential to be completely honorable; fairies expect that a debt will be repaid and oaths will be kept. They abhor liars, however they admire cleverness and deception is an art form in Fairy where it is entirely possible using semantics to lie by telling nothing but the absolute truth. Fairies love beauty and this includes beauty of spirit; therefore they love people who are generous, kind, helpful, and compassionate. However they themselves are also beings of unmixed passions, as Yeats would say, who love or hate completely and react to anything in ways we consider extreme. Those they approve of are often rewarded with extreme generosity while those who anger them are punished in ways that seem excessive or even cruel to us. Although they do admire determination in us, it is unwise to try to imitate this behavior ourselves as the negative end of the spectrum tends to typify the things fairies themselves dislike in us. In other words trying to act like you might believe a fairy would in anger is more likely to anger them than win their approval. 
It can be difficult for us to understand the fairy people and the fairy Gods when their behavior seems unethical to us, because there are many aspects of their nature we will never be able to fully understand. What we can know though is what they expect of us and what behavior they want to see from us, and that is what we should strive to do. Living an honorable life and being generous and honest is important for anyone following this path."

Now for me it was fairly obvious that the two concepts, fairy ethics and Chaotic Neutral alignment, overlapped. Both emphasize a degree of unpredictability and of transcending the usual understanding of 'good' and 'bad'. Chaotic Neutral and Fairy reject the idea of following human societies expectations of behavior or doing something just because its expected. A fairy bride, for example, might cry at a wedding or laugh at a funeral, and a chaotic neutral character might appear to runaway only to return and help unexpectedly. the point being that they are not bound by the rigid requirements of society at large. Both also admire trickery when its done within a specific context, usually to achieve a specific end and within very set boundaries (for example without lying). And both fairy ethics and Chaotic Neutral emphasize the value of personal fulfillment and indulgence while avoiding actions that are committed to either one extreme or another. Both also often confound people who want an easy to understand and predictable response to any situation. Sometimes a fairy will help you, sometimes they may hurt you and often people find the nuances that decide the reaction, helping or hurting, hard to predict simply because they go into the situation expecting human responses. Sometimes a character with a Chaotic Neutral alignment* will help you or hurt you, and this also often feels unpredictable, not because it is but because we tend to ignore the actual indicators of behavior and instead look for what we'd like to see from that person. In the same way the ethics of Fairy Witchcraft, because they are situation based, are not a clear-cut easy to define thing, but rather a matter of seeking to achieve the best outcome possible in the situation, and that will always be a matter of personal perspective.

My personal approach to Chaotic Neutral as a real world concept is pretty straightforward. I see it as an easy and humorous way to describe my approach to life, and particularly ethics. Being chaotic Neutral, ultimately means doing what you feel you need to do, or want to do, while simultaneously understanding that you bear the full responsibility for the consequences of all your actions, positive or negative. Freedom is important in our actions, and it is on us to choose how we react in a situation; we understand that we are not bound by a system of divine reward or punishment so much as we are obligated to deal with a system of consequences for what we do, and so then it is on us to choose our actions and accept those consequences, whatever they may be. If we were to have a Chaotic Neutral Rede it would be something like: 'Do what you enjoy, if you are willing to pay the cost'. Okay in fairness it would really be more like 'Be serious when needed, otherwise shenanigans'. That's the chaos aspect of it, the balance between serious and pleasure, between fun and grim, and sometimes the two overlap and occur simultaneously; that is also very, very Fey in its own way. There are rules, and ethics, and guidelines to follow - as mentioned above - in how to be a good person, its just that e worry about our own definition of what a good person is and not what society or other people think makes a person good or bad. A key aspect of it is understanding that perspective is hugely significant in judging whether something is 'good' or 'bad' and that one person's good is almost always another person's bad. The wolf eating the rabbit is terrible for the rabbit but great for the wolf, for example, and yet ultimately this action - terrible and great - is also necessary to preserve a much wider and important balance. And that is Chaotic Neutral.

*popculture examples of Chaotic Neutral characters: Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean, Q from Star Trek Next Generation, the eponymous character on House, Riddick, Ferris Bueller.
  For those that don't get the popculture examples - to be more straightforward: cats. Cats are Chaotic Neutral. Might cuddle with you and make you feel better. Might claw your hand and draw blood. Dealer's choice.