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Observation about the nature of Piskies (Pixies)
I always understood the Piskies to be little people. A great deal was said about ghosts in this place. Whether or not Piskies are the...
The Amanita Muscaria Elf
The Amanita Muscaria Elf works in the reindeer stalls at the North Pole, feeding them treats, giving them foot baths and physio, calming...
The Stigma and Taboo of having the gift of 'Fairy Sight'
For this article I wanted to open the door on the social pressures and, indeed, stigma, regarding reporting fairy encounters. Related to...
Samhain and the Seed
I recently finished Andrew Micheal Hurley’s excellent folklore novel, Starve Acre. Without spoilers, the protagonist discovers the bones...
Mirror Folklore at Samhain: Reflections of The Otherworld
Although the following custom is considered romantic, I must admit that I've always found it slightly eerie and disturbing. There are a...
Fairies: Navigators or Passengers of the Dream?
Writing in Fairies, Demons, and Nature Spirits: 'Small Gods' at the Margins of Christendom, Professor Lisa Bitel draws attention to the...
Burning the Fairy
I attended an excellent lecture by Dr. Thomas Waters this week entitled Fairies, Curses and Witches: The Uses and Abuses of Magic in...
The Land of Fairies and Giants
There are many places in Ireland said to be the domain of giants, as well as ancient monuments believed to have been built by them....
Divining the Future at Hallowe’en
The future, in its cloak of fog and mystery, has long been the object of curiosity and worry, urging us to grasp at the unknown and...
Blúiríní Béaloidis Episode 22 - Invisible Worlds (With Eddie Lenihan)
Our lives are built on the stories we tell. At both an individual and a communal level, they orient and mould us, shaping our...
Blúiríní Béaloidis Episode 27 - The Banshee (with Professor Patricia Lysaght)
The Banshee is a well known supernatural figure in Irish folk tradition. In origin a patron goddess caring for the fortunes of her...