Celtic Year
Whatever names we give to them now many of our modern day festivals owe their existence to...
Coligny Calendar
In 1897, the Gaulish Coligny Calendar was discovered in Coligny, France along with the head...
Imbolc
February 1"Imbolc" is from Old Irish, and may mean "in the belly", and Oimelc, "ewe's milk", as...
Lugnasad
August 1 (July 31 August Eve)(loo-na-sa) Lugnasad was the beginning of the harvest and was a...
Samhain
November 1Samhain is pronounced as 'sow-in' (in Ireland), or 'sow-een' (in Wales), or 'sav-en' (in...
Alban Arthuan
December 21("The Light of Arthur") The winter solstice was the shortest day of the year and...
Alban Eiler
Around March 21Ostara or Vernal (spring) Equinox is the point of equilibrium - the balance is...
Alban Elfed
September 21Autumn Equinox / Mabon / Alban Elfed. The autumnal equinox occurs when the sun crosses...
UK – Northumberland – Otterburn Battlefield
Otterburn in Northumberland is the site of a battle fought in 1388 when the Scots, led by Douglas,...
Pam the Fiddler
The tale takes place around Our Ladies Well in Threshfield, near Linton in Craven. The well was...
Harewood Grove
ECHO MEMORIES: TAKE A STROLL WHERE THE GHOST HOUNDS ROAMED From the Northern Echo, first published...
The Fiddlers of Inverness
Tomnahurich is a steep wooded hill just on the outskirts of Inverness. It is said to be a fairy...
The Harper in Fairlyand
A Story from Celtic sourcesAs retold by Beth Vaughan The King, Sir Orfeo, could play the harp like...
Dando and the Wild Hunt / Dandos Dogs
There are many tales to explain the origin of the spectral wild hunt, this one is from the Parish...
The Wild Hunt in Dartmoor, Devon
This particularly sinister folktale of the wild hunt is from Devon, and is based in the Dartmoor...
The Lambton Worm
The story of the Lambton worm is perhaps the most famous of the dragon/worm/wyvern stories that...
The King of the Fairies
The King of the Fairies - From J. Bowker, Goblin Tales of Lancashire, p. 52.On the high road from...
Elf Bull
Jamieson's Northern Antiquities gives the story of the most famous of the Crodh Mara, the cow bred...
Elidor and the Golden Ball
Giraldus Cambrensis in ITINERARIUM CAMBRIAE, the account of his journey through Wales in 1188,...
Tale – The Doctor and the Fairy Princess
Late one night, so the story goes, a great doctor, who lived near Lough Neagh, was awoke by the...
The Faeries Dancing Place
When Lanty M'Clusky married he set about building a house for his bride, and chose for it's site a...
Ainsel the Fairy
A widow and her little boy lived in a cottage near Rothley, Northumberland. One Winters night the...
Cherry of Zennor
A version of the story of the Fairy Widower, which appears in Robert Hunt's, Popular Romances of...
The Torness Trows
The Torness Trows - an eyewitness account This account was written in response to an article on...
Corpse Roads
Corpse roads provided a practical means of allowing the transport of corpses to cemeteries that...
The Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt was a folk myth prevalent in former times across Northern, Western and Central...
The Wild Hunt – Germanic Persepctive
Germanic Version When the winter winds blow and the Yule fires are lit, from the north of...
Fairy Clothes
The fairies of Britain vary as much in dress as they do in appearance and size. Most people, asked...
Elemental Fairy
The belief that fairies were elementals - creatures made only of earth, fire, air or water - seems...
Fairy Lore
There is an ancient and universal belief inherent in all the native religions of the existence of...
Fairy Funerals
Allan Cunningham in his LIVES OF EMINENT BRITISH PAINTERS records that William Blake claimed to...
Fairy Glamor
Glamor is the word for the magical abilities that are always attributed to faeries. Much of it...
Fairy Locations
Faeries can be found in a wide variety of places, indeed almost anywhere in the world, and several...
Fairy Origins
There are many myths that describe the origins of the faeries, and almost all of them are...
Fairies – Protection Against
Cross - From the earliest days of Christianity the cross was believed to be a most potent...
Fairy Rade
The Fairy Rade, or procession, was a matter of great importance. It took place on the coming in of...
Fairies – When to see
Folklore states that in Ireland at night you can often see the hills inhabited by Fairies shining...
Fairies in Modern Times
From the time of Chaucer onwards, the fairies have been said to have departured or to be in...
Fairy Animals
The very numerous fairy animals, of which there are many traditions in the British Isles, may be...
Aurora Borealis in Folklore
The Nimble Men or Merry Dancers were the names given by Highlanders to the Aurora Borealis. In...
Folklore of Caves
People have throughout the ages held a fascination for caves. A wide variety of traditions...
Elizabethean Fairy Folklore
The fairies of the Medieval Romances grew out of the Celtic tradition of the Heroic Fairies, the...
Fairy Defect
Among the many beliefs held about the fairies, there is one strand which describes them as...
Fairy Aristocrats
In the middle ages fairy aristocrats were thought to be the most beautiful of fairylands people...
Nature Fairies
Most nature fairies are the descendents of pre-Christian Gods and Goddesses, or of the spirits of...
Fairy and UFO Phenomena
It has been recently hypothesised that many of the alien and UFO sighings that are being...
Fairy Visits
Clean Hearth - The first recipe in old days for encouraging fairy visits and gaining fairy favours...
Trooping Fairies
Fay or Faery are sometimes divided into two classes which includes the trooping or solitary...
Urisk
The Urisk is an extremely hideous creature with deeply wrinkled skin, patches of hair, feathers...
Verry Volk
The name of the fairies in Gower of Wales. In some parts of Wales Tylwyth Teg is never used to...
Fairy Punishments – Stroke, Cramp & Elfshot
Stroke - The word 'Stroke' for a sudden paralytic seizure comes directly from fairy belief. It is...
Wee Folk
One of the Scottish and Irish names for the fairies.
Corpse candles
Corpse candles and other related phenomena A Corpse candle or light is a flame or ball of light...
Raven
They slept until the black raven, the blithe hearted proclaimed the joy of heaven- Beowulf...
Owl
Owls are one of the oldest species of vertebrate animal in existence, fossils have been found...
Adder
As the only poisonous snake in the British Isles the adder has a reputation for wisdom,...
Goose
(or Gessa, plur. for Geis) Singular: Geas(gaysh), plural: Gease(gaysha).Caesar said the goose was...
Fish
In Celtic tradition spirits have been associated with springs and wells from the earliest times....
Badger
Famed for its tenacity and courage, the badger has entered folklore as the most unyelding animal;...
Bat
A creature of frequent association with the Moon and darkness. In China, bats were symbols of good...
Bear
Animal lore explains the saying that children can be ‘licked into shape’. It was once believed...
Bee
In early traditions bees were believed to have originated in paradise and were known as "little...
Crow
'Crow' really means a family of closely related carrion-eating birds including the rook, raven,...
Cuckoo
Cuckoos were thought to bring fine weather, although in Yorkshire it was said to be a sign of rain...
Curlew
Sailors dreaded the melancholy cry of a curlew, for they believed that it was a warning from a...
Dog
The dog or hound has ever been a faithful servant of humanity and this is reflected in British...
Birds
Birds serve throughout the entire Celtic tradition as symbols of divinity and as messengers and...
Blackbird
The blackbird has ever been one of Britain's most melodious songsters and this is doubtless why...
Boar
Brahan Seer. The wild boar, once commonly hunted throughout the British Isles is now only to be...
Bull
Originally the lunar symbol of the Great Mother with the horns representing the Crescent Moon, the...
Cat
Unlike dogs and horses they were said to be fond of ghosts and purr whenever they encounter them....
Cock
As recently as the 19th century, a Midland builder buried a cock in the church foundations to...
Cow
So central to the economy of Britain and Ireland was the cow in early times that it was considered...
Book of Invasions
Book of InvasionsThe Irish book of Invasions was compiled in the 12th century and alludes to...
Cycle 2 – The Fenian Cycle
This is considered by some to be older than the tales of the Ultonian (Ulster / Red Branch) cycle,...
Cycle 1 – The Mythological
Ó hÓgáin gives an account of the Mythological Cycle, a collective term applied to the stories in...
The Fenian Cycle – Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne
The Flight On a certain day when Finn mac Cumaill rose at early morn in Almu, in Leinster, and sat...
Mythological Cycles
Ancient Irish history and legends have come down to us through history thanks to the diligent...
Fionn
He was also a poet and seer, who received his training from an old bard named Finnegas on the...
CuChulain – The Boyhood Deeds
CUCHULAIN, THE BOYHOOD DEEDS OF Among the most striking of the many narratives dealing with...
Cú Chulainn
Cú Chulainn is confronted by swans once again as a man, at the great feast of Samhain, which is...
Tir Nan Og
Tir Nan Og is the land to which the Irish faeries known as Tuatha de Danann fled when their lands...
Unseelie Court
(Unblessed Court) The Unsellie Court contains the most malicious, malevolent and evil of the...
The Song of Amergin
"Amergin" is the word as it has been written in English, but the actual spelling of this name is...
The Song of Amergin – Analysis
I am the wind on the sea I am the wave of the sea I am the bull of seven battles I...
Manannan mac Lir
Pronounced "manan-awn mak lir" (Barinthus) Manannan Mac Lir is one of the most popular...
Celts in Battle
Some accounts speak of how the Celts would roar and bang on their shield taunting their enemies...
Celts and Birth
Up until 150 years ago a baby had only an even chance of living past its 5th birthday, because so...
Bruidne
Translated as meaning 'hostels', the bruidne of ancient Ireland are depicted as centres of...
Cauldron
The cauldron was the prime female symbol of the pre-Christian world. Among the Celts, the Three...
Crom Cruach Idol
An idol set up on the plain of Magh Slécht, 'Plain of Adoration', near the present village of...
History of the Celts
The history of the Celtic people goes back many centuries. The Celts transmitted their culture...
Wicca
The pentagram, a symbol of faith used by many Wiccans.Wicca (pronounced /ˈwɪkə/) is a neopagan,...