Magickal Ireland : A Fairy Tree

Magickal Ireland : A Fairy Tree April 22, 2017

Fairy tree at the Hill of Tara. Photo by Lilith Dorsey, all rights reserved.
Fairy tree at the Hill of Tara. Photo by Lilith Dorsey, all rights reserved.

Magickal Ireland is full of things people have heard of all their lives, if you’re lucky you may see a fairy or a leprechauns. If you ask an Irish person about these things they will give you a very different picture of these otherworldly beings. In literature the most famous fairy is in The Faerie Queen books the first three published by Edmund Spenser in 1590.

The Court of Faerie image from Wikimedia commons.
The Court of Faerie image from Wikimedia commons.

“For whatsoever from one place doth fall,
Is with the tide unto an other brought:
For there is nothing lost, that may be found, if sought.”
― Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene

Many people go looking for fairies, and some even find them. According to one Irish legend you can hang a bouquet of primrose on your door to invite the fairy folk into your home. The Medb hErenn website tells us “In Ireland, the Faeries are called the Aes Sídhe (singular Aes Sídh). Sídhe happens to be the name for the earthen mounds and hills that dot the Irish landscape. Irish mythology, legend, and folklore claim the Faeries live under these mounds, so the term “sídhe” has come to mean Faerie in general, but it more properly refers to the palaces, courts, halls, and residences of the Faeries. However they are known by a wide variety of euphemisms, including “the Fair Folk”, “the Good Neighbors”, “the Little Folk”, “the Little Darlings”, and “the People of Peace”. This is done for two reasons. The first is to avoid attracting their attention and the second is to avoid insulting them.” At the Leprechaun Museum in Dublin, they will tell you the following about Fairies –

 

It’s not very often you get directions to where the fairy are, so when at the Hill of Tara I was told there was a fairy tree nearby I got very excited. The tree, or more accurately trees, sit atop one of the hills adjacent to the Hill of Tara. It is covered in colorful ribbons each bearing a wish that one hopes the fairy folk will favor. The Hill of Tara is a site of great power and is full or Irish legends and lore. I hope you get the chance to visit some day yourselves.

If you have enjoyed what you read here please remember to share ! May the luck of the Irish be with you !


Browse Our Archives