Folk Deities Archives - Cailleachs Herbarium

Commodification

Folk Devils and Saints in Scottish folk magic

Folk devils and saints in Scottish folk magic occur time and time again. Folk devils are tied to stories in our land and demonise our past folk traditions. Saintly spirits (along with folk devils) are called up for healing, cursing, childbirth, protection, and everyday life. Other stories tell how we could call upon them to place ourselves into the devil’s care as a form of initiation. Folk devils and saints are the agents in a lot of operative folk magic. Scottish Folk Magic Practitioners embrace them as part of a syncretic approach to folk magic quite rightly as sometimes this

Scott Richardson-Read

Cailleach

The Cailleach – Scotland’s Midwife – Tigh Na Bodach

The struggles and revelations of Scotland’s people are stamped into the landscape, like wrinkles on the palms of old lady history some say put there by the Cailleach herself. Some experiences deep ravines. Other lines the soft touch of poetry skimming the surface like scree. With such deep history surrounding us it can’t help but inspire thoughts about the riddles of these places. Secrets coded in name and metaphor. Dark brooding and inspirational names captured in Gaelic given to desolate munro, shadowy river and unfathomable loch. Names such as Bod an Deamhain – the devil’s penis (point), Dùn dá Gaoithe

Scott

Ancestors

Who the hell is Sidhe? – Fairy Faith and Animism in Scotland. A Challenge to Divinity

This post about the fairy faith been a long time in the coming. I can only apologise for that, I have been busy researching for a new book that explores these issues in more detail. I was asked to discuss the idea of the Sidhe or Síth in Scottish culture. During research for the upcoming publication many ideas have come forward. Some of these ideas I spoke about last year at the Scottish Radical Herbal Gathering. This post develops those ideas found in the post Dead to Deity. It’s also a think piece. It presents a different narrative to what

Scott

Ancestors

From Dead to Deity – How did the Celtic dead become gods?

I’m sitting on a train. It’s like a liminal space, I’m not moving but rushing forward at the same time. Travelling through the amazing Scottish landscape, it’s always a joy. Even though a brown, white and green dusk coloured blur beyond the window. The sound of the train, the rock of its carriage, always makes my mind drift. It gets me thinking. Back to old conversations and thoughts. I have pondered questions around animism and the dead a lot recently. In discussions, its been one of many topics raised over whisky, late into the evening. I thought the friendly debates and these unformed threads of ideas

Scott

An old lady does some folk magic - Cailleachs Herbarium

Animism

Nicneven – A Wild Witch Chase – In search of the Scottish Hecate –

It’s the time of the year when I start thinking about the more witchier side of life and the name Nicneven and Hecate starts to be whispered of. Wrapped in warm blankets, looking out across to Fife and beyond as the grey clouds stream past, the apple trees shaking free their russet, yellow and golden leaves and sweet steam from my tea fogging up the window as it warms my hands. I always feel that Scotland is ideally itself in this Autumnal weather, there’s something that seems to suit it, the land stands proud as it loses it’s summer gloss,

Scott

Taigh Nam Bodach - In Glenn Cailleach - Cailleachs Herbarium

Ancestors

The Cailleach – A Tale of Balance Between Darkness and Light (Part Two)

The Cailleach is a very interesting figure in Gaelic even possibly Celtic myth and beyond.The above video represents some of the Cailleach’s folk stories, the first about the priest who tries to count the bones in her house and dies of old age because he can’t count them all there are that many. The other part of the tale about the encroaching of man signified by the barking dog and her need to renew herself to become young again. In the previous post I discussed some of the background to the Cailleach and some of the folk tales that relate to

Scott

Deer in the woods - cailelachs herbarium

Ancestors

The Cailleach – A Tale of Balance Between Darkness and Light (part one)

As we move into the winter months I can’t think of a more appropriate force and mythological figure to write about. The Callieach is someone very close to me, and a reason why this website is called as it is. Recently I have noticed with interest posts written about her,

Scott

The healing well of Bride heapstown cairn (2009)

Ancestors

Airmed – herbal working ancestor – an inspiration

The inspiration for this site and what we are attempting to achieve came from a number of ideas that had been ruminating for a long time. One of these stories is about a Airmid from the Tuatha de dannann.

Scott

Exploring the archives

Category: Folk Deities

Category: Folk Deities

Category: Folk Deities

Folk Devils and Saints in Scottish folk magic

The Cailleach – Scotland’s Midwife – Tigh Na Bodach

Who the hell is Sidhe? – Fairy Faith and Animism in Scotland. A Challenge to Divinity

From Dead to Deity – How did the Celtic dead become gods?

Nicneven – A Wild Witch Chase – In search of the Scottish Hecate –

The Cailleach – A Tale of Balance Between Darkness and Light (Part Two)

The Cailleach – A Tale of Balance Between Darkness and Light (part one)

Airmed – herbal working ancestor – an inspiration

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