Irish Witchcraft: Fairy Faith & Folklore

BY NICOLE LAU

Irish witchcraft flows from the green hills and ancient stones of Ireland, where the fairy faith remains alive, where holy wells still receive offerings, and where the old stories are told by firesides. This is the magic of a land where the Otherworld is never far away, where the Tuatha Dé Danann still dwell in the hollow hills, and where respect for the Good People is not superstition but wisdom.

The Irish Otherworld

Central to Irish witchcraft is the concept of the Otherworld—Tír na nÓg (Land of Youth), Mag Mell (Plain of Honey), or simply the Sídhe. This is not a distant heaven but a parallel realm that interpenetrates our own, accessible through fairy forts, ancient mounds, caves, and liminal times.

The Tuatha Dé Danann

The Tuatha Dé Danann (People of the Goddess Danu) were the divine race of Ireland who, upon being defeated by the Milesians (mortal Irish), retreated into the hollow hills to become the Aos Sí—the fairy folk. They are not diminished but hidden, still powerful, still present.

Major Deities:

The Dagda: The Good God, father figure, master of life and death. Possesses a cauldron of plenty, a club that kills and revives, and a harp that controls the seasons.

Brigid: Triple goddess of fire, poetry, healing, and smithcraft. So beloved she was Christianized as St. Brigid, but her sacred flame and holy wells remain.

The Morrigan: Triple goddess of war, fate, and sovereignty. Appears as crow or raven, presides over battlefields, and weaves destiny. Comprises Badb, Macha, and Nemain (or Anand).

Lugh: Master of all skills, god of light and oaths. Associated with ravens, harvest, and sovereignty.

Danu/Anu: Mother goddess, ancestral deity of the Tuatha Dé Danann. The land itself.

Manannán mac Lir: God of the sea, mist, and the Otherworld. Guardian of the threshold between worlds, master of illusion and magic.

Aengus Óg: God of love, youth, and poetry. Associated with swans and romantic love.

The Fairy Faith: Respecting the Good People

The fairy faith is not quaint folklore but a living tradition in parts of Ireland. The Good People (a respectful euphemism—never call them fairies to their faces) are powerful, dangerous, and demand respect.

Types of Irish Fairies

The Aos Sí: The fairy folk proper, the Tuatha Dé Danann in their hidden form. Beautiful, powerful, and dangerous. They live in fairy forts (ring forts), raths, and hollow hills.

The Banshee (Bean Sídhe): Woman of the fairy mounds, attached to certain families. Her keening foretells death. Not evil, but an omen.

The Leprechaun: Solitary fairy, shoemaker, guardian of hidden gold. Trickster figure, not the cute mascot of modern imagination.

The Púca (Pooka): Shape-shifting spirit, often appearing as a black horse. Can be helpful or harmful depending on treatment and mood.

The Dullahan: Headless horseman carrying his own head, an omen of death. Stops at houses where someone will die.

Changelings: Fairy children left in place of stolen human babies. A serious fear in traditional Ireland, with specific tests and (unfortunately) harmful practices to "retrieve" the human child.

Fairy Forts and Sacred Sites

Fairy Forts (Raths, Lios): Ancient ring forts, now grassy mounds, considered fairy dwellings. Never disturb, damage, or build on them. Many modern construction projects have been rerouted to avoid fairy forts.

Fairy Trees: Lone hawthorns (whitethorn) or blackthorns in fields, especially those growing on or near fairy forts. Never cut them down. Tie ribbons or cloths as offerings.

Fairy Paths: Invisible routes the fairies travel. Building on a fairy path brings misfortune. Traditional knowledge identifies these paths.

Thin Places: Locations where the veil between worlds is particularly thin—certain wells, caves, ancient sites, crossroads.

Rules for Dealing with Fairies

Never say "thank you": Creates obligation. Say "I'm grateful" or "much appreciated."

Never take food or drink in the Otherworld: Binds you there. Time moves differently—a night in fairy can be years in the mortal world.

Respect fairy forts and trees: Never damage them. Leave offerings instead.

Don't speak of them directly: Use euphemisms—the Good People, the Gentry, the Fair Folk, Themselves.

Iron protects: Fairies cannot abide iron. Carry a nail or wear iron jewelry for protection.

Turn clothing inside-out: Breaks fairy glamour and helps you find your way if led astray.

Leave offerings: Milk, butter, bread, honey, whiskey at fairy trees or forts.

Irish Magical Practices

Holy Wells and Water Magic

Ireland has thousands of holy wells, many pre-Christian but associated with saints (especially St. Brigid). These are powerful places for healing, blessing, and magic.

Well Rituals:

• Walk sunwise (deiseal) around the well, usually three or nine times
• Pray or state your intention
• Drink the water or wash affected body parts
• Leave an offering—coins, pins, ribbons, flowers
• Tie a clootie (cloth strip) to a nearby tree as a prayer

Clootie Wells: Wells where cloths are tied to trees as prayers. As the cloth weathers, the prayer is released.

Piseogs: Irish Folk Magic and Curses

Piseogs (PISH-ogues) are Irish folk magic practices, ranging from protective charms to harmful curses.

Protective Piseogs:

• Hanging a horseshoe over the door
• Placing iron nails in doorframes
• Keeping a piece of bread in the house
• Sprinkling salt at thresholds
• Carrying a piece of rowan or hawthorn

Harmful Piseogs (Historical):

• Burying eggs or dead animals on someone's land to curse it
• Stealing the "profit" from someone's butter or milk through magic
• Placing thorns or pins in someone's path
• Using clay figures to cause harm

Modern Ethics: While harmful piseogs are part of historical practice, modern practitioners should consider ethical implications.

The Evil Eye and Protection

Belief in the evil eye (droch-shúil) is strong in Irish tradition. Envy, excessive praise, or ill will can cause harm, especially to children, livestock, and new ventures.

Protection Methods:

• Spitting (or saying "tfu tfu tfu") to avert evil eye
• Saying "God bless" after compliments
• Hanging a red ribbon on children or livestock
• Carrying a piece of coal or salt
• Wearing a Brigid's cross

Brigid's Cross

Woven from rushes on St. Brigid's Day (Imbolc, February 1), Brigid's crosses protect homes from fire, illness, and harm. They're hung over doorways and renewed annually.

Making a Brigid's Cross:

• Gather rushes (or substitute with straw, reeds, or paper)
• Weave in the traditional four-armed pattern
• Speak prayers or intentions while weaving
• Hang over the door or hearth
• Burn the old cross when replacing with new

Irish Herbal Magic

Hawthorn (Whitethorn): The fairy tree. Extremely powerful but dangerous to misuse. Never bring indoors except on May Day. Marks boundaries between worlds.

Blackthorn: Protection, cursing, boundaries. Wood used for shillelaghs (walking sticks/weapons) and magical staves.

Rowan (Mountain Ash): Protection against fairies and harmful magic. Berries and wood used in protective charms.

Elder: Fairy tree, protection, healing. Never burn elder wood or harm the tree without asking permission.

Shamrock: Sacred to St. Patrick but pre-Christian in significance. Three leaves represent the triple goddess or the three realms. Four-leaf clovers are lucky.

Vervain: Protection, purification, love. Sacred plant in Irish tradition.

St. John's Wort: Protection, banishing negativity, healing. Gathered at Midsummer.

The Irish Magical Calendar

Imbolc (February 1)

Brigid's festival, marking the first stirrings of spring. Making Brigid's crosses, lighting candles, spring cleaning, honoring Brigid at her wells.

Traditions:

• Weaving Brigid's crosses
• Leaving out cloth for Brigid to bless (Brat Bríde)
• Lighting candles in windows
• Visiting holy wells
• Spring cleaning and purification

Bealtaine (May 1)

Fire festival marking summer's beginning. Bonfires lit on hilltops, cattle driven between fires for blessing, fairy activity at its peak.

Traditions:

• Lighting bonfires
• Protecting against fairy mischief
• Gathering May dew for beauty
• Decorating with flowers (especially hawthorn on this day only)
• Leaving offerings for the Good People

Lughnasadh (August 1)

Lugh's festival, first harvest, gathering on hilltops, making corn dollies, celebrating abundance.

Samhain (October 31-November 1)

The most important festival, when the veil is thinnest. Ancestors honored, bonfires lit, divination practiced, protective measures taken against wandering spirits.

Traditions:

• Lighting bonfires
• Setting a place at table for ancestors
• Divination (especially for marriage)
• Carving turnips (precursor to pumpkins)
• Leaving offerings for the Good People
• Staying indoors after dark or taking protective measures

Irish Divination Practices

Samhain Divination

Samhain is the prime time for divination, especially regarding marriage and the future.

Apple Peel: Peel an apple in one long strip, throw over shoulder. The shape it forms reveals the initial of your future spouse.

Nuts in Fire: Place two nuts in fire representing yourself and a potential partner. If they burn together, the match is good. If they jump apart, it won't work.

Colcannon: Hide a ring, coin, thimble, and button in mashed potatoes. What you find predicts your future—ring (marriage), coin (wealth), thimble (spinsterhood), button (bachelorhood).

Dream Divination

Placing specific items under your pillow to induce prophetic dreams—yarrow, wedding cake, certain herbs.

Scrying

Using water, mirrors, or crystal balls to see visions. Holy well water is particularly powerful for scrying.

The Bean Feasa: Irish Wise Woman

The bean feasa (woman of knowledge) or fear feasa (man of knowledge) served Irish communities as healers, midwives, and magical practitioners.

Practices of the Bean Feasa

• Healing with herbs and charms
• Midwifery and blessing newborns
• Removing curses and evil eye
• Finding lost objects
• Love magic
• Communicating with the Good People
• Blessing crops and livestock

Famous Irish Magical Practitioners

Biddy Early (1798-1874): Famous bean feasa from County Clare. Used a blue bottle for healing and divination, given to her by the Good People. Never charged for healing but accepted gifts.

Moll Anthony (17th century): Wise woman who advised on fairy matters and healing.

Building Your Irish Practice

Honor Brigid

Establish a relationship with Brigid through her wells, her crosses, and her sacred flame. Celebrate Imbolc with traditional practices.

Respect the Good People

Learn fairy lore and traditional precautions. If you have access to fairy forts or trees, leave respectful offerings. Never damage these sites.

Visit Holy Wells

If in Ireland or areas with Irish heritage, visit holy wells. Perform traditional rituals, leave offerings, tie clooties.

Make Brigid's Crosses

Learn to weave Brigid's crosses. Make them annually at Imbolc for protection.

Study Irish Mythology

Read the Irish mythological cycles—Ulster Cycle, Fenian Cycle, Mythological Cycle, Historical Cycle. Know the stories of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

Observe Irish Festivals

Celebrate Imbolc, Bealtaine, Lughnasadh, and Samhain with traditional Irish practices.

Learn Irish (Optional)

Many traditional charms and prayers are in Irish. Learning even basic phrases deepens connection.

Practice Ethical Magic

While harmful piseogs are part of tradition, consider modern ethical implications. Focus on protective and healing magic.

Ethical Considerations

Cultural Respect: Irish witchcraft belongs to Irish culture. If you're not Irish, approach with respect and acknowledgment.

Living Tradition: The fairy faith is still alive in parts of Ireland. Don't dismiss it as superstition or treat it as entertainment.

Sacred Sites: Fairy forts, holy wells, and ancient sites are sacred. Treat them with reverence, leave no trace, and respect local customs.

Changeling Beliefs: Historical changeling beliefs led to tragic harm. Understand this history without perpetuating harmful practices.

Conclusion

Irish witchcraft offers a path deeply rooted in the land, the Otherworld, and the living relationship between humans and the Good People. From Brigid's sacred flame to the Morrigan's battlefield, from holy wells that heal to fairy forts that must never be disturbed, from the bean feasa's wisdom to the protection of Brigid's cross, Irish magic invites us into a world where the Otherworld is always near.

This is magic that tastes of buttermilk and soda bread, that smells of peat smoke and hawthorn blossoms, that sounds like the keening of the banshee and the laughter of the Good People. It's the magic of a land where the old gods never left, they just went into the hollow hills, and where those who know the old ways still leave offerings at fairy trees and walk carefully on Samhain night.

Go n-éirí an bóthar leat (May the road rise to meet you). May Brigid bless you, may the Good People leave you in peace, and may you always know which trees not to cut down.