The Jokers of the Otherworld.

The Leprechaun

The name leprechaun may have derived from the Irish leath bhrogan (shoemaker). These apparently aged, diminutive men are usually to be found in a drunken state, caused by drinking poteen. However they never become so drunk that they don’t know what they are doing.

Leprechauns have also become self-appointed guardians of ancient treasure (left by the Danes when they rampaged through Ireland), burying it in crocks or pots. This may be one reason why leprechauns tend to avoid contact with humans whom they regard as foolish and greedy creatures. If caught by a mortal, he will promise great wealth if allowed to go free.

He carries two leather pouches. In one there is a silver shilling, a magical coin that returns to the purse each time it is paid out. In the other he carries a gold coin which he uses to try and bribe his way out of difficult situations. This coin usually turns to leaves or ashes once the leprechaun has parted with it. However, you must never take your eye off him, for he can vanish in an instant.

The leprechaun 'family' appears split into two distinct groups - leprechaun and cluricaun. Cluricauns may steal or borrow almost anything, creating mayhem in houses during the hours of darkness, raiding wine cellars and larders. They will also harness sheep, goats, dogs and even domestic fowl and ride them throughout the country at night.

Although the leprechaun has been described as Ireland’s national fairy, this name was originally only used in the north Leinster area. Variants include lurachmain, lurican, lurgadhan.

Cluricaune.

Cluricaunes are a type of otherworldly creature similar to the Leprechaun, they have usually been seen sitting by the hearth of a fire and are always described as wearing a red jacket and a green high cap with a feather sticking in it. They are small in stature and usually appear as wizened old men. They can do mischief, grant wishes and poke fun at humankind.

Often confused with the other solitary fairies known as Lepracauns or the Fear Dearg they prefer to be indoors and do not like to do any physical labour. They like any kind of alcoholic beverage and can be found in the cellar's of rich men, helping themselves to whatever they fancy of wine and whiskey.


Fear Dearg.

The name Far Darrig is an English pronunciation of Fear Dearg, which means Red Man. He is called this because of the red coat or cloak (some say this is coloured with the blood of his enemies), woollen stockings that cling to his calves, and hat that he wears. He has a short stocky body with yellow splotches on his face, and is known to be a practical joker with a gruesome sense of humour. He can manipulate his voice to sound like waves crashing on the rocks, or cooing pigeons, but his favourite sound is that of a dead man's hollow laugh apparently coming from a grave.

He can travel invisibly, and is highly amused by mortal terror. Sometimes he will invite a mortal to enter a lonely bog hut, and then orders them to make dinner of a hag which is skewered on a spit. The man usually faints, and when he comes around he hears the sound of laughter in the air, but the Fear Dearg is nowhere to be seen. It is said his laughter will haunt you to the grave.

There are many contradictory facts about the Fear Dearg, the first one being whether he is one creature or three. Some sources claim that Fear Dearg, the Leprechaun, and the Clurichaun are one and the same creature, as they are all solitary, withered and old, unlike other fairies. According to other sources though they are related. And although the vast majority of sources say he is Irish, he also pops up in some Scottish stories.

In Donegal he is known for being a tall creature, but in Munster he is reported to be 2'6" (75cm) tall, and wears a sugarloaf cap, has long grey hair and a wrinkled face. He would enter a home and ask to warm himself by the fire, and if he liked the people they would have good luck, but if he did not he would play a trick on them. To refuse his request was always very unlucky!

If you recognise him when you meet him, you should say 'Na dean maggdh fum' which means do not mock me, as this will prevent him from playing nasty tricks on you. The problem is that he plans his tricks so well that by the time you realise who he is, it is too late to say do not mock me. Sometimes he sends nightmares to wreck people's sleep.

Despite the grotesque pranks that he plays, he is actually good natured and will bring good luck to those he likes. He just enjoys taunting them first.
Farmers consider him lucky to have around, though no reason is given for this.

Perhaps not as well known as other characters from Celtic mythology, the actions of the Fear Dearg, or Red Man, show that being mischievous could result in good luck or bad luck, and to be sure of good luck it was always best to be welcoming to strangers.

Werewolves in Irish Folklore.

Werewolves in Irish Folklore:

The werewolf is strong in Irish folklore. There are a number of old tales about strange tribes of wolf-men living in remote areas of County Tipperary, whose assistance was often sought by the ancient kings of Ireland when they made war upon each other. There are also tales of strange beings - half-men, half-wolves - roaming the remote forest and mountain areas of the island. Indeed, one of the oldest written stories that we have about werewolves comes from Ireland. It was written down by a man named Giraldus Cambrensis who wrote down many old Irish tales.

In Ireland in 1182, a priest travelling from Ulster into Meath, and having to pass the night in a wood, was sitting by a fire which he had made, when a wolf accosted him in human speech.

He was, he said, a man of Ossory, on whose race lay an ancient curse, whereby every seven years a man and a woman were changed into wolves; at the end of seven years they recovered their proper form, and two others suffered a like transformation. He and his wife were the present victims of the curse; his wife was at the point of death, and he prayed the priest to come and give her the viaticum (Holy Eucharist given to the dying)

After some hesitation the priest complied; and next morning the wolf took leave of him with words of gratitude. Two years after this event, Giraldus was in the same area, where he was approached by two priests sent by the bishop to ask him his view on this “serious matter.” Giraldus met with the bishop of the town and gave his views in writing. These writings were then sent to the Bishop of Ossory then to Pope Urban III. Showing you just how serious they took this werewolf tale, one of the first ever recorded.

It is said that the people of the Kingdom of Ossory (County Kilkenny and parts of Laois and Offaly) had the power to change themselves into wolves whenever they wanted. During the time that an Ossorian lived as a wolf their human body lay at home as if it were dead. When an Ossorian was about to change into a wolf strict orders were given to friends not to touch or move the human body for if it was moved to a place where the returning spirit could not find it then the person was doomed to remain in wolf form for the rest of their life.

One author (Giraldus Cambrensis) wrote of the Ossorians saying that there were always two of the Ossory people, a man and a woman, living in the shape of wolves for seven year cycles. After living seven years as wolves they returned home and another couple replaced them.

The Irish Werewolf is very different from the excepted version of the werewolf that has become apparent through the spread of Christianity and the inquisition. It is not a crazed man-eater but rather a protector. There are numerous stories in Irish folklore of wolves protecting children, guarding wounded men and guiding lost people to a place of safety.

An Irish Fairy Tale.

The Horned Women.

A rich woman sat up late one night carding and preparing wool, whiles all the family and servants were asleep. Suddenly a knock was given at the door, and a voice called, "Open! Open!"

"Who is there?" said the woman of the house.

"I am the Witch of one Horn," was answered.

The mistress, who was a little hard of hearing and supposing that one of her neighbours had called and required assistance, opened the door, a woman entered, having in her hand a pair of wool-carders, and bearing a horn on her forehead, as if growing there. She sat down by the fire in silence, and began to card the wool with violent haste. Suddenly she paused, and said aloud: "Where are the women? They delay too long."

Then a second knock came to the door, and a voice called as before, "Open! Open!"

The mistress felt herself obliged to rise and open to the call, and immediately a second witch entered, having two horns on her forehead, and in her hand a wheel for spinning wool.

"Give me place," she said; "I am the Witch of the two horns," and she began to spin as quick as lightning.

And so the knocks went on, and the call was heard, and the witches entered, until at last twelve women sat round the fire—the first with one horn, the last with twelve horns.

And they carded the thread, and turned their spinning wheels, and wound and wove, all singing together an ancient rhyme, but no word did they speak to the mistress of the house. Strange to hear, and frightful to look upon, were these twelve women, with their horns and their wheels and the mistress felt near to death, and she tried to rise that she might call for help, but she could not move, nor could she utter a word or a cry, for the spell of the witches was upon her.

Then one of them called to her in Irish, and said, Méadú, bhean, agus cuirfidh muid cáca ("Rise, woman, and make us a cake.")

Then the mistress searched for a vessel to bring water from the well that she might mix the meal and make the cake, but she could find none.

And they said to her, "Take a sieve and bring water in it."

And she took the sieve and went to the well; but the water poured from it, and she could fetch none for the cake, and she sat down by the well and wept.

Then a voice came by her and said, "Take yellow clay and moss, and bind them together, and plaster the sieve so that it will hold."

This she did, and the sieve held the water for the cake and the voice said again:

"Return, and when thou comest to the north angle of the house, cry aloud three times and say, 'The mountain of the Fenian women and the sky over it is all on fire.' "

And she did so.

When the witches inside heard the call, a great and terrible cry broke from their lips, and they rushed forth with wild lamentations and shrieks, and fled away to Slievenamon, where their chief abode was. But the Spirit of the Well bade the mistress of the house to enter and prepare her home against the enchantments of the witches if they returned again.

And first, to break their spells, she sprinkled the water in which she had washed her child's feet, the feet-water, outside the door on the threshold; secondly, she took the cake which in her absence the witches had made of meal mixed with the blood drawn from the sleeping family, and she broke the cake in bits, and placed a bit in the mouth of each sleeper, and they were restored; and she took the cloth they had woven, and placed it half in and half out of the chest with the padlock; and lastly, she secured the door with a great crossbeam fastened in the jambs, so that the witches could not enter, and having done these things she waited.

Not long were the witches in coming back, and they raged and called for vengeance.

"Open! Open!" they screamed; "open, feet-water!"

"I cannot," said the feet-water; "I am scattered on the ground, and my path is down to the Lough."

"Open, open, wood and trees and beam!" they cried to the door.

"I cannot," said the door, "for the beam is fixed in the jambs and I have no power to move."

"Open, open, cake that we have made and mingled with blood!" they cried again.

"I cannot," said the cake, "for I am broken and bruised, and my blood is on the lips of the sleeping children."

Then the witches rushed through the air with great cries, and fled back to Slievenamon, uttering strange curses on the Spirit of the Well, who had wished their ruin; but the woman and the house were left in peace, and a mantle (a cloak) dropped by one of the witches in her flight was kept hung up by the mistress in memory of that night; and this mantle was kept by the same family from generation to generation for five hundred years after.

Superstition concerning Witches.

Superstition concerning Witches.

Flying broomsticks and plant lore.

Broomsticks are an ancient symbol representing womanhood, while pitchforks are an ancient symbol representing manhood. Brooms, a symbol often associated with witchcraft, are used to sweep away, or cleanse an area of negative energy prior to performing magical and healing rituals. Wise women and witches would also use their broomsticks to perform a sort of imitative magic. They would go out into the fields and dance and leap high into the air while astride their brooms and pitchforks. It was thought that this would cause the crops to grow as tall as they were able to jump into the air.

Flying Broomsticks.

Today, the broomstick conjures the mood of Halloween for youngsters - and it's another image with a meaning steeped in history. In centuries past, Samhain marked the time of year when witches would "fly" in order to divine the future. The image of witches flying off on their magic broomstick correlates to their use of magical flying ointments during their divinatory endeavours. After the witches covered themselves with the ointment they would lay down by the fireplace in order to keep safe and warm while on their shamanistic journeys.

Ancient Superstitions.

Superstitious people, believing that witches could literally fly, assumed they climbed aboard broomsticks and rose through their chimneys to terrorize the countryside with their wicked deeds. But the "flight" was really one of spirit. Samhain marked a time when the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the worlds of the dead thinned. With the help of hallucinogenic herbs, those seeking spirit flights could explore this realm, using their experiences to divine clues about what the future held. The symbol of this flight, the witch's broom (also known as a besom), has historical associations with a variety of plants.

Broom.

Bundles of this plant were attached to a handle and used in cleansing rituals prior to performing magic. This practice was thought to sweep away any negative energy and evil spirits that might interfere with the magic being performed by the witch. Broom is also a narcotic and depresses respiration.

Celery seeds.

The seeds were eaten by witches before flying so that they wouldn't become dizzy and fall off their broomsticks.

Ragwort stalks.

According to legend, the stalks of this plant formed the basis for magical flying brooms.

Ash.

Ash often made up the handle of the broom and had the added benefit of preventing a witch from drowning.

Birch.

The branches of this tree could also serve as the traditional witch's broom. A bundle of birch twigs could be bound to one end of the broom handle using a flexible, vine-type plant such as osiers.

Willow.

This plant was also known as osiers. The larger branches of this plant were used to make the handle of the witch's broom. The longer, pliable twigs could be used to bind other materials to the broom handle.

Other plants have been associated with the witches' brooms, including bulrush, mullein and even corn stalks, if nothing else was available.

Come Fly with me.

As for the actual "flying," we again investigate herbs for some insight. The narcotic and hallucinogenic properties of many herbs served in witchcraft and magic rituals during ancient and medieval times. Many of these herbs became ointments with the addition of melted fat. Rubbed into the skin, ointments would carry the chemical properties of the herbs into the blood stream, causing a variety of physiological effects - irregular heartbeat, tingling, numbness, delirium, mental confusion, weightlessness, and hallucinations. These effects would create the feeling of flight, especially since the witches would often fast prior to going on their shamanistic journeys to heighten the effects of the herbs they used.

Herbal Fortune telling.

The motivation behind the desire for flight lay in the belief that upon leaving the physical body after death, spirits moved to the astral plane. Witches thought it possible to temporarily depart the body and visit this astral plane when in a trance or sleep-like state. They believed that the astral bodies of both the living (as visitors) and the dead travelled on the same astral plane and so the possibility existed that the two could meet. This was the goal of "flying."

This spirit flight was really a type of divinatory shamanism and is still practiced by many tribal healers such as modern-day shamans and medicine men. Samhain was thought to be one of the best times of the year to practice this type of divination. The boundaries between the world of the living and the world of the dead were thought to be at their weakest during this time. After the effects of the herbs wore off the visions the witches had would be interpreted for clues about what the future held.