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Rowan and Red Thread:
Magic and Witchcraft in Gaelic Cultures

by Annie Loughlin, Treasa Ní Chonchobhair and Kathryn Price NicDhàna
Rowan-tree and red thread

Make the witches tyne their speed.1
In Gaelic cultures there are a number of traditional ways of interacting with the
spirit world. These old ways are still used by modern Gaelic Polytheists to communicate
with the spirits and create change in the world for the benefit of our communities, and can
include charm-working, protective rites, trance-work, various forms of divination, and
rites aimed at gaining inspiration (imbas).2 In modern parlance, some also call these
metaphysical practices, "magical practices" or "working magic." Attempting to change the
world around us via metaphysical means is not necessarily an essential part of Celtic
Reconstructionism (or its subset, Gaelic Polytheism), but these traditional ways can be
enriching for many, no matter the focus or Celtic culture in which the individual might
practice.
There are a variety of traditional terms for these various practices, as used by our
ancestors as well as contemporary Celtic Reconstructionists. However, it seems that there
is a tendency in the Neopagan community for people to lump a lot of these ways together
under the label of "witchcraft." As this article will outline, we believe that such a term is
not appropriate for the majority of these traditional ways, whether historically or within
contemporary Celtic Reconstructionism (CR) or Gaelic Polytheism (GP). This is one of the
many ways in which we differ from most of the wider Neopagan community. 3
1 Tyne = Scots for "lose." Chambers, Popular Rhymes of Scotland, 1870, p328. And from the Borders of Scotland: "Black
luggie, lammer bead, / Rowan-tree and red thread, / Put the witches to their speed!" McNeill gives a slightly
different version (i.e., in Scots): "Rowan tree and red threid / Gar the witches tyne their speed" ( The Silver Bough Vol I,
1957, p78). Gregor has it as "Gars," Gregor, Notes on the Folk-Lore of the North East of Scotland, 1881, p188.
2 NicDhàna et al, The CR FAQ, 2007, p115.
3 Let us define these terms a bit. "Neopagan" means "Modern Pagan," yes, but acceptance of that moniker tends to
carry the assumption that we also share "the attitudes most prevalent in the Neopagan community." While the
current forms of CR and GP are certainly Neopagan in the sense that they are modern traditions informed by ancient
beliefs, they are not Neopagan in the sense of sharing most of the assumptions, values, terminology and practices of
that community. This is not about claiming our traditions are older than anyone else's, only that we do not agree with
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The term "witchcraft" has long had a very specific meaning within Celtic cultures,
and it is one that is wholly negative. 4 Most of the Gaelic magical practices that Neopagans
attempt to include under the "witchcraft" label are not, historically, viewed as witchcraft. 5
Considering all this, we believe that on a very basic level "witchcraft" is simply an
inaccurate and unhelpful term to use for these practices, and to insist on applying such a
term incorrectly is—we believe—both wrong and potentially offensive to those within the
living Celtic cultures who still practice these ways today.
As a result we have decided to outline the issues surrounding witchcraft, magic and
CR, in the hopes of encouraging those who identify as Celtic Reconstructionists and (in
particular) Gaelic Polytheists to consider using more appropriate terminology. Just as
Ásatrú uses terms like seidr or spae for their magical practices, we believe that there are
terms that can better describe the magical practices to be found in CR, and to that end we
will take a look at the different kinds of magic and magic practitioners that can be found in
the sources, and explore the kinds of terminology that might be more appropriate for use.
Before we continue, it should be said that we realise that we have no power to
dictate what people call themselves, and nor would we wish to. Neither do we claim to
speak for the Celtic Reconstructionist or Gaelic Polytheist communities as a whole. This is
merely an essay of opinion backed with evidence and references, and we hope the reader
will follow up those references and draw their own conclusions. We also hope that this
essay will prompt some healthy and respectful discussion in the community.
As practicing Gaelic Polytheists we've decided to concentrate on what we know
best, which is why the remainder of this article will examine witchcraft as seen in Gaelic
cultures—instead of covering all Celtic cultures—and search for more culturally
appropriate labels while (hopefully) debunking some misconceptions. Even so, we believe
that the issues raised here are worth examining within each culture that falls under the
Celtic umbrella, whether Gaulish, Brythonic or Welsh, and so on, and as such this essay
many of the common assumptions and practices of those who consider themselves part of the Neopagan community.
Like other reconstructionist, revivalist and traditional lifeways, we prefer to distance ourselves from the Neopagan
label in order to avoid misunderstandings and misconceptions about what we do and what we stand for.
4 de Blécourt, 'The Witch, Her Victim, The Unwitcher and the Researcher: The Continued Evidence of Traditional
Witchcraft,' in de Blécourt et al, The Atholone History of Witchcraft and Magic, Volume 6: The Twentieth Century, 1999,
p151-152; Kieckhefer, Magic in the Middle Ages, 1989, p10/p194; Black, The Gaelic Otherworld, 2005, p174; MacKenzie,
Gaelic Incantations, Charms, and Blessings of the Hebrides, 1895, p5; Simpson, 'Witches and Witchbusters,' in Folklore, Vol.
107, 1996, p5-18.
5 Hutton, 'Modern Pagan Witchcraft,' in The Atholone History of Witchcraft and Magic, Volume 6: The Twentieth Century ,
1999, p17.
has relevance to the wider Celtic Reconstructionist community as well.
During the course of this essay we will be looking at the kinds of labels that have
historically been used to describe a number of magical or metaphysical practices and
practitioners in Ireland, Scotland and Man, which might offer more appropriate
terminology for Gaelic Polytheists to adopt. We will also look at what labels like
"witchcraft," "witch," and "magic" have meant throughout history, how they might have
changed and been redefined, and what they mean to us as Gaelic Polytheists and religious
reconstructionists today.
Celtic Reconstructionism and "Magick"
"Magick," in the mind of many modern Pagans and occultists, is borne from the
definition given by Aleister Crowley: "The Science and Art of causing Change to occur in
conformity with Will."6 According to this definition, "magick" is a way of acting in
harmony with one's "True Will" and as a means through which one comes to understand
the "Higher Self," and this is achieved by way of a number of practices that have filtered
into many forms of Neopagan traditions in some way or another.
These practices include things like circle casting, invocation, evocation, banishing,
commanding gods and spirits, astral travel, purification and consecration, Eucharistic rites
and sex rites. While they have a rich and complex history in their own right, none of these
things can be said to have much (if anything) to do with Celtic cultures in general. 7 The
basic worldview these practices are rooted in, as well as the philosophy and assumptions
about how one approaches the spirits, and what the role of a spirit-worker is, are often in
direct conflict with traditional Celtic lifeways.8 A very simple example here is the use of an
6 Lewis et al, Handbook of Contemporary Paganism, 2008, p82. Note: Crowley changed the spelling from magic to magick
for Gematrical reasons, and in order to avoid confusion with stage magic. We've decided to keep with his spelling
when referring to the modern, Neopagan view of magick for consistency's sake. Otherwise we will be using the
standard spelling of magic.
7 i.e., We see influences from classical philosophy and Neoplatonism, medieval grimoires, Cabbala, and alchemy, but
none of these things are Celtic.
8 We strongly believe that combining these foreign attitudes with Gaelic traditions is not acceptable. It leads to the
neglect of actual Gaelic traditions, and these mash-ups easily lead to offending the spirits and creating spiritual,
psychological and even physical harm where none was intended. Inevitably there are going to be some gaps in our
knowledge of ancient Celtic lifeways, but (especially for Gaelic Polytheists) we can look to the extant Celtic cultures,
to Celtic ways of listening to the spirits, and to the feedback of trusted community members over decades of practice,
to help inform us. There is plenty that survives; we don't need to mangle our traditions to revive them.
athame (or other kinds of knife) to command gods or spirits, as can be found in some
Neopagan traditions. While the very notion of invoking or commanding deities or spirits
is at odds with the way Celtic cultures interact with the gods, spirits and ancestors on a
very fundamental level, the addition of iron or steel into the equation is even more at
odds. This is especially true in a Gaelic context; in traditional belief, iron (at best) can act as
a deterrent to the gods and spirits, defeating the whole purpose of a ritual that may be
attempting to communicate with them. At worst, it can be an extremely dangerous and
offensive addition to the mix.9
Incorporating Ceremonial Magic or Neopagan practices into a reconstructionist
context can be extremely problematic, then. More than that, however, since Celtic
Reconstructionism is rooted in the historical and surviving traditions of the Celtic cultures
as the basis for our practices, these occult and Neopagan ideas of "magick" are simply not
relevant to us or our worldview, and can undermine the very purpose of
reconstructionism. Aside from the fact that many "magickal" practices contradict our own
values and beliefs, incorporating such non-Celtic practices and beliefs would damage our
work of bringing pre-Christian Celtic ways into our lives in a modern, Celtic spiritual
context. At the most basic level, since Celtic Reconstructionism began as a reaction against
the rampant eclecticism and appropriation that has been so prevalent in the Neopagan
community,10 incorporating modern, eclectic elements that have no relevant cultural roots
into our own practices is completely at odds with our methodology.
As such, our view is that the only metaphysical practices that should be included in
a Celtic Reconstructionist tradition are those found in traditional Celtic cultural attitudes
and beliefs, not eclectic Neopagan or occult ones. 11 At this point, then, we hope it is clear
that we are looking at magical or metaphysical practices and their definitions from a
cultural context, not a Neopagan one.
Historical Witchcraft and Modern Witchcraft
From a historical and traditional perspective the words "witch" and "witchcraft"

11 See footnote #3 for clarification on how we define "Neopagan."
have never had positive connotations—even in cultures that happily include magical
practices and magical practitioners. Even today, "witchcraft" refers to harmful, malicious
magic in the living cultures.12 "Witchcraft" is traditionally seen as a cause of illnesses of
otherwise unexplained origins, bad luck and misfortune, miscarriage, the failure of crops
or equipment, the failure of cows to give milk or for butter to come during churning, and
poor catches for fishermen and hunters. Witches might also raise storms and cause ships
to sink, or do harm to travellers.13
The word "witch" as understood and used by many of today's Neopagans,
however, is much different. In this context, witchcraft tends to encompass a variety of
magical practices, regardless of whether or not they are seen as malicious. On the one
hand, this has largely been influenced by Christianity, which has had an increasing
tendency to conflate any magical practices under the heading of witchcraft, 14 and is
something that has filtered into intellectual and academic work. The Neopagan view of
witchcraft has also been especially influenced by the work of Margaret Murray and her
proposal that the witch trials of the Middle Ages and beyond were nothing to do with
Devil worshippers, as they were traditionally seen at this time, and instead argued that
those who were persecuted as witches were in fact adherents of a pre-Christian religion. 15
Her ideas were controversial in certain quarters from the outset, but Gerald Gardner, for
one, was inspired and influenced by her ideas (even collaborating with her to present a
paper on the surviving relics of witchcraft to the Folk-Lore Society in 1939). 16 Not
surprisingly, then, Gardner's conception of Wicca was based on the idea that witches were
part of a much maligned and misunderstood Pagan religion that had ancient roots. To
him, "reclaiming" the word witch made perfect sense, and since then, many Neopagans
have followed suit, both within the many different Wiccan traditions and outside of it in
other traditions of Witchcraft and Neopaganism.
Today's Neopagan concept of witchcraft has therefore been redefined from its
12 de Blécourt, 'The Witch, Her Victim, The Unwitcher and the Researcher: The Continued Evidence of Traditional
Witchcraft,' in de Blécourt et al, The Atholone History of Witchcraft and Magic, Volume 6: The Twentieth Century, 1999,
p151-152; Kieckhefer, Magic in the Middle Ages, 1989, p10/p194; Black, The Gaelic Otherworld, 2005, p174; MacKenzie,
Gaelic Incantations, Charms, and Blessings of the Hebrides, 1895, p5.
13 Ibid.
14 Although this has by no means always been the case, as we will see.
15 Davies, 'Witchcraft: The Spell That Didn't Break,' originally printed in History Today, August 1999, p7-13.
16 Hutton, 'Modern Pagan Witchcraft,' in de Blécourt et al, The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume
6: The Twentieth Century, 1999, p43.
original context. While most Neopagans today accept that Wicca is not the ancient
tradition that Gardner promoted it as, "witchcraft" is a term that is still used to refer to a
variety of thoroughly modern practices—whether in a Pagan, religious context or as an
entirely secular practice—which often incorporate (to some degree) magical practices that
have been found in historical sources—the latter of which were never considered to be
"witchcraft" by those who originally engaged in such practices. 17
While witches are traditionally defined solely by their harmful nature regardless of
their degree of skill or expertise, there are different terms used to define different kinds of
wise-men, wise-women, healers, and charmers. These terms depend on the kind of
services and degree of skill they can offer, although in general they all served similar
functions; along with removing bewitchments (and identifying the bewitcher) wise-men
and wise-women also often worked as healers, being sought out when all medical avenues
had failed to yield any cure, and might also have specialised in divination, love charms,
and the removal of the Evil Eye (which may or may not have been the result of a witch). 18
Some, however, might concentrate on a few different areas, like divination and love
charms, or offer simple healing services. 19 These people were—and still are—diametrically
opposed to witches, although depending on their behaviour and standing in their
community, they might gain a reputation for witchcraft themselves if they upset the
wrong person or choose to engage in harmful magic.
The belief in witchcraft as a wholly negative, malicious force is still pervasive in
Gaelic-speaking areas today (and beyond), 20 though it is not something that is publicly or
openly talked about very often. In modern Scotland for example, new houses or housing
estates often have rowan saplings planted, not only because they are fast-growing trees,
17 See Hutton, 'Modern Pagan Witchcraft,' in de Blécourt et al, The Atholone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe,
Volume 6: The Twentieth Century, 1999, p17; de Blécourt, 'The Witch, Her Victim, the Unwitcher and the Researcher:
The Continued Existence of Traditional Witchcraft,' in de Blécourt et al, The Atholone History of Witchcraft and Magic in
Europe, Volume 6: The Twentieth Century, 1999, p151-152.
18 Schmitz, 'An Irish Wise Woman: Fact and Legend,' in Journal of the Folklore Institute, Vol. 14, No. 3, 1977, p175.
19 MacInnes, 'Traditional Belief in Gaelic Society,' in Henderson (Ed.), Fantastical Imaginations: The Supernatural in
Scottish History and Culture, 2009, p191; Davies, Witchcraft, Magic and Culture 1736-1951, 1999, p218-p219; Ó
Crualaoich, The Book of the Cailleach: Stories of the Wise-Woman Healer, 2003, p71-72; Ó Crualaoich, 'Reading the Bean
Feasa,' in Folklore, Vol. 116, No. 1, 2005, p37; Davies, 'A Comparative Perspective on Scottish Cunning-Folk and
Charmers,' in Goodare (Ed.), The Scottish Witch-hunt in Context, 2002, p186-187; Black, The Gaelic Otherworld, 2005,
p200; Jenkins, 'Witches and Fairies: Supernatural Aggression and Deviance Among the Irish Peasantry,' in Narvaez
(Ed.), The Good People: New Fairylore Essays, 1997, p320-321; Moore, The Folklore of the Isle of Man, 1891, p78-79.
Scottish History and Culture, 2009, p188.
but because they are a traditional feature, said to keep the witches away. 21 This common
folk practice is not based in Christian belief, but rather in the belief of the common people
that it is good to keep malevolent people away. Stories of powerful and damaging curses
from witches affecting the fortunes of towns also persist in some places, although again,
people tend to be circumspect about the effects these curses might have, even as steps are
taken to prevent the curse being fulfilled.22
Magic in Ireland: Fisidecht, Filidecht, is Druidecht
While many Neopagans tend to lump diverse magical practices under the simple
heading of "witchcraft," if we look at how magic has been viewed historically, we see a
different picture, all the way from the earliest sources up until the present. The early
medieval Irish made distinctions between different vocations or skills that involved
magical practices, and also had all kinds of different words for different kinds of magic.
Just across the Irish Sea, we can find plenty of evidence to see that the Anglo-Saxons did
too,23 so the Irish aren't unique or special in this. It all adds up to suggest that these
different words and their very specific meanings were important in defining who you
were and what you did, and as reconstructionists this is perhaps a point that needs to be
considered carefully. If we are to reconstruct religious, spiritual and indeed "magical"
practices then should we not also respect the historically-attested definitions and labels for
the people who practiced these different vocations?
In the earliest written sources, the druids are called druí in Irish, or magi in Hiberno-
Latin.24 The use of the word magi was deliberate on the part of the Christian monks who
Scottish History and Culture, 2009, p188; Bennett, 'Stories of the Supernatural: From Local Memorate to Scottish
Legend,' in Henderson (Ed.), Fantastical Imaginations: The Supernatural in Scottish History and Culture, 2009, p79; Ross,
Folklore of the Scottish Highlands, 1976, p65.
22 The Paisley Curse, for example.
23 Anglo-Saxon terms include scinn-craeft ("magic skill"), galdor-craeft ("skill at enchanting"), lyb-lac and lyb-craeft
(referring to drug-based magic), wigle and wiglung ("divination"), wiccecraeft and wiccedom ("witchery"), bealocraeft
("evil art"), tunglocraeft ("starskill"—astrology and astronomy), only some of which imply ill-intent or wrong-doing.
See Griffiths, Aspects of Anglo-Saxon Magic, 1996, p89. The word "witch" itself has its origins in the Old English word
wicce ("female magician; sorceress"—male version being wicca). Etymology Online; Griffiths, Aspects of Anglo-Saxon
Magic, 1996, p108.
24 The kind of Latin used by the ecclesiastical Irish; as a common language in the Church, early ecclesiastical writings
often favoured Latin, allowing a wider circulation within the Church in general. "Hiberno-Latin" is called such
because the early medieval Irish developed a distinctive form of Latin that incorporated certain Latinised Hebrew,
Greek and Irish words.
recorded these tales, in order to to associate the druids with the pagan Magi of the Bible.
The Magi of the Bible were seen as astrologers and sorcerers who harmed others with
magic, so it was a not so subtle comparison, and it allowed the early Irish scribes to
portray the druids in somewhat Biblical (and negative) terms when it suited them. 25
In Old Irish, the art (including magic) of the druids is druidecht,26 and the literature
shows them to be magicians first and foremost. 27 In the surviving tales they are seen
performing all kinds of magic and divination (such as néldoracht or "cloud-divination").28 A
seer, who may or may not have been a druid, is called a fáith or fisid. Fisidecht refers to skill
in occult knowledge,29 and the word for physician (or "leech"), fáithliaig, indicates the
metaphysical roots of healing, since the first element of the word is fáith ("seer").30 The
word fáithliaig is especially used in early Irish literature, where the magical skills of
physicians are more pronounced—like Dian Cecht's fashioning of a silver hand for Nuadu,
which worked just like a normal hand only of metal, 31 or his son and daughter reviving the
dead by throwing them in a well and chanting spells over them. 32
Many of these words associate magic and divination with each other, which is
sensible enough when we consider the supernatural nature of both arts. The filid are the
poets, whose art is referred to as filidecht. Originally, in pre-Christian times, it is likely that
they served as prophets or seers, since fili is thought to have originally meant "seer;
diviner."33 The source of their art is imbas forosnai, or "great knowledge which kindles," 34
and the word imbas can refer to "magical lore," or knowledge gained by magical means. 35
As such, their role can be seen to be rooted in the metaphysical as well.
Closely related to the poet is the satirist, or cáinte (although any poet could perform
satire, the cáinte specialised in it) whose satire could take on magical overtones. There
25 The Irish were also influenced by the sixth century Spanish Archbishop Isidore of Seville, who wrote of the Magi:
"Magi are those commonly termed 'sorcerers' on account of the magnitude of their crimes. They agitate the elements,
derange people's minds, and without any draught of poison they cause death by the mere virulence of a spell [or
'poem']." See Williams, Fiery Shapes: Celestial Portents and Astrology in Ireland and Wales, 700-1700, 2010, p49-50.
26 See eDIL.
27 Whether this was based on reality, or played up for literary purposes, is a different matter. See: Williams, Fiery
Shapes: Celestial Portents and Astrology in Ireland and Wales, 700-1700, 2010, p36.
28 Williams, Fiery Shapes: Celestial Portents and Astrology in Ireland and Wales, 700-1700, 2010, p34.
29 See eDIL.
30 Ibid.
31 eDIL; Cath Maige Tuired.
32 Bitel, Land of Women: Tales of Sex and Gender from Early Ireland, 1996, p217.
33 See eDIL.
34 McCone, Pagan Past and Christian Present in Early Irish Literature, 1990, p169.
35 "Hence : imbas forosna(i) (lit. knowledge which illuminates) a special gift of clairvoyance or prophetic knowledge
supposed to be possessed by poets in ancient Ireland." See eDIL.
were seven different kinds of satire, 36 depending on its nature and intent, and they include
such things as tamall molta, "a slight bit of praise," which takes the form of a praise poem so
generic and lacklustre that it can only be seen to be an insult on whomever it is aimed at. 37
Another form is dallbach becthuinedhe, "lightly-established innuendo," which does not
explicitly name the intended victim, but gives enough clues to make people talk. 38 These
forms of satire are not seen as inherently magical, but nonetheless in some cases they
could only be truly effective if performed at certain times of the month, or over a
prescribed length of time. Of them all, however, it is the glam dícenn which is described as
being magical, and descriptions of the accompanying ritual suggest that it was very
similar to the cursing ceremony of corrguinecht.39 Satire has long been a powerful and
fearsome tool in Ireland, and according to the early Irish sources it was believed that it
could cause blemishes to appear on the victim's face, or even kill, resulting in some
sources describing the effects of satire as "magical wounding." 40 This practice of "rhyming
to death" was also used in rat or mice satires—charms which employed satire to get rid of
rodent infestations, a skill commonly associated with Irish poets from the sixteenth
century onwards.41 Examples of these satires can also be found in Scotland. 42
Other types of magic include muirgeintlecht ("sea-magic"),43 gesadóirecht ("sorcery,
divination"),44 and fithnasacht, the meaning of which is unclear but appears to refer to a
kind of sorcery.45 Then there is corrguinecht ("crane magic," possibly referring to the one-
legged stance that is taken in performing it), which encompasses a variety of supernatural
actions, including casting illusions, some forms of satire, divination, and supernatural
attacks.46
Battle magic is also something that is found in the myths, with the Morrígan
pledging her magical skill to help the Tuatha Dé Danann against the Fomorians in Cath
36 Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law, 1988, p137; 343.

37 Stacey, Dark Speech: The Performance of Law in Early Ireland, 2007, p109.
38 A famous example goes: "Atá bean as tír – ni h-abar a h-ainm; maighidh esdi a delm amal cloich a tailm . - There is a woman
from the country – I do not say her name; Her fart breaks from her like a stone from a sling." Stacey, Dark Speech: The
Performance of Law in Early Ireland, 2007, p112.
39 Stacey, Dark Speech: The Performance of Law in Early Ireland, 2007, p110.
40 Ibid.
41 Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law, 1988, p44.
42 Black, The Gaelic Otherworld, 2005, p122-123.
43 See eDIL.
44 Ibid.
45 Duffy, Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia, 2005, p519.
46 Borsje and Kelly, 'The Evil Eye' in Early Irish Literature and Law,' in Celtica Volume 24, 2003, p23-25.
Maige Tuired ("The Second Battle of Mag Tured"), and in Cét-Chath Maige Tuired ("The First
Battle of Mag Tured") we see Badb, Macha and the Morrígan sending forth "magic
showers of sorcery and compact clouds of mist and a furious rain of fire, with a downpour
of red blood from the air on the warriors' heads; and they allowed the Fir Bolg neither rest
nor stay for three days and nights."47
The magical practices that we have looked at so far refer to a variety of different
vocations and skills, mastered by different kinds of people. This shows that the practice of
magic itself was at one time a deeply ingrained part of Irish society, and wasn't limited to
just druids, or even "witches" (who don't feature prominently in our early sources at all).
This makes it very difficult to see how such practices could possibly be lumped under one
heading, mixed together and mashed up without regard to their historical context and
simply labelled "witchcraft." By ignoring the historical context and the subtle differences
of what these practices are really about, a cultural qualifier can hardly be justified: when
such things as "Irish witchcraft" (as it might be called today) never involved these
practices, is it really "Irish," let alone "witchcraft"?
Having now looked at just some of the different forms of historically-attested
magic, and who was practicing them, the next part of this essay will take a look at the
evidence of how witches have been seen historically.
Witchcraft in Ireland
What we know of magic and witchcraft comes to us from sources that span from as
early as the fifth century C.E. to the present day. It's important to remember that these
sources are all very much a product of their time, and what we find in them is inevitably
going to be influenced by the different ideas and attitudes that were prevalent depending
on the period. This has to be taken into account when we look at evidence of beliefs and
attitudes as far as the practice of magic is concerned, because at the very least we have to
consider why the sources might say what they're saying. On the one hand we might be
seeing genuine evidence of native belief and practice, or else we might be seeing attitudes
that are the product of Christianity and an attempt to deliberately skew the picture for
47 The Battle of Moytura.
religious purposes. In some cases, things might not be so clear-cut as being one or the
other...
From the early medieval period onwards there are three different waves or phases
that affected attitudes towards magic and witchcraft, from the earliest sources we have to
hand through to the late fourteenth- to early fifteenth-centuries. 48 In the first wave we have
the very earliest sources that were written at a time when pre-Christian beliefs existed
side-by-side with Christian beliefs. During this time it wasn't uncommon to find that
older, pre-Christian beliefs and practices were adopted or adapted into a nominally
Christian way of life, and so in these early sources we might find prayers and liturgy or
practices that seem to be very magical in feel and appearance. The ninth century Stowe
Missal, for example, contains liturgy on the Mass and Baptism, for example, but also three
healing charms.49 Two other healing charms, thought to date to the eighth or ninth
centuries, call on Irish deities—Goibniu and Dian Cecht respectively—to cure a variety of
ailments,50 the style and form of which echo the Stowe Missal charms, as well as a charm
for staunching blood that has been preserved in a fifteenth century manuscript. 51 Dian
Cécht also gave his name to an eighth century legal tract, Bretha Déin Chécht, that covered
the kinds of obligations and rights as far as the sick, and those who had to care for them,
were concerned.52
These references to gods may seem to be at odds with Christian thinking. Certainly
they seem that way to us now, but as far as the people who recorded such charms and
called on the names of deities like Dian Cécht in order to lend authority to legal tracts,
they were simply effective ways of healing and helping. But while these sources show us
that the use of charms was accepted in this period (otherwise, why record them and
advocate their use?), other ecclesiastical sources like penitentials and saints' lives
consistently portray magic as evil and destructive. 53 It is magic that does not help, or that
48 Jolly, 'Medieval Magic: Definitions, Beliefs, Practices', in The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume
3: The Middle Ages, 2002, p13.
49 Stokes and Strachan, Thesaurus Paleohibernicus Volume II, 1903, p250-251; One of which has been recently translated.
50 The charm to Dian Cecht accompanies the application of a salve and goes: “I save the dead-alive. Against eructation,
against spear-thong (amentum), against sudden tumour, against bleedings caused by iron, against ...which fire burns,
against ...which a dog eats, ...that withers: three nuts that ... three sinews that weave' (?). I strike its disease, I
vanquish blood... : let it not be a chronic tumour. Whole be that whereon it (Diancecht's salve) goes. I put my trust in
the salve which Diancecht left with his family that whole may be that whereon it goes.” Stokes and Strachan,
Thesaurus Paleohibernicus Volume II, 1903, p248-249.
51 Stifter, 'A Charm for Staunching Blood,' in Celtica Volume 25, 2007, p251.
52 Kelly, 'Medicine and Early Irish Law,' in Irish Journal of Medical Science Volume 170, Number 1, 2001, p73.
53 Duffy (Ed.), Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia, 2005, p519.
is seen to be outwith the realm of God that is condemned in these sources, and one of our
earliest sources even condemns the very belief in witches:
A Christian who believes that there is such a thing in the world as a lamia,
that is to say a witch (striga), is to be anathematised—anyone who puts a
living soul under such a reputation; and he must not be received again
into the Church before he has undone by his own word the crime that he
has committed, and so does penance with all diligence.54
This is a rare early mention of witchcraft in explicit terms (although the word lamia
can also be interpreted as meaning "vampire"), 55 though the early ecclesiastical sources
also contain plenty of disapproving references to the magic of women, druids or magical
practice in general. According to this text, a Christian should not condone paganism or
magical practice, and the two are often seen to go hand in hand—the Old Irish word for
paganism itself, gentlidecht, has a secondary meaning of "heathen magic," suggesting that
magical practices were commonly associated with non-Christians. 56 The famous prayer
attributed to St Patrick, The Deer's Cry, asks for protection against 'the black laws of
paganism,' as well as the spells of druids, blacksmiths, and women:
Tocuiriur etrum inna huli nert so fri cech nert namnas nétrocar fristái dom churp
ocus domum anmain,
fri tinchetla sáibfáthe,
fri dubrechtu gentliuchtae,
fri sáibrechtu heretecdae,
fri himcellacht nidlachtae,
fri brichtu ban & gobann & druad,
fri cech fiss arachuiliu corp & anmain duini...
I summon today all those powers between me and every cruel, merciless
power that may oppose my body and my soul,
against the incantations of false prophets,
against black laws of paganism,
against the false laws of heresy,
against the deceit of idolatry,
against the spells of women and smiths and druids,
against every evil knowledge that is forbidden man's body and soul...57
54 From 'The First Synod of St Patrick,' which is thought to date to around 457C.E. Borsje, 'Love Magic in Medieval Irish
Penitentials, Law and Literature: A Dynamic Perspective,' in Studia Neophilologica, 2012, p1.
56 The word gentlidecht itself is clearly derived from the same root as "gentile," showing that it is not a native word, and
one that came into Irish from Christian influence. See eDIL.
57 Mees, Celtic Curses, 2009, p127. See also Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law, 1988, p60.
It can hardly be a coincidence that all of the things mentioned here are ones that are
considered to be the greatest threats against Christian teachings: pagans, smiths (whose art
was heavily rooted in magical, Otherworldly beliefs), and women who might lead godly
men away from their calling (and away from celibacy). However, it's also worth noting
that Patrick's use of the term bríchtu ban ("the spells of women") echoes a much earlier
example of an incantation found at a Gaulish site, which contains the phrase briamon
b[r]ictom.58 This may be a coincidence, or else evidence that such magical threats, and the
prayers of protection against them, are a deeply ingrained part of Celtic society from the
pre-Christian past as much as the Christian present of The Deer's Cry itself.59
The penitentials and letters of Patrick, the laws and saints lives, and so on, may
contain genuine snippets of magical belief and practice in Irish tradition, which make
them incredibly important for us to sift through. However, they are also firmly rooted in
Christian thinking and learning, and as such they particularly reference attitudes and
ideas towards magic that were prevalent in the wider Church, and which had filtered into
Christianity from Roman thinking;60 Roman law of the period condemned the practice of
magic, especially magic performed by practitioners on behalf of a client. 61 All of this is
reflected in the kinds of magic, and practitioners of magic, that are condemned in early
Irish Christian sources. By far, the majority of penitentials and legal texts refer to the magic
of women as the greatest problem, and go so far as to define magic as being that which
might involve taking magic potions, making charms to cause abortions, killing love rivals,
or performing love magic to break up a marriage or influence a man's lust—in the sense of
causing impotence or perhaps inflaming passions in order to encourage adultery. 62 As
with the laws, like the seventh century Cáin Adomnáin ("Law of Adomnán," also known as
the "Law of the Innocents") which legislated against the the killing of women by charms or
spells (epthai), the penitentials encouraged the marginalising of those who would use
harmful magic, or maleficium,63 by stripping the individual of their status and position in
58 Mees, Celtic Curses, 2009, p127.

59 Bitel, Land of Women: Tales of Sex and Gender from Early Ireland, 1996, p220; Mees, Celtic Curses, 2009, p127.
60 Jolly, The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe Volume 3: The Middle Ages, 2002, p15.
61 Peters, 'Medieval Church and State on Superstition, Magic and Witchcraft: From Augustine to the Sixteenth Century,'
in The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume 3: The Middle Ages, 2002, p179.
62 See for example Borsje, 'Rules and Legislation on Love Charms in Early Medieval Ireland,' in Peritia 21, 2010; Bitel,
Land of Women: Tales of Sex and Gender from Early Ireland, 1996, p219.
63 "The term maleficium designated what we term some kinds of "magic" and all kinds of "witchcraft" down to the end of
their community.64 These types of magical practices were singled out in particular because
"They subversively aimed the devious weapon of spells and potions at the patrilineal kin
group, the community, and all orderly, congenial gender relations." 65
Along with the healing charms discussed already there are the many examples of
"magical" miracles performed by great Irish saints in their hagiographies, or saint's lives,
which detail the many feats the saints performed that resulted in their sainthood and
power. The saints are often seen countering the magical attacks of druids, with fire
spurting from their fingertips, curses abounding, and calling on God's power to defeat the
pagans; with righteousness on their side, the magic of the saints was seen as superior and
more powerful.66 While the magic of the druids is seen to be pagan, it is not something that
Christian writers could condone; the magic of the druids did not call on God, even if it
didn't explicitly call on gods either. The druid's purpose and power was not rooted in
Christianity.67 Even so, the lines between magic and God's will ("miracles" performed by
"saints") remained blurry, and it is often difficult to distinguish between the two. 68
It is between the two ends of this spectrum—druids versus saints, the folk magic of
the common people versus the teachings of the Church—that we find the surviving folk
beliefs and practices. In this place live magical ways such as the charms used for
protection and healing, and prayers for justice and victory, which have long occupied an
uncomfortable and slightly murky space between acceptable and unacceptable, Christian
and pagan, witch and wise-woman (or wise-man): Although the practice of magic has
never been entirely acceptable in the Church, the definition of what magic actually is has
always been somewhat blurry and fluid, allowing a sort of grey space in which all kinds of
magical practices might exist and survive. As we've already seen there has long been a
magical element to the art of healing (and by extension, the skill of the physician), and
before a modern understanding of medicine, many remedies and treatments were little
more than what we would consider charms or spells.
During the "first wave" we've been discussing, when Christian and pre-Christian
the eighteenth century. Peters, 'Medieval Church and State on Superstition, Magic and Witchcraft: From Augustine to
the Sixteenth Century,' in The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume 3: The Middle Ages, 2002, p181.
66 Kieckhefer, Magic in the Middle Ages, 1989, p54; Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law, 1988, p60-61.
67 Kieckhefer, Magic in the Middle Ages, 1989, p54; Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law, 1988, p15.
68 Ibid.
existed side-by-side, healing charms were seen as legitimate and acceptable practices. All
this began to change from the twelfth century onwards when our "second wave" began
and saw an increasingly intellectual and analytical attitude towards magic take hold in the
Church and spreading into Irish society in general. The charms and salves that were once
seen as being effective came to be seen as "low magic," associated with heresy and
ignorant superstition.69 This did not stop them from being used or recorded (the charm for
staunching blood, above, being an example), but alongside this, "high magics" became de
rigeur amongst the learned classes, largely influenced by Arabic and Jewish sources, as
well as looking back to Classical natural philosophy. 70 In this sense, native practices were
frowned upon, but more exotic forms of magic from sources that were seen to be
intellectually superior, were acceptable.
Moving into the "third wave" of changing attitudes towards magic, from around the
late fourteenth-century onwards we see the kind of attitudes emerge that we are most
familiar with today. Although Ireland was never particularly enthusiastic about the
persecution of witches (Ireland produced very few trials, and even then they only took
place in Protestant areas, i.e., those largely populated by English or Scottish settlers 71),
unlike much of the rest of Europe, that is not to say that it remained immune to the kind of
beliefs that took hold among Europeans elsewhere, with a view of magic being the
product of organised and demonic sects who specialised in the practice of witchcraft,
necromancy and general sorcery.72 The idea of a demonic influence in magic was not new
in the fourteenth century73 and it is in this light that we see magic being shown as far as
our sources—the myths in particular—go, and one that we should consider when looking
at the kind of terminology being used in them.
Although the early ecclesiastical sources do mention witches (lamia, or striga as
we've seen in the example from The First Synod of St Patrick given above), the fact is that
witchcraft is not something that features massively in any of the early Irish sources. Most
3: The Middle Ages, 2002, p21-22.
71 Gijswijt-Hofstra, 'Witchcraft After the Witch-Trials,' in The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume 5:
The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, 1999, p142.
often it is the druids who are shown to have vast magical powers and are most commonly
seen to exercise their arts,74 or otherwise it is the gods and folk from the síde, the
Otherworldly mounds that dot the Irish landscape. Where witchcraft is mentioned at all it
is mostly in association with druidic magic or "supernatural women," and always with the
negative overtones common to ecclesiastical sources. The description of the Tuatha Dé
Danann's skills in the magical arts in Cath Maige Tuired (or CMT, "The Second Battle of
Mag Tured"), for example, reads like the author looked at a thesaurus and put together as
many words as they could possibly think of to show how much they disapprove of magic:
"The Tuatha De Danann were in the northern islands of the world,

studying occult lore and sorcery, druidic arts and witchcraft and magical
skill, until they surpassed the sages of the pagan arts. They studied occult
lore and secret knowledge and diabolic arts in four cities: Falias, Gorias,
Murias, and Findias."75
Magic here is emphatically associated with both diabolical (demonic) and pagan
arts—typical of Christian writers, as we've seen—and throughout the text the words
describing magical arts are ones that are thoroughly negative in nature. Two women in
CMT, Be Chuille and Dianann, are referred to explicitly as witches, ban-tuathaig, while the
Dagda's arts are referred to as amaidichtai, "witchcraft, evil influence."76 The conscious
association of such practices with paganism, magic and evil-doing can therefore only be
seen as a deliberate choice of wording by a Christian writer wishing to disparage such arts
that could not possibly be condoned in a Christian context.
In Aided Chrimthainn maic Fidaig ("The Death of Crimthann") the queen Mongfind is
called a witch, and is responsible for the death of her brother and ultimately herself—a
casualty of her scheming to get her own son on the throne. From her appearances here and
in other tales, her character shows clear elements of having originally been a sovereignty
goddess. As a goddess Mongfind should have chosen her king, her consort, after he had
shown himself to be worthy of being elevated to such a status. Should the king show
himself to be unfit for the role—by failing to show good judgement, generosity, or courage
—the goddess had every right to withdraw her support for her consort. In most cases this
74 Williams, Fiery Shapes: Celestial Portents and Astrology in Ireland and Wales, 700-1700, 2010, p36.
75 Cath Maige Tuired, lines 1-2.
76 See lines 116 and 119 of Stokes' The Second Battle of Moytura; c.f. eDIL.
would result in the death of the king, enabling the goddess to choose a better candidate for
the role. During the inauguration rite of a king, he would receive a cup of mead from a
woman, a symbol of the king's marriage to the sovereignty and the land. The poisoned cup
Mongfind gives to her brother would ordinarily be a symbol of the sovereignty
withdrawing her favour, and his kingship, 77 but here it is nothing more than a symbol of
Mongfind's evil scheming for her own son's sake, her own selfish means. She is explicitly
referred to as a witch:
Moingfinn aidche samna;... conid do garar féil Moingfinne frisin samain ocon
daescarshluag, ár ba chumhachtach side 7 bantuathaid... conid de cuindgit mná 7
daescarsluag itcheda aidchi samna fuirri...78
"Mongfind dies on Samain Eve... so it is from this that Samain is called the
Feast of Mongfind by the common folk, for she was powerful and a
witch... therefore women and common folk request Samain Eve boons of
her..."79
In the context of the tale, Mongfind may indeed be termed a "witch," but her
portrayal and the choice of wording to describe her goes beyond a simple tale of evil
scheming and could be seen as a deliberate attempt to undermine her divine roots. 80
Whereas here it is said she is appealed to by "the common folk" as a witch, it may be that
she was originally appealed to as a deity. Like the word gentlidecht, magic and Mongfind's
divine, pagan roots are brought together into one bundle, underlined by the fact that she is
said to have been worshipped at Samhain, a time traditionally seen as particularly ripe
with supernatural threats and dangers. 81 In this sense, the word "witch" is a weapon, a
careful choice of vocabulary to degrade and subvert the divine nature of a goddess to
something evil and demonic.
The tale appears in a fourteenth century manuscript and seems to reference genuine
folk practice of the time; 82 however, the date may also be significant because it coincides
77 Nikolaeva, 'The Drink of Death,' in Studia Celtic XXXV, 2001, p300.
78 See eDIL.
79 Translation by Dennis King, www.sengoidelic.com
80 "We can note that in the original Irish this 'Death' is rendered as Aided, a technical literary term meaning 'Violent
Death'. The violence involved here is, on the surface of the story, the violence of the self-administration of the poison,
but it is also, surely, the violence of the smashing of the status and power of the autonomous, sovereign female and
the violence of her ignominious displacement and degrading - in patriarchal narrative eyes - to the rank of a 'banshee'
and a witch." Ó Crualaoich, The Book of the Cailleach: Stories of the Wise-Woman Healer, 2003, p46.
81 Rees, Celtic Heritage: Ancient Tradition in Ireland and Wales, 1989, p91; McNeill, Hallowe'en: Its Origins, Rites and
Ceremonies in the Scottish Tradition, p29.
82 Ó Crualaoich, The Book of the Cailleach: Stories of the Wise-Woman Healer, 2003, p47.
with the early days of the witch hunts in Europe, the "third wave" of evolving attitudes
towards magic when it was seen in an almost entirely negative light and women in
particular were frowned upon for acting under their own agency. Although Ireland was
never as enthusiastic about the witch hunts as many other parts of Europe were, it does
have the dubious honour of being host to one of the earliest witch trials: in the fourteenth
century.83 It was at this time that tales of the evil and sinful nature of magic reached their
height;84 clearly there was some concern about witchcraft at the time Mongfind's story was
written down.
Mongfind isn't the only example of a goddess-turned-witch. In some cases, the very
name or title of a formerly-revered goddess or spirit woman has been co-opted as a
general term for "witch." Perhaps the most common word in the Irish language to be
translated into English as "witch" is cailleach, but this definition for the word is a very late
addition to its associations. Cailleach has its origins in the Latin word, pallium, meaning
"veil," and from this, cailleach originally meant "veiled one." 85 It primarily referred to a
nun, but it soon developed to refer to any woman who was no longer sexually active and
could no longer bear any children. From this, cailleach came to refer to old women or hags
as well, and by extension—given their peripheral role in society and the often ambivalent
attitude towards them—the word eventually (only in modern Irish) picked up the
additional associations of referring to a supernatural being or witch. 86
The fact that age is often a key factor in identifying a witch is significant here, and
gives a good reason for cailleach having been appropriated to refer to witches. On the one
hand, age infers experience and wisdom, and those who worked magic and made charms
were often called "wise-women" in deference to their skill and specialist knowledge. In
wielding such power, the wise-woman might sometimes be viewed with a certain amount
of suspicion; while she (and her male counterparts) might always use her skills to do good,
83 Burns, Witch Hunts in Europe and America: An Encyclopaedia, 2003, pp160-161. In spite of the fact that this took place in
Ireland, the woman accused, Alice Kyetler, was herself of Flemish descent. She was accused by Bishop Richard de
Ledrede of Ossory, a Franciscan who was trained in France before his return to settle into ecclesiastical life in Ireland.
In addition to being one of the earliest trials recorded in Europe, it is also one of the few examples of a witch trial in
Ireland perpetrated by a Catholic. The rest are recorded in Protestant areas. See also: Cawthorne, Witch Hunt: History
of a Persecutions, 2003, pp223-227.
84 Borsje, 'Love Magic in Medieval Irish Penitentials, Law and Literature: A Dynamic Perspective,' in Studia
Neophilologica, 2012, p1.
85 Ó Crualaoich, The Book of the Cailleach: Stories of the Wise-Woman Healer, 2003, p81.
86 ní Dhonnchadha, 'Cailleach and Other Terms for Veiled Women in Medieval Irish Texts,' in Éigse 28, 1971, p93-94; Ó
Crualaoich, The Book of the Cailleach: Stories of the Wise-Woman Healer, 2003, p81-82; Bitel, Land of Women: Tales of Sex
and Gender from Early Ireland, 1996, p221.
some people may fear that she could switch sides and choose to do the opposite. On the
other hand, the word cailleach refers to women who are different in some way, occupying a
somewhat peripheral or abnormal status in society—the nun, the old woman or hag, and
so on. Normally women were expected to get married and have children, but a nun
dedicated herself to God and was symbolically married to him, choosing to live a celibate
life and not have children. In doing so, the nun effectively placed herself outside of the
norms of society—infertile by choice, just as the old woman or hag is infertile by
circumstance—but she also attained at least some level of power through her involvement
in the Church, in a society that was otherwise heavily weighted against women. 87 These
women—childless, widowed, old, or simply independent; on the periphery—were exactly
the kind of people who were most likely to be accused of witchcraft. 88
As such, cailleach is a word that can refer to a variety of beings and supernatural
figures, in addition to the more mundane associations with old women or nuns. As well as
Cailleach Bhéarra—the goddess who laments her old age, having abandoned her pagan
ways and taken up the veil of a nun89—and her many counterparts of a similar epithet,
who are associated with many different geographical features of Ireland, Scotland and the
Isle of Man (often as the creators of these landscapes), cailleach can also refer to a number
of revered supernatural women who play a key role in the folklore and mythology of the
Gaelic-speaking regions. In folkloric usage, we also find the word attached to terms like
cailleach feasa ("wise woman; fortune-teller"—see below), cailleach phiseogach ("sorceress;
charm-worker"—a disparaging epithet given to Queen Elizabeth I 90) and cailleach na gcearc
("the hen hag"). However, all three of these idioms have also been used to mean "witch."
During the height of the witch persecutions across Europe, it was old women—
especially those who had never had children, or were now widowed and alone, or lived
on the outskirts of a village or somewhere quite isolated—who were often the first to come
under suspicion of witchcraft when things went wrong and a cause and culprit was
looked for,91 and cailleach came to be the perfect choice for its connotations of supernatural
88 Gijswijt-Hofstra, 'Witchcraft After the Witch-Trials,' in The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume 5:
The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, 1999, p143.
89 Murphy, Early Irish Lyrics, 1956, p74-83.
90 Highley, Shakespeare, Spenser, and the Crisis in Ireland, 1997, p200.
91 Jenkins, 'Witches and Fairies: Supernatural Aggression and Deviance Among the Irish Peasantry,' in Narváez (Ed.),
The Good People: New Fairylore Essays, 1997, p327.
hag, or goddess in her destructive form. 92 In a modern polytheistic context, we would
argue that cailleach is therefore not an appropriate term to describe a magical practitioner,
because aside from its somewhat misogynistic roots, it is hardly respectful to the Cailleach
herself, or to the Cailleachan (the hags as a group).
Badhbh is another word that can be used to refer to a witch, and like cailleach it is a
word that can also refer to a number of supernatural beings (such as battle furies and the
banshee) or a goddess.93 The word badb—the earlier, Old Irish spelling of badhbh—can be
defined primarily as "scald-crow," describing the form the Badb takes on the battle-field.
In many tales Badb, or her battle furies (collectively known as badba) is shown in the form
of a crow, prophesying or heralding death, or coming to claim the dead. 94 Given these
associations it's not surprising that the word can also mean "deadly, fatal, dangerous, ill-
fated,"95 and over time the word evolved to emphasise the gorier aspects and elements of
the Badb and her furies, and eventually it came to carry derogatory connotations towards
women—"a bhaidhbh!" ("thou witch!"). 96 The definition of badhbh as "a scold, a
quarrelsome woman," came to be attached to the word in the eighteenth century, 97 and this
definition can also carry magical connotations; a scold is a raving, unhinged woman who
nagged and nagged so much that she might end up cursing someone, such was her ill will.
The term can also be found in Scots Gaelic, as baobh, which Campbell defines as "a wild
furious woman, a wicked mischievous female who scolds and storms and curses caring
neither what she says nor what she does, praying the houses may be razed (làrach lom) and
the property destroyed (sgrios an codach) of those who have offended her."98 The Scots
Gaelic bao' as a term for wizard is a "careless conversational form" of baobh.99
The idea of the nag was common to medieval Europe as a whole, and punishments
for it sometimes overlapped with those who were found guilty of witchcraft, underlying
92 Ó Crualaoich, The Book of the Cailleach: Stories of the Wise-Woman Healer, 2003, p82; 284.
93 Clark, The Great Queens: Irish Goddesses From the Morrígan to Cathleen ní Houlihan, 1991, p24; Lysaght, The Banshee: The
Irish Supernatural Death-Messenger, 1986, p36-37. See also section 4.2 of Heijda's War-goddesses, furies and scald crows:
The use of the word badb in early Irish literature.
94 Clark, The Great Queens: Irish Goddesses From the Morrígan to Cathleen ní Houihan, 1991, p24.
95 See eDIL.
96 Lysaght, The Banshee: The Irish Supernatural Death-Messenger, 1986, p37.
97 O'Brien and Lhuyd, Focalóir gaoidhlig-sax-bhéarla, or An Irish-English dictionary, 1768, p36; Lysaght, The Banshee: The
Irish Supernatural Death-Messenger, 1986, p37. Though notably the association is not consistent early on; Charles
Vallancey's A Grammar of the Iberno-Celtic, or Irish Language, (1782, p81) makes no reference to the scold connotations.
98 Black, The Gaelic Otherworld, 2005, p173.
99 Ibid.
its magical (and malicious) nature. 100 Whatever the case, the word badhbh has come a long
way from its original roots: From a goddess, battle fury or banshee heralding the death of
a family member, to a raving, unhinged nag.
Another word translated as "witch" (or "magician") is túaithaid, or bantuathaid (also
spelled ban-tuathaig).101 The word ultimately comes from túath-, meaning "left, perverse,
evil, wicked," and so in its very basic sense it can be translated as "evil-doer"—or, in the
case of bantuathaid, with the addition of the female prefix ban-, "female evil-doer."102 Magic
is frequently associated with the left, north and evil in early Irish literature, 103 and the
bantuathaid are a class of female curse-workers who use negative magic against their
enemies. Two daughters of the goddess Flidais—Bé Chuille and Bé Téite—are considered
bantuathaid, as were those who aided Mongfind. 104 In modern translations, the word is
often rendered as "witch"—in the traditional, negative sense of the word 105—and of all the
terms discussed here, túathaid or bantuathaid are perhaps the most appropriate word to
describe a witch in the traditional sense.
Other words sometimes given the translation of "witch" are: ammait, or aimmit
("witch, hag, spectre," or "foolish woman"—it is in this secondary form, amait, a "fool" or
"foolish woman," that the words survives today (as amaid in both Irish and Scots Gaelic),
although it is used rarely 106); and bantuathecha ("wise woman"—which is an unusual, out of
place translation given the connotations of túath-).107
There is also cumachtach ("powerful; witch; wizard; ruler; woman possessing magic
power").108 The use of cumachtach can be found in Immram Brian ("The Voyage of Bran")
and also in Aided Chrimthainn maic Fidaig ("The Death of Crimthann") in relation to
100 Punishment for being a "scold" or being suspected of witchcraft in Scotland (and England, Wales, and then other
European countries as far as Germany) might include resorting to force the scold to wear the "Scold's Bridle," or
brank. It could be used for men as well as women (though it is mostly associated with women), and was designed to
be incredibly uncomfortable, with a gag that had a spike on it it, that pressed against the tongue to prevent speaking.
The scold would be paraded through the village or town while wearing the brank, to show everyone that they were
being punished.
101 As seen in Cath Maige Tuired, mentioned above; Hennessy, The Ancient Irish Goddesses of War, 1870.
102 See eDIL. The word túath lends itself to a variety of magical words, including túaithe ("witchcraft, sorcery"), túaithach
("having magic powers; witch") and túathcháech, which may be defined as "with a sinister eye." See Borsje, 'The
Meaning of túathcáech in Early Irish Texts,' in Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies Volume 43, 2002, p24.
103 Duffy (Ed.), Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia, 2005, p591.
104 MacKillop, A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, 1998, p416; 429.
105 See eDIL.
106 From whence we get amadán. Dwelly; MacInnes, 'Traditional Belief in Gaelic Society', in Henderson (Ed.), Fantastical
Imaginations: The Supernatural in Scottish History and Culture, 2009, p189.
107 See eDIL.
108 MacKillop, A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, 1998, p416; 429.
Mongfind. "Witch" is only one of the meanings that can apply to cumachtach and for
Mongfind it appears to be used as "powerful" more than "witch". 109
There are some polytheists who have adopted such terms in modern usage and,
given their negative associations, it can only be seen as either refreshingly honest, or
inappropriate. These are not labels that anybody should willingly want to identify with
unless they are advertising the fact that they practice magic for harmful, self-serving
purposes. In traditional terms, these are people who would be avoided or outright
shunned by the community. As labels go they are ones that are rarely embraced willingly;
rather, they tend to be imposed on an individual by the rest of the community, in
recognition of dishonourable behaviour.
Given the meanings of these titles, we believe that such labels are not accurate
descriptions of what most magical practitioners within Gaelic Polytheism are about today.
These are not titles that can be "recontextualised" or "reclaimed" when they have such
consistently negative connotations. Redefining is not reclaiming. To try to change the
meaning of these words disrespects language and tradition. In addition, the way cailleach
and badhbh have been twisted—from the titles or names of powerful deities to evil old
women—can only be seen as offensive to those deities and spirits. These redefinitions
cannot be considered positive or desirable, and to call oneself by the name of a deity or
revered spirit could be seen as an act of hubris.
Considering all of this, it begs the question: If these are unsuitable for use to
describe our practices, what can we look to? One answer is to look to the words like
corrguinecht, fisidecht, and so on, to see if they are a good fit. Another is to consider how
magical practices have survived up until today, and this means looking to the arts of the
bean feasa.
Wise-woman, or Bean feasa
A bean feasa (Gaeilge, "woman of knowledge or wisdom; a wise-woman") 110

harbours the gifts of prophecy and second-sight; she also deals in herbal cures and
109 See translation by Dennis King given above, www.sengoidelic.com

110 Ó Crualaoich, "Reading the Bean Feasa," in Folklore 116, 2005, p37; Schmitz, 'An Irish Wise Woman: Fact and Legend,'
in Journal of the Folklore Institute, Vol. 14, No. 3, 1977, p170.
healing.111 The bean feasa, or less commonly her male counterpart the fear feasa ("man of
knowledge or wisdom; a wise-man") 112 is a source of help in times of crisis, sought out by
those afflicted with misfortune, illness, or accidents—often as a last resort. 113 Unlike
healers from Scotland or Isle of Man, the bean feasa appears to be specifically an aged, and
usually unmarried, woman.114 The powers of the bean feasa (and her Scottish and Manx
counter-parts) were not something inherited or acquired by mortal means, but were
usually seen to be a gift from the fairies, or Good Folk. 115 Sometimes, however, her powers
came from divination like "cup-tossing" or "bowl-reading." 116 The most famous bean feasa
was Biddy Early of County Clare, who helped people in the west of Ireland with her cures
and buidéal draíochta ("magic bottle"), which was said to have been given to Biddy by
fairies and was considered to be the source of her power.117
In Irish culture, the benevolent bean feasa is the opposite of a witch; 118 while the bean
feasa heals and aids the community, the witch espouses traits like aggression and greed.
For example, a witch is said to steal butter by mumbling "come all to me, come all to me"
under their breath whilst a neighbour is churning. 119 A story in Fermanagh speaks of a
woman who, despite risking the label of witch, would go door to door on Bealtaine and
attempt to borrow a cup of milk in hopes of taking the household’s luck with it. 120 The lore
also speaks of witches who can turn themselves into hares, steal milk from cows, and cast
the Evil Eye.121 A bean feasa is called upon to reverse these evil events, her function being
"to sort out the various types of influence and counteract or neutralize them." 122
Peter Flanagan, as recorded by folklorist Henry Glassie, summed it up best as: "the
111 Danaher, Irish Customs and Beliefs, 2004, p121; Ó Crualaoich, The Book of the Cailleach: Stories of the Wise-Woman Healer,
2003, p72.
112 Smiddy, An essay on the Druids, the ancient churches and the round towers of Ireland, 1871, p119; Jenkins, 'Witches and
Fairies: Supernatural Aggression and Deviance,' in Narvaez (Ed.), The Good People: New Fairylore Essays, 1991, p320.
113 Ó hÓgáin, The Lore of Ireland, 2006, p459; Ó Crualaoich, 'Reading the Bean Feasa,' in Folklore 116, 2005, p42; Ó
Crualaoich, The Book of the Cailleach: Stories of the Wise-Woman Healer, 2003, p72.
114 Ó Crualaoich, 'Reading the Bean Feasa,' in Folklore 116, 2005, p41.
115 Ó Crualaoich, 'Reading the Bean Feasa,' in Folklore 116, 2005, p42; Schmitz, 'An Irish Wise Woman: Fact and Legend,'
in Journal of the Folklore Institute, Vol. 14, No. 3, 1977, p171; Evans-Wentz, The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries, 1911, p253.
116 Ó Crualaoich, 'Reading the Bean Feasa,' in Folklore 116, 2005, p42.
117 For a more detailed look at Biddy, see Schmitz, 'An Irish Wise Woman: Fact and Legend,' in Journal of the Folklore
Institute, Vol. 14, No. 3, 1977, p169-179.
118 Schmitz makes this distinction very clear, "…the bean feasa who is not, in the proper sense of the word, a witch." -
'An Irish Wise Woman: Fact and Legend,' in Journal of the Folklore Institute, Vol. 14, No. 3, 1977, p173.
119 Glassie, Passing Time in Ballymenone: Culture and History of an Ulster Community, 1982, p530.
121 Ó Súilleabháin, Irish Folk Custom and Belief, 1967, p24; Jenkins, 'Witches and Fairies: Supernatural Aggression and
Deviance,' in Narvaez (Ed.), The Good People: New Fairylore Essays, 1991, p311.
122 Schmitz, 'An Irish Wise Woman: Fact and Legend,' in Journal of the Folklore Institute, Vol. 14, No. 3, 1977, p175.
seer gives a forecast to the less blessed as the homemaker gives a pound of butter to the
less fortunate. The witch who steals butter is either evilly misusing a gift from God or
properly using a gift from an evil source." 123 Where the bean feasa seeks to help the
community, a witch seeks only to help themselves—to steal, to trade the embrace of
community for lonely self-profit—and exist in isolation. In Gaelic cultures, as in many
other traditional cultures, community is everything; without it one is unprotected, alone,
"…lost in an immense world, adrift in an atmosphere that is kind to the body, confusing to
the mind."124 This seeking of things that are "kind to the body, confusing to the mind" also
indicates that the witch prioritises his or her bodily comfort, even at the expense of their
own mental health. The bean feasa, on the other hand, places the well-being of the
community ahead of her own material needs, and provides a needed and benevolent link
between the community and the supernatural. 125 Overall, it is not the metaphysical gift
itself which makes one either a wise-woman or her polar opposite the witch, it is the intent
placed behind the gift: helping the community, or helping only oneself.
Other names the bean feasa might be encountered under are bean leighis ("woman of
healing"),126 bean siubhail ("travelling woman"), seanbhean ("old woman"), bean chumhachtach
("powerful woman; woman of supernatural power"), or bean chrosach ("fortune-telling
woman").127 Whatever the label, these were often considered to be synonymous with the
term cailleach ("old woman; hag"), which (as noted above) can also mean "witch," but this
connection comes from the Church, wherein cailleach is used in negative terms, to
highlight the fact that there was a deeply entrenched ecclesiastical disapproval of the role
the bean feasa, bean leighis, or bean chrosach (etc.) occupied, as well as the work they did.128
As in other cases where gifts, talents and achievements are recognised and
acknowledged by the community, we must also express the importance of the community
conferring these titles, when earned, not an individual deciding in isolation to take them
123 Glassie, Passing Time in Ballymenone: Culture and History of an Ulster Community, 1982, p537-38.
125 Schmitz, 'An Irish Wise Woman: Fact and Legend,' in Journal of the Folklore Institute, Vol. 14, No. 3, 1977, p174; Ó
126 Though Schmitz claims the bean feasa and bean leighis should not be confused with one another since the bean feasa
does not deal in actual, proper medicine (Schmitz, 'An Irish Wise Woman: Fact and Legend,' in Journal of the Folklore
Institute, Vol. 14, No. 3, 1977, p174; 177). However, in some texts they are indeed conflated.
127 Ó Crualaoich, 'Reading the Bean Feasa,' in Folklore 116, 2005, p40; Ó Crualaoich, The Book of the Cailleach: Stories of the
Wise-Woman Healer, 2003, 71-72.
128 As above, then, it is not a term we would consider to be desirable to adopt in a Gaelic Polytheist context. Ó
upon themselves.
Witchcraft in Scotland
In Gaelic Scotland, witchcraft is known as buidseachd,129 and the witch is known as a

buidseach (male) or bana-bhuidseach (female).130 It may be significant that while Irish has
plenty of words that relate to witchcraft, the Scots Gaelic word has been borrowed into the
language from the English word "witchcraft," with the word buidseachd (and related forms)
only appearing in written record from the sixteenth century onwards. 131 Before then the
word amait was used for "witch," but as buidseach came to be the most common descriptor,
amait came to refer only to "foolish woman."132
The majority of people accused of witchcraft have traditionally been women—
though men may be accused of it as well—and it was normally something inherent in
certain families and passed down.133 As in Ireland, these witches are always malevolent
and they are seen as being responsible for causing disease in people and beasts, raising
storms to destroy crops, stealing a cow's milk, stealing the "goodness" from milk, sinking
ships, and other destructive work.134 They are known to work curses using a wax or clay
effigy known as a corp creadha ("clay body") which they stick with pins.135 It is also claimed
that they "plunged into 'ecstasies and transis' abandoning their lifeless bodies in the form
of an invisible spirit or animal (a crow)." 136 The buidseachan are also traditionally said to
have the ability to turn into a hare.137
At the height of concern about witchcraft in Scots Gaelic society, those who were
129 The alternate spelling, buitseach, is also found, notably in Dwelly's.

Scottish History and Culture, 2009, p189. Plural of buidseach is buidseachan or buidsichean. Modernly, the words is
sometimes also translated as "wizard," but this is a modern variation on the original Gaelic meaning of "witch."
131 As has the Manx word, see below. Henderson, 'Witch-hunting and Witch Belief in the Gàidhealtachd,' in Goodare et
al (Ed.), Witchcraft and Belief in Early Modern Scotland, 2008, p6.
133 Gregor, Notes on the Folk-Lore of the North-East of Scotland, 1881, p71. The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft Database has
calculated that 84% of those accused of witchcraft were women, with only 15% being men (and 1% whose gender is
unknown).
134 Gregor, Notes on the Folk-Lore of the North-East of Scotland, 1881, p71.
135 Ross, Folklore of the Scottish Highlands, 1976, p70-71; Campbell, Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands
of Scotland, 1902, p46; McPherson, Primitive Beliefs in the Northeast of Scotland, 2003 (1929), p204.
136 Ginzburg, Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath, 1991, p100.
accused of witchcraft were usually ill-favoured in the community for one reason or
another—an old woman who lived alone, someone who prospered inexplicably while
others didn't, and so on. 138 Although in theory any kind of magic was considered sinful by
the Church, beneficial magic continued quietly alongside nominal Christian life. Those
who helped the community were supported and turned to for help in times of need. 139 The
major concern within traditional communities was with those who did harm to others—
witches.140 Instead of legal means being employed to deal with suspected witches,
unofficial persecution, shunning and even mob execution seems to have occurred in the
Highlands of Scotland instead; 141 as in Ireland, the widespread and devastating witch
persecutions of the European Middle Ages never gripped the Gaelic-speaking parts of
Scotland (unlike the Lowlands of Scotland, that is—with a few exceptions). Although
witches were seen as a threat, legal means of dealing with them were only rarely
employed,142 and the lack of persecutions in Gaelic countries as a whole suggests that there
was a higher level of tolerance and acceptance of magic amongst the general population,
in spite of the Church and secular laws that ruled against it. 143
138 Black, The Gaelic Otherworld, 2005, p173; see also Alexander Polson's Scottish Witchcraft Lore, 1932, where Polson
recounts an interview with a woman accused of witchcraft by her local community. Although shunned socially by
them, the woman (who lived on the outskirts of the community in an area reputed to be inhabited by fairies, and
whose husband died shortly after they married—both being factors in the initial suspicion and resulting accusation)
played up to her reputation in order to exact payments from locals to make sure she wouldn't curse them, in order to
make a living.
139 When saints went around cursing people and performing miracles reflecting the magic of the druids with whom
they battled, and many professions retained ultimately metaphysical roots (see above), there existed a grey area in
which magical pursuits could survive and evolve. Kieckhefer, Magic in the Middle Ages, 1989, p15; p54-56. In Scotland
in particular, priests were often assigned large areas as parishes, which were sparsely populated. Local populations
could therefore be left without a priest for weeks or months at a time while the priest made his circuit around his
parish and tended to his flock elsewhere. This meant that people would have to deal with their own problems that a
priest might otherwise have attended to—and thus allowing wise-men and wise-women to flourish and combat such
problems of a supernatural nature or cause—but also meant that the Kirk in particular (who was largely responsible
for the brutal persecution of witches in Scotland) had less influence in such areas, and therefore less scope to stamp
out such practices and beliefs. Henderson and Cowan, Scottish Fairy Belief, 2007, p121.
140 Davies, 'A Comparative Perspective on Scottish Cunning-Folk and Charmers,' in Goodare (Ed.), The Scottish Witch-
hunt in Context, 2002, p189.
141 Henderson, 'Witch-hunting and Witch Belief in the Gàidhealtachd,' in Goodare et al (Ed.), Witchcraft and Belief in
Early Modern Scotland, 2008, p6.
142 Henderson, 'Witch-hunting and Witch Belief in the Gàidhealtachd,' in Goodare et al (Ed.), Witchcraft and Belief in
Early Modern Scotland, 2008, p6; Black, The Gaelic Otherworld, 2005, p172.
143 In both Scotland and Ireland the recorded witch trials were not perpetrated by the general Gaelic-speaking
population. In Ireland, the only witch trials recorded were notably in English or Scottish settled areas, while in
Scotland the trials are primarily associated with the Kirk. See Gijswijt-Hofstra, 'Witchcraft After the Witch Trials,' in
The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume 5: The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, 1999, p142;
Henderson and Cowan, Scottish Fairy Belief, 2007, p121 Henderson, 'Witch-hunting and Witch Belief in the
Gàidhealtachd,' in Goodare et al (Ed.), Witchcraft and Belief in Early Modern Scotland, 2008, p6-7.
Magic in Scotland: Healers, Charmers and Fiosaichean
At the other end of the Scottish magical spectrum there are a variety of different
practices and types of practitioners. Homeless, wandering men and women, who were
generally extremely poor and relied on the hospitality of others to give them food and
shelter for the evening, often worked as fortune-tellers—usually by palm reading or using
cartomancy (divination using playing cards). These fortune-tellers restricted themselves to
just one or two types of divination, and that was the extent of their skill. Charmers or
healers, on the other hand, concentrated on curing simple ailments using herbs or charms.
They rarely diagnosed an illness, simply offered a cure for a problem that had already
been labelled—an illness that was easy enough to cure with the right treatment, but not
necessarily something that was serious enough to necessitate a doctor (who would cost a
pretty penny). The charmers/healers did not accept financial payment for their work,
although they might accept gifts; their skill was seen as God-given and therefore
capitalising on it for financial gain was seen as wrong. 144 These healers or charmers didn't
deal in illnesses that were seen to have unexplained and possibly supernatural origins;
that was left to the wise-men and wise-women.
In addition to the basic healing skills of the charmer, the wise-men and wise-
women offered a range of magical services, including love charms, detecting thieves,
fortune-telling, astrology, herbalism, charms of protection, "unbewitching," and divining
the cause and cure for illnesses.145 The Scots Gaelic terms for these wise-men and wise-
women are fiosaiche (male) or ban-fhiosaiche (female), and they derive from the Old Irish
word fios: "knowledge; information." Fiosaiche therefore translates roughly as "seer"—a
diviner of hidden knowledge—and has come to mean wise-man (or -woman) in the sense
of their ability to determine and apply this knowledge. 146
The majority of fiosaichean147 in Scotland were men, and unlike the cunning-folk in
England and Wales, the Scottish fiosaichean tended to emphasise the fact that their powers
144 Davies, 'A Comparative Perspective on Scottish Cunning-Folk and Charmers,' in Goodare et al (Ed.), The Scottish
Witch-hunt in Context, 2002, p186.
hunt in Context, 2002, p189; Black, The Gaelic Otherworld, 2005, p200.
147 The plural form of fiosaiche.
came from the daoine sìth (the Good Folk; fairies). 148 In England and Wales it was far more
common for cunning-folk to emphasise that their occult knowledge came from book
learning, utilising "exotic" sources such as Cabbalistic and Hermetic texts (especially from
the seventeenth century onwards), but the wise-men and -women of the Highlands
emphasised the fact that their powers and knowledge came from the daoine sìth and
tradition, not books.149
Much of the work that fiosaichean dealt with involved determining the presence of
the Evil Eye, and then determining the source of it so that it could be removed from the
victim. The Evil Eye was commonly associated with witches, but there were also people
who were otherwise good, upstanding members of the community, but had the
misfortune to be afflicted with the ability to "cast the Eye". These poor unfortunate souls
had to be careful, lest they be accused of using their "gift" for their own gain. Or else the
Evil Eye could even come from somebody who was simply possessed by "...a discontented
and unhappy mind full of envy (farmad), covetousness (sanntachadh) and suchlike mean
feelings, and looking repiningly on the good of others, and it may too earnestly be and
anxiously on what belongs to oneself." 150
Affliction from the Evil Eye—much like the witches' curse (which might be seen as
heavily overlapping the concept of the Evil Eye) 151—could result in illness, infertility,
death, delayed and dangerous births, the milk of an animal or nursing mother to dry up,
or for the churning of butter to fail. 152 In serious cases, the wise-man or -woman would be
consulted to help identify whether or not the Eye had been cast, and the first thing to do
was to determine who was responsible for it, since it was often necessary for the victim to
force the witch or person responsible for casting the Eye to remove it. 153
148 Sutherland, Ravens and Black Rain: The Story of Highland Second Sight, 1987, p21.
hunt in Context, 2002, p189; MacInnes, 'Traditional Belief in Gaelic Society,' in Henderson (Ed.), Fantastical
Imaginations: The Supernatural in Scottish History and Culture, 2009, p191.
151 Borsje and Kelly, 'The Evil Eye in Early Irish Literature and Law,' in Celtica, Volume 24, 2003, p7.
152 Davidson, Rowan Tree and Red Thread, 1949, p76-77.
153 Davies, Witchcraft, Magic and Culture 1736-1951, p218.
Witchcraft on the Isle of Man
On the Isle of Man a witch is known in Manx-English as a butch,154 from the Manx
buitch or buitçh155—a term which applies to both sexes. Witchcraft is known as
buitcheraght.156 The buitch is said to take the form of a hare, therefore it's considered bad
luck to see a hare cross the road. 157 Some Manx folk even refuse to eat hare for fear they
might be eating a woman.158
The Curragh Glass, a bog near Tynwald, is reputed to be associated with witch
trials by the ordeal of water (i.e., if a woman floated, she was a witch and if she sank, she
was deemed innocent). However, there are no actual records of this kind of ordeal having
taken place on the Isle.159 In fact, only three accounts of death for witchcraft exist on the
Isle of Man: Alice Ine Quay in 1569 and Margrett Inequane with her son in 1617. 160 Charges
brought against Manx witches often included: "the power to take away the tarra, or
increase, from a man's cattle or crops, and transfer it to another, to cast spells upon men
and cattle, crops and churning and to change, at will, into hares." 161
Like the Irish word cailleach, its Manx cognate caillagh was co-opted and twisted to
mean "witch." Like in Ireland and Scotland, this was originally the name of a goddess or
revered spirit and more correctly means "old woman." The authors respect the original
meaning and the sacred beings known by this name, so consider it an inappropriate
moniker for humans who do witchcraft. While the Cailleach (in all Gaelic cultures) can be
an ambiguous figure, and prone to acts that are destructive as well as creative, ultimately
she is a divine being, and in a different category than humans who use magic for selfish
means. In Manx lore, the Cailleach was known as Caillagh-ny-Gueshag ("the Old Woman of
the Spells") and Caillagh ny Groamagh ("the Sullen Old-woman"). The following is one
anecdote on how she came to Man:
"Caillagh ny groamagh, the gloomy or sulky witch, was said to have been
154 Moore, 'Further Notes on Manx Folklore,' in The Antiquary, Volume 31, 1895, p294; Rhys (Miller, Ed.), Manx Folklore
and Superstitions, 1994, p3.
155 Plural, buitchyn. Cregeen, A Dictionary of the Manks Language, 1835, p30; Roeder, Manx Notes and Queries, 1904, p85.
156 Morrison, 'Manx Folk-Lore Notes,' in Isle of Man Times, 1904, 4b-d.
157 Killip, The Folklore of the Isle of Man, 1976, p56.
158 Koch, Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia, 2006, p1638.
159 Craine (Miller, Ed.), Mannanan's Isle: Selected Essays, 1994, p6.
160 Ibid.
161 Tarra; c.f., toradh in Gaelic. Craine (Miller, Ed.), Mannanan's Isle: Selected Essays, 1994, p9.
an irish [sic] witch who had been thrown into the sea by the people of
Ireland with the intention of drowning her. However, being a witch, she
declined to be drowned, and floated easily until she came to the Isle of
Man, where she landed on the morning of February 12th."162
Furthermore, Berrey Dhone ("Brown Berrey")—a figure who might actually be

Sentainne Bérri, or Cailleach Bérri, rather than any anonymous witch 163—is a fabled
"witch" and the subject of quite a few Manx ballads and airs.164
Magic on the Isle of Man: the Fer-obbee and Ben-obbee
When collecting his small but valuable corpus of Manx lore, Charles Roper made
the distinction between "witch" and "wise woman" in his writings. He reported that
fisherman collect herbs from wise women in the north, bring them to their boats, brew a
decoction, drink some and then pour the rest over their nets for luck. 165 Roper goes on
further still to speak of Nan Waid, a witch-killer who lived in St. John's. This witch-killer
was a woman who could reverse the evil done by witches. 166
Sophia Morrison also provides anecdotes about Nan Waid (or Nan Wade), and
refers to Nan as a "charmer." 167 One such account relays a charm that Nan told a man in
order to cure his sister of bewitchment: "Nan told him, he said, the girl was to get the liver
of a pullet, and stick it all over with pins, and put it on the pan on the fire." When the girl
did this, a scream was heard outside and a witch was found with red-hot pins stuck in her
liver.168
These wise-men and wise-women were known in Manx as fer-obbee and ben-obbee
—"men-charmers" and "women-charmers" respectively—and in addition to helping
fishermen ensure a good catch, they were consulted in matters of removing the Evil Eye,
dispensing a pishag ("charm" or "incantation") to counteract those of witches and fairies,
162 Yn Lior Manninagh, Vol I, 1891, p223.

163 Broderick, 'Berrey Dhone – A Manx Cailleach Bérri?' in Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie Volume 40, 1984, p197-199; Ó
164 Broderick, 'Berrey Dhone – A Manx Cailleach Bérri?' in Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie Volume 40, 1984, p196;
MacKillop, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, 1998, p41. The Caillagh ny Groamagh is also known to take the form of a
giant bird, and is associated with weather omens on Laa'l Breeshey (Lá Fhéile Bríde/Imbolc).
165 Roper, Where the Birds Sing: A Selection of Rustic Sketches and Idylls of Common Life, 1894, p182-183.
166 Roper, Where the Birds Sing: A Selection of Rustic Sketches and Idylls of Common Life, 1894, p188-189.
167 Morrison, 'Manx Folk-Lore Notes,' in Isle of Man Times, 1904, 4b-d.
168 Ibid.
and curing illnesses with medicinal herbs. 169 Like the benaaishnee ("fortune-teller"), the ben-
obbee also practiced fassishlaght ("palm reading").170 The abilities of these charmers are
believed to be hereditary. 171 The Evil Eye is usually combated by taking the dust from
under the feet of the afflicted and/or from the threshold of the suspected witch and
rubbing on the victim.172
Protection against Witchcraft
The distinction between the helpful charmer and the harmful witch shows even
more clearly in the many customs that safeguard against witches and witchcraft. As the
quarter days (especially Bealtaine and Samhain) are believed to be a time when a witch's
power is renewed and at its strongest, there exist numerous customs performed on these
days which seek to prevent their influence. This belief is hinted at in the Manx saying that
on quarter days a witch's chimney smoke goes against the wind. 173 According to
Alexander Carmichael, the first Monday of each quarter held similar dangers to the
quarter day itself. This was said to be a prime time for the Evil Eye to be aimed at other
people, and for witches to steal milk away from cows.174
Since the bean feasa, fiosaiche, or ben-obbee were only really looked to for help in
particularly problematic cases that went beyond the skills of the ordinary folk, most
protective rites are performed in the home—sometimes with the help of the whole
household, or else they are performed by just one member of the household. Prevention is
always better than the need for a cure, and so people took matters into their own hands in
order to protect themselves against witches, daoine sìth,175 and the Evil Eye (which may or
may not come from a witch), in order to make sure that no harm or misfortune fell on the
household.
In all three countries it is believed that sacred wells should be visited on Lúnasa for
169 Moore, The Folk-lore of the Isle of Man, 1891, p78-79; Jeffcott, 'Some Ancient Manx Superstitions,' in Manx Notebook, Vol
1, April 1885.
170 Jeffcott, 'Some Ancient Manx Superstitions,' in Manx Notebook, Vol 1, April 1885.
171 Moore, The Folk-lore of the Isle of Man, 1891, p79.
172 Moore, The Folk-lore of the Isle of Man, 1891, p78.
173 Craine (Miller, Ed.), Mannanan's Isle: Selected Essays, 1994, p11.
174 Carmichael, Carmina Gadelica, 1992, p642-643.
175 The daoine sìth are generally neutral in nature—neither inherently good nor inherently malevolent. They can be
helpful to humans when pleased, or deadly when angered.
healing and charms against fairies and witches, and many Bealtaine customs are
concerned with the reinforcing and redefining of boundaries—either within the physical
space of the house and the farmland (such as the doorways, windows, and then field
boundaries). These boundaries, liminal spaces of neither one place or another, are
considered to be under particular threat by the supernatural forces that are believed to be
at large on the eve of Bealtaine itself, and without the proper protection witches or evil
spirits could enter and have away with the prosperity and produce of the household. 176
While these examples are universal to all Gaelic countries (and the diaspora), there
are also localised customs that are traditionally observed:
Ireland
On Samhain, a cross known as a parshell is made and affixed to the space over the
front door to ward off illness, bad luck and witchcraft for the coming year. 177 Bealtaine was
a time when milk-stealing might be a particular problem, with jealous neighbours or
witches secreting charms or sprigs of rowan in the tails of cattle to procure the milk for
themselves. So on this day, cattle are inspected for bewitchment and should anything
suspicious be found, it was removed and burnt, and vervain or sprigs of rowan were
substituted to protect the cattle and remove the curse. Finally, after the inspection was
completed, the cattle were then sprinkled with sgaith an tobair (the first skim of the well
taken in the morning) in blessing.178
Since hares were often thought to be the animal of choice for witches to shapeshift
into, any seen amongst the cattle on Bealtaine would be shot immediately in order to
prevent the milk being stolen, and hedgehogs often met the same fate for the same
reasons. There are plenty of tales that relate how a farmer shot a hare one Bealtaine and
shortly after found an old woman in the village had suddenly developed a limp. 179
Other Bealtaine rites safeguarding against witches included: sprinkling primroses,
marsh-marigolds, or gorse on the threshold, making wreaths for door posts, or tying
bunches to cows' tails;180 carrying iron (especially a dark handled knife) or a charm of
176 Newton, A Handbook of the Scottish Gaelic World, 2000, p182.

177 Danaher, The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs, 1972, p208.
178 Danaher, The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs, 1972, p116-117.
179 Danaher, The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs, 1972, p111; Wilde, Irish Popular Superstitions, 1849, p56-57.
180 Wilde, Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms and Superstitions of Ireland, 1887, p197; Wood-Martin, Traces of the Elder Faiths of
Ireland, Volume 2, p263; Danaher, The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs, 1972, p89.
woven rowan in your pocket if you needed to leave the house after dark; 181 and lighting
and jumping over bonfires.
Scotland
Nailing a rowan cross or branch above the door of house or byre protects cattle and
pregnant women from the influence of witches. 182 Cattle are further protected by placing a
garland of rowan and honeysuckle around their necks with red thread woven in their
tails.183 Wreaths of twisted cattail fibers were also created as a safeguard. 184 The Samhnagan
(Samhainn fires) are lit at dusk believing to have protective qualities against the
supernatural elements that are believed to be abroad that night—the fairies, witches, or
demonic beings.185 Local communities often engaged in friendly rivalry with their
neighbours to see who could build the biggest. Walter Gregor records that, "In the villages
the boys went from house to house and begged a peat from each householder, commonly
with the words, 'Ge's a peat t'burn the witches.'"186
Saining the house with the smoke of burning juniper at New Years', sprinkling stale
urine around, or sprinkling menstruum (silvered water or water mixed with spittle) around
with a sop seille ("spittle wisp"—likely a piece of straw), also served as good protection, and
helped to make sure that any evil influences were forced out as well as kept away. 187
In the process of observing these rites, charms might be spoken. A seun, or sian, is
the Gaelic for a protective charm.188 While the best known type of charm is the eolas
("knowledge"),189 many of which are detailed by Campbell in his Witchcraft and Second
Sight in the Highlands and Island of Scotland.190 These eolas charms are for curing. An ubag or
ubhaidh—a word that is possibly related to the Gaelic obair, "work" (i.e., a working)—is
associated with the kind of charms associated with common superstitions (see below). 191 A
181 Danaher, The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs, 1972, p121.
182 Ross, Folklore of the Scottish Highlands, 1976, p64; 67.
183 Ross, Folklore of the Scottish Highlands, 1976, p67.
184 McKay, More West Highland Tales, 1969, p369-370.
185 Black, The Gaelic Otherworld, 2005, p559; McNeill, The Silver Bough Volume 3, 1961, p17.
186 McNeill, The Silver Bough Volume 3, 1961, p18; Gregor, The Folklore of the North-East of Scotland, 1881, p 167.
187 Saining: Scots for "warding, blessing, consecrating." Derived from the from the Irish and Scottish Gaelic seun and sian
and the Old Irish sén. See Black, The Gaelic Otherworld, 2005, p136-7, 211; Carmichael, Carmina Gadelica Volume II, 1900,
p26-37; Macbain, Etymological Dictionary of Scottish-Gaelic, 1998, p309.
188 Ibid.
189 MacKenzie, Gaelic Incantations, Charms, and Blessings of the Hebrides, 1895, p5.
190 See also Black, The Gaelic Otherworld, 2005.
191 Black, The Gaelic Otherworld, 2005, p200; MacKenzie, Gaelic Incantations, Charms, and Blessings of the Hebrides, 1895, p5;
Roeder, Manx Notes and Queries, 1904, p85.
soisgeul, ("gospel") is a kind of charm that was usually obtained from a priest, with the
intention to help cure or protect the recipient. It usually consisted of a passage or verse
from the Bible, a hymn, "or some good words," that were then sewn into the clothes. So
long as the soisgeul was worn, it would give protection against spite (which might
therefore include witchcraft) or "weakness of mind."192
Since the daoine sìth are also often heavily associated with witches, bad luck and
misfortune, the charms all tend to blur into one, covering all bases. Today, observing
practices such as this would be seen as engaging in geasagan ("harmless superstitions").193
The word itself, however, has a long and complicated history, and has its root in the Old
Irish word geis, a "prohibition or taboo." Over time the concept of geis evolved to pick up
associations with "spells and incantations," and that is how the word survives in modern
Scots Gaelic today. Geasagan, therefore, while referring to "harmless superstitions" today,
originally made their magical associations explicit, being defined as "enchantments; belief
in witchcraft."194
Isle of Man
On Laa Boaldyn (Bealtaine), hedges of koinney (gorse) and bonfires are lit to scare
off witches195 and the crosh curin—a crude cross made without the aid of a knife from small
branches of mountain ash (rowan or cuirn)—is renewed. It is believed that this cross
protects against witches, elves and the phynnodderee.196 Also, gathering the morning dew
on Laa Boaldyn (Bealtaine) is believed to ensure luck, improve the complexion and
provide immunity against witches. 197 In both Scotland and Isle of Man, an elder tree
growing outside of your house is believed to protect the inhabitants from witches. 198
Gaelic Cultures as a Whole

In all of the Gaelic areas, as witches were most active at the festivals—especially
Scottish History and Culture, 2009, p187-188.
194 MacKenzie, Gaelic Incantations, Charms, and Blessings of the Hebrides, 1895, p5.
195 Rhys, 'Manx Folk-Lore and Superstitions,' in Folklore, Vol. 2, No. 3, 1891, p303; Paton, 'Manx Calendar Customs:
Second Quarter,' in Folklore, Vol. 51, No. 4, 1940, p278; 280.
196 Cashen, Manx Folk-Lore, 1912, Chapter 1, 'Home Life of the Manx'; Rhys, 'Manx Folk-Lore and Superstitions,' in
Folklore, Vol. 2, No. 3, 1891, p301; Paton, 'Manx Calendar Customs: Second Quarter,' in Folklore, Vol. 51, No. 4, 1940,
p284.
197 Paton, 'Manx Calendar Customs: Second Quarter,' in Folklore, Vol. 51, No. 4, 1940, p283-284.
198 Moore, Folklore of the Isle of Man, 1891, p152; Blantyre-Simpson, Folk Lore in Lowland Scotland, 1908, p151.
Bealtaine—many of these charms and customs to ensure protection against witchcraft
were performed as part of the observances of the festival; just as witches might be at their
most powerful, so the charms against them might be as well. Today, many Gaelic
Polytheists also incorporate these traditions into their practices, in order to protect against
witchcraft, the Evil Eye, bad luck, or the unwanted attention of any daoine sìth who may
have mischievous or malevolent intent. As such, we would not define these protective
charms as witchcraft, though we certainly might regard them as magical or metaphysical
in purpose. In this sense, we might say that, to one extent of another, we believe in
geasachd (Scottish Gaelic; magical charms or enchantments, as well as things such as
augury)199 or that we are piseogach (Irish; superstitious, one who practices or believes in
piseoga ["charms; superstitions"]),200 whether we simply believe in the existence of these
things or also practice them ourselves.
Concerning the Witch as Outsider, or Outcast
As shown above, the "witch" has long been a contemptible figure who lived on the
outskirts of society. While ancient Gaelic tradition does have honourable people who lived
on the fringes (the fianna, for instance), the "witch"—as defined by Gaelic cultures—is not
one of them. Witches cause harm, cast the Evil Eye, and steal from their neighbors; they
were something to be feared and guarded against. Gregor says the "witch" "...lived in a
lonely house by herself, and kept her affairs very much to herself." 201 Further on Gregor
states: "Such a woman was dreaded, and all her neighbours tried to live on good terms
with her, bore from her what they would bear from no one else, and, if she asked a favour,
would have granted it, however much it cost to do so." 202
While witches were dreaded, to some extent they might be tolerated - not out of
love, but out of fear of what they might do if offended. But as Celtic Reconstructionism
and Gaelic Polytheism are built on the foundations of community and family, people who
work to harm the innocent do not have a role within the community. The values that the
Scottish History and Culture, 2009, p187-188.
200 From the Old Irish piseóc ("charms").
202 Ibid.
Celtic Reconstructionist community generally hold in common—upholding honour, truth,
justice, courage, community, loyalty, strength and gentleness 203—are not compatible with
the traditional concept of witchcraft. Those who choose to practice magic for themselves or
others, and do so for positive, helpful purposes that benefit the community, certainly have
a welcome role within Celtic Reconstructionism, Gaelic Polytheism, or whatever sub-
tradition they might follow. Those who choose to act against the interests of the
community and choose to practice witchcraft as we would traditionally define it, have no
place.
But isn't modern "Traditional Witchcraft" just folk charms, cures, etcetera?
The majority of people who refer to themselves as "witches" today do not seem to
intend to claim they are practicing malevolent magic, and most actually seem to be aiming
for the equivalent of the work of the "wise woman/man" or "cunning woman/man".
While most of the people now claiming to be "witches" are Wiccans, Neo-Wiccans or other
eclectic Neopagans, using charms and spells from a variety of cultures, there are others
who attempt to base their practices in traditional Gaelic healing and folk magic. The latter
type are at least in some cases modelling their practices on the folk charms and cures that
can be found in historical sources. As we have already established, however, the "witch"
and "cunning-folk" are inherently opposed to one another, and considering this fact,
conflating them is inappropriate.
In some cases, the use of terms like "witch" and "witchcraft" to describe such
practices in a modern context are perhaps the result of a lack of historical perspective, as
well as a lack of familiarity with the languages. Sometimes, for those who come to Gaelic
Polytheism from Wiccan backgrounds, it may also be the result of an attachment to a past
identity, romanticism, and/or a reluctance to let go of the assumptions from that faith. 204
In the broader Pagan community the view of Wicca as a recent, eclectic invention has only
203 NicDhàna et al, The CR FAQ, 2007, p111-116.

204 By the 1980s at the latest, some prominent leaders of Alexandrian and Gardnerian covens, for example, were already
aware that Wicca is an eclectic, modern spiritual tradition, cobbled together by Gardner and Doreen Valiente in the
1940s, from various literary and diverse cultural sources. Yet some of them made the choice to maintain the "Myth of
the Wica," and required that their initiates maintain the fiction of Wicca as an ancient, pre-Celtic religion, maintained
in secret for millenia. The myth continued among many covens through the 1990s, and some hold onto it to this day.
See e.g., the documentary The Supernatural: Witchcraft, which maintains the "Old Religion" fallacy.
taken hold since the widely influential publication of work from the likes of Aidan Kelly
and Ronald Hutton,205 which give a critical review of Wicca's origins and the claims made
by Gardner (although there is still a vocal minority of Wiccans who refuse to let go of the
origin story they learned in their covens).206
As the reality of Wicca's modern origins began to be accepted in the wider
Neopagan community, we began to also see the increasing popularity of "traditional
witchcraft"—groups and individuals who claim their traditions are independent of Wicca,
even though they are clearly influenced by, or even directly derived from, Gardnerian
Wicca. Robert Cochrane's Clan of Tubal Cain is one such example, and Cochrane himself
claimed to have been raised in a hereditary witchcraft tradition—by an aunt, rather than
the usual granny—and described himself as a "pellar" (thus clearly attempting to conflate
witchcraft with cunning-folk).207 Cochrane influenced various offshoots, including Evan
John Jones' work with Doreen Valiente that resulted in the book Witchcraft: A Tradition
Renewed (1989).208 It is probably a fair assumption that many of these newly-minted
"traditional witches" are trying to find a way to maintain Gardner's illusion of an
unbroken magical and religious tradition, while distancing themselves from both Gardner
and the mainstream Neo-Wiccan fluff most commonly found in bookshops today.
While in some cases people are simply unaware of the contradiction between the
modern, Neopagan meaning of terms like "witchcraft" when compared with traditional
understanding of such labels, there are some people who identify as witches who are well
aware of all of this. Some—when having to clarify what they mean—may qualify the
marrying of these two different vocations with the term "white witchcraft," as a catch-all
term for all the different kinds of folk magic. However, while the idea of "black" and
"white" witchcraft is a concept that has been widely used in English folklore studies from
only the nineteenth century onwards, it is not something that has much relevance to
Gaelic cultures; the Gaels have no concept of "white" or "black" witchcraft. 209
205 Kelly, Crafting the Art of Magic, Book I: A History of Modern Witchcraft 1939-1964 , 1991; Hutton, The Triumph of the
Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft, 1997.
206 See for example Philip Heselton's books, and Ben Whitmore's The Trials of the Moon: Reopening the Case for
Historical Witchcraft.
207 Howard, The Roebuck in the Thicket: An Anthology of the Robert Cochrane Witchcraft Tradition, 2001, p8; see also Doreen
Valiente's chapter 'Robert Cochrane, Magister' in The Rebirth of Witchcraft, 1989, p117-136.
208 See also: Valiente's The Rebirth of Witchcraft, 1989.
209 To be more specific: "'White witch' was a term little used in popular discourse, although it was commonly employed
by folklorists and other middle-class commentators." Davies, Witchcraft and Culture 1736-1951, 1999, p215. See also
MacInnes, 'Traditional Belief in Gaelic Society,' in Henderson (Ed.), Fantastical Imaginations: The Supernatural in
Although the concept of "white" vs. "black" is a flawed attempt to distinguish
between "good" and "bad" magic, the fact remains that those misnomers apply moral
values onto practices that are not traditionally seen in such a way; the practice of magic in
itself is very much a grey area in Gaelic culture, and modern, scholarly witchcraft studies
now make a concerted effort to distinguish between witchcraft and the magical practices
of the cunning-folk without resorting to artificial terms like the "black" and "white"
paradigm.210
"Black" and "white" witchcraft aside, there are some Neopagans who are aware of
all of the issues raised so far and still choose to adopt the label of "witch" because, if their
cultural matrix is the mainstream of the Neopagan community, "witch" is a word that has
a shared meaning to most people in that community; in essence, although the term is not
correct, they find it easier to use because it doesn't need explaining in discussions with
mainstream Neopagans. Needless to say by now, we disagree with this line of thinking:
Just as other reconstructionist communities use culturally appropriate labels to define
their own magical practices, we are advocating exactly the same.
While misusing the word "witch" may make communication easier among those
embedded in the mainstream Neopagan community, for those of us whose primary
alliances and social matrices are with and within other, traditional communities, it is not
an easy or useful term for us at all; not unless we are using it to mean what it meant to our
ancestors, and still means in the living cultures today: a malevolent person who is trying
to harm the innocent via supernatural means. For those of us who believe in helping and
protecting our communities, in placing the well-being of the community above our own,
and working for peace and healing, to call ourselves "witches" would not only be wildly
inaccurate, it would be appalling, alienating and shameful.
One of the core challenges of Celtic Reconstructionism and Gaelic Polytheism is to

210 Owing much to the work of Owen Davies in his studies of cunning-folk. In Davies dissertation which was later
published as Witchcraft and Culture 1736-1951, (1999) and his subsequent title Cunning-Folk: Popular Magic in English
History (2003). There are many different local terms for these cunning-folk, with pellar being favoured in Cornwall,
dyn hysbys in Wales, and terms such wise-man or -woman, or "fairy doctor" historically favoured in Gaelic speaking
areas. In academic terms, "cunning-folk" is now used as a catch-all to refer to the profession in general, though it is
not a descriptor that has ever been used in Scotland (or Ireland and Man) at all. See: Davies, 'A Comparative
Perspective on Scottish Cunning-Folk and Charmers,' in Goodare (Ed.), The Scottish Witch-hunt in Context, 2002, p188;
Davies, Witchcraft and Culture 1736-1951, 1999, p188; 215. Additionally, there is a serious critique in many quarters of
the Western world's association of darkness with evil; many involved in race studies and dialogues feel perpetuating
those associations of "black=bad" and "white=good" subtly or not-so-subtly contributes to the unconscious validation
of racism and hatred of the Earth.
be willing to let go of misconceptions as we learn more about our ancestors and their
ways. In the early waves of the movement, this was especially crucial as we were still
struggling with gross misconceptions like "Wicca is Celtic," 211 and we have had to throw
out many things we had learned were wrong. The label "witch" is another thing that must
be discarded, as much as we no longer accept people claiming to be CR while they wave
knives at the spirits,212 attempt to command or "use" the deities, perform rituals without
making offerings, or incorporate beliefs and practices misappropriated from other
cultures.213
Magic in Contemporary Gaelic Polytheism
Many of the names for magical practitioners we have discussed so far specifically
describe individuals who have made such practices their life's work, and are terms that
describe people who have spent many decades in study, practice, and effective service to
the community before being recognised as being qualified to wear such labels. In Gaelic
Polytheism, these labels are seen in the same way but this does not mean that magical
practices are only reserved for the experts. One thing that tends to be overlooked when
discussing metaphysics and identity in Gaelic Polytheism is that many of our rites may be
seen as inherently "magical", regardless of whether or not we label ourselves as
practitioners of "magic", or whether or not we are interested in specialising in any of the
magical, mystical, or metaphysical vocations we may have inherited from our ancestors.
Our spiritual beliefs permeate our daily lives on many different levels, and so to us,
our religion is a lifeway. 214 Much of what we do on a daily basis as part of our religious
211 Today, after decades of work by the pioneers of CR, it's common knowledge that Wicca is not Celtic (and even
noting this may seem to be stating the shockingly obvious), but twenty years ago, attempts to educate Neopagans
about legitimate Celtic traditions were met with hostility, necessitating basic articles with content like, "Beltane is,
among many NeoPagans, considered a major fertility celebration and holiday. In ancient Celtic society, however, it
was not quite so cut and dried..." Tides Staff [Kathryn NicDhàna and Pól MacAmhlaoibh], 'Turning of the Wheel.'
Tides, Boston, MA, Vol. 1, No. 3, Beltane/Summer Solstice, 1993, p3; and "It is debated as to whether the Maypole
ribbon dance can be considered Celtic at all." Ní Dhoireann, Kym Lambert, ibid, p22. At the time, such articles were
challenging and revolutionary.
212 See NicDhàna et al, The CR FAQ, 2007, p130.
213 "CR is not eclectic. ... CR was actually begun as an alternative to eclectic Neopagan traditions," NicDhàna et al, The
CR FAQ, 2007, p64.
214 And for the core members of Gaol Naofa, specifically: Our Gaelic Polytheist Lifeway (Gaeilge: Ár nDóigh Bheatha
Ildiach is Gaelach, Gàidhlig: Ar Dòigh-Beatha Ioma-Dhiadhach Ghàidhealach). Gaol Naofa has coined this term to better
describe our specific tradition and beliefs, as practiced by the members of Gaol Naofa. This is partly in order to
distinguish ourselves from other Gaelic Polytheist groups, but also to emphasise our commitment to our spirituality
practices may be seen as magical in some way or another, and so one does not have to
claim to be a bean feasa, for example, in order to practice magic as part of a Gaelic
Polytheist identity; one simply has to be a Gaelic Polytheist. Much of what we do—from
daily prayers or making offerings, performing rites of blessing or protection, or rites of
divination and the taking of omens—all involve communication with the spirit world. The
spiritual and physical is interwoven in every facet of our lives. Simply by living this
traditional way of life, every practicing Gaelic Polytheist is involved in spiritual, magical
practice, whether or not one has the calling and talent to specialise in it. 215
For those who dedicate themselves to a particular vocation, the titles like fili, druí,
bean feasa or fiosaiche describe a level of proven mastery only achieved by a combination of
inborn talent, training, and after decades—or a lifetime—of study and dedication. They
also describe vocations that serve the community, and as such they are only really
conferred on individuals in recognition of their service to that community. 216 Not everyone
can hope to reach such heights, but they can still engage in a fulfilling and meaningful
way of life that serves their needs, and the needs of others. It is not necessary for Gaelic
Polytheists to pursue mastery of metaphysical arts, such as the practice of divination and
seership, or making changes in the world via metaphysical means, and not everyone has
the aptitude or interest in doing so (just as not everyone will be interested in pursuing the
sacred art of the poet (filidecht), the druid (druidecht), or warrior, etc). However, because
many of our rites and practices might be seen as "magical" in some way or another,
metaphysical work is something that affects Gaelic Polytheists far more than some other
vocations might.
In the case of protective rituals, everyone in the community traditionally performed
rites of saining on a regular basis—at the quarter days and other festivals like Hogmanay.
These rites typically involved burning juniper (which produces a lot of smoke, easily
filling an enclosed space),217 and/or by sprinkling silvered water around the house,
concentrating on thresholds and windows, and each member of the family (including
as a way of life. Although admittedly a bit of a mouthful, we feel the phrase speaks to the heart of Gaol Naofa's
philosophy and community.
215 The degree at which these practices are engaged in may differ widely from one individual, household or group to
another depending on aptitude or interest, but through "right action" (orthopraxy) we might communicate with the
gods, spirits, and ancestors even if we are not particularly sensitive to their responses.
216 And, when humanly possible, by Elders or at the very least, peers; that is, by those who fully understand the
standards that need to be met.
217 McNeill, The Silver Bough Volume 3, 1961, p113-114.
animals).218 Under special circumstances, however—in times of murrain or sickness—a
specialist might be called in to give extra support. 219 If a whole town or village was
affected then they would all join in, extinguishing the hearth fire and gathering on a
hillside to light a needfire that everyone helped to build, and then taking a torch from the
flames to relight the hearth 220—just like the saining rites of Bealtaine when the hearths
were extinguished and relit from the needfire, after the cattle and other livestock had been
driven between two bonfires, or across the dying embers. As well as protection, these rites
can be seen as a kind of cleansing and renewal, then. Today, entire villages might not take
part in these rites, but Gaelic Polytheists may observe such rites individually or within
their own group or community when necessary. Saining charms may also be recited before
important journeys, or whenever protection might be needed. 221
At (or just before) dawn on Bealtaine morning, the first water of the day might be
drawn to preserve the toradh—the "produce" or "goodness" of the household—and this
water can be saved and used in saining rites, or added to healing salves, balms or
ointments.222 The toradh of the water effectively holds the potential wealth and well-being
of the household and so where wells were shared amongst a number of households it was
often the case that people would compete to take the first draw, and thus the toradh for
themselves. There was also the potential to steal the toradh from a neighbour's well by
skimming it before they did, so Bealtaine morning was a time that could be quite fraught,
depending on how nice your neighbours were.
The dawn of each festival is seen as a powerful time when divination rites such as
frìth can be performed, to see what the next quarter might hold, or else to try and divine
the whereabouts of lost items or the well-being of loved ones who might be far away. 223
Other kinds of divination might also be specialised in, based on traditional practices such
as néldoracht ("cloud-divination"), or through observing the behaviour of birds and
wildlife.224 Weather divination and looking to the direction the wind is blowing in on the
218 Sometimes stale urine or spittle might be used instead. Black, The Gaelic Otherworld, 2005, p137.
219 One example is described in great detail by Alexander Polson, whereby the whole house was smoked out with
juniper in order to cure the illness of a young girl, after other means of curing her had failed. However, in this case
the density of the smoke killed her as a result of her weakened state. Polson, Scottish Witchcraft and Lore, 1932, p179.
220 McNeill, The Silver Bough Volume 1, 1957, p63-64. For more on this, see: 'Breath of Life: The Triple Flame of Brigid' by
Kathryn Price NicDhàna and Treasa Ní Chonchobhair.
221 Some examples: Carmichael, Carmina Gadelica Volume II, 1900, p26-37.
222 MacInlay, Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs, 1893, p297; Wilde, Irish Popular Superstitions, 1849, p54.
223 Carmichael, Carmina Gadelica, 1992, p532; p616.
224 Abercromby, 'Irish Bird-Lore,' in Folk-Lore Volume II, 1884-1885, p66-67. See also Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain, 1967, p327-
morning of the festivals can also be performed, 225 but these kinds of divination are
traditionally the preserve of the skilled few. 226 While it is unclear whether or not ogham
was traditionally used for divination by the pre-Christian Gaels, there is evidence to
suggest that it came to be used in such a way at a later date 227 and some Gaelic Polytheists
have developed their own methods of divination by ogham staves (or feánna).228
In addition to all of these rites there are other kinds of rituals and practices that
might be seen to have magical undertones, from the blessing of food for consumption at
festivals (or the ritualised cooking of certain foods for divinatory purposes), 229 or the
hanging of protective charms made of rowan and red thread, 230 Brigid's crosses made at Lá
Fhéile Bríde, or parshell crosses made at Samhain. Many of these traditional rites are
concerned with the protection and preservation of the household from bad luck or
disaster,231 which might be seen as having supernatural causes—such as from causing
offence to the spirits, gods or ancestors, or due to the influence of the "Evil Eye," which
might have been cast intentionally or accidentally by another human. 232
These observances are based on what we know of historical and surviving practices
from the Gaelic cultures themselves,233 from looking at sources like Alexander
Carmichael's Carmina Gadelica, which has preserved many of the songs and charms that
accompany the rhythms of daily life for the Gaels, as well as looking to the myths and
legends, and other sources we have to hand. These kinds of rites equip the average Gaelic
Polytheist with the ability to look after their own everyday needs and those of their family.
Sometimes outside help might be necessary, and this is where the skills and expertise of
328.
225 Meyer, Hibernica Minora, 1894, pp39-41; Black, The Gaelic Otherworld, 2005, p535.
227 As evidenced by the use of ogham staves for divination by druids in some of the tales, as well as Fionn's Window,
preserved in medieval manuscripts and which seem to have served a divinatory purpose.
228 For more information see: 'Tree Huggers: A Methodology for Crann Ogham Work (a.k.a. Raven and Kathryn Get
Lost in the Woods)' by Raven nic Rhóisín and Kathryn Price NicDhàna.
229 e.g., Festival Bannocks and Caudle.
230 Wood-Martin, Traces of the Elder Faiths in Ireland, 1901, p156; Cheape, 'The Material Culture of Charms and Amulets',
in Henderson (Ed.), Fantastical Imaginations: The Supernatural in Scottish History and Culture, 2009, p81.
231 For further examples, see 'Ritual Within Gaelic Polytheism' by Annie Loughlin and Treasa Ní Chonchobhair.
232 See for example: Maclagan, Evil Eye in the Western Highlands, 1902, and also Davidson, Rowan Tree and Red Thread,
1949, p76-77; Grant, Highland Folk Ways, 1961, p138; Black, The Gaelic Otherworld, 2005, p201. The Evil Eye is
commonly associated with witches, but might also be cast by those who've been lumped with the unfortunate
affliction since birth. In some cases, it might be caused by ill will or extreme jealousy. Being the victim of the Eye
means things can go wrong—disaster, illness, one piece of bad luck or another...But sometimes shit just happens too.
There a plenty of ways to remove the Evil Eye, or droch shùil, and in particularly stubborn cases the expertise of the
bean feasa is traditionally resorted to.
233 See Gaol Naofa's 'Ritual within Gaelic Polytheism' and The Gaol Naofa FAQ for more.
the fiosaiche or bean feasa might come into play. As knowledgeable healers and charmers,
they are the people who can help when all else fails, and their practices are rooted in what
we know of historical sources and surviving practices. Their title is not one that is taken on
by the individual, but one that is given to them by the community they serve, in
recognition of the talent they have, the services they have performed and the role they
occupy in the community.
Like the bean feasa, the title of druí (druid) is one that conferred on the individual by
the Elders and other long-term, experienced members of the living community, rather
than self-designated. Traditionally, the druid served as a priest/ess and advisor, leader of
group rituals, and expert in areas of occult knowledge (fisidecht). They performed different
kinds of divination, acted as seers, were skilled in different kinds of magic (such as battle
magic and corrguinecht) and likely served as judges, law makers, and political advisers as
well. Given the fact that modern society is so different compared to the time of the druids,
and the fact that Gaelic Polytheism is still in the early stages of development, the role of
the druid is one that presents certain difficulties. As yet, there are no druids serving in the
Gaelic Polytheist community, because of the amount of skill and learning involved in
being able to serve such a role. 234 Just as the roles the druids served seem to have split up
and evolved into several different vocations after Christianity displaced their central role
in Gaelic society, there are different people within modern Gaelic Polytheist groups who
specialise in certain areas that encompass one or more of the roles a druid traditionally
fulfilled. For example, our Elders are our advisers and leaders of group ceremony, while
some people specialise in certain kinds of divination or seership, others are scholars with
advanced degrees, or medical professionals, and so on.235
There are a variety of different paths that involve magical elements of practice not
limited to the so-called everyday "domestic" practices that have been described above.
Those with talent and training to become a seer (fáith), for example, might choose to
perform the taghairm ritual, a Scottish form of divination which traditionally involves
being wrapped in the skin of a newly slain ox or cow. 236 Those who are called to pursue
234 Which is not to say that this will always be the case.
235 See The GN FAQ for more details on how this works within Gaol Naofa.
236 As such, a reconstructed taghairm ritual would be a very serious undertaking, ox or cows not being ten a penny... See
Dwelly-d entry for "taghairm." The ritual is similar in form to the tarb-feis described in early Irish literature, but while
the taghairm was used for any divinatory needs, the tarb-feis appears to have been solely used to divine who the next
king might be. As such the tarb-feis may have limited applications in modern GP.
filidecht—the profession of the expert, inspired, and gifted poet—might perform the rite of
imbas forosnai,237 in order to gain a sort of "enlightened inspiration" as part of the process of
poetry-making.238 Part of their remit may be to perform satire (although the satirist may
also be a separate vocation), which as we have seen above, involves some forms of satirical
poetry that can be seen as magical.
Other Gaelic Polytheists might specialise in the arts of healing, and there are many
charms associated with the harvesting of medicinal herbs that can be found in sources like
the Carmina Gadelica. As we have seen from The Deer's Cry, which calls for protection
"against the spells of women and smiths and druids," as well as the charm against thorn
that calls on Goibniu, smithing also contains magical undertones. 239 The path of the
warrior can also involve some magical practices, including being skilled in using ogham to
place or recognise magical geasa on other warriors (geasa are magical prohibitions that
affect how an individual must behave in certain situations). 240 In some cases, Gaelic
Polytheists may have geasa, which can be taken on, given at certain times, or simply
recognised as having been inherited. This may happen during rites of passage such as
baptism, adoption, and the taking on of new tasks or vocations.
The sources we look to in order to inform our metaphysical practices are varied. We
look to the myths and surviving folk customs, sources like Sanas Cormaic, which describe a
number of rites and practices (including the protective Bealtaine bonfires and imbas
forosnai), and Alexander Carmichael's Carmina Gadelica. Authors such as F. Marian
McNeill, Kevin Danaher, Ronald Black, Séan Ó Súilleabháin, E. Estyn Evans, Lady
Gregory, Walter Gregor, Hugh Cheape, Margaret Bennett, and Martin Martin give us a
detailed view of every day Gaelic life, as well as the practices of the charmers, healers,
wise women, and wise men who form our point of reference for the kinds of practices that
might be deemed "magical" in a Gaelic Polytheist context. From these sources we see how
we ourselves can model our practices along traditional lines. For us, eclectic Neopagan
237 One example can be found archived here.

238 As with a number of other vocations within Gaelic Polytheism, the path of the fili is one that requires great
knowledge and expertise in the art, and meeting the standards set by our ancestors. These requirements include
memorising vast numbers of traditional prayers, poems and songs; being able to compose inspired poetry on the
spot; extensive memorisation of lore and history; and the proven ability to communicate well with the spirits and
relay their messages with accuracy, among other things. When it comes to vocations that demand fluency in at least
one of the Gaelic languages, this is certainly one of them. As with druí, fili is also a title that should be granted by
knowledgeable peers and Elders, not self-designated.
239 See Randolph, 'Celtic Smiths and Satirists: Partners in Sorcery,' in ELH, Vol. 8, No. 3, 1941, p184-197.
240 As we see in the Táin, for example.
practices are not a point of reference at all, nor do we "flesh out" our practices by using
eclectic or New Age sources, nor do we appropriate from other cultures or paradigms.
This means we do not cast runes, do Tarot spreads, incorporate "magical
correspondences," cast a "magic circle" or invoke elements, Watchtowers or deities, or
attempt to "use" gods or spirits in magical spells as some Neopagan traditions might. Nor
do we try to stealthily incorporate non-Gaelic elements by misappropriating things from
other cultures and trying to disguise the theft by giving it an inappropriate or new Gaelic
name.241 Our practices come solely from what we can find in tradition (and where
necessary, the careful application of personal inspiration and vision, operating within the
checks and balances of community and traditional cultural context).
In this respect, it is not appropriate to call our practices "witchcraft" because that
would imply malevolent acts or an involvement in eclectic Neopagan practices where
there is none. While these distinctions may be confusing for those new to Gaelic
metaphysical lore, and has led to some unnecessary misconceptions among mainstream
Neopagans, with immersion in a Gaelic worldview these things become clear.
As far as witchcraft in its traditional sense is concerned, the main thing that defines
what is or isn't witchcraft depends on the actions of the individual and their relationship
to the community. As we see in the sources there are plenty of occasions where magic
might be used to cause harm to someone, and a good example here is satire. Even saints
are seen to use satire and curses (in many cases, satire and curses can overlap), but if this is
done in the pursuit of justice—and it is agreed by the community that it is just, not just
due to the obsessions of an unbalanced, harmful individual who wants to believe their
personal vendetta is just—this is not necessarily seen as witchcraft or bad behaviour. This
can be the case even though the satire may be magical in its power and harmful in its end
result—possibly killing or maiming the victim. The power of the satirist rests not just on
their skill and potential power to harm, but on the importance of honour in Gaelic society,
and the power of words. To be accused of dishonour can be hugely damaging to your
reputation—to your very being. Therefore, to be the victim of satire is a terrible thing, and
why the results can be so devastating. It is therefore incumbent on the satirist to use their
241 As has been seen when some non-Indigenous Neopagans have performed their offensive, outsider fantasies of
Native American sweatlodge ceremonies, but tried to claim they are the Gaelic taigh an fhallais or teach an allais
ceremony—which is an entirely different thing. Nor do we support similar misrepresentations of our source
materials, such as replacing the Irish ideas in the medieval 'Cauldron of Poesy' poem with concepts misappropriated
from South Asian Tantra. For more on this see: Meehan, Michael J., 'A Protocol for Imbas Forosnai.'
powers wisely; those who don't, face severe consequences... just look at the fate of
Cridenbél in Cath Maige Tuired (hint: he abused his position and ended up dead). When
the satire—or threat of satire—is unjustified, there are sanctions made against the satirist;
just as when someone is accused of performing magic for selfish, harmful purposes, they
are accused of witchcraft. In both cases, the individual only gains a bad reputation as a
result of their own dishonourable behaviour.
Honour and integrity are central values within our Gaelic Polytheist community,
and those who act without honour or integrity, who use magic for malicious ends or
selfish purposes, or who actively work to cause harm and chaos in the community, may be
seen as a witch.
In Conclusion
As Gaelic Polytheists there is an admittedly confusing, and historically dense,

landscape of labels that may or may not be appropriate for our magical practices and
practitioners. So it is perhaps not surprising to find modern terminology (even incorrect
terminology) filtering into Celtic Reconstructionist and Gaelic Polytheist discussions,
especially among newer members or those who may not have contact with the living
cultures. However, as reconstructionists who look to the historical and living cultures to
inform our practices, we believe that we should do the same in choosing the terminology
with which we identify ourselves. Many Celtic Reconstructionists have done this in
identifying the cultural focus of their traditions, adopting labels such as
Pàganachd/Págánacht, Ildiachas, Senobessus, or Amldduwiaeth,242 and calling for people to
give even more specific names to their branches of the tradition, so as to recognise the
diversity that exists under the CR umbrella.243
Likewise, filidecht and druidecht are some examples of culturally appropriate labels
that are already in use to describe certain vocations that some Gaelic Polytheists might
242 The latter two describing Gaulish and Welsh reconstructionist traditions respectively, while the former might be
found in Gaelic contexts. Senobessus translates as "old custom" while the other terms translate as "polytheism" or
"paganism."
243 NicDhàna, Kathryn Price, 'Turning Point : Third Point : Gateway - Thoughts on the history of Celtic
Reconstructionism, 1985 - 2008.' April 30, 2008, Nailed to the door of the Internet.
dedicate themselves to achieving. 244 While druidecht is perhaps less commonly used
because "druid" can convey basically the same meaning in English, filidecht is a term that is
more widely used in the CR community because it encompasses a complex concept that is
not easy to articulate simply in English. The same is true when we consider the very
nuanced beliefs and attitudes when it comes to varieties of magical practice, and vocations
of a magical focus, in a Gaelic context. Of the words that have been examined in the course
of this essay, fisidecht—encompassing "occult" and "druidical" kinds of knowledge—is a
term that could possibly serve as a convenient catch-all label when discussing magical
practices in general (though this is just one option among many).
What we are advocating here is hardly something new or revolutionary; looking to
our spiritual cousins we find that the heathen community, for example, have long used
culturally-appropriate labels to describe their own magical practices and practitioners, and
the same is true for living spiritual traditions that have not needed any reconstruction. 245
To name ourselves accurately, in the languages of our cultures, is simply part and parcel
of a reconstructionist methodology, and to ignore the historical and cultural context and
meaning of these labels—and choose modern definitions over them, even though they are
contradictory—is antithetical to that methodology. We also believe that it is a simple
matter of respect, since belief in witchcraft, according to its traditional definition, can still
be found in Gaelic areas today. Beneficial folk magic and traditions also survive, and to
insist on calling such practices "withcraft" is both inaccurate and potentially offensive to
the people who still perform them. From all sides, we must conclude that the word
"witchcraft" has very little relevance to a reconstructionist community, unless the word is
being used in its traditional and historical context: to describe someone who is working
malevolent magic of the sort that blights a community and harms the innocent.
The abundance of Gaelic technical terms to describe different types of magic, and
those who might practice them, suggests that all of the different meanings and nuances
between these terms are important. This in itself has implications in how we might apply
these terms in a modern context, if and when they are applicable today.
We must also consider the fact that as times have changed, so have beliefs and the
244 But see previous notes on the necessity for respecting the great learning, achievement, and community recognition
necessary for the granting of these titles.
245 See also: The Gaol Naofa FAQ - "But hasn't the meaning of Witchcraft changed?"
context in which some of these words have been used, as well as the kinds of words being
used. As a result of these changes, we find that some words with very specific
connotations in a polytheistic context have been co-opted, subverted and redefined over
time, and so are not necessarily appropriate for us to adopt. As we have seen, during the
Middle Ages (when views on magic were increasingly being framed as demonic or Satanic
at their core), the names of certain goddesses—such as Badb and the Cailleach—were co-
opted and subverted to refer to witchcraft or witches. Along with Mongfind, whose
origins as a sovereignty goddess have been subverted to those of a mere witch, it is clear
that these deities have been reduced to demonic, evil, yet mortal women rather than
goddesses in their own right, in order to serve a medieval Christian narrative. As
polytheists, it could hardly be appropriate to adopt the names of these demoted goddesses
as terms for ourselves as magic-workers, either to use them in the Neopagan (positive)
sense of the word or to label someone as a "witch" in the traditional (negative) sense. In
either context, this usage of their names can hardly be seen as respectful or honouring the
goddesses who have been subverted in the process. Instead, if terms are needed to refer to
the type of people we would describe as witches in the Gaelic sense, there are surely more
appropriate terms that can be considered for use, such as ammait or túathaid/bantuathaid.246
Some of the terms that describe the practices of wise women and men, especially—
such as bean feasa, fiosaiche/ban-fhiosaiche, or fer-obbee/ben-obbee—may be more relevant to
the kind of vocations that we as Gaelic Polytheists might wish to dedicate ourselves to,
provided there is an understanding that these are not labels that are adopted in isolation,
but ones that are earned and conferred in recognition of the expertise, skill and knowledge
a person might possess, and share with their community. We have suggested these terms
as they are more accurate descriptors of the role that these practitioners may play in Gaelic
Polytheist communities, and also to remove the many other problems that simply
identifying as a witch can bring.
The issues we have raised during the course of this essay go beyond a matter of
accuracy and semantics in the words we might choose. If we embrace mainstream
Neopagan terms it often leads to the mistaken assumption that we ourselves embrace the
eclectic range of practices that are commonly found as the norm within those
communities, such as circle casting, divination by Tarot or runes, the commanding of
246 See the section "Witchcraft in Ireland" for more about these words.
spirits or the use of ritual props like the athame. 247 These things are rooted in a vastly
different worldview that is often diametrically opposed to our own, and so they are not
applicable to a Celtic Reconstructionist or Gaelic Polytheist practice. When one chooses
Neopagan and pop culture labels over culturally-rooted ones, such a fundamental and
important point is often missed or misunderstood by newcomers (or those with only a
basic knowledge of reconstructionism in general), and this is problematic on many levels.
Any implied agreement with the values of mainstream, eclectic Neopaganism tends to
also imply an acceptance of this eclectic range of belief and practice, and this not only goes
against the grain of what reconstructionism is trying to achieve, and the core values of
reconstructionism, but it also has the potential for introducing the kinds of culturally
appropriative elements that reconstructionism aims to avoid. In this respect, incorporating
elements from eclectic Neopagan practices is simply incompatible with a reconstructionist
approach.248 Additionally, these kinds of misunderstandings run the risk of newcomers
doing things that might cause offence to the spirits, which can lead to more than just a
mild headache. This is a point that is often glossed over, but is something that cannot be
understated.
In many cases, people may not be aware of the issues that have been raised here,
and considering the lack of more appropriate terminology on offer the use of such
inappropriate terms as "witch" (in its Neopagan sense) is perhaps—up until now, at least
—understandable. At the other end of the scale are those who are well aware of the
traditional meaning of "witch", and are using the label with the harmful meaning in mind,
whether to describe their own practices or perhaps the practices of others. 249 Although
"witch" and "witchcraft" may not traditionally be seen as desirable labels or practices to
adopt, there are always going to be a small number of people who will choose to practice
harmful magic, for whatever reason. This is another reason why using such terms
accurately within our own communities is important; when words can carry such weight,
247 Even today there are some people out there calling themselves "Celtic Reconstructionist Wiccans," for example,
which is an oxymoron.
248 As Bill Linzie comments, in discussing the increasing tendency to incorporate 'neo-shamanic' practices into heathen
seidr work, to do so "...the very foundations of the worldview can be undermined so that the cosmological [roots of
our practice are] completely altered..." What we end up with is therefore a "confabulation," and one that isn't rooted
in the culture we are explicitly identifying with when we call ourself Gaelic Polytheists, or similar. See Linzie,
Germanic Spirituality, 2003, p35-36.
249 If applied to others, we would consider this to be a very serious accusation, however, and would not recommend it
being thrown around lightly.
they should be used with care.
In some cases, however, people may be aware that "witch" and "witchcraft" are not
positive terms in a Gaelic context but still choose to use them because the modern re-
definitions are so well-entrenched in the mainstream Neopagan and New Age
communities. Here it might be argued that because the modern re-definitions are so
popular it is both easier and simpler to go along with it because they won't need
explaining like culturally-specific labels might. A counter-argument might point out that
heathen communities have no such trouble when referring to seidr or spae. For some, it
might simply be the case that Neopagan terminology is both familiar and comfortable, and
that there is a reluctance to let go of such an identity even though one's practices have
otherwise moved away from that. Whatever the reasoning, that is their prerogative, of
course. However, considering the issues that have been raised here, and bearing in mind
that other culturally-specific terms are widely used and promoted within the CR and GP
communities, it seems contradictory, and a little incongruous, to stop short at referring to
other vocations in the same, culturally-accurate, fashion.
In considering the kinds of labels that are available to us, it may also be the case
that specialised terminology is not even necessary; much of what we do as Celtic
Reconstructionists might be seen as "magical" in some way, but that does not necessarily
mean those acts define us or our vocation. Many of us seek to build positive relationships
with the nature spirits on whose land we live and work; we perform rites of protection
and blessing; we make charms like the cros Bríde to hang above the hearth or set out the
brídeóg to welcome Brigid at her festival, and look for signs of her visit afterwards. We
might make crosses of rowan and red thread to protect the household; smoor the hearth in
the evening and rekindle it in the morning; 250 look for signs and omens in the clouds or in
nature; take an ogham reading to divine the future or an answer to a question, and so on.
These things could be interpreted as being "magical" in one way or another, but for most
of us they are simply part and parcel of the normal, everyday practices that make us
Gaelic Polytheists. The kinds of terms that describe cunning folk, or other kinds of
magically-oriented vocations like druids or filid, are generally reserved for those who have
decades of study, practice and specialisation under their belts, and who can be considered
250 Often a symbolic act in this day and age.
experts at the top of their fields. Even if such specialists have a prohibition against taking
money for the services they provide, they can be seen as the equivalent of degreed
professionals, and the difference between the normal practitioner of magic and these
specialists is much the same as the difference between someone who knows how to clean a
wound and apply a bandage, versus a practicing surgeon.
Magic in Gaelic Polytheism is a vast and varied subject, and witchcraft is just a
small part of it. In exploring this subject, and advocating for the adoption of more
appropriate terminology to describe our magical practices, we realise that we have only
scratched the surface here. There is surely much more to explore and discuss, but we hope
that what we have outlined here proves to be a good starting point for further study and
open dialogue, clarifies our position, and illuminates why we in Gaol Naofa use the
terminology we use. Ultimately, whatever labels or terminology groups or individuals
choose to adopt is going to be a personal matter, but we hope that this essay has provided
some ideas and avenues to consider.
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Rowan and Red Thread:

Magic and Witchcraft in Gaelic Cultures

Rowan-tree and red thread

Celtic Reconstructionism and "Magick"

Historical Witchcraft and Modern Witchcraft

9 NicDhàna et al, The CR FAQ, 2007, p130.

Magic in Ireland: Fisidecht, Filidecht, is Druidecht

36 Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law, 1988, p137; 343.

47 The Battle of Moytura.

58 Mees, Celtic Curses, 2009, p127.

"The Tuatha De Danann were in the northern islands of the world,

Wise-woman, or Bean feasa

A bean feasa (Gaeilge, "woman of knowledge or wisdom; a wise-woman") 110

109 See translation by Dennis King given above, www.sengoidelic.com

In Gaelic Scotland, witchcraft is known as buidseachd,129 and the witch is known as a

129 The alternate spelling, buitseach, is also found, notably in Dwelly's.

Furthermore, Berrey Dhone ("Brown Berrey")—a figure who might actually be

Magic on the Isle of Man: the Fer-obbee and Ben-obbee

162 Yn Lior Manninagh, Vol I, 1891, p223.

Protection against Witchcraft

176 Newton, A Handbook of the Scottish Gaelic World, 2000, p182.

Gaelic Cultures as a Whole

Concerning the Witch as Outsider, or Outcast

203 NicDhàna et al, The CR FAQ, 2007, p111-116.

Scottish History and Culture, 2009, p190.

Magic in Contemporary Gaelic Polytheism

237 One example can be found archived here.

As Gaelic Polytheists there is an admittedly confusing, and historically dense,

250 Often a symbolic act in this day and age.

Abercromby, John. 'Irish Bird-Lore.' Folk-Lore Volume II, 1884-1885, p65-67.

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