Trows, Changelings and Wise Women in Early Nineteenth Century Kirkwall
A nineteenth century autobiography written by the minister William Leask offers a fascinating insight into supernatural belief in contemporary Orkney.
The Cailleach: Irish Myth, Legend and the Divine Feminine
The Cailleach, which translates as ‘old woman’, ‘hag’, and ‘veiled one’, exists in both Irish and Scottish Gaelic, and is an expression of the hag or crone archetype found throughout world cultures.
The Seal Children: Sealskins and Soulskins. Or, When We Were Migrants
The first story that I found in this land where I live was The Seal Children, and as we walk the path to Maes Y Mynydd where the story is set, my mind wanders back through selkie stories.
Five Extraordinary Goddesses
The first witch of Western literature, Circe lived what appears to be an idyllic, solitary life on the island of Aiaia. She spent her time honing her enviable magic spells, collecting herbs from the thick forest that fringed her land and doting on her magically docile pet lions and wolves.
Spinning a Tale: Spinning and Weaving in Myths and Legends
Spinning is a fundamentally human thing, and something that we have been doing since far into the ancient past.