Of Celtic Tribes and Changelings

The Celtic Tribes used to expand from Portugal all the way to the UK. In the first century B.C., the Romans launched a plan to expand their empire. Thus, killing the Celtic tribes by the thousands. The only remains of their influence is in the UK and Spain. 

I am a person with both Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Irish ancestry. For that reason, I consider myself a Celt.  I remember as a child my Mother used to tell me stories about the hadas (fae in Spanish.)  I remember helping my parents garden in the yard of our first house. I asked them if I could build a house for the faeries. My Mom told me they already have a house. The fae live in the trees. My Mother is Catholic. Yet, she wonder's how I became Pagan. It's her fault. She's the one who taught me to respect nature, she's the one who took me to the library, and she's the one who took me to the zoo. Not my fault, I took it to heart. My Mother was a great parent once. 

Like every little girl, I was obsessed with mermaids and faeries. I devoured every fairy tale book I could get my tiny hands on. I watched every fantasy movie. I am 33 and I'm still a diehard Last Unicorn fan. I've been into fantasy since I learned how to read. The older I became, the more interested I was in folklore. I read Spanish and Irish folklore. Interesting, how in all the Catholic countries women are always temptresses or killers. Catholicism couldn't kill a woman's power. Goddesses like the Mórrígan transformed into faeries and eventually banshees. In Irish,"Bean Sidh" means fairy woman. Over time, the Irish word became angelized to mean the spirit of a dead woman. From goddess, to faery, to ghost. That is a huge downgrade.  Banshees were initially seen as fetches. Fetches are family spirits who watch over their descendants. They wail as a warning when someone in the family dies. 

When I was in college I was handpicked by the Mórrígan. This is why I have a triskelion with ravens tattooed on my right arm. The Mórrígan is seen as both three minor Goddesses or one Goddess with three aspects. In Irish, her name means Phantom Queen. The Mórrígan is featured in both the Ulster Cycle and the Mythology Cycle. In the Ulster Cycle, she is the daughter of Ernmas. She has two sisters: Badb and Macha. In the mythology cycle, the Mórrígan is seen as a trinity of: Badb, Macha, and Anand. Anand is also Danu's daughter so that makes sense. She is a dual goddess of death and fertility. 

                                                                            Photos by me. 

Photo of my altar 

Changelings are the children of the fey. Faeries have a hard time getting pregnant apparently so they steal humans to open up the gene pool. But, we all know that this folktale is just a lie. It's easier to think a faery stole your kid, than knowing it has defects and will be left to die in the wilderness. In Irish folklore, if your child was taken one had to put cold iron on the fake infant. Faeries hate iron. It will burn them. Thus sending the changeling back home. The fae will have no choice, but to return your child.

Reasons I'm a changeling:

1. I'm anemic. My body doesn't produce enough iron. 
2. I was a sickly child growing up. Changelings are always weak.
3. I was too skinny as a child. Changelings are gluttons. They eat and eat and it's never enough. 
4. I have clinical depression. Changelings are always unhappy and mean. 
5. I have low blood pressure/circulation. I'm always cold. Faeries are always colder than humans. 
6. Changelings hate being touched by humans. I too hate being touched without being asked first. 
7. Changelings are given to new parents or abusive parents to teach them a lesson. I am in therapy for the abuse my Mother put me through. 
8. I love hiking, swimming, climbing trees and cliffs. If my allergies to pollen and ragweed did not murder me I'd probably live in upstate NY. 
9. Animals love me. I've never met an animal that didn't like me. I love animals as well. It's why I foster cats and want a husky.
10. I have a green thumb. When Squeakers isn't killing my plants by chewing on them I can make all my plants survive. My cat is a good boy. He protects my plants. 
11. I can glamour people. I don't like to use this skill because it's also called manipulation. But ever since I was a child I could get any item I wanted for free. 
12. I am neurodivergent. My brain doesn't function like a normal person. 
13. My adhd, depression and hormones give me emotional dysregulation. Basically normal people think my behavior is extra. I'm not being extra or a drama queen. Because of my conditions, my emotions can become too extreme. I can't handle disappointment, so I trained myself to be jaded. You can't get disappointed if you expect the worst. As a child I struggled with my temper and excitement. This is why I didn't have many friends. Changelings are loners. They also can't handle human emotions. 
14. As a child, I didn't understand why everyone couldn't be nice. I was constantly  called a crybaby. So I turned into a bitch to protect myself. 
15. The fae love music and the arts. They're very creative. I think life would be awful if I didn't have music or art. I'm currently listening to Primordial while I type this. I can read sheet music. I can play a flute and piccolo. I'm learning drums. I am a second soprano. I was in choir in middle school and high school. I've been taking photos since I was in middle school. I love to paint although I'm terrible at it. I design my own clothes. I used to make my own webzine when I was a kid. Now I have this blog. 
16. Most humans suck. I don't want to get grouped in with them.  
17. I'm genderfluid and bisexual. Faeries don't have religion or morals. 
18. Fae have fertility issues. I have endometriosis. 
19. I love shiny or glittery things. I am like a corvid which are the Mórrígan's animals.  
20. I have elf ears.                                                    

Baby Me

Here is my favorite Primordial song. It's based off a poem written in Irish from the perspective of the first Druid of Ireland.