Showing posts sorted by relevance for query selkies”. Sort by date Show all posts

Thursday, March 10, 2016


Selkies are said to be fictional creatures that live in Faroese, Icelandic, Irish, and Scottish 
Mythology. They can shed their skin form seals to become humans which are usually woman. The legend is originated on the island of Orkney and the Shetland Islands. The Silkies have many different names.This can be Selchies; Silkies or Selch. is some of the Scots word for the seal/selkie from the old English seolh. 
The legends of the Silkier has been around for centuries, especially in the Icelandic, Ireland and Scotland countries. These of course were the oceans of the very icy seas.The Selkies of these icy seas are able to become human by shedding their seal skins and can then return to the seal form by putting them back on. Ancient stories concerning the selkies are generally romantic tragedies. Sometimes the human[mostly always men] will not know that their lover is a selkie and wakes to find them gone.Other times the human male will hide the selkie skin which is almost always of a Female selkie, thus preventing her to return to the seal form. A selkie can only make contact with one particular human for a short amount of time before they must reture to the sea/ocean. They are not able to make contactt with that human again for seven years, unless the human has steal their selkie skin and hidden it or even worst of all 
''burned it' If they have burned the selkie seal skin they may never go back to the ocean again where they probably have a husband and children and a entire family that they will never see again. And the longing for the sea will forever be there but she will never be able to be again.
There are a few such stories in ballad; called the Great Silkie or Sule Skerry and the movie 
'The Secret of Roan Inish'. 
The Selkie legend is also told in Wales, but in a slightly different form. The selkies are humans who have returned to the sea. Dylan - Dylan Eil Don - the firstborn of Arianrhod - was variously a merman or sea spirit who is some versions of the story escapes to the sea immediately after birth. In the Faroe Islands there are two version of the story of the Selkie or what they say 'Seal's Wife'. This is how the tale goes; A Young farmer from the town of Mikladalur on the island of kalsoy goes to

the beach to watch the selkies dance under the moon light as they always do every summer, because it can be so very cold in the winter months. The selkies always take care in hiding their seal skins so that they can find them at dawn to put them back on to go back into the sea their home to their families. Also so that no farmers or fishermen can find them to make them their wife against the will. Well, in this tale that is just what happened to one such selkie, the farmer that was watching them dance by the moon light was also watching where they were putting there seal skins too. He had his eye on one beautiful selkie maiden, so he went to find her skin and so she couldn't go back to sea, and forced her to marry him.

The farmer kept her skin in a chest, and the key to lock it around his neck both day and night. One day when he was out fishing, the farmer discovered that he forgotten to bring his key. When he returned home the selkie wife had escaped back to the sea, leaving their children behind. Sadly years later, when the farmer was on a hunt in the ocean, he killed both her selkie husband and her two selkie sons. She then promised to take revenge upon the men of the island of Mikladalur. Some of them drowned, some shall fall from the cliffs and slopes and this shall continued, until so many men have been lost that they will be able to link arms around the whole island of Kallsoy.
Male Selkies are very handsome in their human form, and have a

great seduction powers over the human women. They will typically seek those who are dissatisfied with their romantic life. This includes married women waiting for their fisherman husbands to come home after months at sea. If a human woman wishes to make contact with a selkie male all she has to do is go to a beach and shed seven tears into the sea.
If a human male steals a female selkie's skin, she is in his power, that instant he has taken her seal skin. Then is forced to become his wife.

Female selkies are said to make excellent wives, however their true love & home is the sea, they will often be seen gazing longingly at the ocean. If  she finds her skin again, she will immediately return to her true home, and sometimes to her selkie husband in the sea. Sometimes a selkie maiden is taken as a wife by a human man and she has several children by him. In these stories, it is one of her children who has discovered her sealskin who often unwitting of its significance and she soon returns to the sea leaving the child. The selkie woman usually avoids seeing her human husband again but is sometimes shown visiting her children and playing with them in the waves. Selkies are not always faithless lovers. One tale of a fisherman Cagan who married a Seal-Woman.
Against his wife's wishes he set sail during a dangerously late in the year, and was trapped battling a terrible storm, unable to return home. His wife shifted to her seal form and saved him, even though this meant she could never return to her human body and hence her happy home.
Some stories from Shetland have selkies luring islanders into the sea at midsummer, the lovelorn-humans never returning to dry land. Seal shapeshifters similar to the selkie exist in the folklore of many cultures. A corresponding creature existed in Swedish legend,and the Chinook people of North America have a similar tale of a boy who changes into a seal.
Theories of the origins of the Selkie~    
There seem to be lots of theories on the Selkie, one is that they belief is that the selkie ware actually fur-clad Finns, traveling by kayak. Another is that shipwrecked Spaniards that washed ashore and their jet black hair resembled seals. As the anthropologist A. Asbjorn Jon has recognized though, there is a strong body of lore that indicates that selkies are said to be supernaturally formed

from the souls of drowned people.
It really comes down to what you believe.
I hope you all enjoyed the legend of the Selchies
there are so many legends about them
Odine the Selkie Movie
love you all
Your Friend always

Friday, February 21, 2014

Supernatural Scotland-The Selkirk's Bride-

Supernatural Scotland-The Selkirk's Bride-
There are many different Scottish legends & stories about 
the selkie, but the most common ones are usually the tragic one's. 
These are over theft, love and loss and among other things! The
truth is there is no romantic stories when it comes to the selkie/human at least in Scotland. These Selkies hunt the same fish, with their big eyes and round heads looking almost human in the ocean waters of the coasts of Scotland's icy waters. When they would sing, on the edge of the coastline, you'd be sure that you could understand the words if only you listened hard enough, but alas you never would quite get the words as they would disappear into the crashing waves at sunset.
There is a widespread belief that seals can become human, perhaps only at certain times of the year-
Some say it's may be the spring tide, midsummer and the full moon. This could because it is when they come down from the icy water of the north to celebrate the coming spring and full moon! And these are Magick nights! This is when they feel safe to shed their sealskin's to sing and dance on the shores of Scotland. Of course, how in their human form, they are the most beautiful naked women in the land or that a human Scotsman has ever seen!
There is a tragic story if you would like to hear!
Of an young Scotsman who lived in a small village close by the sea, who dared to see the silkies dance!
Here is how it goes! As the young Scott came down upon the beach, he say the many beautiful women dancing naked on the beach, pale skin visible in moments of moonlight and they also played the most memorizing music he had ever heard. One of the young selkies was so beautiful that his heart was lost in her beauty...
So the young man decided to do the unthinkable, he crawled slower than the tide on his hands and knees to the pile of sealskin's at the edge of their party and he hunted for the softest,smallest most perfect skin. Then he said,'This must be Hers!' he rolled it up, shoved it under his jacked and crawled away to his house overlooking the shore of the ocean. 
When the party was finished, all the songs were sung, all the dances were danced and the morning light was threatening to come in from the east, all the selkies rushed over to the pile of skins.
Everyone found their own skins and started to pull them on like capes, swirling round and engulfing their human bodies. One by one the all became seals again and slipped into the freezing ocean. All but one.
The youngest of the group, stood there naked and shivering, with no seal skin to put on. She was very sad to see her friend swim away as the sun came in for the day. nowhere to hide either. 

So when the young fisherman appeared in the dawn light with a blanket and a hot drink for her, she was impressed. Also the fact that he had said that he had search for her sealskin, all along the beach even under every rock, but never found it. So she had to be content to live in his house by the sea. To hear,smell and watch the waves, but never swim in the great ocean again as a selkie. 
This also meant she could never become a seal again without her sealskin, so the feelings of sadness of never being with her seal family, her brothers and sisters and children again was heart-aching for the selkie. 
So when the fisherman asked selkie to live with him forever and to be his wife, his love for her was so apparent. And Her home at sea! and her children, family was so impossible to reach, she decided to conceded to marry him. 
She was as happy as one could be, at least she was close to the ocean, loved by her man and had a lovely human family. She did all this with tears in her big brown eyes every day.
Yet, every full moon and spring tide, her seal family would swim up, to the crest of the waves and would sing to her on the beach. This would happen every year and this is what make the dear selkie be able to live day in and out as a human wife and mother to his children.  
But on one Sunday, while her husband and the children were at Church, a place she had never felt entirely comfortable/ so she never went. She was spring cleaning at their home. Every shelf dusted, every flagstone gleaming, she clambered up a ladder to deal with the cobwebs among the roof beams too. As she poked around the roof beams and prodded the duster into a darken corner, a dry old bundle fell down on her head.
It was her sealskin! Bound up with a string! Hidden, binding here forever. Which meant the young fisherman had lied to her all these years!
She quickly cut the knots and let the skin unroll. It still smelt of the sweet smell of salt.
She thought of her human children at church for a moment. She thought of the sea, and the fish and the currents and the songs. Then she thought of her seal children under the waves. And she thought of her husband, pretending to search for a sealskin that he had hidden himself above her head!
When her family returned from church, she was gone! The fisherman saw the old string cut into bits on the floor and he knew where she had gone!
Now the fisherman's children go down to the shore every evening, and hear the sad song of the seal floating in the bay. Crying because she left her human children on the shore, to be with her children of the sea. 
As you see there is no happy endings to the Selkirks stories either way there is sadness, and lost of children.. 
I hope you Enjoyed this Tale.
I have loved the stories and legends of the Selkirks and I hope you all my dear Friends and Followers Enjoyed this one too!
Your Wendy.. 

It was by a Scotclansman Lari Don

Friday, February 22, 2013








Sunday, November 9, 2014

Celtic Mermaid

Celtic Mermaid~
Celtic Mermaid
Seal-People Selkies
of the Shetland Islands
of Scotland 
For this post I thought I would bring, you all my dear friends & Follower into the land of the Shetland Islands. Where it tells of many legends of the Mermaids. In these Shetland Island there is an common legend story with such details within the story, that it even matches the locations too. In these stories of the Shetland Islands often more than not the actual name are given to the people and places that are involved within the stories. Sometimes even the date of these stories were firmly attached to these stories of an particular location of the Islands. These would make the legends more of truth. The Story of the Celtic Mermaid starts on a fine summer evening on the Shetland Islands of Scotland. It seems that there was someone who inhabitant the Islands, just happened to be walking along the sandy shoreline by the small bay. The moon that night had risen and it was full. So by its light the young man could see a great distance before him on the Shetland islands of Scotland. As he approach a bit closer he so before him a number of sea-people who were dancing on the smooth white sand. What the young man found most interesting, was what was near the ground by the dancing Sea-people. 
Just a few feet away he saw lying in the sand several seal-skins. Then it came to him that these must be the ancient Seal-People that the Call 'Selkies' in the Celtic Mythology of the Shetland Islands. He was very exited that he actually was in the misted of an beautiful Celtic Mythology Creatures. As the Young man got closer to the dancers, they all stopped dancing and raced for their seal-skins. Putting them on and then plunging into the sea into the form of Seals. However in the confusion there was one seal-skin that was left behind, which was lying at the young mans feet. Well to the to the young Seal-Selkie who was looking for it all night it was a nightmare, because this young man decided to snatch up the Seal-skin and ran to his home and hid it. Then he returned to the shore, and of course he would met up with the fairest and most beautiful maiden that he had ever seen. The young maiden had been waking up and down, the sea shore all night looking for her loss seal-skin robe. Moaning over the lost of it and the lost of never being able to rejoin her family and friends of the sea. She knew now that, she would have to remain in the world lit by the sun and never again be in the cool waters under the sea. So the Young man approached the maiden and tried to console her. She begged him to restore her dress, but the sight of her lovely face, more beautiful in tears had steeled his heart. Its is said that Mermaids are always beautiful, but never more so than in the Celtic world. So what this Young man told her is that it was impossible for her to return to the sea with her friends and family and that they would soon forget about her anyway. Finally he was able to convince the beautiful Celtic Mermaid/Selkie that she could never return to her home of the sea and that their family and Friends of the sea had soon forgotten all about her. When he had did that he asked her to marry him. All along he had hidden her Seal-skin away so that she would never leave him. The Young man then told her that it was impossible for her to return, and that her friends would soon forget all about her forever. So the Sea-maiden finding that she had no alternative and no where to live, she consented to become his wife. Their Marriage was easily arranged in Celtic Traditions and the couple lived together for many many years. Some have said even happy. During the time they were together the two had several children, however non had any signs of their mothers marine origins except for a thin web between their fingers and a bend of of their hands, like that fore paws of a seal. These  Characteristics to this day still remain in this family in Scotland to this day..from generation to generation.. And of course no one ever said anything about the Myth of the Celtic Mermaid...
The Shetlander of the Islands off of Scotland loved his beautiful wife, but the Celtic Mermaid never did return his affection during the entire marriage even do to the fact they had children too. She would often sneak out alone when everyone was asleep and would go with hast down to the lonely white sandy beach. Once she got there a large seal would always appear and the two would converse for hours til almost dawn in an unknown language. When it was time for her to return home from this nightly meetings with the unknown large Seal, she was very sad, thoughtful and grateful for the conversations. However, even with the many visits from the unknown large Seal late at night, according to the legend, many many years went by and the beautiful Celtic Mermaid/Selkie hopes of leaving the upper world had about vanished completely... But there is a happy ending to this tale. One day it seems that one to her children saves her mother from a life away from the sea. It seems the the child was playing behind a stack of corn  and found the hidden seal-skin that was tuck away all those years ago.
Once the child showed it to her mother and asked what it was - well you could probably only imagination the delight that the mother felt. It was like winning a prize. Once she had it in her hands she knew exactly what it was. Her eyes were glistening with delight because she knew at once that it was her own dress/seal-skin. She was finally free to return to her friends and family beneath the waves. However, there was one thing that did trouble her. She did love all her children and she was now about to leave them forever. After kissing and embracing them all several times. She took up the skin and headed down to the beach. It wasn't but a few minutes later when her husband came in and the children told him what had happened. Well the truth hurts and he knew that this day could very well happen. And if it did he would loose this beautiful Celtic Mermaid Wife~ So that whole evening flashed across his mind, the night  he spotted the women dancing in the moon light near the shoreline with all those Seal-Skins..As he ran down to the shoreline with all the speed, love and anxiety he could give into it. Knowing in his heart that he probably had already had lost her to the sea. But when the Shetlander arrived at the shore he was only time to see his wife take the form of a Seal and plunge into the sea. Remember that Large Seal that the Maiden would have long conversations with every night all those years on the shoreline in a different language?  Yes that Large Seal, with whom she used to converse with! well yes he was her Husband and congratulated her on her escape. However, before she vanished into the deep ocean with her husband of the sea - she turned around to her landed husband, who stood in despair, "Farewell  and may all good fortune atten you. I loved you while i was with you, but I will always love my first husband better.' So that is the ending of one Celtic Mermaid/Selkie and with this one which from what I understand many of the legends of the Celtic Mermaids/Selkies of the Shetland Islands in Scotland are true. I hope that you Enjoyed the legend. Hugs

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Magick Creatures-2016

Magick Creatures
There are Magical Creatures of the oceans, forests, deep woods, high/low mountains, deepest caves, skies,
volcanoes, underworld and unknown worlds who have choose to be either seen or NOT!
This is my topic of discussion for this post today.
If you think about it, there are all kinds of creatures in this world.Its just that you might be thinking about the typical ones - like tigers, elephants & monkeys etc. In this Post I am going to cover the not so typical creatures of the world. Ones you would not typically think of, like a elephant. I will be taking you to that place where you may think these creatures do or don't exist. Its really up to you. On how much you are willing to believe in the Unknown! If you think about it, these Magical creatures could be right in front of you all the time its just they choose not to be seen! And they choose who will get to see them. Us humans. These could be either the good Fae or very evil Fae.
There are quite a few of these Magick Creatures that can blend into our nature and they can also take a form of nature too. So that is one reason you could be staring right at one of them without even seeing them. But they certainly seen YOU!
Some of these Magical Creatures are very small and are helpful to humans without you even knowing it!
Magick Creatures   
Others are Enormous and would like nothing better than to eat you whole!
These Creatures generally are found in a different realm or unknown worlds.
There are other types of Magick creatures that like to use their magic to trick humans when they enter our world. By getting you to trust them - After they have accomplished this they probably would change their form  by shape-shifting in which a lot of the magic creatures are able to do.
Then of course there are the ones that are so fearsome that they stick-out like that of the Basilisk.
Curious thing is that all these creatures our not just in our imaginations. I'm sure that some are, but if you
Magick Creatures
open your mind, these mythic creatures as they are called, just might have a whole different look on the world for you. Truly what is a monster? And is it just in the ancient Mythology of Greece, Egyptian and other countries? Or is it Now! Well I believe that it is now and it has always been that way.
But I have opened my eyes. Will YOU!
Magick Creature

 Magick Creatures

Magick Creature 
Magick Creatue

Magick Creature
Magick Creature

Magick Creatures

Magick Witch
Magick Creature
Magick Creatures
Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth, ~ Buddha.
I like those topics very much, the 'unseen' is truly fascinating' - My friend SiNeh

A Selkies Song~
  An earthly nurse sits and sings
and aye, she sings by lily wean,
and little ken I by bairn's father,
Far less the land where he dwells in.

For he came one night to her bed feet,
And a grumbly guest, I'm sure was he,
Saying "Here am I, thy bairn's father,
Although I be not comely.

I am a man upon the land,
I am a selkie on the sea,
And when I'm far and far frae land,
My home it is in Sule Skerrie."

And he had ta' en a purse of gold,
And he placed it placed it upon her knee,

Saying: "Give it to my little young son,
And take thee up they nurse's fee."

"And it shall come to pass on a summer's day
when the Sun shines bright on every Stone,
I'll come and fetch my little son,
and teach him how to swim the faem."

"And ye shall marry a gunner good,
and a right fine gunner I'm sure he'll be,
And the very first shot that he e'er shoots,
Will kill my young son and me."

Thursday, February 11, 2016


The beauty of the Selkie
Selkies putting her skin on


Finding the key to the chest

Down below into the caverns of the Seals
Young wife selkie who lost her whole family



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