“Druids and others could raise or produce a Féth Fíada, which rendered people invisible. Sometimes it appears as poetical incantation… often it is a mantle: occasionally a sort of fog.”
P.W. Joyce, A Social History of Ancient Ireland, 1903
I grew up deep in a valley in the Comeragh Mountains in Co. Waterford, Ireland. These mountains named after the many Coum or Corrie lakes contained within them are ancient and mystical. Legends abound about a Druid family of three brothers and one sister who lived there. Fog descends on theses slopes, so thick and disorienting to be scary. It was only the very brave or foolhardy who dare to journey through them. We had a sort of sacred reverence for what we called the ‘fog on the top’, it was something not to be trifled with. When the Druid’s Mists came in you were best advised to sit them out. One reason was practical, because there are many hidden gullies, rocky craigs and sheer cliffs in the Comeraghs. There was another more sinister reason though and that was the fear of the cloak of invisibility, the Féth Fíada, that came in with the Druid’s mists. One could if one didn’t have their wits entirely with them be whisked off to some other place and never be seen again. It could mean the Sidhe were coming for you.
Bottom line, when it came to anything to do with the Druids, things came with a caveat, there would be some magic, some incantation or something metamorphic to guard against. The druids had a deep understanding of natural philosophy, astronomy, and could manipulate the forces of nature at will. Consequently the raising of fog was the oldest trick in the book. The Féth Fíada came in from the East and was thought to have been given to the Druids and the Tuatha Dé Danann, by Manannán mac Lir after they were defeated by the Milesians. It’s a magical mist used to enshroud and hide them, rendering their presence invisible to the human eye.
Manannán Mac Lir was very formidable and cunning and had many treasures at his disposal not least of which was and the Féth Fíada which he used to protect his home on the Isle of Man from being seen. This was not however its only application, when this cloak was placed between two people they lost all powers of recall as well. Manannán wife was the beautiful Fand, a woman who began life as a sea bird. Her beauty was renowned and Cú Chulainn became so besotted with her that he wanted no other. Manannán placed his cloak of invisibility between the lovers and Fand returned to him forgetting all about her escapades. Cú Chulainn returned to Eimear with a longing on him still for Fand and they both drank a cup of forgetfulness provided by the druids so that he could forget and so that Eimear could forget his indiscretions (perhaps).
Eirmon one of the Sons of Míl (Milesians) became the High King of Ireland after they defeated the Tuatha Dé. As part of the terms of their surrender to the Milesians, the Tuatha Dé Danann agreed to retreat and dwell underground and each tribe of the Tuatha Dé Danann was given its own mound. Manannán also granted them three special provisions one of which was the Féth Fíada. This conceals them from mortal men and is required when they leave or return to that mound. When Eithne, a handmaiden to Manannán’s daughter Curcog, lost her cloak, she was no longer able to return.
The Sidhe are other world beings that rule beneath the earth and seas of Ireland and are synonymous with the Tuatha Dé Dannan. They are thought to have a cunning and sometimes malevolent nature and are held in deep respect. Their places, the mounds and raths and ring forts of Ireland are greatly revered and respected. When the Milesians overthrew them with valour, a pact was made. The Sidhe would hold dominion over the underworld while the Sons of Míl would rule the mortal world. They were gifted youth, beauty, joy and the power over music and power over the mysteries of nature but when they die that is it, where as mortals have the power of immortality.
Great care is taken to appease the Sidhe and it is best to never insult or anger them. They can be appeased by offerings and can be either stunningly beautiful or foul and hideous. They are said to fiercely guard their abodes and dole out ferocious punishments to trespassers. They are said to come closer to the mortal world at dawn and dusk and at Bealtaine and Samhain and a mortal is particularity vulnerable when encountering a Druid’s Mist.
Blurring the borders between the world of the mortal and that of the Sidhe, the Féth Fíada acts as a conjuncture of the Earth and Tír na nÓg – a place that no mortal may trespass. If we honour our pact with the Sidhe they will honour theirs. Should you encounter these good people in a Druid’s Mist, as they make their way in or out of their dwellings perhaps, simply leave them be and do not impede their path. It is always wisest to leave them an offering by way of appeasement, bread, milk and whiskey are especially liked. Remember the Sidhe and us co-exist side by side, we need each other. The immaterial world needs the material one, as day meets night, moon and sun we are all interconnected yet distinctly different . As Druids we live in peace with all beings.
Further Reading
1.The Secrets of the Mist Witches: Witte Wieven – Gunivortus Goos – Google Books
2.Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture – Bernhard Maier – Google Books
Mawie Barrett
Mawie Barrett is a Druid who grew up in the Comeragh Mountains in Co Waterford, Ireland. She defines herself as a mountain woman. She believes that there is a language in landscape that seeps into her by osmosis and fires her imagination. Her work is sprinkled with metaphor; the ordinary everyday event trickles out of her subconscious and tells the deeper story. Her forte thusfar is history, which she expresses in fiction and nonfiction. Writing brings Mawie great joy and expression, it is the place where she channels her insights and reflections. Nature, people and travel are her major influences. She blogs too, and you can read more about her here and discover more of her work at www.druidscribe.com.
Leave a Reply