The Seer, Deadly Fairy Tales Book 1
COMPENDIUM
ABRED In the Celtic theory of concentric rings of existence Annwn is the inner circle and represents the OtherWorld, ABRED is the center ring and represents our outer life; the world around us, our births, deaths, and struggles play out here through change, creation, and progression. Ceugant is the outer circle representing the purity or heaven. This philosophy is often represented by the triple spiral.
AIR: Magical element represented by wand, thurible, censers, besom and bells.
ALLPOWER: The all powerful life force to the Celts, it is imperishable and without end.
ALTAR: A high location or a structure built on which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Symbolic and practical items for the function of worship, spell casting and ritual. The altar is usually covered with a pristine cloth, adorned with a pentacle. The left side of the altar is feminine and adorned with representations of the goddess and the right side is masculine, with phallic symbols such as athame and wand. The center is the working area and holds a cauldron.
AMERGIN: Amergin was the most powerful druid until the modern age. All modern druids live by his precepts.
AMULET: A ritual object used as a talisman. It is usually a piece of jewelry or token filled with warding power, usually worn to protect against some force or entity or to conceal something. Keleigh wears a quartz necklace charged with enough magical energy to block Neart o laigstigh, or inner light. Keleigh is a Devas, an ExtraOrdinary being of light and without her amulet her skin would radiate particles of energy, actually making her beam. Until Keleigh can learn to control this energy from within she would be well served to wear the necklace, because the ShiningOnes are always fascinated by any ExtraOrdinary being who stands out from the rest.
ANCESTORS: To the Celts the spirits of their ancestors always lived close to their families. These spirits usually seem neutral but if their graves are not properly taken care of, the dead may grow angry and disrupt the earthly world.
ANDRASTE: The Celtic goddess of war, victory, ravens, and battles. Her name means invincible or she who has not fallen. She is venerated in woodland groves and her symbol is the hare. Andraste pledged her protection to the Iceni tribe and was a goddess of divination, probably called upon to predict the outcome of battle.
ANGUINUM: Also known as a druid’s egg or serpent’s egg. In the summer baby snakes entwine themselves into a ball that is held together by their spittle and secretions from their own bodies, when this hardens the congealed, grayish-white glob is polished until it resembles marble. Some say the baby snakes and other things move about in the grayish white matter—OtherWorldly things, with flickers of life and stories to tell. In alchemy, the philosopher’s egg symbolizes the seed of spiritual life and depicts places where great transformations take place.
ANNWN: The ancient Celtic name for the OtherWorld. In the philosophy of the rings of existence, annwn is the center ring.
ANKOU: Known as the death omen. Ankou is the King of the Dead and is a tall haggard looking figure with long white hair or a skeleton with a revolving head that sees all. He collects the souls of the dead and puts them into his spectral cart that two ghostly figures pull on foot.
APPLE: Symbolic and most magical fruits to the Celts. The apple can indicate harmony and immortality, love and abundance, and appears in many Celtic myths and legends.
AQUARIA: An aquarium planted with natural water plants and filled with local pond life from the area.
ASH: Symbolic tree for the Celts believed to protect against the dark arts and to ward off fairies. It is believed to be able to cure Ordinary and OtherWorldly diseases. It is a large graceful tree with compound leaves.
ASHES: Symbolic material used in many folk traditions. Ashes from Lughnasa fires are used to bless people.
ATHAME: Black handled, double edged dagger used for ceremonial purposes and stands for the masculine element of fire. An Athame is considered one of the four weapons of significance in Celtic myth. The Athame is used in ritual to channel and direct psychic energy and to cast or draw a circle for ritual magic. If the handle is made from black ash it is said to protect against the dark arts.
ATHENAEUM: A library and museum. The Salem Athenaeum is one of the oldest privately owned libraries in the world. The Order might not write its beliefs and practices down but they do collect the writings and records of others.
BADB: One of the Celtic war furies, she and her sisters Macha and Morrigan, form a fearful triad of war goddesses. Badb’s name means scald crow and she is often depicted as a black hooded crow screaming over the battlefield or sometimes she is depicted as a black-robed woman standing along the front line of the skirmish. She usually functions as a prophet of doom and when she is seen she forewarns of a not peaceful time but of evils yet to come.
BALOR THE EVIL EYE: A ShiningOne, who is said to be the King of the monstrous Fomorians. The Fomorians lived in Ireland before the first invaders swept the shores of the emerald isle. Balor lost one of his eyes at the second battle of Mag Tuired, when Lugh threw a spear through it, the other eye became so harmful that it could split boulders and caused any looking into it to fall to ground withering in burning pain.
BANSHEE: OtherWorldly fairy who wails for the death of someone of noble birth, she has been sentenced to cry for all eternity because she betrayed her lover when he went into battle. Often the Banshee comes as a beguiling young woman, but beware she sometimes appears as a hag. Her red hair marks her of fairy blood, and she wears green clothing and bright red shoes.
BARD: Professional poet who orally narrates the history of the Order. Bards sing songs recalling the brave deeds of tribal warriors, as well as genealogies and family histories. This oral history is committed to memory and transmitted orally by bards or their apprentices, the fili. Bards are officials at court, chroniclers and satirists whose chief job is to praise the Order and damn those who cross it with their words of power. Bards employ the power of transformation: in poetry they use metaphor and in magic they use shape-shifting.
BARGUEST: The name means barrow ghost because these OtherWorldly beasts are reputed to haunt ancient stone graves. They are also known as hell hounds, these fire-eyed black dogs can be as large as horses. When they cross into our world it is for nefarious purposes and they usually set all the other dogs in the vicinity into infernal howling. A bite from a barguest can refuse to heal if not properly treated.
BARROW: Celtic sacred burial site, these graves are stone lined and sometimes contain more than one burial, and they are usually haunted by fairies.
BASILISK: Known as the king of serpents because of his crown and frill. A basilisk walks on all fours, snorting a noxious steam that laces the air with the taste of mildewed sludge. The tang so potent one would swear he’d been birthed from a biohazard-bog.
BELENUS: One of the most widely worshiped Celtic deities. The great fire festival of Beltane on May 1st is to commemorate him, and cattle are walked through pyres to cleanse and protect them before they are put out to pasture for the summer. His name means bright, brilliant, or shining one. Belenus or Bel is not a sun god; there is no evidence of sun worship of any kind among the Celts, where the day began at sunset not sunrise.
BELISAMA: Goddess of lakes, rivers, fire, crafts and light, her name means “summer bright” and she is known to be the consort of Belenus. Belisama’s waters shelter good fortune and abundance.
BELTANE: May 1st festival which commences at sundown the night before. Beltane marked the beginning of summer and is celebrated with the bonfires of spring, probably a burning off of the brush that accumulated on fields so they could be planted. In ancient times cattle were driven between these fires to ensure their safety in the coming year. On Beltane the hearth fires were extinguished and relit from the celebration bonfires. There are many traditions such as dancing around the maypole, collecting Beltane dew to increase attractiveness, and the crowning of the May Queen and King.
BLESSINGSTON: A sacred prehistoric site in Ireland, on the eas
tern edge of the island near Newgrange, Ireland. The Order holds a fortress along the coastline where they have a school dedicated to educating druids, vates, and bards. It is also the seat of power for the Colloquy of Elders. This is what it looks like to Ordinary eyes, but it has a powerful ward on it that ExtraOrdinaries can see past.
BOGGART: Helpful household spirit, who cleans and works in exchange for sweet treats. They tend to be stout hairy men wearing ragged brown clothes and incredibly hard to be rid of.
BOUDICCA: The great Celtic queen of the Iceni, who after her husband fell in battle against the invading Romans assumed his role. It was said that she had a harsh voice, red hair to her knees, a huge frame and a terrifying countenance.
CAIRN: Mythological site, the structure composed of stones to mark a burial or landmark. Some cairns have interior chambers used for rituals.
CALABAR BEANS: Physostigma venenosum is the seed of a poisonous plant which is native to tropical Africa. The plant is a large climbing perennial. The calabar bean acts like a nerve gas, disrupting communication between nerves and muscles. The administration of the beans as a truth serum is known as the trial of ordeals, it establishes the person who consumes the beans as truthful if they live or a liar if they die.
CALENDAR: The Celts did not divide the seasons at the solstices, which are the shortest and longest days of the year, or equinoxes, when day and night are equal, but at the mid-points of the solar cycle. The Celts saw darkness preceding light, so the day began at sunset. Winter began on Samhain, November 1st and spring on Imbolc which is February 1st.
CANTRIPS: Spells written in ancient symbols that only the most learned may read.
CERNUNNOS: Known as the stag lord or the great horned one, he is half-man half-stag who is usually portrayed seated and crossed-legged and surrounded by other animals, especially the snake. There are no snakes in Ireland because Cernunnos took them from Ireland when he was sequestered and uses them at will. He carries the snake in one hand representing knowledge and in the other the torque, the symbol of Celtic nobility. When he speaks he says things like, “I am the fair among the flowers.”
The representations of Cernunnos, ancient above, modern below.
CEUGANT: The outermost ring in the rings of existence. It is the realm of pure principal where the white light of the hammer strikes of midsummer, fully illuminating the soul.
CHARM: A spell or incantation to attract good fortune.
CLOAKING: The act of concealing something or someone with a spell, sometimes accomplished with a magical cloak or coat one might be wrapped in.
CLOUD BURSTING: A cloud burst is an extreme amount of precipitation that comes on out of nowhere, usually as a result of a spell.
CLOVER: The four-leafed clover is said to be a lucky talisman to break through any glamour of the fairies. And the oil of four-leafed clover is the main ingredient in fairy ointment, that when applied to humans would give them invisibility.
CLURICAUNE: Solitary fairy who prefers to lounge around and dress fashionably in a red suit. His shoes have silver buckles and he is not industrious like his brother the leprechaun and a cluricaune is prone to drinking wine in large quantities.
COLLOQUY OF ELDERS: Three sages or ancient men who represent the three different houses of the Order. Along with the Sisters three they rule over the Order, their seat of power is Blessingston in Ireland. Legend has it these three men each made a trip to the OtherWorld where they learned many things that human ears have never heard, but if ask any of them about it they will deny it.
COMB: Symbolic object associated with the goddess-queen Medb. The comb represents the feminine force.
CONORAN: An obscure Irish goddess who was the mother of three magical daughters who ensnared three great warriors they lusted after with a magical web.
CORROSION: A physical blemish that forms on an ExtraOrdinary person’s skin when they draw too much energy from a LeyLine, this is caused by a buildup of toxins in the body. Corrosion often results if an ExtraOrdinary pulls huge amounts of energy off the LeyLine overheating would occur and the blemishes a result. The LeyLine is a power source and corrosion is similar to how a battery corrodes.
COW: Symbolic animal representing both the feminine and masculine powers. In ancient Ireland the herd was the best way to calculate wealth and it was also believed that all cows were descendents of OtherWorldly cows that rose from the western oceans at the beginning of time.
CURSE: Words spoken by formula or spell designed to ensure responsible and generous leaders. Our words carry great power and alter the physical world. Curses are usually the work of bards.
CYTHRAWL: Which means chaos.
DAGDA: Father figure and known as the good god because he was good at everything and protector of the tribe, he has immense power and is armed with a magic club that can kill nine men with a single blow. Dagda has a magical cauldron he calls Undry and it is said to be bottomless and from which no man leaves unsatisfied. His home is at Newgrange and he was the high King of the Tuatha De Danann. Dagda is known as father of all and lord of great knowledge.
DANU: Celtic goddess of the land’s fertility. Her name is derived from the Old Celtic dan, meaning knowledge and she is known as the mother goddess.
DEER: Symbolic animal. The Celts saw the fleet footed deer as the wild equivalent of their domestic herds. They symbolize maternal love and abundance.
DEVAS: A Celtic ExtraOrdinary being of light that some believe are demi-gods.
DIORAMA: A miniature or full-sized three-dimensional model, usually enclosed in a glass showcase. Dioramas are used in museums to depict historical events, cityscapes or natural scenes. They can also refer to a theatre device that moves, for example The Witches Museum in Salem uses dioramas to depict the Salem witch trials. https://salemwitchmuseum.com
DIS PATER: Celtic god of the underworld and would be the modern equivalent to our devil. Although in ancient myths to be the guardian of the underground meant you were quite wealthy as that was where gems and resources are buried.
DRU: Meaning truth. Druids respect the truths and beliefs of others, and have compassion for all beings.
DRUIDS: Celtic priest and societal role. Druid is derived from the word meaning wise or oak. The house of druids’ is comprised of poets, magicians, lawyers, educators and philosophers. Their positions were hereditary and their ceremonies were conducted in open air temples and sacred groves called nemetons. There are two other houses in the Order: the vates and the bards.
EARTH: Magical element represented by pentacle, mortar and pestle and salt.
EPONA: Fertility goddess and her name means horse. She is the protector of horses, donkeys, and mules. She is one of the few goddesses the Romans adopted from the Celts because of her power and prestige among the horse-riding warrior elite.
ERGOT: Medicinal plant poisoning symptoms include spasms, painful seizures, itching, nausea and hallucinations for those chosen for ritual sacrifice
EXCOMMUNICATION: A ceremony performed by the Order in which an ExtraOrdinary is named delinquent for some crime against the Order or if an ExtraOrdinary rejects their place in the Order. The words spoken over them at this ceremony are, “The sword is naked against her, a woman deprived of privilege and exposed to warfare.” Once an ExtraOrdinary is expelled from the Order, they are never readmitted.
EXTRAORDINARY: Mortal person born with magical skills and powers, these traits are inherited and encoded into their DNA. Passed from generation to generation these extra abilities are developed and encouraged from the moment of birth. An ExtraOrdinary could possess any of the following and some possess many of them.
1. Apportation-materialization, disappearance, or teleportation of an object
2. Aura reading-perception of the energy surrounding a person, place or thing
3. Astral projection- an out of body experience where the essence or Ba of a person leaves the physical body
4. Clairvoyance-perception outside Ordinary human senses
5. Death-warning-premonition of a living person before their death
6. Divination-using a ritual to gain insight
7. Energy healing-healing by pulling energy from another ExtraOrdinary person or from a LeyLine
8. Finder-ability to locate missing or hidden objects through divination
9. Precognition/premonition-ability to see future events before they happen
10. Psychokinesis or Telekinesis-manipulation of time, energy, space or matter; the ability to move objects using only the power of the mind
11. Remote viewing-gathering information from a distance using a scrying device
12. Retrocognition-Perception of past events
13. Scrying-use of mirror, water or reflective material to view events at a distance or in the future
14. Second Sight-the ability to communicate with spirits, ethereal beings or OtherWorldly beings
15. Telepathy, extrasensory perception and sixth sense the ability to transfer your thoughts or emotions to another person, or your ability to read someone else’s
16. Transvection-the ability to fly
FAIRY: Celtic folkloric figure, usually thought of as elemental spirits of nature, but in fact they are the dishonored versions of the Danaan who served the ancient ShiningOnes. Fairies are immortal beings, usually quite attractive, with silky hair and glowing complexions and even though they are small in stature mortals have a hard time looking away from them; their allure has made many of them known as immoral beings as well. Along with the sidhe, they should be respected and sometimes feared.
FAIRY ARROWS: Prehistoric flinthead, powerful enough to penetrate a protection spell. The arrowhead on the left of the image below most closely resembles a fairy arrow, it leaves an x-shaped entrance wound and is very difficult to dig out of flesh. Celtic legend says that fairy assassins dip these arrowheads in dragon venom which is poisonous to humans. A single arrowhead properly placed in the body is usually fatal. Locke was more than just lucky to survive five of these arrowheads to the chest.
FAIRY MOUND: Also known as a fairy hill or fairy fort. Throughout Celtic lands there are barrows, small natural hills and drumlins that seem to spring up from the landscape as monuments. Many believe that the fairy folk or the sidhe inhabit these mounds and fairies are known to be seen dancing around them on holidays. Have you ever heard the phrase ‘dancing on your grave’, it comes from this Celtic belief.
FINDER: ExtraOrdinary with the ability to find hidden or lost items.
FIRE: Magical element represented by athame and candles.
FIREBALL: Locke uses a fireball to kill the basilisk in the opening scene. A fireball is Locke’s weapon of choice, it’s an easy spell since he has mastered the element of fire, he taps the LeyLine for a power source, and when it surges in his hands he says a few words that ignite the energy, and then he simply throws the globe of fire as if it were a football.
FORMICA AQUILONIA: Scottish wood ant that only resides in the fairy woods, Annaghgarriff Wood, Peatlands Park in Armagh, Ireland.
FOX: Symbolic animal often associated with a clever human.
GEIS: A sacred vow which can be an obligation or prohibition. It is a magical promise or pledge. If someone under a geis defies the taboo, the violator will suffer dishonor or even death. The doom of many a hero has come because of a broken a geis, but sometimes multiple geasa are put on a hero and he has no other choice than to break one geis in order not to violate another.
GENII CUCULLATI: Type of fairy called the hooded ones because all you can see of their faces are their blue-black eyes and jagged teeth. They are flesh eaters whose black tongues emit the scent of rotting meat. They speak in a language older than Gaelic and are usually depicted as a triad of either males or females. Do not let their small stature fool you they are extremely dangerous to deal with.
GRIMOIRE: A ‘grammar’ cookbook, book of magic spells and rituals, hand copied from generation to generation, a forbidden text of forbidden practices. The key to using the grimoire is to put down as little as possible but enough to be able to recall or remember the spell, incantation or ritual.
GUARDIANS: The dozen druids sentenced to protect the Order from OtherWorldly summoning; they have been sentenced to this fate for dabbling in the dark arts.
GWYNFFRYDD: Place of illumination, where the soul spirit passes after death; a kind of purgatory the spirit resides in until it is reborn.
HEX: Usually a malicious spell placed on someone to bring them harm or ill fortune.
IGNIS SACER: An herb known as holy water used by midwives to produce strong uterine contractions
ILLUMINATION BETWEEEN THE HANDS: Form of divination a Finder uses, they chew on raw meat while thinking about what they’re looking for, then they speak incantations into their hands, sleeping with them against their cheeks and they dream the answer to their query.
IMBOLC: One of the four great Celtic holidays. It marks the beginning of spring on February 1 and winters end. Also known as Candlemas. The word imbolc is connected with a word meaning to wash referring to ritual purification. Weather magic is common on this day and may be the basis for our American Groundhog Day.
INTARABUS: Celtic god depicted as a beardless man with long hair draped with a wolf skin. His name means between two rivers.
INVOKING ILLUSIONS: To bring on an illusion of what is coming or what has come to pass by use of ritual.
IRISH CULDEE MONKS: Monks believed to be the builders of Mystery Hill site about a thousand years ago after they escaped persecution in Ireland, and started traveling with the Vikings. These Culdee monks broke away from the Order, no one knows why or why they were never excommunicated.
LAKE: Celtic symbolic site. The Celts like most prehistoric people respected the life giving qualities of water. There are myths that lakes are gateways to the OtherWorld, so many made offerings to lakes. Such tales helped protect lake deposits from thieves which are ripe with archeological finds.
LARIARAN: Celtic goddess of harvest time. Her feast day is the last Sunday in July, which is Lughnasa. The first day for eating newly harvested potatoes in Ireland is at the end of July. In Cork there is a standing stone in the shape of a heart dedicated to her.
LEYLINE: The alignment of historical and geographical sites of archeological interest, such as megaliths and ancient monuments, in a straight line. The existence of LeyLines was mentioned in 1921 by Alfred Watkins. These alignments were organized for overland trekking in monolithic times by line of sight navigation, so that many footpaths connect one hilltop to another. These lines of site which are ancestors could sense were actually underground power sources and those with extrasensory abilities can draw energies from them. LeyLines are quite simply sources of immense power for those who know how to draw from them.
LIASHEE: The sister fairy of the Banshee, but the Liashee is sentenced to keen for love of mortal men.
LIBRARY OF ARCANE: Houses books on magic, science and nature, history, myths and legends, art books, reference materials and maps. Even though the druids don’t record their own histories in bound volumes, they do collect the knowledge of other ancient wise people. These volumes range in a myriad of magical subjects from the Persian Magi, to the arcane wisdom of African shamans, to the mysticism of the ancient Egyptians.
LIMINALITY: Exchange between the worlds when passing through an OtherWorldly portal.
LOCATION SPELL: Incantation that acts like GPS tracking system that is highly reliable.
LOVERS KNOT: Symbolic representation of the universe drawn in a continuous line, the lovers knot has two mirrored halves that connect to form a heart.
LUGUS or LUGH: God of creation and learning. His name means to swear an oath. He was a great Celtic hero. Lugh also means many skilled and because of his brightly illuminated face he is often considered a solar divinity. Lugh was the grandson of Balor the Evil Eye and is credited with the defeat of Balor and the Formorians, whose king Bres he pardoned in exchange for agricultural knowledge. He is known as a great l
eader of men and is known to be fearless even against insurmountable odds.
LUGHNASA: The beginning of the harvest season on August 1st is marked by one of the four Celtic holidays Lughnasa. The first fruits of the crop are gathered, it is when contracts are established and when trial marriages commence. The goat a symbol of Lughnasa may reflect the creatures associations with licentious behavior. It is said that this is the only time of year that the Order unites for a great council meeting.
LUXOVIUS: God of a city’s water. He is the deity of light and curative waters two elements that are linked in Celtic mythology. He is often depicted as a water wheel.
MEDDLERS: An ExtraOrdinary who has the ability to wreak havoc between the Ordinary world and the OtherWorld. Meddlers use pendulums paradox which is the time space continuum, to allow their consciousnesses to travel between the nine worlds. Meddlers are powerful beings and usually feared and avoided.
MEME’S GENES: The mental genes one passes onto ones’ children, or inherits from ones’ parents. These particular genes are supernatural traits passed from generation to generation and how hereditary magic is passed along.
MIRROR: The Celtic hand mirror and comb are powerful symbols to the Celts, and many standing stones are engraved with these two images, indicating a female of considerable status. The mirror and comb are possibly equivalent to a man’s sword and shield. For ExtraOrdinary females, who often use their mirrors for divination, the mirror is a sacred and powerful item that is handed down from mother to daughter. Keleigh inherits this mirror from her mother and she has extraordinary abilities with it and other mirrors as well.
MORAL METEMPPSYCHOSIS: Celtic belief in the transmigration of the soul based on moral worth. The idea isn’t based on a belief in reincarnation because people aren’t necessarily transformed back into humans. You know when people say someone’s a real rat, with this theory they might be reborn in the next life as just that.
MORRIGAN: One of the most important Celtic goddesses because she is a member of the Tuatha De Danann. Morrigan appears sometimes as a white cow with red ears. She was a bard, able to change her outward appearance at will. There is much debate about the meaning of her name, some say it means phantom queen, some say death queen, some say her name means night mare.
MURMURS: The dozen rogue female Druids who serve the Colloquy of Elders, investigating rumors of black magic or dark arts.
NEART O LAIGSTIGH: Gaelic words meaning the light from within a person, some people are blessed with this gift and others say it marks those who have the blood of the ShiningOnes running through their veins.
NEMETON: Forest clearing for Celtic worship, known as Druid’s Hill
NINE WORLDS: The worlds of dreams, imagination, myth, magic, hope, love, music, art, and science. ExtraOrdinary people have the power to change and transform their realities by using these worlds singularly and in combination.
OEGUS: The divine son and the god of youth, an eternally youthful spirit found at Newgrange. He is usually portrayed as a lover and a trickster.
OGPS: OtherWorldly Galaxy Positioning System is basically a magical GPS system, except a ShiningOne’s brain works as both the satellite and the tracking system. Trust me, NASA wishes they had OGPS technology.
ORDINARY: Mortal born with no extrasensory powers. Some mortals do have latent genes that sometimes surface during their life, but if these powers are not used and developed they lie dormant. Some mortals use these skills, for example a psychic, but using these gifts for profit is frowned upon by the Order. An Ordinary can only become ExtraOrdinary and join the Order if they can demonstrate great extrasensory aptitude, and after a period of rigorous training and great hardship they might be offered membership.
OTHERWORLD: This is the realm that runs parallel to our own. It is the home of the ShiningOnes, spirits and divinities. This world is not heaven or hell but exists nearby. It is a shadowy place that is luminal and very difficult to cross into for us, but occasionally the ShiningOnes or their minions cross into our world when the veil between realms thins. OtherWorldly time is different than earthly time a century here may be but an hour there.
PENDULUMS PARADOX: The time space continuum where the three dimensions of space and time exist in a continuum and some people are able to let their consciousnesses travel between these dimensions.
QUATRE YEUX: French term, meaning four-eyes, describing the power of clairvoyance
REINCARNATION: Celtic belief in the transmigration of the soul.
ROSMERTA: Continental Celtic goddess. Her name means the great provider and she is depicted holding a cornucopia. She can also be the goddess of spring representing healing.
SAIGHEAD SITHE: Hosts of the unforgiving dead. They came from the west, an angry airborne mob on a wild hunt.
SAMHAIN: One of the four great Celtic holidays. Samhain is November 1st and begins at sunset on the day before (Halloween) it is the festival commemorating the beginning of winter and a feast of both plenty and fear, although food is stored for the dark days of winter, there is no way to know if the cold will outlast the stored supplies. Because the veil between the realms is the thinnest on this night, folklore says that the ShiningOnes cross over to blight vegetation with their breath and everything become fallow. It is the equivalent of New Year’s Eve celebration in many regards, fires are lit on hillsides and ceremonies and rituals occur. This is the only night of the year that someone can be initiated or inducted into the Order.
SANCTUM SANCTORUM: Druids place of utmost privacy and purity and is essential to the success of a druids work. Sanctum sanctorum contains his library of arcane knowledge, his temple, a magical museum, and a worktable.
SANTISIMA MUERTA: A type of bottled pillar candle that burns in order to force a lover to return to you at any cost.
SCATHACH: Celtic warrior goddess and mistress of a school for young warriors, her name means shadowy one and she has the ability to grant wishes if you figure out how to ask her for them.
SERPENT’S EGG: See Anguinum. The egg symbolizes new life. This cosmic egg in mythology represents the egg that rises from the primeval waters and hatches the universe. Every druid, vate and bard has their own egg which they use for divination. These modern serpent’s eggs usually have a representation of a snake on them; some in antiquity were actually formed from baby snakes molded together.
SHIELDING: To form a barrier around a person, place, or thing by use of a spell or incantation, usually used to protect someone from another’s magic.
SHININGONES: The ancient Celtic gods and goddesses who are sequestered in the OtherWorld with their Danann brethren because of their interference in human affairs. Some ShiningOnes have the power to cross into our realm at certain times of the year when the veil between worlds thins. And some have the power to cross at any time at will, but they always have to return.
SIGNETS: Designs equivalent to modern day logos.
SISTERS THREE: The Mother, the Maiden, and the Crone make up one half of the ruling body of the Order, their seat of power is located in Salem, Massachusetts. The Sister’s three represent the triple goddess. The Sister’s male counterpart are the Colloquy of Elders whose seat of power is in Blessingston.
Arianna, the Crone of the Sisters Three, her name meaning the Silver one, a very Holy One, pledge
Ilithyia, the Mother of the Sisters Three, her name meaning the ready comer. In Greek mythology she is the goddess of midwifery and childbirth.
Bridgiana, the Maiden of the Sisters Three, her name meaning exalted one. In Irish mythology she is the goddess of fire, poetry and wisdom, the daughter of Dagda who was reborn in the 5th century as St. Bridget.
The symbol of the triple goddess.
SLUAGHS: A fairy hosts of the unforgiven ExtraOrdinaries, they travel in packs and only come forth at night. They are the ethereal embodiment of souls that have not been forgiven for their earthly transgressions. They are sometimes referred to as assassin fairies, they shoot fairy arrows that if properly placed kill in
stantaneously but they have to be summoned into our realm from the OtherWorld, and their intention is always murder and mayhem.
SMOKE WEAVING: Smoke represents our intentions rising toward the divine AllPower and the perfumed scent of the smoke has the power to alter the conscious intentions of those who come in contact with it.
SPELL: Words spoken to harnesses power from one entity and transfers it another. Spells are not easily undone because they usually require someone more powerful than the original caster to change their outcome.
STRAY SOD: There is a Celtic warning, “Don’t step on a stray sod.” To Ordinary eyes a stray sod appears to be a small piece of misplaced grass, but these fly sized creatures have the ability to lead travelers off their path and they can also cause someone to forget where they’re going or even what they were thinking. If a few sods band together they can wreak havoc on an entire village. Other magical creatures often capture stray sods and use them to trick people into forgetting whatever it is they want them to forget. Clancy is particularly fond of using a stray sod to confuse.
SUCELLUS: Celtic god of love and time. Sucellus was powerful and widely worshiped throughout the Celtic world. He reigned over agriculture and alcoholic drinks, and is often depicted with a mallet and libation saucer indicative of his power to protect and provide. He is also shown with a cask of wine symbolizing his serving at OtherWorldly feasts.
TALKING HEADS: Also known as shrunken heads by indigenous populations, warriors of old used to cut the heads off their enemies and carry them around as trophies, much the way Native Americans collected scalps.
TEMPLE OR ALTAR: Houses a druids serpent’s egg which is used for divination, his athame (knife) and chalice used for rituals and depictions of the male and female gods: Abundia the goddess of abundance and a bronze statue of Cernunnos the god of fertility. Candles, a censure for burning incense, bowls of salt, a crystal bowl for water, and gong are all items used to represent the earth and elements. Any magical amulets and talismans would also be kept here for protection. If one possessed, let’s say, a magical mirror, it too would find protection when placed on the altar.
TUATHA DE DANANN: A race of supernatural beings, who conquered the Formorians and who inhabited Ireland after their victory. When the Milesians invaded and overthrew the Danann, the Danann were sequestered in the OtherWorld with the ShiningOnes. The Danann were always quite mischievous and meddling in men’s affairs, today they are fairy, brownies, elves etc.
TO TAKE THE VEIL/TO TAKE THE CLOAK: When an ExtraOrdinary is ordained into the Sisterhood or Priesthood, their human body is changed through powerful magic and while they are still somewhat human they are not immortal. These special ExtraOrdinaries will live hundreds of years and have many more powers than even a blessed ExtraOrdinary.
TORQUE: Celtic choker or necklace marking distinction among Celtic men. The torque identifies any that wear it as a warrior. Cernunnos gives Keleigh one of his, offering it to her as a token of his protection.
THAUMANTURGY: Wonder working, low magic in the service of others; everyday hocus-pocus.
THEURGY: High magic, meaning the god’s work, the promotion of divine knowledge from a deity directly to an ExtraOrdinary through chanting and trance like states.
TOLMEN STONE: Celtic rock formation. When you pass through the aperture and complete the cleansing ritual, you must promise to complete your journey, even when it’s solemn and strenuous.
TRIAL OF ORDEALS: Ancient truth telling ritual in which the beans of the Calabar plant are consumed.
TRIAD: Because of the mystical significance of the number three most Celtic concepts come in triple form.
VATES: Celtic priest or priestess who interprets omens. The word vate means prophet and vates comprise the second house of the Order.
VERBEIA: One of the many Celtic river goddesses. Her name means winding river or she of the cattle. She often appears on Beltane morning, but beware when she does because the river might flood and you could be swept away.
WARD: Spell placed on location for protection or concealment.
WATER: Magical element represented by a chalice, a crystal ball or mirror.
WELL OF CRYSTALS: Sacred location where tremendous earth energies are stored.
WITCHES BOTTLE: This single handed salt glazed jug is also known as a Bellarmine jar, it is fashioned after the grimacing face of Cardinal Roberto Bellarmine. It was a common storage container for beer and wine that originated in the Rhineland of Germany. Many of these jars have been recovered by archeologists across Europe and they usually contain strange items, like pieces of leather cut into the shape of a heart and then pierced with straight pins. Pieces of hair, nail clippings, urine, nicotine and traces of sulfur have been found in others. But none discovered by scientists has anything as strange as what Keleigh finds in the one she unearths. To learn more check out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_bottle
WORK TABLE: A druids’ worktable is the center of his sacred space and it houses items for creating compounds that work in conjunction with spells and incantations. It’s not much different than a modern chemistry lab. An athanors is a small furnace used for melting and combining metals and other substances similar to a Bunsen burner. An alembic is used for distilling the essence of liquids used for the same thing as an evaporating dish and lab burner. Pieces of quartz, a mortar and pestle, a whetstone and knife, bottles and cloth sacks for herbs and spices are scattered around the surface. Locke doesn’t keep any freshly ground unicorn horn around but he does have eye of newt. These folklore items rest alongside beakers, Erlenmeyer flasks and safety glasses at the table. Some of the more traditional items on a druids’ worktable are crystal balls for divination, which should only be used sparingly, hour candles, and a polished skull which serves to startle visitors and makes an excellent paper weight. A large black cauldron rests in the middle of the table and is handy for stirring all sorts of spells or for storing paint thinner. Don’t tell Locke this is what Keleigh used it for while he was away or he might blow a gasket, nah, he’ll just make sure Humphrey scours it. What druid doesn’t have a little minion to do all the dirty work?