Grand tidings! Join me, Kieran, as we continue our way around the Sacred Circle: to the Land of Water in the West. We take a look at the Sea Peoples beneath the waves and listen to their tales, then continue our exploration of the deep by uncovering Water's correspondences in our magickal practices today.
Instagram: @beyondtheseaspodcast
Tarot Collaboration: @thefeatherwitchnyc
Podcast Shoutout: The Bell Witch Podcast, @the_bell_witch_podcast
Podcast website: https://beyondtheseas.buzzsprout.com/
More info: https://www.kierandanaan.com/beyond-the-seas
Subscribe for all the mythological and folkloric episodes, posted weekly.
Sources
-Graeme. “Traditional Scottish Selkie Stories.” Scotland’s Stories, www.scotlands-stories.com/traditional-scottish-selkie-stories. Accessed 20 February 2024.
-“Water Fairies.” Mythical Creatures Guide, www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com/water-fairies. Accessed 20 February 2024.
Music
"She" by Josh Leake
"Intimacy" by Ben Winwood
"Walking in Forests" by Ben Winwood
"It'll Be Alright" by Ben Winwood
"From Nothing" by Josh Leake
Cheers,
Kieran
Grand tidings! Join me, Kieran, as we continue our way around the Sacred Circle: to the Land of Water in the West. We take a look at the Sea Peoples beneath the waves and listen to their tales, then continue our exploration of the deep by uncovering Water's correspondences in our magickal practices today.
Instagram: @beyondtheseaspodcast
Tarot Collaboration: @thefeatherwitchnyc
Podcast Shoutout: The Bell Witch Podcast, @the_bell_witch_podcast
Podcast website: https://beyondtheseas.buzzsprout.com/
More info: https://www.kierandanaan.com/beyond-the-seas
Subscribe for all the mythological and folkloric episodes, posted weekly.
Sources
-Graeme. “Traditional Scottish Selkie Stories.” Scotland’s Stories, www.scotlands-stories.com/traditional-scottish-selkie-stories. Accessed 20 February 2024.
-“Water Fairies.” Mythical Creatures Guide, www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com/water-fairies. Accessed 20 February 2024.
Music
"She" by Josh Leake
"Intimacy" by Ben Winwood
"Walking in Forests" by Ben Winwood
"It'll Be Alright" by Ben Winwood
"From Nothing" by Josh Leake
Cheers,
Kieran
Within the Twilight Times, we hear Their voices calling.
And towards Water in the West, we then turn our beatific gaze.
As the Sun sets into the depths of the horizon,
Our Great Father gives way to the subtler and gentler sides of Nature,
That still hold solemnity and might.
The Powers of Nature Herself,
The Great Mother,
The Goddess.
And with her, swimming and gliding beneath the oceans’ waves,
Are Her magickal children,
The Water Elementals.
They are the ones with the greatest voices,
Singing the songs of the Earth and Waters.
As the float and dive, spin and spiral,
They weave a chant that is timeless and ageless,
Singing of times long gone…and times yet to come.
For as we hear their voices on the wind,
And the crashing of the waves,
Within the seas’ tempests and storms,
And in the gentle calling of the sea birds and seals,
We know, deep within our spirits,
We hear the Call of our Kin.
And know them to be our Ancestors and brethren.
So may we today arise and flow with their intuitive magick and might,
As they teach us to yield to the gentle, emotional, and spiritual sides of life.
For, when we flow rather than steer,
When we allow the Current to Guide and Carry us,
We know then that our work…
Has only just begun.
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Grand tidings and welcome to you on this, the eighteenth episode, of Beyond the Seas. My name is Kieran and here we are again, back at it for another week. And back in New York City! My time in Indianapolis was such a treat and Route 66 closed with a bang! The audiences loved the show and I loved being back home for a few weeks—but I am also very excited to be back in the full swing of Audition Season here in Manhattan, too. So, as always, to all of you lovely listeners: thanks for being here today. You know what’s coming: Instagram, @beyondtheseaspodcast and @thefeatherwitchnyc, and a follow and like on the platform of your choice. I cannot be more excited to have you all here with me today.
And now, updates with The Eagle and the Raven—and the OBOD Bardic training! So with the book: I finally finished Part One, which was almost four hundred pages long—and our main cast of characters had a traumatic moment happen that was on an international level…and was one of the saddest things to read. And also one of the most powerful because it provoked a national, tribal response that was simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting. If you have the chance to get a copy of this book, it is well worth your time to dive into this historical fiction piece—it certainly does not disappoint. And with the training: it’s going so well! I am learning so much and already noticing the positive, magickal effects it will have on my life. There are profund teachings from the Druids of today that I cannot recommend enough. The teachings are wise, knowledgeable, researched, professional, and poignant. So, go to druidry.org to learn more about the Order itself and the courses it has to offer—there is much magick to be found there and in its community.
And now, I want to give my first ever shout-out to a fellow witchy podcaster! I was first introduced to The Bell Witch Podcast, hosted and created by Swailes, when she commented on one of my Instagram posts. Just goes to show that social media may be a positive and powerful force in our world, right? I love, love listening to her show: she is so funny and I can tell just as theatrical as I am. The show is witty, informative, relatable, and poignant. She hails from Northern England and holds much fun, joy, and wisdom. So do what I do and follow her show, The Bell Witch Podcast, on Apple, Spotify, and all others.
And now, the Card of the Week! So I find this particular draw from Claudia to be the most synchronous and magickal. She drew, I cannot believe it, The Queen of Cups herself. Claudia told me that she went to shuffle the deck and, from wherever the Queen of Cups was, she jumped out of the deck and landed on top of the pile, face up and right side up. Can you believe that???? So, what does The Queen of Cups represent? She is the maternal mother of intuition, the power of our awareness and sight within ourselves. She holds the divine spark within all of us, nestling her chalice—her gateway, her ability to grow new life inside her womb—close to her, nurturing all life. She is a reminder of the Moon itself: all peoples hold the ebbs and flows of the tides deep within our spirits. They guide our way and lead us ever onwards. Claudia also mentions that these court cards suggest strong day-to-day transformations, so watch out for those in the coming week—as well as a strong maternal presence that will help you decide, through your intuition, major life goals and ways.
And here we are, the Wine of the Week! So I went back to an actual good bottle of wine this week, hahaha, and picked up 7 Deadly Zins’ 2020 Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel. Now you know, I’m a fan of a good Zinfandel because it is dark, moody, stormy, and gothic as all hell. The back of the bottle says it hails from the Lodi Appellation, which, after some research and digging, is an American Viticultural Area located in California’s Central Valley. So, huzzah for that little tidbit of knowledge thrown out there. I opened this bottle on a Thursday night, after getting home from my show, and this body and flavor of this wine is sooooo complex. I took the first sip and went, “Well, hello! Who the hell are you??” The first thing I tasted was blueberries and blackberries. For some odd and strange reason. The second thing I tasted with earthy, earthy dirt. HA! And then it was a smooth, spicy spicy experience after that. It has notes of berries, dark chocolates, the smell of earth after it rains, and dark shadows. It is paired best with red sauces and meats, if you eat them, and chicken, white fatty cheeses, tangy dressings, sour fruits, and romantic movies in the dark.
And finally, this week’s topic. We continue our clockwise, Sunwise, deosil march around the circle, to the West, the Land of Water. I am so excited to be transitioning into the Feminine elements of the circle because my astrological chart is all Earth and one or two things of Water. I am so ready for this talk. Ergo, let us walk to the edge of the land and into the waves: that liminal, in-between space that is so, so potently magickal. And into the depths of the wonderous kingdoms under the waves. What peoples, creatures, and mythologies exist under the seas? What correspondences may we link to our practices today, utilizing this element? What stories fuel our spirits as we listen to the waves crash gently and powerfully on the shore, underneath the full moon and star-filled sky?
For now, grab your favorite bottle of red, find a comfy chair, and close your eyes as I tell you the tale of The Element of Water—and take you…
Beyond the Seas.
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Water. Element of the West. Traditionally, the third element to invoke when casting the sacred circle or treading the compass round. It is the element of the emotions, intuition, and the psychic powers inherent within every human being. It is the doorway between the worlds. Think about it: the surface of water is the gateway between the realms of air and earth, and the hidden kingdoms deep beneath the crashing waves. It separates realities—by a thin and amorphous veil. Which is a reminder to us all: the separation between whichever realities and worlds you work with are so thin—and need only the gentlest of pushes to pass through, begun when we find the strength and courage within ourselves to travel beyond. That is the power of Water: the reminder that we flow with the current and carry the power of the tides within our beings. We have only to listen to those tides and trust in our intuition, so we may let go and flow.
What I find scientifically powerful is our bodies are made up of 60% water—just a tad under our good home, planet Earth, which sits at 70%. The other components that constitute our physical makeup are minerals and vitamins, chemical elements—but the predominant element is water. Thus, with the shifting of the moon’s phases, we mirror the tides and flow up and chaotically to the Full Moon and introspectively and inwardly towards the New Moon. Our Mother, the Goddess, She of the Radiant Lunar Night, guides our way in this world and life—led by the powers of Water itself.
Water is the Element of Healing, Restoration, and Purification. There is an innoncence about water, but like Fire, it also can be destructive. We float on the surface of the waves, as we let go and release into the comforting ebbs and flows—risings and falligns—of Water’s undulations. But there is the potentiality of drowning, slipping into undercurrents, carried out to sea. Tempests and Hurricanes, Tsunamis and Typhoons. The destruction of Water is as powerful as its creation of healing and sustenance.
To begin, then, are the creatures from around the world that live beneath the waves of the sea. In Celtic Mythology, Selkies are magickal beings that may shed the skin of a seal and reveal either a woman or man’s body beneath. Stories abound of fishermen finding a selkie woman’s seal coat and stealing it from her, so that she may become his wife and rear his children. But the deep longing for the sea always calls to her and, inevitably, one of her children or herself finds the seal coat hidden underneath the eaves of the roof or below the floorboards and, slipping it on once more, travels forth into the waters—never to return.
There is also the Kelpie, a magickal horse that lives in large bodies of water and the seas that lures wary travelers, especially beautiful travelers, out into the depths. There, it entices them to ride its beautiful back—but as with all things too shiny, all that glitters is not gold: it drags the unlucky traveler to the depths far, far below…and drowns them.
In Greek Mythology are the Naiads, water spirits that live in waterfalls, streams, rivers, and lakes. They are the guardians of the watery parts of the natural world and seek protection and care for their everlasting endurance. I remember seeing pictures of them, done by artists centuries ago, with greenish blue frocks and seashell hats on their multicolored heads. A rather striking image, correct?
Now, the most intriguing creature that populates the mythology of Water is none other than…can you guess what I’m about to say? Read my mind? Hahaha. None other than Merfolk. Half human, half fish. The graceful, beautiful, Siren-like creature that sings underneath the waves and makes underwater palaces and kingdoms for its peoples. But also: a menacing, malevolent, destructive creature that lures fisherman and travelers with their song and looks, only to drag them down to the depths of the ocean and drown them. Interesting to note the dichotomy of this creature: they, like Water itself, are creative and destructive. The very embodiment of half-ness, literally and metaphorically.
I suppose that half-ness is what not only entices us to them, but also relates them most strongly to one of the themes of the podcast: liminality. They are the physical manifestation of other-ness because of their physiological blend of human and fish. They are literally betwixt and between. Also, they have the ability to breathe underwater and on land. Rather remarkable a thought, right?
Technically speaking, females are referenced as Mermaids and males as Mermen—collectively, their peoples are Merfolk. They have the torso and upper body of a human, but a glittering fish tail for the lower half. They live deep beneath the waves, but are often seen on the craggy coasts and shores, combing their hair and bathing in the light and warmth of the sun. They need a good day at the beach just like we do, right?
They exist so popularly in our world and imaginations, having cemented their place deep within our psyches as archetypal nature spirits. They represent complete freedom, but also a warning: do not venture too deeply. Always utilize caution. And yet, always live with a sense of freedom and flow. Follow the guiding of the waves of life and swim gladly and happily—freely.
There are so many stories that exist in the world about Merfolk, but the ones that I am most drawn to are those of the Selkie Folk. Hailing from Scotland and the Outer Hebrides, these stories evoke feelings of the moss-covered stones and beaches that surround the Scottish lands. Feelings and motifs of longing, loss, grieving, and redemption abound in these tales and I am so happy to share two of them with you today. These are found on Scotland’s Stories website and are written from the perspective of one its contributors, Graeme.
The first is The Selkie Wife. “One night, a young man catches a glimpse of something strange happening down on the beach. As he creeps up behind a rock, he realises its a group of Selkies dancing in the moonlight. While the entire sight is captivating, there was one girl in particular that the man couldn’t keep his eyes off.
“When the dancing is over, the Selkie folk wander back to where their sealskins are laid out, slipping them on and disappearing into the waves. The mesmerising girl is last to approach her skin, but right before she could touch it, the man rushed out and grabbed it himself. By this point the sun was rising and without the ability to return to the sea, she was resigned to follow the thief home.
“Over the years the couple were married and even had children, but all the while the Selkie’s skin was hidden away. Until one day, while the Selkie wife was finishing her chores, her son approached with something strange in his hands. It was her sealskin, found buried away where nobody but a bored young boy would look.
“The Selkie wife loved her children, but the call of the sea was too much. Just as her husband returned home, he saw her sprinting across the beach with the sealskin in hand. He never saw her again, but any time the children were down by the shoreline, a curious seal could be seen bobbing away in the distance.”
The second tale is The Selkie and the Hunter. “Donald made his living hunting the seals around the coastline and never paid any attention to the old legends. To him, a seal was nothing more than a way to make money.
“One day, Donald saw a huge seal stretched out on the rocks. He knew how valuable a skin of that size would be so he crept up with his sharpest knife and plunged it deep. His prey bellowed in pain before diving into the sea, taking Donald’s best knife with it.
“Donald was furious at losing both his catch and his knife. He was still sulking about it that night when there was a knock at the door. A tall, handsome stranger stood outside and asked for the famous seal hunter. His lord had requested a large number of skins and would be delighted if Donald accompanied him to his hall.
“Donald wasn’t going to turn down an opportunity like this! Without hesitation he leapt up on the strangers horse and off they sped. He started to get a little nervous when the horse took the cliff road. Those nerves turned to sheer terror as the horse galloped directly towards the edge and dived into thin air.
“As they plunged into the sea, Donald was dragged far below the waves to a hidden door in the rocks. On entering he saw a great host of seals, with sad looks on their faces. The big seal from earlier was lying in the middle of the room with a horrendous gash in his side.
“The stranger that Donald had arrived with then presented him with a blade and a cold dread came over him. He instantly recognised his best knife.
“His host said to him, “Donald you will have guessed that we are no ordinary seals. We are Selkies and even though you have slain many of our kin, we mean you no harm. I brought you here because you are the only person who can save our King. Only your hands can close the wound they opened.”
“Donald was distraught at the pain he had caused these creatures. He didn’t know what good it would do but he stepped up to the dying Selkie and reached out with his hands. Slowly and tenderly, Donald pushed the wound closed and as if by magic it started to heal over. The Selkies barked their approval as the King raised himself up and Donald sighed with relief.
“Luckily for Donald, Selkies aren’t vengeful beings and allowed him to return home on one condition. He willingly promised never to hurt another seal in his life.”
So with these creatures and their magick in mind, how do we bring the Element of Water into our daily lives, as well? What correspondences may we link between ourselves and the waters of the world?
Refill your goblets, your drinking horns, your chalices, for the second half of the Elements Series of Water after this brief break.
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Undines. Elementals of Water. Paracelsus assigned these water spirits as the guardians of Water itself many hundreds of years ago, during the Renaissance. Folklorically, they are a derivation of the Greek Naiad, and are seen as a water nymph. They assumedly live in all bodies of water, and are thus able to be called upon and contacted through any vessel containing the liquid. If your eyes strayed over to where your water bottle is currently sitting, good job—because we all know the Undines are watching us right now, ahahaha.
I am reminded of M. Night Shaymalan’s Lady in the Water, which depicts Bryce Dallas Howard as a creature called a Narf—a fictional derivation that is based in actual mythological roots of the Undine and Naiad. Now, there is not much other information out there, in regards to who this magickal beings are—suffice it to say that, much like Mermaids, they are always undoubtedly female and, apparently, lack a human soul. If they marry a mortal man, they earn an immortal human soul themselves—thus earning the ability to experience rebirth and reincarnation.
There are many Water Spirits around the world. Heading back to a good source, the Mythological Creatures Guide, these include the following: “Every body of water, from the smallest stream to the vast ocean, has its own protective fairy, living below the surface. In Wales, fairy maidens called the Gwragedd Annwn dwell beneath the lakes. They are exceedingly beautiful and occasionally venture ashore to take human lovers and husbands. One such Lady of the Lake, called Vivienne or Nimue, appears in the stories of King Arthur, supplying him with Excalibur, a magical sword from the Other-world.
“The sea is as densely populated with fairies as any place on earth. In its depths dwell mermaids and mermen, nymphs, and others. These spirits control the weather and the water, raise storms, and have the power to cause shipwreck, or keep a ship safe. In ancient times, it was the practice to placate the spirits of the sea with a sacrifice before setting out on a voyage.
“Jenny Greenteeth lives in the River Ribble in Northern England. When green weeds wave in the flowing water, it is a sign that Peggy is lurking beneath the surface, ready to take another victim. She haunts the stepping stones near Brungerley and every seven years claims a human life by grabbing some hapless traveller and pulling him beneath the water to drown. Children are warned not to go near the water, or Jenny Greenteeth will take them.
“Water has often been considered to be a living thing, or certainly to have the power of sustaining, bestowing and even restoring life- as well as being capable of taking it. Every ancient society honored springs, wells, and water sources as sacred. The Celts and others sacrificed treasure to lake and river spirits. Rivers were worshiped by the Druids and were believed to each have their resident water spirits that required sacrifices to be made to them.
“Just as water takes the form of whatever it is poured into, water fairies have the power to alter their shape. If you anger them by polluting their water, they may appear as hideous green toothed hags to drench you with a sudden storm, or drown you beneath the waves. If they take a liking to you, they might appear as gorgeous golden haired youths or maids, wooing you with sweet fairy music. A 'prototype' of water fairies is the Greek sea god Proteus, known as The Old Man of the Sea who is the most masterful shapeshifter of all. He is able to assume any shape he desires. Most water fairies are said to be shapeshifters, perhaps because of the fluid and changeable nature of water itself, which is only given shape by the vessel that holds it.
“Water is liquid, like the blood that flows through our veins. Water can manifest in a drop of dew, a gentle rain to the raging flood or the crash of the ocean wave. A trickle of water will eventually wear away a mountain. All life started in the rich biological soup of the oceans, just as the uterine waters of your mother’s womb protected you. It is associated with emotions and feelings, the subconscious mind. Water can be the safety of the uterine waters of the womb, the cleansing stream, the deep pool of the subconscious mind, the nourishing river, the brew of initiation, the movement of the tides and the power of the sea to give bounty or destroy with its tempest.
“Water is a universal symbol of cleansing and regeneration. Some bodies of water have healing powers, like the Chalice Well in Glastonbury. Water heals; especially water that flows east to west is empowered by the rising sun at the vernal equinox, May Day and Midsummer. Any stream that runs north to south has magical properties as does the place where two streams meet; these were often the places for magic and otherworld contact. Pools and lakes are magical entrances to the other-world. Where three streams meet was always considered to be a especially potent place for magic where people gathered to drink the water as it had magical properties.
“Water is ruled by the moon which pulls the ebb and flow of the tides, and many water fairies are said to appear by moonlight. Under the full moon is the best time to contact them. Our bodies too respond to the moon’s tides, as they are mainly water. We are influenced by the moon tides almost as much as water elementals, though more subtly.
“Water relates to the ebb and flow of events, the natural tides of life, the emotions, love and the spiritual side of love. People with a lot of water in the psychological make-up can be idealistic, romantic, psychic, artistic, poetic, nurturing and imaginative. However, they can also be self-involved, selfish, vapid, avaricious, ruthless, indecisive, manipulative, weak, over emotional and impractical.”
And now, the correspondences! The direction of Water in the Sacred Circle is West, the Eternal Lands. It is associated with the dusk, Twilight, of the day and Autumn in the wheel of the year. Its suit in the Tarot is Cups and its colors are Blue, Silver, Grey, and Teal. Magickal tools used in the Craft are the Cauldron and Chalice. Use herbs like mugwort, lemon balm, seaweed, coral, water lily, apples, and chamomile, and crystals like aquamarine, pearl, moonstone, amethyst, blue tourmaline, and labradorite, in all acts of Water magick. Labradorite, when held up to the Light, shows the shimmer and splendour of moving water—almost as if it were trapped inside of it. Water rules Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces in the Zodiac and is ruled itself by the Moon and Neptune. Finally, its energy is a Receptive one, a gentle and calming energy.
When contemplating what types of magick to use for Water, think of the following: healing of oneself and others, purification of the body and all physical spaces, the creation of holy water, moon water, sun water, any charged body of water to use in the Craft; rejuvenation of love and intimacy in relationships, the solidification of focus and will in all emotional matters, the increasing of awareness, the opening of self to psychic abilities, meditative practices, connection to the Otherworld and other realms, communication with the spirits of the dead and Ancestors, Them Who Have Gone Before, divination and scrying, and so many others.
Now, back to the Queen of Cups. From the same two decks, The Wildwood Tarot and The Ghosts and Spirits Tarot, I pulled the Queen of Vessels, Salmon and The Queen of Cups from each, respectively. In the former, a salmon is shown leaping upstream, underneath a fully bloomed hazelnut tree. In the latter, it depicts the mother Groa, from Norse mythology, who was summoned from the underworld by her son, Svipdag, to help him in a trial set forth by his evil stepmother, as a means of finding and procuring his love, Mengloth. Groa is floating in this image, holding a chalice full of water to her ethereal being, depicting further the maternal nurturance of all divine female presences. I am so struck by these cards and find that our mothers, Earthly and Otherworldy, would do anything to protect us, our children. They conquer so many obstacles in life, as a means of doing what is best for their children. So let us take a moment to thank and honor all the mothers in the world and what they do. And also, to honor the divine feminine and psychic intuition within us all—for that is the beginning of opening the doorway to developing further our magickal abilities.
So do not fear the tides of your own being,
As you discover how to release into the Currents of Life.
Flow with the Current.
Heal your magick and find your might,
As you seek the kingdoms beneath the waves,
And yearn to reach those who dwell there.
As you scry and divine,
Cast and emote,
Your intuition and awareness will become all the stronger.
So hail and welcome, Watchtowers of the West, Powers of Water and Intuition,
Be welcome to our sacred circle this day.
For as we gaze into the far-distant horizon, to the lands only just beyond sight,
We know that our magick will always be stronger…
Because of it.
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The stories, research, and production elements were done and edited, respectively, by me, Kieran, with sources attached in the description. If you want to be a guest on the show, or have a topic you wish me to explore and discuss, send me an email at beyondtheseaspodcast@gmail.com. And be sure to hit the follow button, on whichever platform you enjoy the podcast, and look forward to more content next week. Until then, seek the veil between the worlds, and allow yourself to travel…Beyond the Seas.