Of Changelings and Fairy Doctors

Source

Are you a witch, or are you a fairy, 

Or are you the wife of Michael Cleary?

For if ye be a changeling in turn,

into the bon fire you shall burn.

The practices of folk healers can be viewed as a beautiful and mysterious art of old. The wise men and women that sought to heal people through their folkish means. However, the practices of the Fairy Doctors hold a not so friendly side. More specifically, their practices involving fairy Changelings.

"a child believed to have been secretly substituted by fairies for the parents' real child in infancy."
Along with the fairy faith, the belief of changelings was a held belief in both the common folk and the fairy doctors. The different beliefs and definitions of changelings varied among the fairy faith. The most common being a child replaced by a fairy. 

However, it is much more gruesome than it sounds, "We could not love the child. We were repelled by the puckered face that would not flesh out into plump and rosy like the doctor said it would, but remained yellow and the same texture as parchment," (Cornelle Forest Greene). The more common of the changeling folklore beliefs held that the changeling was an old and deformed fairy that sought to leech off of the human parents like a parasite. Unfortunately, the changeling belief had most likely spawned from people of that day being unable to understand such things as birth defects, mental illnesses, and so on. 

It was often used as excuse to treat these individuals poorly, " Nothing short of fire is often deemed sufficient for the purpose. There were various methods of applying it. Sometimes we are 'told of a shovel being made red-hot and held before the child's face; sometimes he is seated on it and flung out into the dung-pit, or into the oven or again, the poker would be heated to mark the sign of the cross on his forehead, or the tongs to take him by the nose. Or he is thrown bodily on the fire, or suspended over it in a creel or a pot, and in the north of Scotland the latter must be hung from a piece of the branch of a hazel tree. In this case we are told that if the child screamed it was a changeling, and it was held fast to prevent its escape," ( Edwin Sidney Hartland). 

Fairy Doctors were [are] tied closely with Changelings. They were often seeked by the peasantry to explain why a child was deformed or why a member of the family had changed so much.

These tortures were not excluded to just infants and children, but often women were dealt these things as well, as was the case with Bridget Clearly, "rhyme invokes fear of the gruesome fate of women in the past labelled as witches. Bridget, the unfortunate wife of Michael Cleary, was not burnt for witchcraft but for being a fairy changeling," (Julia Reddy). 

Michael had seen a fairy doctor prior to the murder of his wife. The fairy doctor had only encouraged the thought of Bridget being a changeling, and gave Michael the means in which to deal with her, "Why would the prosperous, clever Bridget Cleary be considered a changeling? Bridget was very ill with bronchitis or pneumonia along with fits of delirium prior to her death. The change in her behaviour, likely accompanied by the manipulative Jack Dunne, convinced Michael Cleary of his wife’s fairy state. Jack Dunne is also believed to have told Michael that his wife has one leg longer than the other, which was a definite sign of a fairy...The murder of Bridget Cleary was a result of her misinterpreted illness, Michael’s frustration and his mental disturbance," (Julia Reddy)

Even today, the horrendous tales of people believing their family or friends to be changelings still occur. One of them, that I remember, being a woman killing her baby by placing it into her oven.

Often, those accused of being a changeling were individuals that had depression, autism, genetic illnesses or deformities, or were those who were seen as outsiders. In the case with Bridget, individuals who were outcasts of society (or ignored the norms of the society) were suspected of being changelings themselves (and in some cases also being accused of witchcraft). 

The topic of changelings is an example of what happens when ignorance and prejudice mix with faith and superstition. It shows the importance of how not all acts within a belief or religion should be allowed to continue or flourish in that way. Its the reason why I must update and somewhat modernize my practice as a Fairy Doctor. I am horrified by the idea of killing someone for how they looked or what illness they may or may not have. 

Work Cited

Correll, Timothy Corrigan. "Away with the Fairies": Wise Folk, Healing, and the Otherworld in Irish Oral Narrative and Belief. N.p.: n.p., 2003. Print.

Forest-Greene, Cornell. The Field Guide to Fairies and Other Frights. N.p.: n.p., 2013. Print.

Hartland, Edwin S. "The Science of Fairy Tales." Index. N.p., 1891. Web. 13 Aug. 2014.

Reddy, Julia. "Are You a Witch or Are You a Fairy Or Are You the Wife of Michael Cleary?" Celtic                    Lore (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 2009.

Oath of the Doctor

My oath as a Fairy Doctor

• To See

I must widen my gaze and see both what is seen and what is not. The process of learning takes a ready mind, and to learn I must keep my eyes open to what is seemingly impossible. The invisible realm is my world, the fairies my covenant, and mortals my brethren. I exist on the outskirts of both Faery and the mortal world. I know both. To see for me is to know. Sight is my power

• To Speak

It is known that I must speak. To be silent when unneeded would be a crime against my very practice. I must commune with both mortal and fairy people, and I must honor their creeds. I am the bridge between. My voice aids, and it can teach. I wish to bring peace

• To Stop

My services can never be free for it will insult what I am; however, I should never allow the unknowing to believe what is not true. I must be honest with them and stop their actions if they are deemed false. To not take such action would bring dread upon myself, my house, and my practice. Not all is true

• To Save

Within fair deal, as is important to those such as I, it is my duty to cure fairy ailments. Both man and beast, I tend to their plights. I take risk in what I do, but it is as I am. Sacrifice is needed to heal

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Source

My practice as a Fairy Doctor spawns from various sources: the folklore and history written and spoken about various Irish folk healers (the Bone Setters, Wise-men/women, the Fairy-men/women, and the Fairy Doctors), my own experiences from my peers and interactions with the Fairy folk, and from the growing knowledge from my own progress within the art itself. It takes time, but time brings wisdom. This is most certainly a practice that requires not only wisdom, but a cunning eye, a firm embodiment, and a seemingly supernatural touch. 
I seek to heal the supernatural ailments, rather than the natural sicknesses and troubles that can be cured by the use of medicine. 
As I hope to save those who are struck by the other crowd, I must be given proper payment. It is through sacrifice, both mine and others', that I can heal what has been done, or prevent what might be done. However, I cannot take the payment from one that is not ailed by those of or relating to the fairy folk. The very act would insult myself, my practice, and bring upon the wrath of fairies around me. For to do so would mock the fairies. The same can be said of the opposite. I cannot mock those that come to me in good faith and legitimacy. If the person was truly ailed by the fae, I would suffer their attacks for doubting their existence and power. 

I shall seek to cure through charms, prayer, spirits, herbs, stones, sacred places, and so on. And, I accept that the act of curing another can bring upon the rage of the fairy folk involved. 

To many, I am away with the fairies, and their skepticism I understand. Though unlike many, I've seen and known the other world. 

"We are children of the Moon;
We are born of shining light;
When the Moon shoots forth a ray,
Then it takes a fairy's form."

-Source

 

Folklore Analysis: Fairer-Than-A-Fairy

A Link to the story

The story begins with a king naming his daughter Fairer-Than-A-Fairy. The story states, "such a name was certain to call down the hatred and jealousy of the fairies."

According to Celtic lore, the act of calling fairies "Good folk" or something of the sort would prevent harm and ill-will from coming down upon you. The same can be said in reverse. If you stated something that insulted them, the fairies would seek to harm, through various means of course. In this case, the king had named his daughter a name that insulted the fairies. If he hadn't have named her such, she would not have drawn the jealousy and hatred of the fairies in this story.

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This story reveals quite a bit about the various different natures of fairies. The other crowd, though all fairies, are vastly different from one another. They are the extremes of each other, and the complete form of chaotic senselessness compared to our own ways. 

"The eldest of their tribe was entrusted to carry out their revenge.  This Fairy was named Lagree; she was so old that she only had one eye and one tooth left, and even these poor remains she had to keep all night in a strengthening liquid.  She was also so spiteful that she gladly devoted all her time to carrying out all the mean or ill-natured tricks of the whole body of fairies," vs this "These houses belonged to three sisters, all endowed with fairy gifts, and all so alike in mind and person that they wished their houses and garments to be equally alike.  Their occupation consisted in helping those in misfortune, and they were as gentle and benevolent as Lagree had been cruel and spiteful.

The third Fairy comforted the poor traveller, begged her not to lose heart, and assured her that her troubles should be rewarded."

The Fae are creatures known for both aiding and harming mortals.

In fact, three fairies within the story seek to aid Fairer-than-a-Fairy. It is not fully known as to why these fairies helped the young girl exactly. They could have sought to have aided her in order to thwart the tribe of fairies that Lagree originated from, sought to aid her because of their connection to the Rainbow Prince that Lagree had trapped, or if they merely wished to help the young girl with her troubles. It is clear that not all fairies seek to thwart mortals, and in fact it is clear that not all fairies will ally with one another.

The gifts that the three fairies had given do indicate that they were aware of what situation was at hand, but it still doesn't entirely reveal their motives. It is a belief that fairies can see into the future and have a very powerful intuition.
This tale does show the importance and power behind fairy gifts no matter what their outer form may be. Their gifts might hold magical power, be worth quite the pretty penny, or may even hold importance to certain events in your life.
Fairies can be very prideful creatures, so when a gift is given they want it to be the absolute best. Fairies want to be anything, but bland. Though a fairy might not always give a gift, they will be certain that it is one to be receiving amazed reactions.

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The story ends with Fairer-than-a-fairy freeing the Rainbow Prince from a deep sleep. He awakens and a fairy court appears from this event, "...he was wide awake, and transported with joy threw himself at the Princess's feet.  At the same moment the walls of the room expanded and opened out, revealing a golden throne covered with jewels.  A magnificent Court now began to assemble, and at the same time several elegant carriages filled with ladies in magnificent dresses drove up.  In the first and most splendid of these carriages sat Prince Rainbow's mother... the Queen taking the two lovers in her carriage set off with them for the capital of the kingdom. Here they were received with tumultuous joy.  The wedding was celebrated without delay, and succeeding years diminished neither the virtues, beauty, nor the mutual affection of King Rainbow and his Queen, Fairer-than-a-Fairy."

Though the story doesn't outright say it, I believe the court of the Rainbow Prince and his mother were all fairy court. The story states that the court appeared from no where with the Queen stating, "the anger of the Fairies was at length appeased."

The Rainbow Court [what I will call it for now] could have been at odds with the Fairy Tribe of Lagree. Their Prince might have [or perhaps wasn't him at all] caused the situation to worsen, which only could be solved by the Queen giving up her son. Or perhaps, the fairy tribe had placed a curse on him, without the agreement of the Rainbow Queen, to get their revenge. Either way, its uncertain to whether or not this is true. For now, I'll save my rambles on Fairy Courts for another time.

This story touches a bit on mortal travels to Faery, and the effects of being in Faery. Fairer-than-a-fairy had been taken away by the fairy Lagree. During this, the girl's pets, a cat and a dog, had followed her into Faery itself. This somewhat hints at the idea that animals have a strong connection to the Otherworld, and not just Faery itself.
As time progressed, the girl forgotten her mortal home and became entranced and taken by the tasks Lagree had given her. Not once had she tried to escape, it suggests that she had little awareness of time. Folklore, the belief of others, and my own experience reveal that Faery has strange effects on perception of time. And, it does not follow the "rules" and order of our own world. What a moment is here is a lifetime there. An eternity there is a blink here. It is uncertain when one will occur and not the other. Time does not exist in Faery, and though it is believed to mirror our own [as our neighbors] realm of existence.

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{Comments}

This piece of literature provides helpful insight and information when it comes to fairies, Faery itself, traveling to Faery, the interactions between fairies, fairy court dynamics, and the effects of Faery on mortals. I do hope to provide more detailed posts on these subjects separately.