Demystifying Druid Mist

If you fly into the Cork airport at the Southern most tip of Ireland, there's a 1/3rd chance you'll find yourself enveloped in druid mist. But, as you sip your now-cold airplane tea, will you be armed in understanding its ancient allure, or will it's mystery and magic be lost on you in the haze of time?

It's time to demystify the druid mist!

But before we do, we should know a bit about druids themselves. Druids were intellectual and spiritual Celtic men and women, who possessed magic as well as many skills, talents, and wisdom. They were knowledgeable in the arts of astronomy, herbology, and fortune telling. They were religious leaders, peacemakers, advisers, judges, lawyers, teachers, physicians, poets, bards, seers and scholars.  According to Cesar, they were so highly revered in society they were "exempt from military service and do not pay taxes like other citizens." They could put an end to battles with their diplomacy or with their magical mist.

Druid Mist, also known as Féth Fíada, or "mist of the knower" is a magical mist or veil in Irish mythology. Wielded by a wizened Druid, the mist can be used in battle to confuse and destabilize the enemy. It could also be used like a cloak of invisibility, hiding the druid in a dense fog. Alternatively, the mist could transform the druid into deer or other animal, keeping their identity hidden.

But it wasn't just druids with this superpower - the fairy folk or demi-gods, also know as the Sidhe, the Good People, or the Tuatha Dé Denann ("tribe of gods") can invoke the Féth Fíada and they continue to use it to this day to remain hidden from human eyes. 

The legend goes that there was an epic battle between the human Milesians against the druids and Tuatha Dé Denann over the rights to Ireland. The Milesians won, but instead of casting the other side out completely, it was agreed that the druids and Tuatha Dé Denann would live in secret or retreat to the Otherworld. After the battle, the God of the Sea, Manannán mac Lir, who lived on the Isle of Man, gifted the Féth Fíada to the druids and Tuatha Dé Denann to help enshroud or hide them from human eyes and uphold the pact they made with the humans. 

Now, in modern days, in certain parts of Ireland, some Irish people might warn you to be weary of the druid mist. On one hand, it's practical advice to not go walking in the mist, in case you accidently walk over a cliff and fall into the craggy sea. But it also has an ancient meaning - if you like your life in the human world, don't walk into the mist where the Sidhe lurk in the hidden depths, else they grab you by the feet and pull you under to the Otherworld! 

So, do you dare to desire a little druid mist in your life? Why not try our Druid Mist candles or Druid Mist wax melts? I developed our unique forest scent, Druid Mist, based on my own trip to the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland, where I was struck by the cold misty mountains and placid lake, the warm sun peaking through pine branches, and ancient mossy stone ruins. Druid Mist smells like breathing in an ancient piece of Celtic history. 

Sláinte,

Ellen 

Moon Wax 

Photo by Andrea Ferrario on Unsplash