10/03/2026
ππ Reveal Time ππ
A: BANSHEE
The Image: The card shows two banshees: strange, white-faced women with red eyes. They stand on the bare branches of trees under the eerie light of a full moon.
The Fairy: Banshees can be heard weeping and wailing when a death or a disaster is about to occur. A banshee may look like a lovely, young maiden or she may appear as an ugly, old hag with eyes red from weeping. In some areas of Ireland, the banshee dresses in green; in others, she wears white; or yet again, she might be veiled and clad from head to foot in black. Banshees are usually seen in the moonlight, crouching in the dark or sitting in the branches of trees, combing their long hair, but beware: if one of these hairs should fall on you, it is a very bad omen indeed.
Every old Scots or Irish family has its own banshee, but the fairies only attach themselves to noble families of pure Milesian descent. The earliest written reference to a banshee was in Scotland in 1437, when a banshee foretold the death of James I of Scotland.
The Welsh have their own form of death omen called a Cyoerraeth. These creatures are sometimes heard but rarely seen, though they have long, black teeth, matted hair, withered arms, and wings. They tap on the windows of a dying person, groaning loudly.
Other death omens are the various beings called Washers at the Ford, who may be discovered washing the bloody garments of those about to die. In an ancient myth, the battle goddess Morrigan would sing on the eve of a battle and, in a stream, wash the entrails of those about to die. Those warriors who heard her spellbinding songs were destined to die in battle, while those who did not might have with enough to live. Thus, her song is a herald of death, like the wail of the banshee, and this is probably the origin of banshee lore. In folklore, the Morrigan is sometimes deemed their leader and chooses the loveliest maidens to become banshees.
The word banshee is an anglicized form of the Gaelic bean sidhe, or ban sith, which simply means "woman fairy."
Divinatory Meanings: The Banshee brings you bad news or a warning of disaster. She is telling you that others are working behind the scenes to do you a disservice. Beware of evil gossip about you, and treachery by disloyal friends and loved ones.
Working with a Banshee: Those families who possess banshee look upon them kindly, knowing that they simply warn of ill omen and do not cause it. However, none would dream of summoning a banshee, since ill fortune would inevitably fol-low her appearance.
B:CHANGELING
The Image: The card shows a strange-looking baby with pointed ears. It is climbing out of a wooden cradle placed in the sunshine outside an old-fashioned, thatched cottage.
The Fairy: Fairies have been known to steal a human child and replace it with a changeling: a fairy baby or sometimes just a piece of wood that seems to be alive for a short time. Fairies of all nationalities kidnap human adults and children. The Welsh sometimes calls the whole fairy race cipenapers, which is just a contraction of "kidnappers." Those most in danger of being snatched include women who have recently given birth, unbaptized babies, blond children, pretty girls, those sleeping beneath hawthorn bushes, and anyone wandering near fairy mounds at night
Parents will soon realize that the baby in the crib is not their own, but a fairy surrogate. The changeling may have a withered or deformed appearance. It will probably be thin, weak, or ailing, and will cry continually. It may have a voracious appetite, be fond of dancing, be unnaturally precocious, or make some unguarded remark as to its age. In Ireland, all left-handed children are said to be changelings.
The method of discovering a changeling by means of eggshells is used in many places around the world. Empty eggshells are arranged around the hearth, and as the curious changeling gets up to examine them, he will peer into each, windbag; I am so saying something like this: "This is but a many hundred years old and I have never seen the likes of this." An alternative method is to go through the motions of brewing water in halves of eggshells. The changeling will reveal its ancient age by sitting up and declaring, "I have seen the egg before the hen, I have seen the acorn before the oak, but I have never seen brewing in an eggshell before!" It might even say, "I'm fifteen hundred years in the world and I've never seen a brewery of eggshells before!"
When the changeling has been made to reveal its fairy nature, it will disappear up the chimney, and the real baby will be found alive and well at the door, or back in its cradle, sweetly sleeping.
Parents would protect their children with pieces of iron placed beneath the cradles, crosses made from rowan wood and red thread, or St. John's wort, or the child might be wrapped in the father's shirt.
Divinatory Meanings: When the Changeling appears in the cards, it indicates that something, or someone, is not all it seems. The questioner may be the victim of fraud or duplicity
Working with a Changeling: Not recommended
C: HERFEST (Reversed)
The Card: The card shows a group of fairies at the autumn equinox, which is also called Herfest, the harvest festival. Corn stands ready to be harvested, and in the foreground is a Poppy Fairy, with flowers in her hair. A fairy hunter, armed with bows, stalks his prey, while in the background the fairy island is hidden in mist.
The Festival: Herfest ("Harvest Festival") is celebrated at the autumn equinox, and, in Britain and Ireland, it marks the major harvest. Light and darkness stand in balance, with equal hours of night and day; but the darkness is gaining, and with it, bar-ren winter. This is symbolized by the battles between such fairies as the Sea Mither and Teran, who represent summer and winter, respectively.
Fairies are very interested in the reaping of the grain and are determined to have their share. Farmers once made special efforts to placate mischievous or malicious fairies in order to protect the crops. The harvest was fraught with tension. The weather might ruin the grain, the work was hard, and the final capture of the Corn Spirit was hazardous. This vegetation spirit had to be treated carefully to ensure a full rick. As late as the beginning of the twentieth century, the harvesters followed customs that would have been familiar to the ancient world. The corn was cut in decreasing circles, the Corn Spirit ever retreating into the remaining ears. There was a reluctance to be the one to cut the final ear and be the captor of the spirit, so sickles were thrown at it from a safe distance.
Getting the harvest home safely was a time of great relief and a cause for celebration. A feast would be held for all the workers with an abundance of good food and drink and was probably the best meal the laborers would enjoy all year. The doors and gates of the farm were decorated with greenery, grain, flowers, and ribbons, and wreathed scythes and sickles would be placed in the arches of the house. You can be sure that on many farms, offerings of food and drink were left out for the fairies.
The final sheaf to be cut, which embodied the Corn Spirit, would be fashioned into a corn dolly and kept safe until the following year, when it would be plowed into the ground to return the vegetation spirit to the earth.
Reversed Meanings: The reversed card indicates poverty, lack. loss, failure, unprofitable speculation, financial problems, and bankruptcy.
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ππΌ Hands up who thought the beautiful artwork and being fairies this would be nice meanings π€¦πΌββοΈ
How did your card relate ? I'm intrigued this time as they aren't the nicest of meanings what your thoughts are
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Enjoy what's left of Tuesday evening
