#faerie witch

Credit me if you save and repost please.

So I made my kitsune guide and now I’m finally remaking one of my original posts on my old blog: my selkie guide. Whether you’re a sea witch or a practicing fae worker or even a casual folklorist, you’ve likely heard of selkies.

My hopes with this post is to give those interested in selkies a place to start their research on folklore and someone else’s UPG. So I’ll provide a mixture of the history surrounding selkies and then dive (pun intended) into my own personal experience working with selkies. As always, however, just use this post as a way to get your foot in the door, not the full extent of your research.

This is not an all-knowing expert article on selkies nor is my UPG the end all be all of knowledge on selkies, just my personal experiences.

what is a selkie?

By definition selkies (also called silkies, sylkies, selchies, or seal folk) are “ are mythological beings capable of changing from seal to human form by shedding their skin.” Their mythology itself originates from the Northern Isles of Scotland but there are equivalents in Faroese and Icelandic folklore as well. 

selkies in folklore

Selkies probably have a really well-known folklore to anyone interested in ocean-based folktales and their stories tend to follow a specific plotline. 

One day, a seal comes to comes to land and sheds it’s skin much to the surprise of a fisherman hiding near by. But the surprise to behold is the fact that the seal is a beautiful woman. Enraptured by the beauty of the seal woman, he steals her coat forcing her to stay on land, marry him, and bear his children. Years later usually because of the children or because the husband was caught slipping, the selkie gets her coat back and immediately books it to the sea and returns to her watery home.

There are several stories you can find that detail these forced spousal situations. Make no mistake, these are not consent-based relationships no matter how ‘good’ the human treats the selkie while they are together. In these stories, there are even cases where the selkie already has a selkie husband and children in the sea. She might resurface as a seal from a distance to see her human children from afar, but she never returns to the life she was forced to lead. (As a side note: half selkie children were said to have webbed hands according to the stories.)

As far as selkie men, their legends differ slightly. Their stories don’t usually include coat theft. Selkie men and stories involving them describe them as more seductive, whisking away women on land to have their children. Stories would even say that if a woman cried and seven of her tears landed in the sea, a selkie man would appear to ease her grief for seven years before returning back to the sea himself. But even stories with selkie men can end in tragedy, such as a story where a woman’s human husband killed her selkie lover and selkie child while they were in their seal forms.

However, not all stories involving selkies are cruel. There are some stories, no matter how few they are, that detail positive exchanges between selkies. One Spared to the Sea is a story about a boy who spared the life of a seal pup not knowing it was a selkie. Years later, that same pup’s mother saved his life. You can read a modern wlw retelling of said story [here].

selkies in media

In stark contrast to how many folktales one may find about selkies, I haven’t found nearly as many in pop culture.

• Song of the Sea
• Ondine
• A Stranger Came Ashore by Mollie Hunter
• Selkie (made for tv Australian movie)

UPG

If you’re new to fae work and faerie witchcraft as a whole, I find that selkies can be great for beginners. They tend to be easier to get along with and most I’ve encountered are of the ‘wild fae’ category, meaning they tend to not be involved in Court politics. (Fae Work Tip: please don’t involve yourself in the politics of faeries.)

Like in the folklore, selkies are beings that are able to transform into seals with the help of their coats. As such, the variety of seal forms a selkie can take are varied. Leopard seal selkies, spotted seal selkies, harbor seal selkies, monk seal selkies, elephant seals, and so on and so forth.

I usually find that the type of seal they are influences what region they hail from, the culture and cuisine of a pod. This is a generalization, of course. Not every pod of, say, harbor seal selkies are 100% alike or unified in thought. One pod of harbor seal selkies can have their own traditions that another pod of harbor seal selkies have never even heard of. Personally, I work mostly with harbor seal selkies, they tend to be the most populous. The passing of leadership depends on the pod. 

As to how much time they spend in their seal forms, that’s really up to the individual. Some selkies may prefer their fae form and indulging in the coat-based fashion trends of their pod (a more recently developed trend among selkies to better make their their coats look less like selkie coats). I know a selkie who spends most of their time in their seal form during the warm seasons. And there are instances of selkies who spend years in their seal form before slipping off their coat. Usually in those circumstances, they may struggle with talking and walking for a bit from what I’ve been told. Some selkies might not even live with their pod and are solo travelers or living on land.

Like the mythos, selkies are connected to their coat. Every selkie is born with their coat and from that moment, they’re lives are intertwined with it. As they grow from pup to fully grown selkie, their coats grow and change with them. What happens to the selkie, happens to the coat. You could see a selkie coat with scratches on it from fights they got in their seal form plenty of times. As such, if their coat is stolen by someone they have no choice but to go with whoever took it. They can’t just go ‘oh that sucks, I guess I’ll find a new one’. They can only transform and return to the sea with their own coat.

As to what their coats look like, I find that selkie coats I’ve seen look mostly similar to the coats in these illustrations:

https://owlyjules.tumblr.com/post/188643189962/inktober-day-27-coat-one-day-your-brother-brings

https://erysium.tumblr.com/post/615764004311269376/my-selchie-comic-for-boom-sudios-storyteller

(And no, they aren’t all pure white as they are in Song of the Sea. Unless they’re a harp seal selkie pup but as they get older, the white pup fur will fade and it will look like the typical coat of a harp seal.)

So understandably, selkies can be very suspicious of new people they meet who aren’t selkies. Hearing a story about a selkie coat being sold in the black market is not a rare one and you will have to prove that you’re trustworthy. Best way to do that is slowly overtime of course. I would recommend talking to whoever is in charge of the pod and asking for a chance to prove your loyalty and wishes for friendship. Respect whatever decision and conditions they give.

Brief Run Through on Pod dynamics (remember each one is different):

• Leader: some pod has one specific leader and how leadership is passed down depends on the pod. Some pods do it by challenging the current leader and the winner is the one who will lead (or continue leading) the pod. Some pods pass it down between family members and other pods will vote on who they believe will be most capable to lead them. May rely on the elders of the pod for advice but if there is no specific leader of a pod, they might just have a bunch of elders running the show.
• Elders: some pods don’t have a specific leader and instead have a group of the pod’s eldest members who decide their actions. But even in the case where there are elders
• Scouts: the ones who patrol around their home and the waters surrounding it for prospective enemies and threats.
• Hunters: kinda self explanatory. Selkies do their best not to heavily impact their ecosystems and avoid taking too much. This is especially true if they are not the only entities calling the place home, for instance if there are merfolk or sea elves and such living close by they have to make sure those around them can still eat as well.
• As for children, while they are ultimately brought up by their own parents selkies tend to look after the youngest members of their pod as a community. As you might expect, they’re job is to be cute and learn from the older selkies how to swim and fend for themselves as they get older. They’re the next generation so they’re important to every pod.

But hunter and scout is just a broad overview of two common roles you’ll find in pods, there are of course selkies who do other things in their pods. Healers (I knew of a selkie interested in starting her own apothecary a long while back), sea silk weavers, teachers, pearl cultivators or even jewelers. 

Befriending an entire pod can seem daunting, but take everything one day at a time and remember each pod is full of individuals. Each individual is different and so are their friendliness, so there are bound to friendlier selkies in a pod. Once you’ve befriended a selkie, or even an entire pod, then just know you’re with them for life. Selkies tend to be very family-oriented and once you’re in, you’re in.

Disclaimer: thinking of selkies as kind and fun-loving folk who will never do you any harm is a fine way to get yourself clapped. There are selkies who don’t like humans and some of them will let that dislike be known through aggression. Every selkie is different the way every human is different and they shouldn’t all be lumped together. Some selkies and pods are really open and welcoming, others like to keep to themselves. Each decision is valid, especially when selkies themselves have suffered the short end of the stick.

suitable offerings

The disclaimer here is that these are general offerings that most selkies should like. Should you ever find yourself working frequently with a selkie or find yourself the companion of one, there could be other things that they specifically like or dislike. But you usually can’t go wrong with:

• Seashells or Coral (ethnically sourced of course)
• Sea Glass
• Ocean-related candles and incense

how to gain the attention of a selkie

1) old fashioned offerings

2) astral travel

3) spirit attraction spell

I’m not a promoter of conjuring or otherwise, forcefully bringing a spirit to your vicinity. Think about it like this: you’re at a wedding. You’re best friend in the entire world is getting hitched to the love of their life, and you’re among the audience. You’re welling up with emotion and pride for your friend to have made such an important milestone in their life when… Suddenly, you’re not at their wedding anymore.

No, instead you’re looking at some random stranger who summoned you to their home who say it’s because they’re interested in working with those of your kind. You wouldn’t be too happy about this, would you? 

Not only is conjuring or summoning bad for the entity, it can be bad for you if this entity isn’t easily forgiving of being torn away from their personal life to your home and you can end up paying the consequences for it. Instead, I recommend a spell that attracts entities to your home or if you’re sufficiently prepared, astral travel it up.

 Even if you’re already someone with an appreciation for the ocean or some sort of waterphiliac, working with selkies will still change your views on the large mass of water that covers our planet. Selkies are seafaring fae and as one might expect of the folk who turn into seals, it plays a big part of their life. Saying that the sea is the mother of all life isn’t an understatement. The sea is the lifeblood, especially for selkies who live half of their lives in their seal forms.

The sea shapes their culture, philosophies and supplies their food. At least for the selkies living in the traditional way at sea or on islands.

Any ocean-loving individual knows what it’s like after swimming in it. You feel cleansed and like you’ve been born again. After working with a pod of selkies so closely for several years, I can definitely say my yearning for it has increased.

So has my adaptability. I’ve always been pretty good at change, have been since I was younger but that doesn’t mean I don’t get frustrated when unwanted changes constantly occur in my life. But just as selkies easily slip back and forth between their forms, I just roll with it time and time again. Sometimes putting up a fight and struggle only makes things worse and you just have to roll out with the tide and see where you end up afterwards.

Selkies also throw one hell of a party lmao. 

You ever just think about how lucky you are that you met your spirit companions and that they’re still in your life after so long of being together and going through highs and lows together? It’s one of those moods tonight

I really appreciate these girls being in my life and the path I ended up going down doing spirit and fae work. I wouldn’t have even imagined where I would wound up after dedicating myself to it instead of the off-and-on stuff of my childhood. I’ve never really divulged much even on previous blogs about my companions because I’m just private like that, but I just love them so much TuT

an origami spell to soothe the spirits of the deceased. can be placed somewhere outside your home, your window, or on the grave of a loved one. as this spell involves the help of the fae, do make sure your home is properly warded to keep ill-intentioned entities out of your home

️gather:paper, apple seeds, clear quartz, lapis lazuli, amethyst, rib bones, leg bones, new moon water, blue candle, death fae offerings

️ before you begin, set out your offerings for any death fae that may assist in your spell as thanks for any help they give during the spell

️in the center of your paper, draw a sigil that represents ‘i invoke the power of death fae’ and trace over with your new moon water and say “i call upon the banshees and dullahan to grant their aid in this spell”. once the sigil dries and any death fae arrive, you can proceed

️ craft your origami heart and place your bones, gems, and apple seed in the center

️carefully fold the heart into place and seal with blue wax for calming and soothing energy and let dry. make sure whatever you place inside isn’t too big so it seals properly