She’s cunning the Cailleach Carcer Her pampering tricks will ensnare. Face isolation And limitation. Enslaved by the spell of her stare.
Favorable For: Focus, Isolation, Captivation Unfavorable For: Freedom, Escape, Transport
Associations: Saturn and Capricorn Element: Earth
Latin Translation: Carcer = Prison
Cailleach is from Irish folklore. The Cailleach has a reoccurring theme of kidnapping the innocent and holding them indefinitely. Carcer the Cailleach is no exception, she will lure you to her with sweet promises and then lock you away in the dark to contemplate your predicament. For she does not see her trickery as the source of your confinement – it is your own foolishness and naivety. Sometimes the focus of isolation is exactly what we need to transform our lives and ourselves; but it is rarely a pleasant process.
Carcer the Cailleach is an omen to cease and desist. Stop what you are doing and take some time to regroup and refocus. She is a warning that what you are pursuing or working on will be delayed and you will encounter many obstacles. It would be in your best interests to identify what those obstacles are and be willing to identify where you, yourself, are causing your own limitations.
If you are looking to stay put, as in the case of homesteading or buying real estate, Carcer the Cailleach is a favorable omen. A major purchase or commitment to a home is still a process that may include many stops and starts and delays, however, Carcer the Cailleach has come to lend her very grounding, stationary presence. If you were on the fence about a certain property, Carcer the Cailleach is an omen that it is solid ground for you and you will certainly find yourself safe and secure.
Travel is not recommended when Carcer the Cailleach appears. At best your trip may be canceled. It would be prudent to remember again that the fae are not human – what they view as positive and negative, right and wrong, is often seen in a very different light. Carcer the Cailleach kidnaps the innocent sometimes to keep them safe from harm. She keeps them in the dark until they are more mentally prepared for the light. Particularly in regards to travel, personal safety should be heavily considered when Carcer the Cailleach appears.
Leshiis For Literacy
Laetitia the Leshii has some suggestions for you to reach more about the Cailleach or Ireland. If you have read any books about them not featured on this list, please email me!
Fiction
Hyman, Helen, adaptor. A Treasury of the World’s Greatest Fairy Tales. The Danbury Press. Recommended reading age: 5 years and beyond.
Non-Fiction Resources
Briggs, Katharine. The Vanishing People: Fairy Lore and Legends. Pantheon Books. 1978.
Rose, Carol. Giants, Monsters and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend and Myth. New York: W.W. Norton and Company. 2000.
Rosen, Brenda. The Mythical Creatures Bible: The Definitive Guide to Legendary Beings. New York: Sterling Publishings. 2009
Young, Simon and Ceri Houlbrook. Magical Folk: British and Irish Fairies, 500 AD to the Present. London: Gibson Square 2018