Irish Myths

Ireland is a country rich in mythology and folklore. The Irish are known for their pleasure and skill in storytelling and song. Their stories are rife with melancholy yet are emotionally compelling. The Irish know that life is a mixture of laughter and sorrow, pleasure and tragedy. Their stories are fanciful, creative, and evoke laughter and tears. They also reflect the reality of life and lessons learned. The myth of the Selkies is about the “seal people” and has all the qualities of a good Irish tale.

During the day Selkies exist as seals, swimming in the cool depths of the sea. At night they shed their skins onto the sandy beach and hide them carefully. Their human selves are beautiful, with dark hair and eyes and creamy white skin. Because they are so hauntingly seductive humans are instantly enamored of them and try to win their love. However, the only way a human can keep a Selkie by their side is to find their skin and hide it carefully. A Selkie trapped on land will always long for the sea. They wander the cliffs and sandy beaches singing melancholy verses about their former home.

If a Selkie finds its skin it will go back to the sea and never return to their mate. If a female Selkie has children with her human husband she will swim close to their home to keep watch over them and occasionally play with them in the water.

The female Selkie is said to be a good wife, yet she is solitary and quiet. Legend tells that children born of a Selkie have not only their dark hair and large dark eyes but also small webs between their fingers and toes and an unusual affinity with the sea.

The meetings and matings between Selkies and humans are usually accidental. However if a mortal desires a certain Selkie there is a ritual that they can perform. At high tide they must wade into the water and shed seven tears into the sea. Then the Selkie will come in search of that human. In stories it is almost always a human man who steals the skin of a female Selkie. Selkie men are typically seducers of mortal women but are not the “husband” types. They enjoy being lovers with human women but then they go back to the sea. Sometimes the women never realize that their lover was a Selkie. Unfortunately for mortals, if they lose their Selkie lover or mate they will pine away for them forever.

The human husband or wife live in fear that their Selkie will find its skin and leave them. The legend portrays true love as a mixed blessing. There is always the possibility of loss when you keep the person you love from their true self. As with all myths, lessons can be gleaned about life and relationships that apply even today, centuries later. The times may change, but human nature does not.

http://members.tripod.com/~pg4anna/Mer_silkie.htm

http://echoes.devin.com/selkie/selkie.html

http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/mermaids/2.html