Most people have heard of leprechauns and maybe the Banshee, but have you ever heard of the lianhan shee? She’s often called the love fairy, but she doesn’t specialize in happily ever after endings. Her goal is nothing else than the love and dominion of mortal men.
Few men are able to resist her, and those who answer her call become her slave. She can be compared with a vampire, for she drains her victims body and soul. If you’re one of the luck ones who can resist her then she becomes your slave.
Each fairy woman who falls in love becomes one with her, for there is only one lianhan shee, and she is more force than woman. When a man is caught in her web, she becomes the center of his world. The more suffering she inflicts on him, especially by her absence, the more he’s drawn to her. She creates such desire in men that they’ll do anything to be with her.
There is one thing, though. To possess her they must meet her in Tir-na-n-Og. That means they have to die to enjoy her. W. B. Yeats (1888) thought the ‘leanhaun shee’ would inspire a poet or singer so intensely that its earthly life would necessarily be brief, and truthfully many of the Irish poets and singers died young.
We don’t know what she looks like because she is invisible to anyone except the mortal man who loves her. I guess that’s just as well; she’s the essence of desire, and who can adequately describe that?
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of you.
That is really interesting, Elaine. I have never heard of her. I love all the different stories and folklore from all the different countries.
ReplyDeleteHappy St.Patrick's Day!!
I never heard that one. Cool, nice to learn new things about Ireland especially!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post, Elaine! I love learning new stuff.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, ladies. I had never heard of the love fairy either, so I decided she'd be a great St. Patrick's Day post.
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