megarah-moon:

“The Selkie” by Jessica Shirley

Available as art prints at Society6

Selkie is simply the Orcadian dialect word for “seal”. So, selkies are a very common sight across Orkney. Heads bobbing above the waves, they are often seen by the shore, watching inquisitively with uncannily human eyes. To the onshore observer it is not hard to see how the legends surrounding the selkie-folk — the seal people — sprang into life. Unlike the Finfolk, who retained their malicious tendencies throughout the years, the selkie-folk have come to be regarded as gentle creatures, with the ability to transform from seals into beautiful, lithe humans. In the surviving folklore, there is no agreement as to how often the selkie-folk were able to carry out the transformation. Some tales say it was once a year, usually Midsummer’s Eve, while others state it could be “every ninth night” or “every seventh stream”. Regardless of how often they were able to transform, the folklore tells us that once in human form, the selkie-folk would dance on lonely stretches of moonlit shore, or bask in the sun on outlying skerries. A common element in all the selkie-folk tales, and perhaps the most important, is the fact that in order to shapeshift they had to cast off their sealskins. Within these magical skins lay the power to return to seal form, and therefore the sea.If this sealskin was lost, or stolen, the creature was doomed to remain in human form until it could be recovered. Because of this, if disturbed while on shore, the selkie-folk would hastily snatch up their skins before rushing back to the safety of the sea.

wretched-waters:

Working with the Tides

Tides are the rise and fall of the Ocean’s sea level which is employed by
the combined gravitational forces of the Sun and Moon. The times of which when a certain tide could take place is heavily
influenced by the alignment of the Sun and Moon upon the earth, such as
when the Moon is at its first or third quarter. When this happens the Sun
and the Moon form a 90 degree angle and cause a special tide called a
neap tide. To add to that when the Moon and the Sun form a straight line
they create another special tide called a spring tide.

The difference between these two are quite simple

A Spring tide occurs when there is a full or new moon and at these times
the high tides are at their highest, while the low ones are at their
lowest.

While when there is a neap tide the tides are at the weakest.

High and low tides on the other hand are created when the Moon rotates
and creates a big bulge of water on both sides of the planet facing
outward. This bulge is called a high tide and moves along with the moon
while the second bulge on the other side follows it. The water that is
left over is called low tide, so depending on what tides will come in
your area determines where the Moon is at.


  • Flood/Flow:      To bring anything towards you

  • High Tide:      For any positive workings

  • Ebb:      To bring anything away from you

  • Low Tide:      For any negative workings

  • Spring Tide:      Causes tidal magick to be stronger

  • Neap Tide:      Causes tidal magick to be weaker

Some shorelines experience two of the same tides per day while some only
have a pair of one each day. Though it is quite possible to have a
range a mixed tides in your area also.