Riding the Fairy Wind

As many of you know, the fairies of Ireland star in my forthcoming young adult novel, Glancing Through the Glimmer. I couldn’t have written the book without learning more about the Good Folk and their ways, and, as usual, my research has led to bursting bookshelves. Most of these volumes are my own acquisitions, though some are on loan from my aunts’ incredible library of Irish lore and history, books so old the pages are falling apart. Among my favorites are the authoritative A History of Irish Fairies by Carolyn White, and Meeting the Other Crowd, a fabulous collection of eyewitness accounts of “Them” from Irish oral tradition.


I learned lots, enough for a sequel. Autumn Glimmer, my current work-in-progress, features the Fairy Wind, a supernatural phenomenon known in Irish as the Sí-gaoith (Shee-Gwee-ha). According to those who understand such things, the Fairy Wind usually signals the passage of a fairy troop. In its more sinister forms, the wind delivers a grave warning to mortals trespassing on or interfering with fairy property—and it inflicts dire vengeance upon those who foolishly ignore the warning.

The Good Folk aren’t all bad, however. Sometimes the Fairy Wind serves as a gift to those who require assistance. A farmer struggling to harvest his hay might find it suddenly blown into a tidy pile, thank you very much.

Mortals have, of course, provided every account I’ve seen of the Sí-gaoith. In this brief excerpt from Autumn Glimmer, I offer the Good People’s take on the Fairy Wind. As “They” have clearly allowed me to do so, who knows? Perhaps this is how it really happens.

Blinn clapped her hands twice and summoned the Fairy Wind: “Sí-gaoith!” A breeze arose in Crooked Wood, a gently whistling gust that rapidly grew loud and powerful. She shouted over the racket: “Line up, boys. We’re going for a ride!”

Lewy scooted behind her; Mell took up the rear. Eddies of fallen foliage whirled like small tornadoes, gaining in speed and number. As if they had a life of their own—Lewy supposed they did, thanks to Blinn—they converged on the trio of foraging fairies, surrounding them in a wall of buzzing, spinning leaves.

“Whoa ho!” cried Mell as they rose in the air.

He grabbed Lewy’s waist, and Lewy grabbed Blinn’s. A sudden upward tilt forced them to sit on the firm bed the swirling leaves had formed. The wind took off, soaring like a magic carpet, whisking them up and over the trees.