Selkies

Imagine you are visiting the Northern Isles of Scotland and while you are looking out into the sea you see a seal that appears to be larger than usual with a very human like gaze to its eyes. It may be possible that is not a seal at all! Now imagine as you are watching the seal it comes ashore but once ashore it appears to be a human taking off a seal fur coat. But you know what you saw in the water was a seal, there was no way it could have been a person you were watching the whole time. Well maybe it was both, maybe it was a selkie. What is a selkie you ask? Well, they are the seal folk a form of Fae that live in the sea!

The seal folk commonly known as selkies have been a part of Celtic mythology and folklore for hundreds of years. These creatures have the ability to shapeshift from seals while in the water to human form when on land. Now, some believe the selkies are only able to transform into human form once a year while others believe they can do so every ninth night. If you want to maximize your chance of encountering a selkie in human form, then Midsummer Night and All Hallows would be your best opportunity as the selkies are often thought to come ashore to celebrate these Fae Festivals.

Many of the stories about the selkies involve a selkie female having her seal coat taken while she is ashore. Once this happens, she marries the man who took her coat and lives with him and his children. Men often sought selkie women to be mothers as it is said they are gentle and kind creatures and will care for children even if they aren’t their own. After some time, she becomes depressed, as selkies will always love and long for the sea more than any person, so she finds a way to recover her seal coat often it is when her husband leaves and she is able to convince his children to give it to her as they do not know its significance. Selkies are not able to simply take their seal coats back as they must be given back willingly to the selkie. After the selkie woman leaves the man often returns to the waterfront looking for her but she cannot be seen by him for seven years after she returns to the sea. Even if the selkie woman were standing in front of him she would be invisible to him for those seven years. As far as male selkies the stories are a little bit different. Stories involving male selkies generally concern a woman who is unsatisfied with her current romantical situation, so she seeks out a selkie to fulfill those desires. It is said that male selkies are extremely attractive while in human form. It is believed that if a woman goes to the water at high tide and sheds seven tears then a selkie will appear to her. Often children were the result of these encounters, and the woman would raise the child alone for seven years. The selkie would then return to take the child back to the sea to live with him.

Selkies like all types of Fae are considered to be immortal. So, what would happen if their seal coat were to be destroyed? Considering each seal coat is unique to each selkie they simply could not replace it with another. Some believe that a selkie would die if their coat were destroyed while others believe they would simply be trapped in human form for eternity. It is said however that no matter how long a selkie is separated from their coat it will always return to them.

So, are these creatures real? Well, some early theories stated that they were actually fallen angels, and some early Christians in the area believed they were souls who were stuck in purgatory. These theories don’t bring in more or less credit to the existence of the seal folk. However, there is one possible explanation. Finnish travelers at the time often wore clothing made from seals and their kayaks were made of seal skin. So, it could be possible that the early Celts saw these Finnish travelers taking off their wet clothing to dry while making a stop during their journey. It is highly likely that the locals would have interacted with these travelers in similar ways that they interacted with the selkies in the stories that are told. The creation of the idea of the selkies could have been used as a way to rationalize some of the behaviors demonstrated by the local men and women in these stories. But then again maybe the selkies are real. So, the next time you are watching seals in the harbor, and it appears to have a human like stare as it looks back at you remember it could be a selkie!