Nicnevin, The Gyre-Carling, Habondia, Argante, Diana, Herodias,Titania, Mab, Proserpina, Oonagh, Habetrot, The Cailleach, Hekate…The Queen of Elphame has been linked with many different names and aspects. There are many fairy queens, with many roles. She wears just as many masks as the Devil, if not more. It’s up to you to determine which one you seek, or if they’re all the same being, or who might be seeking you. If you’re looking for the Queen of Elphame, you must seek her out. It’s not an easy task, and she doesn’t make it so. Be prepared, and be persistent. And of course, it does depend on which Queen you go looking for.
“Then a clear Companie came soon after closs,
Nicneven with her Nymphs, in number anew,
With Charms from Caitness and Chanrie in Ross,
Whose Cunning consists in casting a Clew…”
- The Flytting betwixt Montgomerie and Polwart
First and foremost, I am no expert and I can only speak to my own relationship with her. Because my family descends from Scotland, for me she is Nicnevin, the Elphame Queen of Scottish folklore and that is who I will be discussing here. Depending on your view of things - whether you see all of these as separate entities, each a fairy queen in their own right, or different names or aspects for one greater being - it seems impossible to ever truly know exactly who the Queen of Elphame is. And of course, Nicnevin herself is a bit of a mystery - is she a spirit or historical person? The Historie and Life of King James the Sext details a trip to “Sanctandrois where a notable sorceress callit Nic Neville, was condammit to the death and brynt…”
Whatever or whoever she originally was, Nicnevin has seemingly passed beyond being a folkloric spirit or a mortal sorceress who met her end in 1569 and somehow made the leap to the Queen of Elphame and acting as a sort of tutelary witchmother in the here and now. I can’t say for sure what the true origins of Nicnevin are, and it bears a resemblance to the mythic lore of Leland’s Aradia, Gospel of the Witches - a woman who taught witchcraft and became something of a folk legend long afterwards. An excellent article that expands on the possible history and lore of Nicnevin is available at Cailleach’s Herbarium (website address included below).
“It was from the same source also, in all probability, that additional legends were obtained of a gigantic and malignant female, the Hecate of this mythology, who rode on the storm and marshalled the rambling host of wanderers under her grim banner. This hag (in all respects the reverse of the Mab or Titania of the Celtic creed) was called Nicneven in that later system which blended the faith of the Celts and of the Goths on this subject.”
-Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft, Sir Walter Scott
For myself, I catch glimpses of her through time and shadow, at her choosing. She’s elusive and she can and does hide behind her many masks and guises. She comes to me in dreams and the moments just before, whispering poetry in my ear. She has taught me to look not by sight, but by sound - I’ve come to learn the sound of her voice through the scratching of my pen. She stirs the dead with her hand of bone and spurs them on, leading the ravenous hunt across the night sky beside the snow-white Stag.
“In the hinder-end of harvest, on All Hallows even,
When our Good Neighbours doe ryd, gif I read right,
Some buckled on a bunewand [ragwort], and some on a been,
Ay trottand in trupes from the twilight;
Some sadleand a she-ape, all graithed in green,
Some hobland on ane hempstalk, hovrand [ascending] to the height;
The King of Pharie and his court, with the Elfe Queen,
With many elfish Incubus was rydand that night.”
-The Flytting betwixt Montgomerie and Polwart
Look for her in old witchcraft trials, in historical folklore, in the transcripts of Isobel Gowdie and the interrogation of Andro Man. While Isobel’s confessions focused more on the Devil, she does mention that the the Queen of Elphame was a finely dressed woman who gave her all the food she could want. Andro Man said that the Queen “had the grip of all the craft” and he enjoyed a sexual relationship with her; supposedly having many children with her. She reportedly came to Bessie Dunlop during labor and asked for a drink. Because of Bessie’s hospitality during great hardship, the Fairy Queen gave her prophecy that came to pass, and sent the spirit of Tom Reid to be her familiar. Bessie’s description of the Queen of Elphame also dismisses notions of a dainty creature made of gossamer, this Queen is a stout woman with a forthright nature.
“Ane carling of the Quene of Phaeris,
That ewill win geir to elphyne careis.
Through all Braid Abane scho hes bene
On horsback, on Hallow ewin;”
This passage appears as part of a satirical poem written against Patrick Adamson, Bishop of St. Andrews. The piece accused him of cavorting with Alison Pearson, who was said to have cured him of a serious illness. The poem describes Alison Pearson riding on horseback with the Queen of Fairies to Elphame. Because of her (unfortunate) relationship with the fair folk, Pearson was determined to be a witch and burned in 1588. Pearson’s relationship with the Queen and her court are rather unique, she was taught remedies by the fair folk (similar to Bessie Dunlop) and she also spoke of being highly regarded by the fair folk. Pearson also recounted long stretches of fallow times when she had fallen out of favor with the Queen of Elphame. During this time, she said that she had not seen the Queen for seven years.
While these are only a few examples of how she weaves her way through witch lore, the Fairy Queen is a figure of interest in several documented witchcraft trials - not only solidifying her presence in fairy folklore, but establishing her role as a tutelary and initiating Witchmother.
“One in the reign of Charles I pretended he had a call, ‘Oh Micol, Micol regina Pigmeorum veni’, which would evoke the queen of the fairies. When practised at Horst woody a gentle murmuring wind came first, then a whirwind, and last a hurricane, when the queen appeared in most illustrious glory.”
-The Darker Superstitions of Scotland, John Graham Dalyell
She’s hard to grasp, because much has been made of her consort - The Man in Black. He’s a gateway, he’s the path that leads to her and yet he himself is so much more. He is fire to her frost, she is the stretching of barren trees and fierce stinging winds. To belong to her is to accept all of her, light and shadow and blood and bloom. There is no other way - she will not be reduced to simplified pieces of herself for your own selfish comfort. You may want a Witchmother, but she’s a Queen in her own right and a lot more besides. And as with all the fair folk, she can eat you up and spit you out and think nothing of it.
“Now, ye maun go wi me,” she said,
“True Thomas, ye maun go wi me,
And ye maun serve me seven years,
Thro weal or woe, as may chance to be.”
-Thomas the Rhymer and the Queen of Elfland
While The Ballad of Tam Lin is very specific about the folk belief of the fair folk paying a tithe to Hell, both Thomas Rhymer and Tam Lin are very specific about the servitude of seven years. This period of time, though for opposite purpose, agrees with Alison Pearson’s seven year silence, when she had been exiled from the Queen and her court. Seven years seems to be an important number for the Elphame Queen and the humans she engages with. She does seem to be rather selective with the process - the Queen of Elphame has an eye for beauty and cleverness, and she takes that which she desires and turns it to her own purposes.
At the end of seven years
She pays a tithe to Hell
I so fair and full of flesh
I fear it be myself
The Queen of Elphame may come to you in disguise, and ask a favor of you. If you pass her test and meet her with hospitality and respect, she may grant you a gift (or several). So light a candle on these cold nights and pour out a glass of whiskey or wine for the Winter Queen. Invoke her name. Seek her out.
And as with all things, a warning: To call upon any god or ungod, including the Bone Mother, is to welcome them into your life - for better or worse. If you haven’t thought it through, if you’re not absolutely sure, if you’re not capable of sending away that which you called, then it’s best to not make any hasty decisions.
A Wild Witch Chase: https://cailleachs-herbarium.com/2015/10/a-wild-witch-chase-scottish-hecate-nicneven/
Nicnevin: http://sarahannelawless.com/2009/06/19/nicnevin/
Polwart and Montgomerie’s Flytting: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A03840.0001.001/1:3?rgn=div1;view=fulltext
Elf Queens and Holy Friars - Richard Firth Green
The Darker Superstitions of Scotland - John Graham Dalyell
Thomas the Rhymer and the Queen of Elfland
Sir Walter Scott’s Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Vol. 2
The Mingling of Fairy and Witch Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Scotland - J. A. MacCulloch
Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft - Sir Walter Scott (available at sacred-texts.com)
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