The Otherworld of Irish & Welsh Mythology
by Keziah
The Otherworld is a realm not quite separate from our own, all around us and yet not always accessible or visible to us. It has been interpreted as one expansive world and as having numerous realms and kingdoms within the one Otherworld, and is home to many beings – gods, fairies, and spirits of all sorts, along with some of the most honored and beloved dead.
It is described in ‘the Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries’ by W.Y. Evans-Wentz:
‘But this western Otherworld, if it is what we believe it to be – a poetical picture of the great subjective world – cannot be the realm of any one race of invisible beings to the exclusion of another. In it all alike – gods, Tuatha De Danann, fairies, demons, shades, and every sort of disembodied spirits – find their appropriate abode; for though it seems to surround and interpenetrate this planet even as the X-rays interpenetrate matter, it can have no other limits than those of the Universe itself.’
This cosmological concept descends from the ancient Celtic religions, and the Otherworld (by its many names) is found throughout the lands in which the Celtic tribes resided and lives on within the traditions preserved by reconstructionist and traditional Celtic pagans and Celtic folk magic practitioners. The Otherworld, along with other Celtic pagan beliefs, can also be found within many neo-pagan and neo-druidic practices and movements.
NAMES OF THE OTHERWORLD
The Otherworld bears many names across the Gaelic and Brythonic mythologies and cosmologies.
Irish
In Irish tales, the names of the Otherworld or realms within the Otherworld include:
Tír na nÓg – ‘the Land of the Young’ or ‘the Land of Youth’
Tír Tarngire – ‘the Land of Promise or ‘the Promised Land’
Tír-Innambéo – ‘the Land of the Living’
Tír N-aill – ‘the Other Land’ or ‘the Other World’
Tír fo Thuinn – ‘the Land Beneath the Wave’ (meaning a land underwater)
Mag Mell – ‘the Plain of Delight’ or ‘the Plain of Happiness’
Mag Már – ‘the Great Plain’
Mag Réin – ‘the Plain of the Sea’ or ‘the Sea Plain’
Emain Ablach – ‘the Isle of Apple Trees’
Ildathach – ‘the Many-Colored Land’
Welsh
In Welsh narratives, the Otherworld has been called:
Annwn or Annwfn
DESCRIBING the OTHERWORLD:
In Irish Cosmology & Mythology
Beliefs as to what the Otherworld is like and where it is located range widely. It’s been described as a world beneath our own that can be entered through some portals in caves or at the base of hills and mountains. In many old Irish manuscripts, it’s described as being located somewhere in the Western Ocean. The phantom island of Hy-Brasil is believed by many to be part of the Otherworld. Irish myth tells of Hy-Brasil being cloaked in mist (perhaps féth fíada, a magical mist) or fog which renders it invisible. However, once every seven years the island becomes visible to the human eye for a whole day.
In the Irish tale ‘Immram Brain maic Febail’ (‘the Voyage of Bran mac Febal’), Bran embarks upon a quest to the Otherworld via a sea voyage. Some days into their journey, Bran and his company encounter Manannán mac Lir upon his chariot. Manannán informs them that though their surroundings appear as the sea to them, to the god it appears as a great field of flowers. In this tale, the realms of the Otherworld are depicted as individual islands somewhere in the Western Sea.
In the story ‘Echtrai Cormaic I Tir Tairngiri’ (‘the Adventures of Cormac in the Land of Promise’), Cormac enters the Otherworld and encounters great bronze palaces, houses of white silver that are thatched with the wings of birds, and a courtyard, in the center of which is a great fountain or well with five streams flowing from it. There is said to be a fairy palace beyond the fountain, and there Cormac encounters ‘the loveliest of the world’s women’.
In many tales and poems, the Otherworld is depicted as being incredibly beautiful and as having very many apple trees, hazelnut trees, and great oak trees. It’s said to have plains filled with colorful flowers and dew of honey. And of the food available in the Otherworld, there is nothing that is not irresistibly delicious. Those who dwell within the Otherworld do not age, nor do they feel pain or take ill. Some believe that it is the fruits that grow within the Otherworld that provide its inhabitants with their everlasting youth and good health. Others believe that it’s the Otherworld itself that keeps one young and well.
In modern day, the Otherworld is most known for being the realm of the fairies and their courts. It is less commonly – outside of Irish historians, practitioners of Celtic paganism and Druidry, and keepers of the age-old tradition of Celtic storytelling – understood as the realm of deities, as the realm of all the Sídhe-folk. Here, the Tuatha dé Danann are believed to reside.
The Tuath dé Danann are a tribe of gods and goddesses descended from the goddess Danu. The Tuatha dé Danann are said to have moved from our physical realm to the realm of the Otherworld after facing defeat at the Battle of Tailte. Manannán mac Lir – a famed warrior, sea god, and king over the surviving Tuatha dé Danann – conceals the Otherworld from humankind via féth fíada, a magical mist that is used by the Tuatha dé Danann to render themselves invisible to humankind. Though, it is believed that seers or those with the gift of second sight can see Otherworld portals and entrances, as well as being able to see those that dwell within the Otherworld.
Time moves differently within these realms. Many tales state that one could spend what felt like a few days in the Otherworld, only to return to this world and find that their friends and family had all died, and many years had passed whilst they were away.
In Welsh Cosmology & Mythology
In Welsh tales, the Otherworld (called Annwn) is not ruled over by Manannán mac Lir but by Arawn and, later, Gwyn ap Nudd. In many of the Welsh legends, Annwn is described as a world of eternal youth, free of illness and disease, where no one could ever go hungry for there were endless supplies of food and drink. It was a realm of incomparable beauty where the gods, fairy folk, great ancestors, elves, and spirits reside. Like in Irish myth, Annwn is believed to be either a subterranean realm, under the sea, or on an island to the west. It is also a magical realm hidden from humankind.
Some tales depict a paradise-like world that is like all the best and most beautiful things within our own world with sprawling gardens, plainlands, and orchards, while others describe a ‘hellish’ place (most likely an outcome of the Christianization of the Welsh culture and beliefs). Both interpretations, though, speak of Annwn as the land of the dead.
The Welsh epic ‘Cad Goddeu’ (‘the Battle of the Trees’) tells of a battle between Arawn’s army and the forces of Gwynedd. The army come forth from Annwn is described as being made up of unearthly creatures, such as enormous beasts bearing one hundred heads, great serpents, and giant toads with claws.
The well-known ‘Preiddeu Annwfn’ (‘the Spoils of Annwn’) is another tale mentioning the Otherworld. It is the story of a journey into the Otherworld led by King Arthur. The tale depicts various realms or kingdoms within the Otherworld, including the Fortress of the Mound, the Fortress of Hardness, the Fortress of Mead-Drunkenness, and the Glass Fortress; though some interpret these names to be alternate names for the Otherworld in its entirety and not of individual lands traversed by Arthur within the Otherworld.
The legendary island of Avalon is also seen as a later interpretation of Annwn. Avalon famously features in Arthurian legends as the paradisical Isle of Apples.
ENTERING the OTHERWORLD:
Many of the old tales speak of humans gaining access to the Otherworld. Sometimes they were invited or summoned there by some god or spirit (as Manannán mac Lir was known to do), sometimes they were stolen away or kidnapped by one of the Otherworld’s inhabitants, and some folk entered the Otherworld of their own design during those times of year when the walls between their world and the Otherworld were lowered, such as during Samhain and Beltane. There are also many tales of folk (some quite famous, such as Cuchulainn, Lanval, and Ossian) being lured or enticed away by a fairy to the Otherworld to live as the fairy’s lover. It is also believed that musicians would be stolen away to the Otherworld to entertain its inhabitants.
As mentioned already, many believe openings at the base of hills and mountains to be entrances to the Otherworld. So, too, are ancient burial mounds, bogs, and caves seen as Otherworld gateways. It is also believed that patches of mist or fog could have within them some opening to the Otherworld, as in the Irish tale ‘Echtra Cormaic I Tir Tairngiri’. In this story, King Cormac sets out from Tara with many soldiers to find his way into the Otherworld to take back his wife, daughter, and son (whom he lost in a trade-off for a magic silver bough). On his way, a thick fog befalls the party. When the fog is lifted, Cormac is alone in the plains of a foreign land, having been taken into the Otherworld.
In some tales, one could enter the Otherworld after they were gifted an apple or a branch bearing apples (such as the magic silver bough mentioned in the story above) from a sacred apple tree. The apple or branch was magical and acted as a key, allowing one to pass into the realm of the Sídhe-folk so long as the apple or branch was in their possession.
Sídhe, though now commonly used in reference to those inhabitants of the Otherworld, are the mounds, hills, or places believed to provide access to the Otherworld. Previously, the term sídhe was used specifically to mean the palaces, courts, or halls in which the spirits of the Otherworld resided.
TECH DUINN:
In Irish lore, there is a separate Otherworld where one goes after death. This realm of the dead is Tech Duinn, the domain of Donn – an ancient god of the dead and ancestor of the Gaels. Tech Duinn means ‘the House of the Dark One’ (‘Donn’ means ‘the dark one’).
There is a 9th-century poem which states that Donn’s dying wish was to have his descendants gathered to him when they died – “To me, to my house, you shall all come after your deaths.” While the Otherworld is often described as being a paradise of great beauty, that is not how Tech Duinn is usually depicted. Rather, it is most commonly portrayed as a frightful place of darkness and dread. Why, I do not know. Perhaps this is simply due to it being the home of Donn, the Dark One.
Tech Duinn is said to lie at or beyond Ireland’s western coast. It is believed that the entrance to Tech Duinn lies on, within, or beneath Bull Rock, an islet bearing a natural tunnel and resembling a portal tomb. Bull Rock lies off the western point of the Beara Peninsula.
A line from Yeats comes to mind in regard to the Otherworld in general, but specifically when speaking of Tech Duinn and Donn’s dying wish -
‘In Ireland, this world and the world we go to after death are not far apart.’
Suffice it to say, the Otherworld has inspired numerous poems and exciting and moving tales, pieces of a time long gone by preserved (hopefully) forever through art. And today it is the source of much scholarly exploration and debate. How much of the Otherworld as we understand it now has been altered by Christianization? How many of the old tales were twisted and reinterpreted to suit the narratives of the Church? We do know that a great deal of this occurred within the preservation of Celtic lore and history, and what tales we have of the Otherworld were not left untouched by this. I hope that this piece, as brief as it is, might inspire others to explore the old Celtic tales in their many interpretations, for there is much to be enjoyed there, as well as much to be learned.
SOURCES & FURTHER READING:
'Cad Goddeu'
'Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia' - Koch, John T.
'Celtic Myths and Legends' - Rolleston, T.A.
'Dictionary of Celtic Mythology' - MacKillop, James
'Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore' - Monoghan, Patricia
'the Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries' - Evans-Wentz, W.Y.
'Hy Brasil: the Metamorphosis of an Island' - Freitag, Barbara
'Immram Brain mac Febail'
'Irish Fairy Tales' - Stephens, James
'the Lord of Ireland' - Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí; Prof.
'the Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales' - trans. Ford, Patrick K.
'the Mabinogian - A New Translation' -Davies, Sioned
'Myth, Legend, & Romance: An Encyclopedia of Irish Folk Tradition' - Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí
'the Mythology of Ancient Britain and Ireland' - Squire, Charles
'Otherworlds: Fantasy and History in Medieval Literature' - Byrne, Aisling
'Preiddeu Annwn'
'the Religion of the Ancient Celts' - MacCulloch, J.A.
‘the Sacred Isle: Belief and Religion in pre-Christian Ireland’ - Ó hÓgain, Dáithí; Prof.
‘Tales of the Celtic Otherworld’ -Matthews, John