Leanan Sidhe: the muse that feeds on poets

Leanan Sidhe: the muse that feeds on poets.

Since time immemorial the poet has attributed his inspiration, or the absolute lack thereof, to the Muses; those mythological divinities in charge of inflaming the creativity of human beings in all branches of art.

As a general rule, the Muses do not respond to just anyone’s call; no matter how energetic or pathetic his invocations are. In fact, it is fair to think that many authors, in light of their literary production, never heard from them.

It is the Muses, precisely, who choose the poet, the musician, the painter, the artist; and of all of them the most terrible is Leanan Sidhe.

Far from behaving like the Muses of Greek myths, who were quite unstable in emotional terms, Leanan Sidhe It has unmatched characteristics.

She comes from Celtic myths, and her name, Leanan Sidhe, can be translated as “fairy lover”; although in fact it does not come directly from any race or species of fairies, but from strange creatures known as Years Yes: “the town of the mounds.”

Leanan Sidhe Not only is he able to inspire poets (both men and women), but he can occasionally take them as lovers. The lives of these writers are brief, but their works are intense, the product of a deep obsession.

Some legends maintain that Leanan Sidhe, usually described as an extremely beautiful woman, offers inspiration in exchange for the poet’s complete devotion. If he accepts, she will teach him the language of fairies, that is, imagination in its purest form, without doubts or distractions.

At first, this exchange is beneficial for both parties, but very soon things become dangerous for the poet, as almost always happens when a fairy falls in love with a mortal.

After accepting the pact, the poet’s imagination becomes extremely fertile. His ideas become clear. His thoughts are cleared of all uncertainty. He is capable of conceiving works that, until then, he would not even have dared to dream of. However, his physical health deteriorates rapidly: he becomes taciturn, withdrawn; His skin turns pale, his eyes lose shine.

In a very short time the poet finally loses his sanity, and then his life.

That is why it is said that the poets inspired by the fatal embrace of Leanan Sidhe They write a lot, with excellence, almost compulsively, but they die prematurely. And not only that: they rarely obtain recognition during their short life, although their works, over time, are rescued by other poets, equally unfortunate and misunderstood, and are revealed as what they always were: majestic fruits of a fatal mixture of passion. and obsession.

One of the authors who was in charge of studying Leanan Sidhe He was also one of the most notable poets of all time: WB Yeats, who said the following in the book: The Celtic Twilight: Faerie and Folklore, regarding this disturbing Muse:

«Leanan Sidhe (either Leanhaun Shee) craves the love of mortals. If the poet accepts, he must become his slave. If he refuses, she will be his slave. The only way to escape is to find someone else to take his place. The fairy feeds on the poet’s life, just as he feeds on his inspiration. Death does not guarantee a way out; and that is why the great Gaelic poets died very young, because she is insatiable.

For W.B. Yeats, Leanan Sidhe She is something like a vampire, a succubus, who feeds on the poet’s vital energy and consumes him, reducing him to his minimum physical expression but allowing him to flourish intellectually above his natural capabilities.

Beyond these discrepancies, it is believed that Leanan Sidhe It is one of the few mythical creatures related to the little people that did not leave the earth when the fairies left our plane of existence.

This leads us to think that, although it is true that the poet needs inspiration, in any of its forms, even the one that is hidden in hard work, in perseverance, in effort, it also needs poets to justify its existence.

Comparative mythology. I Fairies.

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