Tirza Schaefer: Romance Author & Goddess Facilitator
Oonagh
I love to explore the Divine Feminine and write about Goddesses. For a list of those, click on the link: Goddesses. In order to become more balanced within ourselves and, through that, to bring greater balance and harmony to the world around us, we must find greater balance between the masculine and feminine energies within ourselves that each one of us possesses, regardless of physical gender or any other ways of self-identification.
The Irish Fairy Queen
In Irish Folklore, Danu, or Dana, was the founder of a people, the Tuatha Dé Danann, who reinvented real estate when there was an invasion of the Gaelic people on the island. Instead of fighting, they decided to move underground and made magical trees and bushes as entrances to their homes. Thus, fairies and Leprechauns were created. They arrived in Ireland on dark clouds and lived there magically immortal for a good long time until the Celts came with the one weapon that could vanquish their magic, the iron sword.
The fairies’ last High Queen was Oonagh, or Oona, wife of the High King Finvarra, or Fionnbharr. She is more a fairy queen than a Goddess, but her energy is no less potent to work with as an archetype and is therefore included in the row of Goddesses I write about.
Doreen Virtue came to the same conclusion when creating her deck of Goddess Guidance Oracle cards. Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene are included, too, although, if we believe the Biblical stories, they were humans and later turned into ascended masters.
Whether you take mythology literally or figuratively, the characters of Goddesses and Goddess-like beings of light have energies that represent certain aspects of your own psyche. Their personification in the form of mythological characters forms the basis of a beautiful path of self-exploration, connection to your divine self and the embracing of your own innate divine powers.
Oonagh is also connected with the British Morgan, as in the Arthurian legend, Morgan le Fey, and Mab, or variants thereof, like Mabd and Maeve. William Shakespeare used her as an enticing character in his epic comedic theatre play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Edmund Spenser, another British poet, in his epic poem The Faerie Queene, which comes in six books.
Oonagh, Fin & Benadonner
Oonagh was said to be so beautiful that she rendered men speechless. However, at least her husband and the giant Benadonner were quite able to hold a conversation with her if the Irish folklore is to be believed. However, this certainly doesn’t take away from her beauty and she was known as the most beautiful of all the Fairy Queens. Being a Goddess of Nature, she had golden hair that was so long, it swept the ground. She puts you in touch with the “other realms,” the unseen and nature spirits like the fairies.
Oonagh was a cunning, witty woman and saved her husband Fin by a ruse from the fearsome giant Benadonner who had caught and flattened a thunderbolt with his bare hands and made it into a pancake which he carried around with him in his pocket. Knowing that Fin was no match for his strength, Oonagh devised a plan and successfully overcame the giant which could not have been done by brute force.
While her husband Fin was fretting and being scared of the giant, Oonagh reassured him that he needn’t worry but would easily overcome Benadonner and protect her husband from him. She shows in the story with what ease she is able to overcome a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. Rather than charging in and trying to force things to happen quickly, she has the wisdom to know that things take their time to bring you to your desired end result. Oonagh is neither worried nor impatient. She is confident in her own abilities and her plan.
The Ancient Irish celebrated the day if the wee folk in November each year, the day of the Little People, the fairies. On this day, tales of fairies were told and people revelled in superstition. They wore green and tinkling bells that have a sound which is said to be loved by the fairies.
Her silver gossamer dress was believed to be studded with diamonds but really is made of the sparkling dew. Oonagh’s blessings were invoked to find true love and to experience romantic happiness. She was called upon to assist with beauty, dance, divine magick, motivation, and relationships. Oonagh loves to dance outside and so the Ancients would dance in groves in the woods to worship and invoke her. Her energy will dance with your light and lift the pain from your heart to show you love as it expands and lightens in the joy of your movements.
Oonagh is a seductive woman, enticing with her charms and devotion to that which she believes in, with her confidence and seeming kindness while she spins her web to ensnare Benadonner in. She changes his beliefs about her husband one by one through the power of her intellect and charm, knowing that she will reach her desired outcome after going through each phase of changing the giant’s mindset.
In my book A Magical Family Holiday, I am taking the reader on a journey between realms, from the present day of three generations of powerful girls, i.e. women, my mother, myself and my daughters Tarjani and Tarini, experiencing a holiday to fairy realms and time travel to ancient castles.
It is a homage to the magic that you can experience all around you when you only have the eyes to see and the heart to feel it and the mind to create beautiful and magical thoughts and visions through your imagination, whilst linking it to your daily mundane life and infusing it with magic.
Glamourous Illusion & Potent Magick
In being confident about the final outcome of going through the phases of changing the giant Benadonner’s mindset, Oonagh teaches that everything comes in phases and cycles. She knows the virtue of patience while working on a plan that brings her a step closer with each action she takes towards her goal. She is not idle, nor insecure or without direction. Each step she takes, each next action, serves a purpose, yet she never wavers in her wisdom that this will bring her the final result she is aiming for.
When we want to achieve a certain goal, we often get impatient when it doesn’t come about instantly. We may try to force it or give up and procrastinate, disheartened by the lack of instant manifestation and doubtful whether we will ever reach our goal. However, more often than not, you need to grow into your own success. Benadonner can here be seen as the giant obstacles of limiting self-beliefs we still have in our psyche that you must break down and transmute, one at a time, to invite confidence, inspired action taking and achievement of your goals with success into your life.
Thus, Oonagh is as much a Goddess of glamour and illusion, as she is of potent magic. She re-invented herself and her story, rather than giving up when life threw her a curveball. The persevered, keeping her eyes on that light at the end of the tunnel. She is the mistress of the house and her husband, the leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the children of the Creator Goddess Danu or Dana, holds great store by her opinions and her intelligence and talents.
Because it is so easy for her to focus on her end result and to take steps patiently towards that, it is almost like child’s play to her. And indeed, she reminds you that manifestation is much easier when having fun in the process. Therefore, she has a childlike energy and can help you to find your inner child if you lost your connection to it.
Oonagh loves to dance and move her body through you, and she loves it when we engage in this activity with her. To synchronise yourself with Oonagh’s energy, imagine yourself as a graceful ballerina (male or female), dancing among the flowers or in a grove in the woods. One doesn’t have to exclude the other necessarily, so visualise whatever feels most resonant and easy for you. Better yet, do this for real in such a natural environment.
The Power of Nature
As you move around, whether in your visualisation or for real, repeat the word love in your mind over and over as you feel every one of your cells filled with the most unconditional love and light. When you feel at one with the energies of Nature and Oonagh, ask her to come and dance with you. As she moves alongside or, more accurately, within and through you, you can have a conversation with her about your love life or any other topic you may wish to discuss with her.
Hold nothing back, be open and tell her everything that's on your mind. past, present and your wishes for the future. Observe how the heaviness is lifted from your heart during this conversation and how light and carefree you feel, which is the essence of faith and trust. Allow yourself to be filled with deep appreciation and gratitude for this wonderful feeling and any messages, sensations, visions or knowledge you are given.
You can enhance Oonagh’s energy by working with Rutilated Quartz which is associated with her and helps you to increase the spins of each cell, thus creating a powerful clearing on every level. It rejuvenates and balances the entire body-mind-spirit, amplifying intuition, clairvoyance, and thought projections. Rutilated Quartz stimulates one's problem-solving capabilities, transmuting negative thoughts and emotions and releasing blocks. This stone helps the immune system function more effectively, slows ageing, and prevents depression.
Rutilated Quartz, also known as Angel Hair Quartz, is a powerful electrical conductor. It amplifies energy and thoughts, intensifies and deepens altered states, opens the Crown Chakra, and stimulates imagery and dreams. Gold and silver strands strengthen protection from radiation and increase health rejuvenation. Rutilated Quartz strands heal and balance the aura. This crystal dispels unwanted interference from any harmful energies, on both the spiritual and physical level. You can use the strands of light in this crystal-like arrows of intention and send them into your future to set the rhythm and create harmony in your life.
You can also carry a Staurolite stone, which is commonly known as the Fairy Cross, or Fairy Stone. This stone not only brings luck, but also helps in connecting with elemental beings, such as the fey, in a positive way, but at the same time, protects you from witchcraft and black magick.