“While Finn was there he saw a man coming out of the fairy-mound. A kneading-trough was in his hand with a pig upon it, and a cooked calf, and a bunch of wild garlic upon it. The time was Samain. The man came past Finn to reach the other fairy-mound. Finn made a cast with the spear of Fiacal mac Conchinn. He hurled it southward from him towards Sliab Mairge. Then said Finn: “If the spear should reach any one of us, may he escape alive from it! I think this a revenge for my comrade.”
Tom Cross and Clark Harris Slover, The Boyhood Deeds of Finn mac Cumhaill from Ancient Irish Tales, 1936
Cover art by Florentine School
Garlic or Allium ursinum and Allium ampeloprasum are also called ramsons, wild garlic, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, and wood garlic. It’s called gairleog or creamh in Gaeilge and gàrlag in Scots Gaelic. The Latin name comes from the bear and the fact that it was common for them to eat wild garlic. The common name garlic is of Anglo-Saxon origin meaning ‘spear plant’. This species is considered to be an ancient woodland indicator which simply means that a large colony is indicative of more ancient woodlands. The energy of garlic I find to be quite hot and vivacious, and it’s an incomparably passionate and loyal plant ally. It’s thought that garlic’s pungent taste is an evolutionary defense mechanism. In essence, it’s the plant’s reaction to being bothered and to hopefully prevent from being further eaten. Seems that it had the opposite effect and instead became one of the most popular herbs in the world.
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Isla Skye
Isla Skye is an American Celtic scholar, teacher, author and herbalist that splits her time between the States and Ireland. She has studied the druids and related practices for over 20 years. She is a published author of children’s books as well as other folkloric literature and is currently working through an M.A. in Celtic Studies. Her hobbies are family time, camping, hiking, reading, writing and research.
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