#fainne

I think I can start by saying that the Brazilian title, A Filha da Profecia (“The Daughter of the Prophecy”), gives away quite the spoiler for those paying attention. Since I wasn’t at first, I still got completely surprised 🤭

Fainne became dear to me as soon as I read about the circumstances of her birth and upbringing. She’s very different from Sorcha and Liadan. Even her name is a hint at what she truly is — an enchanted being, thanks to her paternal grandmother. Something not entirely human.

We get lost in her self-deprecating thoughts, in her huge desire to be a good woman for the world and for the ones she loves. And I’ll admit, at times I thought that maybe her bloodline had already doomed her to chaos and darkness. But as someone told her at a certain point, “a child has two grandmothers.” That line completely broke me — I cried remembering brave, strong Sorcha. How could that fragile girl have given life to someone as powerful, beautiful, and fierce as Fainne?

And this girl made mistakes — she did, trying to be loved and accepted. But she also grew and did the right thing for the very same reasons. Until one day, when she finally realized she was the child of the prophecy, she gave up everything to live in seclusion and protect the Goddess’s secrets from the Christian advance.

Sevenwaters is such a beautiful allegory for the fall and resilience of the Old People of Ireland, and also for the reason why, even today, the Goddess can still speak to those who truly listen: there was once a sacrifice made out of devotion and love for one’s own blood. Without Fainne, the Old Faith would have been completely erased. The island shrouded in mist keeps alive the memory of the faith in the Earth and in everything that lives beneath Her.

I still get emotional when I think of how this story filled my days with so much feeling — tenderness, joy, sadness — but above all, hope. Hope that, even in times like ours, the Great Mother still watches over us and continues to whisper to those willing to hear Her mysteries 💜

Look what came in the mail today! 

 I was told by two people already to get one, one being my Irish teacher. I’m still not feeling very confident about it but hey, it doesn’t only show fluency but mainly willingness to speak. 

They likely meant well, but talking about how Niamh and Ciaran’s relationship was a mistake and explaining how they were keeping it secret because it was “too shameful”, right in front of Fainne, the daughter of that very union is really shitty and insensitive. And worse, they tell her that they will have to come up with a fake cover story to explain her origin to other people who don’t know the truth because they are trying to keep it a secret because they consider it too “shameful” to reveal to everyone.