THE ORDER OF THE SIDHE

Grand Master: Michael H. Kelly IVº

31st October XXXIV ÆS

At Samain, the beginning of the Celtic year, on that date when the doors to the mounds of the
Sidhe stand wide open, I declare that the ancient Cult of the Sidhe is Remanifest and is now an
Order of the Temple of Set.

The Sidhe are beings who pervade Celtic Lore, otherworldy creatures who are closely linked to
our species, yet distinct from us. They are the faeries, leprechauns and other beings of Celtic
legend who are not represented as gods yet are obviously more than human. Such entities are
viewed as twee and quaint in tales that are recounted today, but are dangerous and unpredictable
forces in the elder tales of Celtic tradition. It is this earlier, authentic, representation which is
fostered within the Order of the Sidhe.

In the old tales, it was the Sidhe who would appear to give heroes riddling clues or magical
powers with which to achieve their goals and destinies. It was also the Sidhe who would
forewarn the hero's death. The Initiates of the Order of the Sidhe will be expected to each create
and maintain exactly such a relationship with the Otherworld, a two way flow of information.
Each Initiate's quest and destiny will be different and individual, depending upon the
relationship(s) forged with the Sidhe.

The Sidhe may be viewed as creatures capable of inhabiting dimensions beyond those in which
we are accustomed to existing. They perceive and experience time in ways totally different to
humans, and distance too is a malleable phenomenon. Although our bodies are composed of
three dimensional stuff and are grounded solidly in those limits, our minds – their natural
boundaries broken by the Black Flame – may overreach the limits set by our physical existence
and may experience the worlds of the Sidhe, walking in the Otherworld and Underworld
described in Celtic lore.

Each Initiate will have his / her own opinion concerning the objective or subjective existence of
the Sidhe. This is a Mystery each will have to decide for him / herself, and is a question to be
answered by the Sidhe themselves in ways as likely to be cruel as kindly. Faery creatures may
have been relegated to children's stories in contemporary society, but I will state now with total
conviction that the Work of the Order of the Sidhe is ​extremely​ dangerous and the Initiate will
expose him / herself to hazard. The rewards are commensurate.

THE CELTIC LEFT-HAND PATH

The Celtic Deities – the Tuatha Dé Danann as they are known, the Children of the Goddess Danu
– are quite unlike the Deities of other cultures. Unlike, say, the Greek or Roman Gods, they
cannot be neatly pigeon-holed into a god of war, goddess of love, etc. Attempts have been made
to do so, but none convince and all have glaring omissions and inconsistencies. The Tuatha Dé
Danann were a collection of whole individuals, all multifaceted and multi-skilled, complete
personalities. All had their areas of particular expertise, but few if any were exclusive in their
interests. They were like human beings writ large to an extent I have not seen in any other
milieu.

As such, there is no single Celtic equivalent to the Prince of Darkness. There is no Celtic Set
whose name can be substituted in “insert name here...”-type rituals. Instead, every Celtic deity
encompasses a full span of human experience, the Dark along with the Light. As such, all have
their aspects which are allied with the Black Magician.

Therefore, the Celtic Black Magician has no special 'forbidden' god / goddess to call upon
whereby to differentiate him / herself from a Celt of the Right-Hand Path. Here in the Order of
the Sidhe, the Left-Hand Path is defined as it should be – purely by intent. All things Celtic have
been horribly abused and sanitised by occultists of all persuasions, most of whom have preferred
romantic images over the authentic material we have to draw upon (which is more than popularly
supposed, though it requires considerable work to reconstruct a coherent picture from the
patchwork, which is sufficient to direct the dilettante to fantasy and romanticism instead). The
ancient Celts were a race of explorers, pioneers and warriors, far removed from the fluffy
white-lighters of today. Nor were they members of the anarchic anti-technology brigade who try
to lay claim to them; they were craftsmen who used the tools to hand and used them well, with
an individualistic society based nonetheless on merit and the integrity of the tribe.

The Celtic philosophy in my view is essentially Left-Hand Path at its very core, for it is above all
an intensely ​vitalistic​ philosophy. It extols a fierce joy and enthusiasm for all that life brings,
with a reverence for the ancestors and a belief that one will be reborn through one's own
descendants. The Celtic belief in reincarnation is often mistakenly equated with the modern
notions popularised by Blavatsky and her kind, where reincarnation is determined by merit and
moral worth. For the Celts, rebirth occurred as a result of a dynamic Will to Live; personal
vitality was so forceful and powerful that death could not be a permanent option. Such a bold and
vital philosophy can​ only​ be Left-Hand Path! This vitality is the power sought by the Initiates of
the Order of the Sidhe: for fearless and effective existence now, and personal immortality
hereafter. It is the absolute refusal of the Self to lie down and die without a fight. This is an
Order for warriors.
For the purposes of the Order of the Sidhe, our rites will be marked by a Black Flame burning in
the centre of our ritual chambers, representing the vitality and power of our Path. And despite its
non-Celtic origins, it remains appropriate to call directly upon Set in our Workings, for we
recognise Set as the earliest face of that Darkness which we revere.

THE WORK OF THE ORDER

Initiates of the Order will be expected to Work in the following areas:

1. Multi-Dimensionality:-
Efforts will be made to understand and explore the Otherworld and Underworld as
conceptualised in the Celtic system. The relationships between worlds, and between places and
times, will be among the Mysteries sought. The method of Magical Working within the Order
can best be described as loosely shamanic in nature.

2. Sacred Times and Places:-

Initiates of the Order will observe the rites of the Celtic festivals, and will be expected to seek
out those places and times where worlds meet in order to better understand that which we
profess.

3. Pilgrimages:-
The Celts were explorers and pathfinders. Initiates will be expected to travel far afield to seek
out new experiences. Many of these pilgrimages will be suggested directly to the individual
Initiate by the Sidhe.

4. Ogham:-
Initiates will be expected to master ogham as the best complete and authentic system of
categorising Celtic thought and philosophy to have come down to us. The ogham fews will be
internalised as a cosmic map and used as a means of effecting operative magic and for gaining
insight through illustrative magic (including divination).

5. Prophecy:-
The Initiate will learn to develop at will those emotionalstates which result in prophetic vision
(​not​ necessarily the same as foretelling the future: beware!) Omens and auguries will be our
forte; the challenge will be to discover ​why​ certain things are consistently accurate. Prophecy in
particular is a tool which Order members will exercise with extreme caution, as it requires a
highly disciplined and objective outlook. Romanticists' and daydreamers' ramblings will not be
welcomed in the Order.
6. Story-Telling:-
I am particularly concerned that Initiates of the Order must develop the bardic art of storytelling,
keeping the old tales alive as well as developing new ones. Tremendous and subtle magic can be
worked in this way.

7. Languages:-
Initiates of the Order will be expected to commit themselves to learning at least one Gaelic
language. The reason for this is that so much of Celtic magic depends upon the sonic component
and only by speaking a true Celtic tongue will this really strike home. It will make the magic of
the ogham and of story-telling considerably more effective and open up new magical keys.

8. Genealogy:-
Initiates will be expected to take an interest in their ancestry, to know the lives of those who
went before them and prepared their way, and to wilfully Remanifest those ancestral qualities
which were once in evidence but now lie Hidden. The ancestors will speak to the descendants
who ask.

9. ​All of the above technologies are ultimately only tools designed to facilitate the single most
important Work of the Order: consistent and coherent communication and exchange between the
individual Initiate and the Sidhe. All else works toward this aim.

WHO IS THE ORDER FOR?

The Order of the Sidhe is extremely specialised and presumably of interest to only a minority of
Setians. This is not a bad thing, and reflects badly neither on the Order nor on those Setians
disinterested in it. It is not a catch-all Order and its requirements and focus are specific. If you
are not interested in and committed to its Principles, don't bother asking.

The Order will expect a great deal of personal Work from its Initiates. The demands of that Work
are very high, and should not be considered lightly. If you have a casual interest in the Order, I
advise reconsidering until you either change your mind or else have a committed interest in the
Order. Be aware that the Work you begin in this Order will continue for the rest of your life, and
you will be expected to demonstrate this awareness in your words and actions. This Order will
not provide a 'quick fix'.

I expect the Initiates of the Order of the Sidhe to be few in number and to remain so. I expect
commitment and dedication, and the ability to Work alone, to distill the Principles of your Work,
then to share the Work and the distilled Principles in an exhaustive and comprehensive manner.
This will not be an Order of many brief articles, but of occasional weighty books and documents.
The Order will in time produce ​The Book of the Ever-Young w ​ hich will be a frequently edited
and expanded volume of its best philosophies, rites and ideas to date. All Order members may
contribute to the growth of this volume.

The Order is open only to Adepts (IIº – VIº) of the Temple of Set, and only to those willing to
make a firm commitment to the Work suggested in this statement. A vague interest in things
Celtic is not sufficient, nor will I indulge the fanciful ideas held about the Celts by most
contemporary occult societies. The Order should not be seen as a Celtic revivalist society: it
represents a system of Initiation which either flows in the blood or not at all.

Initiates still interested in the Order after all of the above should contact the Grand Master direct.