“Those who go in search of the Fount of Youth are the dreamers and the Children of Dreams, and these are not many, and few come to this lonely place.”
NOTE: The links to Fiona Macleod's books on this page no longer work, but can be largely accessed (except for "Pharais") on the archive HERE.
FIONA MACLEOD was a pseudonym or "dream-self" (of sorts) of the Scottish author known as William Sharp. This was a secret he kept for much of his life and he was met with ridicule when the truth was later revealed.
Hugh Mynne explains in his book "The Faerie Way": "Fiona was much more than a literary device, a nom de plume; she was, in fact, a secondary personality - "as distinct a secondary personality as one reads about in books of psychical research" observed W.B. Yeats. When she "took over," Sharp was really, to all intents and purposes, a different person."
Yeats (who was a friend of Sharp's) also gave details of an experience in which William Sharp witnessed the astral body of "Fiona" enter into his room, in the form of a beautiful young man. At the same time he began to see that he was a "woman to the spiritual sight". "Fiona" then lay with him "as a man with a woman" - which resulted in William Sharp's breasts swelling up so much for several days afterward that he almost had the physical appearance of a woman.
In the further words of Hugh Mynne: "This mind-boggling account is, in fact, a perfect description of the sexual dynamics associated with "faerie lovers". It sheds considerable light on the conundrum of William and Fiona. Apparently, Sharp himself conceived of "Fiona" as another being, and she proved to be as catalytic for him as the Queen of Elfland was for Thomas the Rhymer.
If we compare Sharp's account with the "Romance" of Thomas we can see that in both cases some form of specialized intercourse between a human and an Otherworld entity takes place. In the account above the polarities are reversed: William becomes the "woman;" Fiona, the "man." In other words, "she" takes over the impregnating role. This is exactly the magical sexual dynamic explored by Dion Fortune in her later novels, which feature as protagonists a strong initiating woman and a passive or "psychic" man.
That Sharp was aware of the dynamic, initiating nature of Fiona is apparent from the rather involved letter he wrote to Yeats, in order to explain their relationship. Or rather, "Fiona" wrote it to explain her relationship with her "friend" William. In this letter an allegory is used—that of the match, the wind, and the torch. "Fiona" is the match, initiating or catalyzing the process; William is the torch, burning brightly for all the world to see. The wind of the spirit blows between them, fanning the flames."
In a similar way to this, the author of this website (Jeremy Garner) had a relationship with a Faerie Spirit throughout all of 2014, as outlined in the 1436 page Hardback Trilogy Journal entitled "The Divine Union". This came about not long after practicing some techniques through which to invoke a "faerie lover", and it resulted in a year long relationship with an Otherworld entity, who once had lived on this planet in the 1800's. During her lifetime on earth she knew herself to be a fairy, and remembered an interview with the fairy queen prior to coming to earth. More details of this experience can be further read about here.
Again, in the words of Hugh Mynne: "Whatever the abstruse astral mechanics behind the relationship of William and Fiona, there can be no doubt that it worked. In "her" books Fiona revealed a coherent body of lore which opened up the Faerie Way anew. There are enough hints in these marvelous works to enable the careful reader to work practically with faerie entities and experience firsthand the wonders of the Otherworld which they inhabit."
These "hints" which "enable the careful reader to work practically with faerie entities" and which are provided in Fiona Macleod's books, are precisely the direct inspiration behind the techniques and information found scattered throughout Jeremy Garner's "Faerie Magic" (FM being chosen intentionally for the purpose of referencing a certain link to "Fiona Macleod").
Though of vastly different style and intent,The Collected Works of Fiona Macleod are what helped to unlock the secret doorways discovered and found throughout all of Faerie Magic (which is an outline of this process taking place in real time, as it occurred) - thereby paving the way for the further authorship of the Books of Fire, Air, Water, and Earth which followed.
Fiona's name itself can even hold a mysterious key as outlined in Part Five of Faerie Magic - enabling one to travel through the faerie worlds in a specific order which unlocks its secrets.
The previous link to "The Collected Works of Fiona Macleod" contains her core seven works - though the first one "Pharais" which means "paradise" is missing from the collection, and can be accessed separately here: PHARAIS.
If a reader is urgent to read one of the unavailable titles in the poems section above, they are advised to contact Jeremy Garner who has each of these books in hardcopy to consult.
