The Selkie Bride

A bedtime tale for you from the deep sea. Immerse yourself in the watery mystery of the Selkie, a creature able to take both seal form and human form, discarding her seal skins to dance by moonlight. Allow yourself to be rocked by the sound of ocean waves as you listen. This is my favourite childhood story and I hope you enjoy my own unique interpretation of this traditional Celtic folk tale, rich in symbolism and power. Words, music, and voice are all by Rachel Hillary.

Transcript

The Selkie Bride Once upon a time,

Somewhere along the coast of Scotland,

There lived a fisherman.

He lived a simple life,

With few friends,

Few needs.

He would think very deeply and spent most of his time pondering.

His favourite way to spend his evenings was stargazing,

Walking by the sea.

One evening,

During the height of summer,

He strolled along the shoreline by the light of the moon.

He heard laughter and voices coming from close by,

And crouched behind a rock where he watched a group of beautiful women dancing on the sand.

He looked across the way and saw several sealskins discarded before him.

His mind was flooded with stories of Selkie women,

Enchanting and mysterious,

Emerging from the deepest parts of the sea,

Discarding their skins to dance by moonlight,

Tales of rescuing sailors,

Placing blessings upon those who meet them,

The mystery of the bottom of the ocean held within their very being.

For reasons he could not fully comprehend,

He grabbed one of the skins and hid it away in his bag,

Then darted back behind the large rock.

The noise he made alerted one of the Selkies,

And they froze,

Their laughter stopping short,

And all was silent.

They ran to grab their skins and fled back into the waters.

All but one,

For she could not find her skin.

The fisherman stood up from behind the rock,

And he met eyes with the Selkie woman,

Her long dark hair whipping gently in the night air.

Looking into her eyes,

He felt as though he was looking into swirling galaxies,

Journeying through the stars.

In one gaze,

His spirit expanded further than he had thought possible.

He was taken aback by the ripple it sent throughout him.

I cannot find my skin,

She said.

Her voice sounded familiar as a lullaby.

He paused.

Now he was frozen.

He felt an irresistible storm gathering over him.

Come with me,

I will take care of you,

He said.

He wrapped his coat around her and led her back to his home.

His house was humble and warm.

It was like another world to the Selkie.

She sat by his fire and told him of her world.

How she would swim with the whales and sing songs with them.

How she would dance with the light that shone through the water.

The colours,

The shapes,

The sensations.

How she could speak,

Using both tongue and mind.

The fisherman was captivated listening to her.

Her words and tone,

Painting a tapestry of colour and wonder he could feel within his body.

And she was just as enchanted by him,

Listening to him talk about the stars,

About the boats he was building,

The horse he cared for,

The musical instruments he played.

All about his life on the land.

They spoke deep into the night until the light began to seep through the window and the Selkie slept under his coat as the fire dwindled.

As the days crept on,

The Selkie explored his garden,

Feeling the delicate sensation of the petals of his roses on her skin.

And he watched her with wonder,

Fear and intrigue,

Like some wild catch.

Knowing he was keeping a secret,

Hiding her skins,

He carried the guilt like wet clothing on his back.

In the evenings they sang songs by the fire.

He shared tales from the land,

She shared songs from the sea.

And they wove them together in a hypnotic musicality.

Like the clouds touching the sea,

He made her laugh,

She made him wonder.

Almost a few weeks had passed when the fisherman heard a mournful sound coming from outside.

He felt his stomach twist into knots and he was pulled towards the echo.

Like a heavy net hoisted onto the deck,

He ran out and found the Selkie crying,

Sitting on a rock by the sea,

Casting the most melancholy of songs upon the waters.

He listened.

Deeply he listened.

She looked him in his eyes and they both paused.

I want to go home,

She said.

I belong to the sea.

His heart sank deep and heavy like iron.

And that night as she slept by the dwindling fire,

He took her seal skin from his bag,

Hidden in his cupboard,

And stood before her waiting for her to awake.

She stirred,

Sensing his presence.

She sat up and looked at him.

And looked at the skins.

And a wave of pain crashed through her.

My skins,

She said.

You had them.

You hid them.

You kept them.

He nodded silently and a tear fell down his cheek.

But why,

She asked,

Feeling the rage of a lightning storm brewing within her.

I am so sorry,

He said,

Handing her the skins as he looked down at the ground.

She grabbed them from him,

Her own tears flowing.

Like every silent river within her had suddenly burst its banks.

And she ran from his house.

And to the ocean's edge.

He ran after her,

Falling to his knees in the pale light of dawn.

She turned to look at him,

Allowing their eyes to linger in the expanse of silence one more time.

Like water gathering,

They were both rocked to and fro in that moment.

And she transformed once more,

Returning to the sea.

She swam away slowly,

And the fisherman could hear her song of sadness slowly becoming more faint until all he could hear were the waves gently lapping.

He staggered back inside his house,

Emotion swirling like a haunted whirlpool.

He allowed himself to sink,

To be pulled under.

And he slept in his own sadness for several days.

A coldness crept over him in the coming weeks.

A part of him became frozen like ice.

He went through the motions but he was numb.

And in that numbness,

He found a clarity,

A wisdom he never knew existed.

He found stillness and sorrow.

A year had passed,

And every few nights the fisherman would go and sit by the rocks,

Hoping to sense into the feeling of the selkie he had loved,

Hoping to hear her song on the breeze.

He would breathe with each wave,

His eyes narrowing with each ripple,

Waiting for peace.

Waiting for something,

He wasn't sure what.

One night,

As he was sitting by the sea,

Under the light of a full moon,

At the end of summer,

He felt a tingle creeping on the back of his neck,

And a warmth in his heart that he had not felt in a long time.

He looked up and there she stood.

Mysterious and beautiful in the darkness,

She stepped towards him.

He leapt up and their eyes met,

And the galaxies began to swirl once more.

The skies began to hum.

I felt you waiting for me,

She said.

I missed you.

I will join you.

I will be your bride.

Every full moon I will come and stay with you for a few days,

And join you and be with you.

But you have to let me be with the sea.

I need to be free.

They embraced,

And he took her hand,

And they swirled along the shore like spirals of seashells,

Their energies entwining.

The sea met the land,

The pain met the expanse,

And freedom and wildness could never be tamed,

Only honored as sacred.

The sea met the land,

The pain met the expanse,

And freedom and wildness could never be tamed,

Only honored as sacred.

The sea met the land,

The pain met the expanse,

And freedom and wildness could never be tamed,

Only honored as sacred.

Reviews

That was so nice to listen to and spoke to me on lots of different levels as good stories do. Would love to hear some more 🙂🌊

This is a nicely presented story. I will be using it as a way to relax into sleep.

Much nicer than most of the selkie stories I’ve read about. Happily surprised. Very relaxing music and voice as well. I liked the pretty sensory details.

As usual, beautiful, magickal and soul soothing. The perfect way to fall to sleep or simply relax and feel at ease. Thank you Rachel xx

I adore this interpretation— lovely voice also! Gratitude ❤️🫶🏼

Beautiful story. I would love to listen to more like this.

I just love this story and I’ve been fascinated by the whole Selkie thing since I was a kid. Also love the separate soundtrack.

Oof! What a beautifully done tale of how it is for women sometimes.

That was such a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing 🧚‍♂️✨💛

You took me to a different, Magical world for a while and I thank you for it.🙏💐
So beautiful, enchanting and wise...
" if you love somebody, set them free..".🤍
Blessed Be;
Morgaine🌺

Captivating, thank you,

Thank you for sharing this with us here. I see you and the light within you. Be well. 🤲🏻💖🤲🏻

Loved this Rachel. Used it as a meditation this morning…. So peaceful and uplifting. It reminded me of attachment and suffering and of letting things go as they don’t belong to you. Wonderful. Thankyou ❤️🙏🏽

So lovely. Thanks for sharing this.