On first beginning our quest into the subject of Otherworld women, one of the questions raised was, ‘What exactly is the Otherworld’? The title itself exemplifies the vague nature of its origins, yet we have attempted to solve some of its mysteries without getting too caught up in this topic which, although helpful, was not entirely relevant to our main research. Our main findings, or as we have read it, are as follows.

Once upon a time, according to Celtic mythology, two worlds co-existed. In one, all things peaceful and magical had free roam and mortals did not dwell, for it could not be reached except by water; in the other lived the mortals, and is still inhabited by mortals to this day. In this land, a wise, spiritual and magical people called the Tuatha De Danaan co-existed with the mortals. These people were known also as the children of Danu, Danu being their mother, leader or goddess. This peaceful, magical race felt uneasy concerning the rise of the mortals, who were rapidly increasing in population and beginning to outnumber the children of Danu and take over the land. Thus, the people of Danu retired to (literally) the other world, the place now known as the Otherworld, a magical haven of plenty where mortals could not reach without the help of someone belonging to the Tuatha De Danaan.

Celtic Otherworld people are still something of a mystery, however. The concept of the Otherworld itself is unsurprisingly a challenging one to modern readers of Arthurian texts. To us, a journey across the sea means visiting France or Ireland, so nothing particularly magical about that. It is difficult to understand the nature of this other, superior race. Were they druids? Sorcerers? Gremlins? Fairies? Well no, but many of our Otherworld women are often described as fairies: we often come across Faery Queens such as in The Lay of Sir Launfal, and goddesses such as Morgan Le Faye’s possible status as Sea Goddess or Goddess of War, maybe even of death and Guinevere’s Fertility Goddess role, exemplified when the wasteland occurs because she falls in love with Lancelot. However, try not to consider them as real faeries or goddesses, rather as a race of people with symbolic and magical powers who try to guard the land of the mortals.