Fand is the wife of Manannan Mac Lir (ruler of the Seas) and is a queen of the Sídhe said to live in a hidden palace that stands on a island in the middle of a lake.

Fand is the daughter of Aed Abra; Aed means fire, and he is the fire of the eye: that is, of the eye's pupil. Fand is the name of the tear that runs from the eye; it was because of the clearness of her beauty that she was so named, for there is nothing else in the world except a tear to which her beauty could be compared.

Fand's beauty is said to be unforgettable.

“Great is the beauty of Aed Abra's daughters,
Unfettered men before them conquered fall;
Fand's beauty stuns, like sound of rushing waters,
Before her splendour kings and queens seem small."

In her sea bird form, she flies with a flock of enchanted birds, with each pair joined together by a silver chain. Fand, flying with her sister, stands out from the rest as they are connected by a gold chain.

The hero Cu Chulainn hurled stones at the seabirds, one of which passed through Fand's wing feathers. Later, Fand and her sister returned in the from of "Otherworldly women" and confronted him on the shore of the lake. They beat Cúchulainn with horsewhips until he fell ill and lay in his bed for a year, unable to rise.

Cúchulainn eventually regained his health by the favor of Fand when, Cu Chulainn reluctantly agreed to travel to the Fand's otherworld island and help her in a battle against her foes. Cu Chulainn and Fand then became lovers.

The relationship did not last because Cu Chulainn's wife, Emer became jealous and came to attack the couple with a troop of women armed with knives. Fand saw that Emer was worthy of Cu Chulainn, so she chose to leave him. She chanted a poem, and then returned to her husband Manannan, who shook his magical cloak of mists between Fand and Cu Chulainn, that they never meet again. Cu Chulainn and Emer then drank a drink of forgetfulness, given to them by the Druids.

Fand understands the pains and passions of the heart, and offers gifts and insights on matters of lost love. Remote islands in the midst of lakes are places where she can be found.

She is a Goddess of happiness, beauty, healing and charisma. Beauty comes in all forms, both inner and outer. Healing and happiness come from within and She is our inner fire to call all of these things forward. She is right action and is associated with youth and women. She can be found in her palace in the Sea and on remote islands in the middle of Lakes.

Image from www.timelessmyths.com/ celtic/ulster.html