Also called Fomoire, Fomóraigh, Fomors.
Their story
The Fomorians were a race of powerful and often monstrous beings who troubled every people that settled in Ireland. They demanded crushing tribute from the Nemedians, two thirds of their corn, milk and children every Samhain. Yet they intermarried with the Tuatha Dé Danann: Lugh and Bres were both half Fomorian. Their power in Ireland was broken at the Second Battle of Mag Tuired.
Best times to give to them
- Samhain, when their tribute was once demanded
- Lughnasadh, remembering their defeat
What they like being given
- none in the old sources; tell their story
- a thought for the wild powers of nature
How to honour them
- Treat them as a reminder of the destructive forces that must be kept in balance, not as gods to call on.
- At Samhain reflect on burdens that are unfairly placed on you and on others.
How they can help you
- understanding chaos and order
- resisting oppression
- respect for wild nature
Symbols
- the sea
- Tory Island
- misshapen giants
Older writers called them gods of darkness; modern scholars prefer to see them as forces outside the social order rather than a pantheon.
Sources
- Lebor Gabála Érenn
- Cath Maige Tuired
- MacKillop, Oxford Dictionary of Celtic Mythology
More Celtic beings
- Bres The beautiful, ungenerous king
- Balor Fomorian king of the deadly eye
- Taliesin The chief of bards, born of the cauldron
- Y Ddraig Goch The red dragon of Wales