Also called Pooka, Phouka, Pwca (Welsh), Bucca (Cornish).
The tale
The púca is one of the most feared and most mischievous of Irish spirits, appearing most often as a sleek black horse with glowing eyes, but also as a goat, a hare, an eagle or a little man. He would seize a traveller on a lonely road and gallop through the night over bog and hill, throwing the rider into a ditch at dawn. Only the High King Brian Boru was said to have ridden him safely, using a bridle woven from three hairs of the púca's own tail. After Samhain the púca spoils the blackberries, which is why they must not be picked past November Day.
When they are met
- Samhain and November Day (Púca Day)
- the end of harvest
- dark nights on lonely roads
Staying on their good side
- the púca's share, the last of the crop left in the field
- leaving blackberries unpicked after Samhain
- politeness if one speaks to you
Honouring them, or keeping safe
- Leave a small portion of your garden harvest unpicked for the wild things at the end of autumn.
- Keep the old custom and stop picking blackberries after Samhain.
- Tell púca stories at Hallowe'en, when he is said to be abroad.
- Take care on dark roads at night, which is what the tales are also telling you.
What their tales teach
- sharing the harvest
- accepting change
- humility
- knowing when a season is over
Symbols
- a black horse with burning eyes
- a goat or hare
- blackberries
- the púca's share left in the field
From Irish folk belief; the gentle giant rabbit of the film Harvey is a much later invention.
More Celtic folklore
- The Banshee The keening woman of the fairy mound
- Selkies The seal folk who come ashore
- The Aos Sí The people of the fairy mounds
- The Kelpie The water horse of the lochs
- The Tylwyth Teg The Fair Family of Wales
- Leprechaun The solitary fairy shoemaker
- Clurichaun The fairy of the wine cellar
- Fear Dearg The red man who asks to warm himself