If you haven't read the introduction to the first aicme, maybe go read that first and return, because today I'm just launching straight into the second aicme.
I associate hÚath with Bealtaine personally, from the association with hawthorn which blooms around then, and from that I associate the entire aicme with the Summer and the South, though again as far as I know there is no direct historical support for that. I'm also adding in some keywords that come from my personal understanding of each fid that I've developed in my studies, but again, these are to be taken as one person's opinion, not fact.
hÚath – Humanity’s Hedge
Spirit: Feminine, so bright and beautiful she hurt to look at (this is how I experience a lot of the Gentry among the Aos Sidhe), with a sort of crystalline quality that’s hard to describe, and almost colorless, with white-bordering-on-gold skin and hair (crayon white, not human “white”), hints of ruby in eyes, lips.
Keywords: transitions, liminality; the fair folk, the unseen, the otherworlds and otherworldly beings; beauty hiding danger, horror hiding help, things not being what they seem, illusions; thorns preventing forward progress, hedges keeping things out as much as keeping you in; risk, chaos, anxiety, heart-pounding fear, nightmares; predators, and protection against them; fertility with the shadow of death; everything has a cost; a difficult and narrow path forward.
Dair – Dignified Steadyness
Spirit: Looked like an ent from Lord of the Rings, maybe 9ft tall? And vaguely masculine. Not bearded and not thin, unlike Treebeard in the movies – stout and strong and solid instead, like an oak with an enormous trunk.
Keywords: strength, especially for protection; the protection of solid walls and bolted doors; steadfastness, stability, unshakeable; rock solid foundations, legacy, longevity, building for the future; unyielding, enduring; patience, maturity; kingship and sacred kings; justice, law, righteousness; wisdom, deep truths and truth revealed; grounding, anchor; aging well, slow growth, the march of time; the strength of a community joined together.
Tinne – Tested Resolve
Spirit: vaguely humanoid but very androgynous; a bit like a dryad/satyr chimera. Holly leaves and goat hooves and horns on their head that might be goat horn or might be thorns, very red lips and eyes.
Keywords: fire-hardened, forged, transformed by heat and pressure, steel tested in fire; transformation and transmutation; defensive, protective, guarding; prickly, holding at arm’s length; adversity and overcoming it, trials, meeting challenges; a phoenix rising from ashes, new growth after a forest fire but also the destructive catalyst; stripping away inessentials, back to the basics; training hard, mastery through dedication; martial arts, weaponry, warcraft; self-control, self-discipline, self-denial; a trial by fire, running a gauntlet; a likeliness you’ll emerge from this stronger, not broken.
Coll – Canny Guidance
Spirit: another dryad, but this one is femme and much more plump than usual depictions (more like Sergle’s art), with a round wide face and broad shoulders, hazelnut brown skin, green-brown eyes, wearing green maybe-leather clothing cut like a sleeveless crop top and skort but clearly not od human make. Had a sort of warm and happy vibe, though it’s clear there’s more serious depth behind the smile.
Keywords: Deep wells of wisdom, knowledge, scholarly learning; enlightenment, insight; mysteries understood, the sweetness of a puzzle solved; integration of lessons learned; inspiration, communion, vision, revelation, imbas; initiatory paths; prophecy through unraveling patterns, seeing and reading the flow of fate/wyrd; going where life takes you, following the flow, trusting your path; stillness, silence, contemplation, the monastic, the hermit, the blind sage archetype; magic made through application of secret knowledge, the occult, esoteric; guidance from one’s spirit guides and allies, wise counsel sought and received.
Ceirt – Queer Wit
Spirit: corpse-pale greyish skinned woman dressed in rags that were once a white gown but are now dirty grey, like an illustration of a banshee, face that was not young and not old, sort of ageless, dark hair and eyes, wearing a veil, faded flowers in her hair (possibly a bridal outfit like the movie Corpse Bride?), wailing and shrieking and shaking when she first showed up.
Keywords: dead, mad, or a poet; crossing into the Otherworlds or land of the Dead; no guarantee you’ll come through your current trials unscathed; apples of life, apple branches of healing, both sweet domesticated and wild sour thorny apples; the possibility of renewal, transformation, or becoming broken by the process; possible deception, confusion, or obfuscation; falling off the bandwagon, relapse, and the lower half of a cycle, both the descent and turning the corner; anxiety, fear, burnout, as well as being overwhelmed by and struggling with these; mental illness, nervous breakdowns, madness; a need to balance both traditional and alternative approaches to medicine and healing.
Look for the third aicme in about a week!