Vampires, Leanansidhe, Blood and Iron
Lessons of Vitamin D, Vitality, and Life Force: Part I
The Vampire, Leanansidhe, Me, and The Queen of Faeries, drawn by me
INTRODUCTION
HELLO, FRIENDS!
Thank you for being so patient while I took a little break! I went to see my family back in America, and it was the first time in three years since I’ve been back to the states! Needless to say, it was a joyous reunion, and I had so much fun.
In a recent post, I mentioned that I would not continue the “Phytonutrients Per Zodiacal Season" series until Scorpio season. Meaning, I would skip over Libra season and start Part II to this series in late October/Early November. The reason for this is that I started this series in Libra Season of last year, and have continued the series for a full year. I wanted to put some focus on my school work, and come back when I am revitalized.
However, for the Substack subscribers, I prepared an essay this month about the correlation between vampires, fairies (leanansidhe), iron (the fairy repellent and the hemoglobin in our blood), vitamin D from the sun (the destroyer of vampires and needed for iron metabolism), blood, and how it is all correlated with Qi, Vitality, and Life force. This was an essay written for the Jungian Archetypes for school where I was exploring the Great Mother & Great Father archetypes. To preface, I have to take a divergence to walk you through what was going on in my life during this time.
I have spoken about how incredibly ill (scarily so) I have been this year due to malnutrition/stress/long COVID-induced histamine intolerance (HI). The North and South Nodes have been in my 12th and 6th houses, and I predicted my focus would be on my health this year, but I had no idea that it would play out like this. Regardless, I have leaned hard into my spiritual side, as conventional and herbal medicine is only getting me so far with this condition. This issue stems from a dysregulated nervous system and malnutrition, which I will divulge at some point in the future, as I think it is important to get this information out there- so many people are enduring histamine intolerance after contracting COVID. Another post for another day. However, I have spent many hours researching into Heart-Brain coherence, channeling, Quantum Superposition, Quantum Healing, and so much more. I have become more of a recluse, and spent much of my time alone in meditation and in communication with my friends- the Deities and my guides. Also, and very interestingly, there have been many revelations about this condition as it relates to Ancestral Healing.
However, when trying to understand HI from a physical level, one major aspect came to the fore of my mind: my iron deficiency/anemia. In fact, this was the only real-life evidence of what was going on internally, as many other tests were coming back “normal”. According to my blood tests, serum ferritin should be between 11.0 - 307.0 µg/dL, however, my iron was at 3 µg/dL. That’s right. T H R E E micrograms per deciliter. That is dangerously low. How could it get so low? Firstly, viruses, especially the COVID virus, siphons (a word we will be using a lot as it relates to vampires and leanansidhe) your iron stores, because viruses need your iron to replicate [2].
“When the body has an infection, it responds by removing iron from the bloodstream. This protects us from potentially lethal bacteria that capture the iron in the bloodstream and grow rapidly. It’s an evolutionary response that redistributes iron in the body, and the blood plasma becomes an iron desert.
However, if this goes on for a long time, there is less iron for red blood cells, so oxygen is transported less efficiently affecting metabolism and energy production, and for white blood cells, which need iron to work properly. The protective mechanism ends up becoming a problem.”
— Co-author Professor Hal Drakesmith, from the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Oxford [3]
Moreover, the repercussion of COVID is damage at a cellular level. There is a pretty extensive article that explains the correlation between serum ferritin as a marker for cell damage although it goes beyond my incredibly novice intellect as it relates to biology, medicine, and Science: Journal Article: Serum ferritin is an important inflammatory disease marker, as it is mainly a leakage product from damaged cells.
Moreover, there is correlation between inflammation and iron stores, as well. Meaning, when one is an in inflamed state due to chronic illness, viruses, colds, trauma, etc, iron stores can be affected [4]. We have discussed inflammation in many blog and media posts, particularly as it relates to the stress hormone called cortisol. This hormone has the ability to suppress inflammation in the body when there is acute inflammation occurring. It does this by stimulating the immune system to limit the inflammation in the body [5]. On the other hand, when the inflammation is chronic, cortisol continues to be produced, the immune system becomes weak, and one is stuck in a repetitive cycle, leading to a dysregulated nervous system [6]. This is a hormone that is ruled by Mars, which I explained in this blog post. ←click here
Interestingly, anemia results in sudden Histamine Intolerance. Iron deficiency can make certain cells (mast cells) that are involved in allergic reactions more reactive, and release histamines which causes an allergic response [7]. One does not have to be allergic to tomatoes to suddenly become reactive to them when becoming intolerant to histamine production. Histamine is a chemical produced in specific times during the circadian rhythm, your inner body clock. Resetting your circadian rhythm by getting sun first thing in the morning is known to be the lowest-hanging fruit in terms of treatment plans for those of us going through HI. We will learn later that the sun has an interesting protective role in this essay, as well as becomes a guide and ally in an upcoming essay where I share more about my relationship with Usil, the Etruscan Solar God.
One last piece of the puzzle is one that I wish I didn’t have to talk about. However, when in relation to the vampire, as well as malnutrition-induced HI, it is incredibly important to note. Before contracting COVID, I was on a raw vegan diet, and experimenting with various juice cleanses. I was severed from my motto “YOU ARE THE HIGH MAGE OF YOUR OWN HEALTH AND WELLNESS TREATMENTS”, and was curious and distracted by Health & Wellness Influencers. I am ashamed beyond words, as I have been loud about how incredibly dangerous influencers are to people with chronic conditions. They are predators who leverage your desire and desperation to hook you into schemes, routines, and payment plans. Let the ghost of what has haunted me this past year be a reminder to you: unfollow them. They are as dangerous to themselves as they are to other people. In the end, the suffering was needless. The separation from my intuition has disembodied my Sacral and Solar Plexus, two pivotal chakra regions where creativity/creation and joy stem from, and coincidentally, the Solar Plexus is my place of authority in Human Design. These two areas of my life I could not tap into, no matter how I tried, due to a lack of….vitality and life force. I digress: I am mentioning all of this because I was probably low in iron due to switching to raw veganism, but paired with my chronic condition (inflammation, low iron), and healing from a virus (viruses feed in your iron).
Of note: one other aspect is that anemia runs in my maternal line, but I didn’t mention this as this prelude to this blog post is long enough as it is. However, in terms of Ancestral Healing, it is a strong and resonant note in this symphony of hell. We will learn why later.
Low iron and histamine intolerance cause some pretty scary symptoms. For me, I was in the emergency room because I was convinced I was having a heart attack. It is obvious that iron is needed for blood flow, but did you know histamines increase your heart rate? Anemia can also result in extreme hair fall, acne, and histamine intolerance can show up as face swelling, rashes, itching, and much more. A few months into this mess, and I had a bald patch on the top of my head paired with some pretty painful cystic acne and rashes on my neck and face. My overall heart rate dropped to Bradycardia levels (low heart rate), and then shot up when a histamine dump occurred, resulting in heart palpitations. I was becoming so far away from who I was, that when I looked in the mirror, I no longer recognized myself. I was in between the bridge of life and death.
Of note: did you know acne can be a histamine reaction? I will have to write another blog post about the provoking dynamic between estrogen and histamine, but for anyone out there suffering: if you have estrogen dominance (endometriosis, adenomyosis, estrogen-dependant conditions, etc) you may have allergic reactions in the ovulation and luteal phase of your menstrual cycle. This answers a long-standing question of mine which was, “why am I breaking out in cystic acne after eating certain foods I have intolerances/allergies to, instead of breaking out in a rash?” Now I know why. Read more here: Identification of Histamine Receptors and Reduction of Squalene Levels by an Antihistamine in Sebocytes
Circling back to the Great Mother and Great Father archetypes, the vampires, and the faeries: during the midst of this insanity, I still had to make progress with school work, and my assignment was to explore the Jungian Archetypes. While exploring the Great Mother and Great Father archetypes, I went into a meditative state every day to really understand my feelings around these figures. I asked my subconscious to bring forth figures to help me tune into my deeper emotions, feelings, and opinions on these archetypes. Two figures stepped forward: Dracula for The Great Father, and Queen Mab, for The Great Mother, and in between them I saw myself in the form of Leanansidhe from Irish lore. Obviously, one big aspect to exploring these archetypes is that I am in the UK, and away from my parents. One often calls out for mom and dad when one is sick. But what does the father of all vampires and the Queen of all fairies have to do with my health? Let us explore the archetypes as well as these characters.