The Others and the Sidhe

[Darth Sidious]

The most enjoyable fantasy books on the sidhe, at least to this reader, is the David Sullivan series by Thomas Dietz.  I came upon by accident in a used book shop a few years back.  

[Sea Dragon]

On November 10, 2018 at 11:49 AM, ravenous reader said:

Welcome to the forum, @Karlshammar. I'm not that active here anymore, as I mostly frequent twitteros; however, I still browse occasionally to see if anything grabs my interest, and really enjoying your thread, this being one of my favorite topics.

The subterranean and by extension subaquatic realm -- or in other words, the 'chthonic,' as @sweetsunray has pointed out -- is represented in ASOIAF by the hollow hills and sea, respectively, (super)natural portals which figure prominently in Celtic myth. 

Have you read @Wizz-The-Smith's quintessential 'Hollow Hills' essay, in which he links these magic, otherworldly spaces to the Children of the Forest and human greenseers? 

As many have speculated, there is a likely connection between the COTF, greenseers and the Others, which is borne out by ample symbolic evidence, if not explicit proof.  

For example, the text repeatedly refers to the Others 'emerging from the trees', which might be a cryptic reference to their origins.

What is the purpose in having to refer to the Sidhe only indirectly, via evasive circumlocutions or euphemisms, instead of directly by name?  

Should this be interpreted as purely lyric convention in the tradition of Norse kennings, or does it also hint at a ritualized superstition, with the intention of not invoking the wrath of the gods?

Interesting to contemplate the implications attending  the observation that like the old gods, the Sidhe and Others are nameless!

Consider my favorite example:

 

My current working hypothesis is that while the Others technically can't be considered human (hasn't GRRM referred to them as 'inhuman'?), they're nevertheless humanoid (i.e. magically transformed humans).

The Others as weapons of the COTF/greenseers:

Actually, I think the reverse may be true -- namely, the trees turning the greenseers to Others!

The Others are greenseers. That's why they speak a dialect of the True Tongue:

Compare to this classic passage:

I maintain, the song of ice spoken by the Others is a dialect of the song of the earth sung by the Children.

@Wizz-The-Smith has provided this excellent summary of the Sidhe's symbolic relations to ASOIAF:

 

Hello. I am asking if you can explain this a bit more. I am confused as to how so many posters think the Others emerge front he trees or just the weirwoods when we do not really see that happen. And if they can then why does Westeros need a wall if the weirwoods are connected by a root system? Can't the Others just underpass the wall and emerge wherever they want to? Not trying to be rude I just have a lot of questions. Thank you.