Many famous warriors of the history and myth of Scotland were women. Yet many people don’t know the stories of the famous Celtic warrior queens, or know the Britons were often led into battle by women.

Meet my Summer Queen, a dual portrayal of the under-recorded importance of female warriors in Celtic history, and of the fiery instability of summer in today’s world wracked by climate change. She is a channel for every historic Celtic female warrior, and for all the many silent ones of which we have no record. She gives all these women a voice and a place to fight in the battle of the seasons. 

And the seasons today battle endlessly: summer gets the upper hand when winter should be strong, and vice versa. My Summer Queen will enact this ongoing battle on the night, flaring up like an extreme weather event to clash with Winter and their bands of warriors.

Like all Celtic queens before her, my Summer Queen does not stand her battles alone. She is closely connected to her Summer’s Guard, and to all summer aligned groups who may want to interact. She unites many disparate people to stand alongside her.

My court, Summer’s Guard, will be inspired by the fighting school of Scathach, the Queen of Skye, by what we know of other historic and mythic warrior queens, and by what we all dream up together to fill the many unknowns. We will have fire spinning and fire swordfighting, showing how summer has been pushed too far by the climate crisis and become intense and unstable. We will have stage combat and symbolic clashes. Summer’s Guard will have a small core closed group, with an open element for the wider army, that welcomes those who want to help fight beside Summer and tell her story. 

Summer and Winter Guard’s will be more intertwined this year than usual, so though they are different groups, we plan to have a number of joint rituals and combat training days and more.

For those who don’t know me, I first joined BFS in 2021, and once I stepped in I never stepped away. I’ve been in different roles from goblins to fire tech. Community is very important to me, like it was to all past warrior queens, and this particular community means so much to me. I am excited and incredibly touched to be able to portray my queen, jointly created with Narma, the Winter Queen, and to be part of this festival that we all weave together. 

With scorching heat and smoke,

Seraphina