The closest we have to an "expert advisor" in this case is Conchobar. Cú Chulainn asks him what he should do. Conchobar tells him to return to the place where the fairy women beat him. He does so and speaks to Liban, who seeks his aid in battle. First he sends Loeg, his charioteer, and when Loeg comes back with good tidings, feels strengthened in mind by what he has heard.¹¹⁷

Here there is a break in the text, where instructions relating to kingship are inserted. After this, Emer chides Cú Chulainn for lying in bed over the love of a woman, at which point he arises and goes to a particular place to speak with Liban.¹¹⁸ So here, he acts on his own behalf for the first time since the precipitating incident occurred. After some more discussion with Loeg, he goes into the other world, and does battle for the fairy man, Labraid.

We then have a recapitulation of his boyhood return from battle, where he is placed in vats of water to cool his battle frenzy, and he is then met by Fand.¹¹⁹ They sleep together, and spend a month together. At the end of this time, he arranges to meet her at a yew tree later. Shamans have often used sacred trees as entry points to the Otherworld.¹²⁰ In later folklore, Thomas the Rhymer also goes to meet his spirit mate, the Queen of the Fairies, at a particular tree.¹²¹

At this stage, Cú Chulainn seems to be in full fettle once again. In some respect, these incidents seem to reflect a greater level of mastery of the forces he encountered when he was younger and in his first battle fury. Cú Chulainn, before embarrassed by the nakedness of the Ulsterwomen, now happily cohabits with Fand. Of course, this is far from his first sexual experience.

In Cú Chulainn's case we don't have quite the clarity of stages in the process of the return we have with Mis. Although this is unclear, there is strong support from the community for Cú Chulainn's recovery, a feature prominent in the initiation of shamans in many cultures such as the Zulu.¹²² In the bedside scene, we see Cú Chulainn surrounded by members of the community. Emer plays a pivotal role in stirring him to action, and Loeg acts as his intermediary with the other world.

The help of the community is also present in the story of Óengus.

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Footnotes