There’s a world parallel to ours, or perhaps underneath. Or maybe somewhere in-betwixt. It’s a world in the mist, under and beyond the sea, filled with beings not unlike ourselves. And yet somehow they’re completely different. I’m talking about the fairy realm. The fae folk reside there. Have you ever wanted to meet the fae? In this blog post, take an enchanted journey with me to their world and learn of their origins, their true nature, their likes and dislikes, and basically everything we know about them. Enjoy meeting them, but don’t eat the food! Or you might not ever return to our world.
Since I was a little girl, I’ve been obsessed with the fae. Fairy tales like Thumbelina, The Little Mermaid, and Rumpelstiltskin fed my belief in another world parallel to ours…the world of the fae. When I was nine years old, a family member gave me a roleplaying board game called Tales of the Crystals. Of which further fueled my desire to learn more about fairies and even be more like fairies. During my teen years, I began studying fairy lore and I haven’t turned back since.
So who are the fae folk, exactly? If you haven’t figured it out by now, the words fae and fae folk are just other names for fairies. You’ve surely seen them in movies or in books, haven’t you? The thing is, they’re often portrayed as beautiful, winged pixies flitting from flower top to flower top. Hollywood has painted a picture of the fae that is deceitful at worst, narrow-minded at best. Because the true nature of the fae is incredibly more complex. And not all fae are cute little pixies.
The nature of the fae folk can’t be divided into strict categories like good and bad. Some cultures have tried to label them and define them. In Scottish and Northern English folklore, the Seelie Court is the “mostly good, benevolent” fairies. While the Unseelie Court is made up of harmful fairies that tend to be malevolent towards humans more so than the Seelie Court. Fun fact! The word Seelie means happy or lucky and is the word from which silly is derived. So when someone says you’re acting silly, you can smile and know you’ve just been called a fairy!
But to continue defining the fae folk, we’d have to call them both good and bad. They are an oxymoron. A divine paradox. Because even though the Scottish called the Seelie mostly benevolent, they still considered them dangerous to humans. This is because fairies don’t adhere to human rules. They don’t follow our logic on ethics or morals. They have their own set of rules they go by, which on this plane of existence might seem very “gray”.
The fae folk enjoy playing tricks on humans. It seems no matter the type or class of fairy, they are capricious at their core. Even the Scottish household fae, the Brownie, will turn malevolent towards humans if angered. He will play nasty tricks on his house and all who live in it. And those cute little pixies that drop fairy dust behind them? While they can be helpful to deserving individuals, they’re also known to pinch and kick lazy humans. Or anyone they feel like.
“Provided that you didn’t interfere with ’em, they wouldn’t say or do anything to you.” ~ Green and Lenihan’s “Meeting the Other Crowd”
Now that we’ve established the fae are mischievous and have their own set of rules, let’s answer the question what are the fae? This is an even harder question to answer. There have been dozens of theories put forth over the centuries. One theory says the fae are fallen angels, spirits that are stuck between Heaven and Hell. Another says the fae are the souls of unbaptized babies, not good enough to ascend but not bad enough to burn for eternity.
Another theory says the fae are actual physical beings – a race of smaller human beings that evolved to fit their habitat. In 2003, archaeologists found a race of dwarf-sized human beings they named homo floriensis of which they also called hobbits. The female skeleton stood under a meter tall with her head the “size of a grapefruit”, according to Wired.com. Homo floriensis lived only 18,000 years ago. Taking this information into account, isn’t it possible a similar race of small human beings might have lived elsewhere on the planet, spurring beliefs in fairies?
While I’m inclined to scientifically rationalize and adhere to the previous theory, my magical self thinks the fae folk are more complicated than that. Many people today still believe in the fae, and that instead of being lost souls or fallen angels. Or even a race of small human beings, the fae folk are spiritual in nature. They are liminal creatures, meaning they can manifest in the physical but they are ethereal in form. And if they are truly spiritual beings, this means they can shapeshift and take nearly any form they choose. They could be giants or tiny pixies. A water-logged, majestic water horse like the kelpie or a hideous, human-eating troll under a bridge. They could even take the form of our worst fears or most beautiful dreams.
The fae folk may also be a type of guardian spirit called an elemental. Elementals are spirits of nature – the actual consciousness of the land, trees, rivers, mountains, etc. Perhaps the fae are simply that – nature spirits. But again, I think there’s much more to the fae than meets the eye.
Maybe you’ve seen a fairy before. Or maybe you’re dying to see one in real life. I can’t guarantee you’ll ever see one of the fae. Because, let’s face it, they’re elusive, finicky little things. If they want you to see them, you will. If they don’t want you to see them, you won’t. It’s as simple as that. However, it may be possible to find them at their sacred haunts, typically in natural, untouched places. They are frequently felt, heard and seen in the forests, playing in and around creeks and rivers, on the tops of mountains, and near waterfalls. Although, I have a friend who claims he’s seen one smack-dab in the middle of a crowded city. Remember when I said there are no rules with the fae? They could be anywhere.
A particularly well-known sign a fairy is near is the fairy ring. Fairy rings are light or dark colored circles in the grass, a circle of mushrooms, or even a small circle of stones. You’re likely to find that a small circle of stones created by fairies will be in a forest, far away from human hustle and bustle. But fairy rings of the grass or mushroom variety? You might see those in your own backyard! They say you should never stop into the middle of a fairy ring, lest you be whisked away to the fairy realm forever. The fairy trail or path is “like a faery ring except it’s a long trail of dark grass rather than a circle”, according to the late author and witch Edain McCoy. She says these fairy trails are the roads that trooping fairies take to travel from one place to the next.
In Ireland, we have something called fairy mounds. Also called fairy forts or raths. These are essentially ruins of old Medieval forts, but can also be hills or ancient burial mounds. For centuries, at least since the late Medieval Age, the people believed these hills to be the dwellings of the fae folk. Many sightings tell of fairies entering and emerging from fairy mounds. These mounds are portals or doors to the fairy realm. Irish lore says never to disturb a fairy fort – even cutting trees or bushes that surround the fairy fort may warrant the individual’s untimely death.
Interestingly, there seems to be some overlap between the fae and ancient ancestors. Some of the burial mounds where we’ve found human remains are also associated with the fae. And still some mythical figures in Ireland, like Queen Medb for example, are purportedly buried in a fairy mound. And with Queen Medb specifically, she crosses over from mythical queen to fairy queen to goddess. So it begs to question, were the fairies our ancestors’ spirits or vice versa? But I don’t want to confuse you, so let’s keep talking about places to find fairies.
In Celtic mythology, there’s another place parallel to ours, or sometimes underneath ours, called the Otherworld. The fae folk are often featured in myths about the Otherworld. In the Silver Gadelica, Teigue takes a journey across the sea (an Immramma) and meets the fairy queen Cliodhna in the Celtic Otherworld. In fact, many of the myths about the Celtic Otherworld tell us that it’s a land through the mist and/or across the ocean. And that it’s often a place made up of many mystical islands…similar to earth yet different. It’s a beautiful place, and sometimes a terrifying place, filled with wonders, healing trees, and fairies. But it can also prove dangerous and be a horrible place filled with monsters. This truly depends on the myth and whose journey it is. Many believe the Celtic Otherworld is also where we go when we die.
“Bran sees the number of waves beating across the clear sea: I myself sea Mag Mon, Red headed flowers without fault. Sea-horses glisten in the summer, as far as Bran has stretched his glance: rivers pour forth a stream of honey, in the land of Manannan son of Ler.” ~ The Voyage of Bran mac Febal to the Land of the Living, circa 900 AD
It might surprise you to learn the fae folk sometimes make their home in OUR homes. Yes, there are fairies who prefer to take up a cozy bed in a nice family’s abode. I call these household fairies, and they are typically benevolent to humans. For the most part. Unless they are angered. Household fairies are said to live in an undisturbed, quite cabinet, cupboard, or closet somewhere in the house. Some live in, under or behind the hearth, like the Slavic Domovoi. There are even fairies who live in the wine cellar, in the barn, and in other inconspicuous places. They tend to come out at night, when we are all asleep and do their work.
