Faerie Lore and Legends

The Tree Leaves’ Oracle icon flower fairy

The Victorian Flower Fairy or Nature Sprite

Flower Fairies are believed to be the fairy spirit essence of various flowers; they are portrayed as tiny creatures that rarely are larger than 20 cm. tall. Most of these depictions come from Victorian art and is a common ‘model’ for what most people think of what is a fairy. They live in tree tops, marshes, forests, gardens, fields, and waysides. It is believed by many that when a seed sprouts a flower fairy is born. Each flower fairy lives upon its host plant and not found too far from it. They sleep within the flower. As the flower grows so does the fairy. The flower fairy exists to tend and watch over the flower. If the flower dies, so too does the fairy. Disembodied spirits, elves, fairies or daemons; often the term used for the Air elemental known as “sylphs,” or as the name of the elementals of Spirit. Flower fairies are often also referred to as nature sprites or spirits. Some define sprites as a being who are beginning a course of evolutionary growth and in the elemental states of their growth. In some ways, this is the concept, in the life of a flower, what makes a flower fairy a sprite. Examples: http://www.flowerfaeries.com/flowerfairies.shtml; http://www.flowerfairies.com/US_version/home.html.

Fairies or Faeries

Are a popular legendary and mythological being that describes one of many beings cultures throughout the world universally label something akin to a ‘fairy’, fay, fey, faery, faerie, or fae. Collectively the term “fae” means ‘wee folk’, ‘good folk’, ‘good neighbours’, ‘fair folk’, etc. as a type of supernatural beings or legendary creatures, spirits, or entities that area described as supernatural, preternatural, or metaphysical. The term ‘fairy’ is derived from medieval Western European, most likely Old French, and the Latin ‘Fata’ or ‘Fate’ as meaning everything pertaining to the ‘fae’, including their realm of habitation. Whether the land, the species, or the entity; it usually refers to various beings of mythological races/species that are often seen as magical creatures, like sprites, elves, goblins, or gnomes who possess an innate ability to do magic. Some lore associate faeries as being the spirits of the dead or races of undead beings. The Irish Banshee is a classic example of this lore as she is often described as a ghost. Some associate faeries with being elementals or spirits/forces of nature which often are associated with gnomes and sylphs. Christianity sometimes places these entities as being some form of demon, often fallen angels (since angels are of a race of demons), that have not fallen as far as demons or devils. Some see them as demoted angels. Much of this comes from an Irish Catholic belief that when the angels revolted, God closed the gates to heaven and those that fell to the depths became the devils and demons, those who fell to the sea became the mer-people and selkies, those who fell in the forest became the elves and gnomes, in the fields the flower faeries, and in the air became celestial or air spirits, and those remaining in heaven stayed as angels. Other Christians label faeries as beings thrown out of heaven since they were not good enough, and they were not accepted by hell because they were not evil enough. Proponents to this theory believe that in tradition this is why some faeries have to pay a tithe to Hell and were still seen as subjects of the devil. Some believe they are variants of the human species as a sort of ‘other people’ or ‘hidden people’. Some folktales tell the story about a woman who hid some of her children from God and as she looked for them in vain, couldn’t find them because they became the ‘hidden people’ or ‘fairies’. Some folklorists suggest that their actual origin lies in a conquered race living in hiding. Irish folklore deeply embeds that the founders of the Islands were the races of the fae. Irish tales of the Tuatha De Danann as being faeries or originally as Gods and Goddesses. These Tuatha De Danann were believed to have come from the Islands in the north or the sky. After they were defeated in various historic battles, they withdrew to the sidhe (fairy mounds) where they lived as ‘fairies’. Fairies are known for their blessings and their malice. Cold Iron, rowan charms, and other herbs will dispel or frighten them off. Especially since fairies are known to be deadly allergic to iron. Some believe that by the human Iron Age, all the faeries retreated to another realm to protect themselves from this invention that is a weapon of mass destruction to the fae. Since Faeries gained their image in books, art, and decoration from the Victorian era, much of the portrayal of faeries as small cross insect/human-like winged creatures is still a pretty popular image today. Originally however, most of the fae were described in an wide array of descriptions – from taller-than-human pointed ear elves, to short midget-like trolls or dwarves, dark shadowed or light-filled angelic beings, of all shapes, sizes, and distortions. In many accounts, faeries take on the persona or image of animals and are often portrayed as shape-shifters and changelings. Winged faeries are rare in most of the early faerie lore, this seemed to gain popularity with the Victorian portrayals. There are references to smaller faeries flying by means of magic, not necessarily wings, but rather on ragwort stems or backs of birds. All Celtic nations describe in their lore a race of diminutive people that were driven into hiding by invading humans. To many of the Irish, they live in the hidden world of faeries or the land of the Sidhe. Some place these in ancient barrows and cairns or hidden isles such as the Mag Mell (the Pleasant Plain), Ablach Emain (Avalon, Isle of Apples, Fortress of Apples, Land of Promise, or the Isle of Women), and the Tir na nÓg (the Land of Youth). Often Faerie Queens or Princesses have been known to lure mortal men to the Land of the Fae, sometimes by means of a mystic white faerie steed or horse, a silver bough, a faerie portal, or through magical mists.

If you ask most Irish if they believe in Fairies, they may say “Of course I don’t believe in Fairies … but I know they exist”. The belief in faeries are widespread and worldwide, but without scientific proof of their existence, very few are apt to confess their beliefs. Some excavations in the Skara Brae in the Orkney Islands that exposed some underground rooms had some 19th century archaeologists believing they might have found the Elfland in Childe Rowland. In Taos, New Mexico as well as New Jersey, there are a type of ‘faery cross’ naturally occuring out of staurolite that folk myth claim to come from faeries. Some folk tales tell that prehistoric arrowheads are ‘elf-shot’ launched from faerie bows towards the invaders who brought iron-weaponry and were thereby defeated in battle on all the grounds that these flint lithics can be found. Use of magic, green camoflauge clothing, and underground homes hid them from humans during these battles.

Faeries have been rumored to be afraid of, warded off by, in great dislike of, or find dangerous to their survival, cold iron; wearing clothing inside out or offering clothing to brownies; running water; church bells (or bells in general)(though some faery royalty have been described as carrying bells on their steeds and may be a difference between the members of the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court); St. John’s Wort; Four Leaf clovers; bread (since part of home/hearth and industry of the taming of nature it’s disliked by faeries) (though in other folklore baked goods are a traditional offering to the faerie folk with cream and butter); etc. Faeries are described as being helpful as well as quite mischievious. Faeries are known to confuse travellers on the path, especially the will o’ wisp. Faeries are known to ‘haunt’ various locations, especially areas where humans have interferred with a faerie path, lay line, or over a faerie home. Thorn trees (faerie trees) are also thought to be dangerous to chop down. Cutting brush around faery forts could lead to death. Poor housekeeping can attract brownies and spiteful acts; not to set foot in mills or kilns at night for one might interrupt a faerie milling their corn and therefore meet dire consequences; knowing the true name of a particular fae could give you power over it and enslave it to do your bidding; changelings known to steal human babies and replace with their own; human abductions; eating fairy food can entrap humans to where they could never leave the faerie kingdom; shapeshifting; and stealing of keys or personal effects from one’s home or pockets.

Faeries are seen abundantly in world art, especially during the Victorian era and the Renaissance. Famous artisans portraying faeries are Richard Dadd, John Atkinson Grimshaw, Joseph Noel Paton, John Anster Fitzgerald, Daniel Maclise, John Bauer, Florence Harrison, Brian Froud, Amy Brown, Cicely Mary Barker, Arthur Rackham, Alan Lee, David Delamare, Meredith Dillman, Jasmine Becket-Griffith, Warwick Goble, Kylie InGold, Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, Myrea Pettit, Suza Scalora, Nene Thomas, Gustave Doré, Rebecca Guay and Greta James to name a few. Modern films are abundant with the subject of faeries; some well known shows and movies covering them are ‘Supernatural’, ‘Special Unit 2’, ‘Charmed’, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, ‘Angel’, ‘the X-files’, ‘A Fairy Tale’, ‘Faeries’, ‘Fern Gully’, etc. to name a few.

Pictures of Displays About Faeries From the National Leprechaun Museum in Dublin, Ireland:

Faeries:

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