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The realm of Faerie is of a finer reality than that of our own physical reality. It is of the Spiritual Realm.
It is believed that each human is accompanied by at least one attendant spirit; herein referred to as an AS. As each human co-creates with his/her AS so too does each flower, animal, tree, hill, and stone have its own AS counterpart.
There are many fairies/elves, dwarves, nymphs, giants, brownies, sylphs, etc. These are the Spirit forces that accompany the various manifestations of Natures physical enviroment, like AS's are for humans.
It is believed that each loose pebble, dispersed seed, newborn animal and insect, etc. is in co-creation with one of the Fae.
The Fae are many species, races, and genders much like the plant and animal kingdoms. The classification of the Fae has been attempted in the past but ultimately lead to failure. There are many theories and ideals, one of which is that Fae originally populated our world through the colony of Atlantis; a widely-believed colonization city for other worlds...Much like our own world, there are many occupants of the Faerie Realm for one to pull off such a task. Faerie not being of the physical realm also makes this impossible. For clarifications sake- Faerie or the Fae, Fei, and Fay all refer to the total sum of the occupants of the realm, whereas a Fairy is a particular race of the Faerie Realm.
There are also certain "creatures" that are simply not of this particular realm. For instance, there are "creatures" that exist on the Astral but not on the Faerie. Faerie is a Spiritual Plane, whereas all things Astral incorporate everything. ALL dimensions and planes of reality.
There are many beliefs about Faerie that are quite common and often thought of as Faerie truth, so to say.
In the following I examine different elements, as well as my own thoughts on the matter. The elements I'll examine are the following:
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Yet these are not the only places that faeries inhabit. Like I mentioned earlier, faeries are the angelic counterparts of Nature. This encompasses every natural object, being, and element. They are natural forces and so reside in natural things. With this in mind one is easily able to see that faeries reside in the above mentioned but also in every leaf, stone, speck of gold or flake of snow. As each of our cells are composed of even smaller componants so too is this in Nature. We can then see Faerie as if it is of the quantum level.
The whole of a tree is occupied by a particular type of Faerie. Then we can break it down where the roots and branches are occupied by their own Fae. Even smaller we can understand that each branch, leaf, seed, fruit, etc. has its own occupant. There are faeries that occupy the outside of the tree as well as ones that occupy the inside. Now in this example we've used a tree but if you think about something like the ground and grass we are talking of too many to count, whole bands of faeries. This is why it is also believed that each human has his/her own band of Angels. But at a much closer look we see that if we break it all down it ultimately leads to being one absolute force anyhow. This is the One, All, the Divine, Ultimate. This is the essence of the Universe.
So you see that many forces work together to produce an ultimate outcome which in turn produce results of a smaller nature. If we take the birth of a flower, for example, we can not simply start with the seed. The ultimate result started much longer ago with the birth of the parent tree and the birth of its parent tree as well as the insects involved and the rain, sun, etc. Just as we were born out of multiple results we can not say that we started with our parents in the act of love-making. I like to think of this form of thinking as the "Branching Effect".
But back to the main topic of where do the Faerie reside, I'd like to think of it as just beyond the eye. This means that every natural thing we see on the physical has it's invisible spiritual counterpart. It's easier to fathom the existence of faeries when we turn to one of the ultimate outcomes, such as the whole of the tree rather than each individual quantum part. Usually when humans "see" faeries they see one of many ultimate outcomes like a tree nymph or a mountain giant. They may also see a particular inhabitant like a satyr that resides on the mountain. In using a human body as an example one can say that the whole body is like a mountain giant and the satyr is a mere arm on a larger scale as individual fairies are like our fingers and so on. Get the picture? Good, let's continue.
Faeries reside everwhere you look. It is true that some places are not inhabited as much as others. These places tend to be physically polluted areas. This is why many people tend to hold the belief that faeries are disappearing. It is indeed true that more faeries would exist if we cared for our planet a little (or maybe a lot) more.
There are even those faeries that are believed to dwell in the homes of humans or mortals as often referred to when talking of the Faerie. This is basically because faeries are referred to as the immortals because they do not have to cross the bridge of death on the physical realm like we do.
Anyhow, in closing, I'd just like to say that faeries are still abundant, maybe not as much as in times past but everytime we plant a tree or flower, help an animal species, meditate with a tree, or set something free, we are bringer about new growth and with that comes Spirit. And so everytime you are in the midst of Nature just remember that every where you turn is the home of a faerie.There are several ways to initiate a faerie encounter. Many well known ones include fairy rings, hollow logs, lush gardens, and untamed wilderness. Tis true that there are certain times that make it easier to experience a faery encounter. This includes moon and sun phases as well as particular days that it is believed the veil is lifted and walking between the worlds is easily done. Though anyone can have a faery experience if they are open, not every one can have a faery encounter.
Though it is believed that you are chosen by the Fae rather than the other way around according to many writers, I disagree with this to a point. I believe that we are all able to have faery encounters up until a certain age in life. This age being when ones ego starts to develop and then it is up to us whether or not we will allow the realm to exist in our own minds, not that it won't exist if we don't believe in it. It is more of a matter of us believing in a spiritual realm than anything else. If we indeed believe, we open ourselves to experience a faerie encounter. It is then a matter for the faerie of whether or not it shall approach you.
Anyhow, let's examine a few of these secret doorways to encountering faeries.
First let's take a look at fairy rings. This is a general term applied to particular physical manifestations that are supposed to be doorways leading one into the Faerie Realm. Fairy rings can be anything from a small circular patch of clover, a circle of moss, a ring of flowers growing on the ground or, most recognizably known, a circle of toadstools. It is believed that if a mortal stepped in a fairy ring they would be trapped in the world of Faerie forever. Unless of course someone came to rescue them. This was possible if someone stepped into the same fairy ring but this time leaving one foot out of the ring. This was a bridging of the two worlds and so it was possible to rescue the person captured.
In analyzing this we can see that it is very easy to get swept away into the world of Faerie if one is open to it. It is better to stay grounded when working with Faery. This way one can bridge the two worlds and live in harmony.
Realistically, walking into a cirlce of toadstools is not going to wisp you away to another world, well not the majority of times. It is thought to be a perfect place to sit and meditatively focus on that particular spot in order to shift ones awareness easily.
Another way that was meant to capture the mortal and imprison them was by giving them "elvish food". This food was very addictive for mortals and would eventually kill them. There are many plants and flowers that are poisonous or have psychotropic qualities to them that if taken are either addictive or taste so good that too much is consumed. This in turn poisoning the victim. This is the exact reason why one should stay grounded when working with the Faerie Realm.
We should all know by now that drugs are dangerous. They are an expansive, stupid means of experiencing the world of Fae, as well as ones own shadows and it lacks talent and responsibility. Our minds already harbor the tools for experiencing other worlds. By programming our minds and learning to reach these altered states of awareness in a non-drug induced way, we can succeed in experiencing a self-controlled, remarkably grand Faerie adventure.
Don't get me wrong, there are safe herbal mixtures that when burned as incense or drank as tea helps one to shift awareness but these all contain safe beneficial ingrediants. Ultimately the best way to commune with the Fae and achieve an encounter is if you are sitting comfortably outdoors, mind & body relaxed, breath controlled, with eyes slightly open. The best times of day are either at dawn or at dusk. You may experience them by simply sensing their presence, hearing them, or actually seeing them. They appear in many different ways. They may be little lights kind of like sparkles or they may colorful auras moving about. Still again you may see them in an actual form like out of childrens books. There have been many accounts of this but some just seem way to unreal. The best feeling is when you have a particular image associated with a particular faerie and when you actually see it it is not at all like you were expecting.
Which ever way you see them, they will most likely appear out of your peripheral vision. This is the same when it comes to ghosts and the like. Sometimes, though, you may actually have the experience of seeing them right in front of your eyes. I had this happen to me and a few people I was with.
Proper etiquette in the Faerie Realm is very important. A harmonious relationship with the inhabitants of Faerie can be achieved by the following:
- Leaving offerings of bread crust, milk, apple juice, etc. in the garden or woods.![]() |
When Christianity swept over the globe and threatened the existence of the gods in the humans eye. The gods were kept alive through poetry, folktales and fairytales. It was then believed that the gods had transformed into faeries, in particular, the trooping faeries. These were considered the aristocracy of the Faerie Realm. Whereas the solitary faeries were compared to the peasantry. Solitary faeries were thought to have been wilder than that of the trooping faeries. They tended to stay out of the mortals way.
Trooping faeries were then divided into two separate groups. In Scandinavia they were the Light and the Dark Elves*.The Light Elves were thought to reside in the sky and the Dark Elves resided in the earth. It is seen in this example how Christianitys influence of Heaven and Hell affected pagan folk back then. In Scotland the distinction was also well recognized. Faerie consisted of the Seelie (Blessed) Court and the Unseelie (Un-blessed) Court. Wales and Ireland, on the other hand, didn't make such a distinction. Though they did group them, giving them a particular name that composed the trooping faeries as a whole. The Daoine Side or Dwellers of the Fairy Mounds resided in Ireland and the Tylwyth Teg or Fair Family laid residence in Wales.
We can decipher just how the pagan gods were thought to retreat to the pages of books, yet still alive in legend and myth. We can also see how they were lost to Faerie as time went on. Tis true that we can see the gods through the eyes of the Fae but to only see them that way blinds one to see them in other manifestations.
The gods of days gone by have neither left nor retreated. They are prevalent in all of Natures creations, seen and unseen. But you as Wiccan obviously already know this. :0)
Faerie consists of many different beings. Giants for example are often seen manifested as mountains, hills, forests, even clouds. Water sprites, mermaids, sea nymphs, etc. obviously reside in the water. Elves are sometimes seen as the wingless fairies that accompany ground level plantlife, as the winged fairies either referred to as simply fairies or pixies, sprites, etc. tend to accompany taller plantlife and even insects. Dwarves govern over the earths metals and "treasures" as tree sprites and wood nymphs govern over trees. So you see there is an abundance of faerielife out there. I've listed these ones quite generally for the sake of saving space. There are many absolutely awesome books out there that will help you understand the many faces of the Fae more thoroughly. I've givin' a list of these titles at the bottom of this page that I highly recommend for those interested.
So as you ride your witchy broomstick in and out of the great expanse of Time, journeying to worlds most only read about, remember to stop, look, listen, give thanks and ground. For the true beauty of Faerie isn't always what you see, it could very well nestle in a simple sound...
*In the Northern lands the term "Elf" or alfar was used in place of "Faerie". We now refer to elves as a particular species of Faerie and it is also used interchangeably with the term fairy, this being the same species.