The Fair Folk are complex and often confusing entities. Fairies have captivated a part of the human experience and imagination for as long as we have walked the Earth. Numerous cultures across the globe have their version of what we might think of as "fairies." With the dawn of contemporary Paganism and Witchcraft came, too, a fascination with the older fairy faiths of regions such as Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. As such, many pioneers in the rise of modern Pagan Witchcraft incorporated an acknowledgement of the Fair Folk. The perception of what exactly fairies are, however, has varied within our magical communities. Many people take a much more new-age approach to fairies. Envisioning ...
In the Twenty-First Century, the Faery realm is as popular as ever; yet, in our culture of instant gratification and unmoderated media platforms, there are many false paths and illusory pitfalls to distract and misdirect us. How, then, can the true seeker of Faery be sure they are not following some metaphorical (or sometimes literal) Will-o’-the-Wisp into hazardous swampland? Here are the seven steps you need to take to be sure that you are living authentically and in sync with our Faery cousins. 1. KnowledgeRead widely and wisely! Of course books are not the only source of knowledge, but they are a good place to start (and continue—we should never stop learning!), in ...
There are Fairies at the bottom of your garden. No really, there ARE; and in alleyways, city parks, and shopping malls. Dora the Explorer was absolutely right: there is a grumpy old troll who lives under the bridge, and his cousin Boris hangs out beneath the expressway heading out of town, if you care to seek him out. Gone are the days when to connect with the Fae you had to head to hills and fields. Quite honestly, those days may have never actually existed, except maybe in the minds of certain poets and artists with romantic ideas of what a Fairy should look like. In the recent Fairy Census1 conducted between 2014 and 2017, of the 500 published entries, roughly 18% of the sightings ...
The lore of the faery realm has, like the world of humans, traditionally focused on love—both tales of faery lovers and of fey beings who have fallen in love with mortals and sometimes tried to keep them forever in their faery kingdoms. These stories, whether perceived as pure lore or used as a way of explaining past mortal occurrences, tell the tales of true love, of faery temptresses, of lover's quarrels, and more. Perhaps the most tragic fey love story is that of the Celtic Cliodna of the Golden Hair. The daughter of Manannan mac Lir, who ruled over the sea, Cliodna was reputed to be the most beautiful woman in the world in mortal form. She loved the young mortal Ciabhan so much ...