"...When the first baby
laughed for the first time, it's laugh broke
into a thousand pieces, and they all went
skipping about, and that was the beginning
of fairies."
- Sir J.M. Barrie
The origins of fairies are unclear. It is
said that fairies were mainly a pagan
belief, wiped out by Christianity. While
stories of fairies are popular the world
over, the folklore prominently comes from
Ireland, Scotland, and England. One Irish
belief was that fairies were once Gods and
Goddesses, and after Otherworld beings had
defeated them in a series of battles, and
then defeated by Irish ancestors, they
retreated into hiding. Another is that the
angels revolted and God ordered the gates to
Heaven shut. Those that were in Hell
remained, those that were still in Heaven
stayed angels, and those left on Earth
became fairies. Although, the common Celtic
belief is that fairies were driven away by
humans to live in the Otherworld. The green
clothes worn by faeries is to camouflage
them. Fairies fear of iron coming from the
superior weapons made by the humans.
Northern England believed them to be the
ghosts of the dead transformed into
household sprites. Mainly, they're believed
to live underground or in Hades.
Folklore - The Dark Side
of Fairies
Many believed that fairies
kidnapped people, being babies or adults,
and put changelings in their place. There
are many stories of trickery by the faeries.
Some eat stray children, hurt them when
unsupervised in an orchard, and some have
enough discretion to only hurt murderers and
liars. When invited to Fairyland, some have
spent centuries there (days in Fairyland
time), escaped only to have time catch up
with them and turn them into very old men or
dust. It is believed that if worthy, the
Fairy Queen will give you a silver branch.
She promises safe passage for your stay.
Other stories are of fairy gold and fairy
ointment. Gold being a payment which turns
into leaves. Fairy ointment can be given to
you by the fairies enabling you to see them.
Unfortunately, the ointment can blind you,
should you let your power be known.
Fairyland
The popular belief is that
fairies live in the wood amongst the trees
and hills. They are also believed to live in
ancient burial mounds and across the Western
Sea. A fairy would find a hero, sing into
his ear, take him across the Western Sea and
no one would hear from him again. There is
also Mag Mell, Emain Ablach, and Tir na nOg.
Mag Mell, or the Pleasant
Plain, comes from Irish mythology. One could
only reach the utopia through glory or
death. This is a place void of sickness or
death where there is only happiness, beauty,
pleasure, and eternal youth. A hero could
easily end up in Mag Mell when thrust off
course by tempests.
Emain Ablach is otherwise
known by many names. Fortress of the Apples,
Isle of Women, and the Land of Promise, and
Avalon being a few. It is folklore that this
is where King Arthur was taken to heal from
Camlann and where Excalibur was forged.
The Land of Youth, Tir na
nOg, was believed to be visited by some of
Ireland's greatest heroes. Which is probably
why this is the most popular with the Irish.
Located on an island far west, beyond the
edge of a map, it could only be visited on
an arduous journey or with an invitation by
a fairy. Oisin arrived on a magical horse
that could gallop on water. Niamh was his
guide ,you cannot get there without one.
When Oisin becomes homesick, he leaves for
home on his horse. She warns him not to
touch ground, for 300 years of age would hit
him at once. While helping his friend, he
fell from his horse and the years aged him.
Fairy Gardens
If you would like to
attract fairies to your garden, you need to
plant certain flowers. Fairy gardens are
very beautiful when planned. Fairy gardens
consist of wisteria, foxglove, hyacinths,
primroses, periwinkle, roses, wood violets,
lilacs, rosemary, lily-of-the-valley,
toadflax, and the like. Many flowers have
pixie names. These are welcome as well.
These are all, in my opinion, some of the
most beautiful flowers. They should be
planted anyway. And of course, there are
many ceramic fairies to hide between
flowers.
