The Fae
See below for some magickal treats I made earlier this summer when the Lilac bush in the backyard was in full bloom!
Lilac: a flower of the faeries
I was soo happy when I saw the Lilac bush in the corner of the yard when we we first viewed the property! I knew Lilac is super magickal: it’s purple-white hue is associated with the divine & spiritual realm, the non physical. I’ve since researched a little bit more about Lilacs and their rich and lengthy history used by humans around the world. One of the oldest traditional uses have been planting them around the edges of properties to protect the home and its inhabitants of ill-will, bad fortune, & disease.
When we came back from our spring trip to West Virginia and it suddenly dropped all of its blooms, I thanked it.
Lilac flowers smell & taste sweet, so I baked some into the cake & used them as a garnish on top (see below), just enchanting its natural essence with my intention throughout the process and giving gratitude for our home & health.
Probably the oldest mystical association with Lilacs is their connection to the fae, as per Greek folklore. A beautiful and alluring nymph named Syringa turned herself in to a Lilac bush to hide from a man who wouldn’t stop lusting after her, which is actually where the Latin name for lilac, Syringa, comes from. The bush came to be known as a place that faeries & nymphs live. Humans were drawn in by the intoxicating scent of the floral blooms, and tales that a deep breath may unexpectedly teleport them to the faery realm soon emerged.
scary Faeries?
Nymphs, faeries, fae, fey, elves, pixies, gnomes, the Good Folk, the Fair Folk, have I forgotten any? Theres many more names for this archetype of being in various other cultures & languages, so I definitely have! There are differences between each of the incarnations I have just listed too, but enough similarities to discuss them as one for now. Who are they?
The rhetoric around human beings and fairy beings’ relationship is quite often that of warning and fear. It wasn’t always this way; there was probably a time when the planes between reality were thinner and humans were more friendly, capable of communicating, and at one with the Fair Folk.
It seems that as time went on, we became quite wary of the fae, reflected in folklore that depicts them almost exclusively as tricksters, theives, & kidnappers. I believe there is several reasons this shift in perception happened. As the veil grew thicker and humans descended in consciousness, there began to be more and more miscommunications with the fair folk of higher realms, resulting in these unfavorable situations for humans. Its not that the fae are evil, they simply have different morals- kidnapping your firstborn son because you didn't leave out the honey you promised seems like a fair trade to some Fair Folk!
Another important aspect to consider in the demonization of faeries is the spread of Christianity in Medieval Europe. Christianity’s world view does not account for any other-worldly beings- that is unless they’re angels or saints, of course. In fact, most biblical faery lore describes them as fallen angels who now work with the devil. Throughout the fae’s most prevalent geographic home in Northern & Western Europe (they’re earth spirits so the physical plane/location does mater to them) Christianity forcibly converted or assimilated the masses from earth-based spirituality. This meant people could be outcasted as a demon for communicating with a faerie, so they stopped looking for them, & the collective’s third eye gradually began to shut to this realm. They want to work with humans on the mission of ascension, though only if we do, too.
Then the unprecedented decimation of nature that humans took upon themselves at the turn of the Industrial Revolution finalized the severing of our connection with the land and its’ spirits. We cease to take care of the Earth and its’ spirits cease to take care of us in the same way. Would you be kind or quick to help someone who’s actively destroying the world you’ve cared for and lived on for eons?
So yes, it’s best to take caution if you want to work closely with the faery archetype and ask them for favors- just like any deity or other-dimensional beings. But if you’re not at least trying your best to be an environmentalist, it’s probably better not to ask them for anything.
What’re they doing here?
So if they’re not beings here just to trick & mess with mortals, then why do they wander the Earth plane? The answer is different depending on what mythos you follow, but the general through-line is that they’re beings partially of the Earth, partially of the Otherworld— but not a human spirit trapped between the two, like a ghost. They’re here on purpose, choosing to incarnate as that type of soul & live in harmony with the other beings on the planet, not dissimilar from ourselves in that meta sense. But unlike our human souls- who rarely even make it 100 years before reincarnating as a different form- the souls of the fae have resided on earth since before antiquity. The Fair Folk were here when the Greek gods also walked on Earth, when Adam & Eve were in Eden, when the fertile Cresent of Mesopotamia gave rise to the first advanced civilizations. The fae are here to serve, care, and carry the stories of Mama Gaia.
Ancient Celtic lore about fairies is most influential to the popular beliefs today, and if you go to Scandinavia (esp. Ireland, Iceland & Greenland) and the UK you’ll find more specific varying origin stories and many, many names for these beings. Fairy lore is very much still alive in these regions, though its mostly regarded as “superstition” and not indicative of one’s spiritual beliefs. In the US you will still find some with these beliefs, mostly in Appalachia where folktales took a firm hold when early Gaelic colonizers settled the area (not that indigenous nations didn’t have their own similar lore about the Fair Folk of their land!!!). The oldest stories refer mostly to the fae as Sith (pronounced SHEE), or “silently moving people,” and this is a great spot to dive into research if you’re curious about what the fae are really like, before they were glamorized into fairy tales.
common fairy lore that you probably know
fairy ring: this could be a circle of mushrooms or flowers- some of the earliest reports with faeries are with these rings, where people would step inside and enter the faery realm. Some accounts from people having stepped inside a faery ring (especially the earlier ones) are pleasant— in fact ecstatic and magickal af. But many accounts are associated with actual missing persons or mysterious deaths.
fairy trees: these are trees that are inhabited by the fae, serving as a portal to their realm similarly to the faery rings. Especially in Ireland and Scandinavia, cutting down or moving these trees will be avoided at all costs. You’ll often see large trees disrupting the middle of farmer’s field, him not risking destroying the faeries home, even if it means lost crops for them.
“don’t cry over spilled milk” this saying originated in the idea that the fae will still drink it!
middle names: the custom of taking middle names is due, at least in part, to prevention measures against faeries and other magical beings trapping or binding you. While anyone (especially a sneaky fairy) could easily find out your first & last name from someone that knows you, an additional middle name given by your parents is much less likely to be discovered.
garden gnomes: why do people still place these little statues in their garden or near their home? For good luck and fortune! The spirit of gnomes are specifically like underground faeries, tending to the soil & earth as kind, giving spirits in almost all accounts; that’s what these statues still emanate today. Perhaps we need a whole post on gnomes?
nympho maniac: though I haven’t heard anyone use this term in 10+ years lol, a nymph is another slight variation on the faery, who typically also embody a beautiful goddess archetype. This is where the [pretty derogatory] term “nympho maniac” comes from to describe someone (esp. a woman) who’s “hyper-sexual,” according to Google. This connection stems from the many, many stories of men who encountered nymphs & couldn't resist being unfaithful… which feels all too similar to the possibly misogynistic Siren mythos that says all women are temptresses.
tossing coins in the fountain: the earliest origins of this were likely Ancient Greeks offering the coins in the stream that was their water source, as a gift to the local water nymphs and faeries!
leprechauns: though they definitely did not look like the little guy on your cereal box, the leprechaun archetype is derived from the same origin as the Fair Folk.
