Fairy Witches: The Age-old Connection Between the Fay and Witchcraft

Today fairies are not just for little girls’ imagination, they’re for witches and magical practitioners too. There’s a magical trend – working with the unseen world, namely working with the fae. There are many historical and folkloric connections between fairies and witches dating back centuries. Let’s learn about this connection, as well as where and how the first witch made friends with fairies.

Morgan Le Fay: The “First” Fairy Witch

Ever heard of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table? Within the legends of Camelot are stories of a powerful and feared fairy witch. Her name is Morgan Le Fay, and in some versions of the Arthurian legend, she is King Arthur’s sister. The last two words of her name Le Fay literally means the fairy. Morgan Le Fay lived in Avalon and had abilities, and so was accused of being a fairy and witch.

Morgan Le Fay and the Isle of Avalon

Different versions of the Arthurian legend paint her in different lights. She was either the ruin or the savior of Arthur’s life. Legend says she took Arthur to the Isle of Avalon, to be his last resting place. Moreover, the Isle of Avalon was a magical place beyond the mist and inhabited by fairies. Nine magical sisters lived there, including Morgan Le Fay.

The Fairy Witch Trials

We have all heard of the unspeakable horrors that took place with the Witch Trials in Europe and America. Superstition and greed drove the massacres to occur. But what most people don’t know is fairies played a part in the Witch Trials too.

The Fairy Witch Trial of the Fisherwife of Palermo

Most of the Fairy Witch Trials took place in Italy. Out of the known sixty-five cases, the Fisherwife of Palermo’s fairy witch trial in Sicily was most well-known. The wife of a fisherman claimed she could leave her body behind and party with the elves whenever she wanted. She explained the King and Queen of Elves promised her riches and other pleasures if she denounced all other gods. She signed a contract and, on many occasions, spiritually joined the elves in feasting and revelry. The fairy faith was strong, and most believed the Fisherwife to be associating with fairies and not the Devil. So inevitably, they released her. Her accusers agreed she was merely “having dreams” of fairies and not physically copulating with “devils”.

Isobel Gowdie & the Queen of Elfame

In a witch trial in Scotland, an accused witch claimed she’d met with the Queen of Fairies (the Queen of Elfame) under the hills. Isobel Gowdie said the fairies taught her and other women how to fly on beanstalks to meet with other witches. Isobel’s confession is the most detailed account from this time period. And can be researched in its entirety online. I also recommend reading Emma Wilby’s book “The Visions of Isobel Gowdie.”

The Nature of the Fairies

Fairies were such an integral part of folklore in Europe that most people didn’t associate fairies with the Christian devil for many years. Often, as in the case of the Fisherwife of Palermo, the Church allowed the accused to go free. The Church explained these women’s experiences with fairies as simply dreams or mental illness. However, if fairies were mentioned in alignment with the Devil or familiars, or if the accused was thought to have harmed another using witchcraft, they were tried/tortured/executed.

The Irish and House Elves

As an elderly woman in Ireland you couldn’t keep your house too clean. Otherwise people would be suspicious of a bean-tighe in your home. A bean-tighe (pronounced ban-tee) was a female fairy similar to the Scottish brownie who tended house and watched over the children. They accused old women of witchcraft, particularly with fairies involved.

Cunningfolk and Fairy Friends

In opposition to witches who practiced maleficium, there were others who practiced “white” magic. The local cunningman or cunningwoman healed, counteracted curses, helped find lost objects and performed other helpful magical tasks. Many of the cunningfolk received their otherworldly knowledge from the fairies.

Biddy Early

An Irish woman by the name of Biddy Early was a cunningwoman who lived in the late 1700’s through the 1800’s. Biddy was called upon to not only heal people but to find lost items, to cure sick animals, and to aid in crop abundance. Biddy was well known for her herbal knowledge and for clairvoyance. Some said Biddy Early was given powers by the fairies, and that she carried a “fairy bottle” that told whispered the fairies’ secrets to her.

Modern Fairy Witches

The cunningfolk and witches of the past are gone but not forgotten. They live on in a new wave of witches and magical practitioners reviving the old ways. Some fairy witches practice fairy witchcraft by basing their magic and beliefs on fairy lore. Others follow a more religious form of fairy witchcraft.

The Feri Tradition

The Feri Tradition was created by Victor Anderson. This form of witchcraft is based on sensuality and can be very intense in nature. From my research it’s not focused on the actual belief or working with fairies, but more on an ecstatic experience within oneself. There are also various fairy Wiccan traditions that tie Celtic fairy beliefs into ritual and practice.

The REAL Connection Between Fairies and Witches

The real reason there’s a connection between fairies and witches is simple – nature. An undying, passionate love for nature and the preservation thereof. Witches walk the path of witchcraft because they seek to commune with the Universe starting with Mother Earth. Fairies are the spirits of nature, so naturally when witches work with nature, they are working with fairies. When nature spirits, fairies, realize a witch is a witch who cares and is in sync with Mother Earth, they will begin teaching that witch their secrets. Is it no wonder witches were closely linked with fairies during the Witch Trials? It makes sense to me.

Irish Fairies: The Banshee

The banshee (from ban [bean], a woman, and shee [sidhe], a fairy) is an attendant fairy that follows the old families, and none but them, and wails before a death. Many have seen her as she goes wailing and clapping her hands. The keen [caoine], the funeral cry of the peasantry, is said to be an imitation of her cry. When more than one banshee is present, and they wail and sing in chorus, it is for the death of some holy or great one. An omen that sometimes accompanies the banshee is the coach-a-bower (Cóiste Bodhar)–an immense black coach, mounted by a coffin, and drawn by headless horses driven by a Dullahan. It will go rumbling to your door, and if you open it, according to Croker, a basin of blood will be thrown in your face. These headless phantoms are found elsewhere than in Ireland. In 1807 two of the sentries stationed outside St. James’s Park died of fright. A headless woman, the upper part of her body naked, used to pass at midnight and scale the railings. After a time the sentries were no longer stationed at the haunted spot. In Norway the heads of corpses were cut off to make their ghosts feeble. Thus came into existence the Dullahans, perhaps; unless, indeed, they are descended from that Irish giant who swam across the Channel with his head in his teeth. ¹

The banshee appears in a few different forms, she can appear as a beautiful, ethereal young woman, or a stately matron type, but she is most commonly depicted as a crouching old hag with a hideous wrinkled face. She is also said to be the ghost of a woman who died in childbirth, and sometimes appears as a crow, stoat, hare, or weasel.

Whatever form she is witnessed in, she usually has long silver hair that she is brushing with a comb. Because of this, there is a superstition in Ireland that if you find a comb lying in the woods, you shouldn’t pick it up or you’ll be kidnapped and taken away by fairies. Although most people don’t touch mouldy forest combs for hygiene reasons.

She is said to wear either a grey hooded cloak or the grave robe of the dead, and her eyes are perpetually red from crying.

Many believe that she can take any of the above forms and change between them as she pleases.

Any child who grew up in Ireland has heard the stories of the banshee, who screams and wails mournfully outside of a house if a family member is about to die.

Aside from that, she isn’t known to interact with humans very much, never getting any more physical than scratching at the windows and doors of the unfortunate family. Which when you think about it, is beyond horrifying.

The sound of the screams is also a matter for debate, with people from different parts of Ireland claiming different screams. In Leinster, the scream is said to be so shrill that it shatters glass, in the north, it sounds like two boards being slammed together, and in Kerry, it’s a low pleasant singing.

Regardless of the sound, she is sometimes heard screaming for a few days before the death actually occurs, and sometimes just once.

Aside from being an omen of death, the banshee would also cry at the crowning of a true king, a famous example occurring at the crowning of Brian Bóru.

There are also stories that state that only descendants of legendary king Brian Bóru will hear the banshee’s cry. And another stating that only five specific families are targeted by the banshee: The O’Brien’s, O’Neills, O’Connors, O’Grady’s, and Kavanaghs.

The idea behind the banshee comes from medieval times, when women called keeners were paid to come to funerals and sing sad songs called Caoineadh (the Irish word for ‘crying’). As ridiculous as this sounds, families would actually pay a lot of money for a talented keener.

It is said the most wealthy and powerful families would hire a Bean Sidhe or ‘fairy woman’ to come and keen at the grave, since as we all know, fairies are much better singers than humans.

The myth was built upon by the fact that, in a true stereotypical Irish fashion, the keeners would be paid only in alcohol, and would end up as alcoholic old women who would eventually get banished from their communities as a result.

As for the scream, many believe it likely came from people hearing the screech of a barn owl late at night.

Again, since Irish mythological stories were mostly passed on orally, there are not a lot of ‘confirmed’ encounters with a banshee. But here are some famous ones.

In 1437, a woman claiming to be a seer approached King James I of Scotland and told him he would be murdered at the Instigation of the Earl of Atholl and he was.

Another, more recent case was in 1801 when Robert Cuninghame, the Commander in Chief to the British Forces in Ireland, dubbed the 1st Baron of Rossmore, invited some people to his house in County Wicklow after a party in Dublin castle. During the night, some guests reported hearing a ‘deep, heavy, throbbing sigh’ followed by a low voice saying ‘Rossmore’ repeatedly. The next morning the guests learned that their host had died suddenly during the night. ²

Fairy Witches: The Ages-old Connection Between Fae and Witchcraft

Today fairies are not just for little girls’ imagination, they’re for witches and magical practitioners too. But it’s not truly anything new. It dates back to at least ancient times. There are many historical and folkloric connections between fairies and witches particularly in European traditions. Let’s learn about this connection, as well as where and how the first witch made friends with the fae.

First, Let’s Define the Fae (As Best We Can)
For the intent of this post, I’ll be referring to the fae from an European traditional perspective. Keep in mind there are spirits similar or comparable to the fae all over the world in nearly every ancient, magical tradition. Just as there are mermaids in many cultures worldwide. For this post, I’m sticking to the fae of my personal ancestors’, as this is where my knowledge lies at this time.

So what are the fae, exactly? Can we even define them if we tried? The fae, also called faeries or fairies, have many names and many faces. We’ll see a large variation in temperament, appearance, folklore, traditions, etc. as we travel from country to country and region to region across the European continent. But if I had to define the fae, I’d say they are spirits or otherworldly beings that permeate Celtic lore. Sometimes they seem to be attached to natural landmarks, other times they are attached to homes, families or even individuals. They’ve even been known to attach to especially magical individuals….like witches.

Morgan Le Fay:
The “First” Fairy Witch

Ever heard of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table? Within the legends of Camelot are stories of a powerful and feared “fairy witch”. Her name is Morgan Le Fay, and in some versions of the Arthurian legend, she is King Arthur’s sister. The last two words of her name Le Fay literally means the fairy. Morgan Le Fay lived in Avalon and had many psychic and supernatural abilities, and so was accused of being a fairy and a witch by those who didn’t live on the Isle. And likely because of Christian influence in the Arthurian mythos.

Morgan Le Fay and the Isle of Avalon
Different versions of the Arthurian legend paint her in different lights. Morgan Le Fay is a paradoxical character, as are most powerful females in the old myths. Depending on the version of the story, she was either Arthur’s downfall or his healer and savior. The Morgan-friendly legends depict her taking Arthur to the Isle of Avalon, to be his last resting place. Moreover, the Isle of Avalon was a magical place beyond the mist and inhabited by fairies. Nine magical sisters lived there, Morgan Le Fay being one of the nine. Sometimes the Lady of the Lake is one of the nine sisters and in other stories Morgan is actually the Lady of the Lake herself.

The first fairy witch might have been Morgan Le Fay.
The fae have been known to “fraternize” with humans, particularly magical ones, for hundreds of years.
The Fairy Witch Trials
We have all heard of the unspeakable horrors that took place with the Witch Trials in Europe and America. Superstition, power-hunger, and patriarchal greed drove these massacres to abundance. But what most people don’t know is fairies played a part in the Witch Trials too.

The Fairy Witch Trial of the Fisherwife of Palermo

Most of the Fairy Witch Trials took place in Italy. Out of the known sixty-five cases, the Fisherwife of Palermo’s fairy witch trial in Sicily was most well-known. The wife of a fisherman claimed she could leave her body behind and party with the elves whenever she wanted. She explained the King and Queen of Elves promised her riches and other pleasures if she denounced all other gods. She signed a contract and, on many occasions, spiritually joined the elves in feasting and revelry. The fairy faith was strong, and most believed the Fisherwife to be associating with fairies and not the Devil. So inevitably, they released her. Her accusers agreed she was merely “having dreams” of fairies and not physically copulating with “devils”.

Isobel Gowdie & the Queen of Elfame
In a witch trial in Scotland, an accused witch claimed she’d met with the Queen of Fairies (the Queen of Elfame) under the hills. Isobel Gowdie said the fairies taught her and other women how to fly on beanstalks to meet with other witches. Isobel’s confession is the most detailed account from this time period. And can be researched in its entirety online. I also recommend reading Emma Wilby’s book “The Visions of Isobel Gowdie.”

Besse Dunlop, Fairy Witch of Lynn
Besse or Bessie Dunlop of Lynn was a woman accused of witchcraft in North Ayrshire, Scotland in the sixteenth century. The trial documents claim Besse Dunlop confessed to having a familiar spirit named Tom Reid, the ghost of a soldier who aided her prophecies and gave her healing remedies with which to make a living. She also confessed to visiting Elfame (elf-land) through an ancient cave. The Queen of Elfame supposedly sent Besse her familiar Thomas to help her as she was in a dire situation at the time.

The Nature of the Fairies
Fairies were such an integral part of folklore in Europe that most people didn’t associate fairies with the Christian devil for many years. Often, as in the case of the Fisherwife of Palermo, the Church allowed the accused to go free. The Church explained these women’s experiences with fairies as simply dreams or mental illness. However, if fairies were mentioned in alignment with the Devil or familiars, or if the accused was thought to have harmed another using witchcraft, they were tried/tortured/executed.

The Celtic and Germanic People and Household Fae
As an elderly woman in Ireland you couldn’t keep your house too clean. Otherwise people would be suspicious of a bean-tighe in your home. A bean-tighe (pronounced ban-tee) was a female fairy similar to the Scottish brownie who tended house and watched over the children. They accused old women of witchcraft, particularly with fairies involved. The kobold is a Germanic household fairy or dwarf that’s known to take up residence in a home and aid in the household chores. These household types seem to be more prevalent among magical or royal people.

Fairy witches are witches who work with fairies in their craft.
Cunningfolk and Fairy Friends
In opposition to witches who practiced maleficium, there were others who practiced “white” magic. The local cunningman or cunningwoman healed, counteracted curses, helped find lost objects and performed other helpful magical tasks. Many of the cunningfolk received their otherworldly knowledge from the fairies.

Biddy Early
An Irish woman by the name of Biddy Early was a cunningwoman and “fairy doctor” who lived in the late 1700’s through the 1800’s. Biddy was called upon to not only heal people but to find lost items, to cure sick animals, and to aid in crop abundance. Biddy was well known for her herbal knowledge and for clairvoyance. Some said Biddy Early was given powers by the fairies, and that she carried a “fairy bottle” that told whispered the fairies’ secrets to her.

Modern Fairy Witches
The cunningfolk and witches of the past are gone but not forgotten. They live on in a new wave of witches and magical practitioners reviving the old ways. Some fairy witches practice fairy witchcraft by basing their magic and beliefs on fairy lore. Others follow a more religious form of fairy witchcraft.

The Feri Tradition
The Feri Tradition was created by Victor Anderson. This form of witchcraft is based on sensuality and can be very intense in nature. From my research it’s not focused on the actual belief or working with fairies, but more on an ecstatic experience within oneself. There are also various fairy Wiccan traditions that tie Celtic fairy beliefs into ritual and practice.

The Connection Between Fairies and Witches: Natural and Ancestral Theories
I have a few theories as to why fairies and intricately linked to witches. I don’t think there’s any one answer, but it’s more of a web of answers. One of the reasons there’s a connection between fairies and witches is simple – nature. An undying, passionate love for nature and the preservation of it. Witches walk the path of the craft because most seek to commune with the energies all around us, radiating off of our Mother Earth.

Witches Love Nature, As Do the Fae
At least some of the fae are likely spirits of nature, so naturally when witches work with nature, they may find they are also working with elementals and the fae. When nature spirits, fairies, realize a witch is a witch who cares and is in sync with Mother Earth, they will begin teaching that witch their secrets. Is it no wonder witches were closely linked with fairies during the Witch Trials? It makes sense to me.

Fairies and Elves…They May Be Our Ancient Ancestors
Another theory is that the fae may actually be ancestral in origin. Shocking? It may be at first, but the more you study Celtic lore and history, as well as Norse Germanic tradition, you’ll see a pattern emerging. Many of our ancient ancestors claimed descent from faeries and elven races. In Ireland and Scotland, certain clans claim descent the Tuatha de Danann. Some say Cliodhna, Flidais, and Lugh are their ancestors (to name a few). And in Scandinavian countries, we have stories of our ancestors sacrificing to the álfar (elven beings), often on top of ancestral burial mounds. And being that many witches today seek to honor their ancestors, they are also naturally honoring the potential fae in their bloodline.

So when our ancestors in the Medieval Age and early modern era were accused of being witches and consorting with faeries, they were also often accused of being heathens or keeping the “old pagan ways” alive. Perhaps these faeries, our ancestors’ ancestors, came to those witches and pagans because they still believed. Unlike their converted counterparts.

Those Gifted With the “Sight”
In addition, in faery folklore, it was frequently said the fae would give their secrets and essentially “work” with people who had the “sight”. For example, Biddy Early. Or people who had psychic and medium abilities. And, of course, it also happened these individuals with abilities would end up being accused of witchcraft and sadly end up in a courtroom, on a pyre, or hanging from a tree. And if these individuals who had the ability to talk to the fae were fighting to keep the old ways alive including to honor nature and sacred fairy sites and traditions, it makes sense the fae would be more willing to communicate with them than those who weren’t

Fairy Protection Explained

Fairy protection is sometimes necessary. If you are a friend of the fay like me, you’ve seen their beauty and wonder. They might have helped your garden grow or give you a healing remedy in your dreams. You’ve seen the good that fairies do for Mother Earth; however, every once in a while you may run into a fairy that’s not so nice. The reasons for their distrust towards us are many-fold, but the main thing is to learn how to protect yourself from trickster fairies.

First, Are There Really “Evil Fairies”?
Well, are there really bad spirits? Bad human beings? When you start working with the fairy realm, you’ll quickly realize not all fairies are friendly to humans. In fact, there are some that kidnap and eat humans according to folklore. While others may not be particularly cannibalistic but have a tendency to play tricks on their human encounters. In addition, there are household fairies that may first be friendly and helpful that turn malevolent or angry for one reason or another. There are even fairies, namely the will o’ the wisp, that are known to lead human beings off a cliff and to their tragic end.

But, to answer the question are there evil fairies, understand the faery realm follows its own rules. So what we find “evil” isn’t one thing or another in the faery realm. Still, there are some who enjoy working and living alongside human kind. Learn more about the types of fairies here. So that you’ll be aware and be able to discern between them.

Protection from evil fairies may be as simple as a loud bell or wind chimes.

Fairy Protection: 9 Ways to Protect Your Home & Yourself
Fairy protection dates back thousands of years and consists of many different practices. If you are working with fairies in your magickal practice or trying to attract them to your home or garden, these methods of protection should not scare the benevolent fairies away. These methods of fairy protection should only keep potentially malevolent fairies from your home, as long as your intention is pure.

1. Iron Protection from Malevolent Fairies
It’s been said for centuries that fairies fear iron, hang an iron horseshoe above your front door to ward off evil fairies. This belief could be due to the idea that fairies were originally a small neolithic people who lived in Ireland and were driven out of their homes by the Celts, specifically in the Iron Age (hence the fear of iron – iron weapons). Cast iron in the kitchen protects from trickster fae spoiling or overturning food. Wearing an iron troll cross, like the kind they wear in Sweden, wards off evil elves, trolls and the like. Or hang iron troll crosses around the home and garden.

2. Bells and Chimes
Bells frightened off evil spirits in Medieval Ireland and elsewhere in Europe. Specifically the big, deep-sounding Church bells that would ring to draw the people to Church. Apply this tradition by hanging deep-toned chimes on your front porch, or by using deep sounding bells during magickal ritual. Use bells to clear your space should there be trickster spirits about.

Mushroom rings could be fairy rings.

3. Protection from Fairy Raids and Rings
If going out walking at night or during twilight hours, or if you go out on one of the eight holy days, it’s imperative to protect yourself from getting caught up in one of the fairies raides (rides) or fairy rings. Old Irish folklore says that one is to turn their coat inside out to keep from being “pixie-led” away from a safe path. Also, NEVER take food from the fay! If you are caught in a fairy ride or ring, or if you take food from the fay, you could very well find yourself lost in a strange place. When you return, YEARS could have gone by even though it only felt like minutes (according to folklore).

4. Don’t Traipse Into Their Territory
The easiest way to prevent getting caught in a fairy raid or being dragged to the depths of a pond is fairly simple. Stay out of their way. Stay out of their territory. Most people can feel when they’re teetering closely to the Otherworld or a company of fairies. You’ll hear harp or flute music, seemingly far away yet close by. And the world around you will seem to shift. Or feel unstable. There are sometimes known fairy haunts in certain places throughout the world. It’s best to leave these places alone. If you happen to enter their territory unbeknownst to you, tell them you mean no harm and leave promptly.

5. Appeasing the Fay
Leave a pail of fresh milk, butter, or cream outside of your front door on the eight holy days to appease the fay and keep them from wreaking havoc on garden and home. Leaving fairy offerings and libations dates back hundreds of years, and if you have any Celtic ancestors, you probably have ancestors who partook in this tradition. Some people in Europe still do! This is a preventative method of protection from trickster fairies. Make them happy at the back door so they don’t intrude. Fairies are also particularly active in the days leading up to Samhain and during the Twelve Days of Yule.

Just because a fairy looks pretty or dainty doesn’t mean he/she can’t be malevolent!

6. Fairy Protection: The Circle of Light
Another effective yet simple technique of fairy protection consists of using one’s mind and energy. If you are used to using visualization in your meditations, rituals, and spells, this method of fairy protection should be familiar to you. It’s what I like to call the Circle of Light. You can do this visualization exercise any time of the day, any day of the week and as often as you’d like. For me particularly, I do it every night as I’m lying in bed and before I go to sleep to continue to build the circle’s strength around my home.

Just relax your entire body. Let all thoughts and chatter of your mind fade away until all you picture is a blank screen. Then see your home and property on the screen, see its colors and details. Focus on the image of your home and property, then look into the window at yourself and/or your family members. Then gradually picture a circle of white light engulfing your home, starting from the ground and going up and over, forming a dome of light. See this light as being transparent, but totally impenetrable by negative forces. Picture a branch or rock being thrown at the dome of light and watch it bounce off. Then picture an evil fairy trying to cross the circle of light’s boundary and watch them be pushed away. Repeat this visualization technique every night for at least a week, and then repeat whenever you feel necessary.

7. Ancestral and Deity Protection from Malevolent Fairies
One of the MOST effective forms of protection against trickster fairies (and other spirits in general) is to invite your ancestors and gods into your home. Once your guides and guardians take up residence in your home, they do most of the work of keeping out negative forces like malevolent fairies and the like. In fact, my ancestors are SO good at protection, I have to ask their permission to allow any other spirits inside the home.

8. Warding Your Property
Warding your property is an effective way to shield yourself and your family from pretty much every spirit you don’t want intruding. Except the ones you invite in. This is an effective way to ward off malevolent fairies, as well. I recommend reading our article on warding here. But, essentially, a circle of salt will ward off fairies, railroad spikes in the four corners of your property, as well as certain stones that contain iron like hematite and red jasper. Another tip – if you choose to use a circle of salt, Himalayan pink salt is even more effective than regular. Why? It has the largest amount of iron…which is actually what gives it its pink color.

9. Avoiding Travel On Their Days
It’s well-known through Ireland and other old countries that the fae are more active on certain days, nights and holidays during the year. Some of those days include the high Celtic holy days Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain. But if you travel further Northeast in Europe to Norway and Sweden, the elves are quite active during the Winter holidays of Yule and during the 12 days of Christmas. And no, I don’t necessarily mean Santa’s cute, toy-making elves. I’m talking the danger, sometimes malevolent alfar. During these days, it’s best to avoid traveling on roads by yourself during twilight hours and at night. Lest you stumble upon them and be swept away.

Entering the Fairy Ring

Do you dare enter the fairy ring? For thousands of years, the sudden appearance of a ring of mushrooms was a sure sign of otherworldly presences. These rings would seemingly appear overnight, or travel from one location to another, with no clear rhyme or reason. If you dare to enter a ring, many myths warn you will die young. You also become invisible to the mortal world, unable to escape the ring, or you are transported instantly to the fairy realm. My general rule of thumb: You don’t have to believe in everything, but don’t mess with it…..just in case.

Accepting Fairies

To accept that fairies do indeed exist, and that cooperation with them in the creation of a garden will richly benefit all that grows in it, is a part of the wisewomen’s ancient doctrine.
However small and humble your plot, there is always an angel of the garden. She must be called upon, and the spirit of her gentle presence must be felt and revered by all who would make friends with the fairies. Seek her at eventide, or as the sun is rising, or yet in the first moments of daybreak, or under the moon and stars on a fine, clear night. Speak to her in your own words; alternatively, you may use this invocation:

Angel of the garden, still my waiting soul,
so my eyes may see thy radiance,
my spirit enter into thy peace,
as thy wings unfold to gather this place
of tended growing things into thy heart.

I feel the breath of the angel as a soft incense
moving through the airs which play upon this garden;
I feel the touch of the angel as each blade of grass,
each sprig, flower, herb and tree, each living creature, is blessed;
I hear the song of the angel as each plant moves and dances,
with a motion unseen, to the perfect harmony of the spheres.

The life of the spirit walks in my garden as an angel,
and my garden is made holy, a place of benediction.
The angel of the garden hears my prayer,
and draws near. In reverence
I bow to the angel, and give my heart and hands
into the light of her inspiration. 

Fairy Protection

Fairy protection is sometimes necessary. If you are a friend of the fay like me, you’ve seen their beauty and wonder. They might have helped your garden grow or give you a healing remedy in your dreams. You’ve seen the good that fairies do for Mother Earth; however, every once in a while you may run into a fairy that’s not so nice. The reasons for their distrust towards us are many-fold, but the main thing is to learn how to protect yourself from trickster fairies.

First, Are There Really “Evil Fairies”?
Well, are there really bad spirits? Bad human beings? When you start working with the fairy realm, you’ll quickly realize not all fairies are friendly to humans. In fact, there are some that kidnap and eat humans according to folklore. While others may not be particularly cannibalistic but have a tendency to play tricks on their human encounters. In addition, there are household fairies that may first be friendly and helpful that turn malevolent or angry for one reason or another. There are even fairies, namely the will o’ the wisp, that are known to lead human beings off a cliff and to their tragic end.

But, to answer the question are there evil fairies, understand the faery realm follows its own rules. So what we find “evil” isn’t one thing or another in the faery realm. Still, there are some who enjoy working and living alongside human kind. Learn more about the types of fairies here. So that you’ll be aware and be able to discern between them.

Protection from evil fairies may be as simple as a loud bell or wind chimes.

Fairy Protection: 9 Ways to Protect Your Home & Yourself
Fairy protection dates back thousands of years and consists of many different practices. If you are working with fairies in your magickal practice or trying to attract them to your home or garden, these methods of protection should not scare the benevolent fairies away. These methods of fairy protection should only keep potentially malevolent fairies from your home, as long as your intention is pure.

1. Iron Protection from Malevolent Fairies
It’s been said for centuries that fairies fear iron, hang an iron horseshoe above your front door to ward off evil fairies. This belief could be due to the idea that fairies were originally a small neolithic people who lived in Ireland and were driven out of their homes by the Celts, specifically in the Iron Age (hence the fear of iron – iron weapons). Cast iron in the kitchen protects from trickster fae spoiling or overturning food. Wearing an iron troll cross, like the kind they wear in Sweden, wards off evil elves, trolls and the like. Or hang iron troll crosses around the home and garden.

2. Bells and Chimes
Bells frightened off evil spirits in Medieval Ireland and elsewhere in Europe. Specifically the big, deep-sounding Church bells that would ring to draw the people to Church. Apply this tradition by hanging deep-toned chimes on your front porch, or by using deep sounding bells during magickal ritual. Use bells to clear your space should there be trickster spirits about.

Mushroom rings could be fairy rings.

3. Protection from Fairy Raids and Rings
If going out walking at night or during twilight hours, or if you go out on one of the eight holy days, it’s imperative to protect yourself from getting caught up in one of the fairies raides (rides) or fairy rings. Old Irish folklore says that one is to turn their coat inside out to keep from being “pixie-led” away from a safe path. Also, NEVER take food from the fay! If you are caught in a fairy ride or ring, or if you take food from the fay, you could very well find yourself lost in a strange place. When you return, YEARS could have gone by even though it only felt like minutes (according to folklore).

4. Don’t Traipse Into Their Territory
The easiest way to prevent getting caught in a fairy raid or being dragged to the depths of a pond is fairly simple. Stay out of their way. Stay out of their territory. Most people can feel when they’re teetering closely to the Otherworld or a company of fairies. You’ll hear harp or flute music, seemingly far away yet close by. And the world around you will seem to shift. Or feel unstable. There are sometimes known fairy haunts in certain places throughout the world. It’s best to leave these places alone. If you happen to enter their territory unbeknownst to you, tell them you mean no harm and leave promptly.

5. Appeasing the Fay
Leave a pail of fresh milk, butter, or cream outside of your front door on the eight holy days to appease the fay and keep them from wreaking havoc on garden and home. Leaving fairy offerings and libations dates back hundreds of years, and if you have any Celtic ancestors, you probably have ancestors who partook in this tradition. Some people in Europe still do! This is a preventative method of protection from trickster fairies. Make them happy at the back door so they don’t intrude. Fairies are also particularly active in the days leading up to Samhain and during the Twelve Days of Yule.

Just because a fairy looks pretty or dainty doesn’t mean he/she can’t be malevolent!

6. Fairy Protection: The Circle of Light
Another effective yet simple technique of fairy protection consists of using one’s mind and energy. If you are used to using visualization in your meditations, rituals, and spells, this method of fairy protection should be familiar to you. It’s what I like to call the Circle of Light. You can do this visualization exercise any time of the day, any day of the week and as often as you’d like. For me particularly, I do it every night as I’m lying in bed and before I go to sleep to continue to build the circle’s strength around my home.

Just relax your entire body. Let all thoughts and chatter of your mind fade away until all you picture is a blank screen. Then see your home and property on the screen, see its colors and details. Focus on the image of your home and property, then look into the window at yourself and/or your family members. Then gradually picture a circle of white light engulfing your home, starting from the ground and going up and over, forming a dome of light. See this light as being transparent, but totally impenetrable by negative forces. Picture a branch or rock being thrown at the dome of light and watch it bounce off. Then picture an evil fairy trying to cross the circle of light’s boundary and watch them be pushed away. Repeat this visualization technique every night for at least a week, and then repeat whenever you feel necessary.

7. Ancestral and Deity Protection from Malevolent Fairies
One of the MOST effective forms of protection against trickster fairies (and other spirits in general) is to invite your ancestors and gods into your home. Once your guides and guardians take up residence in your home, they do most of the work of keeping out negative forces like malevolent fairies and the like. In fact, my ancestors are SO good at protection, I have to ask their permission to allow any other spirits inside the home.

8. Warding Your Property
Warding your property is an effective way to shield yourself and your family from pretty much every spirit you don’t want intruding. Except the ones you invite in. This is an effective way to ward off malevolent fairies, as well. I recommend reading our article on warding here. But, essentially, a circle of salt will ward off fairies, railroad spikes in the four corners of your property, as well as certain stones that contain iron like hematite and red jasper. Another tip – if you choose to use a circle of salt, Himalayan pink salt is even more effective than regular. Why? It has the largest amount of iron…which is actually what gives it its pink color.

9. Avoiding Travel On Their Days
It’s well-known through Ireland and other old countries that the fae are more active on certain days, nights and holidays during the year. Some of those days include the high Celtic holy days Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain. But if you travel further Northeast in Europe to Norway and Sweden, the elves are quite active during the Winter holidays of Yule and during the 12 days of Christmas. And no, I don’t necessarily mean Santa’s cute, toy-making elves. I’m talking the danger, sometimes malevolent alfar. During these days, it’s best to avoid traveling on roads by yourself during twilight hours and at night. Lest you stumble upon them and be swept away

Meal for the Fairies

There is another kind of Spirits, (fairies) which we have spoken of in our third book of Occult Philosophy, not so hurtful, and near unto men, for also, that they are affected with humane passions, and do joy in the convention of men, and freely do inhabit with them. And others do dwell in the woods and deserts; &c others delight in the company of divers domestique animals and wild beasts; and some others do inhabit about fountains
and meadows.

Whosoever therefore would call up these kinds of Spirits, in the place where they abide, it ought to be done with odoriferous perfumes, and with sweet sounds and instruments of music, specially composed for the business,with using of songs, enchantments and pleasant verses,with praises and promises.

But those which are obstinate to yield to these things, are to be compelled with threatening, and especially by threatening them to expel them from those places where they are conversant. Further, if need be, thou may betake thee to use exorcisms; but the most important thing that ought to be observed is constancy of mind, and boldness,
free, and alienated from fear.

Lastly, when you would invocate these kinds of spirits, you ought to prepare a table in the place of invocation, covered with clean linen; whereupon you shall set new bread, and running water or milk in new earthen vessels,and new knives.

And you shall make a fire, whereupon a perfume shall be made. But let the magician go unto the head of the table,and round about it let there be feasts placed for the spirits, as you please; and the spirits being called, you shall invite them to drink and eat.

But if perchance you shall fear any evil spirit, then draw a circle about it, (your chair) and let that part of the Table at which the magician sits, be within the circle, and the rest of the table without the circle.

Notes: Fairy is a broad category. In the 1500s, it was often used synonymously with terms such as elf, dwarf, sprite, and even faun and nymph. No one was quite sure what fairies were, and some theories stated that they were spirits of nature, or angels too good for hell but too bad for heaven. Some people thought they were gods and spirits of pre-Christian races or cultures.

Making offerings of food and drink to the gods or the dead has been an ancient practice, stretching back to neolithic times, so it seems only natural that a meal would be set for the fairies.

The attitude of the magician towards the fairies in the grimoires was more one of friendship than of coercion, as it states in the first operation in this book “I confidently and earnestly ask this of you as you are our friends, and we are your friends, and all of us are servants to the Highest…”

Therefore, in every exchange with the fairies, the
magician was to treat them as friends, and offer them gifts in return for service. This contrasts with the way that demons were usually treated with great fear and the medieval magician attempted to bind them with the power of God and the angels, though they were still offered gifts and offerings in exchange for service.

In the case of the dead, the magician in operation 7 ofthis book is instructed to offer to pray for the dead man and make an alms deed in their name in return for their help in finding the fairy Sibylia. I am sure that the dead appreciate other offerings as well, because if you go to any cemetery, there are always things placed there, on and around the tombstones, things that the dead person
liked during their life.

It could be rightly said that even saints and angels
require gifts in exchange for service. Notice the millions of candles burned each month for the saints and angels in the Catholic church. Although sometimes angels in the Bible were said to direct a person to make the offering to God rather than them. In any case, all spiritual workings with entities who are non-physical takes something from the magician, even if that is time and energy spent in the adoration of an angel or God.

Remember the law of exchange, and do not expect any spirit to be your servant. In the spell mentioned above,along with making a meal for the fairies, the magician was to offer incense, something that seems to be universally appreciated by all spirits, and to compose music for the occasion and perform it for the spirits with “praises and promises.” The promises would seem to refer to future gifts and celebrations in the honor of the spirits. The idea was that there should be a working relationship between the people who lived on the physical plane, and those who were the spiritual inhabitants of a location.

We can see that the spirits invoked in the previously described spell were believed to be present in the location a magician was living in, for the greatest threat was to make them leave, for then they would be homeless and must find a new place to live, which would cause them to have to seek to move in with other fairies, or possibly battle hostile spirits to take possession of another location. It is easy to see how this would be very important to the fairies, they needed a place to live just as
much as humans did, at least in the eyes of the people who performed these rituals. 

A Ritual to Conjure the Fairy Sibylia

The year is 1586, the night is dark and mysterious, only a sliver of the moon hangs in the sky. The autumn wind is chilly, and it blows the leaves from the trees. Two witches, one an old woman with grey hair, and another, a young man half her age, meet in an old country lane. They quietly exchange greetings and then hurry towards a nearby cemetery in an old, abandoned churchyard, looking around them for signs they are being watched. The wind blows, the night is quiet except for the distant hoot of an owl.

When they arrive at the cemetery each one draws a few items from their pockets. The man brings forth a book, The Discoverie of Witchcraft, and from his sleeve, a wand made of hazel wood. The woman produces a crystal stone, and a candle. Together, they approach a fresh grave at the far edge of the cemetery.

When they arrive at the grave, the woman lights the candle, holding the crystal in her other hand. The air is thick with spirits and both witches feel a certain apprehension, a knowing that what they are doing is spiritually dangerous and could also get them executed by the secular authorities. They are risking their lives to carry out this work of magic.

The man takes the wand and gently strikes the dirt of the grave. “Arise, Arise,” he begins to call the ghost. He addresses the ghost by name, telling it to come forth and enter the crystal stone. He promises the ghost that if he will help the witches, and obey them, that he will do a good deed in the ghost’s name, and thus help them get to heaven. He tells the ghost that the witches need its help to go and get a fairy that they wish to conjure, the Fairy
Sibylia.

Dozens of spirits swirl around the two witches now. Some of them are relatives of the witches. “Stop this heresy!” one demands. “To invoke the dead is a great sin,” another ghost says. “You are going to hell,” another ghost warns. The two witches ignore these voices and carry on their work.

Lights seem to play around the edges of the stone, it glows. Spirits swirl around it, almost swimming in the air. “Could this be a home for us?” one asks. The ghost of a little child peeks around a headstone. The ghost of a witch who is buried in the graveyard looks on approvingly. The crystal stone is the center of the motion, it seems to attract the spirits to it.

The younger man continues to say the words of
conjuration from the book, commanding the ghost to appear in the stone. Then, the old woman says, “I see him, I see the ghost, he has taken the form of himself when he was young, look inside.” The younger man looks and sees, the stone is glowing many colors, orange, red, green, and purple. He reaches his hand out and touches the stone, it feels warm. The book says this is a sign that things are going well.

Somewhere deep inside the stone he can see the form of the ghost he had conjured, the one who had killed himself, an old friend of his. Success! Suddenly there is a moment of sadness, the memories the ghost had in his life, and his sorrows. “I will pray for you,” the male witch murmurs quietly, “I will do good deeds in your name.” “Work with me my friend and help me to find the fairy Sibylia.” The ghost agrees to the deal.

The two witches then close the book and then enter the abandoned church next to the cemetery. Taking chalk from their pockets, they quickly draw an ornate magic circle on the ground. It is fortified with divine names, and a Bible verse. The design is taken from the book. By this time, it is midnight.
As a final protection, the witches draw small leather shields from their pockets and pin them to their chests. Upon the shield looking coverings are the words Sorthie, Sorthia, Sorthios. All around the circle, candles are lit. A smaller circle is drawn with the chalk, outside the larger one, for the Fairy Sibylia to appear in.

The Hazel wand and crystal stone are once again drawn forth, the moon shines in from part of the roof which has caved in. Frankincense is produced from the pocket of the female witch and the smell wafts through the old, abandoned church.

Once again, the male witch conjures the spirit of the ghost, which has now entered the stone. It appears once again; the witches ask the ghost to go and get the fairy. It disappears from the stone, the room grows quiet, there is a moment of silence…

Then she arrives, the fairy. She is standing within the smaller circle outside the larger circle which the witches have drawn. She is indescribably beautiful with curly blond hair, elvish looking ears, and blue green eyes. She wears a long white dress which sparkles and silver armlets and rings and a tiara around her head of silver. She has wings of a butterfly with purple hues.

Beams of light emanate from her, and she holds a magic wand made of hazel wood, with the tip glowing a brilliant white. Her splendor lights up the dark candle lit room as if it were suddenly illuminated by the brightest moonlight. In and through this light, hundreds of smaller fairies’ dart
and fly at high speeds all around the magic circle and the witches.

The male witch quickly addresses the fairy using the names and words given in the book, asking her not to harm a hair on their heads, and to be kind to them. His companion takes the Frankincense and waves it towards her, asking the fairy to accept the incense as a gift, and to work with them as a friend and ally in the spiritual plane.

She agrees and then begins to instruct the witches in various ways to cast spells and improve their magic. She gives a couple of the smaller fairies to them as familiar spirits and tells them to watch over the witches. Finally, the male witch reads another conjuration from the book, which tells her that she may come and go as she pleases, and she promises to see them again for more teaching, and that someday she will even give them the power to go invisible.

Then in a flash, she is gone, and takes all the light from the room with her, and the little fairies as well. The two witches hurriedly gather their magical tools and return to their homes in silence, vowing to keep the secrets of their work from the church.

Invisibility through fairy magic

This ritual is originally found in the 1584 Discoverie of Witchcraft. I have modernized the English but left the original spell as it is.

(Note: this is a separate experiment with Sibylia.)

This is the way to go invisible by these three sisters of fairies. (Sibylia, Milia, and Achilia.) In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy ghost. First go to a faire parlor or chamber, & an even ground, and in no loft, and from people nine days; for it is the better: and let all thy clothing be clean and sweet.

Then make a candle of virgin wax, and light it, and make a faire fire of charcoals, in a faire place, in the middle of the parlor or chamber. Then take faire clean water, that runneth against the east, and set it upon the fire: and when thou washest thy self, say these words, going about the fire, three times, holding the candle in the right hand: + Panthon + Graton + Muriton + Bisecognaton + Siston +
Diaton + Maton + Tetragrammaton + Agla + Agarion + Tegra + Pentessaron + Tendicata. Then rehearse these names: + Sorthie + Sorthia + Sorthios + Milia + Achilia + Sibylia + in nomine patris, & filii, & spiritus sancti, Amen. I conjure you three sisters of fairies, Milia, Achilia, Sibylia, by the father, by the son, and by the Holy-ghost, and by their virtues and powers, and by the most merciful and living god, that will command his Angel to blow the trumpet at the day of judgement; and he shall say, Come, come, come to judgement; and by all Angels, archangels, thrones, dominations, principalities, potentates, virtues, cherubim and seraphim, and by their virtues and powers.

I conjure you three sisters, by the virtue of all the real words aforesaid: I charge you that you do appear before me visibly, in form and shape of faire women, in white vestures, and to bring with you to me, the ring of invisibility, by the which I may go invisible at mine ownwill and pleasure, and that in all hours, and minutes: in nomine patris, & filii, & spiritus sancti, Amen.

Being appeared, say this bond following: O blessed
virgins + Milia + Achilia + I conjure you in the name of the father, in the name of the son, and in the name of the Holy-ghost, and by their virtues I charge you to depart from me in peace, for a time. And Sibylia, I conjure thee, by the virtue of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the virtue of his flesh and precious blood, that he took of our blessed lady the virgin, and by all the holy company in heaven: I charge thee Sibylia, by all the virtues aforesaid, that thou be obedient unto me, in the name of God; that when, and at what time and place I shall call thee by this foresaid conjuration written in thisbook, look thou be ready to come unto me, at all hours and minutes, and to bring unto me the ring of invisibility, whereby I may go invisible at my will and pleasure, and that at all hours and minutes; Fiat, fiat, Amen.

And if they come not the first night, then do the same the second night, and so the third night, until they do come: for doubtless they will come, and lie thou in thy bed, in the same parlor or chamber. And lay thy right hand out of the bed and look that thou have a faire silken kerchief bound about thy head, and be not afraid, they will do thee no harm. For there will come before you three fair and beautiful women, and all in white clothing; and one of them will put a ring upon thy finger, wherewith thou shalt go invisible. Then with speed bind them with the bond aforesaid. When thou hast this ring on thy finger, look in a glass, (mirror) and thou shalt not see thy self. And when thou wilt go invisible, put it on thy finger, the same finger that they did put it on, and every new MOON renew it again. For after the first time thou shalt ever have it, and ever begin this work in the new of the MOON and in the hour of JUPITER and the MOON in CANCER, SAGGITARIUS, or PISCES.

*Note, instead of heating water as mentioned above, one could adopt the method to take a hot ritual bath in place of this

The Fairy Sibylia

On the tools used to conjure the fairy Sibylia in the 1584 Discoverie of Witchcraft. Text from the book Fairy Magic in the Grimoires.

Comments:

Carrying out the previously described operation is a serious work of magic which leads the magician or witch into the cemetery and into the practice of necromancy, the conjuring of the dead. Further exploration of this is given in operation 9.

The previous spell is taken from the 1584 Discoverie of Witchcraft. The Discoverie was not originally published as a grimoire, but rather it was a skeptical book denouncing witchcraft as being mostly foolishness and the witch hunts and burnings of the time to be misguided. However, in the
process of stating his case that the old women accused of witchcraft were simply deluded, Reginald Scot, the author of the Discoverie, also published several examples of real witchcraft of the day.

It was certainly not his intention to provide a manual for witches to use, but that happened anyway. It is not known where Scot found the ritual, but he did not create it, and we can compare it to spells designed to conjure Sibylia from other texts such as the Book of Oberon and the Cambridge Book of Magic to see that Scots fairy spell was
not a lone example but rather part of a larger body of fairy magic in the 1500s. Now let’s look at the magic tools used to carry this work out.

Tools used:
1. The Magic circle
2. The Wand made of Hazel wood
3. The Crystal Stone or Ball
4. Frankincense
5. The Shield
6. White candles
7. The book of Conjurations
1. The Magic circle
Names used: Agla, El, Ya, Panthon, Messyas, Emanuel, Alpha et Omega, Tetragrammaton, Elfelbey, Jesus Nazarenus, Adonay. Dextera Domini fecit virtutem; dextera Domini exaltavit me.

16Dextera Domini fecit virtutem; dextera Domini exaltavit me: dextera Domini fecit virtutem. Psalmi 117:16 Biblia Sacra Vulgata
Translation in English:
The right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength: the right hand of the Lord hath exulted me: the right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength. -Psalms 117:16
The instructions mention that outside the main circle should be drawn another smaller circle, for the fairy to appear in.

In this case, the smaller circle outside the magic circle functions in a similar manner as the triangle to summon spirits in the Lesser Key of Solomon.
In the four corners appear the words AGLA, EL,
PANTHON, and YA. Around the square are written Alpha and Omega, Messyas, and Emanuel. Around the edges of the square are Tetragrammaton, Adonay, Jesus Nazarenus, and Elfelbey. Magister is written in the center.

Around the ring itself is the Bible verse Psalms 117:16.
16 Dextera Domini fecit virtutem; dextera Domini exaltavit me: dextera Domini fecit virtutem. Psalmi 117:16 Biblia Sacra Vulgata (The Vulgate)
The right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength: the right hand of the Lord hath exulted me: the right hand ofthe Lord hath wrought strength. -Psalms 117:16

“Solara”

In the realm of Solara, where the golden rays painted the skies and the warmth of sunlight infused life, lived a faerie named Solene. From her radiant sanctuary amidst the Amber Glade, she felt an intrinsic connection to the sun’s energy and the life it nurtured.

One luminous day, as she basked in the gentle caress of sunlight and the vibrant hues of dawn, Solene discerned an ancient alignment unveiling the elusive Solar Nexus—a realm whispered to hold the secrets of solar harmony and radiant enlightenment.

Driven by an unwavering admiration for the sun’s brilliance and the yearning to unravel its deepest truths, Solene embarked on an illuminating journey. With the sun’s gentle rays guiding her path and the warm aura of sunlight emanating from her wings, she bid farewell to her radiant sanctuary and embarked on a quest into the heart of solar enlightenment.

Guided by the echoes of warmth and the gentle whispers of the solar realm, Solene traversed through radiant pathways and luminous gateways. Along her solar odyssey, she encountered trials—a solar trial of balance that tested her understanding and a radiant enigma demanding her solar intuition.

At the heart of the Solar Nexus, Solene faced her ultimate challenge—a guardian draped in the radiant threads of solar balance, keeper of the realm’s solar wisdom. Embracing the solar energies within her spirit and drawing from the solar wisdom gained during her journey, she unraveled the guardian’s enigmatic riddle, earning passage into the radiant sanctum.

Within the Solar Nexus, amidst the harmonious symphony of sunlight’s elements and the gentle harmonies, Solene witnessed the solar harmony—the radiant ballet of interconnected sunbeams, the whispers resonating through the solar realm, and the solar unity that embraced the luminous tapestry. Immersed in this radiant brilliance, she communed with the essence of solar enlightenment.

Empowered by the solar revelations and attuned to the sun’s balance, Solene returned to her radiant sanctuary, forever transformed by the solar wisdom she had obtained. Though she carried no tangible relics, her essence shimmered with the radiant brilliance of the Nexus and the solar truths etched within her spirit.

Her return was celebrated by the golden hues of sunlight, each sunbeam harmonizing in unity with newfound solar conduct. Solene had become a luminary of solar wisdom, guiding her realm toward a radiant existence in harmony with the sun

BOOBACH

The Bwbach, or Boobach, is the good-natured goblin which does good turns for the tidy Welsh maid who wins its favour by a certain course of behaviour recommended by long tradition. The maid having swept the kitchen, makes a good fire the last thing at night, and having put the churn, filled with cream, on the whitened hearth, with a basin of fresh cream for the Bwbach on the hob, goes to bed to await the event. In the morning she finds (if she is in luck) that the Bwbach has emptied the basin of cream, and plied the churn-dasher so well that the maid has but to give a thump or two to bring the butter in a great lump. Like the Ellyll which it so much resembles, the Bwbach does not approve of dissenters and their ways, and especially strong is its aversion to total abstainers.

There was a Bwbach belonging to a certain estate in Cardiganshire, which took great umbrage at a Baptist preacher who was a guest in the house, and who was much fonder of prayers than of good ale. Now the Bwbach had a weakness in favour of people who sat around the hearth with their mugs of cwrw da and their pipes, and it took to pestering the preacher. One night it jerked the stool from under the good man’s elbows, as he knelt pouring forth prayer, so that he fell down flat on his face. Another time it interrupted the devotions by jangling the fire-irons on the hearth; and it was continually making the dogs fall a-howling during prayers, or frightening the farm-boy by grinning at him through the window, or throwing the maid into fits. At last it had the audacity to attack the preacher as he was crossing a field. The minister told the story in this wise: ‘I was reading busily in my hymn-book as I walked on, when a sudden fear came over me and my legs began to tremble. A shadow crept upon me from behind, and when I turned round—it was myself!—my person, my dress, and even my hymn-book. I looked in its face a moment, and then fell insensible to the ground.’ And there, insensible still, they found him. This encounter proved too much for the good man, who considered it a warning to him to leave those parts. He accordingly mounted his horse next day and rode away. A boy of the neighbourhood, whose veracity was, like that of all boys, unimpeachable, afterwards said that he saw the Bwbach jump up behind the preacher, on the horse’s back. And the horse went like lightning, with eyes like balls of fire, and the preacher looking back over his shoulder at the Bwbach, that grinned from ear to ear.

PIGMY ELVES

The Ellyllon are the pigmy elves who haunt the groves and valleys, and correspond pretty closely with the English elves. The English name was probably derived from the Welsh el, a spirit, elf, an element; there is a whole brood of words of this class in the Welsh language, expressing every variety of flowing, gliding, spirituality, devilry, angelhood, and goblinism. Ellyllon (the plural of ellyll), is also doubtless allied with the Hebrew Elilim, having with it an identity both of origin and meaning. The poet Davydd ab Gwilym, in a humorous account of his troubles in a mist, in the year 1340, says:

Yr ydoedd ym mhob gobant

Ellyllon mingeimion gant.

There was in every hollow

A hundred wrymouthed elves.

The hollows, or little dingles, are still the places where the peasant, belated on his homeward way from fair or market, looks for the ellyllon, but fails to find them. Their food is specified in Welsh folk-lore as fairy butter and fairy victuals, ymenyn tylwyth teg and bwyd ellyllon; the latter the toadstool, or poisonous mushroom, and the former a butter-resembling substance found at great depths in the crevices of limestone rocks, in sinking for lead ore. Their gloves, menyg ellyllon, are the bells of the digitalis, or fox-glove, the leaves of which are well known to be a strong sedative. Their queen—for though there is no fairy-queen in the large sense that Gwyn ap Nudd is the fairy-king, there is a queen of the elves—is none other than the Shakspearean fairy spoken of by Mercutio, who comes

In shape no bigger than an agate-stone

On the forefinger of an alderman.

Shakspeare’s use of Welsh folk-lore, it should be noted, was extensive and peculiarly faithful. Keightley in his ‘Fairy Mythology’ rates the bard soundly for his inaccurate use of English fairy superstitions; but the reproach will not apply as regards Wales. From his Welsh informant Shakspeare got Mab, which is simply the Cymric for a little child, and the root of numberless words signifying babyish, childish, love for children (mabgar), kitten (mabgath), prattling (mabiaith), and the like, most notable of all which in this connection is mabinogi, the singular of Mabinogion, the romantic tales of enchantment told to the young in by-gone ages.

FAERIES- DO YOU BELIEVE OR NOT

Fairies being creatures of the imagination, it is not possible to classify them by fixed and immutable rules. In the exact sciences, there are laws which never vary, or if they vary, their very eccentricity is governed by precise rules. Even in the largest sense, comparative mythology must demean itself modestly in order to be tolerated in the severe company of the sciences. In presenting his subjects, therefore, the writer in this field can only govern himself by the purpose of orderly arrangement. To secure the maximum of system, for the sake of the student who employs the work for reference and comparison, with the minimum of dullness, for the sake of the general reader, is perhaps the limit of a reasonable ambition. Keightley divides into four classes the Scandinavian elements of popular belief as to fairies, viz.: 1. The Elves; 2. The Dwarfs, or Trolls; 3. The Nisses; and 4. The Necks, Mermen, and Mermaids. How entirely arbitrary this division is, the student of Scandinavian folk-lore at once perceives. Yet it is perhaps as satisfactory as another. The fairies of Wales may be divided into five classes, if analogy be not too sharply insisted on. Thus we have, 1. The Ellyllon, or elves; 2. The Coblynau, or mine fairies; 3. The Bwbachod, or household fairies; 4. The Gwragedd Annwn, or fairies of the lakes and streams; and 5. The Gwyllion, or mountain fairies.

The modern Welsh name for fairies is y Tylwyth Teg, the fair folk or family. This is sometimes lengthened into y Tylwyth Teg yn y Coed, the fair family in the wood, or Tylwyth Teg y Mwn, the fair folk of the mine. They are seen dancing in moonlight nights on the velvety grass, clad in airy and flowing robes of blue, green, white, or scarlet—details as to colour not usually met, I think, in accounts of fairies. They are spoken of as bestowing blessings on those mortals whom they select to be thus favoured; and again are called Bendith y Mamau, or their mother’s blessing, that is to say, good little children whom it is a pleasure to know. To name the fairies by a harsh epithet is to invoke their anger; to speak of them in flattering phrase is to propitiate their good offices. The student of fairy mythology perceives in this propitiatory mode of speech a fact of wide significance. It can be traced in numberless lands, and back to the beginning of human history, among the cloud-hung peaks of Central Asia. The Greeks spoke of the furies as the Eumenides, or gracious ones; Highlanders mentioned by Sir Walter Scott uncover to the gibbet and call it ‘the kind gallows;’ the Dayak will not name the small-pox, but calls it ‘the chief;’ the Laplander calls the bear ‘the old man with the fur coat;’ in Ammam the tiger is called ‘grandfather;’ and it is thought that the maxim, ‘Speak only good of the dead,’ came originally from the notion of propitiating the ghost of the departed, who, in laying off this mortal garb, had become endowed with new powers of harming his late acquaintance.

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Fairy Lore

The physical characteristics of fairies vary. Some are tiny, winged, gossamer creatures a few inches tall who can alight on a drop of water and barely make it tremble. Some are dwarfs and “little people” barely smaller than mortals. Others are giants. Fairies are both ugly and beautiful. They are usually mischievous and unpredictable and must be placated by gifts of food and spotlessly clean houses. The superstitious refer to them as “the good people” or “the good neighbors” in order to stay in the fairies’ good graces.

When won over by a mortal, fairies may be very generous with gifts, either material or psychic such as clairvoyance or the ability to heal. Some are evil and malevolent. Many are lascivious and enjoy seducing mortals; some even marry mortals. In general, it is considered bad luck to talk about fairies and their activities. To do so invites a beating from them. As well as instantaneous disappearance of all the gifts bestowed by the fairies. Such as wealth and possessions, and even the fairy lovers or spouses themselves.

Fairies are nocturnal creatures and like to drink, dance and sing. Their music is exquisite. Their color is green, which is also identified with witches. Green clothing perhaps helps them to blend into their forests. Some are said to have green skin. They keep many animals, including dogs, cattle and sheep, which usually are red and white in color. InIrish folklore, cats are regarded as fairies, generally as evil ones. The crowing of cocks drives away fairies, as well as demons.

In the early Middle Ages, fairies were said to be visible to all. As time went on, they acquired more and more supernatural powers and became invisible to all but those with second sight. Fairies who were captured by mortals were said to pine away and die quickly if they could not escape. Mortals who visited Fairyland, an enchanted land beneath the ground, discovered that time passes very slowly for fairies. What seemed like a few days translated into years when the mortals returned to the physical world.

Some fairies were said to suck human blood like vampires. On the Isle of Man, it was believed that if water was not left out for them, they would suck the blood of the sleepers in the house or bleed them and make a cake with the blood. The fairies would then leave some of the blood cake hidden in the house; it had to be found and given to the sleepers to eat, or they would die of a sleeping sickness.  

According to British anthropologist Margaret A. Murray and others, real “little people” gradually became identified with witches. In the 16th and 17th centuries, when fairy beliefs were at their height, fairies and witches were often blended together. Both could cast and break spells, heal people and divine lost objects and the future. Both danced and sang beneath a full moon— often together—and trafficked with the Devil. Both could change shape, fly, levitate and cause others to levitate. Both stole unbaptized children and poisoned people. Both stole horses at night and rode them hard to their sabbats, returning them exhausted by dawn. Both avoided Salt and both were repelled by iron. James I of England, in Daemonologie, his book about witches, called Diana, the goddess of witches, the “Queen of Faerie.” Oberon, the name of the King of Fairies, was also the name of a demon summoned by magicians. Fairies were said to be the familiars of witches. It is no surprise, then, that fairies figured in numerous witch trials. Those richest in detail took place in the British Isles.

Fairies and the Witchhunts

In 1566 John Walsh of Dorset was accused of witchcraft.
He admitted being able to tell if a person was bewitched.
A gift bestowed upon him partly by fairies.
The fairies, he claimed, lived in great heaps of earth in Dorsetshire and could be consulted for one hour, at either noon or midnight.
Walsh also defined three kinds of fairies.
Green, white and black.
He went on to say the black was the worst.

Bessy Dunlop, a wise woman healer of Ayrshire, was accused of witchcraft and sorcery on November Eighth, 1576.
She suddenly became a successful herbalist and healer and gained second sight.
This helped her predict the recovery or death of patients and the location of lost objects.
In her trial, Dunlop testified that she had been taught these abilities by a phantom fairy named Thorne or Thome Reid.
Reid told her that he had been ordered to be her attendant by the Queen of Elfhane.
Many years before, when Dunlop was in childbirth, the Queen appeared before her as a stout woman, asked for a drink, and was given one.
Reid explained to Dunlop that afterward, he had been killed in the battle of Pinkie on September tenth, 1547, and had gone to Fairyland.
He now served the Queen of Elfhane.
The ghostly Reid appeared many times before Dunlop, beseeching her to go away with him to Fairyland or to deny the Christian faith.
In exchange for which he would grant her every wish.
She denied him repeatedly.
One day, Reid appeared with a company of eight women and four men.
Reid explained that they were “good wights” , fairies, who lived in Elfland.
They asked Dunlop to accompany them.
When Dunlop remained silent, they left “with a hideous ugly howling sound, like that of a hurricane.”

Reid continued to visit Dunlop, offering his assistance in healing sick animals and people.
Eventually, he gave her herbal ointments and taught her how to use them and predict their effectiveness.

Dunlop would see Reid in town from time to time, though he remained invisible to others.
He always appeared if she summoned him thrice.
On every occasion, he begged her to come with him to Fairyland.
Sometimes he would be tugging at her apron.
However, she always refused.
This sometimes put him in an ill humor.

These supernatural visits went on for four years before Dunlop was brought down on charges of witchcraft.
The fact that Dunlop had always used her new skills for good did not help her case.
Neither did her testimony that her benefactor was a fairy and not the Devil.
Dunlop was convicted and burned at the stake.

A few years later, in 1588, Alison Pearson of Byrehill was charged with invoking the spirits of the Devil.
She also was said to have a fairy familiar.
Her cousin, William Sympson, a physician had been kidnapped by a Gypsy and had died.
One day while Pearson was traveling, she felt ill and lay down.
A green man, as in Sympson appeared and said he would do her good if she would be faithful to him.
The green man vanished and reappeared with a band of fairies, who cajoled Pearson into accompanying them and taking part in their drinking and merrymaking.

Pearson gradually became comfortable with her fairy friends.
If she talked about their activities, however, she was tormented with blows that left insensitive spots on her skin.
Sympson advised her of when the fairies were coming to her and of the fact that they usually arrived in a whirlwind.
Sympson also taught her how to use herbal remedies and told her that every year, the Devil took one-tenth of the fairies away to hell as a tithe.

Like Dunlop, Pearson’s confession only worsened her case.
She also was convicted and burned.

Isobel Gowdie, Scotland’s renowned witch who voluntarily confessed in 1662, said she had frequent doings with fairies.
Gowdie went often to Fairyland, entering through various caverns and mounds.
The entrance of Fairyland was populated with elf-bulls, whose “roaring and skoilling” always frightened her.
She often met with the King and Queen of Fairy, who were finely dressed and offered her more meat than she could eat.
Gowdie, her fellow witches and the fairies would amuse themselves by A queen meets the Lion Fairy.
This was from the fairy tale “The Frog and the Lion Fairy” in Andrew Lang’s The
Orange Fairy Book.

Gowdie said the fairies manufactured their poisonous elf-arrow heads in their caverns.
She went on to say that she had seen the Devil working alongside them, putting the finishing touches on the flints.
Fairies taught her how to fly, by mounting cornstraws and beanstalks and crying, “Horse and Hattock, in the Devil’s name!”

As late as 1894 beliefs in fairies and witches in Ireland caused the murder of Bridget Cleary of Clonmel.
Bridget Cleary of Clonmel was accused by her own husband and family of being a changeling wife.
The trials of Michael Cleary and Bridget’s relatives were Ireland’s last involving witchcraft.

Fairy Wishing Spell

For this spell, you will need a small white birthday candle, a silver coin, seven moon cookies (sugar cookies cut into crescent moons), and a secluded wooded area where you can be alone.

As you walk through the woods, keep a close eye out for Fairy circles, small circular areas surrounded by inedible red fungi with white spots. It is believed that fairies meet within these rings to celebrate their magickal rites. When you find a fairy circle, carefully place your coin in the centre of it. Set the candle on top of the coin, light it, and make your wish.

When the candle has completely burned out, place the moon cookies around the coin, state your wish aloud, and then walk away. If you return to the spot and your coin and candle are gone, you will know that your wish has been granted.

The Grass Fairy

Many animals rely on the grass fairy to nurture better grass and grains for their feed. He works with a squad of other Fairies bringing sweet briar and elderflowers for the ground to nourish the grass. In the winter he helps wood elves and tree Fairies to dust trees so that new growth will be fresh and clean in the spring.

Meaning of card

The grass fairy says ” You are aware of a need to move on in life, but you don’t know-how. So feel the power that is inside you awaken your senses and stir your values. ” Ask it “Are you ready to bring forward my new power?” And then you will be able to feel the stirrings begin. It will tell you clearly what you need to know.

Although you have self – awareness you may be holding back at times because of your indecision and that cannot do any good. Ask yourself ” Am I ready to move on?” And you will find that the answer is YES as you move forward you will feel a great wisdom and power to do right in your life. And that will do you good, for you will then accumulate the power to do what is good within your life.

Pixie in the Fairy Realm

These small creatures are said to have red hair, small, turned-up noses, pointed ears, and pale, youthful faces.

They are especially attracted to gardens in bloom and take up residence under toadstools.

Pixies have mixed emotions when it comes to humans.

However, if they take a liking to someone they will help him or her out with household chores and gardening.

They also like to work with gold, silver, and bronze.

Some believe that the residue from their metalwork is the main ingredient in Pixie dust, a magickal powder used to make wishes come true.