Tag: Pagan

Items needed:

A blender or coffee grinder, silver glitter, dark blue jar, three silver coins, silver paint or a silver marker, and the following dried herbs ground
into a fine powder:

1 tbsp. woodruff
1 tbsp. clover
1 tbsp. rose petals
1 tbsp. jasmine
1 Tbsp. meadowsweet

Place the powder into the dark blue jar. On the outside of the jar, inscribe the following symbol with the silver paint or marker:

On May eve as the sun begins to set, place your jar of Fairy dust in the center of a Fairy circle. Kneel next to the circle, uncap the jar, and chant the following nine times:

Nature spirits and fairy friends
Bless this dust to serve my ends.
I place my trust and faith in thee
To bring me love, wealth, and prosperity.

Rise and leave the area for one hour, giving the fairies time to bless your powder. When you return, thank the fairies for their help, retrieve the jar, and leave the three silver coins in its place.

Sprinkle the powder over a sleeping loved one to increase passion, sprinkle on the threshold of a business to attract new customers, or sprinkle around the perimeter of your home to invite happiness and goodwill.

Found in British, Scandinavian, and Teutonic folklore, elves are tiny, human-shaped supernatural beings who resemble little old men.

However, elf maidens are considered to be young and very beautiful.

They live in communities or kingdoms, hidden in the hollows of trees, long burrows, or in mounds. They are ruled over by an elf king and queen.

Elves exert their powers over humans whenever they can, usually with mischievous intent.

When offended by humans they will take revenge by stealing babies, cattle, milk, and jewels, and they have been know to enchant the offender and hold them for years.

Elves emerge after sunset to dance in the moonlight, swim in shallow pools, and frolic in the woods.

Considered to be a nature spirit or elemental, gnomes resemble dwarfs with small stocky bodies and usually appear as little old men dressed in monks’ habits.

Gnomes live in the earth, the element they represent and are the guardians of mother nature’s treasures.

A host of supernatural beings and spirits who exist between earth and heaven. Both good and evil, fairies have been associated with witches. During the witch hunts in Europe and the British Isles, accused witches often sought to save their lives by claiming they were taught their witch arts by fairies, which seemed less malevolent than if they had been taught by the Devil. For the most part, fairies have remained in a category of their own, though when convenient, the clergy allied them with the Devil.

Belief in fairies is universal and ancient and is especially strong in Europe and the British Isles. Fairies come in all shapes and sizes and are known by scores of names, among them in Western lore brownie, elf, dwarf, troll, gnome, pooka, kobold, leprechaun and banshee. In the colonization of America, fairy beliefs were transported across the Atlantic, where they survived in the Appalachians, the Ozarks and other remote mountainous areas.

The word fairy comes from the Latin term, fata, or “fate.” The Fates were supernatural women who liked to visit newborn children. The archaic English term for fairy is fay, which means enchanted or bewitched; the state of enchantment is fayerie, which gradually became faerie
and fairy.

There are four principal proposed origins of fairies:

1. Fairies are the souls of the pagan dead. Being unbaptized, the shades, or souls, are caught in a netherworld and are not bad enough to descend into hell nor good enough to rise into heaven.

2. Fairies are fallen angels. When God cast Lucifer from heaven, the angels who were loyal to Lucifer plunged down toward hell with him. But God raised his hand and stopped them in midflight, condemning them to remain where they were. Some were in the air, some in the earth and some in the seas and rivers. This belief is widespread in the lore of Ireland, Scotland and Scandinavia.

3. Fairies are nature spirits. Fairies are among the many spirits that populate all things and places on the planet.

4. Fairies are diminutive human beings. Evidence exists that small-statured races populated parts of Europe and the British Isles in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, before the spread of the Celts. In Ireland a mythical race called the Tuatha de Danaan lived in barrows and in shelters burrowed under hills and mounds. They were shy and hard-working, and, as stronger races invaded and conquered with their
iron weapons, they retreated into the woodlands to live secretive lives. They were pagan and continued to worship pagan deities. They were close to nature and had keen psychic senses. Some were skilled in metals and mining, and some were herdsmen, keeping stocks of diminutive cattle and horses. Some maintained a guerilla warfare against invaders. The legends of Robin Hood and Rob Roy may
be related to fairy lore.

The elusive fairy races were regarded with suspicion and superstition by the larger races and gradually became endowed in popular belief with magical attributes and characteristics. These races, such as the Lapps, Picts and Romano-British-Iberian peoples, were not so small as to be unable to mingle with the Celts, Normans and Saxons. Many were made into servants and serfs, while some married and mixed bloodlines. Prior to the 13th century, having fairy blood was admired.

Of the four main ideas, the latter two may be most likely: the small races became identified as fairies and were ascribed the supernatural abilities and characteristics of nature spirits in lore.

Fairy lore. 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 and the 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, but they do not keep cats or fowl. In
Irish folklore, cats are regarded as fairies, generally as evil
ones. The crowing of cocks drives away fairies, as well as
witches and demons.

Like the Fates, fairies love to visit the newborn babies
of mortals and will not hesitate to steal those that are
unbaptized, or “little pagans,” substituting in their place
changelings—wizened fairy children. Fairies particularly
desire fair-haired children, to improve their own hairy
stock. To protect infants against kidnapping by fairies,
an open pair of iron scissors traditionally was hung over
them in the cradle—for iron is believed to repel fairies—
or an iron pin was stuck in their clothes. Other measures
included laying the trousers of the child’s father across the
cradle; drawing a circle of fire around the cradle; making
a sign of the cross over the child; sprinkling it and the
cradle with holy water; and giving it a nickname. The latter
relates to beliefs in the magic power of names (see
names of power). If fairies do not know the true name
of a child, they will not be able to cast a magical spell
over it. In lore, witches were said to collude with fairies
to steal babies or children for money, infants who were
ugly, retarded or unruly were written off as changelings.
It was believed that the changelings could be induced to
confess if they were set afire, and many babies may have
died that way.

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. (See Horned Women for a description of blood
cakes attributed to witches.)

Fairies and witches. 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 (see
metamorphosis; flying; levitation). 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.

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, he said. 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, and said the black were the worst.
Bessy Dunlop, a wise woman healer of Ayrshire, was
accused of witchcraft and sorcery on November 8, 1576,
She suddenly became a successful herbalist and healer and
gained second sight, which 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 afterwards,
he had been killed in the battle of Pinkie on September
10, 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,
she testified. 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
tugging at her apron, but she always refused, which 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 who had been kidnapped by
a Gypsy and had died. One day while Pearson was traveling,
she felt ill and lay down. A green man (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 onetenth
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 (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 (see elf arrows) in their caverns, and
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, who
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 (see
Fairy Witch of Clonmel).

Many contemporary Witches believe in fairies and
some see them clairvoyantly. Some Witches say their
Craft was passed down from fairies through the generations
of their families.

The people of the mounds, those who live in the hollow hills, are held within the earth’s deep embrace.
These are often known as the Fair Folk,
Faerie or the Sidhe: the inhabitants of the realms of Faerie.
We can travel to their world through special entrances at special times of the year, some more easily than others.
The veils are said to be particularly thin at the festivals of Samhain and Beltane.
We can use the axis mundi, the World Tree, to move between the worlds.
We’re often taught from childhood in today’s society that the faerie folk are in our imagination only.
But as we walk further down the pagan witches path, we realise that there is more than what we can perceive with our dulled physical senses.
Hopefully, we will have opened up our awareness
in seeking a path of the Pagan Witch, and come to an understanding that there is more than what conventional society tells us exists.
We may even begin to believe in faeries.
Perhaps even the word “belief” is not quite accurate in this context.
We begin to know, rather than believe.
We have enchanted our world by opening our perception to it.
Enchantment – en chantement – is French for “to sing into”.
We begin to hear other songs, songs other than our own.
We sing our own song back, and find where we are in the great song.
There, we find no need for belief.
Alot of Pagan Witches traditions will work with aspects of Faery.
Coming as it does from a Celtic tradition, these fair folk feature prominently in the myths and stories of the Celtic people.
The Celtic term “Sidhe” literally translates as “The People from the Hollow Hills”.
Entering Faerie – Elves, Ancestors & Imagination states:
It is evident that some people possess “the Sight” either temporarily or without being particularly aware of it, as encounters with these “invisible” persons or creatures are relatively rare.
Thus two characteristics of the denizens of Faerie are

1. That they can appear and disappear in a way that is uncanny to human senses,
2. Their contacts with mortal humans are rare enough to make good stories around the fire.

We have stories from ancestors old and new and from our contemporaries, who have given us accounts of their communication and sightings of the Hidden People.
In addition to older legends and romances, scholars have written down many oral accounts over the past two hundred years.
Some of these are given as first-person accounts, some second-hand, and some as literary accounts that take the form of mythic or legendary narratives, or as fantasy literature.
It is important to note that none of these categories to be more true than others.
One does not have to label one story true and another false, even if they contradict each
other in many points.
They are all stories created through the human imagination and only the authors of those stories can tell to what extent they believe themselves to have been inspired by communication with the denizens of Faerie.
Many who write literary tales of the Otherworlds are in fact inspired by true visions of those worlds, whether they know it or not.
The process of Imbas or inspiration is mysterious.
Making the pilgrimage to a physical area is an act of dedication in and of itself.

It is advisable , in the Pagan Witches Craft, to make the journey for ourselves, if we can, both in our minds and in the world.
Only then will we truly learn integration of the seen and unseen, the experience transforming our knowledge into wisdom.
Find a place that you can visit where you feel the call of the Fair Folk to be the strongest.
There will be power spots around you, at liminal places where the practice of the Pagan Witches Craft feels most comfortable.
Seek these out, come to know them and let them come to know you.

The folklore of Ireland is filled with famous tales of this fairy shoemaker.

The Leprechaun is depicted as having a wizened face, gray beard, and twinkling eyes.

He wears a red jacket with silver buttons, brown breeches, black, silver-buckled shoes, and a high crowned green hat.

In pictures, he usually appears in an apron, holding a hammer and mending shoes.

This wee creature is tricky, and likes to make mischief with humans.

He also has a reputation for having a huge stash of gold hidden in a secret place.

The mountain spirit of Peru who inhabits the high Andes, is called upon by the brujos (shamans) to heal the sick.

The brujos will call the auki by whistling.

The auki will descend, and channel its power through the brujos.

Goblins are earth spirits.

Popular in European folklore, goblins are said to be knee-high, with heavy gray hair and beards.

They inhabit the homes of humans, where they indulge in poltergeist activities.

They are not fond of adults but do seem to like children, as they have been known to protect them and bring them gifts.

Arrowhead-shaped flints from the Stone Age
found in many parts of the British Isles, Europe and
northern Africa, which witches supposedly used as weapons
against animals and people. Elf-arrow superstitions
predominate in Ireland, Scotland and parts of En­gland,
where fairy lore is strong (see fairies). According to lore,
many witches learn their craft from fairies and elves.
Elf arrows are said to be fatal to cattle, a common target
of witches. Stricken cattle can be saved by touching
them with the arrow, then dipping the arrow into water
and giving the water to the cattle to drink. The term elfshot
is still applied to sick animals.

A person shot with an elf arrow supposedly comes
down with mysterious and fatal supernatural illnesses.
The use of elf arrows was among the accusations of witchcraft
brought in 1560 against a Scottish woman, Catherine
Ross, Lady Fowllis, and her son-in-law, Hector Munro.
The two were part of a group of witches who conspired
to kill Ross’ husband and Marjory Campbell, Lady Balnagowan,
so that Ross and Lord Balnagowan could marry.

The witches were charged with “the making of two clay
pictures, one for the destruction of the young Lady Balnagowan,
and getting them enchanted, and shooting of elfarrow
heads at the said persons.” Apparently the witches’
plot was uncovered before the victims were killed.

Nymphs are female water spirits that appear in classical Greek and Roman mythology.

They are portrayed as beautiful maidens dressed in gossamer gowns, with long flowing hair.

The nymphs would attend to gods and entertain them with dancing and music.

Like most spirit creatures, nymphs were both benevolent and malevolent toward humans.

The Lowerworld is often associated with the Sidhe, the Fair Folk, the
faerie folk. Travelling by means of the World tree, we can work with the
Fair Folk as well as the ancestors in the Lowerworld. The ability to be
open, to open our perception, is key to travelling between the worlds.
We also have some ritual tools to hand, such as the staff or wand (which
symbolises the World Tree), herbs, charms, potions and more which can
help us on our journey (for more on ritual tools, please read my
introductory book The Crane Bag: A Druid’s Guide to Ritual Tools and
Practices). Each person’s journey will be different, each person’s
encounter with Faerie unique. We will each perceive these beings in a
different way, as we ourselves are perceived as different from each
other. The one constant that remains is that these beings exist the world
over, throughout cultures and religions all across our planet. There is a
shamanistic thread that binds humanity together, which is not primitive,
not simple or reductionist, but simply unifying in its weave. As Corby
Ingold writes in the essay “Shamanism in the Celtic World” (OBOD
website): The final problem remaining to us is identifying the Celtic
shaman. We have no word from ancient Celtic tradition that is exactly
cognate with the word “shaman”, though there are plenty of terms for
religious and magical practitioners of various types. Some scholars have
suggested the Old Irish word fili, meaning a kind of poet/seer, as the
likely term for a shaman in ancient Irish society. Opinions on this are,
however, far from unanimous. Without knowing what an ancient Celtic
shaman might have been called within whichever of the Celtic societies
he existed in, and precisely how his role as a shaman was defined within
those societies, it is very difficult to say with any certainty that there
were Celtic shamans.
We can say with some certainty, however, that shamanic elements are
to be found within Celtic tradition from ancient to modern times, and
back up our assertion with prominent examples such as those given here.
For the modern spiritual seeker or shamanic practitioner seeking a
connection with Celtic roots, there is a wealth of rich material to explore
in several languages, existing in books both ancient and modern. There
is, in addition, research to be done among living Celtic peoples and
lands. And ultimately, there is the Land herself upon which our Celtic
ancestors lived, and upon which their descendants yet live today. If we
empty ourselves, and go to Her, and seek in the silence to hear Her
voice, she will speak to us as she spoke to those ancient and far flung
wanderers.
In the Hedge Druid’s Craft, we can seek relationship with the Fair
Folk, the Faeries, the Sidhe, deep within the Hollow Hills. We can seek
them out, using our wit and intelligence, our skills and knowledge, if we
dare. We can connect to the Lowerworld through their means, through
their places of power, through the gateways that we begin to perceive,
both seen and unseen. We can, through the aid of allies such as the
ancestors, and other spirit guides establish a deeper connection to the
sidhe, and enter into a relationship with the Lowerworld that enriches
our lives and enchants our souls.
Find a tree near you that you can visit regularly. Spend some time
with your tree, which you will be using to help you journey to the
Lowerworld. Befriend the tree. Research all that you can, enlighten
yourself as to its ways. You will only learn by doing the work.
To enter the Lowerworld and connect with an ancestral or Faerie
guide, you can use a rite such as the one that follows, which ideally
should be performed out of doors, but if that is impossible, can be done
indoors as instructed previously using indoor potted trees as your liminal
place, taking the place of an outdoor hedge.
Go to your special, liminal place, whether that be a hedge, the
seashore, the forest edge, a mountaintop or a park in a city, or to a tree
with whom you have a special relationship. Assume the Druidic pose,
the one-legged “within this world and the other” posture described
previously, or simply place your non-dominant foot forward. Notice how
this posture makes you feel, and stay with it for as long as you wish, to
allow your consciousness to move from the world of the civilized to the
world of nature. When you are ready, say the following or similar words:
I walk between the worlds with the World Tree as my guide;
May my roots reach deep,
May my core be strong and centred, and
May my inspiration reach towards the skies.
I now venture into the Lowerworld
To understand my deepest shadow,
To seek the roots of any difficulty,
And to find my spirit guide as Ancestor or Fair Folk.
In the realms below I search out my inner truth
To bring it back into the Middleworld.
May I be aided in this endeavour
By those who are attuned with my intention.
Turn around counter-clockwise three times, and say: By the power of
three times three,
This is my will, so may it be.
You may now proceed with your working. You may physically walk to a
tree that you would like to connect with, if you are not there already, or
you may sit down and perform the journey in your mind. Whichever you
decide, know that you are now between the worlds.
Once you are at the tree that you wish to symbolise the World Tree,
take a moment and stand before it, honouring it. Ask for permission to
come closer, to share in its wisdom. If the answer is yes, then proceed
forward and touch the trunk of the tree. If the answer is no, perhaps you
will need to seek another tree, or clarify your intention to the tree before
you can receive a positive response.
With your hands upon the bark, feel the power of the tree flowing
upwards from the earth, and also downwards from the branches. Feel
where it meets, and connect to that energy. You can then visualise a
doorway opening up in the trunk of the tree beneath your hand, and
with the slightest of movements it swings open, revealing a staircase that
travels downwards. You enter, and proceed down the dimly lit stairwell,
the roots of the tree all around you, the smell of the earth clean and
clear. The light brightens as you descend, and eventually you reach the
bottom of the stairs and find yourself in a world very similar to that
above ground, only that there is no obvious source for the light; there is
no sun and moon, no stars, only a silver light that illuminates
everything. It is neither day nor night, and the season may be different
to that above. Take a moment and orient yourself to this new world. You
find that you are standing next to a tree of the same type you used above
ground to enter into the Lowerworld. You take your hand and place it
upon the trunk, and call to the Lowerworld to reveal to you your spirit
guide, whether in the form of an ancestor or that of the Fair Folk.
A mist appears around you, and slowly clears revealing a figure
standing before you. You take a moment to look at the figure, and you
incline your head towards it in a slight bow. You can ask the figure if
they are to be your spirit guide in the Lowerworld. If the answer is yes,
then you can proceed to ask them further questions, and get to know
them. If the answer is no, then you can ask them to direct you to your
guides. One will appear.
Once you have met and spoken with your guide, you give your thanks
and then return to the Middleworld. Place your hand once more upon
the trunk of the tree, and a doorway appears. You travel up the stairwell
back the way you came. The light of the Lowerworld recedes behind you
as another light beckons you back towards the Middleworld. You step
out from the doorway into the Middleworld, and the doorway closes and
vanishes back into the tree. You say a prayer of thanks to the World
Tree, and then return back to your original starting point.
Once at your starting point, say these or similar words: I now return
from walking between the worlds.
I honour my time spent in the Lowerworld
And seek to bring its wisdom into my being.
May I walk the realms in beauty and in truth
And may my eyes be open to the possibilities.
I honour my spirit guide and my work.
May I be the awen.
Turn three times clockwise and state:
By the power of three times three
This is my will, so may it be.
Take a moment to settle back into this world. If you can, eat and drink
something to ground you in the present moment. You might clap your
hands three times, or pat the earth three times to signal your full return.
You can also say your name aloud three times. Journal your experience
as soon as you are able.

A natural mushroom fungus that grows in
dark rings on grass and turf. In folklore it is said to be
the site where fairies and witches meet at night to dance
and sing. The mushroom is inedible—and animals tend
to shun it—and has a reddish, buff or tawny cap. It is
common in Europe, the British Isles and North America
and often appears after heavy rains. In Britain, fairy rings
also are known as hag tracks, in the belief that they are
created by the dancing feet of witches.

Because fairies are associated with magic, fairy rings
have magical superstitions attached to them. It is said
that if one stands in the center of a fairy ring under a full
Moon and makes a wish, the wish will come true. If one
wishes to see and hear the fairies, who often are beyond
the awareness of the five senses, one can run around a
fairy ring nine times under a full moon. However, superstition
holds, it is dangerous to do so on Samhain (All
Hallow’s Eve) or Beltane (May Eve), two major festivals of
fairies (and witches), as the fairies may take offense and
carry the mortal off to Fairyland.

Fairy rings are still associated with natural magic and
are used by contemporary Witches as sites for meetings
and seasonal festivals.
Fairies also are said to dance around stone circles.

A frightening goblin of English folklore.

The bogie is described as little, black, and hairy.

It is considered dangerous, mischievous, sly, and is renowned for its intelligence.

Parents would use the threat of the bogie to frighten young children into good behavior.

Use this fairy water out in the garden as well as using it as an astringent and in the bath! Sprinkle a few drops here and there along with some glitter! If that doesn’t make the wee ones want to visit
your yard, nothing will!

Ingredients:
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup fresh red rose petals
1/4 cup mint leaves
1/8 cup sage leaves
1/2 cup rose water

Gently heat vinegar and pour over rose petals and mint and sage leaves. Place in a covered jar and let stand, shaking daily, for 2 weeks. Decant and strain the mixture. Add rose water to the vinegar.
Decant into decorative bottles.

A host of supernatural beings and spirits who exist between earth and heaven.

Both good and evil, fairies have been associated with witches.
During the witch hunts in Europe and the British Isles, accused witches often sought to save their lives by claiming they were taught their witch arts by fairies.

For some, this all seemed less malevolent than if they had been taught by the Devil.
For the most part, fairies have remained in a category of their own, though when convenient, the clergy allied them with the Devil.

Belief in fairies is universal and ancient and is especially strong in Europe and the British Isles.
Fairies come in all shapes and sizes and are known by scores of names.

Among these names in Western lore are brownie, elf, dwarf, troll, gnome, pooka, kobold, leprechaun, and banshee.

In the colonization of America, fairy beliefs were transported across the Atlantic.

Here they survived in the Appalachians, the Ozarks, and other remote mountainous areas.

The word fairy comes from the Latin term, fata, or “fate.”
The Fates were supernatural women who liked to visit newborn children.

The archaic English term for fairy is fay, which means enchanted or bewitched.
The state of enchantment is faerie, which gradually became faerie and fairy.

There are four principal proposed origins of fairies:

1. Fairies are the souls of the pagan dead.
   Being unbaptized, the shades, or souls, are caught in a netherworld.
   These shades are not bad enough to descend into hell nor good enough to rise into heaven.
2. Fairies are fallen, angels.
   When God supposedly cast Lucifer from heaven, the angels were loyal to Lucifer.
   This meant they were supposedly plunged down toward hell with him.
   It is said that God raised his hand and stopped them in midflight, condemning them to remain where they were.
   Some were in the air.
   Some in the earth and some in the seas and rivers.
   This belief is widespread in the lore of Ireland, Scotland, and Scandinavia.
3. Fairies are nature spirits.
   Fairies are among the many spirits that populate all things and places on the planet.
4. Fairies are diminutive human beings.
   Evidence exists that small-statured races populated parts of Europe and the British Isles in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, before the spread of the Celts.
   In Ireland, a mythical race called the Tuatha de Danaan lived in barrows and in shelters burrowed under hills and mounds.
   They were shy and hard-working, and, as stronger races invaded and conquered with their iron weapons, they retreated into the woodlands to live secretive lives.
   They were pagan and continued to worship pagan deities.
   They were close to nature and had keen psychic senses.
   Some were skilled in metals and mining, and some were herdsmen, keeping stocks of diminutive cattle and horses.
   Some maintained guerilla warfare against invaders.
   The legends of Robin Hood and Rob Roy may be related to fairy lore.