Who Are the Faeries?
Faeries hold a prominent place in the history, beliefs, mythology, and folklore of many cultures around the world. Across these different contexts they vary in name, appearance, and temperament, meaning there is no singular type of “faerie.” Later in the post you’ll find some specific examples of faeries from around the world.
Faeries, like other spiritual beings, tend to exist primarily outside of human perception. Almost any faerie mythology will describe them as living “beyond the veil” or in a form of “Otherworld.” Faeries are often thought to be able to cross the “veil” or have a stronger influence over the human world during certain times of the year, such as the pagan holidays Samhain (Oct 31) and Beltane (May 1).
Some faeries live in solitary environments, while others live in social groups. Many elemental faeries are thought to live in flowers, trees, rivers, mountains, or other natural areas, while other faeries form structured societies, such as trooping faeries or faerie courts. Although faeries may live “beyond the veil,” signs of their influence can often be found in nature. A few common signs of faerie presence, portals, or energy include:
Faerie Circles - naturally growing mushroom or flower rings
Orbs – floating spheres of light seen in-person or in photographs
Sounds – hearing music or laughter out in nature
Theft – small or shiny objects that seem to disappear
Gifts – small objects that seem to randomly appear
Fae Traps – Strange “setups” in nature to lure the curious to an area
Faeries from Around the World
Below are a few examples of faerie or fae-type beings from around the world. These are only a few examples, but many more can be found by reading the folklore of a specific culture or area. Researching any of the following will give you more information about their specific energy, symbols, signs, and how to work with them.
Sidhe (Irish)
Nymphs, Naiads, Dryads (Greek)
Peris (Persian)
Vila (Slavic)
Brownies (Scottish)
Mimis (Aboriginal Australian)
Huldufólk (Icelandic)
Yumboes (West African)
Elves (Norse)
Trolls (Norse)
Goblins (British, Scottish, Irish)
Gnomes (Scandinavian, Dutch)
Curupira (Brazilian)
Kappa (Japanese)
Pixies (British)
Will-O’-Wisps (British)
Beyond the different types of faeries, there are also variations of how the word “faerie” is spelled. You may have noticed my use of “faerie” even though “fairy” is the more popular English variant. In a technically sense, the only real distinction is origin: “faerie” is the older French variation of the word from which contemporary English derived “fairy.” Other spellings like “faery” or “fairie” are also used. While the spelling is interchangeable and based on preference, for some it may have a specific connotation. For instance, some believe “faerie” refers to the land in which the fae live, while “faery” refers to individuals. In other beliefs the different spellings of faerie denote whether the beings have benevolent or malevolent intentions. In general, there is no correct version of the term. When researching or working to connect with the fae, the important thing is that you use the variation you feel intuitively drawn to.
Connecting with Faeries
Even though there are many different types of faeries, generally fae energy shares some commonalities across cultures, and you can connect with different types of faeries through rituals, magic, witchcraft, divination, and meditations.
A few simple ideas of how to build your connection with the faeries include:
Building an indoor/outdoor faerie garden or altar
Grow indoor/outdoor plants to attract faeries to your home or garden
Keep crystals that radiate playful, friendly, and earthy energy, such as citrine, moss agate, tree agate, prehnite, rose quartz, petrified wood, and aura quartz
Participate in art, poetry, music, or other fun and creative hobbies
Leave them gifts like shiny objects, flowers, wind chimes, sweets, honey, milk, or water
Ask them to speak with you through divination tools like pendulums, tarot cards, casting charms, and so on
Read mythology, folklore, and stories about the faeries
Faeries love to play, so bring playful energy into your space through games and humor to welcome them
For those interested in learning more about faeries and how to spiritually connect with them, Downtown Tarot Company has books and divination card decks about faeries that are available in-store or online to purchase.
Books
Card Decks
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