Fairy Musings

Winged Messanger

Visitor whispering messages of freedom through change. No fear.

Mischievousness of Fairies

My last post contained some information that I have been prompted to correct.  Thank you Fey (Celtic term for fairy).

Firstly, I need to clarify my prior inference  fairies might like to annoy people.  This is a common assumption in folklore that has its basis in some aspects of their nature, but is not the whole picture.  It is a perspective from “our side” of the realm.   When we experience the “mischievousness” of fairies we are experiencing their guidance through their playful nature.  The very nature of their being is assisting the creation process itself.  Such playfulness can sometimes be perceived as mischievous at best, at worst annoying.  Usually when we are annoyed it is because we are so far out of our heart that we are out of sync with life itself.  Perhaps we are forcing our will or filled with an emotion that is unbalancing to our nature and the world around us. 

It is helpful to think of these messages as awakenings from the archetypal trickster.  When we are getting “playful” messages from the fey it may be because:

1.   We are being asked to pay attention;
   
2.    We are being asked to honor and respect the natural kingdom and our part in it;
3.     We are being warned.

Lastly, when I suggested that fairies assist the plant kingdom, and that angels assist human kind.  This was a very wide and general statement.  The Fey fall under the broad category of elementals, whose concern is the creative unfolding of life.  In this respect they can assist us and act as guides to our human endeavors.  In particular, when there is a penchant for creativity, fairies can lend us their expansive ingenuity. 

As a side note, Walt Disney’s representation of Tinker Bell as petulant and jealous had more to do with his own psyche than with the fairy realm. 

To "believe" in Fairies...

To “believe” in fairies one must first believe that other realities beyond our normal sense perceptions exist.  I used to tell my daughters that fairies are to plants, as angels are to humans.  That is, angels generally assist in human affairs, and fairies assist in the affairs of the plant kingdom.  This statement of course assumes that you also believe in angels, or at the very least in another dimension.  If you believe in neither of these, then you will find no comfort here, except perhaps playful musings and imaginings.  Or perhaps you may simply become increasingly frustrated.  Fairies are sometimes known to do this.   

When my children were younger, they began believing in fairies without any prompting.  They simply believed that fairies were a natural part of their existence.  Of course, I took it as a given that it was natural to believe in fairies.  The only story they were told was the quick intro to the tooth fairy – no build up or lavish tales as with Santa Claus. There were, however, numerous fairy books that we all loved.   When it was tooth fairy time, their imagination was rife with the comings and goings of the fairy world.  They would play outside making fairy tools out of nature’s gifts, and offer the fairies food from the kitchen’s treasures.   They are now teenagers and have long since abandoned their fairy lore, however, they recount these times as some of their favorite childhood memories. 

When my youngest was little, and I would watch her in quiet loving moments, she would look up and say, “What are you staring at?” to which I would reply, “I am watching your wings grow.”   And I still am watching both of my daughters’ wings grow.

When they let go of their “fairy ways”, they were never angry at me for having duped them as is the case for some children who find out the truth about Santa.  This is because I have never really stopped believing.

I don’t remember when I started believing in fairies.  I never read about fairies, never had a fairy toy, though I am certain, as many children, I was exposed to Tinker Bell.  As an adolescent, I had a fairy ring outside my bedroom window – that is a circle of mushrooms on our manicured lawn.  My mother was of the belief that someone must have spilled fertilizer in a circular formation.  Somehow this explanation did not feel right to me. 

Years later, I still believe in these beings, these denizens from another dimension.  Their whisperings, and fleeting glimpses have been with me it seems all of my life.  This blog, is a place to reflect and muse about these feelings and experiences, and perhaps converse with those of others.  Yes, my logical and reasoned mind anchored in this three dimensional realm scoffs, and perhaps yours does also, but these wild imaginings can no longer be ignored.