Faery Craft: Weaving Connections with the Enchanted Realm Read online

  If you ask me what a Faery is, it’s impossible to answer in one breath. It’s a word that has so many meanings and many incarnations. Is a faery the house Lar of the ancient Roman household? That’s one version, one mask, and a very old one that still has resonance. Is a faery a spirit of the dead? Yes, absolutely. That is one area of Faery lore that is much ignored now, in favour of a fluffier kind of faery. That’s because we don’t like obligation, as a society. Faery lore is filled with obligation. You are resident in this place or that place, and many, many successive generations of people have lived there before you. What is your obligation to these people who are most likely nameless? From their earliest appearances in story and lore, faeries have represented the nameless dead of the land. We have lineage ancestors whom we know, but then there are the—may I call them “landcestors”? These are the oldest spirits of place whose names are often forgotten but who still must be acknowledged. Sometimes these come to us as faeries.

  Faeries as the ancient dead should be really relevant to us, because most of us do not live in the same town or village where we were born, so lore that tries to bridge the gap between newcomers and the local landcestors (it’s an official word now), the past residents of a place, is vitally important. We tend to look forward only, and that means we lose our sense of obligation to a place. That means at a town council meeting, we’re more likely to vote to put the new parking lot over the ancient burial mound, because we’ve forgotten or refuse to learn the stories of the places where we choose to reside…

  Faery lore is about interdimensional respect—respect between people and their past. It helps to not think about yourself purely as yourself. Our edges appear to be finite, but they’re not; we’re interconnected in a thousand ways with our environment, but we forget that so easily! This kind of lore helps one to reestablish those links.

  Ari Berk in an interview with the author in 2011. Ari Berk is a world-renowned expert on folklore and mythology, with a large number of published titles to his name, including The Runes of Elfland (with artist Brian Froud), The Secret History of Giants, and Coyote Speaks: Wonders of the Native American World (with Carolyn Dunn). He is also an accomplished writer of fiction and is the author of Death Watch (book one of The Undertaken Trilogy). Dr. Berk is Professor of English at Central Michigan University, teaching courses in mythology, folklore, American Indian studies, and medieval literature. He is also the former editor of the Realms of Fantasy magazine’s Folkroots section and sits on the board of directors of the Mythic Imagination Institute. His work can be explored via his website at www.ariberk.com.

  The Ancestors and Spirits of the Dead

  “In the Western Isles of Scotland the Sluagh, or fairy host, was regarded as composed of the souls of the dead flying through the air, and the feast of the dead at Hallowe’en was likewise the festival of the fairies.”

  Lewis Spence, The Magic Arts in Celtic Britain

  Faeries and the spirits of the dead have long been associated in Celtic folklore and mystical belief. Whereas most see the faeries as a race of beings in their own right, they are undeniably connected to the realm of the dead, and there are some who believe them to be one and the same. The sidhe of Ireland are named for the same burial mounds in which the ancestors rest, and the Banshee, or Bean-Sidhe (Faery Woman), who gives an eerie scream into the night when a member of a particular family is about to die, is often referred to as a ghost or ancestral spirit. Folklore is replete with tales of departed relatives being sighted in the company of faeries, and there are numerous mentions of precognitive visions of this nature, with the person spotted in the company of the faeries dying a short time afterwards.

  Akin to the belief that Faery beings may, in fact, be the spirits of the restless dead is the theory that they are a memory of our ancient ancestors, who lived in turf-covered homes and were short and dark. Perhaps in some cases this may be true, and this memory has been passed down through folklore. Indeed, some places may hold strong memories of earlier times and people that we may witness as echoes in the energy of the land, but this theory comes nowhere near to explaining the wide variety of beings that may be encountered within Faery, nor the powers that they undoubtedly hold.

  As to the association with days such as Samhain, a festival in which the dead may be invited to feast with us and share their tales, this also is no clear evidence for faeries being interchangeable with the ancestors or recently deceased, but, again, it does show a connection. Both faeries and the dead dwell on the other side of the veil, between the worlds, where all is mysterious to us. At times such as Samhain, other cross-quarter days, and the solstices and equinoxes, the veil grows thin, and visions of both Faery and the spirits of the dead are more likely.

  If indeed they inhabit the same realm, is it any wonder they are sometimes seen together? It has already been noted that many goddesses who are also Faery queens rule over both Faery and the dead, but it is not implied that they are the same. It makes sense that if a queen is ruling a realm, she will rule all the inhabitants of that realm, even if their natures are different. As R. J. Stewart, the respected teacher of Faery tradition, notes, “There is a crossover between the idea of the dead and the faery beings, but they really are quite distinct—the key thing being that the faery beings have never been human…”

  Another notable difference is that generally once a spirit has passed over, they will not return to the land of the living, whereas Faery beings have the ability to pass between worlds as they wish. Most instances of “ghosts” are either energetic recordings imprinted on the atmosphere or restless dead who have not passed over for some reason. Spiritual contact via mediums with those who have passed over can be compared to shamanic work, with the medium being literally that: a mediator between the worlds. Considering the nature of Faery and how we perceive energetically through a number of filters, including memory, preconceived ideas, and other impressions from around us, it seems very possible that we might, for instance, see trooping faeries appear as soldiers in period uniform if a battle took place where there is also faery activity. This may well add to the confusion between the two!

  It is an accepted part of Faery lore that human souls may be taken into Faery after death (or sometimes physically whilst still alive), so we may well encounter human spirits acting as guides or envoys in our dealings with Faery. This is often the case if someone has had a strong interest and connection with Faery in life, as with the Reverend Robert Kirk, who was famously taken into Faery in 1692 and has been seen in vision and meditation by many since as an otherworldly envoy. It is also a considerable possibility, therefore, that Faery beings may take the journey in the other direction and be born into human bodies.

  These are all mysteries from which we may receive insights, fleeting visions, and flashes of inspiration, but the ultimate knowledge remains obscured. Our astral selves may pay a fleeting visit to the otherworld in journey, meditation, or dreams, but we will never truly experience it until we ourselves fully pass over, as those who walk between the worlds must always keep one foot on solid ground. However, through the contact that we do have, we can easily ascertain that though there is indeed a strong connection, there is much more to Faery beings than simply the departed souls of humans and our ancestors.

  Aliens

  A very modern theory about the origin of Faery beings is that they are actually visitors from another world (as opposed to the otherworld). Advocates of this theory propose that before the days of science fiction, moon landings, and television, the only explanation people could think of for strange lights in the sky and strange-looking people with unusual clothing is that they were a race of magickal beings, i.e., faeries.

  There are many intriguing parallels. Crop circles are associated with both faeries dancing and with UFOs landing, though whether either of these is actually responsible is difficult to say. Descriptions of alien sightings often fit exactly with certain kinds of Faery bei
ngs, from slender, delicate, and almond-eyed to extremely large and hairy! Also, there is the frequently reported “loss of time” phenomenon, a well-known symptom of Faery contact, and, of course, abduction, which is a huge part of both ancient Faery folklore and the modern folklore of alien visitation. Interestingly, many sightings of UFOs report that they originated not in the sky but from under the ground or the sea.

  In fact, this theory is of much more interest when looked at the other way around. Although in this vast and unknowable universe it is not impossible that we would be visited by sentient beings from another world, from what we already know of Faery we can easily see that many modern sightings of aliens and UFOs could, in fact, be Faery experiences. Since Faery beings often take their appearance from the human mind, in addition to the filters within the mind that influence how one perceives energy beings, it is highly possible that in these times of technology and popular science fiction, a Faery being could be interpreted as an alien visitation.

  Perhaps both explanations have some truth in them. Who is to say we are not perhaps sometimes visited by the astral forms of Faery beings from other worlds? Or, indeed, that the many instances of similar occurrences may all have different origins and explanations? There are many mysteries in this world.

  There are a number of respected authors who claim that ancient civilisations were visited by ancient astronauts, who brought with them knowledge of stellar cartography. The Dogon people of Mali, which is in Western Africa, claim to have been visited in ancient times by tribes from among the stars, who taught them much about mathematics and the movements of the stars and planets. Early accounts of the Tuatha de Danann’s arrival in Ireland talk of them arriving in flying ships or great clouds, so if you believe in alien visitation, it is not such a wild theory. Certainly the idea that the Faery race that dwells in the earth has cosmic origins is a very ancient one, with its roots in Celtic folklore.

  Fallen Angels

  “Not of the seed of Adam are we, nor is Abraham our father; but of the seed of the Proud Angel, driven forth from Heaven.”

  W. Y. Evans-Wentz, The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries

  Celtic folklore tells us that faeries are the angels who were pulled down with Lucifer when he left heaven and were unable to return, the doors to heaven being shut after them to prevent any more angels from following. Since they did not wish to live in hell either, they made a home in earth’s hollow places. Since this lore is passed down through obviously biased Christian priests, to whom the Faery race were, for the most part, devils and at best to be pitied, it is easy to dismiss this origin theory as being simply anti-Pagan propaganda. It is interesting to note, however, that there is a very similar tale within Muslim culture of the origin of the djinn, a race of fiery, airy beings who are the Arabic equivalent of the faerie race and the origin of the wish-granting genie we are all familiar with. When God orders the angels in heaven to bow down and worship the newly created man, the leader of the angels, Iblis (the Islamic equivalent to Lucifer), refuses and is cast out to become the leader of the Shaytan, the race of fallen djinn from whom the name Satan derives.

  There are undeniable connections between the angel, demon, and Faery races, and if we can free ourselves from prejudice and preconceptions and approach the subject with a curious and open mind, we can learn much of the deeper mystical nature of our Faery cousins and their function within the world and the cosmos.

  On the most obvious level, the parallels are clear. Both Faery beings and angels are powerful, shining beings, possessed of their own inner source of luminescence. Both are credited as being sources of inspiration and are particularly associated with inhumanly beautiful music and dancing, and they are both most popularly portrayed and perceived as winged beings. Angels and Faery beings both have a resonance with the light of the stars, though the angels are seen to dwell there, whereas the Faery race dance beneath the stars and sing to them, and emit something of that stellar power into our green world. This takes us into a deeper level and adds some spiritual credence to the fallen angel theory.

  Looking beyond the Judeo-Christian and Islamic religious framework and seeing the Faery and angelic races as beings of cosmic energy who are far older than any human theological concept, if angels are the agents of cosmic energies and messengers of a spiritual source from above, then Faery beings can be seen as angels of the inner earth, having brought that energy from the source down into the centre of the earth, breathing spiritual life into its centre and now radiating that energy outwards from within, connecting the earth to the web of the universe and enabling sentient spiritual life to evolve. It must not be overlooked that the core of our planet itself radiates its own cosmic energy—it is the star within our earth that illuminates the otherworld.

  Lisa Hunt, “Djinn”; www.lisahuntart.com

  (reproduced with kind permission

  of US Games Systems, Inc.)

  The name Lucifer means “light bringer,” so returning to the folklore with the added dimension gained by looking beyond it, we can see the wisdom hidden behind the dogma. If “God” is, in fact, the source of spiritual light, then Lucifer is, in fact, the agent of this light sent to earth. There are also parallels, therefore, between Jesus (as the son of God sent to earth to redeem humankind) and the fall of Lucifer, which, though seemingly straying from the subject of Faery Craft, gives interesting food for thought. (Quite literally food for thought when we consider Lucifer’s connection to the apple of the Tree of Knowledge, which first brought wisdom to humanity, and how the primal beauty of Faery can be compared to the Garden of Eden.)

  The Reverend Robert Kirk, who was both a man of God and one who truly loved the Faery race, observed in his indispensable The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies that they “are said to be of a middle nature betwixt man and angel.” By their very nature as spirits connected to earth, they are indeed closer to us than the cosmic energy of angels. Within the same work he also observed the great sadness that is an undeniable part of the nature of Faery, which is the shadow that lives alongside the light of their abundant joy: “Some say that their continual sadness is because of their pendulous state, as uncertain what at the last revolution will become of them.”

  By the “last revolution” he means the day of the Last Judgment, when it is said that the sidhe are expecting salvation, at last able to return to their celestial origins at the end of days. Again, in the context of Faery beings as being spiritual forces of inner earth, this makes sense, as if life on earth did, indeed, end, they would return to the source. However, there are other possible interpretations. If we interpret the many omens of Judgment Day as being the herald of a new stage in our spiritual evolution as opposed to an ending, then it may be that these prophecies, in fact, refer to a time when Faery will be seen again on the surface of the world.

  Returning to Evans-Wentz’s Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries, there are several accounts that hint at this possibility, stating that “before the consummation of the world they will be seen as numerous as ever.” Since these predictions are accompanied by similar biblical images such as the dead rising from the grave and angels being seen on earth, it is not a huge stretch of the imagination to suggest that instead of the dead literally crawling out of graves (no doubt to feed on our brains), if humanity’s awareness were expanded, we would become more aware of all the invisible spiritual beings around us. This includes not only the ancestors but Faery as well.

  On the deepest level this refers to an awakening in humanity as a result of the awakening of the inner light of the planet itself. In John Matthews’s fascinating contemporary account of Faery contact, The Sidhe: Wisdom from the Celtic Otherworld, he receives an insight from the sidhe that hints at this very possibility: “We believe that a new era may be about to dawn in which the people of the sidhe will come forth again and be seen by all.”

  Through examining the possible origin of Faery beings as fallen
angels, we gain insight into not only Faery but also ourselves as spiritual beings and our relationship and connection to them. They, like us, are both of earth and stars. Like us, their spiritual origins are in the cosmos. As those of us on a spiritual path long for reconnection with the cosmic source of spirit, so do the Faery beings. They are our cousins in spirit.

  World Soul

  “The nymphs of the fountains and all the water-spirits and the depths of the earth and the air and the gleaming hollows are the lunar riders and the rulers of matter, celestial, starry, and that which is of the abysses.”

  Chaldean Oracles

  The ideas discussed here of Faery as being originally cosmic energy that now radiates from inner earth have direct and fascinating parallels with the ancient concept of the world soul, which exists in a number of ancient worldviews in slightly varying forms and still resonates today as a cosmic truth. The phrase world soul originates with the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, but similar concepts that predate his writings can be found around the world in ancient Egypt, the beliefs of ancient Semitic tribes, Hindu teachings, and the Chaldean Oracles, mysterious fragments of a collection of writings thought to date back to ancient Babylon. These ancient philosophies essentially tell us that all living things are imbued with spirit that radiates from one source at the centre of earth, which in turn was placed there by a creator god at the beginning of time.