Fairies

Origins Across the World

The word fairy comes from the Old French faerie which means enchantment or magic. Yet long before the word was born, the world was already full of fairies. In Japan, tales speak of yōsei, delicate and mischievous beings, glimpsed in mountain mists or wild forests. They seem playful, but they carry an uncanny aura. They are spirits not quite of this earth, yet never far away. Among Native American traditions, stories tell of the “little people,” secret folk of caves and hills. They might guide a hunter or grant luck to a wanderer, but disrespect them, and their wrath could be swift and merciless. In Sámi culture, the Saajvoe-people are said to be beautiful humanlike beings, living under rocks and in mountains. They can help you, or, if you disrespect them, they can lure you astray in the forests or up the mountains.They can kidnap you and hold you hostage if you and your family have crossed them in any way.  From every corner of the world, these tales rise like variations on a single theme: that nature is alive, its beauty edged with danger, its silence filled with unseen watchers. The term "little people" or "the hidden ones" is believed to have emerged to describe fairies as a way to avoid directly naming them and to avoid attracting unwanted attention from them. 

Fairies of Ireland and Iceland

Among all lands, nations and folklore, none are so bound to fairy lore as Ireland and Iceland. In Ireland, the fairies, or the Aos Sí, (people of the mounds),  dwell beneath hills, stones, in ringforts and hollow places. Farmers once left bowls of cream on their doorsteps to appease them, for to offend the Aos Sí was to risk sickness, crop failure, or misfortune that struck without warning. Fairy rings of mushrooms marked the places where they danced, and mortals who joined in their revels might return a hundred years later, aged not a day yet strangers in their own world.

In Iceland, belief in the Huldufólk (the hidden people), is still a very strong part of Icelandic culture. Said to live in stones and lava fields, they are described much like humans, but more beautiful, more luminous, and closer to nature. Roads in Iceland have been diverted to avoid disturbing rocks believed to house them; to disrespect the Huldufólk is to invite disaster, while to honor them is to live in quiet harmony with the land.

Fairies of Good and Bad

As well as there are good humans and evil humans, there are also clans or groups of fairies, who are either more on the good side or more on the evil side. In Scottish folklore these two categories are: "the Seelie Court" (benevolent ones) and the "Unseelie Court" (malicious ones). For example, there are evil fairies like the Redcaps. These fairies have red caps that they stain with the blood of the humans they've murdered.  The Black-Annies are blue-faced witch with iron claws who would reach into open windows and snatch children to devour them.  The Sluagh are soul-devouring fairies that looks like a murder of crows but has disfigured limbs. They are particularly active at night and during Samhain. 

On the good side, we have the Pooka. While mischievous, the Pooka, a shape-shifting fairy, also helps guide lost travellers and protect animals, making them a complex figure rather than purely malicious. Pixies are known for playing pranks on people, though they are not always harmful and are associated with stones and underground dwellings.  

Changelings

In many folklores across the globe, a changeling is a weak or disfigured fairy left in the place of a human child stolen by fairies. A changeling could be a sickly fairy child or an elderly fairy who sought care from humans. They were characterized by their weakness, an inability to walk or speak, and a strange appearance, sometimes exhibiting a disfigurement or failing to thrive. The belief in changelings most likely helped explain childhood illnesses, disabilities, and high infant mortality rates before modern medicine. These beliefs provided a way for communities to understand the unexplainable, such as why a child might be sickly, disabled or difficult to raise. It was also very common for parents who gave birth to a disabled or sickly child, to give the changeling back to the fairies, by leaving the child in the forest, in hope of getting their "real" child back. Unfortunately it was a cruel way of disposing of a child that might not be as expected when being born. The human child who was assumed taken to the fairy world, was taken to serve the fairy folk, for breeding, or to replace a fairy who died. 

Warnings and Cautions

Across cultures, all fairy-tales have the same cautions and warnings. For example, to never, ever accept food or drink from them, lest you find yourself trapped in their realm. In some stories, consuming water to drink is safe, in others, not so much. It is said, that if you consume their foods or drinks, it traps you in the fairy realm and makes it impossible to return home. it causes you to lose your taste for human food, Accepting and eating fairy food can also be seen as accepting a magical debt or favour from the Fairy, potentially leading to misfortune, physical harm, or other negative consequences.  In some lore, fairy food can cause a human to transform into a fairy or fairy being, which effectively locks them away from the mortal world. 

You should never disturb their places. Fairy forts, rings, or sacred stones needs to be respected and left alone, otherwise misfortune will be upon you. Some folktales describe people who damaged fairy forts meeting untimely or mysterious deaths. There are even stories linking the financial ruin of prominent figures to their disturbance of fairy dwellings. One also needs to be mindful of words. speaking ill of the Good People is said to draw their attention, and rarely in a kind way. Disrespectful behaviour towards a fairy can lead to negative consequences, such as anger, curses, bad luck, or even being trapped in the fairy realm. Fairies are often portrayed as having powerful emotions and taking promises very seriously, making disrespect a potentially dangerous action. In some folklore, a fairy might try to trick a human to give them their true name, once the name is said, the fairy can gain power over the human or might retaliate by harming the disrespectful individual. 

How to show respect 

To be kind and gentle to a fairy, in a traditional, folkloric sense, you should always act respectfully by asking permission before entering their domains and offering gifts like milk, honey, shiny objects, or food to show goodwill. That's why most indigenous people show the deepest respect when in fairy realms or near natural areas, and never take anything without asking. You don't have to ask out loud and come across as a mentalpatient to potential people around you. In Sámi culture, for example, it is custom to gently knock or tap on a tree or briefly kneel down in order to ask for permission to enter into the forest or believed fairy-areas. The only thing you're not allowed to tap, knock or climb on, is stones, rocks or mountains. That is to directly disturb the Saajvo-people. A little tap or gentle ask on anything else but stones, and you'll feel in your body if your presence welcome or not, if you're allowed to pass through their areas or if you should go another way.

Spirits, Fallen Angels or Fantasy

Historically, fairies were often seen as spirits of nature or pre-Christian deities, later incorporated into Christian folklore as fallen angels or trapped souls. Early beliefs described them as powerful beings, capable of both good and malicious acts, sometimes connected to specific locations or households. Over time, particularly during the Victorian era, the image of fairies shifted to smaller, winged beings, influenced by literary works and the desire to believe in a world beyond the harsh realities of the industrial age. Today, fairies are seen as a part of he spirit-world by some, as actual beings for others, and as pure fantasy for many. I personally do believe there are things in nature we humans don't understand or know of. And I do think that since most ancient cultures, just like my own culture (Sámi-Finn), have these stories, there's a corn of truth in there somewhere. It might not be precisely as depicted in folklore, but the Ancient Ones know their stuff. I won't disregard that and I always enter wooden areas with greatest respect, and often leave an offering of some kind. Better safe than sorry, you know.