Earth spirits are just about the easiest ones to make contact with. Their forms tend to be less subtle than those of many fairies,and they generally stick to one place- so if you feel a location is haunted by these beings, it will always be haunted. Wherever anything grows, there will be a fairy to attend to it.
Earth fairies love gardens,and will gather round you while you are planting and watering. At the end of a hot day they exult when you get out the hose or watering can, and will dance among the refreshed flowers with glee. Often they do not like you weeding,though,so make sure you always do this with respect. Leave a patch of your garden to grow wild, for the fairies love this and it creates a space for all the plants that are unwelcome elsewhere- just because humans do not like them, this does not mean they do not have a valuable place in the scheme of things.
Method
To draw close to the gnomes,settle quietly in your garden or in a park,woodland, field, or hillside- close to a barrow-mound may be the most powerful place of all. Gnomes of the deep earth may be experienced in a cave or hollow,whereas others may be more of the flower- or tree-fairy types. Let your bare feet and hands make contact with the earth,mud or stone. Beat a soft rhythm on a drum,if you wish.
Be very still, relaxed,and quiet. Try not to see anything,because that will put you in the wrong frame of mind. Just be there, and be observant- these spirits do not show themselves in the ways you might expect, and seeing them can seem almost ordinary.
Be aware of any little movements out of the corner of your eye, for that is where spirits are often first perceived. An animal running in the undergrowth may also be a shy gnome in disguise. Look out for the face of the Green Man among the leaves, and watch flowers, for they can also be sweet faces, nodding and smiling.
To show they have drawn close to you, gnomes will often give you a tangible gift,such as a coin or a piece of jewelry. If you find this on your path,treasure it, for it is very lucky.
Many fairies are linked to just one tree or plant, or to a group of trees. Trees are extremely special - a fact recognized by the Native Americans, who call them “The Standing People”. Often you will come upon a tree and be very aware of its spirit, which is usually warm, wise, and welcoming; it can be very healing to be close to such trees. Occasionally, however, a tree may be not to well disposed towards humans (as the hobbits found in “The Lord of The Rings with Old Man Willow), and then it is best to keep your distance.
In times gone by,the earth was covered in forest, and when we go deep into the woodland, we really are in the presence of beings that are unutterably ancient, for all the accumulated wisdom of the ages is embodied in each tree. The primeval forest is also a metaphor for our unconscious, our deepest and most primitive impulses and yearnings. Tree fairies can teach us a great deal about ourselves, if we have the courage to listen. When we are alone in nature we are able to hear our own thoughts and feelings more clearly, and it is easier to be trustful with ourselves.
Long ago, many trees were considered to be the home of oracles, with deity whispering through the leaves.
The Fairy Triad
Oak,ash,and thorn are termed the Fairy Triad,and where three grow, fairies can easily be seen. Many fairies are reputed to live in the majestic oak,and to feel one is to risk the wrath of the Old Gods- namely,fairies. Druid worship took place in groves,and the oak grove was especially sacred. Ash may be used to protect against fairies,when carried as a staff or wand, but also offers a potential gateway between the worlds,as it was the tree upon which the Norse god Odin hung, to gain the secret of the runes. The twisted shape of hawthorn is magical indeed,especially when growing near a barrow mound or in groups of three. It is courting disaster to damage such a tree, and even dozing beneath one may be to risk fairy displeasure.Like much of nature, trees have been abused. Always proceed with respect for trees in order to retain the goodwill of the Fairy Folk.
Clothes are no small matter to fairies, who realize that clothing says a great deal about the wearer and has symbolic meanings. Some fairies prefer to remain naked,in the same way that some modern-day pagans,within closed rituals, prefer to “sky-clad”. They feel this is a sign that we are all naked before the gods,and shows respect for Nature.
Clothes As A Sign Of Power
By contrast, other fairy folk are very fussy about clothing,preferring the beautiful and costly. In many cultures, clothes define the status and occupation of the wearer,and so are an outward sign on an inward reality. We are freed from such constraints in the modern world, but fairies are well aware of the symbolic nature of all things. Some fairies,robbed of their clothing,are doomed to remain captive in the mortal world until they recover it. The good Persian fairy, the Peri, is one example,whose clothes signify her magical power.
One story tells of a weary merchant’s son,who rested from his travels by the shores of a lake. Four doves flew down and turned into Peries before his eyes. They then shed their robes and bathed in the waters. The young man hid the clothes and, when they realized what had happened, the Peries were distraught. One of them agreed to marry him in order that the others might escape,where upon he gave three Peries back their clothes,taking the fourth with him as his bride. They lived together for 10 years, after which he went on his travels again, leaving the precious clothes with an old woman. When he was gone, the Peri persuaded the old woman to let her put he clothes on just for a minute- whereupon she immediately vanished from sight.
Many fairies are intentionally ragged in appearance, such as the Brownies. However, if they are given clothes,they are so offended that they often disappear forever. This idea is echoed by J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter books, in which a house elf is freed by the gift of clothes. To traditional house fairies,clothes are an empty gift conforming to human standards,not to those of Fairyland.
The Significance Of Color
Color is also an important consideration,with red and green being favorites. Both of these colors speak of the power of Nature: red being the color of blood (and death,with which some fairies are linked),and green the color of leaves and grass. Irish Leprechuans usually wear green, along with leather aprons, silver buckled shoes,and three-cornered hats,on which they may turn upside down and spin. In fact, in Ireland green is so much the property of the Fair Folk that it may be unlucky for mortals to wear it. Some fairies even have green skin. Nature spirits are the types of fairy most closely linked to green and the world of vegetation.
Red has magical connections,and witches are believed by some to have red hair and to wear red cloaks or caps. Red is linked with death,and in prehistoric times corpses were often smeared with red ochre,to give them renewed vitality. And the sun, when it “dies”, goes down in a blaze of red. Many fairies have red caps, or are entirely red in color. Red caps may also be associated with shamanism and with the fly agarie mushroom,which induces a trance.
Clothes As Symbols
✿ Human clothes can also be used as a weapon to break fairy enchantment. When led astray by fairies while out walking,the best thing to do is to take off your coat and turn it inside out,thus distracting the fairies long enough to escape. This may also be a way of marshalling all the powers of your conscious mind so that you can think logically.
✿ If troublesome fairies are disturbing your nights, place your shoes by the bed with the toes pointing outward and put your socks beneath them. A glove thrown into a fairy ring will stop all the revelry, and one Cornish tale describes how a farmer called Noy threw down his glove at a fairy assembly,whereupon the entire company disappeared,along with the house and orchard. Many customs feature gloves,as a sign of intention or authority- “throwing down the gauntlet”, for instance, was a medieval challenge,accepted if the gauntlet was picked up. The human hand has been the tool that has wrought many changes in the natural world- small wonder that the fairies are alive to the meaning of the glove.
✿ Nothing is just what it seems: All things have a meaning beyond their purpose,and naught more so than clothes. If humans will not realize this,the fairies will teach them.
well I couldn’t resist, desire and my fertile imagination didn’t let me think of anything but a fae prince and a semi fae who would kick ass even the prince in question.
the big focus here for me was the clothes, I wanted to explore more mainly the prince costumes of Adrien, personally I see him wearing a lot of the Cardan Greenbriar wardrobe, black, black and glamour. using plenty of silver, and gold for royal celebrations.
Marinette’s clothes are common and daring. most with an opening in the back for her wings, wearing a guard combat outfit that purges the akumas, inspired by insect wings and patches of sheer fabric because nudity is common for fairies. I like to imagine that Marinette idolizes the High King (known as Gabriel) although no one knows he is responsible for all the evil in the realm, and loves to incorporate butterflies into his clothes as a way to honor him.
ps: oh yes, INCLUDES A CAT’S TAIL, YES. THAT’S RIGHT
Okay, here’s an au that mixes two things I love, fae fantasy and mlb. In a very long and very delusional text, don’t say you weren’t warned.
At this point, it’s just a piece very similar to my favorite trilogy (Folk of the air) and as I love miraculous, I started rambling into an idea of a Paris submerged in magic and magical creatures, where Adrien is a prince (nothing cruel in fact lol) with a peculiar curse that has been prophesied as the cause of the destruction of everything, that he tries to hide from everyone’s sight as he is about to ascend the throne in place of his (that cruel) father. And where Marinette, she was half human, half fairy, no pointy ears but with a unique and quite unusual feature, wings.
I know, I know, fairies are usually depicted with wings. But not for a girl with human blood in her veins. the pureblood fairies in this world have animal characteristics but not all of them have insect wings, adrien has cat eyes, chloe has fine bee wings, Alya has eyes and a fox’s tail, among others. But humans are just humans, and half-fairies are usually not unusual at all.
Marinette however, is just a half-fairy girl who wants to be more. She is in training and wants to become part of the court of the realm that purges the akumas. White butterflies that transform any being into a terrible monster that causes terror throughout the kingdom. She wants to help fight this evil for the greater good. But, she is not considered suitable for the job as she is not a complete fairy.
You see, every fairy of pure and royal blood, receives after completing a certain age, a guardian, a kwami, an ancient creature that is possessed of a powerful magic that can borrow it to fight the akumas. The Kwami alone do not have control of their own power as it is very extensive (that same story we already know about the miraculous, I will not redo this speech) they do not have a defined form, sometimes they are small beings, others can show themselves to whoever wants to be a human or a fairy (depends on how they want to be seen)
Plagg and Tikki are the Gods who founded the entire fairy world. Plagg was destined for adrien because of his curse, and marinette eventually discovers that she is the first half-fairy to possess a guardian as powerful as Tikki in thousands of years.
Two halves, destined to meet. Marinette, may be the key to saving the kingdom, and Prince Adrien himself.
From here on, things derail like a train and I honestly have a lot of ideas that don’t fit in this post. Maybe I’ll bring more of this story, if anyone is interested to hear it. That’s it for today, until next time.
Two identical infants lay in the cradle. “One you bore, the other is a Changeling. Choose wisely,” the Fae’s voice echoed from the shadows. “I’m taking both my children,” the mother said defiantly.
Once upon a time there was a peasant woman who was unhappy because she had no children. She was happy in all other things – her husband was kind and loving, and they owned their farm and had food and money enough. But she longed for children.
She went to church and prayed for a child every Sunday, but no child came. She went to every midwife and wise woman for miles around, and followed all their advice, but no child came.
So at last, though she knew of the dangers, she drew her brown woolen shawl over her head and on Midsummer’s Eve she went out to the forest, to a certain clearing, and dropped a copper penny and a lock of her hair into the old well there, and she wished for a child.
“You know,” a voice said behind her, a low and cunning voice, a voice that had a coax and a wheedle and a sly laugh all mixed up in it together, “that there will be a price to pay later.”
She did not turn to look at the creature. She knew better. “I know it,” she said, still staring into the well. “And I also know that I may set conditions.”
“That is true,” the creature said, after a moment, and there was less laugh in its voice now. It wasn’t pleased that she knew that. “What condition do you set? A boy child? A lucky one?”
“That the child will come to no harm,” she said, lifting her head to stare into the woods. “Whether I succeed in paying your price, or passing your test, or not, the child will not suffer. It will not die, or be hurt, or cursed with ill luck or any other thing. No harm of any kind.”
“Ahhhhh.” The sound was long and low, between a sigh and a hum. “Yes. That is a fair condition. Whatever price there is, whatever test there is, it will be for you and you alone.” A long, slender hand extended into her sight, almost human save for the skin, as pale a green as a new leaf. The hand held a pear, ripe and sweet, though the pears were nowhere ripe yet. “Eat this,” the voice said, and she trembled with the effort of keeping her eyes straight ahead. “All of it, on your way home. Before you enter your own gate, plant the core of it beside the gate, where the ground is soft and rich. You will have what you ask for.”
Some years ago, we experienced a rash of thunderstorms end to end during a summer. I tell you this so that when I say “It was a dark and stormy night”, you know I’m not being cheesy.
The power was flickering a little bit, and we were all downstairs watching a movie with the lights out. My grandmother, who lives with us, came down and suddenly we heard her in the front hall saying, “Okay, who didn’t wipe their feet?”
A bit confused, we paused the movie so I could go see what she was upset about. She was pointing at the hardwood floor and complaining that she’d just swept and now she’d have to clean it again.
There was a line of footprints going from the front door to halfway across the front room. Not terribly unusual, except for a few things:
1. Everyone in the house was wearing either shoes or socks, and the prints were barefoot.
2. None of us had been outside since it started raining, and the footprints were muddy.
3. The prints were those of a three to four year old child.
They went about three feet into the house, then just stopped. No second set of prints, no sign of turning around and leaving, they just vanished.
As if this wasn’t spooky enough, we don’t leave our door unlocked so I don’t see how it could have been any of the neighborhood preschoolers wandering in.
We cleaned up the prints, but to this day we don’t know where they came from.
Y'know, we never did find an explanation for this. I’m going with “leprechauns”.
Which reminds me, now that this has got me thinking about my late grandmother: She used to tell my siblings and I (and our mom before that when she was a child) that whenever you see the wind lift a handful of leaves or flower petals into the air in a spiral pattern, it’s because a leprechaun is nearby.
Because they’re too quick to be seen anywhere but the corner of your eye, so by the time you’ve turned your head to look, they’ve already leapt away and the only evidence is the leaves trailing in their wake. I’m definitely telling this to any kids I end up with someday.
So I made my kitsune guide and now I’m finally remaking one of my original posts on my old blog: my selkie guide. Whether you’re a sea witch or a practicing fae worker or even a casual folklorist, you’ve likely heard of selkies.
My hopes with this post is to give those interested in selkies a place to start their research on folklore and someone else’s UPG. So I’ll provide a mixture of the history surrounding selkies and then dive (pun intended) into my own personal experience working with selkies. As always, however, just use this post as a way to get your foot in the door, not the full extent of your research.
This is not an all-knowing expert article on selkies nor is my UPG the end all be all of knowledge on selkies, just my personal experiences.
what is a selkie?
By definition selkies (also called silkies, sylkies, selchies, or seal folk) are “ are mythological beings capable of changing from seal to human form by shedding their skin.” Their mythology itself originates from the Northern Isles of Scotland but there are equivalents in Faroese and Icelandic folklore as well.
selkies in folklore
Selkies probably have a really well-known folklore to anyone interested in ocean-based folktales and their stories tend to follow a specific plotline.
One day, a seal comes to comes to land and sheds it’s skin much to the surprise of a fisherman hiding near by. But the surprise to behold is the fact that the seal is a beautiful woman. Enraptured by the beauty of the seal woman, he steals her coat forcing her to stay on land, marry him, and bear his children. Years later usually because of the children or because the husband was caught slipping, the selkie gets her coat back and immediately books it to the sea and returns to her watery home.
There are several stories you can find that detail these forced spousal situations. Make no mistake, these are not consent-based relationships no matter how ‘good’ the human treats the selkie while they are together. In these stories, there are even cases where the selkie already has a selkie husband and children in the sea. She might resurface as a seal from a distance to see her human children from afar, but she never returns to the life she was forced to lead. (As a side note: half selkie children were said to have webbed hands according to the stories.)
As far as selkie men, their legends differ slightly. Their stories don’t usually include coat theft. Selkie men and stories involving them describe them as more seductive, whisking away women on land to have their children. Stories would even say that if a woman cried and seven of her tears landed in the sea, a selkie man would appear to ease her grief for seven years before returning back to the sea himself. But even stories with selkie men can end in tragedy, such as a story where a woman’s human husband killed her selkie lover and selkie child while they were in their seal forms.
However, not all stories involving selkies are cruel. There are some stories, no matter how few they are, that detail positive exchanges between selkies. One Spared to the Sea is a story about a boy who spared the life of a seal pup not knowing it was a selkie. Years later, that same pup’s mother saved his life. You can read a modern wlw retelling of said story [here].
selkies in media
In stark contrast to how many folktales one may find about selkies, I haven’t found nearly as many in pop culture.
Song of the Sea
Ondine
A Stranger Came Ashore by Mollie Hunter
Selkie (made for tv Australian movie)
UPG
If you’re new to fae work and faerie witchcraft as a whole, I find that selkies can be great for beginners. They tend to be easier to get along with and most I’ve encountered are of the ‘wild fae’ category, meaning they tend to not be involved in Court politics. (Fae Work Tip: please don’t involve yourself in the politics of faeries.)
Like in the folklore, selkies are beings that are able to transform into seals with the help of their coats. As such, the variety of seal forms a selkie can take are varied. Leopard seal selkies, spotted seal selkies, harbor seal selkies, monk seal selkies, elephant seals, and so on and so forth.
I usually find that the type of seal they are influences what region they hail from, the culture and cuisine of a pod. This is a generalization, of course. Not every pod of, say, harbor seal selkies are 100% alike or unified in thought. One pod of harbor seal selkies can have their own traditions that another pod of harbor seal selkies have never even heard of. Personally, I work mostly with harbor seal selkies, they tend to be the most populous. The passing of leadership depends on the pod.
As to how much time they spend in their seal forms, that’s really up to the individual. Some selkies may prefer their fae form and indulging in the coat-based fashion trends of their pod (a more recently developed trend among selkies to better make their their coats look less like selkie coats). I know a selkie who spends most of their time in their seal form during the warm seasons. And there are instances of selkies who spend years in their seal form before slipping off their coat. Usually in those circumstances, they may struggle with talking and walking for a bit from what I’ve been told. Some selkies might not even live with their pod and are solo travelers or living on land.
Like the mythos, selkies are connected to their coat. Every selkie is born with their coat and from that moment, they’re lives are intertwined with it. As they grow from pup to fully grown selkie, their coats grow and change with them. What happens to the selkie, happens to the coat. You could see a selkie coat with scratches on it from fights they got in their seal form plenty of times. As such, if their coat is stolen by someone they have no choice but to go with whoever took it. They can’t just go ‘oh that sucks, I guess I’ll find a new one’. They can only transform and return to the sea with their own coat.
As to what their coats look like, I find that selkie coats I’ve seen look mostly similar to the coats in these illustrations:
(And no, they aren’t all pure white as they are in Song of the Sea. Unless they’re a harp seal selkie pup but as they get older, the white pup fur will fade and it will look like the typical coat of a harp seal.)
So understandably, selkies can be very suspicious of new people they meet who aren’t selkies. Hearing a story about a selkie coat being sold in the black market is not a rare one and you will have to prove that you’re trustworthy. Best way to do that is slowly overtime of course. I would recommend talking to whoever is in charge of the pod and asking for a chance to prove your loyalty and wishes for friendship. Respect whatever decision and conditions they give.
Brief Run Through on Pod dynamics (remember each one is different):
Leader: some pod has one specific leader and how leadership is passed down depends on the pod. Some pods do it by challenging the current leader and the winner is the one who will lead (or continue leading) the pod. Some pods pass it down between family members and other pods will vote on who they believe will be most capable to lead them. May rely on the elders of the pod for advice but if there is no specific leader of a pod, they might just have a bunch of elders running the show.
Elders: some pods don’t have a specific leader and instead have a group of the pod’s eldest members who decide their actions. But even in the case where there are elders
Scouts: the ones who patrol around their home and the waters surrounding it for prospective enemies and threats.
Hunters: kinda self explanatory. Selkies do their best not to heavily impact their ecosystems and avoid taking too much. This is especially true if they are not the only entities calling the place home, for instance if there are merfolk or sea elves and such living close by they have to make sure those around them can still eat as well.
As for children, while they are ultimately brought up by their own parents selkies tend to look after the youngest members of their pod as a community. As you might expect, they’re job is to be cute and learn from the older selkies how to swim and fend for themselves as they get older. They’re the next generation so they’re important to every pod.
But hunter and scout is just a broad overview of two common roles you’ll find in pods, there are of course selkies who do other things in their pods. Healers (I knew of a selkie interested in starting her own apothecary a long while back), sea silk weavers, teachers, pearl cultivators or even jewelers.
Befriending an entire pod can seem daunting, but take everything one day at a time and remember each pod is full of individuals. Each individual is different and so are their friendliness, so there are bound to friendlier selkies in a pod. Once you’ve befriended a selkie, or even an entire pod, then just know you’re with them for life. Selkies tend to be very family-oriented and once you’re in, you’re in.
Disclaimer: thinking of selkies as kind and fun-loving folk who will never do you any harm is a fine way to get yourself clapped. There are selkies who don’t like humans and some of them will let that dislike be known through aggression. Every selkie is different the way every human is different and they shouldn’t all be lumped together. Some selkies and pods are really open and welcoming, others like to keep to themselves. Each decision is valid, especially when selkies themselves have suffered the short end of the stick.
suitable offerings
The disclaimer here is that these are general offerings that most selkies should like. Should you ever find yourself working frequently with a selkie or find yourself the companion of one, there could be other things that they specifically like or dislike. But you usually can’t go wrong with:
Seashells or Coral (ethnically sourced of course)
Sea Glass
Ocean-related candles and incense
how to gain the attention of a selkie
1) old fashioned offerings
2) astral travel
3) spirit attraction spell
I’m not a promoter of conjuring or otherwise, forcefully bringing a spirit to your vicinity. Think about it like this: you’re at a wedding. You’re best friend in the entire world is getting hitched to the love of their life, and you’re among the audience. You’re welling up with emotion and pride for your friend to have made such an important milestone in their life when… Suddenly, you’re not at their wedding anymore.
No, instead you’re looking at some random stranger who summoned you to their home who say it’s because they’re interested in working with those of your kind. You wouldn’t be too happy about this, would you?
Not only is conjuring or summoning bad for the entity, it can be bad for you if this entity isn’t easily forgiving of being torn away from their personal life to your home and you can end up paying the consequences for it. Instead, I recommend a spell that attracts entities to your home or if you’re sufficiently prepared, astral travel it up.
Research is the most important thing to do before heading into Faery work and witchcraft. You want to have a lot of in depth and versatile knowledge covering many areas of the topic so you’ll be able to understand and interact with the Fair Folk! If you don’t want to work with the Fair Folk you can use this list to help yourself understand them and take the proper measure if you ever stumble upon them. I know the list could go on forever but I’m compiling the topics I find build a good foundation of understanding. I have compiled this list to give those interested guidance and a push in the right direction, it is best you do your own research before asking other’s personal knowledge and opinions!!
The Origins of the Fae (Tuatha de Dannan, Aos Sí, Tylwyth Teg)
Faeries in Different Cultures: Celtic (Irish, Scottish, Gaulish, French), Norse, Influences from Greek and Roman culture.
Folklore & Myths!! ex. Oisin and Tír na nÓg , Fenian Cycle, Arthurian Legend.
Celtic Gods, Goddesses & Heroes- strong influences and connections to the Fae
Types of Faeries (study diverse types from pixies,brownies, pooka to Kelpies, Bwbach and Red caps) *Make sure you can at least answer who, what and where about them.
The Otherworlds (Tir na Nog, Caer Arianrhod, Annwn, Alfheim, Svartalfheim, etc.)
He was a pioneer of the naturist and the peace movements. His country commune, Himmelhof, in Ober Sankt Veit near Vienna (1897–1899) was one of the models for the reform settlement Monte VeritàinAscona.[2] His ideas included life in harmony with nature and rejection of monogamy, turning away from any religion (although he was a follower of theosophy), and a vegetarian diet. When his commune went bankrupt, he moved to Capri and stayed there until his death in 1913
As a painter, Diefenbach was an independent representative of Symbolism. There has been a museum of his works in Certosa di San Giacomo on Capri since 1974.The largest collection of the work of Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach in the United States is held by the Jack Daulton Collection in Los Altos Hills, California.
Its so strange to think her entire story stared because I wanted to explore the backstory of the 1st Isle and of Winterkill. And then the more I thought about the sort of characters that would live in this time and place, the more they began to take on a life of their own. And now I miss drawing them and am, on and off, writing the next part of the story, or book two.
I know this is hella, hella late, but I FINALLY finished the piece I had planned for Pride Month! From Left to Right, we have:
Lucas, the token angry straight. Vaenlin, the troubled bi-as-hell, weed-dealing kinkster, Wolfsbane, a literal gay fairy and human rights advocate who throws fuckboys to the fair folk. MG, the psychologically disturbed gardening murder boi with magical girl powers Skittles, the amnesiac biker nerd with the hottest bod on the team, Hick Chick, the sweet, pie-baking, handgun-toting country girl, And K, the “looks like she could kill a man with her eyeliner but it’ll actually be the sniper rifle that gets you” panpoly klothespin.
I love them all and they are very precious to me.
Vaenlin and an assortment of the others belong to @Chardove, aka @chardovedoesart Some of them are mine. Enjoy
