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Air Faeries Air is the element of all winged faeries, whose energies are subtle, quick, and fluid. In mythic terms, the swift wings of thought (and of Hermes) bring messages from the gods. In alchemy, wings denote the volatile nature of quicksilver, an earthly form of the moon's energy: neither solid nor completely fluid, beautiful but dangerous, quicksilver is an earthly representation of a true faery state. Winged faeries are the soul's messengers, representing the spirit freed from the mundane. They are creatures of aspiration and transcendence, flying between the worlds, between heaven and earth, between the body and the soul. All storms and winds are associated with the air spirits, from the gentle breezes caused by faery puffs on the Isle of Man to the great destructive powers of Arabic monsoons caused by angry jinn. In folktales that stretch from Arabian deserts to North America to the British Isles, whirlwinds are the embodiments of spirits, usually up to no good. In Ireland, whirlwinds are mady by the passing of whole troops of faeries - and you must be quick to bless yourself lest they carry you away with them. El Numbero (the Tempest) is a Spanish weather faery - an ugly creature in animal skins who rides upon the clouds and causes storms. In Lithuania, a capricious faery called Vejopatis is the master of winds. A Burmese faery (or nat) called Mbon is responsible for winds both fair and foul. In Finland, ancient Ukko is the Old Man of weather phenomena, commanding the wind and rain, fog and storms, thunder and lightning. In America, the spirits of the winds and of the four directions are addressed in the spiritual practices of many indigenous tribes. Ga-ho, for instance, is the spirit of the wind in the Seneca tradition. A benevolent spirit much concerned with the well-being of mankind, Ga-ho lives in the north and directs the four winds, the weather, and the seasons. Wind Old Woman, of the Taos Pueblo people, is a crankier, witchlike spirit - although her husband, Wind Old Man, was even more to be feared. They say if Wind Old Man had not died (or disappeared), the bitter winter winds of that mountain region would be even worse. The mischievous spirits called gremlins are believed to be modern additions to the faery family, but in fact they are merely new incarnations of the flying imps from centuries past. The gremlins discovered human aircraft during the first World War, taking to airborne machines with great delight - to the despair of pilots everywhere. Gremlin sightings and gremlin-caused problems have been reported ever since. Gremlins are unusual, for most faeries despise these big, noisy machines. Their own method of locomotion is graceful and almost effortless, propelled by thought and emotion rather that the whrrrr of machines or the flapping of wings. And yet faeries are particularly fond of wings, particularly the feathered wings of birds, and sometimes wear birds' wings simply for the pleasure of the aestetic effect. Air faeries often take the shape of birds - or combine birds' feet, heads, or beaks with other parts of the human form. The tengu, for instance, are faeries who live in the forests of Japan, appearing sometimes as winged human beings and sometimes as human-faced birds. In the Philippine Islands, the alan are faery spirits who appear half human and half bird, with their fingers and toes reversed. They hang, batlike, form forest trees - and although they can be hostile, usually they are helpful to those in need. Faeries speak the special language of birds, which they sometimes teach to human beings; conversely, sometimes they teach birds to speak as humans do. Some faeries create nests almost identical to the nests of birds, although theirs will often contain bits of silver and other stolen treasures. Faeries have also been known to sleep in birds' nests and to assist in hatching eggs. The cuckoo faery likes to appear in birds' nests just at feeding time, opening his little mouth up wide to snatch a bit of supper. The flying faeries of the air element are, in general, an evolved faery form, for they incorporate aspects of all four basic elements. The wings of these faeries are symbolic of air, their human or animal legs of earth. A shimmering, luminous quality is their fire aspect; the fluid aspect of shape shifting represents water. Thus they make balanced connections between the four earthly elements and the four directions of the mystical winds. To all these, however, they add the magic of moonlight, the fifth faery element. Good Faeries/Bad Faeries Brian Froud ISBN 0-684-84781-8 |
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Fire Faeries Fire is one of the most venerated of natural phenomena, and thus figures prominently in the folklore of many different lands. Various mythological figures are credited with bringing fire to humankind - usually a Trickster, or Wise Fool, whose own shifting character reflects the dualistic nature of fire, its capacity for great good and great harm. In northern Europe, Loki is the Trickster who steals fire from the gods and gives it to humankind. In New Zealand, sly Maui tricks the fire goddess into giving up all her fingers and toes, which begins a great conflagration. In America, clever Coyote steals fire from the tepee of the Fire People and brings it back to human world... but not without mishap. In many societies, fire has religious or magical properties, and it is the duty of the priest or shaman to keep the sacred fire burning. In England, sacred fires are still lit on old pagan holy days such as Samhain and Midsummer's Eve, always attracting a host of faeries to flitter around the flames. In America, the spirits of the fire can be evoked and honored by gifts of cedar and tobacco; and ritual fire plays an important part in various indigenous spirit-calling ceremonies. Veneration of the fire of the hearth is still common in many countries. In Lithuania, the faery hearth is called the gabija, and when the fire is banked for the night, country people petition him with these words: "Dear little fire, dear little fire, you are nicely covered, so sleep, please, and do not walk in this house." There are numerous legends of havoc caused by hearth faeries who have been neglected. The aitvaras is a fiery household faery well known in Lithuania. Sometimes he is seen in the shape of a flying dragon, breathing yellow flame from his mouth; at other times only his long, flaming tail is visible. The domovik is a Russian household faery and family guardian who lives behind the hearth. He is never addressed directly, but is called Himself or Grandfather. Fire is his special element, and when he is displeased he has been known to burn down the house. If a family moves, the fire in their new hearth must be lit with a brand from the old to welcome this faery to his new dwelling. Supper is left out for the domovik each night to aid him in his busy work of protecting against hostile spirits. The editor of this book has an English cousin of the domovik living in the old bread oven of her four-hundred-year-old cottage (in the same Dartmoor village where I live). He takes his protective duties so seriously that he tried to chase away tenants when she rented the cottage out during the winter months by scaring them with strange noises in the hearth, creating smoky drafts and an atmosphere of heavy gloom. One day I had a talk with the faery and explained that the tenants were supposed to be there - after which, we noted, all such problems in the cottage ceased. Supernatural smiths are also powerful creatures of the fire element. Girru, the Babylonia god of metalworking (like Hephaestus in the myths of Greece), represents the purifying aspects of fire as it burns evil away. In Ireland, Goibniu is the divine smith of the Tuatha De Nanann (the faery race), known both for his artistry and for his powers as a magician. In Brythonic legends, Govannon is the master forger and patron of the art. Wayland is a famous smith of Faeryland in many old folktales, renowned throughout the British Isles for the beauty of his faery swords. Fire faeries come with a variety of names and shapes: salamanders, fire feys, fire drakes, drakes, drachen, and draks. They travel through the air as burning sparks or fiery streaks of intense light, and when they pass they leave and unpleasant odor of sulfur behind. Fire faeries make excellent workers in a farmyard, workshop, kennel, or stable; they will also bring wealth to their masters, collecting gifts and gold from around the world. But these faeries are volatile by nature, demanding prompt and proper gratitude. One slight, and man's worldly goods will be consumed in the fire of their anger. Fire spirits, beasts, and faeries reflect the dualistic nature of the fire element. They are embodiments of the destructive and regenerative extremes to be found in nature. Good Faeries/Bad Faeries Brian Froud ISBN 0-684-84781-8 |
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The Earth Element Folktales from all around the globe tell of faery creatures who live deep in the earth: in rocks and roots, in hills and barrows, in caves, quarries, and mine shafts. Gnomes, according to the writings of Paracelsus, can swim through solid earth as easily as fish can swim through water. In Jewish cabalistic tradition, gnomes are said to dwell at the very center of the earth. The knockers are a diminutive race found in mines and quarries throughout Europe, where miners can trace rich veins of ore by listening for the sound of elfin picks. (Whistling, it should be noted, drives these usually friendly creatures into fits of rage.) The Black Dwarves of Scotland, the coblynau of Wales, the gommes of France, the hammerlinge of Germany, the achachila of Bolivia are all varieties of earth-dwelling creatures renowned for being tricky and capricious, but also for sharing their earth-working skills and for sounding warnings in times of danger. Tree spirits, from the dryads of the Greeks to the Green Men and Women of Celtic lore, are rooted in the earth element, as are all those brownies, goblins, and pixies who make their home among tree roots. Faery women called wood wives run through the forests of Scandinavia; from the front they are beguiling, seductive creatures, but in back they are hollow. In Italy the silvane (wood women) mate with the silvani (wood men) to produce the folleti, who are the mischievous little faeries of that land. The bariaua of Malaysia are shy and gentle tree spirits, while the apuku of Suriname, the saci of Brazil, and the mmotia of the Gold Coast are far more dangerous to encounter. Kobolds, the hardworking but troublesome household faeries common to northern Europe, lived in trees before they were domesticated, and thus are also aligned with earth. Ancient earthworks, particularly barrows and other buriel sites, are often faery abodes; and hills all over the British Isles are associated with legends of faery revels. The Tylwyth Teg (the Fair Folk of Wales) are said to live under the earth. The Sidhe (that noble faery race) live in Irish burial mounds. In America, little people of the earth live in trees and under the hills in the tales of the Cherokee, Iroquois, Seneca, and many other tribes. Earth faeries such as these are the spiritual force of nature, reflecting its power, its moods, and its cycles. Good Faeries/Bad Faeries Brian Froud ISBN 0-684-84781-8 |
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Water Faeries Water spirits can be found in lakes, rivers, pools, springs, wells, fountains, raindrops, teardrops, and at the ocean's edge. They especially love running water in the form of bubbling springs and waterfalls - but any running water can prove to be the particular haunt of faeries. Crossing over (or through) running water is a well-known method of entering their realm. The nixies are an ancient race of beautiful English river faeries with translucent white skin and long greed hair, related to the magical creatures who haunt waterways all around the world - the seductive Nereids of Greece, the playful fenetten of Germany, the enchanting kallraden of Sweden, the dangerous Bonga Maidens of India, and many others. The glaistig is a Scottish goat woman who lives in the darkness behind waterfalls. Stromkarl is a Norwegian faery musician who dwells in waterfalls and is famous for his eleven dance tunes, ten of which he'll teach to humans. The loireag of the Hebrides is another musical water faery - a shy little creature, yet dangerous to those who dare to sing out of tune. It is wise to be wary of water faeries, for quite a few are treacherous. The ghostly water wraith of Scotland leads travelers to a watery death, and a horried faery called Jenny Greenteeth lurks at the bottom of stagnant pools. The monstrous Welsh water leaper (Llamhigyn Y Dwr) delights in tangling fishing lines - just like his cousin the ahuizotl, a tormenter of Mexican fishermen, add the Bunyip, a bellowing faery beast at the bottom of Australian lakes. In salt water, one finds mermaids, mermen, beguiling sirens of both sexes - and seal people called selchies (also known as sea trows and roane), who sometimes wed human men and women. Saltwater faeries come in guises both malign and beneficent, such as the fierce morganes and the gentle Margot-la-Fee, both from the Breton coast of France. Some sea faeries are known to help sailors and fishermen in storms; others will pull them under the waves even when the skies are clear. Water horses (kelpies), water serpents, and water bulls are other magical creatures bound to the potent element of water, the fluid of life, intuition, transformation, and the depths of the unconscious. Good Faeries/Bad Faeries Brian Froud ISBN 0-684-84781-8 |
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