The Fair Folk in History

In the ancient world, the effects of nature were thought to have an intelligent cause. Every aspect of nature can be assigned to a magickal being. Marks in the earth which have come from natural causes are thought to be the footprints of gods and goddesses. Rocks that have been shaped by time are often thought of as representations of the worktools and toys of the gods. Star correlations in the sky are seen as heavenly picture stories. Patterns in flowers and leaves are seen as tributes to divine adventures. Even the stripes on animals are thought of as having divine origin in fantastical tales. The whole world is a book of fairy tales.

Every culture has its own races of divine beings. These creatures are thought to inhabit the different aspects of the landscape such as mountains, rivers, and forests. They are idolised as wise and powerful beings, often immortal and ephemeral.

As new religions are imposed on the land, creatures once associated with positive attributes become demonised. In Medieval Britain the communication with Fairies and Elves was outlawed, leading into the infamous Witch Hunts.

There are many theories for the origin of the word "Fairy". In Italian Fairy is "Fata" and in Spanish "Fads" or "Hada" and in French "Fee". It is hard to say whether the word travelled from Asia into Europe, or the other way around. In Persia the Fairy is "Peri", and "Feri" in Palestine. The Fairy Queen, Morgain or Morgana can also be found worshiped all over the East as Merjan. Cambrian etymologists say that Morgain is Mor Gwynn, "the White Maid". Her name also occurs in the Cahermân Nâmeh, a Turkish romance, perhaps translated from the Persian.

The most likely root for the word "fairy" is Latin "fatum" meaning "Fate" or the verb "fatare" meaning "to enchant". This verb was adopted by the Italian, Provençal, and Spanish languages; in French it became "faer", "féer". Hence in the romances we continually meet with "les dames faées". The Fairies are described either as being corporeal beings, or as humans with magickal powers. The word further developed in Italy where it became the name of the Fates, "donna fatata".

The word "Faerie" has been employed in four different senses:

1. Illusion, enchantment.

2. The land of illusions, the abode of the Faés, the country of the Fays.

3. The people of Fairy-land, full sized fairy-knights and fairy-ladies.

4. The minature fairy who dwells in the woods.

The fourth sense of the word was employed in the 16th century, corresponding to Elves and Nymphs. Gradually the image of the Fairy shifted to a small humanoid creature with wings.

To distinguish between the uses of the word, we call the humans with magickal powers "Fays" or "Fairies of Romance" and the little people "Elves" or "Popular Fairies".

Sea Priestess Grace 

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