Fairies are the Little People, said by some to be the dispossessed early tribes of the British Isles. They faded away into uninhabited places, growing smaller and smaller with time as they were forgotten and passed into legend. Oral history informs us that the Tuatha de Danann, People of the Goddess Dana, ruled Ireland before the Milesian invasion. They are said to have been driven underground, where they became the Daoine Sidhe fairies.

Other theories hold that fairies are supernatural beings, fallen angels trapped on earth, spirits of the heathen dead, elementals, nature spirits, visitors from an alternate or parallel universe, or old god/esses who have been so neglected that they have lost their powers and devolved into fairies.

Myths and legends provide a lot of information about fairies. These are some of their supposed qualities and attributes:

APPEARANCE

Wear green clothes

May be winged and fly

May be tiny, or child-sized

Can turn invisible, or blend so closely into the forest as to seem invisible

QUALITIES

May be male or female, helpful or harmful

Have powers of magic and enchantment

Move swiftly

Are immortal

Live on fruit

Play tricks

Brawl with each other

Possess gold

Enjoy music, dancing and making love

War with insects and reptiles

Are associated with certain plants, trees and places

Sometimes take human lovers

Can breed with humans

Create artifacts, such as shoes and bows

CHARACTER

Helpful:
Bestow gifts - Fairy gifts include the cauldron of plenty, the wand of intelligence, and the tree of knowledge
Assist with housework

Harmful:
Steal babies and replace them with changelings
Borrow household items from humans
Enchant humans and beguile them into the fairy realm

HABITAT

Live on hills, in woody dells, underwater, or in the Otherworld

Humans who enter the fairy realm cannot leave once the door closes behind them. Those who do leave may find that years have passed on earth during what was, for them, but minutes in the fairy kingdom.

POWERS

Shapeshift
Cause fog and tempests

NAMES:

Elves, gnomes, sprites, goblins, hobgoblins, nymphs, merfolk, trolls, leprechauns, etc. are considered types of fairies in some traditions.

Knowing a fairy's true name gives you power over it, so fairies are said to guard their real names very closely. Nevertheless, individual fairies known to us from mythology include:

• Aeval, Fairy Queen of the Midnight Court
• Aillen MacModha, who sets Tara ablaze every year
• Caer, a beautiful fairy who lived as a swan
• Clethrad, an alder fairy
• Donagh, Finvarra's beautiful wife.
• Finvarra, fairy king of the Daoine Sidhe. He is known for his skill at chess and for abducting brides-to-be. Spanish wine is a suitable offering got him.
• Ghillie Dhu, a Scottish fairy who wears moss and leaves, lives in birch thickets.
• Heliconian, a willow fairy
• Melia, an ash or quince fairy
• Melwas, the fairy king of the Summer Land who abducted Guenivere
• O'Donoghue, king of the Lough Lean fairies in Ireland
• Summer, beautiful queen of the Elves of Light. Her presence melts Winter away.
• Urisk, a lonely male Scottish fairy who is found near pools
• Wichtlein, a German mine fairy

Also:

• the Asparas/Apsaras, fig tree fairies
• the Caryatids, nut tree fairies
• the Dryads, oak tree fairies
• the Luantishees, blackthorn fairies
• Literary fairies include Queen Mab, Puck, Titania, Tinkerbell, Tammerlane, Mustardseed and Oberon.
• Fairy Goddesses: Aine of Knockaine - Airmed - Eri - Morgan le Fay (Morgan the Fairy)

FAIRY GODMOTHERS

Fatae, one of the names for fairies, derives from Fata/Fatae, the Fates. This Roman Triple Goddess appeared at the birth of kings and notables to decree the child's destiny. The archetype is much older, going back at least as far as Egypt where the Seven Hathors appeared upon the birth of a child to bestow gifts and divine its fate.

CHANGELINGS

March 15

Festival of river nymphs and water fairies, a dangerous day for swimming.

April 30/May 1 - Beltane/May Day

Fairies ride out from their hills to celebrate Beltaine on May Eve

August 7

Fairy hills and dwellings are revealed on this day.

September 29

Doors open between our world and the fairy realm.

November 8

Another day when it is possible to catch a glimpse of fairyland.

November 11

Festival of the blackthorn fairies.

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