Whispering Woods Faery Lore Course

Lesson Two

Faery Fauna

There are of course far too many faery related fauna to list in this lesson. However we hope to give enough examples to help you familiarize yourself with the more common plants.

Ash:

(Fraxinus spp.)

The planting of Ash trees is said to protect ones home and livestock from mischievous faeries. It is said that placing ash buds on the cradle will prevent faeries from taking a child and leaving a changeling in its place. In Scandinavian lore, the first man “Askr” was made from Ash. And in some beliefs the Ash is the “axis mundi” or “World Tree”. In yet other belief systems it was from the Ash that “Yggdrasil” was created by Odin. Ash trees are believed to provide protection from fairies, which are said to be unable to harm anyone standing in the shadow of an ash tree.

Birch:

(Betula spp.)

It is said that if the spirit of the Birch tree (called the One with the White Hand) touches someone on the head, and it leaves a white mark, then that person will go insane. If this spirit touches the heart, then that person will die.

Bluebells:

(Hyacinthoides non-scripta)

Fairies are summoned to their midnight gatherings by the ringing of these tiny flowers, which are reputed to be the most potent of all fairy floras. Legend has it that children who venture into bluebell glades will be held captive, while adults will be enchanted, until met by another mortal and guided out. It is said that wearing a ring of Blue Bells around the ankle at Beltain will attract the attention of faeries to you.

Plant some bluebells in your garden in order to attract fairies.

Clover:

(Trifolium spp.)

A four-leafed clover is famous for bringing luck and it gives a person the power to break fairy spells and see through their magic. Shamrock is known as Leprechaun clover. The ancient Druids honored Clover as a sacred plant. They believed that the shamrock had the power to avert evil spirits.

Cowslip:

(Primula veris)

Grace and Pensiveness Cowslips are an invaluable fairy flower, for their blossoms provide shelter from the rain. In England they are known as the Culver’s Keys, for their heads resemble a bunch of keys and these are said to hold the power to unlock the way to fairy treasure. To invite the fairy folk to visit your home, hang a spray of Cowslip on your door. Cowslips help to find hidden faery gold. They are loved and protected by the faeries. Dried cowslip flowers are considered to be a favorite hiding place of certain fairies that are known to ride bats. On Beltane, Irish farmers would crush cowslip leaves and put the juice on their cow’s udders to protect them throughout the year and to ensure that the cows’ milk would not be stolen by faeries.

Daisy:

(Chrysanthemum maximum)

Putting a daisy chain on a child is said to prevent fairies from beguiling the child and carrying them away. It is thought that the daisy is the favorite flower of woodland nymphs.

Elder:

(Sambucus spp.)

Elder trees and bushes are said to offer protection to fairies. It was a British belief that placing a child in an elder wood cradle could cause it to be pinched black and blue by the fairies within the Elm. Elderberry wine is considered fairy wine. Drinking it is said to enable you to see fairies. Add dried elderberries to an incense mixture that you burn to attract fairies to a gathering. The Elder is sometimes called the “death tree”, it represents the Thirteenth month on the Celtic Tree Calendar. This is the time of Samhain. It is said that cutting down an Elder will antagonize the Dryad residing within.

Foxglove:

(Digitalis purpurea)

The flower derives its name from little Folks-glove, since it is believed that the florets are worn by fairies, sometimes as bonnets, sometimes as gloves. The flower has many folk names, such as Fairy Weed, Dead Men’s Bellows, Bloody Man’s Fingers and Witch’s Thimble. According to Irish lore, the juice of ten foxglove leaves will cure a fairy-struck child. The juice is also an ingredient used by witches in the potion that helps one to fly. The little flecks on the flowers are said to be the faeries fingerprints. In Gaelic Foxglove is called “miaran nan cailleacha sith” (Thimble of the old faery women)

Hawthorn:

(Crataegus monogyna)

Hawthorn is well known as the “witch’s tree” for it is thought that Hawthorn is actually witches who have shape-shifted. It is also known as the Faery tree, as it is very sacred to the fae folk. In Ireland, it is referred to as “gentle bushes” after the custom of not naming faeries directly out of respect. Solitary thorns were known as the faeries’ Trysting Trees. The hawthorn is considered a sacred meeting place for fairies. Hawthorn is the Thorn, in the phrase “Oak, Ash and Thorn”.

Oak:

(Quercus) (Lithocarpus)

Faerie Folks are said to live in old oaks. Most notable are the “Wood Wives” of Germany, the “Oak Men in England, and of course many others, such as the Dryads and the Devas. This is why the druids have such a high respect for the oaks. They are known to contain faerie magic! Such trees are called “bull oaks” in England, and “bell oak” in Scotland and Ireland. One is supposed to turn one’s coat or cloak inside out to neutralize their magic. The fruit of the oak tree, acorns, can be made into faerie talismans if found and gathered by the light of the full moon.

Pansies

(Viola tricolor)

This flower was thought to have been used by the faery king, Oberon, to make a love potion. It is said that humans should never pick a pansy with dew on it as it is said to cause the death of a loved one. And if you pick one on a fine day you will invite it to storm.

Peach Blossom:

(Prunus persica)

The peach tree, also called the Tree of the Fairy Fruit. Branches of the peach tree are used to drive off evil spirits in China, and also to root out illnesses. Children in China wear a peach pit suspended about the neck to keep demons away. The peach often plays an important part in Chinese tradition and is symbolic of long life. The Japanese use the peach to increase fertility, and branches of the tree are utilized as divining and magickal wands.

Primrose

(Oenothera lamarckiana)

The flowering herb primrose is thought to be the source of the faeries’ invisibility (when this herb was brewed and drunk as a tea, it was found to open human eyes to the astral plane). If you lay a little posy upon your doorstep, fairies will cross your threshold as you sleep, to bless your home. In Ireland, primroses are scattered before the house door to ward off the fairies, who are not supposed to be able to pass them.

Thyme

(Thymus vulgaris)

Thyme is associated with fairies. Wearing a sprig of wild thyme, or essential oil of thyme, is said to help one to see fairies. If you place springs of thyme on your closed eyes and sleep upon a fairy mound, this will aid you in seeing fairies. Dried, powdered thyme, sprinkled on doorsteps and windowsills, is an invitation to faeries to enter your home. Wild thyme, gathered from the side of a fairy mound, is especially potent for use in fairy magic.

Toadstool

(Amanita muscaria)

The Fairy Ring Mushroom is the one which grows in a circular formation, marking the boundary of the fairies favorite dancing places. The enchanting timbre of the fairies’ music and revelry can lure mortal passers-by inexorably into the ring for what may seem like minutes but is actually years. The most familiar cause of a fairy ring is the toadstool (Marasmius oreades). Some names of Toadstools are; Slender Elf cap, Dryad’s Saddle, Yellow Fairy club and Dune Pixie Hood. In English folklore, fairy rings were said to be caused by fairies dancing in a ring while wearing down the grass beneath their feet. Toads would afterwards sit on the mushrooms poisoning them and thus the name “Toadstool”. In some parts of England it was thought that fairies would steal and then ride horses into the rings.

Quiz:

1. The spirit of the Birch tree is called ___ ___ ____ ___ _____ ______.

2. In England Cowslip is known as _______ _____.

3. The juice of ten _________ leaves will cure a fairy-struck child.

4. _______ was thought to have been used by the faery king, Oberon.

5. The ancient Druids believed that the _________ had the power to avert evil spirits.

6. Ash trees is said to protect ones home and _________.

7. The little flecks on the flowers of Foxglove are said to be the faeries ___________.

Whispering Woods Faery Lore course

Whispering Woods Coven Faery Lore course

Lesson One

Faery Associations

“Remember when doing outside rituals to leave a libation for the wee folk. Milk and bread or cookies is fine.”

The Irish were known to have made knives of flint to protect against mischievous faeries. Small holes were drilled into the handle and the knife was hung by the door to keep out unwanted or undesirable faeries. By the same token arrow heads made out of flint were referred to as Elf -shot, Elf -arrow, or Faery-shot. It is thought that elves would hurl these arrow heads at mortals who then carried them off to their realm. In the victims place was left a changeling (Sithbheire) that was left to sicken and die.

It is from this that we get the term “Elf-stroke” or just “Stroke for short. These Elf-bolts are known as “Saighead sith”. And it is considered to be lucky if one finds one. Once found it should never be allowed to touch the ground. And they should be buried with its owner upon their passing.

Iron protects against all types of Faeries. It is thought that a horseshoe nailed to the bottom of the churn prevents butter from being meddled with by faeries. Another custom is when a child is thought to be a changeling (Sithbheire), it is placed upon an iron shovel over the fire, the changeling would go shrieking up the chimney, and the real human child would be restored.

To keep a human child from being stolen by faeries it is customary to hang a pair of iron scissors above the crib.

A horseshoe hung upright so that its magick doesn’t pour out, serves as a charm against faeries.

It is said that if you find a grove of Oak, Ash, and Mistletoe, that you will encounter faeries. This particular triad of growth is considered to be very sacred to faeries. Especially to the Dryads, whom it is thought, instructed the Druids in the use of sacred tree magick.

It is said that cats are a mortal enemy of all small faeries. Cats are said to have the ability to readily see faeries.

Cramps are said to be punishment for annoying faeries and unexplained bruises are said to be caused by pinching faeries.

One of the most well known places to find the Fae Folk is within a natural mushroom ring at sunset or full moonlight. There are a variety of mushrooms that may form these enchanted rings. However one would do well to be cautious upon entering these rings as the association of time differs greatly with that of the mundane human realm.

It is said that a one can simply look through a stone with an opening, or a hole. This is called a Faery stone, holey stone or “men-an-tol, an-cloc cosanta” (drilled stones). They are usually found near running water or by the sea. It is thought that they present a doorway into the realm of fae. And that it gives one physic sight when peering through this stone.

Faeries are said to have “white” blood. And when one spots splotches of a white material on the ground it is from opposing troops of faeries who had fought the night before.

The term “Fair folk” came about to appease the faeries because it was thought unlucky to speak ill of them, for if they felt criticized in any manner, they would take revenge.

It is said that when one is walking along and then feels a cold blast of air that you have crossed over an area associated with faeries. This is called the “Gaoth Shee” (Fairy Wind). By the same token if you were walking along a familiar stretch of land and become temporarily confused or lost, you have encountered what is known as “the stray sod”. This is also an area associated with faery activity.

Within the Christian faith it is thought that faeries are actually fallen angels who followed Satan out of their heaven. In some Christian beliefs it is thought that faeries are the spirits of un-baptized children who have been stolen by faeries.

It is said that owls are actually faeries that have shape-shifted.

Within the Celtic beliefs it is thought that faeries are descended from the mystic race known as the Tuatha De Danann.

When one sees a host of faeries trooping by (Especially at Samhain) if one throws the dust from a footprint at them, it will compel them to release any human captives that they may have with them.

The best day of the week for faeries is Wednesday; the worst day of the week is Thursday.

It is said that if one sprinkles their clothes with oatmeal or carries it in their pocket, that no faery will approach them.

To prevent faeries from entering one’s home through a chimney, hang a besom over the hearth.

To keep faeries out of one’s bedroom, you but need to spread some flax around the floor.

At Beltain, when the faeries are quite active, adorn your children with daisy garlands to keep them from being kidnapped by faeries.

Quiz:

1. A Gaoth shee is a _____ _____.

2. Faeries have ______ blood.

3. What three trees are sacred to faeries? _______, _________ and _________.

4. ___ protects against all faeries.

5. Hang a horseshoe upright to keep its ______ from pouring out.

6. The Celtic word for changeling is _________.

7. The best day of the week for faeries is ________.

Whispering Woods Faery Lore Courses

I had a member ask me yesterday for some information on the Fae and some of their names. I didn’t want him to think I had forgotten him just my lunar activities had messed up my day time activities. I apologize for this and I remember Crick having an excellent course on the Fae. I use his information quite often and have permission to use his lessons. Some of his material is starting to disappear on Homestead and that is a terrible shame. He has done some wonderful research and is a valuable asset to the Pagan community.

I hope this gives those interested in the Fae some insight into them. Crick has several other courses that others might find of interest, you can check them out at Crick’s Free Pagan oriented courses.

Whispering Woods Faery Lore Course

This course is dedicated to Faeries, Gnomes, Sprites, Dryads and all of the mystical beings that make up the special fabric of our world. I personally grew up in an Irish family that held a solid belief in such wonderful creatures. And such memories will remain with me throughout my life. And so it is our hope that you will come away with a belief and indeed a respect for the denizens of other worldly realms. They are there waiting for us to shed centuries old and misguided beliefs about their existence.

We are truly blessed to have such gifted and magickal beings living amongst us. They have many lessons just waiting to be imparted to those who are open to such communication.

This course can’t possibly cover all of the numerous and various types of faeries and such creatures in the world. But we hope to give you a broad exposure to the many types of such mystical beings that share this world with us humans…