Faeries & Elementals for Beginners: Learn About & Communicate With Nature Spirits (4 page)

Make or buy a tiny suit of clothes the size for a doll and lay them out at night. Leaving a sock under the bed may

work as well. In many myths and legends, faeries pack up

and leave immediately upon being offered clothes.

Finally, there are a few ways to ward away faeries once

you have gotten them to vacate the premises. You can keep

them from following you back home and infesting your

home again simply by crossing water. If you feel you might be under magical attack by mischievous faeries, wash your

hair with sage and wear a hat and coat inside out to fend

off their onslaughts while you set up the defenses. An acorn kept in a pocket and ashes from a midsummer bonfire in

your shoes are protective charms as well. Start with salt

sprinkled around the home as if it were a wall that keeps

them out. Placing a few anti-faerie charms at the entrances of your home will finish the job. Below are a few examples of such charms:

• A four-leaf clover

• St. John’s Wort flowers and daisies woven into a gar-

land

• An equal-armed cross of sticks of rowan, oak, ash, or

hawthorn, bound with red thread

• Anything made of iron

• Ashes and kelp mixed with sea salt (especially effec-

tive against water faeries)

• A mulberry tree planted near the door

20 • Chapter One

Common faerie types, characteristics,

origins, and where they are found,

listed in alphabetical order

Angels—Air

Though angels are best known in the west from Christian

mythology, there is lore that departs from Biblical angels.

Some faeries are said to be fallen angels. That is not to say that all angelic faeries are evil once they leave heaven. Yes, some are naughty. But others are seeking to garner favor

to gain entry back into heaven, and doing so by helping

humans. Others may have been sent down from heaven to

do good work on earth.

In ceremonial magic, the archangels Michael, Gabriel,

Raphael, and Auriel are powerful beings associated with

the planets and the four elemental quarters. Raphael was

associated with the planet Mercury, Gabriel with the moon, Michael with the sun, and Auriel with Mars. The names

of these archangels are intoned in order to raise power for magical purposes. You need only speak their names to have

them stand at your side for guidance or protection.

Anthropophagi—Air

These faeries made their written debut in folklore described in Shakespeare’s plays, although they dwelled around

England before his time. They are headless, with eyes sit-

ting on their shoulders and tiny brains that reside in their genitals. Gaping mouths are in their chests. They feed on

human flesh and should be avoided at all costs.

Getting started with Faeries • 21

Apsaras—Water

The Apsara exist in both Hindu and Buddhist spiritual

mythologies. Apsaras can change shape, but their true

forms are beautiful young females who are the spirits of

water, clouds, and gambling. Apsaras have the power of

flight, enjoy dancing, and are good at caring for those who have fallen in battle and require healing.

Apsaras are pleased by music that is good for dancing,

as well as by the presence of water. Men should take care

not to be seduced by an aspara, for according to mythol-

ogy their hearts will be broken and their minds made numb

to the world’s spiritual ideals. Since aspara love to dance so much, they are also honored in it, and have inspired a

Khmer dance,
Robam Tep Apsara
(“dance of the Apsara divinities), performed by the Royal Ballet of Cambodia.

Ashrays—Water

In Scotland are beautiful young sea creatures called ashrays, which look like the translucent white ghosts of humans.

They are not ghosts, however, but living creatures that

dwell in the sea. Their white skin may be due to the fact

that they can never see the light of day; sunlight them, rendering them into pools of water the colors of the rainbow.

Like any other sea creature, ashrays are most pleased

by humans reducing their impact on their watery environ-

ment. Unfortunately, you’re unlikely to make contact with

them, as they live deep underwater and generally avoid

humans.

22 • Chapter One

Attorcroppes—Earth

From Saxony, the attorcroppe is a snake with arms and legs that walks just like a human. It is very small, as many faerie creatures are, but vicious and venomous. They live among

rocky areas, especially near wilderness and water. In order to keep clear of them, one should avoid walking along

rocky stream beds at night.

Ballybogs, Bogles, and Boggans—Earth

Widespread throughout England, Ireland, Wales and the

Isle of Man, ballybogs are also known as bogles and bog-

gans regionally. Small, round and mud-covered, ballybogs

have tiny arms and legs that don’t seem to support their

weight. The slimmer English variant, boggans, are the only ones to wear clothes to be intelligent enough for speech.

The vast majority of ballybogs communicate only in short

grunts.

Ballybogs are found near bogs, and they would delight

in gifts of peat and peaty alcoholic drinks. Some of their favorite games are footraces and tag. A ballybog can be

requested for help finding anything that has been lost in a boggy area, but they do so by physically running to show

you, since they are unlikely to be able to communicate to

you in words.

Basilisk—Fire

A basilisk is a real lizard, but the word also refers to a mythological faerie creature from Greece. The mythological

basilisk is a snake with arms gleaming gold with a bright

red spiky or frilly comb on the top of its head. Basilisks are
Getting started with Faeries • 23

vicious and venomous, and can spread their venom simply

by breathing upon, touching, or looking at a human being.

Even killing a basilisk is dangerous in and of itself, since the body is filled with its poisonous breath. The good news is that they don’t reproduce quickly. Supposedly, basilisk eggs are laid by roosters and incubated for nine years by toads.

To keep a basilisk at bay, you need only have its natu-

ral enemies living in the area: Crows, mongooses, roosters, snakes, or weasels. Mirrors can also protect the wanderer

from a basilisk, since they can be warded off or possibly

even destroyed simply by viewing their own reflections.

Bean-Fionns/Greentoothed Women/

Jenny Greenteeth/Weisse Fraus—Water

A bean fionn can be found in bodies of water mainly in

England, Germany, and Ireland. Though a kiss from this

water faerie can render anyone immune to drowning, they

are temperamental and as likely to kill a traveler as protect him or her. A bean fionn is the personification of the fear of one’s children being drowned. Nightmarishly, the faeries will reach up from below the water and grab children playing in water or even close to the shore or on a bridge.

These most dangerous of water faeries are most likely

to be found in the darkest of lakes, which should be avoided at all costs. Charms against drowning, like an amulet made from a bag of ashes, kelp, and sea salt, may keep away their attacks.

Beansidhes/Cointeach/Cyoerraeth/

Washer of the Banks (or Fords or Shrouds)—Water

24 • Chapter One

Also known as banshees, these terrors announce or portend

death with blood-curdling wails, and are originally from

Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales. In Scotland, a sim-

ilar male variant also exists called a Ly Erg, who appears as a small soldier with a red hand. If he raises his hand to you, it is to challenge you to combat as a way of foretelling your death.

Always female, banshees appear as winged human

women, but they are faeries that are sometimes mistaken

for ghosts. Banshees appear beside rivers or streams, most often seen washing burial shrouds and keening in grief.

They are a normal human size. Banshees are pale, have

long hair that appears wet, and are often depicted wearing a white, green, or black gown with a hood that obscures

the hair or face. If you see her open her mouth to wail, her teeth will be pitch black.

Banshees are only scary because their wailing foretells

of a death, and upon hearing a banshee a person cannot

help but wonder if it is oneself or one’s loved ones that are to die. The banshees themselves are not dangerous, and

may represent a mother form who absorbs a soul before

rebirth. You should probably be very afraid if one shows up at your door or window flapping her wings, but otherwise

she should be left to mourn in peace.

Ban-Tighes—Earth

Not to be confused with banshees, ban-tees are female

house faeries. Often seen as elderly women, they are so

friendly to people that they bond to a house or a family,

and stay for generations to protect and help around the

Getting started with Faeries • 25

house. Ban-tees are especially fond of homes with children or pets, and they love to look after them and tidy up when messes occur.

In order to make contact with a ban-tee, leave out straw-

berries and cream as an offering near the hearth during the late fall, winter, and early spring whenever you are too tired to finish your household drudgery. You will know that your gift has been accepted if the chores are finished in the morning, or if you notice somebody making sure that the win-

dows, curtains and blankets are adjusted to keep children

and pets warm.

Black Anguses—Water

From England and Scotland, a black angus is a creature that is not humanoid, but instead looks like a horned black dog with huge fangs, wet paws, and gleaming yellow eyes. Like

banshees, black anguses are not dangerous themselves, but

their howling portends a terrible or violent death, especially for those who have done such dark deeds as to expect to

have a miserable time in the afterlife.

If a black angus crosses your path at night and leaps in

front of you, be afraid that you might die within two weeks.

Otherwise, have no fear of this dog faerie passing in the

night. Just be relieved in the same way that you might be

glad that a passing ambulance is not coming for you. Don’t attempt communication with a black angus—you wouldn’t

want to tempt fate.

26 • Chapter One

Blue Hag/Black Annis/Cailleac Bhuer/

Stone Woman—Water

There is only one Blue Hag, but she is widespread, like a

Goddess figure, throughout Celtic lands. She appears to be an old woman in blue (or black) and white torn clothing,

with a crow on her left shoulder. She goes out walking on

winter nights, and may be temperamental and dangerous.

She carries a walking stick made of holly and with the head of a crow at its top. If you were to be touched by her walking stick, you could die. She may be the embodiment of the crone aspect of female divinity, and should be respected as a Goddess, if not feared.

Bocans—Air

Bocans are terrifying creatures that robbed and killed people in medieval times. It was not a good idea to travel at night, because on the highways between towns, bocans

might be lying in wait. Since nobody ever lived through a

bocan attack, there are no physical descriptions of the creatures. Though they were rare even in their heyday, the best way to prevent an encounter was simply to restrict travel to daylight hours and to journey together in large groups.

Boggart/Boogey Men/Goblins/Hobgoblins—Earth

A Scottish or English dwarf creature, a boggart is always

male. Boggarts are malicious creatures, but are drawn to

keep company with humans for some strange reason. Bog-

garts will choose a household or a family and stick around for generations, plaguing them with grumpy interactions

and greedy thievery of food and belongings. Especially

Getting started with Faeries • 27

frightening to children, boggarts can jump upon them at

night so that the child feels like he or she is being smothered to death.

Like vermin, the boggart chews through objects and

destroys them. Wood is a favorite treat, and a boggart can consume pieces of valuable furniture or even the floors and walls of the home itself. Due to their voracious appetites, leaving out wood as an offering will not be enough to sati-ate their destructive desires.

In the wild, boggarts may have lived in bogs, so the best

way to avoid a boggart may simply be to avoid building or

buying a home at the side of a bog. If a boggart does take up residence, they are especially stubborn, and it may take more than one attempt to rid your home of malicious boggart activity.

Brownies/Choa Phum Phi/Domovoi/Hobs/

Little Men/Nis/Yumboes—Earth

Brownies are from Scotland, originally. They are small and normally do not allow themselves to be seen. If you do

catch sight of a brownie, he (brownies are usually male)

will generally be naked and hairy, or only wearing tattered brown wool. They do not have noses. Two holes in the face

mark where a nose should be. They also have no fingers or

toes at the ends of their furry arms and legs. Add the fact that they are often seen with tails, and they are strange creatures indeed.

Making friends with brownies can be rewarding,

because they help around the house. Brownies tend to