Faeries & Elementals for Beginners: Learn About & Communicate With Nature Spirits (5 page)

befriend a family and stick with it through generations.

28 • Chapter One

They can ward the house from trouble, assisting you in

calling for help if something goes wrong, making them a

bit like a mythical neighborhood watch. They can also

do chores around the house gladly and happily, banding

together to get a whole day’s work done in a very short

time during the night. If you make your brownies unhappy,

however, you’ll find yourself saddled with terrible luck as they begin to cause trouble in subtle ways.

Brownies only work at night, after all of the members

of the household have gone to sleep. Having house brown-

ies is sort of like having pets, in that food and drink should be offered nightly to them. Only a tiny, token amount need be set out. Offerings that brownies are pleased to accept

are bowls of cream and a pancake with honey on top. Like

the pixies, brownies will leave a home forever if the owner offers an article of clothing. In fact, no other offering but food and drink should be given to brownies, and they

should not be spoken of aloud in the house. It is said that brownies will stop working to listen to you talk about them, becoming suspicious and nervous, and hearing criticism

even when you are not criticizing them at all. If a brownie thinks that it is not being appreciated, it will fly into a rage and leave, never to help again. Unlike pixies, brownies can often be industrious and helpful, and should be cared for as welcome family heirlooms.

Brown Men/Moor Men—Fire

Originating from Cornwall or Scotland, brown men are

not actually brown. Their hair is reddish, and it is the torn clothes they wear that are brown, as they are made from

Getting started with Faeries • 29

leaves that have become wet and rotted in the rain and.

Brown men are short, always male, and have long arms that

are quite fat.

Brown men tend not to meddle in the affairs of

humans. If you call out to them near a moor, chances are

that they will shy away from you. Brown men are quite

harmless; they keep their distance and live only in wild

places.

Buachailleen/Herding Boys—Earth

Buachailleen hail from both Ireland and Scotland. There,

they are known for playing mean pranks on people and

animals. Buachailleen look like little boys with pointed

hats made from overturned red flowers. However, they can

shapeshift to whatever form they desire on a whim, and

usually do so in order to make mischief.

The normal target of buachailleen torment is a shep-

herd and his flock. Buachailleen boys will do anything

to frighten the animals, lead them astray, and generally

be cruel. When herding sheep in the areas infested with

buachailleen, one would do well to pray and chant aloud

for protection of the flocks.

Buggars—Air

Coming from England and Germany, buggars are thought

to be either a type of troll or goblin. They tend to shapeshift so frequently that they have never been accurately

described. Buggars act very much like violent toddlers having tantrums, but when they take a larger form, they are far more dangerous. Buggars are to be avoided, but luckily they
30 • Chapter One

stay out of the human physical world as much as possible,

for the most part only making an appearance to scare chil-

dren.

Bugel Noz—Earth

Rather than a race of creatures, the Bugel Noz is an indi-

vidual faerie person in Brittany. Though he lives by himself in the woods, he is very lonely, being the last of his species. Sadly, he is so ugly and terrifying in appearance that humans and animals run from him. Bugel Noz may have

to live out an immortal or mysteriously long life in soli-

tude. However, he calls out to those who walk in the forest to warn them of his appearance before he emerges. Since

Bugel Noz is harmless, it is fine to stand your ground and see if you can be his first friend, should your paths ever cross.

Bunyips—Water

Bunyips come from wetland regions of the land down

under, but may have also originated in central Africa as well as Australia. They are about four feet in height, and are fat and humanoid with feet turned backwards. Bunyips are

coated with a thick layer of the muck and the mire of the

swamp.

Friendly bunyips are helpful to humans, warning of

danger, leading hunters to prey, and chasing away danger-

ous wildlife. A bunyip emerges at night or during the cre-

puscular hour, but legends say that only those of aborigi-

nal origin may be able to actually see their physical forms.

Bunyips make a sound that is very much like a dog barking.

Getting started with Faeries • 31

You can call out to a bunyip for assistance, should you

ever find yourself wandering in a swampy region of Aus-

tralia. Even if you cannot see the bunyips, listen for their barking to allow them to lead you or warn you during your

travels.

Bwaganods—Water

Welsh goblins called bwaganods spend most of their time

occupying a humanoid shape, but can shapeshift to any-

thing they like. Luckily for people, bwaganods are terribly sloppy shapeshifters, and usually make a mistake that leaves their form so outlandish as to be clearly identified as a bwaganod. Bwaganods emerge at dusk and enjoy frightening

humans for fun and because they dislike them. Avoiding a

bwaganod is easy, since they are largely harmless and the

fun stops for them when their prank is discovered.

Bwciods—Fire

Bwciods are solitary Welsh goblins that are a foot tall in height. They are skinny and have enormous feet. Their

hands are slender and long, and their noses are pointy. All bwciods have purple eyes and emotionless faces that don’t

show their feelings. Their faces are deceptive, since they can be quick to anger and can be dangerous or annoying when

provoked.

At night, bwciods wander in wilderness places looking

for humans to follow home. Though they don’t necessarily

like interacting with people, they do love peoples’ homes.

When your house becomes occupied by a bwciod, it is very

difficult to make him or her leave. The best way to prevent
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a bwciod infestation is to make sure that one doesn’t follow you home.

Callicantzaroi—Earth

From Albania, Greece, and Italy, callicantzaroi are naked

faeries that are small and thin, each with the feet of a different wild animal. They travel in groups during the winter, riding atop chickens and wearing fantastic and fancy hats.

Callicantzaroi are functionally blind and mostly harmless.

However, callicantzaroi pollute the water they use, so if

you have callicantzaroi around your water sources, you are advised to add a bit of hyssop to magically counteract their effect. It is said that lighting an old shoe on fire and setting it outside will scare the callicantzaroi away for good if you don’t want them around. If you want to get to know or like them, give them an offering of pork.

Changelings—Earth

Originating in European folklore, a changeling is an elf or a troll that has been switched with a human baby shortly

after birth so that the human family would raise it as their own. Faeries of all types were blamed with the theft of children. After all, in ancient times, childhood diseases were rampant and many children did not live to adulthood. Perhaps mythology about changelings helped parents come to

terms with an early death or come to grips with the myste-

rious and terrifying effects of a childhood disease. Scariest of all, a changeling child that did live would often suddenly disappear, running away to rejoin his or her own faerie

family.

Getting started with Faeries • 33

Changeling children could be recognized by their strik-

ing good looks, and they were often described as having

golden hair. Despite their physical beauty, changeling children were always of delicate health. The only way to cure a changeling or to prevent a child from being switched with a changeling was baptism in water.

Chi Spirits—Air

Chinese chi spirits are called spirits because they have no physical form—they manifest in the air as pure spiritual

energy. Though they are invisible, they do establish resi-

dence in the physical homes of humans, adopting a house-

hold or family for generations. It is thought that chi spirits may be helpful (or even necessary) to help a family’s day to day life run smoothly and efficiently.

Chi spirits strongly dislike their way being blocked, so

cluttered rooms may cause them to be unable to help their

humans. When chi spirits are blocked, they can cause ill-

ness, bad luck, or disorder. Ask the chi spirits of your home for guidance and to be inspired when tidying up or redecorating.

Chin-Chin Kobakamas—Earth

Chin-chin kobakamas are Japanese elves that are elderly

in appearance. Chin-chin kobakamas are agile house

elves attracted to human rugs. They are friendly towards

humans, but not terribly helpful around the house. Instead, they tease and cause mischief if one is a terrible house-keeper, encouragement for a person to get chores done. In

34 • Chapter One

order to please the chin-chin kobakamas, one need only

make sure to keep a tidy house.

Cottagers/Booakers/Bwbachs—Earth

The Welsh faeries called cottagers are always male, small, rotund, and wear fur cloaks, loincloths that look like dia-pers, and big red hats. They prefer to live in the homes

of humans, but having cottagers around is a mixed bag.

Though they are great guardians of homes, frightening off

intruders, they tend to mistake friends of the household

as intruders. If your home were infested with cottagers,

you might offer them cake with milk for distraction when

guests come calling.

Cucuis—Earth

Migrating from Mexico to America with Hispanic commu-

nities, cucuis are monsters that look like ghouls or zombies with wide, empty eyes and a drooling maw. Like zombies in

popular culture, cucuis seem brainless and live only to pur-sue humans to hurt or destroy them. Luckily, a cucui is not very intelligent; they can be easily outwitted and escaped.

Devas—Earth

Though devas became famous at a place called Findhorn in

Scotland, they can be found anywhere in the world and may

have originated in Persia. Devas are very small creatures, often invisible to the naked eye, but identifable in photographs as balls of light. Some believe that they are golden faeries with brightly colored robes if you were able to see through their bright orbs of light. A deva’s main goal is to
Getting started with Faeries • 35

help plants grow, so they are vital to having healthy crops or a prize winning garden. Every plant process is guided by devas, from germination of the seeds to flowering and production of fruit and even the death of the plant. Though

devas’s main concern is with plants, they can also help with weather magic, animals, or even human health and beauty.

Devas can be thought of as operating on a microscopic,

molecular level. They embody the energetic force that

makes life proceed as normal. They are the personification of atomic forces. As such, there may be different devas for each category of living thing as well as subcategories within them, down to the level of species or even individuals.

Devas can actually evolve and change over the lifetime of

the creature or plant that they serve within its life cycle or within the food chain. So, if a carrot deva is consumed by a rabbit deva, it too becomes a rabbit deva.

Some gardeners spend much of their gardening time

pleasing devas with songs and offerings. The best way

to establish a relationship with devas is simply to remain mindful and aware of their presence and existence. Much

like the silly part of Peter Pan in which the character Tin-kerbell is sustained by people who believe in faeries, devas thrive on the concept of belief. It is as if devas feed off the energy of humans who spend time in meditation or

thought about the nature of the universe. Of course, such

mindfulness only benefits the humans, without taking any-

thing away from them. In return, devas can help the plants directly, and also impart knowledge and teachings through

dreams or inspiration during meditation. So if after sing-

ing to your plants you have a niggling notion in your mind
36 • Chapter One

about how to help them grow bigger and better, it just

might be a nudge from the devas.

Just as devas evolve along the food chain or life cycle

of living things, their nature can be influenced by humans.

Devas in a garden that is deeply loved and served by its

human caretakers might then evolve from being merely

turnip devas, for example, into devas of the spirit of gardening. By serving devas, we may be assisting them to reach their highest spiritual potential, just as they help us with our greatest passions in life, in a sort of symbiotic spiritual relationship.

Dinnshenchas—Fire

Servants of the Goddess Aine, dinnshenchas are Irish dwarf faeries. They can shapeshift to any form that they wish, so don’t expect them to necessarily appear as stereotypical

dwarves or faeries. Dinnshenchas are dedicated to the pro-

tection of women, due to their service to a Goddess who

was the survivor of rape. Women can call upon the guard-