#faërie

It is said that the land of Faery is as near as breath.

So it is. And as far away as a land beyond the clouds or deep underground. That is true too. Faërie logic allows for this contradiction. The old stories of the Otherworld folk living in mounds and moving between the worlds capture this nearness while at the same time conceding that it is an invisible realm for those going about their daily business with eyes focused on the main chance.

So it is the slant look, the averted gaze, the dreaming eye that might catch a glimpse through the veil of enchantment that casts a glamour over the Otherworld. Yet to go there is not easy. Stories tell of journeys through darkness, through water and through suspended time to get there. What sort of journeys are these? They too are the journeys of dream, of trance, of stillness in a world of shifting time and space.

Deep within the living world of Nature the dream goes on, just as a dream does in the world of sleep. But this is a waking dream with a continuous existence half a glance away. Dream the land and the land will dream you; sidestep the path and a new path opens before you. To glimpse these ways into dream is an occasional privilege granted to those who care to attune their senses and be still and aware.

(Fairytale: A True Story, 1997.)

Ryls (a term created by L. Frank Baum) are probably what most people think of when they hear the word "Faery". These small creatures are only a few inches tall and are said to be very beautiful. They are also known to fly, though whether this is achived through riding the wind astride ragwort stems or under the power of insect-like wings is much debated.

The Fae are essentially all beings that live in Faërie, the same way that all creatures living on Earth are Earthlings. There are several kingdoms in Faërie, but the most influential one is the court of the Faeking, which is a character that you’ll meet in the story.

Since it is a very plural realm, you’ll meet lots of different creatures as I mentioned here. For this story, I’m trying to include a few traits that are common in fairy stories, such as their aversion to iron. This is not a metal you would find in Faërie, and for centuries humans used it to protect themselves against ill-intentioned fairies.

A major plot point in the story is that Fairies can’t cross to Earth uninvited and the same happens to humans. That is, for a Fairy to be able to enter the human world, they need to have a human asking them to come in, and for that reason, a few fairies will trick humans. On the other hand, humans will often use magic to bind fairies to them and get “invited” to the fairy realm, so you can imagine how are the relations between the peoples here lol

The Dream Realm is used both by humans and fairies to make connections and find the location of the portals that connect the two worlds, but only a few individuals can access this realm so consciously.

There is a lichen – Lobaria pulmonaria – also known as ‘Tree Lungwort’ – which lives in the depths of the forest. It needs mature trees to establish itself and damp conditions away from drying winds, so small woodlands are of no use to it. It is rare because the habitat it needs is also rare. She is a faërie thing. Old, mysterious and of a time that is passing. Yet she lingers in the dark woodland whispering her spells when the moonlight filters down through the trees.

The Cottingley Fairies

A seriese of five photographs taken by cousins Elsie Wright (16) and Frances Griffiths (9). The photographs were initially believed to be genuine images of the girls with Faeries they had met in the beck. But later in life the two admitted that they had created the Faery figures by tracing the illustrations from Princess Mary's Gift Book.

Even still, Frances was adiment all her life that the fifth and final photo was truly genuine.