[Image credit: The Tuatha Dé Danann as depicted in John Duncan‘s Riders of the Sidhe (1911), via Wikipedia; Riders of th Sidhe (big) – Tuatha Dé Danann – Wikipedia]
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Irish Fairy Tradition
Knowledge of the fairies was preserved in Ireland longer than in other places. In Ireland, fairies can be trooping, who appear in groups, or solitary, who live alone. Undisturbed, natural places are their favorite haunts. They can best be seen (if they so desire it) at twilight. Some are merely mischievous and generally harmless while others are maliciously inclined. Both can be dangerous if offended. Certain magical creatures, like goblins and gnomes, can be considered fairies.
In Ireland, they are euphemistically called “the good, or wee, folk.” This is because the Tuatha de Danann, the original fairy possessors of the isle, were defeated by the conquering Milesians (our ancestors as Americans) and reduced to diminutive stature in their defeat. They had originally come from Heaven (as all angels did), and it is said that they ruled a country farther to the north before conquering Ireland themselves.
Strategies for Dealing with Fairies
In Ireland, strategies for warding off fairies consist of protective charms, such as church bells (good fairies may like bells, though), St. John’s wort, wearing clothing inside out, a cock’s crowing (though some good fairies keep poultry), a four-leaf clover (which can allow one to see the fairies), cold iron, and various types of food (bread is the best, as it is a piece of the warm home and hearth, and represents the taming of nature. Wrapping bread in a baby’s bib is the best way to protect the baby from fairies). As you can see, how to deal with a fairy depends on its disposition. Good ones act more like angels while bad ones react to sacred objects more like demons do.
Hawthorne, elder, and rowan tree wood are all acknowledged to be powerful against fairies, along with pages from a religious text, and red thread.
Rowan trees are sacred to fairies in Ireland, but a charm made out of rowan wood can provide protection against them (the rowan tree was the tree from which some of the wood used for the Cross of Christ was carved—the fairies understand the sacred significance of this tree, and so should we. It should only be used for ritual purposes). The local species of rowan is the American mountain-ash in the Smokies (it is called the “wayfarer’s tree” or “traveler’s tree” because it can prevent one from getting lost). It grows above 4,000 feet elevation (e.g., on Mount LeConte and Clingmans Dome). Roan Mountain on the North Carolina-Tennessee border was named because of the numerous rowan trees growing near its summit. A rowan branch over the door can allow one to safely witness fairy processions at the beginning of summer. Witches cannot stand a rowan tree. Crosses made of rowan twigs should be tied with red yarn and placed about the house on Candlemas to banish the dark of winter and welcome the light of the coming spring.
Fairies can tie the hair up of sleepers and animals (called fairy- or elf-locks) and steal small items. In extreme cases, though, they can kidnap and leave a replica “corpse” to give the impression a sudden death has occurred. They can also kidnap a baby and leave a changeling in its place, who may be afflicted with inexplicable diseases or disorders. Tuberculosis can be caused by fairies because they can force young ones out into the cold air at night to revel and dance.
One should avoid digging in fairy hills or traveling along their known paths (which are usually straight lines between places of significance for them, such as certain mountains and hills, thorn bushes, springs, lakes, rock outcrops, and fairy forts [i.e., prehistoric mounds]). Some of their paths are circular and are used for dancing.
In Ireland, refrain from using white quartz in stonework, as this is a fairy stone. Fairy paths and rings many times are discolored in some way or feature regular formations of mushrooms. Fairy rings are favored by witches and should not be entered. You may be able to see the fairies once you’ve entered, but you will also be subject to their illusions. Some rings may be from the fiery tails of ancient dragons lashing a spot on the Earth ages ago, but most are formed on moonlit nights during the circular dances of the fairies and become visible the next day. Though some ascribe healing properties to fairy paths, most believe they are dangerous and should be avoided. These paths also run under water and are paved, in the sea with coral, but in the rivers with other abnormal flora.
Prehistoric earthen mounds in Ireland are often their fairy forts. These are protected by them and are entrances to their world. In Ireland leprechauns know of gold hidden in fairy forts. If a person or baby is kidnapped by fairies, many times they are taken to these forts. Brush should not be cut from and cattle should not be allowed to graze on these “elf-barrows.” As stated, these mounds, especially if a cave is nearby, can sometimes be entrances into Fairyland, which is a mysterious land that only fairies have access to. Like our world, it is also filled with both good and evil (as opposed to Heaven, which is all good, and Hell, which is all bad). Sometimes great expanses of time can elapse in our world while a mortal is in Fairyland. King Arthur of Britain was crowned in Fairyland and taken upon his death by four fairy queens to Avalon, where he lies under a fairy mound until he is to return. Strict silence should be observed while being led by a fairy, if ever you find yourself in this extraordinary situation.
Fairies can be bound to specific locations and will sometimes in Ireland try to lead travelers astray with a will-o’-the-wisp, an atmospheric ghost light seen by travelers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. This resembles a flickering lamp or lantern that can draw a traveler off the right road. They sometimes leave or give out fairy gold, which is usually worthless and will revert to its true form after a time (leaves, flowers, gingerbread cakes, etc.). Fairy ointment is kept by them, and by rubbing it in one’s eyes, the fairies can be seen. However, if the fairies learn of this, they will attempt to blind the person.
Fairies in Ireland generally appear human in appearance, many times with large dragonfly- or butterfly-type wings, though they can fly without them. They can assume very tiny sizes, however, and hide on plant stems or birds’ backs. They many times appear with green eyes and green clothes as a form of camouflage among the foliage.
Do not look closely at an Irish fairy, as they are elusive and resent this. They can be offended in many ways, and will often take out their anger on the offender afterwards. It is reported that using a fairy’s name can allow the user to force the fairy to do his bidding. However, some are insulted at the use of their name. Either way, being in league with fairies as such is dangerous and should never be attempted. Witnessing a fairy “funeral” is an omen of death. Children born with abnormalities may have been afflicted by fairies.
Scottish Brownies
Brownies are a specific Scottish type of fairy. They are tutelary spirits, meaning they are guardians or patrons of a specific place. Though they actually live in a particular nearby cave, stream, rock, or pond, they attach to established homes, usually only one per home, and sometimes perform tasks or chores related to the maintenance of the household at night. They usually appear as brown-skinned, ugly, hairy, small, dressed in rags and a hood, and wizened, though their size and appearance can vary (sometimes appearing as animals or invisible, though they rarely need to. In some places they are reported not to have noses, or not to have fingers and toes). Brownies are easily offended and generally desire offerings of milk, porridge, or small cakes on the hearth to be left out overnight. If clothing is offered to them or if one attempts to baptize them, they may depart the house forever. The are believed to contribute to household prosperity. They do not like to shoulder all the burden of housework and will pinch and try to upset lazy servants or children. Sometimes they will leave messes or make noise overnight for their own amusement. However, brownies that are particularly fond of the humans in the house will sometimes help out in an emergency.
Brownies were reportedly brought with Scottish immigrants to Canada because they can sometimes be attached to a certain family. Brownies are much more likely found in old, settled family homes than in newly constructed homes, though an ancient Scottish lineage may be enough to cause the presence of a brownie.
Hobgoblins
While brownies are more peaceful creatures, hobgoblins are more fond of practical jokes. They also seem to be able to shapeshift. Ironing and dusting are common tasks they will perform around a homestead. Hobgoblins are easily annoyed and can be frightening and even dangerous, unlike brownies. They are drawn by food, usually cream. They will be offended if offered clothes. Some hobgoblins have been known to give advice or even heal, but this is rare. They can also follow families who move. A bauchan is a form of hobgoblin from the Scotch Highlands that can follow a family. They are belligerent and combative but also helpful if they want to be.
Kobolds are a German type of hobgoblin with similar characteristics, though some are more like brownies, doing helpful work at night. They are generally thought to live in the hearth of a home. While invisible, they can materialize in animal, fire, human, and candle form, among other things. Where they haunt determines their appearance, with some who live in mines appearing with miner clothes. This variety is described as hunched and ugly. Some haunt ships and take on sailor characteristics. There are household, underground, or ship types, broadly speaking. In each case they are generally mischievous but can be helpful with chores at times. Some German families carve kobold effigies for their homes, which are meant as a sign of respect for them. (They are made with wood from trees that kobolds might have inhabited and were designed as laughing, with colorful clothing. They are kept in glass and wooden containers.) Kobolds pollute mined elements with arsenic to deter miners from the treasures under the earth sometimes. Kobolds can manifest as fire that enters and exits the home through the chimney, sometimes flying through the air as a fiery or blue stripe. They can also appear looking very much like a gnome or one of Santa’s elves. Sometimes they appear as orbs, black cats, or snakes. They detest being seen and will retaliate if you try to see them or outright leave whatever place they are haunting. A klabautermann is a Dutch attestation of the ship kobold. These invisible spirits are largely helpful, with a great understanding of watercraft and a love of song and dance. They generally appear as small sailors in yellow with a tobacco pipe, caulking hammer, and woolen sailor’s cap. Carving and attaching this image to the mast of the ship will encourage the klabautermann to be helpful. Rarely, though, they act nefariously, and sabotage and doom the ship. If any of the crew are able to visibly see the klabautermann, it portends doom for the ship and its crew.
Elves
Elves are a specific type of fairy from Germanic and extreme northern lands that live in hills and rockpiles. They are also associated in some way with the killing of Able by Cain as one of the races somehow springing from that act. They can cause sickness with “elf-shot,” a spiritual projectile and are also associated with seduction and incubi/succubi, though the proliferation of old Germanic personal names that include the word “elf” indicates that at some point they may have been friendly or helpful. They are associated with skin diseases, and their dances leave elven circles, much like other types of fairies. Urinating in one of these can cause venereal disease, and they should never be disturbed in any way. Watching an elven dance can feel like it takes only moments, but once done you will find that many years have passed. They are generally human-size in stature, and considered attractive. They are generally thought to appear with pointed ears. Those of mixed human-elf parentage were said to be more beautiful than other men. Elves do not like gusts of air. Elves enjoy offerings of butter or other treats placed on an elven mill (a rock with a pentagram carved onto it). Pentagrams painted onto surfaces offer protection against elves, as do crosses carved onto round or oblong silver plates. These are worn as a pendant in a necklace, and to be effective, they must be forged during three evenings with silver, from nine different sources of inherited silver, and be on the altar of a church for three consecutive Sundays. In Iceland elves are called the “hidden people.” There they are known to still obstruct road- and house-building, acting as the protectors against runaway urbanization. Elves have a realm unopen to men called Alfheim, the land of the Light Elves, who are, while not angelic, still more virtuous than many elf-types.
The green-clad, pointy hat-wearing elves of the North Pole, who have committed themselves to goodness and serve St. Nicholas in his mission to dispense God’s love to children across the world on the eve of the Nativity, are shorter in stature than the elves that live farther south in the Germanic lands. They could almost be thought of as brownie-type elves. They make (and inspire the making of) Christmas toys and tend to Santa’s supernatural stable of reindeer. Elves, like all spirit beings, are immortal (or at least very long-lived). The elves of Lookout Mountain are of this class, but somewhat more akin to dwarves because they live among and in the rocks (they likely were attached to the household of Frieda Carter (née Utermoehlen), wife of the founder, which is how they wound up in Tennessee). Much like these are the gnomes, generally thought to be two spans tall and reluctant to interact with men. They also guard mines and underground treasures, many times gold (like at the Swiss village of Plurs or the Untersberg mountain) or precious stones. They are reportedly ugly and also have a knack for engineering and gadgets. The more domesticated gnomes, i.e., “garden gnomes,” act almost as outdoor brownies. Brownies, Santa’s elves, the elves of Lookout Mountain, and gnomes are all closely related and not easily distinguished.
Dwarves
Dwarves are yet another class of fae folk native to the Germanic lands, somewhat adjacent to gnomes but usually appearing larger. They are short in stature and dwell in mountains or stones and are skilled craftsmen. They have made some of the mightiest weapons and magical objects in history: Mjolnir (Thor’s hammer), Draupnir and Skidbladnir (magic rings), Brisingamen (Freyja’s necklace), etc. They created a Mead of Poetry (that grants skills in poetry to those who drink it) from the blood of Kvasir. Like most fairies, they can afflict mental and bodily diseases on humans and animals, including at range through “dwarfshot” (blessed objects are used to protect against this; an iron cross is probably the best protection). Dwarves are known in the Prose Edda as Svartalfar, or “black elves” (and the “dark elves”) and some such dwarves reside in Svartalfaheimr, ruled by the fairy-god Freyr (dark elves live here too). They operate magical forges within mountains and forge fantastical jewelry and weapons (typically magical swords). Sometimes you can hear the sounds of them working underground or feel the heat from the forges rising up from the earth (this heat can increase soil fertility). They are probably present when volcanic activity occurs under the earth. Dwarves are known to glow because they reflect the bright burning of their forges. Men have been known to steal or extort treasure and magical objects from dwarves (dwarves like to guard treasure). They can shapeshift and become invisible via a “cloak of invisibility.” Their relations with men can be friendly and helpful at times, but they are known (in Northumberland, at least) to use lights to lure people off paths at night. Fighting them is considered dishonorable. The Prose Edda says four dwarves are involved in holding up the sky at the four ends of the world. Dwarves generally have superhuman strength. Their kings can take on an enormously large size at will.
Source: Wikipedia