The Fair Folk are once again seeing a
surge in popularity across paganism and with this higher profile has come an
array of conversations about them and particularly the risk they may represent.
For myself I am thrilled to see many of the younger witches out there
advocating caution or even fear around the Gentry, but I have seen some people
pushing back against that, particularly in the witchcraft community. Its an
interesting thing to watch, as someone who grew up with a healthy caution
around these beings and who has worked for years to speak about that caution
and respect in every possible forum.
I suspect that the
disconnect here is both generational and cultural. If you are part of a culture
that still believes in and understands these beings through the lens of older
belief then you likely grew up with an understanding that they were or could be
dangerous. If you are in the newest generation of witches and pagans then you
may have started to run across more accurate folklore as well, as more urban
fantasy1 takes inspiration from older folklore and as more
advocates for traditional fairy views are speaking up. However there was a
period in the 1990's and 2000's especially where most witchcraft books in the
US discussed the Good Neighbours in very different terms, usually through the
post-Victorian lens of guides and minor spirits. That era has produced a view
among some which still persists that these beings shouldn't be feared but seen
as natural friends of a witch. It isn't entirely wrong but it does lend itself
to gross oversimplification and confusion, and sadly to a continued emphasis on
anthropocentrism and diminishment of the fairies.
It has to be said that its impossible
to really make a blanket statement on this subject. As I like to say the first
rule of Fairy is that there's an exception to every rule. Should you be
cautious of fairies? Yes, of course. But how cautious varies from 'they might
annoy you' to 'they will kill you' and that's a lot of diversity to try to make
a broad claim about. As I've said repeatedly the term fairy (or fae) is a
general term not a specific and applies as widely as the term animal in the
human world. There's as much difference between an Asrai and a Each Uisce as
there is between a mouse and a wolf. what is true for one type of fairy being
may not be true for another and the potential risk presented by one kind may be
considerably less than that presented by another. We must all be very careful
not to generalize our own experiences out and assume that all fairies fit the
mould created by the specific beings we are interacting with.
Getting back to witches and fairies,
there is a long established and important connection there. Emma Wilby in her
book 'Cunningfolk and Familiar Spirits' discusses this as does Owen Davies in
"Popular Magic: Cunningfolk in English History'. Yeats and Lady Wilde also
discuss the connection between witches and fairies in Irish folklore. It is
inarguable that fairies have played a significant and pivotal role in some
early modern witchcraft practices and still do so in some modern witchcraft and
paganism. It is important, I think, to understand though that these examples
come from a specific context in which these beings had an inherent respect and
fear attached to them which played into how witches connected to and related to
these beings. These were not and are not the fairies of popular western culture
but beings that are ambiguous, ambivalent, and potentially both helpful and
dangerous. People who feel drawn to this shouldn't balk from it but should have
that awareness that fairywork isn't a game of pokemon where you're out trying
to collect them all and they all are super eager to join you. Witchcraft with
fairies was serious work, as any work with spirits should be, and had both a
cost and consequences.
Respect. One of the keys to
successfully interacting with the Good Folk, whether or not you are a witch, is
respect. They are powerful Otherworldly beings, even the weaker ones, and they
deserve to be approached with and treated with a basic level of respect. In
this area it's honestly best to look at this the same way you would for other
humans - don't be unnecessarily rude, don't assume, don't be demanding. Basic
respect seems like common sense but it is something I often see lacking in the
way that people approach and interact with the fae folk. There's an ingrained
sense entitlement by the human that assumes the fairy not only will help with
any small random task but also very much wants to. If you actually stop and
think about it, its disrespectful to ask an immortal being with its own life
and agency to handle your petty little details of life. If you have a firmly
established relationship with these beings, or some of them anyway, then you
may be a slightly different position around asking favours but I have seen
spells out there that suggest calling in a random fairy to guard a person's pet
or property for no other reason that because the witch is telling them to and
that isn't respectful in my opinion.
Fear vs Respect I suspect where
part of the problem lies with this subject is people who confuse fear and
respect. I always advocate for respect and appreciation of the potential risks,
and I think that is sometimes interpreted as advocating fear. However that is not
my intention; I think we can acknowledge the risks of a thing or practice
without that immediately equating to fear of it. I can respect the danger that
bears or tornados represent without being excessively afraid of them. This is
another area where looking to humans can provide a helpful template: I don't
fear humans but I am aware that individual humans and groups of humans can be
extremely dangerous. I can have that awareness and use it to stay safe without
living in constant fear of every human around me. It's about nuance and I think
that's something that is too often lost in this conversation, where people only
seem able to have that dichotomous view, either abject fear or subjecating
superiority. We need to refind the idea of respect that doesn't diminish the
fairies or place them in a box labeled '100% safe'.
Fear That said I would
much rather see fear than foolishness around fairies. Fear may be an
overreaction but at least it proves a person knows the power of the Good
Neighbours, rather than treating them like an Otherworldly Alexa or Siri, just
perpetually waiting around until some human needs them. You shouldn't fear
bears, necessarily, but better to fear them than to run up and try to pet a
wild one because you decided you have a spiritual connection to them. Across
folklore into modern accounts fairies can and will cause harm ranging from
madness, blindness, illness, terrible luck, to outright death. Fear will keep
you safe sometimes. I'm not sorry to see fear being more common around fairies,
if we can't have that nuanced respect.
If I have a choice
between advocating fear or advocating diminishment, I will always advocate
fear. I would rather see people leaning towards too much caution than treating
these beings as servants and lesser powers. But I will also always advocate for
working with these beings because I feel like they are intrinsic to not only my
personal practice but also some flavours of witchcraft. There are some people
who will always be drawn to this and are arguably meant to be doing this, to
engaging with these beings, communicating with them, and dealing with them. I
do not see any contradiction here.
We shouldn't be overly afraid, but we should be canny and wise and respectful.
1- I don't usually advocate looking to
fiction for fairy material as even when it’s based on folklore it isn't very
accurate but I do acknowledge that many people do draw their knowledge from
that source
