7 Things About Fairies and Iron

"‘Gold is for the mistress — silver for the maid —

Copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade.’

‘Good!’ said the Baron, sitting in his hall,

‘But Iron — Cold Iron — is master of them all.’"

- Kipling, 'Cold Iron'

Folklore about the Othercrowd stretches back centuries, with much of the recorded material we have focusing on protection against them. This is logical as they were thought to be able to harm humans as well as steal humans away. One of the main items recommended for protection against fairies is iron, although in the modern world I see a great deal of confusion on the subject and related topics. I thought it might be helpful to have a discussion here about iron, its uses, and some of the beliefs around it, so to that end I'm offering 7 points on fairies and iron:

1. Apotropaic Iron

Iron is said in folklore to protect against a wide range of spirits and negative magics including many of the Good Neighbors and Alfar, Ghosts, Demons, and witches. Iron objects deter the majority of the Other Crowd who are averse to its presence and things like knives, scissors, nails, and horseshoes were recommended as protective objects. It is said that cemeteries had iron fences to contain any ghosts inside. Similarly older folklore said that demons were also repelled by iron, and it was believed to break the magic of witches. A horseshoe hung up above a doorway kept out a wide range of spirits as well as protecting from baneful magic.
There is no set understanding of why iron works for this, but the belief is very widespread. 

2. Fairies and Iron

Across Western European folklore, particularly in the Celtic language speaking cultures and the Germanic cultures, we find the idea that iron is an ideal protection against Otherworldly beings. There is no agreement whether this must be blacksmith forged iron or any form of iron, but as mass production has come in since the industrial revolution there seems to be no indication that iron in any form is less effective. In fact we do have British accounts claiming that railways and trains drove off the Good People as they came into new areas, something that is also attributed to iron church bells; while we can argue about whether the iron here was the crucial feature as opposed to the sound, it does at least support that mass produced iron can be associated with protection. 
Its always best to remember that fairy is a general term, like animal, that applies to a wide array of beings. Iron is recommended as a superlative protection against fairies, but there will always be those who are not bothered by it. If we were to say that about 80% of fairies can't bear the touch of iron then the other 20% have no problem with it, and those would include mine faeries, forge spirits, and some house spirits; basically any fairy that would naturally exist or dwell near iron or iron ore. Also any of the aos sidhe connected to smithing don't seem to be bothered by iron.

3. Iron or Steel?

 Iron is hard to come by these days and although it is the best protection steel will also work in a pinch. Steel is between 90 and 98% iron depending on the alloy, so a steel object is obviously mostly an iron object. Iron and steel are effectively the same substance and have been treated that way in folklore and for apotropaic purposes historically, where we find references to both iron and steel being used to ward off fairies.  Generally the type of item isn't as important as the material in this case so anything made of iron that you can procure can be used for protective purposes. In tradition any worked iron can be used to ward against fairies including iron weapons, iron nails, iron horse shoes, iron scissors, iron fire tongs, etc.,. There’s no indication in folklore or anecdotal material that the form of the iron matters, only its presence. There is debate about whether it has to be hand worked iron or not, and I doubt that will ever be settled, but we have accounts of non-hand forged being used successfully.
Steel has the same effect as iron because steel is almost identical to iron in substance. Or put another way steel, while it has some other metals alloyed in it, is still mostly iron.

4. Cold Iron

Many people are familiar with the term 'cold iron' and associate it today with pure or simply worked forged iron - what is technically called 'pig iron' or 'crude iron'. There are also some who draw on role playing games to understand this concept and believe that cold iron is iron that was cold forged. While interesting these are decidedly modern views on the concept, relying in part on technology that didn't exist when some of the older references to cold iron were made. Historically the term cold iron was a poetic term for any iron weapon and is synonymous today with the term 'cold steel'. Grose's 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar tongue defines cold iron as "A sword, or any other weapon for cutting or stabbing"; in modern parlance cold steel would refer to a gun or similar weapon. When you see a reference to cold iron it is talking about an iron weapon, usually a sword or knife.

5. Using Iron

There are several ways to use iron to protect yourself and your home from fairies, if it's needed. Lady Wilde suggested protecting infants from being taken as changelings by sewing a bit of iron into the hem of the child's clothes (Wilde, 1888). I was taught a modern version of this, where it was recommended that a steel safety pin be attached to a child's clothing, particularly sleepwear. Another commonly recommended protection for children and babies was to hang a pair of scissors, opened into the shape of a cross, above the cradle (Briggs, 1976). A horseshoe can be hung up over the door way, points up, which not only acts to ward off fairies but is also said to draw good luck. An iron knife or cross is also an excellent protection, either carried or hung up above the door or bed (Briggs, 1976). Robert Kirk in his 1691 treatise on the Good Neighbours mentions the practice of putting "bread, the Bible, or a piece of iron" in the bed of a woman giving birth to protect the infant from being stolen. In Welsh belief a knife, particularly of iron, was so effective a protection that should friendly fairies visit a home all knives were hidden from sight lest they be offended and if a traveling person was attacked by the Othercrowd he had only to pull his blade for them to disappear (Sikes, 1880). Another method found in Germanic and Norse traditions is to hammer an iron nail into a post near the doorway or alternately part of the door frame. Additionally it is said to be as effective to draw a circle using an iron nail or knife around what you want to protect (Gundarsson, 2007).

A more modern, but still useful method, is the use of iron water. Fill a small spray bottle with water and add iron filings, iron dust, or a piece of iron, and allow to sit for a few days. The water can be sprayed into a room or around the home as needed.
As always keep in mind that the use of iron will not effect all fairies, as some - including mine fairies and house fairies - are not bothered by it. For those that are sensitive to it, though, it is a superlative protection. 

To summarize; ultimately the amount doesn't seem to matter as long as the content is iron. The shape is also not important although it is more often recommended in a form that is sharp - a knife or nail - or combined with a holy symbol like a cross. The placement is best either on the person or very close by, especially near where they are sleeping. When placed above or next to an entrance it is believed that the presence of iron will keep out any Otherworldly beings. Although in today's world iron may be more difficult to find steel is fairly easily obtained and will work as well.

6. Fairies and Blood

There is an idea I have occasionally run across that the Good People would be or are averse to human blood because it contains iron. There are some anecdotal accounts which claim fairies have white blood and and are averse to or avoid the colour red and human blood (see: Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries and The Good People for more on this). However these are late 19th century and 20th century accounts which hinge on the Catholic belief that fairies have white blood because they are not mortal and have been denied Heaven/salvation and they avoid human blood not because it contains iron as some people are now alleging but because it represents the afterlife they are barred from. We also have a multitude of evidence that red is a colour associated with fairies and that many fairies are known to wear red which contradicts the idea that they would avoid that colour. While there is at least one anecdotal account, recorded by Lysaght in the Good People, of a belief that the Good Folk were averse to the color red and to blood, we see far more stories of fairies eating red meat, cooking bread with blood*, and in some cases eating humans even the ones who are averse to iron, so it doesn’t seem like blood and forged iron have the same effect.
Further to that point, the iron in human blood, aka hemoglobin, is not the kind that would ward against fairies anyway. Iron in human blood is a very miniscule amount; there’s only something like 4 grams total in a grown man altogether including blood, bone marrow, etc., Second of all hemoglobin is chemically different from ferrous iron which almost certainly makes a difference. 
In short - iron or steel in any form protects against fairies. Human blood does not.

7. Can Iron be 'Tamed'?

There are some modern magical practitioners that believe that iron can be rendered ineffective against the Good Folk, intentionally, by quenching it or washing it in a particular herb, often foxglove. This process is referred to as taming. The furthest back I can trace this idea in writing is to the 2005 book 'Viridarium Umbris' by David Schulke; the author cites no sources for the concept. I have talked to a few people who also believe and use this process, avow to its effectiveness, and existence before Schulke's book. All I can really say here is that it isn't anything found in Irish folklore or practice, or more generally in fairy folklore, and may be something particular to modern grimoire material. 

End Note
*this is from a story where a servant girl fails to leave out fresh water overnight for the Good Folk to cook with so they prick her and use her blood to make their bread instead, causing her to fall ill. Her health is restored only when she finds out what has happened and manages to get a piece of the bread for herself to eat. 

Reference:
Gundarsson, K (2007). Elves, Wights, and Trolls
Wilde, E., (1888) Irish Cures, Mystic Charms, & Superstitions
Briggs, K., (1976) A Dictionary of Fairies
Grose, F., (1811) Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue
Sikes, W., (1880) British Goblins: Welsh folklore, Fairy mythology, Legends, and Traditions
Kirk, R., (1691) The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies
Narvaez, P (1991) The Good People
Evans-Wentz, W., (1911) Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries

Resources for Studying the Daoine Maithe

 I've written before about resources, more generally, for studying the Good Neighbours across the Celtic language speaking cultures that acknowledge them and a few years ago I wrote about good resources for Irish paganism specifically. But I don't think I've ever written a list of resources I trust for learning about the Irish Daoine Uaisle in particular so today seems like a good day to tackle that. There is so much out there that's bad quality, fiction put out as folklore, or just plain wrong that I think its especially important for people to know where the good sources are. Below I'll give all the people, books, and sites that I consider trustworthy sources on this topic specifically

People:

• Eddie Lenihan – a renowned storyteller and also the author of several books, Eddie Lenihan is a great resource for folklore about the Good Folk. His book "Meeting the Othercrowd' in particular, as well as his new Youtube channel and the various other interviews of his available in that site.
• Lora O’Brien – has a series called 'folklore friday' as part of a wider YouTube channel which often features fairylore and stories of the Irish Othercrowd. Lora also offers several classes through the Irish Pagan School covering the subject.
• Dr. Jenny Butler – Dr. Butler has several videos on Youtube discussing the Good People, and also offers a class through University College Cork called 'Myth and Magic an Introduction to the Study of Irish Folklore and Mythology' which discusses vital aspects of the Good Folk and the Otherworld. 
• Michael Fortune – a great resource for Irish folklore, including stories of the Othercrowd. Michael Fortune has a series of youtube interviews he’s done with people around Ireland discussing folklore, beliefs, and practices which includes a series of first and secondhand accounts of people interacting with the Daoine Maithe.

Books: 

• 'The Banshee' by Patricia Lysaght - the author's dissertation this book is literally everything you could ever want to know about the Bean sidhe
• 'Meeting the Othercrowd' by Lenihan and Green - mentioned above this book is a collection of stories about the Good Folk.
• 'Tales of the Wicklow Hills' by Richard Marsh - a collection of stories and legends, as well as anecdotal accounts, from the Wicklow area. Includes accounts of púcaí, fairy trees, and fairy forts. 
• 'Away With the Fairies' by William Henry - A collection of folktales and folk beliefs from Galway, including various stories of na Uaisle.

Sites:

•  Ireland’s Folklore and Traditions – excellent blog about traditional Irish beliefs, traditions, and folklore, with a great article about the 'reality of Irish fairies'. 
• Blúiríní Béaloidis – a podcast about Irish folklore with some excellent discussions of the Good People
• Circle Stories – a facebook page that features articles discussing Irish folk beliefs, with many great articles about the Othercrowd and Otherworld.
• Dúchas.ie – a treasure trove of folklore recorded in the early 20th century including many very important stories about the Daoine Maithe. 

So I know I usually tend to seem a bit harsh on fiction but there are several books that deal with the Irish Good People in a creative way that I do like and which I feel stays true to their nature as depicted in folklore. So I'm going to include them here as well to wrap up this article.

Fiction:

• Ruth Frances Long – this author has several series, but I especially want to highlight the Dubh Linn series which begins with ‘A Crack in Everything‘. It heavily involves the Good Folk, as well as a blend of other folklore and belief. 
• Peadar Ó'Guilín - this author has a two book series 'The Grey Lands' which looks at an alternate world Ireland which has been cut off from the rest of the globe and is at the mercy of the Othercrowd. 

lone tree on the path to an Ceathrú Chaol

Man Recovered From the Fairies - A Story

 

I was recently asked on my Patreon by one of my patrons if I could translate a modern Irish piece from the school's collection at Duchas.ie. I'm not fluent in modern Irish but offered to give it a try as it is one of the school's pieces that was recorded only as Gaeilge. Its also a very interesting piece, recounting the abduction of a newly married man by the Daoine Maithe and his subsequent recovery by a wise woman and her daughter. 

I am including the original Irish story here as well as my attempt at a translation of it, for anyone else who may find it interesting or useful:

Bhí fear ann fadó agus an lá a phós sé, bhí sé féin agus a bean ag teacht abhaile agus do fuaduigheadh é. Do cuaidh sí ghá lorg agus dubhairt gach aoinne sa deire gur guid na daoine Maithe é.Bhí bean taobh thiar de'n nDaingean go nglaodhís Móirín uirthi agus cuaidh sí siar agus dubhairt Móirín go raibh sí féin ró críonna agus nár bhfhéidir léi siubhal ach go gcuirfeadh sí a h-inghean an aonfacht léi.
Cuaidh inghean Mhóirín an aonfacht léi agus cuardaighdeadar gach lios in Éirinn. Thosnuigheadar ar an gceann badh shia uatha go dtí go dthánghadar go dtí an lios seo go nglaodhtar Lios na Daighche air. Is amhlaidh a bhí an bhean sa lios go raibh an fear aici.Bhí sí ag cíoradh a gruaige nuair a connaiceadar í. Cuir inghean Móirín dhá láimh ar a súile agus cuir sí na ceisteanna seo uirthe.
A Clíona a Clíona,
A bean bínn beasac,
Go mbeannuigidh na
Naoimh duit is Aon Mach Dé,
Is fada an stáirseo do thángna id fheachaint,
Feachaint conus ata agat Seán'ac Séamuis.
No bhfuil ar t-eolus aon oig bhean réidh leis.
Dubhairt Clíona.
An tu Móirín ó iarthar Eireann.
Dubhairt inghean Móirín.
Ní mé, ar sise,ach inghean righ iseadh mé.
Dubhairt Clíona.
Dá mbadh inghean rígh thu do bheadh fáinne óir ar gach méar leat
Dubhairt inghean Móirín.
Caithfidh a tú seacht gcéad sean a fuigheach bhleinfionn.
Agus seacht gcéad gabhar agus iad go léir ar aon dath
Agus seacht gcéad bairlle d'airgead réalach.
Ní raibh sí ábalta ar na seacht gcéad bairlle d'airgead réalach a thabhairt dí agus fuaireadar an fear agus thógadar leó abhaile é.
- source Duchas.ie page 559 found here https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4678409/4678231

There was a man long ago and the day he got married, he and his wife were coming home and he was kidnapped. She went to look for him and everyone said in the end that he was stolen by the Good People. There was a woman in Daingean that they would call, Móirín, and she went back and Móirín said that she was too old and that she couldn't travel alone she would go with her daughter if she was agreeable. Móirín's daughter agreed and they searched every lios [fairy fort] in Ireland. They started at the head of the bay until they came to this lios, which is called Lios na Daighche. The woman in the courtyard was supposed to have the man. She was combing her hair when they saw her. Móirín's daughter placed two hands over her eyes and asked her these questions. "Oh Clíona, oh Clíona, A sweet, beautiful woman, Blessing of the Saints to you and of the One Son of God, It's been a long time since you came to see, See how you have with you Seán son of Séamuis. Or is any young woman known to be ready for it." Clíona said "Are you Móirín from the west of Ireland?" Móirín's daughter said. "I am not," she said, "but the daughter of a king". Clíona said. "If you were a king's daughter you would have a gold ring on each finger" Móirín's daughter said. "You must have yourself seven hundred old-fashioned white wigs (?). And seven hundred goats and all of them of one color And seven hundred barrels of real money." She was unable to give her the seven hundred barrels of real money and they found the man and took him home.

Liminal Gods - Deeper Theology

 I've written before about the liminal Gods of the Fairy Witchcraft I practice, including the seasonal pairings of the Lady of the Greenwood and Lord of the Wildwood and Queen of the Wind and Hunter as well as the sisters Thallae and Thessilae, the Lord of Mischief, and the Queen of Apples; in my books I've also touched on several others relating to the ocean and storms. The thing about these deities is that there is no set pantheon of mythology, they are fluid beings and every single human will interact with different ones or combinations of them. This is a system that is meant to be experiential and personal, not rigidly structured and also one that is highly dependent on who a particular witch connects to or who connects to them. I do realize that this approach is foreign to many people who are used to having pantheons handed to them, so I wanted to expand a bit here on the variety that can be found and also why I chose to make the seasonal pairings the most prominent initially and how this doesn't reflect an inherent heteronormativity (although I understand why it seems that way).

The key descriptors of a liminal god is that they are not a named god from a pantheon (that they'll admit anyway); go by titles instead of names; are intrinsically connected to the Otherworld; are viewed or treated as monarchy or similar there; and can profoundly effect a witch's life. They may be extremely regionally specific or more universal, may be shared with other fairy witches or personal to an individual witch. Of course I will add here that a fairy witch can also connect to or be dedicated to a named deity; there's no rule that says it must be a liminal god only a deity that is strongly connected to the Otherworld. 

When I wrote my first book on Fairy Witchcraft back in 2014 I felt strongly that it was important to offer a way for people to begin connecting in to this energy and world. The easiest way to do this is to start honouring the most universal and open of the liminal gods, which are the two seasonal pairs. Think of them in a way as the gateway gods to fairy witchcraft. They are two couples, a queen with a king, who each rule over six months of the year respectively, and over two seasonal fairy courts. I suspect these seasonal courts reflect something of a cultural paradigm that these beings have embraced, but that's speculative on my part. They certainly embody many paradigms of older folklore and belief as well as some modern aspects, and are probably because of that, the most approachable of the liminal gods. They are also the easiest for people coming from or into neopaganism to relate to and connect with as they follow and embrace the procession of seasons and earth based seasonal holydays that are popular. Again creating an easy gateway or bridge for people new to the path. 

The two sisters are another pairing, although they are neither a couple in the sexual sense (obviously) nor a ruling pair. They do however embody balancing forces of healing and death and perhaps embody deeper mysteries. Because they are forces of mortality, whether through health, illness, or death, they are also relatable to many humans and therefore easier for witches to begin connecting to. And they can offer a useful place for people to look to in dire circumstances that won't by necessity mean making a bargain with more dangerous powers. 

The Lord of Mischief appears alone, and is a fluid being. As I describe in the initial blog about him, he is a spirit of fun, high spiritedness, and trouble, as well as travel. He is also a patron of sorts to lovers - one of his other titles (punnily enough) being Knight of Love - and that applies to any and all lovers and all types of love. He is not part of a pair of any kind but is probably the most actively fluid, in every sense, of the liminal gods I've previously discussed. If its fun, feels good, and makes people happy its his purview. He is one of the more intensely Fae and Fey of the liminal gods I've discussed and definitely not for everyone. 

The Queen of Apples* is discussed in my work with she/her pronouns because I tend to see her as a girl (literally of about 14 or 15) but as I stated when I first wrote about her I strongly feel that is not a set gender but an appearance; she tends to be androgynous to me and also asexual. She is the patron of brothels and by extension of all sex workers. If it seems enormously contradictory to have a being that appears as a teenage girl with androgynous/asexual energy as the patron of sex work I'd agree but that's a very Fairy contradiction. She is also a deity of protection, healing, revelry and madness. The Queen of Apples was the first liminal god that came from shared gnosis and she, like the seasonal pairs, seems to be a great deity for people to begin with or focus on. 

These are brief descriptions of the main liminal gods that have been discussed publicly over the last 7 years. Now I started this by saying that liminal gods can be personal and unique and that is a basic premise of my style of fairy witchcraft. The ones discussed here represent the public aspects, the ones that are open to anyone with an interest in this type of witchcraft. There are also however many others that people could potentially find themselves meeting. The fairy queen I owe allegiance to, for example, is not one of these. And when it comes to who a witch might encounter there really are no set patterns or limits - it doesn't have to be a queen/king pair, nor an androgynous queen ruling alone. I suspect there are long and complex reasons why we do find these cross-gender pairings most often and why the Queen is usually the more powerful force. The seasonal pairs do present as heteronormative but that's for some complex reasons rooted in human expectation, mirroring the natural world in specific ways, and feeding on a lot of established folklore that empowers them. The rest....have different paradigms not based in pulling power from human belief in the same way. That's a complex topic to dig into but suffice to say here that the Good Folk are known to both mimic human culture as well as reflect inverse human norms**, and also have a deep history of behaving in ways humans find morally perverse and of embracing humans who are themselves outside what is considered typical for gender and sex. With that all in mind you may find yourself connecting to a same sex pairing, a polyamorous grouping^, an individual or any combination thereof. You may find the liminal deity you connect to is androgynous or overtly sexual, who are chaste or orgiastic. You may find liminal gods who are themselves fluid in how they present both their gender and sexuality. These are powers that are ancient and outside momentary human social norms and so cannot be easily pigeon holed into any one perspective or expectation. But if you are most comfortable with a heterosexual pairing then that is certainly an option.

The ultimate message here is that fairy witchcraft is a path that not only accepts but embraces the full spectrum of LGBTQ+ and consensual relationship formats because that range is what we find among the beings we are honouring and connecting to. When we dive deeper into theology around the liminal gods we will inevitably uncover contradictions and contrasts which rather than dilute these beings reflect their complexity. We also find that every human has their own experiences in part because of the way these beings choose to interact with them, usually through a lens unique to that human. 
They do not lie but they will give a person what that person expects or needs at a particular time to move a situation forward. And perhaps more importantly in fairy witchcraft without the rigid structure of set pantheons each witch connects to the liminal god or other deity that they most resonate with personally or who feels most drawn to or by that person. 

*I actually have some intense UPG here and believe there is a liminal god by this name but also a Higher Power of the Other by the same title, for whom this liminal God is a facet. 
** see my article on gender among the Good Folk for more on this
^ I would have to do an entire separate post on polyamory or open relationships in the context of fairies but I don't want this to go too long

Book Review: Lugh Lleu A Collection of Poems and Tales

 I haven't done a book review in a little bit so let's jump into one today for Kris Hughes 'Lugh Lleu A Collection of Poems and Tales' published in 2020. This is a short book and features 5 poems and 4 stories as well as an introduction. The introduction lays out the author's intent with the book which is to explore the areas of crossover between the Irish deity Lugh and the Welsh god Lleu through retelling older folk tales and myths and through poetry. 

The author achieves the stated premise throughout the text, blurring the boundaries between the two deities and dancing back and forth between one set of myths and another. This is perhaps most evident in the poem 'Lugh Lleu' where each verse shifts from one deity to another, giving us a verse about Lugh followed by one about Lleu and so on. Others such as 'Alpha' are less easily parsed and may perhaps apply to both deities without explicitly being aimed at either. 

The re-tellings of the stories are based on older myths and folktales, which the author discusses at the end of the text in the 'Notes' section. All of the original sources are cited there and there is a small commentary on that particular story and the author's approach to it, from direct retellings of tales, such as in 'Gwydion' to stories like 'Balor' which are much more creative and blend both multiple older versions with the author's imagination. As with the poems the tales encompass both Lugh and Lleu.

This book would probably not work well for hard polytheists or those who see a strong separation between Lugh and Lleu, but for those who see a fuzzier demarcation between the Welsh and Irish Gods or who enjoy contemplating the possibilities there this provides interesting food for contemplation. With its mix of poetry, retelling,s and creative reimaginings of tales 'Llugh Lleu A Collection of Poems and Tales' has a little bit of everything. Copies can be found here 

7 Facts Everyone Should Know About Fairies

The subject of fairies is a complex one and with the amount of good, bad, and ridiculous material floating around online there's a lot of confusion. Here are seven basic things about the subject that everyone should know:

1. The Word Fairy Is A Catchall Term - Although we use fairy as if it were specific the word is and has always been a generic term applied to a range of beings. Its history goes back 700 years in English and it was used interchangeably with elf, goblin, imp, and incubus for most of its history; the oldest meaning of fairy related to the place and later as an adjective for beings from or with the nature of that place. There are seem groups who use fairy now to indicate a specific type of being, what Paracelsus would have called Sylphs, but across the breadth of folklore and academia the word is still used as a catch all. This is important to know because when you see an older account talking about a fairy encounter, or a journal article talking about fairies, or the word fairy used to translate a term like the Korean yojeong it is inevitably being used in the wider generic sense, not for a small sprite. 
   
   
2. The Unseelie and Seelie Courts Are Uniquely Scottish - Appearing in urban fantasy of the late 20th century as a ubiquitous division of all fairies into a sort of 'good' and 'bad' grouping, the idea of the Seelie and Unseelie courts comes from Scottish folklore specifically. As much as its popular today - and sometimes convenient - to divide all fairy beings by these arbitrary lines in folklore we do not find the concepts outside of the areas they originated in, that is the southern areas of Scotland specifically. The words themselves come from Scots and have a long and interesting history as applied to fairies, which goes far beyond a simple good/bad dichotomy. This is important to know for two reasons: firstly because the terms apply, really, only to Scottish folklore and not elsewhere, and secondly following that because when you see them being applied elsewhere - for example a book or article talking about Irish fairy beings or monarchs being in one court or another, or claiming English fairy monarchs rule either court - its a red flag that what you are reading is fiction not folklore. 
   
   
3. Fairies Have Their Own Rules - One thing that is clearly established across every and all stories we have of the Good Folk is that they do not adhere to human ethics or rules but operate on their own system of both. Many of these seem to contradict human expectations, such as the prohibition we find in some folklore not to say thank you or not to acknowledge seeing the Good Folk. These rules are not homogenous and will vary by specific group of Otherworldly beings and by the wider culture they are associated with, but in general it can be said that fairy etiquette will always be different from and often at odds with human norms. There is often a double standard that seems to exist as well across fairy folklore where the ways that humans are treated and the ways that humans are expected to act are not the same rules applied to fairies themselves. Humans often find these beings cruel or capricious at least in part because of this difference in behaviour and expectation, which we may perhaps describe as 'cultural differences'. This fact is important to know because it helps put the wider folklore in context and provides a basis for interactions.  
   
   
4. Cultural Lenses Make a Huge Difference - Despite the way that the word is used generically what we would call fairies in various cultures are often very different and those differences matter. Just as knowing that the seelie and unseelie are uniquely Scottish concepts we find that many details of fairylore are particular to specific cultures or locations. If we say that fairy is an umbrella term under which, for example, would fall  beings like the Tylwyth Teg (Welsh), Daoine Sith (Scottish), and Daoine Uaisle (Irish) then we must expect there will be differences in how each group is described, understood, and interacted with in the stories we have. The Irish Daoine Uaisle are not English fairies nor are they the Welsh Tylwyth Teg, and we have to be aware of that and cautious about over homogenizing everything. While there are cross cultural similarities we must be careful not to assume from a few similar details that the entirety is the same. A good example of this would be the Cú Sidhe (Irish fairy hound), Cú Sithe (Scottish Fairy Hound), and Cwn Annwn (Welsh fairy hound), all of which broadly fit a wider category of 'fairy hound' but which each have different descriptions, behaviours, and stories. This is important to know in the same way its important to know that when you visit a different country things won't be the same as they are where you live - cultural nuances matter and help us understand stories in different ways. 
   
   
5. A Lot Of Our Ideas About Fairies Today Come From Media Not Folklore - The popular image of a fairy - winged, pointy eared, tiny - although working its way into folklore comes from somewhere else. In fact up until the last few decades anecdotal accounts describe very, very different beings than what we find in popular stories today. Wings came into vogue through fiction via art via the theater, probably (according to Dr Simon Young) rooted originally in Paracelsus's writings on sylphs. Pointed ears followed a similar route coming to the popular imagination from fiction via art, based in a comparison to fairies with wild animals and Greek Satyrs. Tiny fairies are found in some folklore, but as one among many possible fairy sizes, however during the Victorian era the idea of fairies et al as tiny and childlike came into vogue. These all combined in various ways across art and fiction over the last hundred years and are now found in modern anecdotal accounts. This is important to know because when reading older accounts or modern accounts from places with extant fairylore generally the beings described have none of these features and it helps to know that so you can envision them correctly. 
   
   
6. Fairies As Nature Spirits Are a New Idea - While the idea of fairies as nature spirits has become very popular its actually a fairly new idea, rooted in the late 19th century. Theosophy, beginning in the late 19th century, looked to the views of Paracelsus about elemental spirits and blended them with the Victorian romanticism of nature to give us the fairy as embodiment of and protector of the natural world. It is true if we look to Greek or Roman cultures that we can find beings like dryads and naiads who are spirits of specific natural features, but I would argue that the classical understanding of these beings is not the same as the modern concept of a nature spirit. In any event the Celtic language speaking cultures specifically do not seem to have any equivalent concept, with their Otherworldly spirits being territorial of specific places or things (wells, tress, rocks) but not as aspects or spirits literally of those things; in fact we have multiple stories across Ireland, Scotland, and England of the fairies moving their homes or leaving a place in a way that a nature spirit by definition could not do. This is important, not to dissuade people who choose to believe in nature spirits as fairies, but so that everyone can have a wider context for these beings that is open to multiple options and aware of the history of specific beliefs. 
   
   
7. They Aren't Evil - But They Aren't Good Either - There are two popular views of fairies that float around the internet: 1. They are extremely dangerous and must be avoided at all cost; 2. they are benevolent spirit guides that exist to aid humans. The truth is both and neither, as usual with this subject. We have a lot of folklore and anecdotal accounts of fairies causing harm to humans, sometimes as retribution sometimes because they wanted to. And by harm I mean blinding humans, giving them painful long term illnesses, driving them mad, or straight up murdering them. To be clear. On the other hand we also have lots of folklore and anecdotal accounts of fairies acting benevolently, healing humans, giving them luck or money, providing essential blessings. Are they evil? No. Are they good? Also no. They are diverse and from a human perspective (see fact 3) often mercurial and unpredictable. I know some people reading this are now saying to themselves that they have interacted with fairies for a long time and only ever had good experiences. I am not denying that that can be true, dependent on what exactly you are interacting with, but there are also people who have the opposite experience and their accounts are just as valid. Or put another way one person's good experiences don't negate someone else's bad experiences and vice versa - there's a lot of nuance here. I have been doing this, myself, for decades and have seen both sides of it; I've seen and received healing for example and I've also been temporarily blinded and sickened. The takeaway here is that these beings aren't simple and they are never clearly one thing or another. Its vital to remember that, like humans, you have a huge range of possibilities for outcomes of dealing with these beings and its generally wise not to assume either all good or all bad intentions. 

Keeping the Word Fae Meaningful

 I'm about to say something very unpopular here. The current trend to refer to absolutely anything cute, odd, unusual, or beautiful as 'fae' is actively encouraging the disenchantment and disempowerment of the concept of fairies and the Otherworld. It also often leans into ableism, objectification, and exoticism

Not a fairy but a deer at the Seneca Army Depot in New York. Photo © blmiers2 / Flickr Creative Commons license. The deer at this particular location are often white

So let's break this down a bit. 

The trend itself is enormously wide ranging and encompasses everything from people and animals with albinism to unusual crystals, foods that look like natural objects or natural objects that look like food, unusual animals/people/plants/etc.,, any odd or generous behaviour by humans or animals, places that are especially beautiful, even bizarre jewelry. Any and all of these things may be labeled 'fae' and shared with comments speculating their inhuman nature or source, even when the source is known and blatantly human. 

Now there is some long history to labelling things Otherworldly as a sign of praise or because of a concern that they actually are. Alaric Hall in his book 'Elves in Anglo-Saxon England' discuses the use of the term aelfscyne [lit. 'elf beautiful'] as a description for very attractive humans going back a thousand years. There has also been a history of referring to things and people as connected to the Good Folk in Celtic language speaking cultures, often with an attached assumption of both attractiveness and danger; people have been killed or pushed out of communities for this*.  The key difference in the first case is that the term was used as a comparative, rather like saying 'she's an angel' today, with an understanding that it wasn't meant literally; in the second case the implied association was stronger and could result in harm to the human in question. 

In the current trend I have seen people claim everything from images of especially beautiful animal breeds, like the Akhal Teke, to a professor ranting about mushrooms, as examples of something fae. Do people actually believe that a breed of horse is fae? That a man lecturing about mushrooms is fae? That the range of people, animals, plants, crystals, and objects the word gets applied to are Otherworldly? I don't think so based on the way the concept is being treated, although it is used with a mock seriousness. So why then do I care so much about this?

For one thing I see this watering down of the term to apply to anything and everything as a continuation of a long process of disempowering the Good Folk. It goes back hundreds of years, tied to shifting euphemisms for these beings to things like 'wee folk' and 'little people' which emphasized their reduced power and stature - literally minimizing beings once seen as human sized and godlike into small beings of limited influence. Words have power and using such disempowering terms shapes how people understand these beings. In the same way applying the term fae to such a huge range of things renders the term just another vague compliment like 'pretty' and removes its actual power.

Now the above argument may seem a bit rigid, especially as language does change and evolve with time and use. There are other layers to this as well though and they deserve consideration. Labelling humans with albinism or with heterochromatic eyes, for example, as fae can be offensive to the person in question - in fact I have seen people several times ask not to be othered this way. Implying humans with a medical condition aren't actually human has a long and dangerous history that has and still is getting people killed. There's a degree of ableism in the idea that people who are medically different, and therefore not 'normal', are not in fact human. The same applies to animals in my opinion. 

 This application of fae to everything also often serves to objectify the subject - from a person, animal, object, or place into something that is not of this world and therefore open to being taken and entirely reimagined. A simple exchange with a nice person in line at a coffee shop becomes fodder for a 'fae' narrative that allows the teller to centre themselves against a magical backdrop and become the main character in a living urban fantasy**. Its dehumanizing literally and figuratively. 

There is also a concerning level of exoticism that is going on with much of this that I think needs to be considered. Labelling a foreign breed of horse like the aforementioned Akhal Teke as fae is literally turning an animal from a foreign country into something Otherworldly. This is just a new iteration of the old an inappropriate obsession that western cultures have long had with anything and everything outside themselves, manifested historically through orientalism and the 'noble savage' trope. Just because a person, animal, or place seems fantastic or exotic to you doesn't make it Otherworldly and there needs to be some serious consideration about the inappropriateness of forwarding such ideas in the 21st century, no matter how much fun people feel the idea of fae is. 

When absolutely anything and everything becomes 'fae' then the word and concept are rendered effectively meaningless. Worse the word is being used to forward things like ableism, objectification, and exoticism that we should be actively fighting against. And  ultimately rather than making us more aware of what is Otherworldly around us this over use of the term makes us instead unable to discern any of it. 

So perhaps give some thought to who and what is labeled as fae^ going forward.

*an example being Bridget Cleary, a woman who was accused of being a changeling and murdered by her family
** to be clear I do think humans still have modern day encounters with fairy beings, including in coffee shops, but the vast majority of the stories I see under the label fae are easily explained and clearly entirely human in nature
^ self labelling being a separate issue not being discussed here. Call yourself fae if you want to; its labelling others that way that's problematic.