How to Meet the Faeries

Do You Want to Meet the Faeries?

by Mara Freeman

Who are the Faeries?

Midsummer Eve, also known as Summer Solstice, is one of the traditional Celtic Spirit Nights of the year when the faeries are about in forest and field. What are faeries and do they still exist today? Many people today think of them as the tiny, gauzy-winged creatures of children’s books, but this was an idea of the Victorians. For hundreds of years, there has been a strong recognition, especially in Scotland and Ireland, of the knowledge that we share this planet with a race of non-physical beings deeply connected with the living Earth. It is to these spirits that the name ‘Fairy’ or ‘Faery’ is generally given.

Faeries can range from a tall, beautiful race of Lords and Ladies to the diminutive imps we call the ‘little people.’ One of the best explanations as to what they are comes from the unlikely source: A 17th century minister of the Church of Scotland, the Reverend Robert Kirk, defined them as being “of a middle nature betwixt Man and Angel.” They are creatures of light and energy who can shift their shapes as they please, as they are not bound by the laws of the physical world.

Irish poet and storyteller, Ella Young, a colleague of W. B. Yeats, wrote about the faeries she saw and came to know in the west of Ireland. In 1925, Ella left Ireland for America, and when she reached Ellis Island, the New York Times announced her arrival with the headline, “Ambassadress from Elfland!” She moved to California, where she communed with the faeries she met on the shores and mountains of the West Coast.

The Faeries’ Return

Today, a new awareness of faeries is returning as people are awakening to the reality of worlds not normally apparent to the five senses. It seems that with the current crisis on Earth, we are being called to reconnect with those Beings of Light with whom we once consciously shared our planet home. When we pollute, degrade and lay waste to the land, sea and sky, we are destroying their world, too. We tear apart the exquisitely woven tapestry of all creation, and so, faeries are bringing messages from the Earth urging us to change our ways from living in separateness to an awareness of our interconnectedness with all beings, visible and invisible, in the great Web of Life.

Meditation

Connecting with faeries is not as difficult as you may think. You do not need special psychic powers to do so, but just the willingness to open your mind and especially your heart as a child might do. Speaking of how to see tree faeries, Ella Young, in an interview on KPFA radio, Berkeley, in 1952, said, “You have to be content to know that you love that tree, and you want to love it more, and you know it’s alive and you want to come closer to it.”

Here is a simple way to connect with the faery kingdom:

This Midsummer, take a faery walk in nature, preferably where there are trees and plants. Find a place to sit and begin taking some deep breaths:

1. Inhale and imagine a wave of green light rising from the land beneath you, rising up your body to connect you with the Earth below. Exhale and sense a wave of golden light flowing down from the heavens through your body, connecting you with the Sun and stars. Do this several times until you feel relaxed and charged with the energy of Earth and sky.

2. Notice three natural things around you and send a line of light from your heart to connect with each one.

3. Now extend connection to everything around you. Rest and be at peace in this feeling of oneness.

4. Ask for a message from the Faery realm and open to receive impressions that may come to you. The response may come through feeling a light, sparkling, joyful energy or it may come as words or images in your mind’s eye. Watch out also for signs of animal or bird movements or calls that may carry a message for you.

5. Give thanks to the faeries. Leave them an offering, in return. Hint: They are very fond of chocolate!

Click HERE to Connect with your Daily Horoscope!

About the Author

Mara Freeman, M.A., is an internationally recognized teacher of Celtic wisdom and Western sacred traditions, which she has taught for over thirty years. Her book, Kindling the Celtic Spirit, has been called the “best introduction to Celtic spirituality.” Her most recent book, Grail Alchemy: Initiation in the Celtic Mystery Tradition, explores the inner journey and transformation.
www.chalicecentre.net