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While exploring the internet for some great new content to post on my social media accounts, I was disheartened to discover a number of creations and "facts" that were not only false, but show a great disrespect for the fairies. So, I'm setting the facts straight in the hopes none of my followers will participate in such atrocious acts, and offering some alternatives. 1. Fairy Jars
There are people making mason jars with little rhymes attached to them about capturing fairies in them. Though it discusses not taking them far, let me be very clear here. A great way to anger the fairies is capture them in anything, let alone a jar. Fairies are all that is wild and free in nature. I could imagine no greater offense or disrespect than to catch a fairy and stuff them in a jar. Yes, I make fairy bottles, but here's the difference. Fairy bottles have clay representations of butterflies and they are not meant to be opened. Yes, in my newest book, The Butter Thief, the little girl catches a fairy in a mason jar. The fairy was not happy about this, and it was to stop a fairy long enough to make a deal. She, also, did not have this blog to set her straight. In short, DO NOT capture fairies and do not specifically design jars to do so, either! This is a great way to have fairies avoid you and your garden or home. 2. Stepping inside a Fairy Ring I cannot stress this enough. DO NOT go in a fairy ring. For those who do not know, fairy rings are circles of mushrooms that magically appear in nature. It is said that fairies dance in them. Another correction to what some might find online, witches do not dance in them. Witches, being connected to nature themselves, would have a great respect for fairies and would know better. ONLY fairies may enter a fairy ring. It is a sacred space for them not to be trampled by creatures such as us. Another misconception, running in any direct around the fairy ring will not grant you the ability to see the fairies as they dance. Fairies will only show themselves when they wish to. There is nothing you can do to see a fairy if they do not wish you to see them. This comes back to why capturing a fairy in a jar is a grave offense. It is a great honor to have a fairy show themselves to you. To disregard that honor is a terrible thing and fairies are masters of justice and vengeance. This also brings us to #3. 3. Eating Plants to see the Fairies I discovered online discussion of eating certain plants, like pansies, to grant the ability to see the fairies. Once more, a fairy cannot be seen unless it wants you to see them. They decide. And, to try to force them or give up their right to decide by means of eating something or another cheap trick would make them less likely want to show themselves. If anything, you prove yourself unworthy. There is no cheating when it comes to the fairies, nor easy way out, so to speak. Here's what to do instead: Welcome the fairies to your house and garden by creating special gardens for them. In the garden, place fairy doors or fairy houses, and plant a variety of plants loved by the fairies, including wild flowers, daffodils, foxglove, pansies, yarrow, thyme, daisies, scabiosa, tulips, nasturtiums, and more! Offer gifts to the fairies, such as butter, milk, something sweet, something shiny, something sparkly pennies, acorns, pretty stones, and other natural or tasty treasures. To share with them is to offer your friendship, and to show you honor them and thank them for all they do. Believe in magic! Fairies remind us that magic is all around us. They remind us to look upon the world with the eyes of a child, always. If we believe in magic, truly believe to the depths of our hearts, and can find the fantastical and spectacular in the everyday things, the sacred in what most might consider mundane, you have a better chance of not only drawing them to your garden and home, but also help them believe in you. And, above all else, respect the fairies and nature. Fairies and nature are tied together. They are part of it, and to hurt nature and the earth is to hurt them. Let them know you are a friend by doing your part to clean up the earth, reduce, reuse, recycle, and take care of the planet. Doing so in your own back yard, not only offers them a safe haven, but let's them see what kind of person you are. Also, respect them and that they are the ones to decide whether or not you get the opportunity to see them. They are the ones who decide where they will go. The decision is theirs. I hope this "dos and don'ts" of fairies may be helpful in your relationship with these magnificent beings! And, before you believe something you read on the internet or when in doubt of a fact your find, ask yourself if it is something you'd like have done to you. If it seems disrespectful, don't do it. If you've done any of these things in the past, remember, too, mistakes can be forgiven. Try offering an apology, both verbal and in the form of a gift.
Inspired by this post by The Enchanted Wren!
![]() Recently, I was inspired by an article my boyfriend sent me to write another book, one of the many in the works, about the unusual and unique butterflies and moths that are all around. While I was thinking about this, it struck me that a fairy would more likely be a moth than a butterfly? It seems an odd thought, but hear me out. There are many legends about fairies going underground or disappearing all together, right? Reasons are left to speculations and those vary, but generally it is agreed upon that you don’t see fairies unless you believe in them and they want you to see them. Fairies are masters of hiding, right? Not to out my winged friends, but if you were going to hide, the best place to do it would be in plain sight. Moths, in particular, are geniuses when it comes to this, and I don’t just mean camouflage. ![]() Where I live, we have this miraculous moth called a hummingbird moth. They only come out at dusk in the summer. They look, move, and act like hummingbirds. Moths are known for copying behavior of other insects and animals. Now, consider how many times have we seen fairies depicted as, or with features inspired by, other animals or creatures. Clap your hands if you believe! 😉 ![]() Why is believing in the fantastical so bad? Why, when we get older, must we lose the magic? Things like fairies or Santa aren’t lies. They are believing in something bigger than yourself, concepts we should embody in the everyday. And, as children, when we are allowed to believe in the extraordinary, we come to find the extraordinary in the everyday as adults. With the holidays just around the corner, when I think of the embodiment of Christmas it is no longer the large man with a white beard and red hat. It’s my mother in his place. It’s the incredible lengths she went to so my brother and I could believe. And, now, it’s also myself I see in that place, with my large sack of gifts (most of which are already wrapped). Was it a lie? For her to ask “what did Santa bring you?” To have us believe in magic and possibility and hope? There are those who would say it was, that there was a seed of dishonesty. But, it was never about what was wrapped under the tree. It’s what it meant. Like, what it meant if mom could still cook the turkey every Thanksgiving. We might not have had milk in our fridge. Mom might have been sick. But, we had Christmas. When we later came to the realization on our own that Santa wasn’t real, the magic was still there, if not more so, to discover everything my mother did to make sure we could still believe. And, from the time my brother and I were old enough to know mom was Santa, we were also old enough to know we were, too. Everyone has a little bit of Santa in them. There is magic in the world if we know where to look. Children know where to look. We just forget when we’re older. Buttercups telling us who loves butter and who doesn’t. Butterflies and fireflies are fairies in disguise. The sun setting and the moon rising. A wish on a dandelion. Leafs changing and snow falling. That such a big sunflower can come from such as tiny seed. Every day is a miracle. Fairies and Santa Clause are the embodiment of them. And just because I’m older doesn’t mean I don’t still believe and doesn’t mean the magic has disappeared. It’s only become stronger. |
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