The Enchanted World of Fairy Folk Their Houses and Fairy Doors By Unknown Author Fairy faith, past and present, belief in faerie folk is common in numerous parts of the world. Although fairy is the European word, many other cultures used different words to describe such magickal beings, different classifications of species, attributes, and characteristics. The word fairy comes from the Old French faerie, which is etymologically descended from the Latin fata, meaning The Fates. It is believed that both the Aos Sí in the Irish tradition and the Alfar of Norse tradition were related to ancient ancestor worship. This is because both types of spirits were associated with mounds. Aos Sí comes from the older form, aes sídhe, which means people of the mounds. The aos sí were often referred to as The Good People or The Fair Folk, and eventually became synonymous with fairy folkand fairy lore. Alfar is the the ancestor word of our modern term elf. There are many fascinating aspects of the álfar over the years. They may have once been thought to have been the male counterpart to the Norse dísire, female ancestor guardian spirits. Over time the álfar become the elves of Norse folklore, while the dísire has seemed to have faded away into the either of the indigenous Germanic religion. Belief in elfin and fairy spirits has continued on among the common folk, long since belief in the old pagan gods. Some of these spirits are given offerings such as bread, milk, porridge, salt, or other food items, which demonstrates the connection to the worship of the Old Religion. In fact, leaving milk and cookies for that jolly spirit we call Santa Claus is a modern adaption of leaving out milk and food for household deities such as the Brownies of Scotland or Kobolds of Germany. Santa himself is speculated to have a strong connection to Odin, who rode his flying horse through the night skies in the Wild Hunt at Yuletide. Connections between fairies and old world paganism is not lost on Church leaders. In many parts of Europe, people who were found to be honoring a household deity (or leaving food out for a house elf and fairy folk, for example) would be punished by the Church. Fairies became equated with demons and communicating with the faerie folk would be used as evidence in witch trials. Despite the transformation from a dominate Pagan to dominate Christian society, belief in faerie folk lived on. Some that insist upon presents of elves and faerie folk existence even in todays modern world. One expression of belief in fairies are the creation of fairy gardens, fairy doors, and elf houses. While for some this is pure fantasy, for others the doors and houses are meant to mark the places where these beings are thought to really live. In Iceland the elves and fairy folk are called the Huldufólk, which means Hidden People. Belief in elves and fairy folk are still quite strong in Iceland today, certainly more so than in most other parts of the world. It is thought that the mysterious landscape as well as the isolation of this island country both influenced stories of the fairy folk to flourish over the years. Old Norse religion lingered longer in Iceland than in most other parts of Europe. Icelands conversion to Christianity, still shows much accommodation of the fairy folk in their isolated society, much more accommodating to old beliefs than other parts of Europe. Today there are many beliefs associated with elves and fairy folk in Iceland. They are especially believed to live in rocks. Major motorways have been diverted to avoid disturbing fairy folk residing in mountainsides. People will go out of their way to avoid stepping on rocks or hills in which elves and fairy folk are thought to reside. Elf houses spring up all around the Icelandic countryside. In some cases this is to alert passersby that the fairy folk are present so as not to disturb them. They may also be simple a way to acknowledge their otherworldly presence. Places that naturally have a look about them, seeming to resemble a fairy abode are sometimes turned into fairy houses by magickal,creative, and imaginative people. Little fairy doors appear in such places with no explanation as to who is responsible. In Cumbria, England, there exists a magical place called Fairy Row. This is a place near the Gelt Wood where one day, in 2010, many little fairy doors suddenly appeared on the bases of trees and rocks. Where so far, not a soul has claimed credit for them. The doors found at Fairy Row are made of pottery, painted and glazed. Each door seems custom crafted and designed to be shaped specifically for their particular location, molded to the shape of the space where it sits. These doors were created with great care and craftsmanship, adorned with fine detailing, and intricate accessories. One door with tiny blue boots on the porch, and the green door equipped with a tiny key. Whomever created them surely must be caring for them still, as they are said to disappear each September, only to reappear in the springtime after the winter is over. Is this the work of the devoted potter who created them? Or is it magick of the fairy folk themselves?! Similar to the doors of Fairy Row in England, Fairy Doors of Ann Arbor, Michigan also bring a bit of magick back in to the modern world. Like the doors of Fairy Row, these doors are the work of one artisan. However, unlike Fairy Row, this artist is known. Or at least thought to be known. The fairy doors first sprang up in the home of Jonathan Wright and his wife, Kathleen. Shortly after, their first public door appeared in Ann Arbor. Soon, many sweet and charming fairy doors began to spring up in places around town. Jonathan Wright has recorded and cataloged each door on his website, Urban Fairies, which is another clue that he is the artisan responsible. There are other differences between these fairy doors and the ones at Fairy Row. The first being that while the first fairy doors were found in a woodland setting, these are found in an urban environment. The doors are placed by shops and businesses around town. These doors have hard, geometric lines, unlike the organic shapes found in the Fairy Row doors. Each door is unique, and designed to compliment its unique location. This is actually something these doors have in common with the other doors from Fairy Row. Each door is designed for the unique individually and specifically with its environment in mind. Does this say something about the artisan or about our perception of the fairy folk? Perhaps both. Maybe we believe that the fairy folk are something special and not bound by the mundane laws that binds the modern world. While our houses and buildings often appear punched from cookie cutter patterns, these fairy houses are one of a kind. In conclusion... this is just the beginning of the reemergence of the magick of the old world of magick. I hope you have enjoyed this jaunt into the magick of the fairy world. Of course, there is another meaning for the term fairy door, and that is a real doorway or portal to the realm of fairy folk. Those doorways are not as easily spotted by the casual passerby. Im sure I will explore those doorways soon. They are also called thin places, where the veil between our world and the world of spirit is thought to be especially thin.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 20:35:27 +0000
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